We drove 7-8 hours. No traffic on the way there. Pretty enjoyable drive in a manual sedan. Switched off with a couple hours to go and I read. It was dark when we arrived at the hotel in Ridgefield; we saw the lights of some buildings in the distance but I don't believe they were Manhattan. They were just a handful of tall but not super tall towers.

Hotel was obviously cheap and run by an Indian; super small room but clean. A strange woman seemed to live there, she would lock eyes with both myself and my wife each day at chance encounters, having a pleasant expression but saying nothing. She also haunted the parking lot and smoking gazebo, prowling around the cars including mine. I believed she was a prostitute.

Unlike in my home city, there was no feeling of unsafety or disgust on the bus used to get into town, although it was naturally uncomfortable. There was only one entry/exit and no middle door for some reason.

"Midtown" and Times Square were interesting but I did not have the feeling of amazement I had in the Dubai financial district back in 2019. Giant flashing screens obviously, huge naked sidney sweeney my wife commented on. I was distracted and maybe tired. Lots of pedestrians milling about like a European downtown, but everyone seemed to be a tourist. It had the character of a theme park for that reason rather than a community. There were a ton of "theatres" as in for stage plays, which seemed extremely gay. There were ads for plays that were currently running everywhere, and I couldn't imagine the type of person who would see such an ad and think "wow I should really invest X hundred dollars in that experience instead of just watching a movie." We saw grand central terminal which was awesome. A hundred years ago, there was a similar building in my hometown, which is a melancholy thought (it's now still standing prominently, but fully abandoned).

The next day we took the ferry to downtown and somehow it felt less like the entrance to Warped Tour with all kinds of people crossing two inches from your face (a good thing). Riding the ferry was cool and free. Impressive experience looking at the statue of liberty from afar and approaching the colossal city from sea level. We hid inside the Oculus all day due to threat of rain which was a bit of a waste, but it was interesting to see a real European style indoor mall in the US. We saw the 9/11 memorials which were impressive in person. I discussed the role of Jews/Israelis in the attacks with a tourist from Asia.

I met up with poasters TMF and Mandy together at first and later separately, and the poaster ARE Reptile formerly known as valen while I was in town. Felt grateful to get some insider tips from real locals who nevertheless felt like my own neighbors due to our shared poasting experience.

One night we drove to Asbury Park NJ to enjoy a rock concert, and seeing the shore was beautiful. The boardwalk was pleasant and free, busy but not mobbed. Bigger waves than the great lakes of course. A great show and a good time with no bad vibes to speak of.

The final day we walked the Brooklyn bridge and had a hipster coffee, which was great. Played with family in Central park. It was great to see children, even white children, having fun in the city which is very rare where I am from (seeing a child, period, in the central "downtown" is practically a cause for concern). In NYC we even saw kids and whole families walking around in the city like it was totally normal. High schoolers got on the bus and subway alone.

Overall, it reflected some elements of tradition, like an era in the US when people from all walks of life would partake in an urban community and not necessarily be inside their "mobile pod" (car) to get from anywhere to anywhere else. It seemed like young people would have some freedom in this community--the presence of a pretty big crowd everywhere you went seemed to lessen any sense of danger of abduction/violence. But we were not in the city after dark at all.

At one point we had a late lunch in NJ near the hotel, and we ordered and then I popped out to grab a white monster from the car for a pick me up, planning to sip it while waiting for our meal. This turned out to be a big problem for the hispanic staff of the Mexican restaurant, who told me it wasn't allowed and if I didn't hide it, "they" (somebody besides the guy talking to me) would take it and put it in the trash. I just said OK and put it under the table, not really caring (I'd already drunk half of it) but with the discomfort you'd expect as a grown man being scolded by an adolescent waiter for some bad behavior. It never dawned on me for one second that this would be a problem -- no establishment in my hometown, from Shake Shack to one of our many (really) five-star restaurants, would even mention this. I know because I do it somewhat routinely, which I understand is a low-income thing to do, but at the same time, who really cares. It's not like I could have ordered it off the menu. Well, the Mexican restaurant guys in Jersey apparently do care. Obviously a regional thing to care about, but not sure if that's because the place is high class, low class, or if it doesn't matter.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50176472)

Lol not flame?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50176479)

ljl if this meeting actually occurred though

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50176529)

old markets, restaurants, supply chain businesses, diners, department stores, auto wreckers, family run stores, theatres, whatever.

your home town may have been paved over by Target, Applebees, Subway and Best Buy, but in NYC you can still go to the lunch counter at Sheinberg's Shoes for a coke float

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50176661)

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50176692)

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50180575)

i know its different in hells kitchen and the LES but there are no local hardware stores for example near me

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50176865)

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50176873)

Everyone in lib cities is thin and attractive you cannot debunk this.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50176893)

"Theater. Gay. Uh, another theater. super-gay."

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50176677)

I'm surprised you're surprised about the restaurant discouraging your Monster. That's pretty common. I just got Vietnamese food a couple days ago, and they had a handwritten sign prominently displayed on the door saying "no outside food or drinks," which was a little surprising itself, not in that it's their policy, but that it's enough of an issue that they wanted a sign about it to be the first thing you see when walking in.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50176693)

I’m going to Saudi soon, any tips?

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50179534)

I assume your primary station will be the big one nearish to Riyadh although ive been to other small posts in the south and west, all of which have been bombed. There is a chance you will get bombed and die, so be sure to do your estate planning, insurance/account death transfers, tell your next of kin how to get the bills paid and access your xo account to notify us.

Depending on trump and Israel, you may be crouching in a "bunker" for up to an hour (maybe more now) per day. So know where they are near your work space.

I left there a few weeks before the february/march escalation, so contracted services were fully operational and the lifestyle was chill. That may no longer be the case, in which case the lifestyle will probably be a drag (two meals out of mermite boxes per day). However if it's an air force base the rules may be different. I was back on an army post by the time this started going crazy again after the 12 day war, and all civilians and MWR was shut down permanently.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50179893)

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5910549&forum_id=2#50180173)