Day 49 (Sunday, July 30)

The above photo was taken on Sept. 15, 2004 in New York City. It has not been two years since that photo was taken.

Back then I dreamed of someday working for the Associated Press.

Today, it's a reality.

I am on a plane toward New York today. Woohoo.

Again, dreams come true.

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I love saying "LIVE FROM NEW YORK IS..." Hahaha.

So w/ that, "Live from New York is JulyThePhotoGuy."

It's 8:50 a.m. and I am waiting for my 9:59 flight to La Guardia Airport. I feel good. On Sept. 6 I made my first-ever trip to New York. I flew into JFK. That was quite the experience. It was the first time I flew somewhere that had no one waiting for me. So, I had to explore the city by myself. That was fun. I figured out the train system within minutes and then got into Manhattan.

This time around I feel very prepared. First of all, this time I know where I am going. I know my subway game plan and I know the way in which NYC works. Two years ago I had a little trouble because for some reason the luggage I had decided it was going to die on me. First the pull bar broke off, then a wheel wouldn't turn. This time I got me a good luggage bag and I don't think there will be a problem. Perhaps this time my luggage won't go flying down the stairs at the C Subway station. Hahaha. Memories.

I am pretty excited about New York, as y'all can imagine. I don't know why but I feel really good. That turned into a nice photo this morning as I rode on the Orange Line train toward Midway Airport.

I couldn't decide which photo of Josh and Kristina was the best one, so I put them both up so y'all can decide for me.

Josh and Kristina seem to be enjoying what they have. The two were in town this weekend searching for an apartment. They are moving here from Kansas City in about a month. In talking to them I found out that Josh is also a photographer. He will be attending a local university in pursue of either a studio or photojournalism degree. Cool.

The couple is about to take a big step by moving into a new city. That's so inspiring. I want that someday. I want to be able to share the joy and excitement of living somewhere w/ my mate. The fact that we both would be counting on each other for support will help w/ the glitches. But, ideally, it would all be OK because of the love and trust in each other. It's amazing to see and feel love. Wow!

I'll stop now before I get all mushy (probably too late). I'll update this once I fly into the Big Apple.

For now, I will close this segment off and call my grandmother in Mexico so she can give me her blessings. She always does that for me when I go on important trips or before I do noteworthy things.

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I arrived in New York City in no time. It was a quick, little hour and forty-five minutes before I was landing into La Guardia Airport.

I figured out the game plan and got on the N Train toward Manhattan.

Riding the train is no longer a big deal. Not after all the train rides I have been doing in Chicago this summer. I guess I am becoming immune to the excitement.

I started to get a little excited as I got closer and to Times Square. The hotel the AP is putting me in is around the corner from Times Square near 51st and 8 Ave.

As I walked toward my hotel, I realized I had been on that street before. In the above photo toward the left hand side of the image there's a little cover sidewalk area on the building. That's where Carrie Sheffield got hosed down by a transient during a really weird experience the last time I visited New York.

Thinking about that incident brought back so many memories. I miss my old SPJ New York friends. I'll see some of them later this summer when SPJ goes to Chicago. But some of them I probably won't see for a long time.

I dropped off my stuff at the hotel and headed out. It was too beautiful of a day to be stuck inside a hotel room. So, I got my camera and headed out toward Times Square to do a little walking around.

I stopped at one of the many corner hot dog stands and got me two really good hot dogs. They still do not compare to Nathan's in Coney Island, but they are still New York dogs. It's cool, at some point this week I'll make it over to Coney Island to have a field day at Nathan's.

I continued to walk around Manhattan and I came across Central Park. I hung out on top of some rocks as I saw kids play in the water in a playground.

I am now back at the hotel. I got my first meeting in about 40 minutes. This should be interesting. I'll be meeting 21 of the top journalism students in the country. Wow! How did I end up being one of them?

...

Tonight's meeting was a blast.

We all hung out and got to meet each other for a while, then we headed to dinner where we were able to meet and mingle on a little more personal level.

I spent most of my meal talking with Gilbert (Washington D.C.), Travis (Minneapolis) and Sonia (Dallas).

Above Travis and Sonia had a joke going. Their expression on each other's faces is priceless.

After dinner we all headed to a local bar where we got a chance to hang out for a little longer.

I couldn't keep from shooting photos. So, I took care of business.

During our stay at this bar I met Pierre and Jessica, a couple from Italy who are vacationing in New York for a month. They were pretty nice and I came to find out that they are both public relations majors at their university in Italy. So, in a way, there was a journalistic connection there.

Tomorrow our meetings and seminars begin. It's time to buckle down.

Yesterday - Main - Tomorrow