back from manhattan

i got back from new york yesterday, and may i just say, the more i go to that fascinating place, the more deeply in love i fall. it's like one of those great movies or books that the more times you watch/read it, the greater it seems.

the trip was great, and oh yeah, the conference was good too. i stayed across from ground zero at the millenium hilton. may i say, i give this one high marks. nice place, incredible view...52" plasmas in EVERY room. mckenzie got to take in all the sites, as well as adorn her very own mini-"I heart NY" t-shirt. i bought it at the build-a-bear-store, which i must say, took me back to childhood. jay and i visited with all his friends from college, most of whom are still in new york. i visited with shonnie, who we all know is one of my top five people of all time...i'm sure she'd say #1, but then again, she's hard to beat. ;) jay, a friend of mine, erica, and i went to balthazaar in soho. this was my second visit to this fine establishment, it is sensational. saw matt dillon there, drooled a little, had a steak, drooled some more...you see where this is going. but it was a good time.

i also had the pleasure of making a little impromtu speech at the top of the financial districts' tallest building (or so i was told...post 9-11, at least). it was just a little, short "success story" type deal, but i must say, it feels neat-o being young, in the middle of the business world's heartbeat, looking around at hundreds of collegues and high level JPMC execs, not to mention an AMAZING view (it was all windows) and thinking, just five years ago i was in a classroom in waco, texas at baylor university...sleeping. strange how it all works out. but i smiled to myself as i walked back to my seat, with the empire state building to my back, thinking, this really is pretty cool. and definitely worth a few years in waco, a few big o's, and a few naps in castellaw.