What's on your Bucket List? :: New York City with the Cavs, Part I

The term "bucket list" was buzzing around a few years back.   There were websites,  a TV show, books...



There was even a movie called....wait for it...
"The Bucket List" starring Jack-friggin-Nicholson and Morgan-friggin-Freeman!

In the movie, the two guys conquer all types of crazy adventures like drive a race car, skydive, and ride a motorcycle on the Great Wall of China.

It does make you consider your own mortality; I decided to write my own bucket list.



My list has 25 "to-dos".

Here are a few:
- Travel to Italy at least once
- Bungee-jump or sky-dive
- Ride in a helicopter
- See an NBA game at every NBA Arena in the US.
- See at least 1/2 of the Seven Wonders of the World. (For the math majors, that means I'd somehow need to see a half on a wonder...get back to me if you figure that out, please?)

In April 2011, I had the privilege of checking off TWO bucket list items when I traveled to New York City with the Cleveland Cavaliers for a business trip.

Bucket List: See an NBA game at Madison Square Garden.

• CHECK: April 3rd Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks

Knicks beat the Cavs, Knicks clinch a playoff spot 

(Although, The Knicks, have now lost 10 straight playoff games and haven't won a playoff series since 2000.)

ZOMFG! Excited!!!



MSG "Transformation Center".
The Garden is closing this summer to begin a $55M transformation.
Do this behind the scenes tour of the Transformation Center to get a sneak peek of the "After" vision for 2012!



Cavs and Knicks warm up.

Bucket List: Ride in a helicopter.

• CHECK: Tour of Manhattan via Manhattan HeliNY, departing from Pier 6 on the southern tip of the island. 
  
  
  Our pilot flew a helicopter for the NYC Police on 9-11. He was a fantastic tour guide, dipping the helicopter on its side shortly after he requested everyone to yell "MAMA!" Appropriate. I'll always think of our pilot and his sharing of the 9-11 experience firsthand.

G-I-D-D-Y.



Priceless.





"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!"





Central Park (taken leaning over Joe, the guy on my right, allowing me to snap this photo. Thanks, Joe!)


Needless to say, the experiences were breathtaking.

In case you're wondering, no I didn't cry on this trip, like I did in Cali last month.

I snapped photos as much as I could to share the experience.  After about half-way through the helicopter tour, I put my camera down and just savored the moments.

When I picked my camera back up, it was just in time to learn that the Titanic (yes, THAT Titanic) was scheduled to dock in NYC. When it never arrived, the dock was left open in memoriam.



You can view all the photos from this New York City trip on my Flickr stream here.


Sidebar: I avoided pics of my food this trip.  Honestly, I love food more than I love taking photos. And by "taking photos", I mean snapping a few quick pics with my Droid. Check foodspotting!
I hate those a*holes who whip out a Canon Powershot with a handheld stage light mid-meal. I try to be discreet and snap a pic only when I feel something's worth remembering and sharing. I won't ruin others meals. Oh, PS to those camera douches: just eat the food and enjoy it!


I'll post travel and food tips from this trip in a separate post.


Back to the moral of this post:
What's on YOUR bucket list?


Have you checked off anything off your list?


If so, how did you feel when it was completed?
 
If not, what's stopping you?
 
 
Here's to YOUR bucket list.


xo -
g





Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of? But....

So I've been on the pursuit of happiness (shout-out Kid Cudi!) for over a year: Happiness being finding a job and moving to NYC.
After applying to COUNTLESS jobs, a sprinkle of phone interviews, I made a connection with a job in my current industry and nearly sh*t a brick ("HOLY CRAP! This is it!"). I traveled to the City I love in late Feb for "the interview" after a few rounds of phone interviews.

INSERT SNOW STORM OF THE CENTURY SLAMMING MANHATTAN AND LONG ISLAND.


After having a few panic attacks as I watched weather reports and snow out the window, I figured "I'm this far, I'm gonna make it."

Scheduled a car service, slipped and slid out to Long Island, did a whirlwind of interviews for 6+ hours (I thought I was going to interview with the janitor I'd met so many people) and rocked out the interview.

But...

Something felt kinda off.

I wasn't jumping for job-joy. I wasn't doing my inside squeal (ya know, when ya wanna scream like a kid on Christmas but you might be arrested for disturbing the peace?).

Fast-forward to today - 30+ days after my snow-magedeon interview adventure in NYC. All my references were called last week.
They all said the same thing: "They are going to offer you the job!"

So....why I am 90 per-cent sure I'm going to turn it down?

It's marketing an cool new technology in TV. It's *near* NYC (commute of 40 miles east - yeah). I found a kick-ass apt in Park Slope BK. I instantly clicked with the Senior Leaders who I'd report to (all women, girl power!).

But....

It doesn't feel right. Pay is MEH. Commute is DOUBLE-MEH. No team under me (read I do ALL the b*tch work). Its not a STEP-UP in my career. And everyone there seemed STRESSED THE F*CK OUT. OK - maybe it's a NY thing but I wanted to give everyone a Prozac or something. And each person I spoke with mentioned something about "We don't want you to jump ship after 6 months for something better."

Well, that's a first for an interview statement.

And I have a feeling, I need to stay in CLE to finish something (what, I've not figured out yet).

Thus, here I am.

And WHO woulda ever thought, I would be turning down my opportunity to move to NYC. I thought it was the concrete jungle where dreams were made of?

Let's hear it for

For the past 5 years, I've pined over / dreamed of / talked about moving to the city of big lights and big dreams...NYC.

Every time I am there, my heart beats faster and I get butterflies in my tummy - kinda how I feel when I'm dating a new boy (um, not that this has happened as of late).

So I'm determined to make the move. I'm applying to loads of jobs, reaching out to all my friends and applying to GRAD SCHOOL - Fordham & NYU (got accepted to NYU SCPS Certficate program).

My deadline to make the move is May 31....my lease is up and I simply CAN NOT LIVE HERE ANOTHER YEAR. Don't get me wrong - CLE is my hometown that I shall rep to death. However, this is a dream and for the first time in my life, I'm following MY dream.

Seeing this is my 3rd attempt at blogging (ok I have the attention span of an f* knat dude, I know) perhaps it can be an outlet and gain / provided seriously needed support to others in blog-land making transitions in their life.

Hey, you only live once....right?

So let's here is for NEW YORK