Of Axiom and Principles: 2010

2010

Posted in Labels: 2010, countdown, new year, New york city, times square, tips

I can’t believe I have lived through another decade, it’s amazing how much I have learned and experienced within this span of ten years. I am grateful to God The Almighty for all those times I had and for the things to come. I celebrated the countdown to New Year at Times Square which I must say, it’s a unique experience of its own and one that I do not want to go through again, despite the fun I had.

Surprisingly I was slightly disappointed with the celebration because there weren’t enough live performances to cater for the crowd that was battling through 9 hours of standing still; they at most had 6 live performances. I was irked because I expected better.

Acoustics were abysmal, we couldn’t hear Daughtry’s vocals until he performed another round, and the sound system wasn’t loud enough to cater the millions of people packed there. They instead dished out a playlist of songs which can be done at any clubhouse or even in my own apartment, what made it worse was that, THEY REPEATED THE SONGS at least twice. The stage was not facing the majority of the crowd, I think they were focusing on the VIPs, which I find very inconsiderate. Performance-wise, it was a dismay for me.

The line going into the human pen

See how packed it is?

So here are the things you should know before celebrating New Year at Times Square:

1. Be there by 3pm. Cops will close all routes to the vicinity (45^th-49^th street)

2. Literally millions will be there packed and directed into a human pen.

3. If you really want to have fun, bring more than 5 people with you.

4. BE PATIENT!!! YOU HAVE 9 HOURS TO GET INTO THE PEN

5. You will be standing for 9 hours straight if you want to be at the centre of things located at 46^th Street.

6. If possible don’t drink before coming, dehydrate yourself as much as possible before coming.

7. Restrooms don’t exist. Restaurants either lock their doors or close their washrooms during the day. Be prepared to bring diapers, cups or bottles to relief yourself during the event.

8. To relief yourself after the celebration, immediately look for Hilton hotel (should be somewhere around West 57^th-59^th street)

a. DON’T ENTER USING THE FRONT ENTRANCE,

b. Walk around the building and enter from the right.

c. Beware because it’s an exit only door, so you would have to wait for people to exit.

d. Hold the door when they do that and get into the building.

e. The restroom should be on your right, next to the counter.

9. Umbrellas or raincoats are a must, plus it’s a subtle way to start a conversation with strangers.

10. Dress adequately, 3 layers of clothes weren’t enough to keep me warm and people know how warm I can get.

11. If your friends are late, it’s their fault, don’t help them get in using any method, police are efficient and you will be kicked out of Times Square. Happened right in front of my eyes so don’t try.

12. DON’T PUSH while getting into the human pen, it’s outright rude and will anger people.

13. Don’t act like you’re tough and all, people are there to have fun, not to fight, EXPECT NO MOVEMENT FOR A FEW EFFING MINUTES and don’t get ticked so easily.

14. Keep your stuff close to you, pickpockets are bound to be everywhere.

15. Have FUN!!!