NYC week one

I'll be in NYC the next few weeks for work, coming home on Fridays (and generally flying out on the red-eye Sunday nights). I've been here before, but usually just for a day or two at a time, and in the past I've always stayed with my friend Paula instead of in a hotel. But I didn't feel it was right to impose on Paula and her beau Paul (yes, that's right, Paula and Paul, kinda makes you want to throw up a little, doesn't it?), so this time I'm in a hotel. Let me tell you that NYC hotels are OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. The one closest to my customer is a spendy $550 USD per night. OMG. So I'm staying at the La Quinta. In Manhattan. $227 a night (before taxes) apparently earns you a room that's smaller than the smaller bedroom in my house (and my house was built in 1936, when bedrooms were small). The door to the room clears the full-size bed by a good inch when you open it, the closet door brushes against the right side of the bed when it's opened. The bath features a lovely shower (no tub) and a teeny tiny cute little toilet (and a sink). I have a desk, which conveniently backs to the television (so I get to crane my neck if I want to see something on the television while at the computer). There is, thankfully, high speed internet access here (for "free", even); I'd have died without it. My room has a window that looks out over i-have-no-idea-what -- it's a little enclosed area that doesn't look accessible -- buildings on all sides. There's a nice sign on the window, "Please DO NOT open the windows. If you need any help, please call the Front Desk". I opened the damn window, being the wild woman that I am. Call me a rebel if you must. I'm booked here for next week too, because a) it's convenient, b) it's clean, c) I'm rather afraid of what else I might find. Less expensive hotels tend to have shared bathrooms, and that I cannot deal with. Yuk. There's tons to see here in the city, and I hope to get out more next week. This is a short week, as I flew in on Monday night. I did have dinner with Paula and Paul last night, and will do so again tonight. I wish they didn't live so damn far away, because I adore them. But I adore my own family too, and can't wait to get home to them.