Trying New Things

My last day in NYC, I decided that I was going to try 10 new things.

Trying new things is always a good thing to do.  It’s easy to stick to what you are familiar with but there is a BIG world out there with GREAT things to discover!

I’m pretty good about trying new things but in the middle of the day I realized that 10 things in one day is quite challenging.  Then I realized that “new” doesn’t necessary have to mean huge, super different things.  It could simply be something that I’ve never done before.

So #1 – 10 . . . this is what I did my last day in NYC:

1. I ate it.

Yes, while going down the apartment building stairs to start the day, I fell.  Ok, so I’ve fallen before . . . but not like this.  This is one of three bruises from the fall, and I almost took down a lady with me!

2. Highline Park.

Highline Park opened sometime last year and this is the first time I’ve seen it.  It’s really neat!  And you can have weddings up there!

View of the Meatpacking District.

3. Mango Coconut Water.

I drink regular coconut water all the time (you should see my fridge) but I have never tried the mango flavored one.  Always been curious but never picked it up, until now.  Tastes very . . . tropical!

4. Dosa.

I tried a Dosa (a large, crispy, sourdough crepe) for the first time .  Got it at a place called Hampton Chutney Co. in Soho. I got it filled with avocado, cherry tomato, arugula, and jack cheese, with peanut chutney on the side.  It was about 2 feet long!  Yummy!

5. Top of the Empire State Building.

I’ve never heard anything good about going to the top of the Empire State Building.  Everyone I’ve talked to said it’s crowded, touristy, and not worth it, but since it was my day to do things I’ve never done, I decided to go up.

Yes, it was touristy (pretty sure I was the only American up there), but the view is gorgeous.

It wasn’t crowded and it was so peaceful with the 75 degree weather.  Manhattan is an amazing place.  Just look at all of it!

6. Magnolia’s Cupcakes

Honestly, I can’t remember if I’ve had Magnolia’s before this.  Either I’ve had it and it didn’t make an impression on me, or I’ve never had it.

It was a decent cupcake, but nothing special.  A little sweet and dense for me, actually.

7. Ate ramen with a previous client.

Technically they are previous clients, but I like to just call them friends.  I shot Esther & Daniel’s wedding in Cabo last year and we’ve become good friends since.  We went to a ramen place none of us have been to before called Rockmeisha.

It was also fun just hanging out with the two of them.  Last year when I photographed the wedding it was usually Esther & Daniel with a lot of friends and family around.  As we spend more time together, I see a lot more of the little things that make them so unique as a couple. 

8. Miso brussel sprouts.

I thought it would be cheating if all (or a lot of) the new things I tried were food, but it’s not!  Miso brussel sprouts are legitimately something I have never had before, and they were DELICIOUS.

9. Monopoly Card Game.

Esther & Daniel love games and they introduced me to the Monopoly Card Game.  It was fun and I even won the first round!  Yeaaah, booooy!

10. Met up with someone via Twitter.

I made a new friend.  I met up with Matt Sloan!  Matt and his wife Angie are wedding photographers in Orange County and I haven’t had the chance to meet them until now (well, just Matt this time. Angie stayed in CA with the kids).  For those who don’t know, Twitter is an amazing networking/social media tool!  The wedding industry is big but it’s not thaaaat big.  It turns out the Sloans and I know a lot of the same people.

So Matt posted something on Twitter about being in NYC and exploring the city solo.  I “tweeted” back that I was in NYC too and 15 minutes later we were having banana splits in Union Square!  He’s just as funny as I thought he’d be.  I’m gonna start kickin’ it with the Sloans!

Pushing myself to do a lot of new things in one day is a great reminder to do it more often.

Heck, do it every day!  Sometimes you don’t like the new things as much as the old ones (like, I still prefer the regular coconut water over the mango flavored one), but I’d say more times than not, you discover new things that are crazy insanely cool (like, I’m gonna start putting miso on my brussel sprouts alllll the time)!