I will begin by telling you how I got to Times Square and everything leading up to midnight. I had already made plans to go out with my friend Sarah. We had talked briefly about going to Times Square but she really didn't want to, so we were planning on going to some LDS parties on the Upper West Side (her side of town). Shortly before I was ready to leave she called to tell me that one of her friends friend worked down in Times Square and might be able to get us into his building to watch the ball drop. I was like that sounds great and we decided to meet there. As I was trying to decide what to wear, I was thinking I was either going to be going to some parties that would be inside or down in Times Square inside a building. It was New Year's Eve and I wanted to look nice so I wore heels and I was warm enough to get from one place to the next, but I was definitely not prepared to be outside all night. The day before I had just gotten from California so I had not unpacked completely and I didn't charge my phone the night before (I had the phone plugged into the charger but I don't think the charger was plugged in to an outlet). I realized it was low as I was trying to find Sarah in the huge crowd of people trying to get into Times Square. It was the craziest I have ever seen. I was so scared my phone would die and I would never find her. My battery made it and I was able to meet up with her. After I met with her I turned it off because it kept beeping.
Getting into Times Square was absolutely crazy. They would make you go that way to go this way and back to go forward. It was nuts. Thanks to Anita and her Fox ID we got passed a lot of the check points and at one point we just hopped the fence in front of four police officers, they did nothing to stop us. We finally made it to the office building of their friend. Everyone was trying to call him to come let us in but he wasn't answering. It was so cold outside and at this point we were pretty much out in the open with no buildings or people to stop the wind. Sarah and another girl were able to sneak passed a police officer but when the rest of us tried this he told us we can't go that way. So while they were inside and warm we were outside waiting to hear from this guy. It was probably 20-30 minutes before we got a chance to sneak inside and wait for the guy to answer his phone. When they finally got a hold of the guy he said we can't go up until some of the other people leave for the day. We were waiting for at least 30 minutes before he came down. Nobody had told him how many people were waiting and he was a little shocked to see 10 people downstairs (people had invited people and it was more than anyone planned).
After he came down he talked to the security officers but they wouldn't let us all up. We were waiting around for about an hour inside. They let us use the restroom but they wouldn't let us go upstairs. Half of our group decided to go outside in the crowd while the other half, including me, stayed inside in hopes that they would let the same group left inside. Well, they still wouldn't let us up so we all ended up outside in the large crowd and the freezing cold weather. Like I said before I was not prepared to be outside on my feet in the cold. We got to Times Square around 6 and we were inside that building until around 7 or 730 so I was out in the cold and on my feet for over 6 HOURS all while wearing HEELS!!
There were so many people outside. We were on Broadway near 47th Street. I could just barely see the stage where all the music guests sang. Some of the cars transporting the famous people went right by us. I'm not sure who was in the cars but it was definitely someone worth protecting because of the deep tented windows and the police that went in front and behind. I had so much fun and met some really great people. Going down to Times Square the only people I knew was Sarah and Anita.
The stage was on the left a couple streets up and the ball was on top of the buildings right in the middle.
These were the hundreds possibly thousands of people that were behinds us.
The people who started the night in Times Square=9+Anita's mom (I think she was the one taking the picture)
Around 930, Sarah, Anita, Anita's mom, and some of the other people decided they were too cold and left. I was already there and being in Times Square on New Year's Eve is like a once in a life opportunity so I stayed with 4 guys I had just met that night. All of these guys were all great and we had a lot of fun trying to stay warm and kill the time before the ball dropped. During this time, people from multiple pizza places were going around and selling whole pizzas. I hadn't had dinner yet so I was a little hungry. Me and the guys decided to buy a pizza and split it between us all. It was the best decision ever. We got something warm to hold and something to eat. It was such a great idea!! Also, after the pizza was gone we put the box on the ground and I was able to stand on the box and take off my heels (it was the best feeling EVER). My feet were beyond hurting by 1030. The cold didn't even bother them, they were actually less cold outside of my shoes than inside.
This was the temperature around 1130, I think. When I got home around 1245 it said it was 18 degrees but feels like 3 so even though it says 19 it probably felt like 4 or 5. It was definitely cold.
These were the people who stuck it out in the cold for the whole 6+ hours.
Making this little circle kept us warm and we had some fun conversations in that little circle.
2 minutes to go...
The countdown begins!!
This is the video of the ball dropping. It was probably the wildest, crazies, most exciting part of my time here in New York City.
This was taken right after the ball dropped.
We all tried to get out of there as soon as possible. I rode the train uptown and got off and hopped in a taxi. I had to wake up in about 5 hours and work the next day so I wanted to get home asap. I was able to get home around 1245. I called my parents and wished them a happy new year. They decided to celebrate with me and went to bed after watching New York ring in the New Year. It was such a memorable night and something that I will tell my kids one day! Even the cold and my sore feet couldn't take that away, they just add to the memories. If you ever find yourself in Times Square for New Year's Eve remember these four key points to get thought the night.
1) Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
2) Know the weather and dress appropriately. If it is going to be cold wear one more layer than you think is necessary and extra socks wouldn't hurt either.
3) Eat and go to the bathroom beforehand or try and get lucky with a pizza guy like we did. Once you are in, there is no going out unless you don't want to come back.
4) Be prepared to be pushed, shoved and basically packed in the sardines.
Great experience but I will NEVER do it again!! Can't wait to ring in the New Year next year back home in WARM Arizona.
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