New Years in the Big Apple

Hey everyone! Just got back from the Big Apple for new years and let me tell you, it was craaaaaazy. Subways, pizza, taxis - this is the city that NEVER SLEEPS (okay, so I caved in my first night and got some shut eye. The big apple takes some getting used to, ya know?). It's like Jay-Z and Kanye said, "New York - these streets will make you feel brand new, these light will inspire you" (Empire State of Mind). I knew I was in for a wild ride when I first stepped on the subway and there was a guy SLEEPING....ON THE SUBWAY. Are you kidding me? Toto, we're not in Athens anymore. No, we certainly are not. We're in the big apple baby.

So my parents asked me and my brother Trent the first thing we wanted to do when we got there. See the Empire State Building? Nope. Go to Chinatown? Not right now. Catch a Yankees game? FAHGETABOUTIT! We wanna get some pizza....New York Style! So we went to a nearby pizza shop called Lil' Tony's and grabbed some slices. I challenged Trent to an eating competition (I'm the pizza eating king! Some of my friends back home call me "Blake the Pizza Man."), but my parents didn't let us because we were in public and we didn't want to look like tourists (I agree, this is why I had my Yankees hat and Derek Jeter jersey on). When eating pizza in nyc, it's important to fold the pizza in half length-wise if you want to raise street cred.

Next up? The Statue of Liberty, of course. Now, for those of you who aren't history buffs, Lady Liberty was given to the U.S. as a gift for our help in the French and Indian War. (AMERICA! F*** YEAH! LOL!) We had to take a ferry all the way out to see the statue, but it was definitely worth the trip (even though I was freezing on the ferry and thought I was going to get hypothermia!). The view from up there is amazing and it really makes you realize how big the city is.

We then made our way to the Empire State Building. Now, I had heard a rumor that if you threw a penny off of the Empire State Building you would put a huge hole in the ground. I wanted to try this, but unfortunately when we got up there, there were signs saying that it was illegal to throw anything off the building. I was in no mood to spend new years eve in jail, so I kept my change in my pocket where it belongs. Trent called me a chicken, but what does he know? He's still in HIGH SCHOOL for crying out loud. I'm not a chicken, I just respect the law - especially when it's being enforced by the one and the only NYPD.

Despite the pizza and the sightseeing, the highlight of the trip was Times Square on New Year's Eve. You wouldn't believe how many people were there waiting for the big ball to drop. There had to be at least 10 million. A lot of them didn't speak English, which started to get really annoying, but then I remember what Brad always tells me: you have to be accepting of others and try to understand where they come from. He's right. I need to work on that. I need to work on a lot of things. Standing there in the big apple with my loved ones watching the ball drop made me realized how blessed I am and how kick butt my life is. I have an amazing family, awesome friends, the most radical blog on the net, and the most radical blog readers on the net (you guys rule!). It's a new year, and while it's a time to reflect on our memories from 2012, both good and bad, it is also a time to look forward to the year to come. I have a list of new year's resolutions that I'm going to try out and I'll be sure to post them later this week.

As Arnold Schwarzenegger once said "I'll be back." Hope everyone had a great holiday and I can't wait to hear about it in the comment section (nothing inappropriate please!)

Question of the day: What's your new years resolution?