"Ornament" - Settings: ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/50 sec, 100mm macro lens

I seem to be in the holiday spirit with my photos lately.  There are just so many shiny pretty things around I can’t help myself!  I actually took this photo yesterday at the Hilton on East 42nd Street.  My girl Faye was in town, staying at the Hilton for work and we got to spend a little time together.  We ate lunch at Calico Jacks – a sort of crappy midtown Mexican place, as it was right across the street from her hotel.  It was quite a trip down memory lane.

When I first moved to the city back in August of 2001, I worked at Calico Jacks as a waitress for about a year.  Every Saturday morning I would wake up and stumble over the three blocks from my apartment in the New York Towers building on 39th street and set up the restaurant for lunch.  The smell of cleaning solution mixed with Friday night’s alcohol and cigarette smoke was not exactly pleasant and would usually make me gag a little.  I’d work from eleven in the morning until around eleven at night, at which point my friends would come meet me and I’d be able to hook them up with free drinks.  It was actually quite fun – even though it was pretty much a big frat party and I was working between two and three jobs at the time.  I always liked being around food and I was stimulated by the hustle and bustle that goes along with working in a restaurant.  In fact, I still think I enjoyed waitressing more than advertising sales.

Anyway, stepping foot in that restaurant yesterday brought me right back… as if I entered a time warp.  Awww… little twenty-two year-old Nell.  I was so excited to be in New York City – wide-eyed and ready for adventure!  It’s amazing that it was almost a decade ago!  Sheesh!  What were you doing ten years ago??