On Saturday, I had to work in NYC again. It was supposed to be a 70th birthday party for some billionaire dude. I thought to myself: 70th birthday party? Must be some boring gig for a bunch of old people...
That afternoon, I rushed to Gotham Hall at 14:30 only to find out when I got there that our call time was 13:30 instead!
When I got to the backroom where we usually leave our coats and bags, the whole place was a blur of activity. Every single one of the eighty or so waiters had to get hair and makeup done for this event.
We also had to get manicures so the guests wouldn't see crusty nails serving them wine. Most of the staff were guys and they were quite tickled by the fact that it was their first "official" manicure.Manhattan Transfer is one of my favourite bands because my dad always plays their CD when we were hanging out. As a result, I grew up loving their songs and their CD still remains as one of my top 10 most frequently played (if only my car stereo wasn't broken).
Listening to them belt out those childhood classics really brought back a lot of beautiful memories. It made me wish that my dad were there to enjoy the performance with me. It was also probably one of the only times in my life that I'd come close to being starstruck. I just couldn't believe that the same people who sang those songs in my radio were singing LIVE in front of my eyes! Not only that, but they sounded great live- completely in tune and in harmony; they were such a great pleasure to listen to.
Earth, Wind & Fire's songs are generally recognisable by most people at our age, but it was my mom's favourite when I was growing up so I had to listen to it... A LOT. To hear those songs again also brought back memories of better days past.
Because the party was retro-themed, the girls had obiang makeup and hairstyles. In this picture, I have about fifty bobby pins sticking in my hair and close to no blood circulation in my forehead area thanks to the headbands.The night sort of flew by in general because I was actually enjoying the performances and wasn't too focused on watching the clock.
But by the time the party ended around 01:00, we had to go through the nightmare of breaking down the entire event floor and didn't get done until about 02:45.
Impatiently waiting to be let off by our bosses to go home.
One last glance into the main hall.Gotham Hall is a really interesting building, being that it used to be a bank in the early 1900s. Now, it is used as an event space for billionaire birthday parties. fashion shows and concerts among other things.
As I left work, I reflected on how I'd prayed that God would go ahead of me to remove any obstacles and to help me gain favour with my bosses and coworkers. I prayed this prayer because I had to work with one of the (in my opinion) stricter and meaner bosses that night and was kind of worried as to how he would catch me screwing up at my work. Instead, he actually shook my hand and told me what a nice job I did at the end! I was so shocked that I think I forgot to smile while I was saying thank you.
Not only that, but the girl that was trying to get me at one of the past jobs was working last night too but I managed to steer clear of her throughout the entire night and everything went swimmingly well.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, GOD!!! You always know what I need and You never fail to show up when I need Your help the most!
I hate having to take the late trains back to New Jersey, especially on Friday or Saturday nights because that usually means that I'm the only sober person in the entire carriage. I'm not even exaggerating right now...
Being surrounded by so many delirious people shouting curse words, talking about sex, drugs and everything disgusting always makes me feel like I'm Will Smith in the movie I Am Legend; you know, where he lives in a post-apocalyptic New York City that's overrun by cannibalistic zombies? Yeah, I literally felt like I was surrounded by cannibalistic zombies. I think it's how the drunk men were staring at all the women in the train. God knows what they're thinking... Probably not good thoughts since most of the girls were smashed themselves and dressed seductively.
I prayed before I left work, while I was walking to the train, while I was waiting for the train, while I was sitting on the train, while I was about to leave the train... you get the idea.
At every point of the journey home, I always had the creepy feeling that something evil was watching me from every direction and was just waiting for an opportunity to prey on me. And that's why I knew that I needed to pray for God's protection over me. Needless to say, God did protect me and I got home safely, which is always a miracle in itself, considering that I live in a ghetto area.
I got home around 04:00 and passed out completely for two hours when my alarm rang and I had to get up to drive to church in Pennsylvania.
To be honest, I had a really big struggle with myself this morning about whether I wanted to keep on sleeping or drive to church. Just the thought of the two hour long drive itself scared me. I thought about how little I'd slept and began thinking of other alternatives to going to Pennsylvania. But ultimately, God won. I knew that if I didn't go to church today, I'd be seriously missing out on something. I didn't want to start off the upcoming week on a wrong foot.
Once again, God was merciful and granted me a safe and swift journey back.
When the first song = "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship" started, I didn't know why but I just felt so glad in my heart. So glad that I started tearing up! I knew that God was pleased and I was so grateful to be in His presence this morning. I didn't even know I needed it that much.
When the song ended, I realised why I felt so extra happy- there was going to be a baptism service! By the time the eight or so baptisms were over, I just felt so overwhelmed by the testimonies and joy of the occasion that I couldn't keep from crying throughout the entire service. I knew and felt deeply moved in my heart that God was there among us- loving, teaching, guiding and smiling.
Come to think of it, I did ask God recently to give me a heart of gratefulness and He definitely did that today. He's so awesome!
It's pretty cool that I received a gift that said "The Lord goes before you and will be with you." (Deuteronomy 31:8) on it today, especially after such a weekend.
Ok. Time for bed.
Track practice at 07:30 tomorrow morning. Whee!
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