The Sacrificial Mitten

Sometimes, there are things in life that are just meant to happen, and much though you might try to change the course of destiny, you can't.

I lost my mitten again. I'm pretty sure it's gone for good this time. You see, I left it in a cab in New York City on my way from LaGuardia Airport to my hotel. And I'm okay with it being gone, for two reasons. First of all, that mitten obviously longed to be free, and I was oppressing it by forcing it to live in my pocket. It was obviously an adventure-seeking mitten, and I was lucky to get an extra two years of mitten-y love after it made a break for it a few years back.

And second of all, it became clear over the course of the week that the mitten was my sacrifice to the gods of New York City. And based on the rest of my trip, they deemed my sacrifice worthy.

I flew out on Friday the 13th, and was a little nervous that some horrible disaster would befall me as a result. I got held up in traffic thanks to a billboard that fell on the bridge, and lost my mitten, and it felt like an inauspicious start to the whole thing. Fortunately, things turned around on Saturday. I got up early and rode the Staten Island Ferry out past the Statue of Liberty, then wandered around Canal Street. (I bought some replacement mittens with flip tops for better tweeting.)

The rest of the day was equally pleasant, with several hours spent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, delicious dinner with my cousin and his girlfriend, and a truly stunning view from the top of the Empire State Building. Sure, it's kind of a tourist trap, but it's one for a reason. Plus, it was cold, so there weren't any lines. (It's always good to be a hardy Canadian in these situations.)

The hardy Canadianism was most required on Sunday morning. It was windy as hell and the temperature dropped quite a bit, but I got up first thing, put on pretty much all the layers I had, and headed down to the Eugene O'Neill theatre to wait in line for standing room at The Book of Mormon. They sell 28 spots an hour before the show for $27, and I decided I was willing to wait five hours in the cold.

Two hours before the show, they do a draw for the rush tickets, which are the handful of seats they reserve for a lottery. I'd guess that about 200 people entered the draw, including all 30 or so people in the standing room line. 15 people got tickets.

I was one of them.

So we ended up with box seats to the hardest-to-see show in town. We went from there to dinner featuring the greatest cheesecake I've ever eaten, then on to Mary Poppins. (If you would like to experience theatrical whiplash, see those two shows back to back.)

The mitten karma carried through to Monday, where I found a pair of jeans so perfect that I took two pairs up to the cash register, only to discover they were 40% off. That night I saw Avenue Q, which I knew was going to be awesome from the very first song, "What Do You Do With a B.A. in English?" (I have a B.A. in English.)

On Tuesday, the weather was kind of mediocre, but I put up with it to check out Top of the Rock and nerd out in the NBC store. (I was torn as to whether the Community, Parks and Recreation, or Friday Night Lights section was most awesome.) Then I headed over to Hell's Kitchen to get into line again, this time to see a Daily Show taping.

It took up most of the afternoon, but it was super-cool to see behind the scenes, especially since I wasn't sure I'd be able to get tickets on such short notice. From there we had a staggeringly delicious dinner, and thanks to Restaurant Week, it was $35 for our three course dinner instead of $150.

So sure, I lost my mitten. But I spent five near-perfect days in New York City, and I'd sacrifice a dozen mittens for the weekend I just had. Besides, now I get to knit myself some new mittens. That's not so bad, right?

Have you ever had one of those trips where everything just worked out? If you're planning one right now, consider packing a sacrificial mitten. If it's to New York, let me know and I'll fill you in on my Book of Mormon and Daily Show ticket-acquiring tips. And if you take a cab while you're there, keep an eye out for a red and white mitten with a bird on the thumb.