a magical evening

on thursday i had a pretty big I Love NY moment. i met a friend in the city for some shenanigans. with a little time to kill before shenanigans could properly start, we were wandering around Union Square when we noticed that a lot of the streets were blocked off. police were everywhere.

it was quiet. it was forbidden feeling. it was doomsdayesque. it was the freakin' President!

"President's in town, ladies." a policeman told us when i harangued my friend (okay, it was Ellen) into asking what was going on.

it must have been a fundraiser. lots of people were lined up outside ABC Carpet and Home. the second floor windows on the building were blocked out with butcher paper. all the men waiting to get inside were in suits. all the woman were in ridiculous, six-inch, tottering, um there's no better descriptor for it, stripper heels. no joke. i'll have to remember that when i meet the president.

smart, classy dress? check. fancy coat? check check. gold spiked platform heels? check check check.

the amount of people and planning it took to pull of this one NYC event was mind boggling. at least eight streets were blocked off surrounding the building. i wouldn't have been surprised if there were a hundred extra cops on hand. secret service was roaming and handing out on fire escapes. anytime a rouge bike messenger tried to zip through, he was stopped by a wall of people, being like, "whoa whoa whoa." and the thing is, all this was needed, because it would have been so so easy to do something bad. planning for variables alone must have taken weeks.

still, knowing that Obama was right across the street, in that building right there! lent a huge air of excitement and importance to the evening. how do DC'ers stand it?

everyone was on their best behavior. the police were super polite and gracious, even telling two women protesting some kind of pipeline that perhaps they'd be more comfortable hanging out with the other protesters right down the block.

i'm always amazed by the who's who of people that call NYC home. Bjork lives in Brooklyn Heights? and the ones you sit next to in restaurants. hello Jay Z. but the President? that's a whole other level. and for an evening, even NY'ers couldn't pretend disinterest.

i know, my photos aren't great. this is
people watching from all the windows.