Happy Thursday Friends! Tim and I are hoping 2014 will be an incredible year for us and we thought what a better way to start it out than celebrating New Years Eve in Times Square!
pic via New York Daily News
We generally have a low key New Years Eve, but that is always do to lack of planning and not a desire to forgo the craziness that should obviously occur on such a momentus night! I’m the type of gal who wants to be out dancing, and surrounded by tons of people on a night like that. I know plenty of people who would rather stay home or keep it a quiet evening with just a few friends. I however, have always been the one glued to the TV, watching Ryan Seacrest broadcast live from Times Square, wishing I was there. It’s been on my bucket list to be in Times Square on New Years Eve ever since I can remember.
When you go to NYC, you realize that most New Yorkers scoff at the thought of being anywhere near the square on New Years Eve. Such a touristy thing to do. Whateves….let them be too cool! I’m totally into it! 😉 I was thrilled to be a part of the “caos” that would ensue. For me, there is something about sharing a moment with a million (yes, there were supposedly a million people in Times Square for the night) strangers. I like the idea of being a part of/experiencing a iconic moment that people all over the world know about. So, are you curious about our experience? Well, let me tell you about it.
We did some research a few days before NYE and found out that police would begin blocking off roads to Times Square around 3. So we needed to be in the area by that time to make it through the security check point and be sure to claim a spot for the festivities that night. I have always wondered how they keep things safe for this iconic event. It seemed that a lot of precautions were taken, one of which was welding all the man hole covers on the street shut a couple of days before the event.
Besides knowing to get to Times Square early, we also heard that there would be no bathrooms, no alcohol allowed, and no leaving the designated area unless you didn’t want to come back. For that reason, we stuffed our pockets full of protein/energy bars, a bottle of coke, and an extra phone battery (because what else was going to keep us entertained if not social media during our 9 hour wait for the ball to drop!?).
Tim’s Instagram post during our wait…
Although we were told there would be no food options, the McDonalds in the square was open (selling burgers at quadruple the original prices). However, monitoring food and liquid intake was pretty critical if we wanted to make it until 12 with no need for a bathroom break! I was pretty nervous that the wait could be miserable due to the frigid temps, so we also packed “hot hands” to help keep things bearable.
As we met up with our friends and approached the entry area to Times Square, things got very tight. I mean, like “if I didn’t have four layers of clothing on, it could have been really awkward” tight. People were literally pushing up against each other as the giant mass bottle-necked into the entrance where the police checked every indiviual with metal detectors. The crowd was like a moving river at this point with certain “currents” of pushing people causing loved ones to get seperated if you weren’t careful. This sounds kind of awful and a little scary, but it really wasn’t. I was literally laughing at the whole situation and it was kind of fun to be so close with a giant group of strangers all wanting to experience the same momentus event. If you ever decide to take this adventure on your own, you definitely want to go with a carefree, I’m ok with getting “fresh” with multiple people attitude. Haha! 😉
pic via New York Daily News
Once we made it through security, things opened up quite a bit and you could head in couple of different directions. The police have areas sectioned off with metal barriers and only a certain amount of people are allowed into each area. So, this is the point where it’s important to claim your space. I can handle being hugged up on for a few hours…..but 9? Not happening. So, I did my best wonder woman impression- hands on my hips, feet spread wide, and a determined look on my face. And I managed to hold my ground for quite a while with that approach. Also, they had music playing over the loud speakers during most of the wait, so my dance moves cleared some space for our little group too! 😉 After a while though, I really didn’t mind people being pretty close. My need for personal space was diminshed for a day. I think it was really the body heat that saved me from being miserably cold during the event. And I’d much rather be a little crowded than crazy cold!
If I had one piece of advice as far as making it through the 9 hour wait (besides Depends, haha!), it would be to go with a group of people that you love. Although I love hanging out with Tim alone, this is the type of event you want to attend with a group of best friends! Playing silly little games, having random (but fun) conversations, messing with the people around you is so much more fun with a group! We were lucky to have friends that were also insane enough to head to Times Square for the New Year’s Eve madness, so the time went by much more quickly than I expected!
Here’s a pic Tim took of me during our wait…
I put it on Instagram with the hashtag #pricelessnewyear and a few minutes later it was up on a big screen in the middle of Times Square! Kind of a fun thing for a girl who grew up in small town Arkansas!
Around 8 we no longer had to entertain ourselves as different acts started to do sound checks. We were serenaded by Blondie, Melissa Etheridge, Icona Pop, Macklemore, the wrecking ball diva- Miley Cyrus, and more. My favorite part of the night was probably when Tim yelled “We want Billy Ray!!!” as Miley was walking up onto the stage! “Achy Breaky Heart ” anyone! Haha. 🙂
pic via New York Daily News
pic via New York Daily News
We were in a pretty fabulous location sitting in between the two stages set up for the night. We started the day quite a bit back from the front, but by the end of the night (with a few snazzy/stelth maneuvers) we made it all the way to the front and were standing along the metal barrier! That meant all the celebs were walking right in front of us to get to the stage! In fact, based on the location of the McDonald’s, we are right behind Miley in this picture I found on the internet.
pic via New York Daily News
Here’s our location at the beginning of the night….
And at the end of the night….
So close, right!?
Generally, I’m the type that likes to play it cool when the stars roll by….but I did think it was fun to be so close to famous people. To entertain ourselves and excite/confuse the French family standing beside us, Tim started yelling out random celebrity names as similar looking (but “unimportant”) people walked by. According to Tim- Sinbad, Jennifer Lopez, and Queen Latifah were all present at the NYE activities. PS- Do you think we are complete dorks yet?…..I knew we couldn’t hide it for long.
We didn’t really care to try and get the attention of too many of the celebrities, but when we spotted Ray Dalton (who sings the chorus in Macklamore’s “Can’t Hold Us” song) we were pretty pumped! You might remember that Ray wore one of Tim’s wooden bow ties at the MTV movie awards this past year, so the personal connection made us much more interested! We were able to get Ray’s attention and say hello, so it made the night that much better. So fun!
pic via New York Daily News
Ray at the MTV music awards….
Then it finally came time for the confetti to fall! PS- did you know that some of the confetti pieces have people’s dreams for the new year written on them? Apparently a few weeks before the ball drop you can go to some building in NYC and write your wishes on the confetti pieces that will be used for the big night! I love this idea and totally would have contributed if I would have known before hand. I love the idea of dreams being launched into the electrifying atmosphere of Times Square (the city where dreams are made according to Jay-Z) on New Years Eve……although the inspiring analogy kind of falls flat as the confetti/dreams are trampled on and trashed at the end of the night. Haha, oh well- Let’s just choose to focus on the launching of the dreams, shall we!?
Anyway, the countdown came, the confetti fell, the kiss was lovely, and the moment was quite magical. I l-o-v-e-d it! I tried to take mental pictures while also capturing the scene on camera. Imagine a million people, from all over the world, huddled together for 9 hours, finally celebrating the iconic moment they had all dreamed of experiencing. There was something quite wonderful about it. Then the typical NYE songs- Auld Lang Syne and “New York, New York, played over the loud speakers while everyone took pictures and relished the closing minutes of the event ………. then the mass exodus began.
pic via New York Daily News
(AP Photo/Tina Fineberg) found here
Although this experience may not be on everyone’s bucket list, I am so glad I did it! And, unlike most, I would do it again with right group of people! I loved kicking off 2014 by crossing this experience off my bucket list and hopefully it only means this year is going to be one for the Paslay family history books! ‘Til tomorrow y’all!