Without music life would be a mistake

Day One: Where Cat travels to NYC

1.1 What a lucky Cat I am to be traveling to New York for my work.

As I sit here in Terminal 3, sipping a vanilla soy latte, listening to the Today programme (extracts of an exchange from yesterday’s PMQs… my goodness Ed Miliband’s voice is nasal and whiny, and *today* he tries to woo Lib Dems? Ha!), I thought: Ohhh, blog it!

Armed with two cameras and a laptop I should be able to muster some serious eye candy, after all the ‘ole USA is one of the most gorgeous countries in the playground. So, a pinch of social commentary, hardcore photography, mid-term insider gossip (*squee*), confessions of a vegan, and interpretive dance is to be expected over the next ten days. I’ll update a couple of times a day if I can, with new, exciting, very poignant and thoughtful pieces

Turn on, Tune in and Cop out (I’m totally going to be walking to the beat of this down past the Flatiron on my way to work later today).

1.2 Somewhere between London and New York I managed to arrive 90 minutes late for my first meeting. The causes for this were multiple; late landing, the choice of shuttle over taxi, the inability to check into my hotel which was very inconveniently located…

But! I am in NYC. It is such a deeply iconic city, so full of clichés its overwhelmingly familiar. My lateness didn’t phase the guy I’m working with here. He wanted a new Air, so we took our business meeting to the streets of NY, marching through Chelsea to the Meatpacking district where we touched pretty things at the Apple Store. The new Air is cute by the way, real cute.

Dinnertime was where its really at. On the discovery of my covert veganism, restaurant reservations were changed from a Mexican place next to the office on Fifth to a vegetarian place in West Village. Portobello mushrooms with soft sweet potato and sultanas, sticky sour citrus seitan with brown soy bean rice, kale with agave toasted walnuts, beetroot and fine seaweed and crispy hand rolls. I wish I’d taken some pictures. The food tasted incredible.

On my way back to the hotel strong smells of Thai food mixed with fresh laundry, pumpkins nestled in door frames and step nooks and sirens wailed in the distance.

New York is pretty great.

Cyndi Lauper - my lady crush

For this reason, and this, and the legendarily awesome this.