Everything short of a sailboat

Two cars, four trains, and some oh so necessary Taco Bell later, I made it back to New York, finals free and relaxation ready -- just in time for the blizzard that is currently blanketing Long Island with fluffy, plan-canceling snow. But Brooklyn terrace parties and roof top mingling with D-list celebrities aside, my trip back to the isla larga was fairly eventful. Here are some highlights from the epic journey:

Car ride #1: JT drove her silver Chevy Equinox, which will henceforth be referred to as Mikey, by the way. JT played too much country music. JT wore and communicated via a blue tooth ear piece. I made fun of the blue tooth ear piece, text message-confirmed plans to ski down Stonehill's Donahue Hill, perfected my performance of the gibberish-sounding part of GaGa's Bad Romance, and wished NB a Happy Hanukkah. (NB acknowledged the fact that she's my token Jewish friend. Awwwwwwww.) Best of all, though, when JT made the necessary switch from country classics to radio show-stoppers, Empire State of Mind came on Z100, just seconds before we traversed the Connecticut-New York Border. We sang along as the Concrete Jungle welcomed us home.

Train ride #1: Upon the MetroNorth from Croton-Harmon station in Westchester County, Grand Central Terminal bound, I sat alongside Christian Siriano's voice twin. Take that as you wish. It was nothing short of amazing. Though his voice twin wasn't nearly as stylish as Project Runway's favorite tranny, he was still pretty flipping fabulous! I also passed Ossining Station and felt like I was Don Draper, fresh from an extramarital tryst. It made me feel a lot more glamorous. (And for the record, I just had to sing "Glamorous" in my head to spell that right... Come on, my brain is FRIED!)

Train ride #2: I'm a Penn Station gal through and through, but HOT DAMN: Grand Central looks GORGEOUS around the holidays. I almost took a picture of the decorations, but had to regress: I already looked like enough of a tourist with a Vera Bradley duffel on one arm, and a Vineyard Vines tote on the other, despite the fact that I was donning my ferociously chic, yet slightly lumberjack-esque, Italian leather boots. (I felt so Serena van der Woodsen, circa the first episode of Gossip Girl!) And yeah, I made it to the Times Square shuttle alright. Obviously, it was not on time.

Train Ride #3: Times Square Station at 9:30 PM. Mad dash to the downtown 123 train. Squeezed in just in time. Sat next to a he-she wearing an eye patch. Enough said. I surprisingly wasn't pick-pocketed, despite the fact that my wallet was pretty visibly snatchable in Manhattan's busiest subway stop. Note to self: improve money-guarding capabilities. You shop and spend too much to make "donations" to NYC's less-than-stellar, Artful Dodger-emulating characters.

Train Ride #4: Ah, the good ol' Long Island Railroad. Ah, good ol' policy activity in Jamaica station. Hey, at least I didn't sleep through the drama... ;-)

Car ride #2: Dad was waiting for me as I got off the train. I sat shotgun as we drove the treacherous two blocks home together.

So there you have it: I took everything short of a sailboat to get home. We'll see if anything blog-worthy comes up while I'm snowed in for the nest few days...