Week 656 AZ - Layoffs and NYC w/Ammon

This has been a crazy two weeks. First of all, on Wednesday Meta had its first layoffs ever, and I had my first experience going through layoffs and a giant re-organization where I’d be working on completely new things with a completely new boss. Not very fun. Making it worse, I’d planned a trip to NYC months ago with Ammon, and I flew to NYC Friday, just 2 days after layoffs while the team was trying to digest layoffs, and trying to understand what would happen next. As a result even though I was in NYC, I was trying to work a few days a week to help support the team through this difficult time (for them and me).

This begs the question how did I end up going to NYC with my bestie Ammon? 6 months ago, Ammon was saying he loves these NYC trips where he sees 14 shows in 7 days, but his wife Elise and his kids find them overwhelming and he has to go alone. I’m like “Well, I can work from the Facebook office in NYC, and seeing some shows will be fun”. (Not nearly as many shows as Ammon though). We decided back then to book the week before Thanksgiving.

Before we get into the NYC leg of the trip, lets see some pictures of the things that matter most to me in my life (kids, and Tori, but she likes to stay private).

You might recognize the roller skating rink shot - finally got back there as well!

As I mentioned, I had to work from NYC. A pretty amazing place. First I worked on the plane using my iPad (Gosh I LOVE doing that), then the food in NYC cafeteria was amazing, and that lunch can only be beat by the view on the 81st floor (If you look very closely that’s actually the statue of liberty):

Ammon and I did some tourist stuff, time square, the statue of liberty and appreciating subway art:

We saw some plays and musicals - Harry Potter (likely the best play I’ll see in my life - OMG, amazing!), Beetle Juice, a pretty fun play ( I wonder if Amelia will dig it), and Kimberly Akimbo (a very odd dark play, that I think I’d recommend).

We also saw 3 comedy shows - 1 was aweful, which we should have expected given we got the tickets from comedians who were selling the tickets on the street, 1 was incredibly funny, the closing act was an improv musical, and I’m still singing the melody “Itty, bitty balls”, amazing such lasting power, and the last was medium, I don’t even remember what it was about.

We saw 2 magic shows (Asi Wind’s inner circle, and Monday Night Magic) and visited the amazing Tannon’s magic. Tannon’s is a magic shop since 1925, and it feels like it’s a in a hidden location in an apartment building. Felt like I was a part of history.

But, best part of magic, I restarted doing magic (I have not been doing it in a while, long story) … After the comedy and magic shows I ended up doing magic in line for Pizza. For the one drink girl I did a magic trick, she put the card in her bra, which always makes male magicians happy. For the other in line magic trick I did, it was a sober policer officer, and I thought I messed up the trick, except she just wrote her name, really, really small. Live and learn!

But, even more best of all, when I opened my suit case, I realized I’d packed a balloon pump (well technically I had never unpacked it), and right off the air plane I made a balloon for a kid, and they lit right up. With that, I basically did balloons daily, and I figured out a way to carry my balloon pump in my pants.

Oh, BTW, balloon pumps ( and grip trainers) almost always get scrutinized by security. I don’t quite have the courage to say it’s a sex toy, even though that’s what it looks like.

Lastly, I did OK, but not great, on my health and biking. I ignored my advice to get a gym membership, but I did weight myself daily, and on the first few days I went to the hotel gym (PITA as it was in a different hotel, and not great, and I did do some pull ups in central park - though the count is false

After NYC, I flew to Ashland to meet up with the family for another week of almost, but not quite time off

Actually, I guess most important about this week - Thank you Ammon for being my bestie and making my trip to NYC AMAZING!

Have a great day and remember: Layoffs feel crass, but they too shall pass, and being in NYC with your bestie is bad ass - ZiaT