The day of my first job interview in New York was steamy but overcast, so my gray wool suit would make feel only 50 degrees hotter instead of 100.
I had smoothed out my shirt and suit the night before on my bed at the YMCA with my travel iron. I also touched up my burgundy penny loafers with a little Vaseline for extra shine. Before I left, I even dabbed a little Polo Ralph Lauren cologne on my neck.
Head held high, I walked out of the Y with The World's Heaviest Briefcase just like a New Yorker. The kaleidoscope of storefronts and taxis on 34th Street was beginning to feel familiar to me.
I stopped at a cart for a $1 raisin bagel that nearly splattered my silk tie with cream cheese when I bit into it. I scarfed down the rest of the bagel, leaning out over the curb to avoid a wardrobe crisis.
PR agency Grant, Townsend, Frost and Osborne (GTFO) was downtown on 5th Avenue, near 15th Street. I knew I had to tackle the subway soon, but I wasn't ready that day. What if I got lost and was late for my first interview in New York? The agency was only 19 blocks away, then three avenues over. Yes, better to walk and get the lay of the land so I could become an expert on my new town.
But only four blocks in, each arm ached from carrying The World's Heaviest Briefcase. I had emptied half of its contents in my room, but it hadn't helped. How do people carry these? The day was young but thick humidity had already licked by brows and soaked my pits. The blocks between avenues were a hell of a lot longer than the distance between streets. A half-hour later, I was in front of the right building, drenched, out-of-breath and 45 minutes early.
I kept walking until I found a Wendy's. Air conditioning! I got a Coke to wait out the time and air out body parts. Thank God I was wearing that cologne.
Photo: Pixabay/RaviKrishnappa
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