Waiting for the Ball to Drop

Ever wanted to be standing in Time Square, New York on New Year’s Eve, waiting for the ball to drop? Wishing you could have that perfect moment as the clock strikes midnight. The romance and magic that the movies show, have us all believing in the possibilities of what the new year will bring. This was my New York minute and how I managed to get extremely lucky.

I was in New York with my bestie to bring in the new year (2019). We had spent new years eve day exploring the city and were getting ready to go out that night. We had bought tickets to a party at HBO - right off Times Square.

We decided we’d wait, as the party didn’t start until late, so we ended up leaving our hotel a little after 9pm.

Now for those of you who know anything about new years eve in New York, know that the roads get shut down and people start lining up early in Time Square to prepare for midnight.

Upon leaving our hotel, we weren’t really prepared for all the road blocks we were about to face.

The first road block we came across was still nowhere near where we needed to be. Police were standing guard, and the queue to get through was huge.

In that very moment, we thought that there was no way we were getting to the party in time.

My bestie decided that we were not lining up and she went straight to the front of the line and called over one of the officers. She explained that we were just wanting to pass through to get to the party. So it was super lucky that we came prepared with printed tickets, he checked them out and after a moment of agonizing silence, he handed them back, opened the barrier and let us through. We couldn’t believe it. The people in the long line up behind us looked annoyed. I wonder how many of them actually made it in time to see the ball drop, I’m guessing probably half didn’t… judging by how long the queue was.

This was the first road block of many. We did the same each time, we’d show our tickets and every time they’d let us through. I think some of the officers just didn’t know what to do, so they passed us off to the next lot. Lucky for us, we inched ever closer to our destination.

Then… we made it.

We couldn’t believe we had made it. Someone or something must have been watching over us.

We got in to the party with an hour and a half to spare. We checked in our coats. Drinks were free and there were several dance floors crowded with people. We had the option to go and watch some HBO movies for free, but because we arrived so late, any movie we were interested in would have been playing through the ball drop, and there was no way we were going to miss out.

We had some drinks, danced a lot, and met some cool new people. We ended up hanging out with a friendly couple from New Zealand, and at ten minutes to midnight, everyone started filing out of the building and down to the street.

We headed down to coat check to grab our coats as it was raining outside.

Five minutes to go and… THEY HAD LOST OUR COATS!

How was that even a thing? After all we’d been through, this was not happening. But before I really had a chance to react. My bestie, as courageous as she is, pushed past them despite their protests and went and found them herself.

Two minutes.

We were running at this point, down the escalators and out the doors. We had about twenty seconds to spare. Enough time to grab our phones and look up to start filming.

Now, what we didn’t realise is how slow the ball actually drops. It doesn’t fall from top to bottom in ten seconds. The count down only starts when it is ten seconds from the bottom, it actually takes a full minute and is super anti-climatic. With all the movies I had watched, even from just watching the ball drop on TV, I had built it up into this huge magical moment, but in reality, my bestie and I were freezing and wet from the rain, just standing in a sea of strangers who all seemed really underwhelmed. The comments from people around us even stated as much.

“Is that it?” they called.

But we didn’t really care. Yes it wasn’t as good as we’d hoped, but we had travelled half way around the world to see this event. An event which is cherished year after year, and by so many people world wide.

Considering the circumstances and all we had been through that night, I realized it wasn’t really about those ten seconds leading to the new year. It was all of the experiences along the way. Maybe having a magical moment with a stranger or a loved one at the strike of midnight would have added to the ambience, so if the circumstances had been different, maybe my night could have played out like a hallmark movie.

Although that didn’t happen me.

Regardless, I can truly say that I am blessed to have had the opportunity to travel, to see these incredible sights and live these amazing experiences. and the best part is I got to enjoy it all with my best friend, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.