Getting Lost in New York!

I consider myself an adventurous wedding and portrait photographer as I love to try new things and go to new places all the time. Photography grants me the opportunity to not only hang with people (which I LOVE) but also travel and try new things. New York was Awesome in spite of me almost having to sleep on the streets. WHAT?? How did that happen?? Let me explain. While I was in New York around Times Square, I was on such a high- meeting couples and having mini sessions that I didn’t pay attention to the battery life on my phone. Once it was past midnight and I checked, I was at 5% and with no charger! Mind you, I still needed to get to the Bronx and was told to take the subway. A little nervous but still super psyched, I asked multiple people for directions before boarding the subway. I was going to be getting off around 151st street and when we reached 80 something, the conductor announced the train would not be going past 90th street due to underground construction! “What?” I said. What was I suppose to do as I was about to end up in the middle of a city I didn’t know with no phone and mid you, it was past midnight. I pictured myself getting cozy in the corner of a building or finding a nice homeless person who would show me what to do!. I immediately asked a couple of people in the subway what they would do and they said to get out right away as the neighborhoods were unsafe where the train was going to stop. I got off, walked around a bit and luckily found a juice bar who directed me to a small convenient store that allowed me to use their charger for my phone. While waiting, someone gave me the idea of using UBER -something I had never done on my own. I uploaded the app, requested an UBER and waiting in the store as I was still charging my phone. Then I got a call from my UBER driver saying to come outside as he was right outside the store. I walk outside and a van pulls up, opens the door and says, “Do you need a ride?” I respond yes, and get inside. The man was Asian and spoke very little English. I asked if he had my address and he pointed to his GPS which wasn’t in English which left me a little confused. A couple of minutes into my ride I get a call from UBER and when I answer, it’s my driver asking me where was I. I told him, “I’m in your car.” and that’s when it hit me. Right away I grab the door handle and in a firm voice say, “You need to open this door right away!” The man tells me something in another language and I repeat myself until he pulls over and lets me out. At that point, I run back toward the store I came from, try to call UBER and pray the store is still open as I have to charge my phone back up since it’s at 3%! Thankfully, the store was open, I get in and while charging my phone request another UBER. This time I made sure to check the car and driver and all was good. My driver was AMAZING and waited until I was inside my house before taking off. Lesson learned-charge my phone, keep a charger with me and check out my driver’s info before getting in the car! It could of all been scarier but I was still super pumped from my photo sessions I had earlier that day. Regrets? NO WAY! Thank you New York for being so amazing. I’ll be back soon!