NYC PE Meetup (Dec 28, 2011) – Pictures and Afterthought

New York PE meetup, Dec 28, 2011

The NYC meetup went ahead as planned, and it was a lovely meetup! A *BIG* thank you to everyone who turned up! ;)

As opposed to the past meetups in London, this time we had a cosy gathering of 8 people, which allowed for more personal discussions. :D Despite it being arranged at the last minute (only 3 days before the meetup), plus on New Year’s Eve to boot leaving most people unavailable, it was a very positive turnout! Our group was pretty diverse, with people from New Jersey, Washington DC, Spain – and even as far as from Hong Kong!! Below are some pictures I took for the day.

We met at Angelica’s Kitchen, a popular vegan restaurant in downtown Manhattan

Interior of the restaurant

Everyone settling down

Deep in discussion

Sandy and Camille – International exchange students from Hong Kong!

Dillon and Meredith, who took the bus from DC all the way to NYC (4+ hour ride!). Dearest Meredith provided me with a place to stay and was such a fantastic host to me while I was in DC in Nov. Thank you so much once again, Meredith! :D

Lena (from Spain), Jodi and Dan!

Me, Sandy and Camille

Recent PE reader Sandy was so sweet to get me a gift, and a very thoughtful one, at that! A bottle of maple syrup (see below). This maple syrup will come in very handy as a condiment for my food. Thank you so much, dear Sandy! ♥♥

Pure Maple Syrup, premium product by Gould Farm, a non-profit organization for people with mental illnesses.

Dillon, Meredith and Me

Final group shot – Lena, Jodi, Dan and Me

All of us hung out for a couple of hours, had a great time getting to know each other better, before exchanging contacts and setting off for the evening for our individual countdowns to 2012.

Sandy and Camille headed to Times Square; Lena, Jodi and Dan headed for the church; Meredith and Dillon hung out around downtown Manhattan, while I went to Brooklyn for a friend’s house party, before finally counting down with my friends on the Brooklyn Bridge and getting to see some exciting fireworks. ;)

View of the Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn Bridge, plus fireworks from the countdown ;) (presumably at Times Square)

It’s now Jan 1, 2012 (Jan 2 as of the time of writing). Here’s to an *EXCITING* 2012 everyone! :D NYC has been an amazing city, but I guess it’s now time to move on to the next destination in my travels. Next up – Los Angeles! Hope to have a meetup too while I’m there? See you guys soon! ;)

Update Jan 15, 2012: I’ve since arrived in LA and conducted a Los Angeles Meetup! Read: PE Los Angeles Meetup (Jan 14, 2012) – Pictures and Afterthought!

(Images: Personal Excellence)