So, New York was awesome. It was one of my best vacations ever. Maybe because I needed it so badly.

I feel kind of like a heel though, because I didn’t tell any of my friends in the city that I was coming. Or that I was in town. Or that I was there and left. It’s not that I didn’t want to see them (I did), I just needed time without anybody, in my favorite city.

And that’s what I got. It was perfect.

To NYC friends: I feel bad. But I’m not sorry. I needed it.

I didn’t have plans, expectations, appointments, deadlines, or timelines. For six days, I had absolutely no agenda whatsoever. What an ideal life. Too bad it’s totally unrealistic.

I was traveling with my good friend, and former boss, Penny (Patrick had school). That was perfect, too. Any description of Penny that I give will definitely not do her justice (Patrick will attest to this), but I’ll try. Penny is every gay man’s perfect best friend. She’s Madonna and Cher rolled into one, with a little Patricia Field and Betsey Johnson thrown in for fun. From studying art and photography at the University of Rome in the ’60s, to designing New York fashion in the ’70s, to styling celebs in the ’80s, and globe-hopping between London, Paris, and New York in the ’90s, the woman has literally done it all and truly is one-of-a-kind. I have no idea why she’s still in Salt Lake City. We met when, during my first week at the TV station, this 50-something size-0 woman (seriously, people) comes screaming up to me because we both have the shame shade (and spiky-cut) of electric blue hair.

You’ve gotta love that.

By the way, my blue grew out (it was a late-teens-experimental-thing; forgive me) and I went back to my natural boring brown. But I digress.

Anyway, Penny and I are close enough to travel very well together, but distant enough to not get on each other’s nerves and to allow each other space without any guilt or hard feelings. Her centered presence was exactly what I needed on this trip.

We slept in late, enjoyed the perfect weather (especially Monday), ate at our favorite Village diners and cafes, shopped, and walked, walked, walked. Sometimes we chatted, sometimes we were silent for blocks. It was great. I think it was my perfect New York week. Fall is so good.

The one slightly work-related thing we did was stop by World News Tonight on Friday to watch Peter Jennings do his thing, thanks to a friend at ABC News. It’s always fun to see other newsrooms at work, especially such a major one. Next to Nightline, WNT is about my favorite news program on TV, and Peter was very nice, chatting with us for a few minutes after the show and saying how much he loved Salt Lake City.

In all, I couldn’t be happier about the trip. Being away from my regular life made me realize two things: I really don’t like my job anymore (mostly due to the devil-corporation takeover in 2002) and I really, really miss Patrick when we’re apart. So … a little bad, a lot of good.

Oh, and one last thing: I spent way too much money. Shoes, clothes, you name it.

Oh well. That’s what you do when you’re (slowly but surely) planning a resignation (and therefore unemployment), right?

Right?