We arrived at LaGuardia at about 5:45pm NYC time and took the hotel-supplied van to the Holiday Inn, where we’ll be staying tonight. Tomorrow we transfer to a hotel in Times Square, where we’ll be staying during the rest of the trip.

We took the 7 train to Times Square. My first experience on a NYC subway was an interesting one, to say the least. I was shocked at the mass of humanity that utilizes the train system here in New York, and also at the wide range of characters that call it home. We had one gentleman walking up and down the train, speaking in a very loud voice about how he loves to help people and offering to carry babies up the station stairs for mothers. At some point in his speech, he dissolved into a rant about the NYPD and how he developed black lung disease while working at Ground Zero after September 11. I have no idea if this is true or not, but I’m pretty sure you get black lung disease from working in a coal mine. He was highly entertaining, however, so I gave him a little cash.

There was another guy busking on the train, and he was awesome. I mean, the guy was mind-blowingly bad at music, but he was hilarious. He had a harmonica and would make up tunes about the folks riding on the train, culminating in his “Mexican” tune that had the fantastic chorus of “aye aye cerveza!) over and over again. Truly, this man should be heard by the rest of the world.

Once the 7 train reached Times Square, we got out. Man, that place is bright. I thought Hollywood was amazing in the amount of neon lights and gigantic advertisements it held, but it doesn’t even hold a candle to Times Square. We had some pizza, which was probably a mistake since I don’t really like pizza to begin with, but I’m in New York and I wanted the full New York experience.

After dinner, we made our way to the M&M store, where I sampled some exclusive Times Square flavors, including a white chocolate/orange combo that was fantastic. We left and walked down to 5th Avenue and to the Apple Store, which was pretty much nerd heaven in a box. And when I say “in a box”, I mean, it’s literally in a box; there’s a giant glass cube that leads to the underground Apple Store, which stays open 24 hours a day. I finally bought a case for my iPod Touch here, and we left.

A few of the guys were going to hit clubs downtown, but I wanted to save my energy for sightseeing tomorrow, so I took a taxi back to the hotel. Tomorrow will be a full day of seeing New York City’s spotlights, including the Statue of Liberty and Ground Zero. The conference starts Monday, so I’ll be working, but tomorrow is my day to see the city and I plan on doing just that. I’m also hoping to hook up with a few friends that live here, but that’ll be dicey because my cell doesn’t work here, so I’ll be relying on email and Twitter.