“It’s a scam,” my paranoid mind said when I found it under the Craigslist volunteering section. Hours later, a photographer friend sent us the same listing, found on HARO:

A major New York-based publication seeks people who have recently (within the last three to six months) moved to New York. We are looking for folks from all five boroughs to include in this large-scale photo of New York newbies. The photo(s) will run an upcoming issue.

We responded and were added to a large evite. Everyone was told to show up at Pier 59 Studios in Chelsea, Manhattan. Pier? At night? Isn’t that where the bad guys always tell the good guys to meet and then throw them off the edge into the most disgusting Hudson River water? A wikipedia search told me that the Chelsea Piers, and Pier 59 specifically, was the intended destination of the Titanic. This couldn’t be good.

Sure enough, our ever-present desire to be cool trumped our paranoia and we ventured out into that desolate corner of Chelsea. In the rain. We landed in the most cool scene we have ever been a part of. Passing by Gap and Microsoft photo shoots, we found our New York Magazine room–all-white background with modern couches and an endless supply of beer, pizza, and way cool twenty-somethings. After getting our individual shots taken, we sat in the corner with Cool Baby (the only kid there) and our old beat-up stroller trying to fit in.

Forty-five minutes later, still waiting for the group shoot to begin, Cool Dad took Cool Baby on a walk. He was stopped by the photo shoot organizer, who had previously passed right by me in the process of marking certain people’s nametags with a red A.

“You…and your boy.  We need you to come in with the A Group,” and they marked his nametag. “And do you have a wife with you? Well, bring her in too.”

Cool Baby got us on the A-List to sit right up front in a group of 160! Now I know for sure that he is the only cool one in this family. But, it doesn’t mean we can’t keep trying!

And that’s how Cool Baby got us onto page 27 of the April 20, 2009 issue of New York Magazine.

[+20 cool points]

Related posts:

1. The hugetastic news is here
2. HUGE Gator news: I’m not watching the game alone
3. Cool review, awarding points: Catching up
4. Embracing the shortness of self
5. Cool review, awarding points: Heavy strollers and Real Housewives