Visiting the United Nations and Trying to Backdoor my Way Into Meeting Lin-Manuel Miranda

I’ve been looking forward to touring the United Nations for a while now, but I had to wait until a week when I worked the late-night shift at The Times, as the U.N. only offers tours on weekdays when I’m normally at work. But I finally made it over to First Avenue today!

I arrived 45 minutes before my tour to allow for the credential-issuing and security-screening processes, and still only made it to the desk about a minute before my time slot. Security at the U.N., as you may have guessed, is no joke.

The tour is about an hour long, and the highlight is the General Assembly room.

The 193 member nations are seated in alphabetical order, and they hold a lottery every time the body elects a new president to determine which nation will occupy the first seat in the hall. The seating then follows alphabetical order, starting with the letter of the lottery-winning country.

If you’ve ever watched video of a Security Council or General Assembly meeting, you’ve probably noticed the representatives wearing white headsets. That’s because the U.N. recognizes six languages, but the 193 representatives speak many more. The solution: Interpreters provide real-time translations over various channels the representatives can tune into.

I saw the outside of the Security Council room, but didn’t get to go inside because it was closed for a meeting (not THE meeting; other groups use the room apart from the actual Security Council). And that’s not a live feed on the monitor; it’s prerecorded!

I did, however, get to walk through the Trusteeship Council room. And look at this neat mosaic based on a Norman Rockwell painting!

I also walked past a clock that tracks the daily military spending of all the world’s countries (it resets at midnight). Around 12:30, it had already passed $3 billion, and my tour guide said it soars above $6 billion by the end of each night.

In the same hallway was a jarring visual: A view of Hiroshima before and after the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb. The change you see here happened in about two seconds.

It was sobering to learn how much the world’s countries spend on weapons each day compared to the minute allotment for peacekeeping expenditures.

Fun fact: The U.N. has its own post office, and you can buy special stamps that are only available to send mail from the U.N. headquarters.

I was super smart (not) and spent five minutes trying to peel the back off before realizing you had to soak it atop a wet sponge at the back of the office (the backing dissolves and becomes sticky).

The gift shop also had some unique items — check out these U.N. BYO-style lunchboxes!

And today in food: A red velvet cannoli from La Bella Ferrara in Little Italy.

I actually prefer the plain (non-chocolate shell) and filling — too many flavors distract from the rich creaminess of the ricotta (kind of like with cookie dough).

Coming up: All the late-night editing for the Democratic presidential debates tomorrow night and Thursday night. I’m also headed to “Working: A Musical” at the New York City Center Saturday afternoon, which features two new songs penned by none other than Lin-Manuel Miranda. Javier Muñoz, who was the alternate and then replacement for Miranda in “Hamilton," stars, as well as David Garrison, Helen Hunt, and Christopher Jackson (the original George Washington in “Hamilton”).

The "Working" website says that following the Saturday performance, “members of the cast and creative team will discuss the making of this production.” So, theoretically, that could include Lin-Manuel Miranda, right? Right? Probably not. But always trying to back-door my way into a meeting with Lin-Manuel Miranda.