Year One

This week marks an incredible year in New York City. I'd like to share a few things I've learned, observed, experienced in the last 12 months of my new life.

• 40 Degrees is almost spring
• Hummus is YUMMY.
• I'm more likely to find organic peanut oil than ketchup in someone's home.
• I think in blocks not miles.
• I have a take out menu drawer.
• I've learned how to dress for cold, windy & cold, rainy & cold, windy, rainy & cold.
• I personally know 3 people that have been hit by taxis.
• I wish my 'across the street' neighbors had curtains.
• Love the street musicians because they add a soundtrack to my life
• Rarely do the same thing twice on the weekends
• LOVE LOVE LOVE street fairs when it is Spring & Summer
• Know my neighborhood homeless people
• Getting on line has nothing to do with the internet
• The addition or removal of scaffolding can make you feel lost in your own neighborhood.
  
• Order my toilet paper on amazon.com so I don't have to lug it from the Brooklyn Target
• Have a box of extra toiletries under my bed that I bought from Wal-Mart to save $
• I know the High Holy days and sometimes eat Kosher foods
• I know what nosh, schlep, pre-walking, brownstone, & bodega mean
• I LOVE Central Park (especially on Sundays).
  
• I've learned that it is never mud on your shoe
• It takes 40 minutes to go 1.5 miles
• I hate that the air conditioners pee on me in the summer.
• The subway cars are empty only because there is no AC or a smelly/crazy person is on there.
• Don't let the bed bugs bite has real meaning.
• Walk on your tiptoes in heels to cross the subway grates
• I've been completely sprayed by a taxi (see earlier entry for details)
• A $37 steak doesn't come with a salad or a side
• Things just get started at 1 am. I got invited to a party and the invitation said from 10pm on.
• Pay higher rent or get mugged?That is the question.
• You pay for the neighborhood not the apartment.
  
• My feet are black after a summer day.
• Fruit is best bought on the street corner near 67th and Columbus.
• No refills...ugh
• Silence is suspicious.
• You are not the smartest, funniest, prettiest, coolest, greatest. I've been challenged and almost devoured by the competitive culture.
• It is so so so so so so expensive to live here.
  
• There are 16 restaurants between 82nd and 83rd on Amsterdam.
• Everything can be delivered.
• Starbucks is great for a public bathroom.
• Some of the most talented musicians are playing on the subway platform.
  
• Even if you are one in a million, in New York City, there are 10 just like you. Be willing to be broken and motivated.