CityLurve: New York

i love new york, even when it's grey and rainy and windy and all signs point towards a long and craptastic winter. i really do, and i will miss it.

...because in boston or bombay, even walking 10 minutes down the street is unheard of, but sauntering from 70th and lex to 43rd and 10th is fun :)
... because i can now go to kati roll midtown as well as downtown *slurp*
... because i can strike up conversations with random cabbies and find out that they are more interesting people than i am, being in the merchant navy and all
... because even everything familiar tastes better (cf: bella blu gnocchi, cold stone mint mint chocolate chocolate chip, la bottega cheesecake, and even -- i'm willing to bet my bottom dollar -- tomorrow's chipotle burritos). due to the fact that it's twice as expensive as anywhere else, perhaps?
... because manhattan island isn't all that far from long island, and i love li too!
... because of how i feel like such a hick saying hello to retail employees, who look at me funny and wonder why i'm being nice *grin*
... because it is beautiful. for proof, watch any movie or TV show set in the city (well, except perhaps trust the man, which, although it is quite picturesque, is easily one of the most absurd and awful films i've ever seen. so watch the opening credits if you must, but then leave.)
... awesome cheap shopping: fake purses on the street! conway! all of soho! shotglasses and badass t-shirts by the dozen! chinatown!
... because it's an exception to every rule, including the cheap movie tickets rule since there's a "manhattan surcharge" on amc discount passes
... because of the gorgeous upper east side, for which i have gained a new appreciation this trip
... because only in new york could you post about a $1200-a-month sublet -- a smallish room, with 2 ok-sized windows, overlooking a street -- on craigslist on a friday afternoon and attract over 2 dozen responses in 7 hours from people who run over to look at it and gush about how affordable it is, what a good deal it is, and how they can pay you two months' rent up front... and feel righteous about not fleecing them for about $500 a month more
... because i know the subway without having to gape endlessly at "the map"
... because i've learned to follow the little white guy telling me when to walk and therefore don't have to pay any attention to the big orange hand telling me not to (thanks, dad, for teaching me the #1 rule of sidewalk survival in manhattan :D)
... because of the wonderful comfort of brunch with aditi (and not having to choose from the 7,000 restaurants in new york to achieve it... we usually go to deluxe, sunday morning somewhere between 10:30 and 11:30.)
... because of the grid. it makes sense. anyone who says they're lost in manhattan (this means the tourists) is off their rocker.
... because i have the right to look down my nose at said tourists, with their white sneakers and their wailing children, as they wade through the interminable traffic jam that is times sq, with all the snottiness of a native
... because of the all-round hilarity of <http://www.overheardinny.com>
... because there's always something else to do if you don't want to follow your original plans

i love new york.

(and yes, i own a tshirt and a shotglass that say it, and that's ok.)