It’s my one year anniversary of being a New Yorker. Here are a couple of observations:
- 1) Love the MTA! This city rocks with its amazing mass transit system. I do not miss the terrible Seattle-area traffic. On the flip side – waiting for a train in the summer you sweat through a shirt in a matter of seconds.
- 2) The brown stains on the side walk are not from leaves. Really. I thought this for about a day or so, then I saw the dogs. Lots of dogs.
- 3) When it rains, it rains. This is no misting that Seattle gets constantly. Think of it as if God flushed the toilet. Yeah, it comes down that fast and hard. I thought I would never do it, but I bought an umbrella. Two actually.
- 4) Tourists are like cattle. Not in a bad way – they just group together. Makes it a challenge walking by on the side walk.
- 5) Never know who you will walk by. Martha Stuart, Angelina Jolie, John Procaccino, Gayle King, Shaq and a zombie to name a few.
- 6) Pizza. OMG. I worked as a pizza chef for a few years so I know what I’m talking about. You have NEVER tasted pizza like they make in NYC. NEVER. No, I won’t ship any.
- 7) The school system sucks. Well, that’s harsh, but they lost one of my son’s registration and we had to literally run from school to school to get him into class. High School auditions. Yep, you don’t just move up – you have to audition for a school and you can guess how that was received.
- 8) Learn a second language . . . or three. My usual walk to work exposes me to at least a half dozen languages. It’s quite the cultural melting pot.
- 9) Never go hungry. There are food carts, food trucks, food stands, out-door-markets and restaurants on every corner. (Yes this is why I walk to work ).
- 9.5) Pizza. Yes, it’s worth mentioning twice.
- 10) It’s always different. Not a day goes by that there is not a new adventure to explore. Not all of it has been fun, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
-Originally posted August 26, 2012