another chapter in the romantic saga of my relationship with Manhattan

 

So. The new season of Gossip Girl started tonight, and it made me miss New York a lot. Most of it was in the Hamptons, but the whole spirit of summer in the city was there, and it made me nostalgic for the summer.....something I've been a lot lately. In a strange way, I miss the frenetic abruptness of the morning rush, the brusque people at Dunkin' Donuts who came to know my breakfast order, and the muggy steaminess of mid-summer mornings. I miss careening cab rides up Madison and pizza at 2am at the bar and late-night walks to Barnes & Noble with my roommate and even the shady people at the bodega on 90th. I miss Jessica telling me about Fit Flops, and commisserating about lack of space for shoes, and texting about self-imposed shopping limits and our crazy neighbor Amy and the giant cockroaches in the bathroom. *sigh*. Good times. 

But then I have to slap some reality into myself and remind myself that, hello? Every morning I would grumble under my breath about rude people who pushed me out of the way on the subway, waiting for trains in the godawful heat while my hair turned into a giant Jew-fro, I'd never have enough money, and got annoyed at incompetent cab drivers. But is it a small price to pay for living in the city? 

I think the jury's still out on this.....again. In last week's issue of New York magazine there's a great article about people who moved out of NY, and this excerpt sums it up....."...New York requires of these dreamers that they pursue two simultaneous lives:the romantic, invigorating, spectacular life you imagine for yourself, and the expensive, often dispiriting, intermittently grueling day-to-day life you have to lead in order to keep that dream alive. This is exhilarating. This is exhausting. This is what New York is all about.....But the problem is, you can't simply leave New York - you have to QUIT New York. You have to admit to yourself and the world that you're packing it in, calling it a day, turning out the lights...."