a list

in light of all of the things that have transpired over the last 18 months or so, i am creating a list of good things that i have discovered in that time period. there are 10 in no particular order and they are pretty much all centered around new york, so it is easy to infer that i am quickly falling in love with this city.

1. central park. you can run, ride, sit, play, skate, walk or do any combination of the above. it's huge, beautiful, cool in the summer and only a warm-up jog away from my house.

2. men who always open doors, let you into and out of elevators, walk on the outside of the street, lead you with their hand on your lower back and just generally have good manners.

3. street meat. halal food is the bzzomb. $4 for a plate lunch that is chicken and rice. enough to be lunch for 2 days.

4. plaza diner. the only 24hr diner in the world where the server does not recognize an omlette as a food item universally known for containing eggs.

5. yelling. new york is the only place where you and everyone else in the city can fall prey to the sudden urge to shout out on occasion because you know that no one is even gonna look once. feel free to show your elation and to celebrate out loud. if even one non-tourist eyelash is batted, i'll be a monkey's uncle.

6. "the deli". the deli represents any and all small markets where a bevy of random items may be purchased. you can get a pretty decent bagel, eggs, all sorts of different lunch dishes ranging from sushi to actual deli sandwiches, to a respectable buffet bar. you can also pick up beer and wine, a mind-blowing assortment of green tea drinks and vitamin waters and any random hygiene item you could possibly need on a moments notice. they usually have one random item that keeps you loyal to that particular deli and they are the best thing in the fucking world at 4 in the morning.

7. neigborhoods. when i used to come into the city to play, i went to the middle tier places. the ones that you know about if you live outside the city that tourists may not know, but not ones that are neighborhood specific; not the place "around the corner" that you suddenly can't live without. now that i live here, i'm finding neighborhoods within neighborhoods and the number of historical layers to this place is amazing.

8. go getters. if you want to jump into a rushing river, come to manhattan. the place is bursting at the seams with energy. the beauty of it is, behind your apartment door, is the 'off' switch for it. you can have your little sanctuary and then go out and jump in the river. if you've ever been pulled along by rushing water, you'll get this analogy for sure. it's not even so much a matter of fighting because everyone has his or her mind on the goal; whatever the goal may be. it's more a matter of learning to navigate and use the flow to your advantage. it's learning how to focus your energy and get things done. it's learning how to really get ahead. you can't spit without it landing on 10 go getters on any given corner in the city. they are smart, sharply dressed, neurotic, interesting and some of them are coked out. but whether the city created the go getter or the go getter created the city, i'm fucking stoked about all of it. finally challenging pace again.

9. connections. i'm not talking about favor connections. those are wonderful, have their place and if you know anyone who grew up in or anywhere around new york, he or she "has got a guy" for every possible scenario you could fabricate. what i'm talking about however, is the connection to interesting people. the variety of thought and opinion is fantastic. people here seem to have a better grasp on what is going on in general and they seem to be both more genuinely interested and vocal. *note* this place is not perfect either, but the contrast is refreshing right now. anyway, being connected through people socially means that you actually go out and have interaction with these people instead of only hearing about them and knowing them through story. you pretty much constantly meet new people if you are even a moderately social person. it makes for the best conversations.

10. anonymity. when i walk around in new york, i look around at the people and take such comfort in the fact that approximately none of them give a fuck what i am doing. you have your occasional eye-sex with someone, but other than that, you are hidden under a cloak of urban anonymity. it's fabulous.

it will be interesting to have a look back at the list and see how it changes after spending more time in and on the Ihlend. regardless, i find these are good things with varying degrees of gravity.