Friday, August 22, 2008

New York, New York

We're back. Exhausted, and back to a relatively normal life. We had the 3 most beautiful days ever - glorious sunny days, not too hot, not too cold. I didn't have very clear expectations of New York before we arrived. And I don't just mean actually in Manhattan - I didn't even realize that Manhattan was an island until I started plotting our restaurant destinations on a map! I know. It's embarrassing.

So I will say this: Sex in the City has a lot to answer for. It totally glamorized Manhattan. How is it that Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha always looked clean? Manhattan is not clean! Sure the streets are well kept, but after a day of touring around, I felt like I was coated in a layer of the city. I went into sensory overload - so much noise, so many people, all moving at such a rapid rate. Fortunately Wendy (a friend of Jet's) invited us out to her place at Long Island City in Queens which was a brief window into what inner city suburbia is all about. Calm, green, quiet and clean. The contrast was totally astonishing!

As a child, I used to watch the TV show Fame, religiously every week. I wanted to be on that show. But even though I desperately wanted to be in the show, I was turned off by the grimness of New York. I didn't think it was really like that, but in fact I just discovered that Fame is more real than Sex in the City! New York has the extremes of wealth and poverty, but it's also an island where tiny apartments sell for $2 million and rent for $3,000 plus per month. It's an island where struggling artists have to share these tiny apartments with 10 other people just to make ends meet. I can appreciate that Manhattan has everything one could ever want or need, but is it worth the sacrifice of one's privacy? Obviously millions of people think so.

Don't get me wrong - I loved my few days in NY. And I'd like to go back and enjoy the city at a more leisurely pace. It just made me realize that LA is my home. Even though I'm moving to Vegas. I know. It's a complicated situation.

So now I've covered my 'overview' of NY, I can move on to Leaving Los Angeles...

Friday, August 8, 2008

Living in Las Vegas...

Here is a fabulous quote from a local Las Vegas resident (and someone I know) about buying water from Northern Nevada:

"Oh we'll get it - we're bandits out here!"

I love it.