My Q1 Report

With three addresses, 30 blog posts, four business trips, and one journey to Texas under my belt, I can now say that I've been a New Yorker for three months. I don't think I'll ever feel at home here, but I am finally feeling settled. I'll be honest -- I consider moving home everyday. But, something everyday reminds me how lucky I am to live in one of the greatest cities in the world and how grateful I am that I took a chance three months ago.

In no particular order...

Things I’ve gotten used to since moving NYC:
- Miniscule bathroom stalls
- The constant need for hand lotion/Purell/Carmex
- Absurdly crowded grocery stores (Don’t even think about looking at a nutrition label. You will get cursed at and run over by a cart)
- Spending more time outside than I have since undergrad, but rarely seeing the sun
- Eating dinner at 9pm
- Carrying three pairs of shoes at all times – snow, work, running
- My three-legged roommate
- That my hair will always look like I just rubbed it with a balloon
- Yelling. Passionate, all-out, arm-flailing, in-your-face yelling. It’s surprisingly non-aggressive and people put up with it. I’m not sure I’m “used to it” but it doesn’t surprise me anymore
- That the days of $2.50 beers are over
- Hand washing dishes
- Having zero cabinet space. Seriously, zero. No drawers, no cabinets, a few make-shift shelves and approximately .25 inches of counter space

Things I miss about Texas:
- Which Wich
- Barley House happy hours
- The pod
- Spontaneous trips home
- B’s cooking (even better when precursed by a stiff martini and followed by a game of blanket with Connor the dog)
- Helpful/friendly store employees
- Intuitive highway systems (I have a theory about why this is so. It involves the number of incarcerated Texans. Ask me about it later)
- The ‘rolla (not that I want to go back to having to drive everywhere, but I do love that car)
- The quiet
- Tex Mex

Things I adore about New York:
- I can see the Empire State Building from my office window and the Statue of Liberty from the train going home
- The local news and the national news aren’t all that different
- Every subway car is like a NY Times best seller list -- I add at least one new book to my to-read list every week! (BTW – I just finished this crazy novel called The Russian Debutante’s Handbook. Over-the-top, gritty, funny, and totally weird)
- The best people watching on the planet
- The fruit markets
- The way my ears pop everyday taking the elevator to my office
- How I will hear 10 different languages in one subway car
- How I can watch a movie and see my own neighborhood
- That no matter how crazy/disheveled/gross you look on any particular day, there will always be someone crazier.
- How I’ve always, always dreamed of living here