New Yorkiversary

So after my post yesterday I did a little research (via google, duh) on various opinions about when you become a New Yorker. Obviously there is no correct answer, however I did stumble upon this article on Examiner that kind of rained on my parade of celebrating a certain number of years in New York (but doesn't the fact that Sex and the City 2 comes out on my One Year New Yorkiversary seem like fate??)...

I guess it's true that you can't arbitrarily pick a number of years and decide at that point you'll become a New Yorker, and I'm sure it varies from person to person how quickly they adjust to life here. I guess I have to agree with the author of the Examiner article that there are just moments that you realize you've become a New Yorker. This is my favorite from the article...

“...it's the little things that really make you know you're a native... I decided I was a real New Yorker, when my friend Reid drove me home from dinner one night and, upon arrival, I instinctively reached into my purse to pay him. As though he were a taxi."-- Lara Naaman, quoted in the New York Post

Even after my mere 11 months (and 1 day!) here, I do feel like I have these moments where I really feel like a New Yorker rather than a tourist, like when I'm visiting my family in Sarasota and I can't sleep because it's too quiet, and when I come back into the city after that weekend in Florida and am comforted by bright lights and honking taxis. And I definitely feel like a New Yorker when I'm shocked that my friends in other cities pay "only" $800 for rent, or a Cosmo is "only" $8. I know you can't become a New Yorker in less than a year, but I do feel like I've adjusted to life here much better than I would have expected...

I'm curious about other people's "I know I'm a New Yorker" moments though, any to share?

One Month and Nine Years to Go...

They say you're a real New Yorker after living here for 10 years... Who is they? Great question. I feel like that's a relatively widely accepted statement, although I'm sure native New Yorkers would disagree... Regardless, I like to think it's true because one day I can really claim to be a New Yorker, despite growing up below the Mason-Dixon line (although let's be honest, most Floridians seem to be blissfully unaware that they're technically in the South).

Well, I've been here 11 months. That means I have 1 month and 9 years to go... think I can make it? I guess only time will tell :)

Street Fair, Tim Burton and Naked People

My favorite thing about living in New York is there's always somewhere new to go or something new to see. I was talking with a friend today about how I feel like you could spend your whole life in this city and barely scratch the surface of trying all the restaurants, and visiting all the galleries, museums and landmarks. Having a "9-to-5" job (do those even exist anymore?) makes it even harder to get out and experience all the city has to offer, but since moving here I've tried to squeeze as many fun activities into my little free time as possible. This weekend was the perfect, filled with interesting experiences...

Saturday we went to the Hester Street Fair, which just opened this weekend and is filled with vendors of all kinds - food, coffee, smoothies, art, clothes - you name it, it's there. Apparently this area was once the home of NYC's oldest and largest pushcart market, who knew? Anyway, it was fun to roam and around tasting everything and checking out the art and jewelry... They're open for the next few months so stop by and check it out if you missed the crazy opening weekend!

Unlike Saturday, which was a beautiful spring day in the city, yesterday was completely miserable and rainy. Fortunately a friend and I had already snagged tickets to the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA, which was in its last weekend after being sold out basically since it opened so we spent the day indoors and quite entertained.

The exhibit was really interesting, and definitely made me want to go watch all of Tim Burton's movies immediately. Must finally get around to signing up for Netflix...

We also wandered through a few other random floors (I've been to MoMA a few times and can never manage to see everything), but the exhibit we still needed to see was "The Artist is Present," by Marina Abramovic. I use the word "by" loosely, since the artist actually is the exhibit. You can read all about the idea behind it in this article from the New York Times, but essentially she's sitting at a table staring at whoever is next in line to sit across from her. Based on the picture on the Times article, she seems to at least wear different clothes day to day... it's a pretty bizarre exhibit, and continues upstairs with people in various positions, some clothed and some not.. I won't go into all the details, but it's definitely worth checking out. If nothing else, it seems like it'll be something everyone in NYC will be talking about soon so it's worth knowing what all the fuss is about. New York just may be one of the only cities in the world people will pay and stand in line to see someone sitting at a table and staring straight ahead..

PS, if you're a Sex and the City fan, you may recognize the picture with the ladder from the episode where Carrie meets the Russian... remember the crazy woman on exhibit not eating, drinking or sleeping? Same as the one we saw today :) Who said Sex and the City isn't cultured?

I'm Baaaaaaack

Okay, just kidding on the whole "retiring the blog" thing... who was I kidding? This stuff is addictive.

Those of you who know me (hi Mom & Dad) know I've been semi-active in the blog world with my post-graduate picture project, 365 Days After Walking Under The Arch. Since the day I graduated from UGA, I've posted a picture a day to chronicle my adventures of apartment hunting, moving to NYC, landing a job, and just life in the big city. I've had a blast keeping up with it, and even better time looking back on it - which is why I started it in the first place, so I would have it to reflect back on. Now as April comes to a close, my 365 days are about to come to an end (nostalgic "OMG I've been out of college for a year" post to come, don't worry)... but I've really enjoyed the experience and don't want the blog to end! Sooo through an informal Twitter poll and conversations with friends and colleagues I've decided to bring this guy out of retirement. I thought about continuing on with the 365 days after that year was up, but that blog had a theme and a purpose and it will be over after May 8th.

So here I am, back to the original, since "The Next Chapter" can really still be applicable for the rest of my life (or however long I keep the blog around..). Being young and still figuring out where I belong in this city and in life, there are sure to be many changes for me in the next 365 days and beyond, and I want to document them. I'm doing this for me, so I'll have something to look back and reflect on (although I love comments so keep them coming!). Yes, I've been made fun of by some friends for my nerdy blog, etc. but I'm just going to embrace it... because I've decided I really am a bit of a nerd and that's okay :) Expect rambling, random posts about whatever I'm interested in at the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to stick with it better this time, but who knows...

Here's to seeing what the next chapter will be!