NYCommentary

Hi all,

Hope you're enjoying this very sunny weekend.

I keep on bracing for the time when we'll have to bring out our winter coats and comforter.

So I've been back from NY for about 2 weeks now. It's seemed longer cause work has been so busy. Plus I've been a complete lazy arse and haven't done much after work.

Which reminds me, I have to practice guitar at least once this week.

So where was I?

Yes, New York City in the fall rocks. Although I'd recommend going even a little later for optimal temperatures (for me, at least). The weather was nice and warm when I was there, but a tad humid still. In fact, it was warmer in NY than it was in Michigan.

Anyway, so yes, I recommend going to New York - You could spend a few months out there and never see the same things twice. Unless you wanted to, of course :)

There's so many areas to explore - Midtown, Upper east side, SoHo, etc. - that I felt like I just lightly scratched the surface. So I definitely want to go back sometime in the future.

I can understand why people love it out there and NY is the backdrop for many movies. There's something about it. A certain energy, if you will. Plus, you can get pretty much anywhere without a car with public transportation and walking.

So that's one big thing I noticed - The majority of the native-looking New Yorkers all looked good. Both women and men were very stylishly dressed and looked pretty fit. Must be from all that walking and stress. I didn't ask for ID or anything, but you could tell the touists because we all had subway maps in our hands and were always looking around, taking pictures, getting in the way of the natives.

Plus we waited for people to get off the subway before we got on.

At the end of my trip I got the hang of it. It's a free-for-all.

Anyway, so one weird fashion trend that I saw that I didn't really get - Dresses and skirts with boots. I get the allure with the tall leather ones. But these were different - Like some had cowboy boot-ish type, and others had like boots with fuzz at the top.

It just looked hot to me. Literally.

Not down with the foot sweat. However, I'm sure that trend will come to the midwest in a few years.

So anyway, back to the public transportation. It was fun to ride in the subway when there weren't that many people. But man, once the trains got busy, you were standing pretty close to complete strangers.

I value my personal space, thank you.

I like all the personal space I get in my little car :)

Riding in subways was fun though. There was a gentle rocking that could totally put you to sleep. In fact, a few days later, as I was getting tired, I could feel myself rocking forwards and backwards like I was on the subway again.

Oh yeah, one thing of note - the subway stations get pretty toasty and humid. Like a sauna. I don't know how Geneman and all of the other New Yorkers can stand it in the summer when it gets into the 90s.

Be sure to bring your own towel and water to pour over the rocks.

Just as you think you're about to pass out from the heat, the subway comes and you're nicely chilled in the air conditioned cars.

Heh. I'm surprised I didn't get sick from going in and out of the temperature extremes. Actually I did get sick, but I think it's from being on the plane...

Let's see what else...

It's hard to find a fake Rolex. At least we didn't know where to go. I only found one dude that was selling them - And we wanted $100 bucks for it.

Um, no.

I was willing to pay 30 bucks for one, but not 100 for a gag gift - I wanted to get one for B just for shits and giggles. I don't care how good of a haggler you are :)

Oh yeah, that's the other thing - I actually ran out of cash while I was out there - The buying power of plastic failed me.

Normally when I travel I use the credit card for everything. So I usually take 100 bucks or so, and come back with the majority of it. This time I had to hit up Geneman for some cashish for the cab ride back to the airport (which I didn't need, luckily). So lesson learned - Take at least 200 to 300 bucks for a weekend NY trip. Make it 400 if you want that Rolex ;)

Speaking of souvenirs - China Town's the place to get the touristy stuff (magnets, mugs, t-shirts). The only drawback is that everyone's got the same stuff - There's little variability. It's like the truck from the mainland China distributors shows up outside all of the booths and just drops off the same I (heart) NY stuff.

I love that campaign.

It's so simple, but it captures so much.

Of course, I have to give major props to my native tourguide Geneman for putting up with my shit all weekend and taking me everywhere I wanted to go. Being a tourist is more fun when you've got a guide :)

Plus, he did it all with only a few hours of sleep a night!

Last, but certainly not least, the added bonus of meeting the lovely Stef and Lucy made the trip for me.

Until next time, NY.

-Kirk