All Blog Posts (106)

Springtime in New York, or my partial lobotomy

On an unseasonably warm Saturday in early March, my friend Jim asked if I wanted to join him for a stroll through Central Park. As I reached the park, I was surprised to see that the grass was brown, and the trees were still naked. It was only at that point that I realized I had been expecting everything to be lush and green! It had finally happened: I have lived in New York long enough to completely lose touch with the realities of nature. In my twisted city brain, park = nature = green, no… Continue

Added by Anna on May 13, 2009 at 6:00pm — No Comments

Post-Vacation Stress Syndrome

At the end of March, Justin and I took a little 5-day vacation to Puerto Rico. I had simply reached my limit with work and, more importantly, the winter weather in NYC. I couldn't take another week of trudging to the train under overcast skies, muscles sore from the burden of coats and bags, shaking my fist at unpredictable radiator heat. That's when I found out PR has 80 degree weather year round. Why do we not all live there?!

In PR, we rented a condo right on the beach. We… Continue

Added by Anna on May 6, 2009 at 4:30pm — 1 Comment

Smoking the Big Apple

I moved to New York right after college, in the fall of 2000. I moved here because it had been a life-long fantasy, and because I didn't know where else to go.

During my first year in NYC, I was an intern at a small publishing company, while also working as an office temp during the day and an usher at night. I was working 12 hour days, but I was still broke. I didn't really have any friends. And New York was getting me down. It was noisy and crowded and dirty, and I found I was just… Continue

Added by Anna on May 4, 2009 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Other Places Exist

NOTE: This is a post from my old "secret blog," from back in September, 2008.

“Just remember that there are other places,” she says, “and other people live there, with perfectly happy lives.”

This is a quote from this New York Magazine article.

If you don’t live in New York, your response to this quote is probably, “No shit, Sherlock.”

But if you do live in New… Continue

Added by Anna on September 23, 2008 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Fantasy vs. Reality

NOTE: This is a post from my old "secret blog," back in September, 2008.

Two more quotes from this New York Magazine article:

“I don’t miss my old life in New York. I only miss the life in New York I know I never would have had.”

“It’s a story about reaching that pivotal moment when the dream life you imagined for yourself in New York no longer seems attainable or attractive,… Continue

Added by Anna on September 5, 2008 at 3:00pm — 6 Comments

Migration and Integration (or, Flight or Fight!)

NOTE: This post is from my old "secret blog," from back in August, 2008.

Two articles from The Times have caught my eye in the past few days:

1. The American Wanderer, In All His Stripes

This article discusses the American prototype of the wanderer, the roamer, the rootless — mainly as it relates to presidential… Continue

Added by Anna on August 27, 2008 at 4:00pm — No Comments