And here goes the first real post...

Ok, there have been numerous instances during my half a year living in New York (whoa, time FLIES here!) that I've thought, 'Oh, this is GOOD. I'm going to blog this later.'  And then, over the course of my 45 minute subway ride home, or a trek for some sustenance because I'm too tired to cook, I forget what I wanted to blog and hit the sack too exhausted to do much but lazily surf the interwebs (where I look at all the amazing opportunities the city offers that I will never get the chance to take advantage of).

And THIS, my friends, is the life of probably 98% of those who call themselves "New Yorkers." Not exactly the glamorous lifestyle you see on the boob tube and the picture shows, now is it?

The term 'New Yorkers,' by the way, is such an interesting concept, because I remember hearing a girl bragging to someone at my cousin's wedding that "Hey buddy, I'm a NEW YORKER, so you don't need to tell me blahblahblah."  My thought at the time was something along the lines of "how can you call yourself a New Yorker when you've only lived there for 3 years? POSER!"

However, the "Shit _____ Say" internet craze has forced me to re-think what may have been a hasty judgment. After watching Shit New Yorkers Say, I recognized that I say/am familiar with at least half of those phrases, and I've only lived here 6 months!

To clarify, I'm NOT calling myself a New Yorker (Texas forever, baby!), but I do have a better understanding of how people get sucked into the culture here, often unbeknownst to themselves.

For example--tourists. They suck. I realize I was one once, and you know what? I'm POSITIVE I didn't know how annoying and dense I'm sure I was to all the people just trying to live their lives around here.  I don't know how to explain it exactly, but when I'm running late to work and I have to make an extra effort to skirt around the idiots meandering down the street or stopping in the doorway to take unoriginal pictures, I become unnecessarily enraged.

Recently Travel & Leisure distributed results of a poll that claims New York is the rudest city. And I am now a part of that demographic. Sometimes, when I run into someone because they stop suddenly, unaware of their surroundings, I don't even respond. I just move past without bothering to look at them.

This is not to say that there aren't amazing aspects of NYC that make me super excited to live here. It's just that there are definitely drawbacks that you don't see popularized in fantastical, glamorized and unrealistic versions of what it really means to LIVE here.

Anyway, more updates later. Now that it's almost month 2 of 2012, I figure I might as well start getting my life here together, right?

Ciao for now,
L

Chasing the Light

Oh, hello there.

I've been meaning to start this thing for quite a while (going along 3 months or so now), but kept getting sidetracked, so it never really got off the ground.

Partially the problem was that I felt like this whole thing should really have more of an "angle."

I mean, I'm a Food Studies graduate student, so maybe I should focus on food stuff? But then where would I tell my ridiculous subway stories? Or lament the trials and tribulations of living in Brooklyn vs. Manhattan? Or ask questions of myself in a public space?

Well there's twitter. But this is more fun.

So for now, there is no focus. This is just about me--Lauren. And my life in New York.

Here we go...