Life's Five: NYC Learnin'

Living in NYC opens up all kinds of opportunities. Opportunities to meet people. Opportunities to eat anytime, anywhere. Opportunities to learn stuff. This post is dedicated to some of the "learnin'":

Learn. In NYC you will randomly run into folks you know because there are a million people walking around in the streets. So the odds are in your favor for chance meetings. The moral of this story is that one should shower more than one used to when one lived in the suburbs and was able to simply wave at friends from the comfort (and distance) of his or her car.

Learn. There is so much to do here that I have found no desire for shopping. I realize, to many of you, that sounds like heresy or blasphemy or a lie. After all, I'm in NYC and that is what one does in NYC. But honestly, I have no need for anything. The creative energy here overrides any of those pesky retail urges. And that's a good thing. (Just ask hubs.) (Alert: The following sentence is going to appear to contradict the preceding sentence, but there will be an explanation.) While in the art store today (I needed art supplies. This does not count as shopping. It was a planned trip. I spent under $20.), I met lovely people who were willing to teach me how to go about my art project. I dug that! Free advice from NYC art students who are dying to tell you all they know because they want you to know they are artists even though they are working in an art store instead of surviving off of their art. It's complicated, but somehow it's working in my favor, and I'm all about favor.

Learn. This place rocks the exercise gene. Yesterday, I took my girly kid to Central Park Zoo. We walked there. From Union Square. That's like a gazillion blocks. She's not even 4. She did not complain once. In the old days, she couldn't even make it from The Gap to Starbucks at Ye Olde King of Prussia Mall. I call that SERIOUS progress. And while we were walking, we learned all kinds of stuff about the city...like where to shop. IS THAT ALL YOU PEOPLE DO HERE?! Oh, I would like to offer the city of New York a little feedback. Please get rid of the 3 kajillion chestnut roasting stands. I got dizzy from the odor and nearly passed out. What?! Yes, I'm completely sure I got sick from the smell of rancid nuts. And no, it had nothing to do with walking 49 blocks in wedge boots.

Learn. There are loads of restaurants in NYC. Some are not good. We tried a vegetarian spot in Chelsea recently. Like the meat-eating, cow hater that I am, I got the veggie burger because I wanted to see how closely it compared to the real thing. That hideous slab of soy paste didn't taste a thing like the real thing. Sidebar: Apparently, you're not supposed to mention MEAT in those places. I tried shouting "BEET" repeatedly in the direction of the staff, but they were on to me. So, anyway, I learned that some people are awfully serious about their vegetables. While hubs was glad he didn't wear his leather jacket that day, I wildly waved my alligator gloves in the air upon our exit.

Learn. Scaffolding in NYC is a necessary evil, but it is just so ugly. Why don't they wrap twinkle lights around it? Or how about letting David Blaine do some tricks on it? Or put the Solid Gold dancers up there to shake it after hours. I'm on the topic of scaffold because there is some right across from our apartment. There is never anybody on that scaffolding. And with no dancers or magicians or twinkle lights, it's just downright rude to be there at all. I did learn there are permits of expiry on scaffold here and it appears that the permit for our offending structure expires on April 1st. That had better not be a joke 'cause I'm no fool. Although...I'll take scaffolding over burnt nuts any day. Ooh, and let's add some bloody MEAT to 'em while we're at it.

Oops. I meant beets.