i've been thinking a lot about new york lately.

for one thing, there are all the ads from the new tourism campaign which say "ask the locals". then famous new yorkers say what pizza place they like best or what show is not to be missed.

i don't feel i know new york well enough to be counted among those locals.

yet, when i went to boston, my first thought was "well, it ain't new york."

the music director of our church just released her second cd. one of the songs is called "new york is like a boyfriend." when she introduced the song at her cd release party, she said that she went on tour thinking that new york wasn't so great and that she could find another city like it somewhere else, but it turns out that there are no other cities like it. she was glad to be home. (and i have to agree with her lyric: "the skyline gets me every time.")

i'm worried about that. i don't think we're going to be here forever, but i'm not sure yet if i can go anywhere else. i can't pinpoint what it is (i mean, seriously: the crowded trains? the trash? the haste and rudeness of the people around me?) or why it fits me (cause i'm hardly stylish or crazy about the nightlife).

it might just be that here almost everyone walks as fast as i do.