I left the City this weekend to go to Vermont to ski. It was really, really nice. I forgot how much I like trees.
But it was good to get back in the City. I am really beginning to feel like I live here now. Everyone told me it would take about six months.
Here are some of the signs that I am starting to feel like a real New Yorker:
1. I am answering questions about directions to tourists on a daily basis. Something about me makes me more approachable (still) than the average New Yorker, as I get asked directions almost every day. Maybe it is because I have not mastered the dismissive"street stare" that most New Yorkers have. I still enjoy people-watching too much not to look at most every person I pass. Give me another few months on that one.
2. I am actually able to discuss which subway line is best to go where with my co-workers. This weekend, I even guided some French tourists through the maze of the New York subway "service changes" which plague weekend subway travel. Nothing makes you sound more like a New Yorker than being able to say "Yes, the C is out--again--for repairs, take the E instead which is stopping at Chambers or you can transfer over to the F at West 4th and take it over"
3. I am slowly finding out all the hidden gems of cheap eats in New York (and there are many). Real New Yorkers (at least ones whose condos in Atlanta have yet to sell) don't eat at the Spotted Pig every night.
4. I have been to Brooklyn. Three times.
5. I don't even know the price for a gallon of gas right now.
6. I actually understand and empathize with the argument that the West Village is just not what it used to be.
7. I kind of like diners. And I love Duane Reed. Narrow isles and all.
8. TimeOut New York (weekly print edition) is now my bible, Hopstop my go-to website, and Gawker.com my daily must-read.
9. I find myself dreaming of the day I could ever afford to buy a place of my own. Like almost all New Yorkers.
10. I can find my way through SoHo and the Village. Well...not true, yet.
11. I know it is true that finding a good dentist is mysteriously difficult in this city.
12. I have a position on re-naming Hell's Kitchen to "Clinton".
13. I actually want to go to Coney Island and eat a Nathan's hot dog. Once.
14. Today it reached 52 degrees, and I thought it would be a good day to be in the park.
15. I understand that "It's the first subway stop after crossing the river" might as well mean "I live on Mars."
