Yes I'm From New York! No Not The City!

When travelling the world I am instantly assumed by most by saying I am from New York means New York City instantly. Usually it is not worth the time and effort to explain that NY is a State, and that Niagara Falls is 6 hours away from NYC.

My first time in NYC in 2007 with my roomate, I held a door for a businessman leaving a McDonalds who replaced a thank you, with a hasty "We don't do that for people here!" After the most stressful day of driving around Manhattan during rush hour in my Mother's car, able to only get glimpses of sites as we drove past, I was left with disappointment. However even with this first negative experience I now have so many friends in NYC and Long Island, that I've become a frequent visitor and I feel like a city veteran.

Every time I visit I make the same lap down 5th Avenue, passing the Empire State Building, Rockefellar Center, Chrysler Building, Times Sqaure, Madison Square Garden, Grand Central Station, Ground Zero and always ending with a nap in Central park! There are endless museums, art galleries, sporting events and numerous other entertainment venues that give the city no chance to disappoint.

Walking through the crowded streets of fast moving business people, slow moving window shoppers, and endless tourists with maps; makes for a day of intense people watching. Never do I leave Manhattan before grabbing my $1 hotdog and french fries at Papaya's underneath the Empire State building; before trying to track down the NYC Blood Center bus to make a blood donation.

NYC is an intriguing city to visit from time to time, but it's size and speed makes it a place unsuitable for my laid back living style. As long as I still have friends there I will continue to make my yearly jihads to NYC, my assumed worldly home...