I love New York.

When I'm walking around the city, mostly in the Times Square area, I get so annoyed at the damn asshats who:
a.) don't know the concept of walking with purpose.
b.) don't know the concept of pulling over to the side to take pictures or to check maps.
c.) don't understand that you don't have to wait for the light to change to cross the road. There's no cars coming...GO.
d.) the crosswalk isn't the place to stop and chat.
e.) don't understand that there's not enough room on the sidewalk for you and your twenty five friends to walk together. Two by two, please.

But then I remember how lucky I am. I'm living in the greatest city in the world, and while the tourists are annoying, I'm living in a place that attracts millions of tourists from all over the world every year, and I think that's pretty awesome. And I also remember that I did used to be one of them. Once upon a time, there was an 18 year old girl in a red newsboy cap who came down for a day and fell in love. I like to think that I did understand pedestrian traffic laws better than some of the tourists I see here and didn't get on the nerve of the locals too much.

Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is that I love living here. And there are a lot of reasons. The theater, the pace, the stores, the smells (mostly), the noise, the life, the people...Mostly the people.

So here's to you, woman who said to me "where is the Upper East Side?" Uptown. To the east.

And here's to you, couple on the 2 train at 4am Sunday morning. I question why you had your three children, all of whom were under the age of 8, and one of whom was still in a baby stroller, on the subway at that time of night/morning. But mostly, I question why, in the basket compartment on your stroller, there were about six empty cans of Coors Light. Gotta love New York. I'm glad you folks had a good night.

And here's to you, massive African-American lady on the bus tonight, singing along to your iPod so loudly that I could hear you over mine. Your dance moves were stellar, especially the one where you would open up your hands every time the singer said "why," and the one where you would point to yourself ever time he said "you." I'm glad you're pursuing your dream of singing and dancing in front of an audience.

And here's to you, Naked Cowboy, for having the balls (or lack thereof) to stand out there in the forty degree wind tunnel that Times Square was tonight. Sorry to all of the tourists who were taking your picture. I think I walked through about 25 of them. They were in my way. I was in a hurry.

And here's to you, "I Heart New York" tee shirt selling people on the corner of 45th and Broadway, claiming that the "sale is only for today!" I've heard that a lot. Excellent marketing ploy. The tourists won't know. They're leaving. I see what you did there.

God, I love it here.