I am back in Mississippi now and I keep thinking about last week and everything I experienced for the 1st time.  Times Square, SoHo, NoHo, Brooklyn, Queens, Chealsea Market,  Brooklyn Bridge, Chinatown, Harlem, and the millions of people I saw, bumped into, listened to, stared at, and was in awe of.  I honestly didn’t know what to say or how to say anything concerning the experience as a whole because it was simply too much information to post in a traditional blog post.  So this is my solution.  I will present you with this, a summary of my experience in a categorized list form.

While in NYC, I liked:

the food (i.e. Carnegie Deli, Nobu, The Sea Grill, Gray’s Papaya, Carmine’s, Chinatown Brasserie), the size of the city, the art, the centrally located park, the architecture, the history, fire escapes, diversity, mirrored glass buildings, Times Square, taxi cab thrill rides, the pace, walking with a destination in mind, the acceptance of differences in other people, the tolerance of other religions, that race is not an issue, and that my misconceptions about NYC and crime, filth, and people were destroyed.

While in NYC, I did not like:

the expected crowds, the out of control advertising,  the way cab rides are calculated and the poor explanation thereof (RIGHT MICHELLE?), blisters on the soles of my feet, poor shoe insoles, hearing the few people who expressed ill will to someone else, people who do not look forward while walking, people not looking where they are walking who bump into you and are mad at you, drunk 20 somethings walking around loudly cursing about something to an insane degree, THE MESA GRILL (YUCK!),  consumerism personified, the clear distinction between the haves and have-nots, and iced tea.

While in NYC, I learned:

other people think like my wife and I, different races, creeds, and nationalities can coexist without war, strife, or open hostility, people ARE unique, people are people no matter where you are from or where you are, kindness is spoken by everyone, some people don’t hear the words “thank you” near enough, the average monthly rent for an apartment in Manhattan is $3000 per month,  “economies of scale” are real, Brooklyn, if not in NYC, would be the 3rd largest city in the USA, an open faced NY ruben is my favorite sandwich of all time, and I could live there.

While in NYC, I ate:

Grays Papaya Hot Dogs, Carnegie Deli Open Faced Ruben, The Sea Grill Crab Cakes, 17 different Dim Sum items, Mesa Grill Ribeye, Steak and Eggs at the Rockefeller Center Cafe, Carmine’s Country Style Pasta, Fresh Mozzarella and Basil Pizza, cart beef ka-bob, cupcakes from Crumbs, Magnolia Bakery, and Dean and Deluca, and all the Poland Spring Water I could ingest.

I am not sure if I❤ NY, but I would definitely ask her out again.