Dear MTA - We are no longer friends.

If you're anything like me, it's not stepping off of the sidewalk and hailing a cab that gives you that "I am such a New Yorker" feeling. It's being able to casually tell your friend "Oh, where are we going? Oh, easy. I can just take the -- and transfer to the -- at -- and it's right there." 

When I take the subway it's like "Take that New York! I can navigate you for $2!" It's like being one step ahead of the game, like a true New Yorker.

Well, New York MTA. You've officially kicked my ass. Congratulations. You win. 

As some of you may know, I live in the Financial District, or as people cooler than me call it - Fi-Di. Despite its rep as the financial center of the city - and, dare I say, the world - it is only accessible from ONE subway station. 

And for the past THREE weekends the 4, 5 has not been running. Since I'm a newbie to the area, I learned this the hard way, as my fabulous friend Andy can attest to (when I arrived at his apartment in tears). 

 The worst part is... I was in my this-will-look-super-cute-at-the-trendy-bar outfit... which is never the this-won't-look-skanky-on-the-subway outfit. SO, after walking 5 blocks to the subway, then another two blocks underground, I, along with a dozen European tourists, tried to make sense of the hand-written "service changes" note inconspicuously taped to the wall, with an arrow pointing to the J. The note conveniently forgot to mention that you first have to take the A to Chambers to catch the J. Three trips around the station - in my new black pumps, which are apparently too big - and I finally hopped on the A to 42nd, then took the N to 23rd and had to walk over 3 avenues just to find my friend in Gramercy. Estimated trip time? 80 minutes.

After sweating it out on the subway and dodging the creepy looks, all the while trying to walk in my big shoes without looking like I was already drunk at 9 p.m., I finally made it. But my love affair with the Subway is over. I gladly took a $15 cab home, as if I were... I cringe at the thought... a tourist.

But at least I maintained some semblance of New York knowledge by yelling at the driver when he tried to take Bowery instead of FDR drive =)

Why love New Yawk?

I often wonder, what is it about this city that keeps us coming back for more? Why is the New Yorker - the fearless, trendy, subway-riding, taxi-hailing, overzealous city slicker - afraid of what lurks beyond the boroughs? We prefer our over-priced, undersized one bedroom apartments to backyards, picket fences, and the deed to a house. We devote our lives to maintaining a suitable living environment given less than ideal living conditions...

So why do we call these bustling streets home? (This question is not rhetorical). I think I'll make a list. (Add to my list!) 

And continue it indefinitely, since there will always be another reason to love this city... 

OH, by the way, read this article from the Smithsonian Magazine for some always welcomed New York pride: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/mytown-newyork.html

1. There is nothing that cannot be found here: Horseback riding in the Bronx, Ethiopian food on Macdougal St. & weekend barbecues on the FDR Drive (If you're sneaky, sometimes you can snag a hot dog)
2. Breaking the mold = fitting in
3. The New York Marathon (which I will hopefully run one day...)
4. Need a vacation? Little Italy!
5. Poetry slams on the Lower East Side
6. Every blink of the eye in the West Village is like flipping pages of a J. Crew magazine
7. Political protests in Union Square (except at 6 a.m. on a Saturday)
8. Cheap (& clean!) fruit vendors

My very first blog post.

...So you are not allowed to judge me if you think my blog is lame.

A lot of people begin their blogs with "My friends have always told me to write a book."

My friends have never told me to write a book. Ever. The closest I have come is a passing comment over dinner (check out my sidebar!) from my oh so fabulous sister: "You should start a blog... I bet Grandma and Grandpa would love to hear what you're up to."

Glamorous, I know.

But at any rate, a few (spilled) glasses of wine later, and here I am, entertaining the mildly vain hope that someone may actually find my thoughts and writing not completely uninteresting.

To tell you the truth, I've never really wanted to write a blog (or read one!) Call me old fashioned, but I still use e-mail and Facebook to keep tabs on my friends. 

But as much as I've tried to deny it, blogging is a great way of communicating, really important in the media, blah blah blah... so I figure since I'm in the communications and media relations field... I should stop pretending blogs don't really exist.

And okay, fine, it might be kind of fun.

So anyway, I'll be posting regularly about my life, New York, friends... and anything that pops into my head. 

Comments (about anything) are ALWAYS welcome and encouraged! (Example: "Your life, thoughts, and blog are uninteresting. Please stop.") But really... please comment about whatever. 

Hope you enjoy.

Xo, K

Today my pulse beats to Miles Davis's Kind of Blue.