The start of something

I have been sitting on this for some time.  The excuses came too easily - work was crushingly busy, and life got in the way; in truth, I simply found writing about New York City to be extremely difficult.  The sheer amount of fodder to capture was daunting.  How could I hope to present a cohesive view that imparted my passion for New York?  Wanting to do justice to a topic so dear to my heart, I poured through books about the city.  That only solidified the challenge, as I encountered an endless queue of talented writers, ceaselessly heaping insightful observations and relatable vignettes about their experiences in New York.

Consequently, I did not write anything down for a very long stretch.  It was not until reading a particular passage in “The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone” that I felt comfortable enough to proceed:

“And when one inhabits a city, even a city as rigorously and logically constructed as Manhattan, one starts by getting lost.  Over time, you begin to develop a mental map, a collection of favoured destinations and preferred routes: a labyrinth no other person could ever precisely duplicate or reproduce.”

Certainly, there are many commonalities in our experiences in New York – it is a harsh city, an expensive one, one that pushes and demands much from its denizens.  But for those willing to tough it out, the rewards are the seemingly stolen moments; brief seconds of intimacy with the city and its strangers that are granted with serendipity.  It is these moments that make up our experience of New York City, the same moments that separates and makes our experiences distinct.

And so, I will endeavor to relay my moments, to draw out my mental map of New York City.  I hope you enjoy.  

(New York City moments are best experienced when serenaded by a personal soundtrack, so I will try to insert musical accompaniment where I can.)