Musings from Manhattan

1. Everything in Atlanta moves so slowly, kind of like the traffic.

2. Bridges here have very funny names. For instance, Throgs Neck and Tappan Zee.

3. A little Southern charm will get you everywhere here, probably because people are so stunned that you are being polite to them for no apparent reason.

4. Anything can be delivered. Literally.

5. A 90 minute commute to and from work is considered normal.

6. Compared to the ridiculous outfit combinations everywhere in this city, the Olsen twins look almost normal to me in photographs now.

7. My recycling bin in Atlanta = diet coke cans and beer bottles. In NYC = most of the household trash, all rinsed and properly sorted.

8. Only people in the South get married before age 30 anymore.

9. People here stare at you, get over it. It most likely means they are admiring your bag (or shoes or coat or earrings or whatever).

10. I feel like a crazy bag lady. I’m always carrying an obnoxiously large bag wherever I go, but when you are routinely out of the house for 16 hours straight, you need stuff.

11. GET OUT OF MY WAY! Seriously, who just stops and stands still in the middle of the sidewalk?

12. “Republican” is a practically a bad word here, but everyone assumes that I must be one as soon as they hear my slight Southern accent (which they think is a thick drawl).

13. What you do, how much you make and who you know determines your entire identity here if you let it.

14. Public transportation is the only way to go. Cars are for suckers.

15. Every social activity in this city revolves around eating and drinking. Emphasis on the drinking. I am fitting in just fine.

JLH