Wendy Kroy*

that's actually new york spelled backwards (kind of). that's actually where i was over the memorial day holiday. that's where i had been trying to visit for about a year now. well, it's a good thing i waited because good things come to those who wait, or so i hear. in a nutshell, it was great. truly great great great. i took a red-eye last thursday night and arrived into JFK at quarter to six. i managed to navigate the big bad subway all by my lonesome -- and during rush hour, mind you -- to my best friend's apartment in the upper west side. we had a blast traversing the city and woke up hung over nearly every morning. this was only my second visit to new york, so i didn't bother repeating all the touristy things i did during the first visit. instead, i tried to be all badass new yorker with my homies. together, we visited soho, chelsea, hell's kitchen, even brooklyn. i also did A LOT of shopping and A LOT of eating, gaining about five pounds and shedding about $500. but how could i resist the fabulous H&M and Century 21?

i saw a ton of my peeps and met a few new ones. (pictures forthcoming.) besides seeing and staying with my bestest friendest jon-david, i saw zahra, ali, nick, nicole and john john. they played wonderful hosts and i was carted around to all the cool places. and of course, there is no place cooler than new york. it must have the highest concentration of hipsters on the planet. the people there are so beautiful yet organic. the men are absolutely scrumptious. but new york must also have the highest concentration of bums and overpriced places on the planet. my usual medium cappuccino at starbucks that costs me $3.15 in LA cost me $4.77 in soho. you have to really love new york to live there because everything is twice as expensive and three times as difficult. the entire city smells like trash and ass. the trains are loud, streets are congested.

and as much as i like new york, i can't say that i love it. i definitely prefer san francisco. and i prefer the space and comfort i have in LA, where i can find a spacious 1-bedroom guesthouse in a central area with a washer/dryer, yard and dishwasher for an unbeatable $1,150 a month. if i lived in new york, i'd have to earn well into the six figures to live comfortably. perhaps i could have endured a student lifestyle if i had moved to new york instead of san francisco right after i finished college, but as i approach 30, i find myself desirous of nice things. window shopping is depressing. i prefer the smell of jasmine that wafts through my bedroom window via a sunny socal breeze. i need tranquility and stillness.

four full days in new york left me overstimulated. i came home exhausted, craving one more vacation day to just sit on the beach and watch the horizon. i know that much of the hustle bustle was borne of necessity and scarcity of time, as i had to pack in the socializing, but the new york lifestyle of running for trains, incessant cab horns and sidestepping the piles of trash on the sidewalk -- ugh. i came home very ready to enter the alone zone, to hibernate and appreciate, and regroup and relax.

yet i do hope to get back there this fall or winter for more fun with my friends. i did enjoy my time with them immensely. and it was marvelous to vanish from my LA life, if only for a few days. i'm thinkin san francisco or mexico over an extended 4th of july weekend.


*this is actually the name of a character in one of my most favorite movies of all time, 'the last seduction' starring linda fiorentino. in it, she plays a badass manhattanite who changes her name to wendy kroy after she leaves new york. rent the movie if you haven't yet seen it. it's damn good.