the summer i spent not in new york city

i may rent an apartment in

the east village

and

have a full-time job in

union square

but don’t be fooled by the facts

in no way is new york city my summer home

this city just isn’t conducive to my idea of ‘summer’

(aside from the fro-yo, NYC does FRO-YO like WOAH!)

nature

crickets

starry nights

pick-up trucks

bug spray

bare feet

freeze-pops

flip-flops

sunshine

waves

foolishness

chic lit

sunscreen

hikes

friendship bracelets

long walks

naps

coolers

inner tubes

water balloons

this is summer.

You’ll notice that nowhere on this list are rats, sweltering

underground subways, and over air-conditioned office buildings.

before my summer heart

grew two sizes too small

i decided to escape NYC as often

as humanly possible.

it started out with little weekend bus trips.

new york > washington d.c.

but things quickly escalated

my rides grew longer

one bus turned into two buses

with transfers

new york city > providence > worcester > cape cod

long car drives were added on top

like the cherry on a bus-ride sunday

bus: new york city > washington d.c. DRIVE: > richmond

then planes got involved. Layovers abound.

new york city> hilton head > san francisco > sydney

and don’t forget trains. threw them in the mix too.

nyc > long island

soon my weekends became a hazy blur of transportation puzzles

work >taxi > vamoose bus > mom picks me up > borrow dad’s car> drive to richmond> carpool

with leslie > drive home> fairfax connector bus > metro > vamoose bus > subway >work

throw in a few travel disasters along the way

cancelled flights, bus crashes, and never ending traffic

it all added up to quite the eventful few months.

not spent in new york city

and worth every penny paid in rent for my

empty east village apartment.

summer.i