On your marks, get set...

...but before we say "GO!" here's an update from New York City!

First of all, I have to confess something. I've turned into one of those snobby Connecticutians (My original term for people from Connecticut.) who seem to think in their (very large) heads that they are in all reality residents of New York City when in all reality they live in a completely different state. Case in point: This morning I was flying into New York's LaGuardia airport from North Carolina. There were lots of people on the plane who were on vacation for the holidays in the city. It was too easy to pick them out. As the plane flew by Manhattan, 90% of the passengers had their noses glued to the windows and many started giving a veritable tour of the city (Like they know anything...) from the air. I am sure that for many of them it was a very exciting moment seeing New York City for the first time--It is, in all honesty, quite an impressive sight--and perhaps an appropriate response for one such as myself who is boiling over with Christmas spirit would have been, "I can nostalgically recall the sense of awe and wonder I also felt when I first set eyes on that most impressive and majestic of cityscapes." However, we must remember that jolly and perky as I am during the holidays, Connecticut has turned me into a snob. My instinctive response was more along the lines of, "Geez people, get a grip. It's just the city. Could you maybe try to quit ruining the last five minutes of what was a peaceful flight for me?" So yes, although it is a full two hours for me to drive to NYC from Hartford, I too have joined the ranks of Connecticutians who get annoyed by "outsiders" who come in and invade "my" city.

The highlight of my day was sock shopping--I am after all from NYC and we must carry on with our everyday lives while we live in this behemoth of a concrete monstrosity. I got on the bus at LaGuardia which took me to the subway which brought me to the place where I'm crashing tonight (Thanks Caleb and Patty!) and then I got back on the train to midtown. I went to Macys, got too annoyed by all the "outsiders" crowding the aisles of the store, and then went across the street to H&M to buy socks so that I can now add some dark socks into the mix of all the white ones I packed for my trip.

I then walked up to Rockefeller Center to see the big Christmas tree (which, by the way, I always thought would be bigger) "because I had to" and took the obligatory self-portrait in front of it. I felt embarrassed to get my camera out. "Outsiders" were everywhere (I think there were probably more tourists in Manhattan today than I've seen even in the summertime.) and I felt like I was condescending to their level to pause for a moment to take a picture in front of one of "their" iconic Christmas landmarks. I mean, good grief, I'm FROM the city, remember? I can't wait till the holidays are over so I can get back to life as a regular resident of Connecticut, I mean, New York City.

...

My camera cord is at the bottom of the abyss that is my bottomless backpack. The posting of the self-portrait will have to wait. Now don't let yourselves get impatient about it like us New Yorkers...

Flight from JFK leaves tomorrow afternoon around 4:00. See you on the other side...