Last weekend in New York I spent a lot of timing hailing cabs – either my destination was too far or too short of a distance which meant I stood on the street corner looking bewildered and wondering how taking me 10 blocks was too much of an inconvenience for someone who makes a living by, um, taking people places. After being turned away from 6 cabs on the corner of Broadway and 8th, I cried, and I don’t know this next cabbie took pity on me or he thought maybe I was paying in cash, but thankfully (finally) I was able to get to the airport and go home. On the ride to LGA I was thinking, why the fuck do people think New York is really all that? I haven’t a freaking clue!

New York isn’t the Big Apple, it’s the Big Ego.

crabapples by cobaltfish

I haven’t been to a bar/restaurant/site in NYC that doesn’t have an equilivant in just about every other big city. New York isn’t special, New York is BIG and I think people assume these magical things about a place they couldn’t possible see every corner of in two lifetimes. I think because of it’s size there is this general bloated-self image lingering in the air. eh, no thanks.

I’m sure I’ll be back to New York and I’m sure I’ll have many good times there (as you can have anywhere) but I’m not convinced I’ll ever understand the appeal to living there.

People talk about New York City’s culture, the fashion, the city that never sleeps.  Some say it’s a city absorbed in it’s own awesome-ness that no mere moral can live there – you have to be larger than life.  So when I decided to make a trip to the Big Apple for my birthday, I was fully prepared to deal with whatever ‘tude the city threw at me.  I was expecting to fall in love with the city, to have that strong desire so many people have to drop everything and move there. I really just love NYC and I could talk for days about  the museums, Central Park, the food, or the people – but what I was really REALLY fascinated with were the touchscreens in the cabs!  These were awesome!  I’m so jealous of all the New Yorkers who get to use there! You could check the weather, news, events going on around town, map your route, and pay with a credit card (plus add tip) all from the back seat!   Word on the street here in Chicago is that eventually all cabs will have them installed…but I’m  not holding my breath.  Most people I know make sure to have some cash on hand before getting into a cab because so many cabbies fuss about swiping credit cards.  Just about every cab I take and use a credit card – mostly because I travel to and from the airport for business trips and I have a history of losing receipts – so being able track my business charges with my credit card works for me.  And every time I use a credit card the cabbie will make some comment, sigh, or refuse – legally they have to take the card you don’t have to pay with cash!