A Chick with Baggage - aChickWithBaggage.com

Hey, I'm trying out something new. I'm a big music buff and think that there are a lot of posts that I write that's stage would be set much better with a little background music loving. So try it out, if you like and leave feedback if it's something you'd like to see stick around. I also don't know how this will show up in an RSS reader or in e-mail so bear with me please!

Background Music - Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys - I love New York

It's been over a year since I last stepped foot in New York. I'm landed here because my mom lives here now, so I have a free place to stay. Enough of a reason for me to stop anywhere. But I was excited to give New York another shot.

See, people are always under this impression that you're either a West Coast gal, or an East Coast gal. There's no in between, there is no compromise. You're either one or the other. I have been itching, for the past 3 years to prove those people wrong. Because I've always known that I could be either. I could live in either place. I could be a both coast girl.

I've spend probably a collective 6 months in New York over my lifetime, but not all at once. My dad used to work for the New York office of his company in WTC2 pre 9/11. So I've done all the major holidays, seen all the major tourist attractions, I've really seen New York. But I've never lived it.
Of all that time I've ever spent in New York, only 4 days of it has been as a real adult (by real, I mean, of drinking age and able to function like a true adult). Two of those days I spent with some friends in the East Village and two of those I spent with B Lee and Dan in Brooklyn. We did our fair share of bar hopping on both occasions, but I always felt like an outsider, just following the crowd.

No this is my time to come back and take the City by the balls.

There's nothing quite like coming up over the bridge to Manhattan from Long Island in your first cab from the airport after a long vacation from the City. It gives you that happy virgin feeling every time, no matter how many times you've been here (please note, I get the same feeling almost every time I see a skyline... it's strange... but true). It didn't hurt that I had offered to share a cab with a young virgin Brit who was now inundating me with questions about what to do, where to go, and how to get around. I LOOOOOVEEE playing tour guide. Love.

I stepped out of the cab in my mom's cute little Chelsea apartment and walked up the three flights of stairs to her room. I plopped all my stuff down, did some unpacking and then headed to the roof for a little bit of breathing. I grabbed a Blue Moon out of the fridge (thank GOD for American beer - words I never thought I'd mutter) and climbed up to the 8th floor.

Time for my ritualistic intake of a new city. Hell, I know this place isn't new, but I sure as hell haven't been on a rooftop garden in Chelsea before, so I'll humor myself.

Breathe in.

Smells. City. Air is cleaner than I would have expected. Smells like air. Sounds like city too. Cabs honking. Helicopters flying overhead. Wind rustling through the tall buildings. It's actually relatively quiet up here. I can see the Hudson river and a barge floating by. There's also a helipad where one of my noisy choppers is coming down. I can see the Empire State building, towering over the rest of the semi-skyscrapers of the mid-30's. I feel the gorgeous breeze. It's about 75/23 sunny and perfect. It's a warm day and I know I have few of these left. I taste. Beer. Mmmm. Beer.