Six Years?

Tomorrow I make my second pilgrimage to the great state of Connecticut. I'm headed out there for the weekend with some friends. Interestingly, April 15 marks not only tax day, but it also marks my six year anniversary in New York since moving here from Germany.

Strange, that after six years in the area this will be only my second Connecticut visit. It's also my second in about four months. Needless to say, I'm dangerously clueless about the surrounding area. Even though I technically live on Long Island, I've only made one major foray out onto Long Island. I know northern Jersey pretty well as I drove out there daily for two years. I've made the occasional trips to central Jersey and the Jersey shore. But I don't know them that well and couldn't speak intelligently about them even if pressed.

I made several journeys on the train down to Philly when I was dating the Fortune Cookie. I know downtown Philly fairly well. Love the MacCormack and Schminks off the square. I could tell you where to grab a solid Newcastle, where to buy some last minute peel and eat shrimp and roasted peppers, or even a nice Pinot Grigio. I could direct you to a place to buy your basic Franziskaner, its corresponding glassware and a nice little park in which to to drink it. I know a great place to see live acts like Francis Dunnery. I could also tell you how Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches are, like, not at all good and easily the most overrated local delicacy I've ever experienced. (Well maybe not. The Japanese "traditional sweet" isn't too stellar, either.) That said, I could also tell you which of the massive Cheese Steak Emporiums NOT to visit. Don't remember the name, but go to the one across the street. It's bad. But not as bad as Geno's. So yeah, I know Philly.

But that's not the NY metropolitan area. And that brings us back on topic: I don't know this area. Even after six years.

Of course, during the period I've lived in NYC I have been to Greece, Germany several times, Britain three times, Turkey, South Africa and Japan among other countries. Quite a world we live in. You don't know your immediate surroundings worth a damn, and yet you could give explicit directions to someone about where to go to get the best Sundowners in Cape Town.

Six years? Damn. When I moved here I was't at all enthused about New York. I thought, "a couple years and I'm done." Am I officially a New Yorker now? I'm not from Holland, but that's Veird.