1. the summer i spent not in new york city

2. i ma rent an apartment in
y
the east village
and
ha a full-time job in
ve
union square

3. but don’t be fooled by the facts
in no w y is new york city my summer home
a

4. this city just isn’t conducive to my idea of ‘summer’
(aside from the fro-yo, NYC does FRO-YO like WOAH!)

5. nature
crickets
starry nights
pick-up trucks
bug spray
bare feet
freeze-pops
flip-flops
sunshine
w ves
a
foolishness
chic lit
sunscreen
hikes
friendship bracelets
long walks
naps
coolers
inner tubes
water balloons
this is summer.

6. You’ll notice that nowhere on this list are rats, sweltering
underground subw ys, and over air-conditioned office buildings.
a

7. before my summer heart
grew two sizes too small

8. i decided to escape NYC as often
as humanl possible.
y

9. it started out with little weekend bus trips.
new york > washington d.c.

10. but things quickl escalated
y

11. my rides grew longer

12. one bus turned into two buses
with transfers
new york city > providence > worcester > cape cod

13. long car drives were added on top
like the cherry on a bus-ride sunday
bus: new york city > washington d.c. DRIVE: > richmond

14. then planes got involved. Layovers abound.
new york city> hilton head > san francisco > sydney

15. and don’t forget trains. threw them in the mix too.
nyc > long island

16. 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 > subw y >work
a

17. throw in a few travel disasters along the w y
a
cancelled flights, bus crashes, and never ending traffic

18. it all added up to quite the eventful few months.

19. not spent in new york city

20. and worth every penny paid in rent for my
empty east village apartment.

21. i summer.