From the Mind of Trevor Stone

I take back what I said previously about you not appreciating tacos. There are many fine authentic Mexican taco trucks, at least in warm weather. Also in warm weather, your citizens apparently hang out in public spaces and bring their unique talents to the public arena, and I'm glad to see this.

However, this trip has strengthened my beliefs about you in two ways:
First, exclusivity is the primary commodity in New York. And frankly, that's just not hip anymore.
Second, New Yorkers can't do anything for themselves. Including, apparently, opening doors and using a restroom sink. I'm not sure if you, Manhattan, are encouraging or responding to this phenomenon. But as a Westerner, it feels pretty awkward to have a guy standing in the bathroom turn on the water for you and then hand you a paper towel.

I've posted the best of my photographs from this autumn. The bulk of them are from a week I spent in Manhattan (New York, not Kansas).

In addition to productive meetings with other Google Docs folks, I spent a lot of time wandering around. It's a very walkable city (I never even took a cab) with some pretty cool things to see. Before coming, I had a cinematic picture of New York in the '70s and '80s, so I had strategies on how to avoid getting pick-pocketed or mugged. But a couple decades of Republican mayors and rising rents have locked up or priced out most of the blue-collar criminals in Manhattan. The white-collar criminals do their business downtown during the day, so it's dead at night. Maybe all the nocturnals also got priced out of the City That Never Sleeps. Also, aside from my hotel, the place wasn't as expensive as I was led to believe, though my preference for street food over fine dining might have influenced that. Speaking of street food, I think I found the only taco truck in Manhattan.

In non-big apple adventures, you may notice that many of the photos feature a female face you haven't seen before. That's Kelly. We've been dating for a few months. We started hanging out at Dragonfest this year and seem remarkably compatible. We'll be ringing in the new year at Valley View. The forecast low is ten below on New Year's Eve, so it'll be really hard to get out of the pool. I hope you all have a fantastic new year. See you in eleven!

Someone in Long Island City has a creative way to pop the question. (Be sure to close the info balloon to see what's up.)

Thanks to polonius for the discovery.