When I talk to people about New York, I try not to focus on the negative. It's unhealthy and unworthy to do so on a regular basis, and also quite possibly rude, since odds are good I'll be talking to a New Yorker. Instead I try to focus on the positive, such as the fact that I have a job (and a pretty decent job, taken on its own merits), AHS, or my church. This may give the impression that really, I don't think New York is that bad, or that I only don't like it because Thayet and Meshparjai are not here. This is untrue.
I hate this town. I hate it with an incandescent fury. I hate it with such passion that its very existence offends me. I hate its understocked little stores. I hate its endless, green-less stretches of concrete. I hate its weather. I hate its smoke-shrouded sidewalks. I hate its wretchedly cramped apartments, and the fact that even nice neighborhoods can't be counted on to have basic amenities like free laundry facilities, or level floors. But most of all, I hate the subway.
I am writing this instead of sparring right now because I just spent two and three quarters hours not getting to fencing, due to subway delays and reroutes caused by construction. I suppose I could have called a cab, but this infuriatingly self-absorbed town is expensive enough as it is. Eventually, I gave up and turned around, never having gotten more than a third of the way to my destination. You might think it's kind of ironic that I didn't make it to fencing when I could clearly stand to hit something right now, but fencing isn't really good for expressing anger, so I guess that's something.
I understand that the New York subway system is an attempt to make a public service out of what was originally a collection of for-profit proprietary networks. I understand that it runs 24/7. I understand that it is over one hundred years old and desperately needs renovation. I understand that it is still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy. I understand that I hate public transit in general, because you can't sing on it and it runs on the opposite of lawyer hours. And I freely admit that, miserable as it is, the New York subway is far superior to BART. Nevertheless, the New York subway system has got to be the least reliable system of transportation I have ever experienced.
And it is the backbone of New York transportation. There is no comparable method of transportation available out here. I cannot simply go places in New York; I must subject myself to the vicissitudes of a public transportation system that is as reliable as it is pleasant. There is something deeply, personally offensive to me about a city that tries so very hard to prevent me from going wheresoever I please, but if it must, it could at least make its precious little miniature Niles run reliably.
So yes, there are good things to be found even in this swamp of human misery - even things that, individually, I will miss when I finally shake off the dust of this terrible cesspit. And I try to focus on the good things, because for now - for now - the alternative is a breach of duty, and that is unacceptable. But let there be no doubt that I hate, hate hate hate hate, this waterlogged trash-compacted smoke-impregnated railroad-dependent wretched excuse for a town.
