Time disolving on the edge of a hot plate

It's amazing to me how quickly the time goes by. I'm less than a month away from my two year anniversary with New York City. Yep, two years ago last July, I was fresh off a plane, lugging a 50-pound box with homemade tape handles into the first sketchy gypsy cab I saw. I had no apartment, no job, and still remembered the sweet (or rather spicy) taste of decent Mexican food at reasonable prices. I don't really celebrate such milestones, but it has inspired me to perhaps start a series of "things I've learned while living here" or some such. When I say "series," I mean I'll probably do it once and then forget about it. But we'll see.

In no particular order, I've learned that:

-Food on trucks doesn't necessarily taste better than food not on trucks, and surprisingly, (especially in the case of novelty, not-frequently-found-on-trucks foods, like cupcakes) you often pay more for it.

-Although it still feels unfriendly and wrong, you can't acknowledge, with even so much as a cursory glance, the existence of people carrying clipboards or fliers. And never, no matter how guilty you feel, give your phone number to the Human Rights Campaign. They will use it. Daily.

-There's always a reason the subway car is empty or near empty. Chances are, you don't want to be on it either.

-The best rice pudding in the country (of all the rice puddings I've tasted, that is) can be found at Rice to Riches. I never even liked rice pudding before going here.

-Having roommates you enjoy spending time with (or at the very least: don't dread coming home to at the end of the day) is absolutely essential. Also, very much related: there are actually some pretty great people on craigslist.

-Just because you can walk through Times Square now, doesn't mean you should.

I have more of these "shouldn't that have been obvious before?"-style truth nuggets, but I should probably save them for later (to see if this does become a series). So farewell for now, fair readers! Me, two years ago. Bright-eyed. Bushy-tailed.