I Heart NY (even if the quest to find the perfect apartment is kicking my butt)

There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size and its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter — the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. […] Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness; natives give it solidity and continuity; but the settlers give it passion.

--E.B. White, Here is New York

Yes, I'm still alive...

...I just haven't written here for - oh - over a MONTH.

It's been super busy. All good stuff, but I have now officially become one of those New Yorkers who doesn't have time to breathe and rushes around the city and thinks about what it'll be like when I finally have that house in the country that I can go to on the weekends so I actually can breathe.

London was fantastic (can't believe that was almost a month ago!). Great weather, great company, great food.

And now I'm back, with a new obsession which is looking for an apartment for September. I've found one that I love. Click here to read Ariel's column on how I've been going about it. (I am - and will forever be - Sophie in her columns. Although sometimes I am also Heather, which makes me feel like I suffer from Multiple Personality Disorder).

Also, this essay entitled "I'm Y.A. and I'm Okay" appeared in last week's NY Times Book Review about the prejudice against YA vs. "real" novelists. I especially love Mark Haddon's quote. As for me, I definitely get a lot of sympathetic looks that translate to "Oh, don't worry -- if you work hard enough and really hone your skills, then maybe one day you'll write a real, honest-to-goodness adult novel."

Um, yeah, thanks.

More later. Now it's back to scouring Craig's List for more 250 square foot apartments for $1800 to go see.