New York, New York...

1. Jude enjoying his eggs, 2. Sarabeth's at Central Park South, 3. Serene and her oyster, 4. Us, 5. Uniting painting, 6. Singapore Consulate, 7. Queensboro bridge, 8. Grand Central ceiling detail, 9. View from Mitchel's apartment by night

We're back from our whirlwind trip home, only to find Ann Arbor blanketed in fog, rain, and today, snow. It's a little dismal, but I have to say, I kind of like it. Ask me again in February and I'm sure I'll have something else to say, but the period before and just after Thanksgiving, the whole first snow, cusp-of-winter thing, I can deal.

Jude and I had a little preview of the sad weather when we stopped over in New York for a couple of days. Apparently, the entire eastern seaboard was embattled with fog and rain. It wasn't the best weather to be seeing the city, but we got lucky and either stayed indoors (Grand Central Station), or it was fairly nice outside when we didn't (SoHo). Between oysters at the Station and colour-coded shopping at the awesome Uniqlo, Jude and I made the two days count. We had fun, the city was great, but in spite of it all, we ask ourselves if it's a city we could really live in.

Maybe it has to do with being in tiny Ann Arbor too long or having lost our hearts to Chicago a long time ago, but I don't think I love NY enough to want to live there. The history and culture of the place is unparalleled of course, and it's vibrant and exciting like few other cities in the world. But it's just not me. Not when the people walk just that little bit faster, the cars honk that much louder, and the rent, ridiculously, exorbitantly higher. Have I been spoiled by the Midwest? I dunno... Until we find out, we're making the best out of the 6 month long winters, our 3-storey townhouse for under $1K, and slightly more civilized driving...