It’s Sunday, and I still haven’t done my school assignments. Procrastination much? My boyfriend comes out of rehab Tuesday, and I am scared, excited, and nervous about that 3-hour drive upstate to get him. We’ve been through a lot in a short time, his extreme behavior battles with my extreme behavior both negatively and positively – and where most people would scoff and say our relationship is doomed – I am absolutely optimistic and know in my heart without a doubt that he is the man for me.
I’ve been doing well. After that last hospitalization (as traumatic as it was) was what I needed to jumpstart my life again after being dead and dormant for so many long miserable years. I’ve looked back on past blogs, and boy, was I fucked up. I spent nearly two decades drowning in alcohol, men online, dead-end jobs, and overall misery. Bipolar conquered me, the same way it defeats most people today. It’s the depression, it’s the mania, it’s the hopelessness that kills us every time – and when we finally are doing well, something Holy Unbelievable happens to destroy all the progress we’ve made. It’s this kind of destructive cycle that I had been faced with for all those years, and I think I have finally broken through all that horror.
Firstly, the key to my success is the right medication combination. I have admitted to myself that this combination of Respirdone, Lithium, and Seroquel will probably murder my organs by the time I reach 60, but there is really nothing I can do about it. I would rather have a full life in the next 20 years than live in misery and being symptomatic. This look at my ultimate mortality is what propels me even further, and makes me fully aware that because I have been taking these medications for so long, and my soon-to-be-husband is on just as much, we are probably both not going to live long. My goal is to enjoy every damn moment of life right frickin’ now.
I’ve also started working full-time and looking at a side business. I want to live comfortably, and I want to be happy, and I want my marriage with my man to reflect all that happiness in the short time that I have. I realize I may be overreacting and could very well live till 100, but I think the fact that I feel my life is limited, makes me appreciate every moment so much more.
Bipolar doesn’t have to conquer you – you can take that beauty, the thoughts and dreams you have in mania, and write it all down. Make art out it, create what the bipolar gift has given you, and enjoy your self-expression in new and exciting ways. I call it a bipolar gift because that’s precisely what it is – we see things others don’t, we experience realities differently than others, the rush and the excitement that we feel can’t compare to the most potent street drug and that high that people all over the world search for so much, we feel naturally because it is part of who we are.
Conquer the bipolar – go get that job, rip yourself from underneath the covers and sing, dance, or paint away all the pain.
My 40th birthday is coming in six months – I was just 24 when I was first diagnosed, and I lost 16 years in complete stupidness. Not anymore.
Yup. It’s EXACTLY how it sounds. I honestly don’t know where 22 years just evaporated into nowhere. However, turning 40 isn’t as scary as it was turning 30. What is it about the Big Three-O that’s got everyone so shaken? Everyone, as in women, in particular.
I think for me, it was the fact that I was leaving my 20s behind, and there was just so much that I wanted to accomplish by the time I was 30 that I didn’t. You know, graduating college, meeting the love of my life, getting married, moving out, and so on and so on. The fact of the matter is due to this bipolar curse that was thrust upon me; instead of looking towards the future to acquiring all those things, I was continually being pushed back and back and back, with constant hospitalizations and traumatizations. Honestly? My 20s were a fuckin’ nightmare, and it lasted well into my 30s. I mean it wasn’t like I was poverty-stricken or anything, I was just in mental anguish all the damn time, and I wanted someone desperately to love me. Desperately, I say again, DESPERATELY.
Love was the only thing I ever wanted, and I would have sold my soul for it, sometimes I think that I had with all the creeps I had been dealing with, and The Devil was having his fun collecting his due. But that’s for another time. The volumes of my hypersexuality can wait till I am ready to talk about them – “bipolar slut ” is putting it mildly.
In this attempt to find love, I was doing basically what everyone is doing now – except without the swiping and the apps. I was on dating websites, filling out questionnaires, trying to make the perfect profile, spending hours perfecting the most flattering selfies to post on them, and trying to make myself stand out among all the other relationship-seekers on these sites. Now, we all know that girls get more messages than guys, but what is in abundance of quantity, is severely lacking in quality – much so as it is today. In my case, though, (and I don’t know if you guys are guilty of this too), I never went past the messaging phase, ie. I sat on my computer all day talking to guys and never meeting them. Ugh, no wonder I was miserable.
Why am I talking about this? Well, the sad, sad reality is, that the 22 years between my high school days, and my present college days, (getting my degree now, woohoo!), is that a whole lot of nothing happened. Okay, the drama with the hospitals, manias, car accidents, hearing Jesus and Aliens, and all that good shit aside, (I promise I will let you guys in on some of that insanity), but after all that had settled down and I was HEAVILY medicated, so I came back down to reality – it became quiet…..too quiet. I basically spent a bulk of those years drinking very heavily and screwing around online talking to thousands of guys, in which half of them were probably in relationships or married.
What kind of life is that?
This last hospitalization in 2019 taught me one thing – this shit has GOT TO STOP. Like seriously, I can’t be like a revolving door in a psych ward, come on already! When I got discharged, my mom came to pick me up, and on the drive home, she told me something that has stood with me and has been my driving force to do all the things I’m doing today. She said, “you messed up the first 40 years, make the next 40 count.” And that’s EXACTLY what I’m doing. I happen to have met the love of my life in there this time around, (go figure), and he has a whole host of problems that I don’t even know how I am gonna handle all his shit, my shit, money shit, job shit, apartment shit, and dammit, grown-up shit! And how am I gonna handle being someone’s wife???!!! ARGHHHHHH!!!!
I saw this quote on Facebook today, and it really hit home. I spent most of Christmas Eve crying, sleeping, and feeling sorry for myself. Through the stroke of sheer luck and maybe the will of God, I got to see my guy today when I dropped off cigarettes and money his mom gave me to give to him as he was being transferred from one rehab to another. Last night’s drama really ripped me apart inside – because when he called me and said he signed out of rehab and was walking the streets of Queens with all his bags, begging people to use their cell phones to call me and desperately wanting me to pick him up – I truly, truly wanted to pack a bag and just pick him up and drive into the sunset and never look back in the most romantic way possible.
But life teaches us that our consequences will bite us in the ass, which I have learned the hard way with my almost 40 years on this Earth. He is actually 40 years old, which makes me question his thinking, and when his mom kept calling me and texting me not to go pick him and leave him out there, you could actually hear my heart breaking. What I did was convince him to go back inside and work it out with them – he just desperately wants to leave and be with me, remorseful of all he’s done, and where I once thought our love could conquer anything, it can’t conquer his addiction.
I swore to myself I would never date an addict, especially since I abandoned my fiance when I was 19 to his addiction and moved on – I’m selfish and a hard person, and honestly I used to have a real problem with alcohol, so why would I take that on? You know why I am doing this now? Love didn’t just hit me this time – it straight up slammed me right in my face and knocked me over. I truly believe now that we don’t choose the ones we fall in love with – if we are looking, if our souls are calling out to the universe for the one who will complete us and ease the aching in our heart and when we get that true love, life shows us that holding on to that movie love is far from easy. I know I have movie love, only because we both are holding to each other so damn tightly – with a desperation that critics would judge us for – but dammit I fucking love this man and I am going to stand by him.
I’ve come full circle over the past 20 years, and I know that it won’t be easy. I might hate him, I might curse him, he may leave me crying on the floor to go get high – but I am in it for the long haul. Call it blind faith – call it being completely stupid – but this Christmas Eve, I am taking care of me – and while he’s been there and I’ve been waiting by the phone, instead of falling headfirst into a depression in full bipolar form – I’ve decided to write about it, stay active on a support forum, reach out to friends I haven’t spoken to in a while and keeping busy through Christmas. I may be alone without him and missing him terribly, but I did get to kiss him one last time for the next 30 days, and I am hoping he gets the help he needs.
Merry Christmas to you all, and if you have someone special in your life this year, please kiss them and hug them for me tightly – I wish so bad to be with my baby tonight and I am totally jealous.
What a title, right? To call the last two months, a lifetime of drama is an understatement. My relationship has been explosive, lustful, passionate, exquisitely painful, and mind-numbingly fluid in ways that have left every previous relationship a pile of dust in the wind. This man is a broken version of me from years ago, and all the worst parts that I see of myself. His addiction got him mandated into rehab, which I think is the best course of action for now. But there are elements to it that I am just not comfortable with.
He’s walked alone for a long time – alone in the streets, knee-deep in poverty, desperately hoping someone would love him. Then I came along, meeting him in the worst place you could possibly meet someone – the psych ward. Now, I know what you’re thinking, how could I make a relationship out of such chaos and dysfunction? Well, to be honest, my madness knows his madness like the man we all know who walked on water 2,000 years ago. I bring up that analogy because we both have a deep faith, we both have a strong passion and we both are exactly one year apart in age, (and one week apart in birthdays, how cool is it to find someone who is your zodiac sign?) This man knows the way my mind works, he once told me he loves the way my hip moves when I walk, the crookedness of my smile when I am sexy, the way my eyes widen when he fucks me, the way I sing my heart out at the same songs he knows – we are a match made in the stars, and I would be a fool to say I am going to walk away because he doesn’t his shit together yet – I frickin don’t have my shit together yet.
So would the analogy be my madness knows his madness, or does my failures know his failures, or do my inadequacies know his so well make sense? The last thing couples want to do is to relate to each other by their horrible qualities, but I think that kind of struggle and realness is necessary for the longevity of true love. I saw the rawness of him, and he saw the rawness of me from day one – we saw in each other all the things that people hide from each other in relationships, times ten.
Our relationship has been explosive. We have had painful fights and disappointments that would break up most couples. The fact is, though, we NEED each other. That kind of desperation is far from healthy, but that’s what we are. All of his dysfunction comes from his environment and his family, and since mine is moving down south, I think I am going to follow them and take him with me. I LOVE New York – I love everything about this city, and never in a million years would I have considered moving – but for him? I will drop everything and be gone tomorrow. I believe in this so much, I believe in him so much, that I can honestly say I can leave my whole world behind to start anew. A fresh start is what we both need badly because I think “people places and things” can also make or break a relationship.
And the sex is well – too good to even describe. I have heard stories about women who couldn’t orgasm from penetration, I was one of them – but with him – it’s earth-shattering orgasms with whatever he does. I never met a man who electrified my lust like him – and I have never had 4 or 5 orgasms in one night like it is with him. Is it true that crazy sex is the best sex on the planet? I am starting to think there is really something to that.
In all, I think the best thing for his recovery is a new environment – a new place where we can start over and build a life. I never thought I would ever leave New York – but to ensure my happiness with the man that I love? I am all for it.
I’ve never heard more truth in recent weeks, than a line from a song that goes, “That’s what happens when a Tornado meets a Volcano,” because it describes the kind of intensity and dysfunction of my new relationship. I have no business being with this man. He is a drug addict, a street thug, and everything I know in my heart I never wanted. But…..yes, there’s that BUT – the But is: the man loves me more intensely than any man I have never known in my life.
The sex is out of this world. The night we spent in a hotel a week ago, still plays in my mind of how he fucked me four times in one night without even breaking a sweat. The passion and intensity are real, and I wonder: Is it because we are both screwed up in the head the reason there is such fire between us? I am no one to judge anyone’s habits – I have spent the past decade drowning in bottles of Jack Daniels, frequent trips to psych wards, and not making a decent living at anything because I just gave up at life. I am no prize to be had by any man, and the man I loved for a decade always kept me at arm’s length, leaving the door open for this new love to swoop in sweep me off of my feet.
I love him, intensely too. My tears, when I curse at him, yell at him, he doesn’t fight back, which is a plus, he tries to reason with me is another plus. The most I have seen him angry at me is when he said to me: “I am going to put a fuckin’ gun to my head if I lose you, Lynn,” and in all honesty, I believe him. This relationship isn’t what I would call toxic; it is more explosive – our sex, our arguments, our passion, the intensity of his kisses – all of it – brings me back to wanting more and more. Maybe I am the drug addict too – maybe he is my cocaine and crack, and I just can’t get enough of the exquisite pain of this relationship.
He’s promised me that he’ll stop, but I don’t know if I believe him. If I abandon him, it WILL destroy him, so I have to push on and play Russian Roulette with him. He’s only relapsed once or twice in the past two months, so I thank my lucky stars that he isn’t a daily user like I was a daily alcoholic.
I think the fact that we are both damaged makes everything about us and our relationship ridiculously intense.
I wasn’t going to talk about the fact that I have a mental illness for the purpose of this blog, but recent events (hospitalization) have changed that tune dramatically. I don’t think people realize the strength that is needed when you stay in one of those places for a long period, especially when it is against your will. There were nights where I just prayed to God to let me die and waking up in a foggy haze the next morning with a nurse ready to pump me full of medication.
It is an absolute nightmare, and more so, a humbling experience. I don’t accept the Bipolar diagnosis, but as I am approaching 40, I MUST. Some people have diabetes, my dad has heart disease, and I have something that impedes my most precious organ, my brain – trust me there were times I wished a heart attack rather than mental illness as crazy as that sounds.
I never had bipolar through my youth or my teen years, in fact, I did a lot of partying, and A LOT of drinking. The DRINKING was the beginning of the end for me because at 24 years old I went to a careless psychiatrist that gave me the pills that I added alcohol to that ended up serving me with this horrible death sentence – and for the past 15 years, I have been trying to crawl out of it. There is no end in sight, except I MUST take my medication like so many people these days have to do. The hardest part for me is never understanding WHY. WHY is the question that I struggle with. I can’t stop my brain from breaking or the universe from cracking, so WHY did our Almighty Father hand me this ailment?? I have come to understand that He knows WHY, and I am not the one who had to understand that question yet. I follow God, whatever and wherever he takes me, and if he decided to test me in blood, sweat and tears in a locked padded room for two weeks straight, screaming bloody murder for someone to help me or even just understand, that’s the trial I had to face.
I am out now, with a chance at a new career and a new lease on life. I just know my brain needs to work with me now. No alcohol, smokes, weed, NOTHING. I need to lead a healthy life now because, as my mom said, “you fucked up the first 40, make the next 40 count,” and that’s exactly what I plan on doing. This shit is so hard, I wish to God none of you reading this has to endure this kind of emotional stress and pain – it’s so much pain, and it runs so deep tears are welling up in my eyes. It’s as if someone took a deep spoon and dug a hole straight into your heart, dipping into the most embarrassing, darkest and deepest secrets for all the world to see. I have nothing left to give of myself. I would say this made me a broken woman, but it did the exact opposite – it made me more determined.
God Bless You All for reading some of my story, I hope I run into you on my journey. Spirituality is your way of salvation in whatever beliefs you have.
So can you? I mean no streaming, no phone apps, no email, no YouTube, no social media, NOTHING??? I dare you to try it! I am going on an Internet strike from Friday to Monday to see how life would be without the internet. I was talking to a friend today about all the problems in the world, and I wondered if God asked me right now if I could fix everything that is screwed up about this planet what it would it be?
TAKE AWAY THE INTERNET.
Simple. Straight to the point. Just kill the whole system, lock everything down, and the only way anyone in the world could use the internet is for work purposes ONLY. It would a tool, just like a car, or a screwdriver – when you need it to get something done you use it, then you turn it the HELL OFF. It was a radical idea, a random thought that just stuck in my head. All these terrorist groups, the Dark Web that steals all your money and identity, Bitcoin and their bullshit digital currency that has you spending all your hard-earned money on virtual air, Facebook stealing everything about you, Google tracking you and sharing everything – ALL OF IT- JUST DONE AND GONE –
I grew up in a time before the internet, so I know what life was like before it. We got around, we did what we had to do, we called each other on the phone, we hung out together, yadda yadda yadda – people are always talking about a “simpler time” but what does that mean exactly? When people say, “I wish it were like the old days,” what are they referring to? LIFE WITHOUT THE INTERNET, that’s what.
I mean, look I’ll give ya some freebies. In this “newborn no internet age,” you can have three apps. Just three.
Waze – (GPS and Navigation)
Skype (Telecommunications and Long Distance)
LinkedIn – To network – PROFESSIONALLY, seriously enough with the stupid memes already.
Would it really be such a horrible place to live in? My friend told me, as a species, we are not mature enough for all this technology. In every generation, there are a host of problems, but for all the things the internet has fixed, what has it taken from us? Do we smile at strangers while we are waiting in line? No, we are ass deep in our phones not even looking up when our order is called at Starbucks. Do we ask people out on a date or for their phone number if we see them and we think them attractive? No, because someone, somewhere will protest the shit out of your gesture. Do we even remember what an arcade is??? I give it to Dave and Buster’s, they are keeping the dream alive.
We are so stuck, so stuck in a digital world, that we have entirely forgotten what it’s like to be human. This is funny because people make fun of the Fast and Furious franchise, but not only was the latest installment, “Hobbes and Shaw,” entertaining as all get out, one of the underlying themes of that movie was family and heart. We have lost our soul and spirit and replaced it with an Avatar kicking ass in XBOX LIVE. We have eliminated game night and now chat on Discord servers as if that is healthy.
So I am doing it. After I post this, I am going to pose the challenge to my very few social media friends, some forums somewhere, and “go dark” till Monday. I will HAVE TO use the internet at least on Saturday to check my schoolwork, but I think I can get away with the app on my phone for that and THAT ONLY.
What am I going to do over the weekend? Pretend it was 1994 again. Plug in my stereo, tune into the local radio stations, break out my PS2 and play some Tombraider, watch some TV, (on cable, no streaming), and just hang out and read a book, or three. I may draw and color a bit, redecorate my room, and call up some friends, (on a landline), and see if they want to get together over the weekend.
So do you think you can do it?
I dare you!
Join me in a No-Internet Challenge This Weekend!!!
Is it Netflix? Is it gaming? Is it wasting time online in a black hole of Youtube videos? Social media posting? Or just straight-up wasting time on God Knows What? In recent days, I have definitely felt a shortage in time, and I am yet to find out what it is that I am wasting all this time on. I have gotten in the habit of sitting up in bed with my laptop and watching something that I am not really paying attention to and getting lost online in a world of boring chatrooms, or endless forums. I wonder, should I be spending more time outside within the three-dimensional world, rather than wasting countless hours on devices? Have we, as a society, become so hooked on devices, electronics, and gadgets that we’ve forgotten about our fellow man?
There is no doubt in my mind that we have lost the ability to relate to people. If we are not behind a screen, we have no idea how to talk to someone. I don’t have this problem because I grew up in an era where everybody played outside and the only device we had in the house for entertainment was the radio and TV, which absolutely didn’t have a remote control and you had to physically get up and change the channel to one of the seven only channels that were available. A phone call from a boy came in on the only landline phone in the house and you were always excited to hear what they would say. The MOST fun though was when said boy asked you out and you went on a fun date at the arcade or pizza place.
However, those days are long over.
In recent years, I have become fascinated with the online dating culture because I love shameless entertainment, (I find Reality-TV to fake to deal with); I would rather hear real-life horror (or love) stories that capture the heart and imagination. I have spent many hours on WordPress in the past reading about all the online dating adventures of singles from all over the world. Did any of you meet your significant other online? I have to imagine the answer is “yes” to that question because more and more people are meeting their partners online than in the more traditional sense. I would love to elaborate on this but I am going to end up going on a rant on how the whole #MeToo movement has crippled male confidence exponentially to the point they are scared to walk up to a woman and ask her out, buy her a drink or ask for her phone number. People just don’t do that anymore, and it’s just sad. I have bought men drinks and talked to them when I was out and about in the past, and it was always an exhilarating experience. There is nothing like getting an acknowledging smile or handshake when you compliment a person and let them know you would like to talk to them. I try and do that now and all I get are weird looks – go figure.
But yes, time, that’s what we are discussing. I find the fact that we are now in solitary relationships with our phones, entertainment devices, games, and TV, that we are no longer communicating with the outside world. If we are interacting, we are behind a screen sending ridiculous eggplant emojis to let the other person know we think they’re sexy. How awful is that? Let’s not even get into the countless exchange of genital pics, (it has become apparent that “dick pics” aren’t the only scandalous things being shared these days). I find it so sad that we are just wasting all this time and energy on things that don’t really give us anything back but a shot of dopamine and for every dopamine hit we get, we keep obsessing and going back for more like dopamine drug addicts.
Recently, I learned about an interesting hormone in our brain called oxytocin, which is more commonly known as the cuddle hormone. Every time we feel compassion or caring for another human being, like being affectionate or hugging someone, this oxytocin hormone is released in our blood and can actually help reduce stress in our daily lives. So for all the stress we are giving ourselves when one of our devices doesn’t work, or pulling our hair out because we didn’t receive a text, the best thing for our health would be to visit a real-life friend and spend quality time with them. This is vital to our lifespan and our growth as human beings and the more time we spent apart and locked in a trance of our electronic gadgets, the less human we are, and the more likely we could die earlier than we think.
So instead of laying in bed with your phone, or binging something on Netflix, go outside to a park or even just a Starbucks and sit there – just be around other humans at least for a little while; you never know, you make a friend or even get a date! Okay, that last part seems a little farfetched, but the whole point is you never know, and honestly, you have nothing to lose and a ton to gain.
How many of us have struggled with this? Are we in a relationship we loathe? A job we hate? A city or town that just reeks of disappointment? Why is it you think these things around you are happening or happening to you personally? How do we change our outlook? Well, firstly it starts with YOU. You are the creator and rule dominion over your universe, so you must LOVE the person you are before you can find any hope at a happy life. It is so cliché to just say “love yourself more,” so I am going to give you some tools to do something better – to love yourself the way you DESERVE to be loved. Here we go!
1)Do ONE thing for yourself every day. It could be as silly as buying something that reminds you of a happier time. (For me it was that copy of Super Mario World for my Game Boy Advance, yeah, I’m THAT old school).
2)Take 5 minutes a day for SILENCE. No phone, no TV, no games or apps in the background.
3)Create something you are proud of. Get a piece of paper and a marker, or pen or pencil and draw. It could be completely abstract or fill a bunch of hearts on a page and hang it over your bed. Seeing it every day will make you smile, I guarantee it.
4) Pay your bills. This one may seem like a stupid suggestion, but you have no idea how fulfilling it feels to know that everything is paid and taken care of. Nothing is hanging over your consciousness making you feel guilty or upset.
5) Take yourself out on a date. One of the most gratifying things I have learned in my life is to go out and sit and have a meal by myself. It doesn’t matter if people stare, you’re there for YOU not them. Oh, and if you want to wash it down with a glass of wine, enjoy it!
6) Luxurize your shower routine. Some people don’t have the patience for long bubble baths, but if you add some nice body wash or amazing shampoos and conditioners to your routine it will make a WORLD of difference. Don’t forget to get a nice Spa Cucumber and Aloe Lotion to add at the end.
7) Challenge your mind. Part of the journey of self-care is being mentally active. I am not talking about gaming, but things like crosswords or vocabulary games. If you have an Alexa, she is a plethora of challenging games and quizzes.
8) Change something about your look. A haircut, new lipstick, (or guys grow out that beard the ladies love it these days).
9)Surround yourself with positivity. It is no mystery that when we go on things like Twitter and Facebook, we can walk away feeling angry, upset or even depressed. I suggest finding chat rooms, (WireClub, Paltalk, Chat Avenue), or forums, (Hip Forums, Spirituality Forums, Blue Moon Roleplaying Forums, Elliquiy Forums, Forums at PsychCentral, eNotalone), to broaden your digital presence. The best thing though is actual real-life social networking, like mixers and Meetup.com for your area.
10) Make plenty of Lists. This one helps you get into a routine. It doesn’t matter if you do one or even anything on the list you make, it is a subconscious way of reminding yourself of what you want or what you want to make happen.
This may not seem like the usual list of ways to love yourself more, but I did it this way on purpose. Each of these things is designed to get you an immediate result. Things like losing weight or going to school take a lot of time and energy and even though they are fantastic ways for you to feel good about yourself, you don’t get that immediate sense of accomplishment. My tips are designed to give you peace, love, and self-reflection so you can be on your way to falling in love with the main person in your life: YOU!
Stay tuned.
Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your future. Make your hope. Make your love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen… yourself, right now, right down here on Earth.
Have you ever wondered? I know you’ve all seen Seinfeld, Sex and the City, King of Queens, NYPD Blue, and New York Undercover, (maybe, maybe not), but do those shows really represent what it’s like to live in the Big Apple? Or what about Justin Timberlake’s comments in “Freinds With Benefits?” You know, he rips on New York humidity in the summer, the overcrowdedness, and oh yeah, (because it’s worth mentioning twice), Seinfeld.
So what is it really like anyway? I am not going to say some bullcrap cliche line indicating it’s super awesome and so amazing and you should pack your bags right away, give up your job and your life, leave everything you know and love just to come and live here- although if you did actually do that, you’re a total badass and I want to be your friend 🙂 What I am going to do though, is be honest and give you the 411, (in true Mary J. Blige fashion), on what it has been like for me as a born and raised New Yawker, (yes they say it like that, its totally true, but it also depends on which part you go to).
I have lived in the worst of the worst parts of New York; growing up in the ’80s in the David Dinkins era, New York was one of the most dangerous places to live at that time. Even though there were flying bullets everywhere, hookers and thousands of drug dealers, I actually had a decent time growing up. There is something that must be noted when you talk about a community in a crime-infested ghetto: people stick together like it was the apocalypse – NO JOKE. I mean all the parents in the neighborhood looked out for each other’s kids – all the kids in the neighborhood went to the same public school and we would all feel safe either walking home or taking the bus even in though we lived in, what some would consider, a total warzone. And to be honest, growing up in Brooklyn at that time made me totally hardcore – I mean, I had Level 10 Grit before that was even a thing. I would take risks and ride that dangerous subway system all through my teens and adulthood, not even holding on to my purse tightly like they tell you to, (even though I did get almost-mugged once – I am sure he is still nursing his testicles all these years later).
Another thing about New Yorkers, is they are INCREDIBLY creative when it comes to eluding cops and being sneaky. I think if all these criminals got together and tried to go straight, they would either make amazing lawyers and stockbrokers – in fact, I think some of them actually are. One place in particular sticks in my mind when it comes to that kind of criminal creativity.
I had moved to the South Bronx when I was 19, and no, it was no improvement from my old neighborhood in Brooklyn – in fact, it was WORSE. The place I am thinking of was a Video Store that was secretly a weed spot. It wasn’t a Blockbuster or anything, it was one of those video stores that had the “backroom” with all the porn; god I miss those! Anyway, when you walked in and turned to the left, there was a huge wall of video cassettes to rent and what you did, was look for the movie “Blade Runner,” take down the box and a hand would come out where you would give either $5 or $10 for a nickel bag or dime piece. Yeah, cool isn’t even close to the right word for that. Also, if that store or anything like it is still there, sorry bro for ruining your business – but in all fairness, I have kept your secret for almost 20 years.
Being a New York native, and someone who still loves New York admirably, I can’t leave you without mentioning some of the touristy spots. So there are the obvious places you may have heard about:
Central Park
The Bronx Zoo
Coney Island
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Museum of Natural History
The Hayden Planetarium, (my favorite)
The New York Aquarium
Times Square
The Empire State Building
The 9/11 Museum and Memorial
Rockefeller Center
The East and West Village
The South Street Seaport
Jones Beach, (near where I live now)
I am sure if there are other New Yorkers reading this, they KNOW I missing a lot on that list. But if you’re thinking of coming to New York City, and you want to go to the main attractions, that’s some of the most popular. For us nerds though, I HAVE to include these:
Midtown Comics near Times Square
Forbidden Planet – 14th Street Union Square
St. Marks Comics – The Village
Jim Hanley’s Universe – 3rd Avenue
The big enchilada:
Comic-Con at the Javitz Center – October
I mean if you skip all the touristy stuff and hit up these places, (which are my all-time favorite places), you would get your money’s worth when you come here. And not for nothing, city attractions cost money to go to, and for me, the best parts of New York is just getting on a train and exploring all of the city. In fact, if you study the map below, if you decide to come here, you will literally save thousands of dollars in costs for travel. You can get a reasonable place to rest your head in Queens, (probably the safest borough out of all of them, especially Forest Hills), and take the train everywhere you want to go for your adventures. You can easily take a cab to anywhere in Queens from JFK airport for a decent price. So be sure to study this survival subway map, (it’s not as complicated as it looks, trust me).
Oh, and I mentioned Forest Hills. Well, after my break-up from the Bronx fiancé, I moved to an amazing town in Queens called Forest Hills. It is expensive to live there, almost as expensive as living in Manhattan itself, but it’s such an amazing community and I had the best time living there. But there is one place in Forest Hills, that I MUST mention: The Irish Cottage. I have had so many wonderful memories at that place – with the great menu and the outside seating in the summer, it’s the absolute best place to be if you’re visiting New York. This is probably one of the best things about living in New York, little places like these:
And I know I didn’t give Brooklyn or Staten Island their deserved justice in this post; there are so many amazing places like Junior’s and Salty Dog out there, but I’m already at 1,000 words and I would like people to stay with me and not zone out when reading my blog, lol.
I also know I didn’t really explain what it’s really like to live in New York City because I got carried away with gushing about all the cool places, but I will tell you this – there is never a boring moment here. It is very expensive to live here, but if you find a niche somewhere or maybe buy a car, you can easily enjoy this place within reasonable financial means. As for me, well I live on Long Island now, and it would probably take me an entire post to talk about all the cool places, people and things you could do out here because it’s like a whole different world that I’m learning about.
Also, I am a very open, outgoing and friendly person, so if you ever need a tour guide if you decide to visit, I would gladly help. How could I pass up helping internet strangers?
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