I HEART NYC/

The truth is, for the most part New York is a dirty ugly place. I don’t just mean that it’s grimy and polluted which it is. Or that all the buildings and people are cramped together which they are. It’s ugly because it lacks a coherence.

It’s almost as if the city just sporadically grew on its own, without any thought to urban planning. It has art deco style architecture next to a gothic cathedral. The subways are decorated with trash, soot and of all things kitsch art! New York sets no boundaries in style or in its different districts. One minute I’m strolling down Chinatown and the next thing you know it, I’m on already on Wall Street. Can you imagine Divisoria turning into Makati in a matter of minutes?

The city is just too eclectic to be called beautiful or even pretty. But let’s leave pretty to Paris and let’s leave clean to Singapore. Because New York isn’t a city- it’s an organism with a mind and a heart of its own. It’s wild and uncontrollable- far too busy being interesting to really look after itself or to bother with being consistent.

The beauty of New York is the fact that goth and art deco can meet in one space- much like how a punk tourist from the Philippines can ride the same subway as a Jewish hedge fund manager. New York is the only place I've been in where it's ok that a complete stranger can be eavesdropping on your conversation, put his two cents in and leave. It's a place where different cultures, personalities and interests collide and eventually settle in with each other. Even the past and the future can coexist here. No one dictates who goes or what interests stay, it is an organic process that involves the city itself.

New York has an underhanded way of luring you in. You can't help but fall for it's wayward charms. But before you know it, it's time to leave. These are were my parting words as I left New York to go to New Jersey

"Despite the cheesy button slogan, "I Heart New York", I did find myself hearting New York. For one glorious week, its beat fed my pulse. I was nsync with the fastest city in the world and it was exhilarating. Just a few hours away and already I feel displaced. I'm like a toy with a dying battery, dreading the end of fun times"

But I don't think the fun times are ending. Because of everything I took in from this trip, I would say the real party is just about to begin.