Ben

New York is a great city for sure - perhaps the greatest city in the world. The ability to eat whatever you want whenever you want, find whatever you need whenever you need it, and have whatever you want delivered whenever you pick up the phone is incomparable.

But there are a few serious transgressions.

First what happened to toilet seat covers east of California? Where did they go? And why oh why, in a city with this many people, quite a few of whom demonstrate poor hygeine, would there be no barrier between myself and that seat?

On that note, why does New York do such a poor job of restocking public restroom toilet paper? Thankfully, my handbag is large enough to accommodate a roll of Charmin - because that's what I'm going to be packing with me from now on.

Now for the most serious issue...the issue I thought surely must merely be an overblown urban myth of sorts. I mean, the number of rats in this city surely cannot be greater than the number of people...right? That would suggest you should see them just out and about, practically going out for coffee.

And so that's what you see. The other night marked the first incident. Marching proudly up 89th St. just off West End, this rat looked like it was on its way to the local watering hole. And then just tonight, as we sat unassumingly on a bench in a park plaza, I noticed Brad looking towards the landscaping behind us. I immediately fixed my eyes on Ben. I jumped up off the bench faster than Usain Bolt coming out of the blocks. A guy even approached us to ask what we saw - I had no shame in saying it was a rat, and I wasn't down with it. He chuckled. This city isn't civilized.

On a high note, when not avoiding infectious diseases transmitted via toilet seat or rat, this experience is a 10 out of 10. It's so easy to get lost in the day exploring and people-watching. Today, for example, after a 12:30 yoga class, Brad and I enjoyed a delicious brunch and found ourselves walking from the south side of Central Park to Riverside Park to meet up with a friend. On our way, we discovered a mini-amusement park with rides I would definitely throw up on, and stumbled upon The Dakota. Outside of this apartment building, pictured above, John Lennon was assasinated - and Yoko Ono still lives there today.

Tomorrow, I may launch a movement to install toilet seat dispensers in public restrooms, along with actual toilet paper. In the meantime, I'm looking out for Ben.