New York City: A Tale of Nostalgia

skirt Karl Lagerfeld for H&M, top R Exclusive, shoes Prada This top is supposed to be worn with both shoulders covered, but I threw the draping over on one side because I'm chronically prone to tweaking everything.

NE VOLIM kad mi vikendom nestane materijala za čitanje, a ne mogu nabaviti novi jer se knjižare neće otvoriti do ponedjeljka … u gornjem sam katu pronašla dvije knjige na hrvatskom koje na kraju svejedno nisam pročitala jer već odavno ne mogu čitati bilo koju knjigu, kao što sam postala izbirljiva i kod filmova (hors de prix sam ugasila u 20. minuti). to valjda znači da se još uvijek ne mogu koncentrirati. ljubljana je podnošljiva čak u ružno jesensko vrijeme i prerani hlad sve dok mogu s nekim razgovarati.

I could probably write about New York City for the rest of my life even if I never went there again; I cannot decide whether letting the 2 and half months I spent there last year continue affecting me is good or bad because you always have to do something new (to prove yourself) and avoid "living in the past", but I keep returning to NYC in my mind so often that I've become certain I might have to move back at some point (for a while, not permanently) because I doubt after having lived there any "tourist experience" can ever be satisfying. A local tourist agency is advertising their December arrangement of 5 days in Manhattan which includes seeing Les contes d'Hoffmann at the Met (with what even without Villazón is essentially still a dream cast – Calleja, Netrebko, Garanča, Pape, Gubanova …) and whenever I pass by their window I cringe because I will not be there but then again, do I really want to be? New York winters are too cold and I would not be able to walk around the East Village (the neighborhood I know best as we shot most of our New York Film Academy masterpieces at Keiko's studio apartment on East 12^th and Ave A) all day or eat burrito bowls (with rice, chicken, pinto beans, cheese, lettuce and sour cream) from Chipotle sitting on a bench in the Union Square Park watching squirrels and pigeons - if I cannot do these things, flying over 6 time zones and 6000 kilometres makes no sense.

Jana na Lexington Ave. "Svetsko, a naše."

Nobody I know here went to NYC after I returned; if they did, I would give them my American cellphone so they could order Chinese to their hotel room because that's what everyone does in the movies and if you look at it closely, NYC itself is one big movie. I miss ordering General Tso's chicken from a small Astoria delivery where the girl who answers the phone barely speaks or understands English. I miss people preferring roommates who don't cook and kitchenettes instead of proper kitchens. I miss not having the washing machine in your apartment because it takes up too much space and using laundry rooms. I miss pharmacies that sell whatever you can think of at every corner (hello Duane Reade!). I miss giving and accepting compliments in public (it doesn't work in any other city). I miss being able to buy one third of an egg box (NYC is super friendly to one-person households). I miss people knowing how to move in a crowd without constantly bumping into others. I miss the F train. I miss cheap Japanese restaurants with great sushi. I miss everyone reading books on the subway and actually caring about what's going on in the world. I miss the eccentric sense of humor. I miss the Roosevelt Island deli (never found out where the owners are from) and the one on Times Square near Olive Garden. I miss people being proud of their city and not wanting to leave. I miss New York more than I've ever missed any city, yet it's not unbearable because I know I'll go back; I just have no idea when and what for.


by vickeh





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