In A New York Minute

Laura and I are in New York.

Actually, we're in Rahway, New Jersey - but more on that in a minute.

We arrived here three days ago, and spent two full days in New York City. The first day was wonderful, the second day - less so.

I could fill you in on all the sordid details, but I won't. Instead, a few observations from a guy who was last in NYC in 1984.

• In 1984, there were only 3,568 people living and working in Manhattan. Now there are 123,345,874.
• There are only 3 public restrooms available to service all of them.
• There are three excellent restaurants at the Met Art Gallery. There were 1,239,758 people at the gallery today. The restaurants comfortable seat 32. In total.
• The walk from midtown to downtown is only a couple of kilometers. There are 5,349 pedestrian fatalities every 50m in Manhattan. And these are mostly the people that actually wait for the walk light.
• The Empire State Building is a 102 story captive-audience-sales-opportunity.
• There are 38 NYC police officers at every intersection in the city.
• Why is it that the 45 year old woman with a cell phone in her ear can walk straight into an oncoming FedEx truck and not even flinch. And not be a statistic.

Laura insisted that I add a couple of her points as well, and that the advice you get about visiting NYC is worth paying attention to ...

• We're staying in New Jersey, and taking the train into Manhattan every day. If I had to do this again - I would. The 40 minute train ride gives you some decompression time, and forces you to stay out and about all day. It's really the same as a commute at home, only you aren't driving.
• Use a washroom whenever you see one (we've been told that there is one, but haven't found it yet). 
• Take food with you if you don't eat junk. 
• Wear really comfortable walking shoes. Even if you do, your legs will ache after day one.
• Figure out the subway. It's worth the effort.
• If you're functionally literate, figure out the train schedule too - it will save you hundreds.