What Will You Miss?

Somebody asked me today, in so many words, whether I'd milked the city for all it was worth while living here. Did I feel that I'd done enough, seen enough to sustain me and make me feel as though I'd taken advantage of "all the city has to offer?" (Enter another JDate cliche.)
My response?

"Oh, who are we kidding? I've never been to the ballet; I've never been to the opera and I don't care if I ever do. I have no interest in those kinds of things. Soo, no, I probably have not taken advantage of 'everything the city has to offer.' But do I feel like I've been there, done that? Yes, I do."

And, the truth is that in going over what I've done here, I suppose it does seem like a long, strange trip over the past five and-a-half years.

I "earned" my master's degree at NYU.

I witnessed, literally, September 11th.

I finished graduate school during the worst economic/job slump the country has seen in decades.

I lived through the blackout and the transit strike.

I wrestled with rodents.

I was unemployed.

I got several jobs. I quit several jobs.

I wrote a novel.

I made Page Six, The New York Post, New York Daily News, Gawker, Women's Wear Daily, 60 Minutes, even.

I got sued by a loathsome, multimillion-dollar company.

I kicked said company's ass in court (with the help of some kick-ass counsel).

I discovered Japanese Straightening. I may as well have discovered oil.

I made some great friends.

I lost some not-so-great friends.

I made some enemies and some frenemies.

I had a hell of a lot of fun.

I mingled with media peeps, CEOs, artists, politicians, socialites, trendoids, hipsters and intellectuals.

I learned that no matter what you may think, the grass is almost never greener.

I was there, I did that. I'm over it. I'm ready for a new scene.

I'll miss Manhattan, for certain, I will miss many, many things and people. But New York will always be here, just a plane ride away.

I cannot think of one thing I haven't done that I wish I had done, and so I suppose that that means I have no regrets.