I'm going to be a part of it! New York, New York!

Every year for work, my company goes to New York for the literary industry's biggest conference, Book Expo America.  

Or, as my husband Ross likes to call it, Nerd-a-Thon.

Anyway, I am so excited!  As you may recall from my 20-year-old diary, my list of life ambitions used to include living in New York for one year.  I still fantasize about that sometimes.  Doesn't every writer? 

  You think:

What would it be like if I lived down the block from The New Yorker?

What if my next door neighbor was a book publisher?

What if David Sedaris moved back to New York and became my ROOMMATE and we also became best friends?

What if, what if, what if.  That's the problem with writers.  We so often live in fantasy, that it's hard to yank ourselves out sometimes and return to the real world, where non-fabulous things like bills, laundry, tire rotations, and bank statements await.  Booor-ring.

So!  Reader, have you ever been to New York?  Where do you recommend I go?  I've visited plenty of times, but the city is so gargantuan that I try to discover something new on each visit.  This year, in between work and meetings, I'm definitely checking out:

• Char No. 4 (crafted cocktails in Brooklyn)
• The High Line (an art walk in Chelsea that my new friend, Tucker, recommended to me.  PS.  Go check out Tucker's art work.)

But what else?  That's just two places.  Surely I need to see more!