yes, there's a park.

i love manhattan. seriously. i love that things here (in lower manhattan, at least) are cleaner and fancier. i love that you can walk 10 minutes in any direction and find a pretty good place to eat. i love that they do things like movies and shows in the park, that you can go to the biggest apple store in the world, and have your pick from fifteen different gay bars in any given neighborhood. and, in an ideal world, i'd be able to live here--on the whole third floor of a building, with a huge living area, sizable kitchen and bathroom--for six hundred dollars a month. alas, the apartment i now live in in queens would cost three times what it does if it were across the east river. and so we live in astoria.

all of that being said, though, i will never cease to be amazed by how little people who live in astoria know about, um, astoria. these displaced manhattanites--myself and my roommates included--are different than the rest of the long islanders. there are people, i'm sure, who live their lives in astoria and never really go to manhattan. you can find them on wednesday nights doing open mic night at the 'tross. trust me, it's not a pretty sight.

though i admittedly spend most of my time in manhattan--choosing to go out mainly in manhattan, i mean, since i obviously work most of the time in manhattan--i have also taken time to explore some cool things in my own neighborhood. now, most of my options are greek restaurants and coffee houses. trust me, if you've been to one greek coffee house you've been to 'em all, no matter what they're called. the other night, though, i went with sam to a cool place called cafe/bar. or cafebar. i don't know. it's a place that amanda said was too hipster for her boyfriend. it's not all that hipster-y (i don't think anyone would bat an eye in the city), but for astoria it's really, really scene. and it's a pretty cool place. and it's, um, a whole lot cheaper than going out to dinner in manhattan.

when talking once to a friend who used to live in queens, she literally didn't know where she used to live. she spent so little time in the 'hood that she couldn't even remember her intersection. like her time in queens was nothing but a bad memory to be sloughed off and forgotten once she could escape to manhattan. my manhattan friends really do view it with such disdain that i've started to think it's funny.

one of our other friends (who, um, reads this blog and is totally gonna know it's her so she'll remain nameless. hey girl!) who still lives in astoria ran into hilary the other day when she was on her way to the astoria pool. here's the conversation they had:

anonymous friend: where are you headed to, hilary?
hilary: to the pool!
af: what pool? huh?
hilary: the pool at astoria park. it's free and totally gorgeous.
af: wait, there's a park?

yes, dear af, there's a park. it's about a third of the size of central park, which means it's gargantuan. and it's down the street from you. i like manhattan as much as the next guy, but c'mon. there are times you don't wanna take a train to go for a run. oh wait i don't run.

so get out there--explore your 'hood. it'll make going into manhattan feel that much fancier.