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I had my first off-Broadway experience this weekend. The play was called “Roulette” by Paul Weitz, who wrote the screenplays for About a Boy and American Pie.

At the end of last class, we wandered into a discussion of a recent controversy about a school barring a local priest from talking to students at lunchtime. Some in the class argued that such voluntary mentoring would help some and do no harm. I disagree.

This week, I decided to try out the city’s nightlife and discovered even more so than before that this is a city of single people. I read recently that two thirds of people in Manhattan are single compared to one half in the rest of the U.S.

This past Wednesday, Rob Kuchar and I received tickets to CBS’s Late Show with host David Letterman.  The show featured acclaimed actress Ashley Judd, along with singer/songwriter Ben Harper.

Every day, I can catch a one-man band, some breakdancers, an a capella group, and a lady lip synching and dancing to “I Will Survive” (you get what you pay for sometimes). It can be hard to step back and appreciate during the morning and afternoon rushes, but the chance to admire the city’s subway culture can often be worth a lot more than the price of admission.

There is endless deep thinking and entertainment to be had in people watching.  Whether it’s imagining yourself in another life or contemplating the complicated lives of others, it’s fascinating.  And so one can see the many benefits associated with the lack of a car in a city like New York.  It can open up a new door of self-discovery.

Living in New York City is interesting because many trends that spread throughout the United States begin here.  Trends in everything from fashion to food to politics often start in New York, where there is a concentration of people in these fields to forge new concepts.  These trends then gain popularity in the rest of the nation.  Being at the cutting edge is exciting.  You are part of a group that experiences ideas first and creates rather than accepts them.

I had my first brush with fame this week.  True, I work at ABC and I see celebrities such as Diane Sawyer, John Stossel, Charlie Gibson, Peter Jennings, and Barbara Walters every day. But meeting these accomplished anchors is not quite the same as shaking the hand of Jessica Simpson or Tom Cruise.  While I did not meet Ms. Simpson or Mr. Cruise, I was given the opportunity to chat with the cast and writer of Sex & the City this week.  Yep, I shook the hands of Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha, and Miranda. 

I flip-flopped lives - country to city, New Jersey to New York.  I spent my first twenty years living on the Jersey side of the river and now that I am across the Hudson, I never want to leave. 

As soon as I could see the school, however, I felt reassured.  Just as I remembered it - everything was in the right place and everyone still looked the same.  Over the course of the weekend, I was constantly amazed how easy it was to fall back in to the Hamilton rhythm.  Aside from minor layout changes in Commons that caused me some trouble finding a fork and some new freshman faces, I still felt like I belonged on campus.