DEAR ALIZARIN: NYC or not NYC?

Back in LA after a week in New York City in which I decided to move back to NYC, then changed my mind.

This morning I changed my mind again. I woke up jetlagged and surly and wanted a good cup of coffee and carbs. The cupboards are bare. Head is pounding, stomach growling. Shoppping? Still involves getting dressed and I am leaving town in 48 hours.

I recall my lovely mornings at Nussbaum and Wu. Breakfast and bagels in NYC. A packed deli. The factory efficiency of the hispanic men working behind the counter. Keep up or you will be a kink in the cogs of the morning routine. Bagels soft and well toasted, cripsy outside, dripping butter. Coffee, sweet and light to perfection. How do they do tha?. In the cafe, conversations are muted, mostly about classes or news. Everyone else is reading newspapers or textbooks. On weekends, fathers with their dauhters talk of weekly school projects.

I head over to Panera Bread Company for an sustaining LA breakfast. The guy at the counter is in slow motion. He needs a cup of coffee badly. Hates his job, obviously. Bagel is barely toasted, only luke warm, then overly dry and thin.. The cream cheese skimpy in the little plastic container. The coffee is hot but weak. I fix it myself but do not have the magic formula of the NYC deli guys. Then, there are the two couples with kids loudly chatting at a nearby table.

"I am terrible at negotiating which is why I want this job . .. I think I can learn it"
"I'll give them something like Slam Dunk, not Shawshank"
"Like, in this job, I get emails asking me, 'Amazon wants this for $4.95. Can we do that?' It's like, ok, we have todo this now. It's not like they want me to do work." (Said with pride and seriousness. And yes, the conversation mostly consisted of a monologue of this one guy).

"We got a DVD player in the bedroom so that we could play Baby Einstein. I work in TV and I think all kids should watch a lot of tv." (Said as a joke, but don't think it really was).

Changed my mind again. Must move back to NYC.

Did I mention that I just made it out of NYC within an hour of a blizzard? After breakfast, the temperature crept up to the 80's by early afternoon. I actually turned on the AC for a moment. Jetlagged, the heat left me glued to my couch. Grooveva ditched me for a hike, so I proceeded to call my LA friends because my phone was in reach, not a book. Finally reach E.

"I am just heading out for a hike, want to go?"
"Now? But I am glued to my couch."
"Well, I am leaving as soon as I cut up the vegetables."
" Um, ok. I think I could get myself out."

I take 10 minutes to move, 10 minutes to get ready, and 10 minutes to drive to the park. In another 10 minutes I am feeling the rush of the earthy and green coolness as we push up the dusty road.

Changed my mind again. Staying in LA. For now.