I don't always love NY.

I'm aware that I tend to gush a lot about how great New York is. I truly do love it. But I thought you might like a little dose of reality. What would you say if I told you it's not all rainbows and unicorns all the time? Here are some things that I don't <3 about NY.

1. The smell. NY has a very distinct smell. I've mentioned it to other New Yorkers, and their reply is usually, "Oh yeah, it's the smell of trash." But I can't quite agree. The smell unpleasant and slightly trashy, yes, but there's more to it than that. There's no other way to explain it, except it just smells like...New York. In fact, when I brought it up to my friend Molly recently, she said to her it just smells like home now. Those of you who have yet to visit, don't worry. You don't smell it constantly or anything. Even if you do smell it as soon as you get here, you get used to it really fast.

2. The heat. It's a lot hotter in Georgia than it is here, and for that I'm grateful. However, when it's in the 90s in Georgia, you usually walk from your air conditioned house to an air conditioned car, then go inside to your air conditioned destination. When it's in the 90s in New York, I have to walk from my non-air conditioned apartment to a bus that may or may not be air conditioned, then go underground to at station where it's hotter and stuffier than outside and sweat rolls down your back. Then you get on a subway train that may or may not be air conditioned. Then you have to walk however many blocks to your destination, which, thank God, is probably air conditioned. Let's just suffice it to say that the heat sucks up here. Which leads me to my next dislike...

3. No central air. We have a window unit in our bedroom because we couldn't sleep without it. But our living room only has a ceiling fan and a recently acquired standing fan. These do not make up for air conditioning. At all. If the temp gets up to the high 80s or worse, then JP and I just have to sweat it out on the couch or, on really bad days, hang out in the bedroom.

4. Poop in the subway. No, don't reread it - you got it right the first time. I have only seen this is one particular station - the one next to my work. Usually it's done over a vent halfway down the staircase. Sometimes you know it's there before you see it, other times someone has already covered it with sand. I'm pretty sure it's the same homeless guy I see hanging around down there pretty much every day.

5. TV shows are scarier. Law & Order: SVU is one of my favorite TV shows. I still watch it all the time, but now it hits home a lot harder. Every time they mention a specific address, I know exactly where it is now. I'm just saying...it's freaky.

6. Chick-fil-A. Come on, people, it's a given. If you know me, you started this blog knowing this was coming. I've bought a bus ticket to go into Jersey to find a Chick-fil-A. It's a hard-knock life.

7. Crowds. It's really crowded here. I know, big surprise. Sometimes I get really tired of seeing people EVERYWHERE. Especially when tourists hit up the big city during the summer. I pretty much avoid the major sites when summer comes around. Fuggedaboutit.

8. Jacked up prices. At Olive Garden, they've been advertising carbonara ravioli with chicken for $10.95, but when we had it we paid $15.95. It's like this with all chains, groceries, everything.

9. Health crazed. I'm all for eating healthy and taking care of yourself. But people are crazy about it up here. Calories are posted at almost every single restaurant or eatery, even chains like McDonald's. And organic food stores are all over the place. Maybe it's just me being stuck in my southern roots of fried foods and sweet tea, but I just really dislike being inundated with the superiority of it all.  (Now, Jean, if you read this, don't be offended. You do not annoy me with health food stuff. ;-)

10. Missing friends and family. I miss each and every person I left down south every single day!!

So there you have a short list of dislikes. But believe me, everything I love about this amazing city far outweighs this puny little list. Ultimately, I <3 NY!!