I have been here since September and am falling deeper and deeper in love with the city. The streets are full of so many stories. I was taking the A train to Brooklyn the other day when I saw, scribbled in jagged silver marker on the back of a mid-subway platform newstand, this: "Dear Mom, I fucking hate your guts." Wow. What brought that person to that point in time? Did they just get out of a particularly juicy session with their analyst? Did they have a fight on the subway and scrawled right there in front of their mom? Did they write it there because they know their mom always takes the A train to work?

Then later on the speeding A train a gang of black teens noisily crossed between cars and seemed to instantly take over the place. Everyone seemed on edge. They obviously came in with a purpose. One sat down next to me with a boombox, the others cleared a space in front of the doors and then one after the other they started to breakdance, flipping, spinning, leaping on the moving train. When they were done the entire car burst out in applause.