This is my last week in New York City. In a few short days I will begin to make my way across this fair country of ours to sunny Los Angeles, California. Tomorrow morning at 8am the movers will be at my door to pack up all my earthly belongings. It's incredibly hard for me to believe that after weeks of manic preparation, this move is actually coming to fruition. I've been so consumed with planning the move for so long, that when I took a moment to breathe as I left my apartment this morning, I realized that it was the last time I'd be leaving for work from the neighborhood that I've lived in for 3 years. As I walked to the subway for my last morning commute, I cherished every moment of my quiet walk down the tree-lined Washington Avenue. As I passed the woman who gives out religious paraphernalia to passers-by every morning, I nodded and smiled insted of running past her without a glance as I usually do. Call me cheesy and sentimental if you'd like, but I've spent the whole day taking in all the "lasts."

I've also spent the morning taking inventory of some of the "lasts" that I overlooked as I frantically ran around these past few weeks. Sure, there were the last things that I won't miss....i.e. The last time I almost step on a dead rat on the sidewalk in front of the Kum Kau restaurant by my apartment, the last time someone squeezes me out of my seat on the subway, and the last time I get pushed down on the street by an angry man (although, knowing my luck, this isn't unique to NYC, and I'll get pushed down just as much in Los Angeles). Mostly though they are the lasts that I will remember fondly, and miss terribly. The last time I step out of my shower and see the Empire State Building framed neatly in my bathroom window. The last time I go run through through Sheep's Meadow in Central Park on my lunch hour, marveling at the vast expanse of the city that pokes up over the trees. The last time the coffee cart guy calls me by name and has my coffee (skim milk, one Sweet and Low) waiting for me when I walk up to him. The last time I cut through Rockefeller Center and see the tourists ice skating at the rink. The last time I look down Broadway at night and marvel at the lights so bright it looks like daytime around 42nd street. And of course there are all the last wonderful times I've spent with my friends over the past couple of weeks, but those are so plentiful that I cannot even begin to count. Plus, those last times with are most certainly not the last of anything.

So...my goal is to spend the next few days before my departure soaking up all the New York "lasts" that I can. I plan to enjoy this unseasonably warm weather by walking around the city, and just take it all in. Hell, I may even visit the Statue of Liberty or something. Soon enough though, the "lasts" will be over, as I will be faced instead with a whole bunch of firsts, too many to even ponder at this point. Although I do know that the one "first" I'm looking most forward to will be be my first trip back to visit. I suppose then I can revisit all these New York City "lasts" that I know I'll miss so much.