Last night I watched the mayor inauguration. It's exciting to see the DSA in such a position now. Given how things have gone in the past I'm wary of anything actually changing but maybe this will be different. I guess time will tell. Watching it did make me a bit nostalgic about New York. I think at the end of my time living there I started to feel more a part of it. It gave me less anxiety and I started to understand it in a more positive light. I think this also came from dating someone who really loved the city and so I started to see it through their eyes. But when I actually think about it more deeply I know it wasn't the place for me. I think one of the strangest parts of it was the careerist attitude towards everything. It made me want to retreat and I ended up isolating myself a bit. Weirdly I don't think that most New Yorkers are like this. I think it's just the waves of young people that see it as this place to define themselves and it does work for that but there are so many people there that are just living their life. Maybe it's more the artistic scene there that I resented. It feels less playful because you literally have to commercialize your practice. I admire M & Z for bringing a different kind of energy, a much needed relaxed feeling to the art scene there.