Can you take the Midwest out of the girl?

Tonight I had a quintessentially upper-class New York Experience. I met up with a friend at a trendy Midtown restaurant for wine and salads, then on to drinks at a packed bar in the Bowery. The bar was full of guys in suits and women wearing sundresses and boots; everyone looked so New York...I felt like I had to work hard to keep up. An acquaintance of my friend bought the first round of drinks and there weren't even prices on the menu! I'm sorry if I'm frugal, but that seems like a plan for regret. But I accepted gratefully (and the margarita was delicious). I sat and talked to women who all work in finance or technology start-ups and could laugh at the jokes about drinking a lot of wine at a book club, but understood none of the business jargon. So I nodded along. I left early because it's our first night in our new place...and it's special. I might eventually join their book club, because I like books and drinking lots of wine with friends...but I don't want to lose my Midwestern naivety. I want to save money, do more baking, stay safe, and never fully understand what "private equity" is (or if I do, never jargon-drop it to prove my status).

I left the bar early, at 8:30, which felt very me. I wanted to get home for our first night. I had to find my way to a subway stop with a ticket machine because my card was empty. I walked all the way south to a stop I knew from last summer. I switched trains to save time (because I know the trains to Brooklyn Heights from trial and error and much worry last year). Knowing my way around makes me feel like I can survive in this city. The ability to keep myself safe makes me self-reliant. But that won't change my attitude or my general mid-western sensibility. It's what will keep me sane here.