You know you are a New Yorker when:

- You have no qualms about yelling at someone for rubbing all nasty-like up against you on the subway. (I forgot that years of actor training left me with a voice that has absolutely no problem carrying throughout the entire train car, thusly warning all those around that the pree-verts are lurking.)

- You are walking up the stairs to exit the subway station and a rat comes scurtteling (new word) down the stairs as though he is trying to catch the train, and you look at which ever person happens to be closest to you and you both dissolve into laughter. A little gross, but a lot funny. Only in New York.

- Every week, for the past year, you have done a wedding invitation with the Brooklyn Bridge on it. Of course, that didn't happen so much in Chicago or DC. Chicago didn't really have a set landmark that people over-used, but in DC people used cherry blossoms a lot.

- You wear the comfy shoes for the walk and change into the cute high heels once at the destination.

- You recycle obsessively.

- You eat street hotdogs without fear.

- You aim for certain cars on the subway trains because you know they'll drop you closest to the exit that you need.

- You walk into your morning bagel shop and fall instantly into a conversation about the Mayan Cosmogenisis and the possibility of the world ending in 2012. With the oaf-ish, goofy bagel guy behind the counter and the UPS man waiting for his coffee.

- You see TV shows where, in other parts of the country, people live in houses with, like, 3000 sq/ft and you think "Who on earth needs that much space?"

Note: Doggy seems to be doing better, although she is still on pain meds. She doesn't flinch when you touch her face anymore, so hope for the best!