rural, urban, city, burb

Left the city.
Back in the 'burg.
I'd spent my week-off at home in Queens, but yesterday I returned "home" to Ohio to resume work and take up residence with my parents in central Ohio.  Reynoldsburg, Ohio is a suburb east of Columbus proper (the capital city with a fine downtown), pushing its way into farmland, but not quite there yet.
There is a ten hour drive sandwiched between these two dwellings.  My adult life has taken shape in a small but tidy 3rd floor walk-up with two bedrooms, one bath, and zero driveway in Astoria, Queens, NY.  My parents' home, which is not the house I grew up in but inhabits all the same things as that which I did, is spacious, well-decorated, and can accommodate two cars in its garage and three more in the driveway.
Home vs. home.
A little bird woke me this morning.  A little bird, perched on a branch on the blossoming tree just outside the window of the second floor of the house where M & D live, in which I am allowed to stay when I work in downtown Columbus.  I might have liked that little bird, that quaint touch of country-like living, had it not come to sing before six A.M.
(Daylight savings means nothing to the Robin Redbreast; he's like "heeeyyy all you paartay people!  Let's get ready to Roooooock!  It's Friiiiiiiiiiiiidaaaaaay!")
This is a non-occurrence in New York. . .
 Where we live in Queens, it's 1,000 times more likely that we would hear a car horn honk rather than a bird beak chirp.  Or car-alarm.  Or someone's car stereo playing whatever the most offensive sound-called-music one can imagine.  Or the sound of construction.  Or, on occasion, an angry human yelling at traffic, or construction, or merely pissed off at Life.
(One time, I awoke to the sound of a car-stereo blaring.  I glance out the window and a young man stood at the side of his car, with the door open while his music blared all around him and the neighborhood.  It was my only day off and my only day to sleep in at a time when I generally woke at 4:45.  So, at 8:30, I was none too thrilled.  I stepped outside and winced as I said, "can you please turn it down, I have a baby trying to sleep."  He apologized and swiftly adjusted the volume.  I snuggled back into bed thinking it's not a lie:  If you blare you're music at 8 AM I'm going to be a big baby.)

(Above:  two favorite Columbus, OH coffee shops)

Go for a jog in NYC and be prepared to navigate around the dog poop on the sidewalk.  In Reynoldsburg, Ohio, the pets are more keenly watched-out for and picked-up after, but the geese that inhabit the neighborhood pond poop freely and abundantly under no one's concern.  Watch out.

In NYC, pedestrians rule, so feel free to dart into the street the instant you see an opening, despite what traffic signals are telling you.  The drivers will curse you, but yield.

(I have inadvertently executed this maneuver in front of police cars, fearing consequences, but they just slow down the way they might for a pigeon or a cat.)

DO NOT jaywalk in Columbus, Ohio or any of its surrounding areas.  You will be ticketed, injured, or killed, and most certainly mocked for being on foot.

Generally speaking, everything in NY is more expensive than in other parts of the country.  Food, gas and toiletries are marked-up so high that if given the option, I wait to get to Ohio to purchase these things.  With one exception:  In Columbus, Ohio a pedicure costs a minimum of $40 and you should probably schedule it a few days in advance.  In Queens, there are at least six walk-in nail salons in a block's radius of my apartment building.  And the average pedicure costs $14.

I don't why it is.  It just is.

(Above:  two no-seater coffee shops in NY) 

And then, there are the coffee shops.  No city is devoid of a good coffee shop.  I have been to 39 of our states and even in the remotest, most hopeless cities, I have uncovered one good coffee shop.  Since returning to Columbus in mid-February, I have visited five coffee shops that I hadn't known of before, and two more remain that I have yet to see.  New York City, though, might have the finest and most varied collection in the world.  However, during my most recent week there, the two that I came across and hoped to visit had one sad characteristic in common:  no seating.  They are pictured above next to a couple of my favorite Columbus shops.  I'm sure the coffee is grand at these no-seaters, but without a place there to park my butt, I doubt I'll write about it.  I love coffee shops.  I love coffee.  Urban, rural, city, suburb, my exploration continues. . . 

Cup O Joe has at least five locations around Columbus, each with a different and original design and interior.  While they used to have an independent flair about them, they are slowly growing into a mainstream entity.  I still like them, though.  Great coffee you can count on and internet you can count on.  They are always bustling with customers and the music is good.  The Lennox location is pictured here.