Five years ago yesterday, I moved to New York City from the Northwest for grad school with no intention of staying. But here I am. Who knew? Inspired by Suzanne, who also just passed her own five-year milestone, I thought I’d commemorate the anniversary with a special post.

Where did all the time go? I think I was running.  757 miles to be exact, including 30 races, four of which were half-marathons and two of which were long-distance relays. When I wasn’t running, I attended about 20 classical concerts at Carnegie Hall, roughly 10 theater productions (Broadway and Off-Broadway), at least five world class operas at the Metropolitan Opera, and one Yankees game. But it wasn’t all fun and games. Somewhere in there, I also earned one master’s degree, worked for four health and social service organizations, and rode the subway thousands of times.

To commemorate, here are five lists of five, for your enjoyment (or maybe, just mine):

Five Best Food Experiences I’ve Had Here (not cooked at home):

1. Soup dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant in Chinatown.
2. An Indian lunch buffet at the Jackson Diner in Queens.
3. Mmm, cheese fondue and wine at Artisanal.
4. Blue Ribbon Sushi in Brooklyn.
5. The chocolate cake at the Chocolate Room.

Five Best Personal Accomplishments:

1. Definitely, attaining my master’s in public health. Which was indeed my sole reason for moving here!
2. Achieving a personal best during the NYC Half Marathon.
3. Publishing two papers from work I did in Sierra Leone.
4. Being close to finishing all the beginner’s courses at the Deutches Haus (one more to go!).
5. Moving to Brooklyn!

Five Celebrity Sightings (okay, only four):

1. Philip Seymour Hoffman walking along Washington Square Park.
2. Sam Waterston filming Law and Order in Foley Square.
3. Martin Sheen behind the stage of an anti-war demonstration in Central Park.
4. During a street fair in Brooklyn, we shook hands and discussed falafels with Charles Schumer, New York State’s U.S. Senator.

Five New York Experiences I Would Prefer to Never Have Again, Thank You:

1. The blackout of 2003. It had its quaint moments for sure (i.e. a starry starry night), but those were offset by having no air conditioning in August, throwing out all the rotting food in the fridge, and not being able to flush the toilet because they needed electricity to pump water up past the 4th floor of our building.
2. Enduring mass chaos, sweating through my shirt, and barely making it to work because the subway system was incapacitated one day when it rained.
3. Standing outside in the cold at three in the morning because the building two doors down was on fire.
4. Limping my way across the finish line during the Bronx Half Marathon in 2004 because of severe knee pain, and having to abandon my entry to the NYC Marathon.
5. Walking an hour to work in the middle of January because of a transit strike.

Five Best Only-In-New-York Days/Experiences:

1. Improv Everywhere’s MP3 Experiment Four.
2. 77 drums playing under the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges on 7/7/07 for 77 minutes, beginning at 7pm (otherwise known as 77 BOADRUM).
3. De La Guarda at the Roth Theater.
4. Running through Times Square.
5. Rooftop parties with fantastic city views.