Country Mouse & City Mouse

 So I have a thing for the city, any city, probably because I don't live there. I used to live in a city and was less than impressed, maybe because I was a young mother with no money, no family nearby, and few friends. I was too busy working a crappy job for $7 an hour, paying for gas with dimes and nickels, and shuttling my baby back and forth to daycare, to enjoy anything about the city. Back then, it was just scary.

 I live in the country now, a move which was probably a knee-jerk reaction to being fed up with the city way back when. I was so sick of the traffic, the endless circling around the parking lot just looking for a spot so I could run in for a gallon of milk, and the lack of human connection. After several years (8 to be exact) of being out here in the middle of nowhere though, I have realized that the whole "lack of connection" isn't a city thing, it's just a ME thing. I suck at making friends and honestly, I just don't like many people. Now dogs...I have plenty of dog friends. I am very popular with the doggie set.

 The pendulum has swung the other way and I miss the city again. I miss delivery and food options, concerts and independent films. I miss the excitement of being somewhere with a collective energy. I escape to the city whenever I can convince my long-suffering husband to take me and then I fantasize about moving there to some fantastic city-view apartment (which never has cockroaches), eating at famous restaurants (with some magical money that spits out of the corner ATM) and commuting to my dream job, where I help thousands of people each day live spectacular lives (never mind that I can't even get an interview with my non-profit of choice.) The realities of living there never really enter the picture.

 Maybe I'm not just bad at making friends, I'm just bad at reality. Huh. There's a theory.