The New "Tell Us About Your City" Thread

katiuska · 09-08-2010, 02:55 AM

Because we haven't done one in a while. and it's been brewing.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1997-2007): We moved here when my dad took a job at one of the plants. Cedar Rapids is pretty much a huge suburb with an industrial sector, having three currently operating food manufactoring plants (Quaker Oats, General Mills, and ADM). Officially calling itself the City of Five Seasons, it used to be a joke back when there were five plants that the seasons corresponded to whichever one was currently stinking up the place, because the smell really does permeate the whole area (ADM being by far the worst offender). Other than that, it's pleasant, if not very interesting.

New York, New YorK (2007-2009): Oh, New York.

The city, especially Manhattan, is full of outsiders who came to New York thinking it would be cool and exciting.

I was not one of those people. I didn't really have any dream of living there, I just ended up there in much the same way that one finds oneself in Vegas. We had a complex relationship: on the one hand, it gave me an endless string of things to be pissed off about, but on the other hand, it gave me an endless string of things to be pissed off about. It's dirty, cluttered, full of assholes, and expensive, which I think killed me more than anything--this is a place which clearly delineates between the haves and the have-nots. It's also pretentious, somehow managing to be too trendy and too backwards at the same time; it's like it's so absorbed in its own New Yorkness that it fails to notice that the world has been moving on in the meantime.

Then again, it's New York. It's got a culture you won't find anywhere else, and it was great to have everything come to you for once. Also: cheap, delicious Indian food. (As an aside: I recommend going to midtown at least once, but residents tend to avoid it if they can help it. One trip around Times Square will teach you why.) Well, whatever. Every experience is of value, and whatever I may say against New York, it is certainly an experience.

Atlanta, Georgia (2009-2010): Sadly, I've never really formed an impression of the place. Actually, I live/lived out north in the boonies, around the area Deliverance took place. Fortunately, I have yet to encounter any rapist hicks by the river banks. Most of the area has tried to overcome that image, which probably did reflect an amount of truth about what people where like there several decades ago.

Iowa City, Iowa (2010- ): And here I am, back in, Iowa, for a myriad of reasons, all embarrassing. If my 14-year-old self knew that I'd eventually live in New York, only to return to Iowa, she'd devote herself to finding out how to punch future me through time for being so lame. And it is lame. But I could do worse. Iowa City has a couple points of interest, being: A) the setting for Bloom Country, b) the origin of No Shame Theater. It was one of No Shame's early members that took his Artie: The Strongest Man in the World act to The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

09-08-2010, 02:55 AM	#1
katiuska Unlicensed Practitioner Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 801	The New "Tell Us About Your City" Thread Because we haven't done one in a while. and it's been brewing. Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1997-2007): We moved here when my dad took a job at one of the plants. Cedar Rapids is pretty much a huge suburb with an industrial sector, having three currently operating food manufactoring plants (Quaker Oats, General Mills, and ADM). Officially calling itself the City of Five Seasons, it used to be a joke back when there were five plants that the seasons corresponded to whichever one was currently stinking up the place, because the smell really does permeate the whole area (ADM being by far the worst offender). Other than that, it's pleasant, if not very interesting. New York, New YorK (2007-2009): Oh, New York. The city, especially Manhattan, is full of outsiders who came to New York thinking it would be cool and exciting. I was not one of those people. I didn't really have any dream of living there, I just ended up there in much the same way that one finds oneself in Vegas. We had a complex relationship: on the one hand, it gave me an endless string of things to be pissed off about, but on the other hand, it gave me an endless string of things to be pissed off about. It's dirty, cluttered, full of assholes, and expensive, which I think killed me more than anything--this is a place which clearly delineates between the haves and the have-nots. It's also pretentious, somehow managing to be too trendy and too backwards at the same time; it's like it's so absorbed in its own New Yorkness that it fails to notice that the world has been moving on in the meantime. Then again, it's New York. It's got a culture you won't find anywhere else, and it was great to have everything come to you for once. Also: cheap, delicious Indian food. (As an aside: I recommend going to midtown at least once, but residents tend to avoid it if they can help it. One trip around Times Square will teach you why.) Well, whatever. Every experience is of value, and whatever I may say against New York, it is certainly an experience. Atlanta, Georgia (2009-2010): Sadly, I've never really formed an impression of the place. Actually, I live/lived out north in the boonies, around the area Deliverance took place. Fortunately, I have yet to encounter any rapist hicks by the river banks. Most of the area has tried to overcome that image, which probably did reflect an amount of truth about what people where like there several decades ago. Iowa City, Iowa (2010- ): And here I am, back in, Iowa, for a myriad of reasons, all embarrassing. If my 14-year-old self knew that I'd eventually live in New York, only to return to Iowa, she'd devote herself to finding out how to punch future me through time for being so lame. And it is lame. But I could do worse. Iowa City has a couple points of interest, being: A) the setting for Bloom Country, b) the origin of No Shame Theater. It was one of No Shame's early members that took his Artie: The Strongest Man in the World act to The Adventures of Pete and Pete. __________________ If I try too hard my brain explodes, so don't expect me to be witty on purpose. Last edited by katiuska; 09-08-2010 at 03:04 AM.