laughing, golden in the sun

Possibly aware that I'm suffering from urban ambivalence, a friend passed on this clever tale by Laura Taylor Lambros titled "Free Martha," detailing the perils of serial city monogamy.

Los Angeles and I are fighting. We've reached that point in our relationship where the initial attraction has worn off and reality has set in. I mean, I love L.A., really, deep down I think we were meant to be together, it's just been rough lately...

For the longest time I denied that anything was wrong. I mean there were little things that bothered me. For example, every time it rains L.A. makes this huge deal about it, calls it a storm, tells me how to drive, and makes me late for work. And celebrities. That bothered me from the start. L.A. sees Jimmy Smits picking up dry cleaning and talks about it for weeks. L.A. can fill whole nights with talk of who is seeing who and whether so and so is gay and who is working on what and frankly I've just stopped being interested.

However, as Lambros discovers, relationships with New York, Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, and Cleveland each present their own idiosyncratic trials and tribulations. I keep telling myself that if I never actually get involved with Austin, I can keep the dream alive forever.
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