New York City and I had an amazing 2013.

I finished up my big “28 Things to do Before I Turn 28” project right before my birthday. I trapezed on the roof of Chelsea Piers. I walked the entire length of Broadway in one day. I went to speakeasies and four-star restaurants and on a bird-watching tour. I ate from food trucks for an entire weekend.

I became close enough with the guy at the local diner to get free mozzarella sticks each time I go in, provided I give him a hug first. I ate a ridiculous number of bagels, mostly cinnamon raisin with jalapeño cream cheese (the Aubrey special). I sang Lisa Loeb’s “Stay” way too many times at karaoke. I talked to Andy Samberg, Rashida Jones, and the guy who makes the Cronuts.

I celebrated birthdays, job changes, engagements, and a wedding. I said goodbye to a bar where I’d been a regular and became a regular at a few new places. I hung out with my family a ton but still not as much as I wanted to. I wrote for something that wasn’t my own blog. I acquired a banjo.