1.1Maybe you're from here. Maybe something lured you here. Skate videos. Hackers. The Devil Wears Prada. Ghostbusters. KIDS. Girls. Paris is Burning. 13 Going on 30. The scene.
1.2Something's kept you here, in NYC. The bullshit at that agency you worked at. That movie shoot you walked by. That movie shoot you worked on. Slices on paper plates. Bodega cats. Community gardens. The Mets. Nutcrackers all day long at Rockaway beach. Spring. Fall. Spring again. Jaywalking. Coming back after being away. Having options. Unlimited options.
1.3We dug in. We found each other. We figured it out together. We didn't always see each other, sometimes spotted each other, definitely stare now and then. We've been together the entire time. At the corner bar with the most promise for a hookup. New York looks good on us.
2.1We've partied. We've tripped over each other. We've melted down. We're exposed. We watch over each other. We talk shit. We stop to help. We've fallen in love. Or we could.
2.2What really matters to us? The right food. The right joke. The right time. The right timing. The right people.
2.3You are a certain type and you're more thoughtful than most. As luck would have it, you're in New York, with a lot of other special New Yorkers.
3.1There's an overbearing, pestery creep. Boring and draining. The bland monoculture. The look is off. The shoes. The watch. The dead eyes. Taking up too much space. Slowing us down. Squeezing in. Hudson Yards Kent Ave uncanny valley. Doesn't know how to act. Loud. Oblivious. Bad tipper. Doesn't get the joke. Can't take a hint. "Well actually..."
3.2This invasive species stormed in on our precious and unpredictable and beautiful lives, not appreciating us. Doesn't listen. Doesn't pick up on how we meet and charm each other. He doesn't care. Caring doesn't scale.
3.3They're herding all of us onto the platform and raising the fares. Crowding us onto a sad stinking train that's stalling through rush hour. And where are we even going?
4.1Grindr Unlimited. Tinder Platinum. Ready to upgrade? Aren't you excited? Temu haul for people. Sort by price, low to high. Save for later. Free returns.
4.2Quiet luxury. Another destination wedding. Fishing trip with the guys. Thirst trap but not so thirsty. Curated rooftops. A LinkedIn resume with calculated angles and perfect lighting. Optimized for engagement. Click here to apply.
4.3I don't know these people on these apps and I don't recognize myself here either.
We want run-ins. We want dates. We're gonna make it work. So we made something new. Somewhere you can be normal. Be weird. Be casual. Be silly. Be yourself. Nothing fancy.
See you soon. How about 8? What's somewhere by you? Another drink somewhere else? Wanna do this again? Let's walk. I'm going that way too.
Do you have an extra toothbrush?
Which way is the subway?
Let's do it again sometime.
Good luck out there.
—Philip & Katie
