“I submitted a poem last night to The New Yorker. They said it can take up to three months to hear back. I got rejected immediately.”

“Every time you hear a car alarm, Ruby said, another New Yorker has gone to hell.”

“Yet, as only New Yorkers know, if you can get through the twilight, you'll live through the night.”

“Icy: You ladies want to hear something funny? The quiz in last month's Teen Witch said "What would you do if you got to take over the whole universe?Darcy: What did you put?Icy: I wrote "You'll find out soon enough, loser," and sent it in.”

“It's difficult. I take a low dose of lithium nightly. I take an antidepressant for my darkness because prayer isn't enough. My therapist hears confession twice a month, my shrink delivers the host, and I can stand in the woods and see the world spark.”

“In a subway car, my skin would typically fall in the middle of the color spectrum. On street corners, tourists would ask me for directions. I was, in four and a half years, never an American; I was immediately a New Yorker.”