New York in Another Light

When Crafty wrote her post about New York, it was strange for me. I don't know how to experience the world the way other people do, because I only know my own experiences. However, she references being afraid of cities and that's just something I don't know. I have never been afraid of cities. I'm terrified of people and extremely shy, but cities? They're just centralized hubs of culture, so what's to be scared of?!

Now, to be fair, I've traveled extensively, but this has always been my attitude. In college, I was really active in the music industry, as well as in nonprofits and activist causes. So I ended up spending a lot of time in New York. It's only a few hours away and everything was based there - or Boston, but Boston isn't big. And I'd spent many weekends in Boston growing up. But it never bothered me being in New York, and this was well before the gentrification started and Disney took over Times Square. Perhaps it was the ignorance of youth, but I found nothing terrifying about roaming the city alone. Now I look back and think I was really stupid, and my parents would be less than thrilled to know about the strangers' lofts I found myself in or the fact that I was too fearless to consider that maybe it was a bad idea to stroll through the Bowery by myself at 2 AM, but I'm here.

Little Miss Boxy's Subscriptions and Wish List

Recently, Little Miss Crafty gave a little introduction to herself, including her projects, interests, and goals. Since I don't make things, my goals are to keep opening boxes of things and that's not much for a post. :) So I decided to write up a little about the subscriptions I currently have, the ones I most want to try, and a little about my interests.

Current Subscriptions

My subscriptions change all the time, because I like to try everything, but in order to do so, I often have to put things on hold. There are also certain times of the year when I need specific items and others aren't really as important or I'm stocked up.

Right now, my preferences tend towards geeky things, food and snacks, eco-friendly and unique products, and high value subscriptions. For example, you'll see I have several geek box subscriptions and snack boxes. I started this blog, though, with Little Miss Crafty for the ones I was already subscribing to and that led me to signing up for a ton of new ones to try as well! As I try them, I'm always going to note whether it's a definite keep, a try again to see, or a cancel. Of course, my reasons are generally personal and I am willing to try anything because what's good for me may not be for someone else and they may love something I'm lukewarm about receiving.

To be honest, a huge deciding factor for me in choosing to keep a box is not just what's in it, but the customer service. I've been back and forth on a few, and when I feel like they actually care about their customers, I tend to be more likely to stick it out. Some of these boxes certainly have greater value than what you pay, but let's be honest - you probably aren't going to use everything. Part of the cost, for me, is also that I'm paying for products I wouldn't normally find at the store. If, however, the customer service reps are going to treat me the same as the cashier at Target does, I don't feel any reason to keep paying for the box. I've seen awesome service - and downright awful, and as my long-term subscriptions come to an end in the next few months, I already have some that are probably getting canceled immediately. It's amazing how little some companies value service.