Driving in New York is best approached with the kind of reckless abandon and optimism one usually associates with bad relationships and ill-fated business ventures.

A few years ago, before I moved here, a friend of mine who was living in Boston drove to Manhattan and back on her own. That single act impressed me more than almost anything she'd done until then. At the time, of course, I had no idea that one day in the not so distant future I'd be driving around Manhattan on a regular basis, dodging the taxis, trucks and assorted maniacs who clog the streets day and night. Now I can shrug my shoulders with the best of them, in typical bored New Yorker fashion, and nonchalantly tell my friends, "Sure, driving here? Like playing a video game." Most of the time, I'm a relatively sane person and take public transportation. There's nothing like driving in Manhattan, though, for a guaranteed, free adrenalin rush. Who needs Six Flags when you can take your chances on the streets of the city?