I've got the oddest non-existent relationship with the Empire State Building. It's a fixture in the skyline, of course. And I've seen it from afar a million times. But I've never actually been in the building.

About a decade ago, I was walking around mid-town with a friend. Just chatting and enjoying a cool, sunny day. I happened to glance at the building we were walking by and saw a plaque that identified as the Empire State Building. I stopped for a moment, looked up, patted the wall and gave a surprised "Huh". The following conversation ensued:

Friend: "What?"
Me: "Empire State Building" as I pointed.
Friend: "Yeah, so what?"
Me: "Nothing. I guess I just never realized it was right here before."
Friend: "Are you kidding me? You must have seen it a million times?"
Me: "I know. I just never...ya know...knew exactly where it was."
Friend: "How is that possible? It's HUGE and you've been in the neighborhood hundreds or thousands of times?"
Me: "I really don't know. I never look up and I just don't really think about it."
Friend: "Wow! You want to go inside and check it out?"
Me: "Nah..."

Very odd.

good story. I bet it's not exactly unique among NY-ers too.