Holidays

This may be the first holiday season that I was really active in New York. In the past, holidays meant one thing--finals! So I spent most of the end of November and December hunched over in the library with my fellow zombie students, surrounded by a fort of textbooks, miserably counting down to the last exam. After finals, I would go back home to spend the holidays with my family.

The United Nations does not have a comprehensive holiday party, rather each department has its own party. This year, the office of legal affairs had their party in one of the bars of the Secretariat building. The UN has at least two bars in the building, the Delegates Lounge and the Express Bar. There may be more, but those are the only two that I have visited so far. The party was planned by people working in the Divisions, and was done very well, with plenty of artery clogging food and alcohol. The department of peacekeeping operations and the department of political affairs had one of the largest parties, and was held in the cafeteria.

Three months ago, I bought tickets to see the American Ballet Theatre's "The Nutcracker." In particular, I wanted to see Misti Copeland perform, since she is one of the few minorities in a field that is overwhelmingly white, and at 5'2", with a fairly large chest, she is not the typical ballerina body type. In an interview, she had stated that she knew she did not fit the traditional mold, and decided that she had to do everything perfectly if she wanted to pursue her goals. I don't know that much about ballet, but I liked her story of breaking barriers--instead of letting her differences deter her from accomplishing what she wanted in her life, she pushed herself hard to set a new standard, and likely created an opening for other "unconventional" ballerinas.

When I think of my own career, I definitely find myself looking for other women, in particular Asian women, in leadership positions in my field. I am proud that the Director of my Division in a woman, but am also aware that she is the first female Director that I have had during my entire time working--in every other office, the head has been a man. I think women like her have definitely made it easier for women in my generation to balance careers, but there are still many challenges remaining. I have yet to meet an Asian woman in any executive leadership position (I have read about them, so they do exist, but are still rare)--I have however, met a few female delegates, representing Asian countries. I can see that there is a shift, and that there are far more female representatives at meetings today than say, 10 years ago.

Sadly, I will not be able to see Misti Copeland, due to the fact that I ended up having to leave a day early to go home since flights were limited. My friends bought the tickets from me, so I hope they enjoy it on my behalf.

Another friend of mine, meanwhile, had a last minute cancellation from someone she was supposed to see a holiday concert with, Fresh 102.7's Holiday Jam, so I went with her. American Authors, Echosmith, Gavin DeGraw, Daughtry, and Train performed. Everyone was good except for Daughtry--I really wasn't a fan. In particular, both Gavin DeGraw and Train turned out to be excellent entertainers.

American Authors

The lobby of the theatre

Halloween in New Orleans

I loved New Orleans so much the first time around, so for Halloween, one of my favorite holidays, I thought it would be a good idea to celebrate there.

It had been hard to find accommodation, since Voodoo fest is the same weekend (three day concert), so we booked a room for two people, with the intention of cramming three people in. It was called the French Market Inn, which I would highly recommend. At the desk, the woman saw us and said, "the room is only supposed to be for two people. But fuck it, it's Halloween. Just don't tell anyone else."

When asked, the locals would say, "Halloween is really crazy here," but they would say it in a way that sounded bad. Halloween is a crazy holiday, so I would think that crazy is good. Could it really be bad crazy?

We were told to avoid Bourbon street altogether, and just go to Frenchman's. My friend didn't have a costume, so we used some creativity and found a tutu for her and she went as the black swan. There were a lot of really creative costumes, but I did understand now what they meant by bad crazy. Some people were so drunk that they were throwing up on the street, but that was closer to Bourbon. As we got to Frenchman's, the people were more functional. It was crowded, but there were a lot of good music venues open. One of our friends works at the Balcony Music Club, and another one of our acquaintances plays there, so we went there. At some point a blues band played.

Most of our time, as usual, was spent eating. However, we were dismayed to find that there was no boiled crawfish since it wasn't crawfish season. So, a very important note for anyone going to New Orleans--go from JANUARY TO JUNE, because the crawfish are worth it.

We planned a trip to Lafayette Cemetery, to see the above ground tombs, and took the street car to get there. The street car is almost entirely wooden in the interior. When we arrived at the cemetery, we decided to stop for lunch at a very nice restaurant. By the time we had finished eating, we found that the cemetery had closed. So another lesson--the Lafayette Cemetery closes at 2:30 pm!

This trip may be more about interesting characters, since we mostly ate and listened to music during our time there.

One woman made art out of chicken feet--I suppose she preserved them and dried them, and painted the nails. They looked like little human hands, so I wasn't a fan. She hung them up with string, making mobiles out of them.

On the day after Halloween, I talked to woman with little leaves taped all over her body while waiting in line for the bathroom. "I'm the only one dressed up," she complained. "My friends told me that everyone would dress up today because it's Saturday, but they were wrong."
"No," I said, trying to make her feel better, and thought of two other people in the room who had costumes on. "I saw some people dressed up in the room too. A panda and Thor."
"Yeah...those are my friends who told me to dress up," she answered.

At one point in my life, I had tried to be pescetarian, and was talking to someone about it. I said, "I actually felt really good when I cut out red meat. I felt better and healthier."
"Yes," she said. "I did too. But I still really missed meat. Meat is like that ex boyfriend that used to beat you. You know it's bad, but sometimes you just want to go back."

We asked a waiter for recommendations on where to go in New Orleans on a Monday. Somewhere that might be a bit more crazy. I guess he assumed that "crazy" meant "weird," so he recommended that we go to Dragon's Den, which our friend later told us is nicknamed "drug den." Anyhow, it was not a bad place, since it's one of the few places that don't allow smoking inside, but we ran into an old man, an electrician, who told us that his "special power" was telling different types of Asians apart. "Let me turn on the light and look at your faces," he said. "I can tell you where your people are from." He got 1 out of 3 correct.

One person told us about his home. "I used to live in the 7th Ward," he said. "That's the ghetto. For those of you who don't know New Orleans, if a place isn't important enough to get a name--like, it just gets a number, like the 7th Ward, then it's the slum of slums." We never went to the 7th Ward, so couldn't really verify, but when he said that the bartender said, "Yeah, I used to live there too! The homeless people would protect me while I walked my dog."

We visited our friend at the bar, and his coworker started our tab. When it came time to pay, he went to look through the tab, and looked up and asked his coworker, "Did you put them under 'JAPAN'??" I was surprised she didn't just write, "X's friends," or "girls from New York," or just ask one of us for our name, but I suppose people are less politically correct in some areas.

One of our friends had a guy that she met the previous trip, and kept in touch with, and we had been hoping that he would be able to get off work to go hang out with her. Unfortunately, Halloween weekend was so busy that his boss wouldn't let him leave. So my other friend and I went to talk to the boss, on her behalf. "How about we take his shift, so then he can leave early?"
"No."
"But you'd get two people for the price of one."
"That's very nice," he said, "but no."
The guy (not the boss) is an aspiring wrestler, but currently works as a bouncer and doorman. As people walk by he says, "no cover no charge." So my friend and I set out to prove to his boss that we would be good at this too.
"NO COVER NO CHARGE!" We yelled to people walking by. I think we had a success rate of about 15%. So I decided that we should change our slogan to, "No cover! Free music! Cheap drinks!" Which didn't work that much better.

This time around, I got to talk more to different artists. One of them used musical notes to create paintings. Thus, in all of his paintings, he makes silhouettes of people used musical notes from a song. Some paintings are more chaotic, and the notes are just noise, but others have a musical score in the painting.

Another one would catch fish, and paint the fish, and use the fish (or other sea animal) as a stamp and transfer the paint onto a piece of paper. The result actually looked really cool. For some, he used a resin that left the pieces shiny like tiles.

I also went on a mission to try gumbo at every place that I went to. The best is still at the French Market. French Market also has the best bloody mary that I've had in my life.

I think it would be fun to go back for Mardi Gras. 

Comic Con

Today I went to Comic Con for the first time. I have a friend who really likes it and goes every year, so this year I asked her to pick one up for me as well. Upon arriving however, I realized that I don't actually like comics, I just really like Sailor Moon. Most of the other comics there were unfamiliar to me.

Most of my friends dressed up, so I decided to make my own costume. I used cotton sateen, white, red, and purple, to make a Sailor Mars costume. It turned out really well! I will post some photos later--I am unable to post because my iPhone broke, and the screen no longer works. I will have to wait for my friend to send photos to me. Many people buy their costumes and spend hundreds, even thousands, to get it right. My costume cost about $35 dollars total, so I was quite proud of myself. Since I custom made it to fit myself, the fit was a lot better. Often, the Sailor Moon costumes I see are too baggy, or proportionately weird. There were some other great costumes at the event--there were a few very impressive Sailor Saturn costumes.

I remember the first time I dressed up as Sailor Moon--I went to Salem, and met a fortune teller; it had been a really interesting trip, and one that I still remember fondly. I decided not to be Sailor Moon this time around because of the hair--and I like Mars as well. My hair is very long, and dark,, so I was one of the few people there using my real hair, and not a wig. I think it makes the costume look a lot better. A lot of people stopped me and asked for photographs, which was a fun experience. I felt like the people dressed up in costumes in Disney Land, who little girls take photos with. One person said to me, "Sailor Mars...you...are...my favorite Sailor Soldier. You were always much prettier than Sailor Moon. I know she gets to be the leader, but you are prettier than she is." It was pretty funny, and even though the compliment was directed at the character and not at me, I somehow still felt quite proud. There were not many people dressed as Sailor Moon characters this year. I will reuse the costume for Halloween.

Comic Con was extremely crowded, with people from all ages. I found it a bit overwhelming. I might go again next year, since I met a few creative and interesting people. I went to two panels only, the Sailor Moon ones, and walked around the floor. I was a bit surprised that there were so many men at the Sailor Moon events. I guess Comic Con is mostly men, although the group I went with was all women (probably because most of my friends are women). I had to line up for the panels more than an hour in advance. When someone was asking me what else I was going to see I replied, "I'm only here for Sailor Moon," and two men behind me chimed in, "ME TOO." And they knew more about the show than I did! It was nice to meet so many people who liked the series as much (if not more) than I did. There were many unique vendors selling jewelry, clothes, and a bunch of comic oriented things.

As we grow older, it seems that some of the things of childhood are discarded, while others become even more precious for us. I used to be obsessed with Beanie Babies, Animorphs and Pokemon, but don't really care at all anymore. Sailor Moon however, seems to have grown to represent my childhood. Sometimes, when I'm extremely stressed, I'll sit down and watch an episode and it will make me feel relaxed. It brings me back to a time that was very carefree, and reminds me to keep an optimistic and hopeful attitude towards life.

Next weekend, I will go to DC. The first time I went to DC was a Columbus Day weekend--I drove down there with some friends, and almost got into a car accident. 

Global Citizens, DUMBO and La Roux

The past two weekends were full of activity: the Global Citizens Festival, the DUMBO Arts Festival, and La Roux live at Terminal 5. 

The Global Citizens Festival is an annual concert to end global poverty. They specified their goal of extreme poverty by 2030. I am a bit skeptical, since it seems that the income gap between the rich and the poor grow wider each year, but I suppose "extreme poverty," defined as people who live on less than two US dollars per day, probably will decrease. I do wonder how much of that increase will simply be due to inflation. Nevertheless, I hope that they meet their goal. The artists that performed included Tiesto, Fun, Carrie Underwood, No Doubt, Alicia Keys, the Roots, Jay-Z, Sting and Beyonce. Several celebrities and government officials hosted, including the Swedish royal family, prime ministers of Norway and Denmark, Ban Ki Moon, the President of the World Bank, Olivia Wilde, Jessica Alba, Ryan Renolds, Hugh Jackman, and some others that I can't remember now. Hugh Jackman joked, "Ban Ki Moon here is an amazing rapper. But out of respect for Jay Z, he has declined to perform this evening." I wasn't so excited about Jay Z, but I was hoping his wife would show up and indeed, Beyonce made a surprise appearance. She has such a presence that she didn't even announce herself. She simply appeared on the stage, and the crowd went wild. 

I can't upload video, but here's a link on youtube to No Doubt's performance of Don't Speak: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnscPqX7B-8

There were about 60,000 people in attendance, and tickets cannot be bought--they need to be won via the Global Citizens website for sharing articles on human rights issues. I had thought the concert would only be two hours or so, but it was a six hour event. I had been most excited to see No Doubt. I was disappointed with some of the audience members. Considering the event is meant to raise awareness about human rights issues, there were some really obnoxious people there. I suppose in a crowd on 60,000 there are inevitably some inconsiderate jerks. When presenters spoke about human rights issues, such as sexual abuse of children, some members of the crowd yelled, "Shut up and bring on the next singer!" Nevertheless, it was a really great event. 

A photo from when we arrived at the Global Citizens Festival

They looked like an album cover so I took a photo

Cell phones and lighters turned on for Beyonce's ballads

The DUMBO Arts Festival had about 300 artists participating, with a few interactive stations. There was one about clothing, in which people were asked to answer questions about articles of clothing that they wore, and pin their answers to various clothes hung on a clothes line. Another good stand was full of note cards with poems hung on cords. People, children and adults, were asked to improvise and write poems on a given topic. Two of the ones I liked included the following:

"And the moon blinked out and the world closed its eyes and began to wait for morning."

"And if I stared long enough, the ocean would become smaller and it would bring back what distance said would be lost."

A quote from E. E. Cummings: "I carry your heart. (I carry it in my heart)."

"You are lost to me, like the lipstick I stole from CVS. You are lost like the sparrows that occasionally fly towards my window and suddenly PAUSE. You are lost and yet, constantly found in the creased pages of my favorite book. You will constantly be found in this old mix that sometimes my heart meanders towards. Sometimes I find you."

"Roses are grey, Violets are grey. I am a dog -_-"

"My best friend is kind, gentle, nice and more. My best friend is the best person ever. My best friend is a really good person. My best friend takes half a heart of mine."

The Laundry Display

An interactive project that asks people to write what type of world they want to live in, and what they will do to help create that world. 

I participated too. I want to live in a world without racism or violent ideology. To create that world, I will learn as much as I can about other cultures, and travel. 

They wrote "No Guns"

This artist painted famous actresses and singers in hijabs as a response to the sexualization of women, specifically black women, in the media. 

A pretty door between galleries

This artist was by far my favorite. I wanted to buy several of her paintings, and she will probably be an inspiration for my own paintings.

Just one example of a lot of great street art under DUMBO tunnels

La Roux was probably the best performance I have seen at Terminal 5 to date. She has really great energy, and the type of music she plays is great live. We managed to get very good spots right at the corner of the stage. Her opening act however, was one of the worst that I've seen at Terminal 5. The thing is, I really liked the music, and thought they did a unique job of combining disco, 80s and electronica--I also thought the lead singer had a beautiful voice, but I couldn't understand anything she said. Apparently this was on purpose--her style is to sing in a very incoherent way, and occasionally act like she is having a seizure on the stage. The band is called Midnight Madness. La Roux however, was amazing. Her rendition of Bulletproof, the last song of the set, was done so well that I'll definitely try to see her live again.

Here is a youtube link to her performance that I found, since I couldn't upload mine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21e7a7SxEbY

La Roux on stage

United Nations General Assembly 69th Session

This year has been a very interesting year for me, filled with opportunities that I have been very grateful for, and work that I have found interesting and challenging. This week, I had the opportunity to attend two events at the United Nations Headquarters, the Climate Change Summit, and the General Debate of the 69th Session of the General Assembly.

Since I will be doing work for the General Assembly next week, I got an all access pass (which actually isn't all access, but enough to get you into the General Assembly Hall). I'm not a morning person, but given the opportunity I dragged myself out of bed early to catch the opening ceremony of the Climate Change Summit, and then the opening of the General Debate (which both began about an hour before my normal work time of 9:30 am).

During General Assembly, the heads of state of the members of the United Nations come to New York to give speeches about various topics, such as women's rights, climate change, terrorism, to name a few. The Climate Change Summit followed the March for Climate Change in New York, during which hundreds of thousands of people marched along Central Park to demonstrate their support for policies to combat climate change.

It's pretty easy to tell who is new to the United Nations, and who is not. Those who have been working at the organization, especially the higher ranking, aren't particularly excited about the heads of state. It means added security, blocked of streets, and more difficulty and stress just walking to and from the buildings. It also means that restaurants are crowded, streets are more likely to be lined with protesters, and the threat of politically motivated violence is augmented. For new comers like me however, going to the General Assembly is like going to the Oscars. I was so excited, and even overwhelmed, to be able to see the Presidents and Heads of State of so many countries. The Presidents of the US, UK, France, South Korea, and many others gave speeches. I haven't heard from the Heads of State of Israel and of Palestine, but they are scheduled to speak later this week.

Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary-General, opened both meetings. The opening ceremony of the Climate Change had Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio as speakers. A poet from the Marshall Islands gave a great reading of her poem to her daughter concerning rising sea levels, the effects of climate change, and hope that today's generation could prevent worse disasters from occurring. She is the only speaker that got a standing ovation from the entire General Assembly--not even Ban Ki Moon, Barack Obama, or any other speaker got that honor.

The GA Hall was the most crowded when Obama was scheduled to speak. I was very impressed by his speech before the General Debate. While the full text can be found online, some of my favorite excerpts are below:

"I often tell young people in the United States that this is the best time in human history to be born, for you are more likely than ever before to be literate, to be healthy, and to be free to pursue your dreams...

I’d like to focus on two defining questions at the root of many of our challenges– whether the nations here today will be able to renew the purpose of the UN’s founding; and whether we will come together to reject the cancer of violent extremism...

We are here because others realized that we gain more from cooperation than conquest. One hundred years ago, a World War claimed the lives of many millions, proving that with the terrible power of modern weaponry, the cause of empire leads to the graveyard...

Russia’s actions in Ukraine challenge this post-war order...this is a vision of the world in which might makes right – a world in which one nation’s borders can be redrawn by another, and civilized people are not allowed to recover the remains of their loved ones because of the truth that might be revealed...

We have reaffirmed that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. Islam teaches peace. Muslims the world over aspire to live with dignity and a sense of justice. And when it comes to America and Islam, there is no us and them – there is only us, because millions of Muslim Americans are part of the fabric of our country...

No children – anywhere – should be educated to hate other people. There should be no more tolerance of so-called clerics who call upon people to harm innocents because they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim. It is time for a new compact among the civilized peoples of this world to eradicate war at its most fundamental source: the corruption of young minds by violent ideology."

There are probably more, and I encourage everyone to read the entire speech. I feel very proud to have Obama as President of my home country. Perhaps because it is towards the end of his second term, he is able to be more daring and take stands that he otherwise might not have due to desire for re-election.

This week I am tired, but am feeling grateful and fortunate. Since high school, I wanted to work in international relations, and today I find myself at the center of international relations--at the United Nations Headquarters, with world leaders who are in the process of making history. Today, I really feel as though I am transitioning from pursuing my career dreams to living them. I still have a very long way to go, and a lot of pursuing left to do--but for now I am happy and appreciating the good fortune.

United Nations Headquarters

President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff--I don't have high quality photos of the others, unfortunately, since I left my camera home the first day, and the second day I could only stay for a few speakers. 

President Obama preparing to give his speech

President Obama at the podium

A larger view of the General Assembly Hall

Chuang Yen Monastery

Chuang Yen Monastery is the largest Monastery in North America. It's not a tourist destination, and I hope that it never will be. I have been coming to this temple, in Carmel, New York, since I was a child. A few times a year, we would drive from Boston to visit this temple. It is a complex, almost like a college campus, in the middle of the woods in upstate New York. I remember that it used to have signs posted in the woods saying, "No Hunting Allowed." Buddhists typically do not eat meat, since they believe in reincarnation and shouldn't cause harm to any living organisms.

It takes about an hour to drive to the monastery from Manhattan. Run entirely by monks and volunteers, it is a very quiet and peaceful place with fairly few visitors. It seems there are not more than 150 people at a time on the spacious grounds, and we usually go on weekends. Lunch there, which is entirely vegetarian, costs only $6 and is all you can eat. You aren't supposed to waste food (in general, but especially not in a temple), so you should finish your entire plate. The food is simple and healthy.

There are various prayer rooms, as well as Buddhas for different purposes. Notably, there is one room where you can buy tiles for people who have passed away. You can also buy a place holder for yourself, for when you yourself pass away. The place holders are red, while the normal tiles are yellow with names written on them. Multiple people can also share a tile. The tiles cost $1,100.

I'm really glad that the temple has continued to maintain itself for so long, and hope that it will continue to do so. Our family doesn't really go to any temples except for this one, since we are not super religious. It's somewhat of a family tradition for us.

A viewpoint on the way to the temple

An elderly man at the temple's entrance

Statues of important Buddhist figures frame the walkway

The tiles of the buildings were each donations; I was young when they constructed them, and our family bought a tile and wrote our names on it. The tiles are all made up with names from people who came to pray there. I think it was $60 per tile, and that contributed to the costs of construction.

The main room with the large Buddha; it's hard to see, but there are many tiny white Buddhas behind it. The walls are painted with various Boddhisatvas. 

Five Contemplations before Meals. Too bad this photo is a bit blurry. This is an alter placed in the temple cafeteria.

A charm from the gift shop--the items at the gift shop are fairly reasonably priced and proceeds go towards maintaining the temple. Items bought are supposed to be already blessed, but you can also bless them yourself by taking them to the main rooms and anointing them with holy water.

Pictures of Home

After six months, I finally went back to San Francisco for a week to see my family. I know many people go for years without seeing their parents, but I think the longest time for me has been six months. Here are some highlights:

Mosaic fountain at a shopping street

The bay by Foster City

Different types of toppings for goat cheese at a goat farm

Outdoor handwashing station at the goat farm

Meter Garden in San Mateo

Sunset in the highlands area; on a side note, my pet rabbit Flora is buried here 

Museum of Modern Art

It has been a while since I left the United States, so I suppose this blog is beginning to turn into a New York blog. The last time I went to the MOMA was for the Alexander McQueen exhibit, which to this day is still one of my favorite exhibits of all time. I saw the Yves St. Laurent exhibit in San Francisco and the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit in Brooklyn and couldn't quite remember them, though I do remember enjoying them. That's how I feel about this most recent exhibit at the MOMA for Charles James at the new Anna Wintour Costume Center in MOMA. I liked it, but now can't quite remember it. Perhaps it's because some of the clothing related exhibits make me feel like I'm in a very high end boutique, so in my memory it become akin to a shopping (more like window shopping) experience. The McQueen exhibit however, was in a world of its own. I remember those dresses distinctly, as well as the hologram of Kate Moss. I am however, excited that there will probably be more exhibits featuring fashion design at the MOMA with this new Costume Center.

 “Cut in dressmaking is like grammar in language. A good design should be like a well made sentence and it should only express one idea at a time.” --Charles James

View from the roof of the MOMA

A few new central park discoveries along the way:

Belvedere Castle

Lake by Belvedere

A wedding in the park!

A squirrel Acrobat

View from the roof of the MOMA at night

Location Location Location

When choosing a place to live, the number one rule is: location, location, location.

I wrote a bit earlier about the hectic scramble to find my apartment. Now, after having lived there for a year, I figured to update. I love the upper west side. It's quiet, safe, and in some ways an escape from the crowded, hectic energy that New York is famous for. What I like most is how convenient it is for me to get to most places in the city. Situated between three major subway lines, I can easily walk a block to take the train to Chinatown, to the Lower East Side, to West Village, to Harlem--Times Square is about 10 minutes away, door to subway exit. My area has many stores, restaurants, bars, and random flea markets, farmer's markets, and street fairs.

Even though my apartment is ridiculously small--when I say small, I mean the bathroom door doesn't open all the way, and my bed has to be lofted--and when friends say some place is small and I say "small like mine?" and they say, "no, not small like yours--yours is just absurd"--the great location means that I can easily find a lot to do, so I often spend a lot of time outdoors. While I was in law school, I wasn't so crazy about New York, probably because I lived in Harlem and it took a long time to travel to my favorite places in the city. Now that I'm close to the express trains and several lines, I have opportunities to explore more and find that I uncover new places every week. I have been here for almost five years, but still often feel like I have just arrived at a new city and have much to explore. Winter is the worst time of the year, but since winter melted into spring, and the summer has begun, I do feel like I am in one of the best cities in the world.

I have no backyard, but Central Park is only a block away. Tonight, the Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing a free concert in the Park, with fireworks to follow. I have been visiting the Park more frequently, and find that in my past five years I have really under-appreciated it. Central Park is a bit of magic, especially at dusk when it is still light and the lamps go on. There are random bridges, winding dirt roads, small cottages, and ponds and lakes, and to me it feels like a place out of a fairy tale. Those who like to hate on New York say that New Yorkers love Central Park just because the rest of the city is so metallic and ugly, and that in comparison to other parks it's "just okay." It's hard for me to say if that's true or not, but who really cares? After a day of work in the city, it's nice to come home and walk five minutes and be surrounded by what feels to me like a magical forest that has sprouted up in the middle of this concrete jungle.

Here are a few photos of my neighborhood, through the seasons.

A view of autumn from my window

The worst of winter

The thaw

 

The coordinated arrival of spring!

And spring turns to summer

A summer evening in Central Park

Jersey Shore

Last weekend, I went with a friend and her niece to Jersey Shore. I had never been before, but based on the TV show my expectations were low. As it turned out, it was a really nice beach. Her sister's boyfriend had reserved a beach house, so we had access to a private beach. It wasn't crowded at all.

I got to release my inner child, partially because there was an actual child there, but also because there were a ton of toys to build sand castles with. People actually get fancy with all sorts of molds, different shaped shovels, and buckets that also double as large molds. I wish I had a photo of the sand castle we made--my friend's sister's boyfriend may have one so perhaps I can get it from that chain. Anyhow, I went to collect seashells with the neice. "I love the BEACH!!! I love the WATER!! I LOVE THE SEASHELLS!!!" She would scream.

"ME TOO!!!!" I would scream back.

"Okay okay we heard you, no need to yell," said the nearest responsible adult.

I like kids who are a bit crazy, but I suppose I can like them because I only have to be there for the fun time, not the tantrum over homework or whatever things children fight about these days. We made several sand castles and collected an assortment of shells, including a sea snail, to decorate with.

I must say however, I was very disappointed in the seafood. The boardwalk was a bit trashy and did look like a gathering of the cast from "Jersey Shore" and their friends and relatives, but the amusement park had rides. We waited about an hour to get seated at a crab shack. All of their seafood was previously frozen, or at least that's how it tasted. And, because it was on the boardwalk, it was very expensive. While I would definitely go to the beach again, I think I will skip the boardwalk next time.  

Pride Day NYC

I've been behind in updating. The weekend before last weekend, I went with my good friend, his boyfriend, and another friend to the Pride Parade in New York. I had briefly mentioned the pride parade in New Orleans in my last post. The Parade in New York blew that one out of the water, and is probably one of the largest parades I have ever seen. We didn't even finish watching it because it was so long. It began around noon, and even at 5:30 there were still floats passing through. 

Pride Day in New York (or anywhere for that matter) is not just for the LGBTQ community, rather it is for everyone who supports equal rights regardless of sexual orientation, or more broadly, everyone who likes parades and glitter. The parade started off with a motocycle gang (mostly women), and then had everything from bollywood dancing to men in high heels decked in feathers. It was a lot more corporate than I thought it would be. Since there is such a large LGBTQ community in NY, I suppose every politician needs to show their support if they want to get elected. The Mayor, the Senator, and other candidates hoping for election had contingents in the parade. Meanwhile, Diet Coke, Delta, Khiel's, and other brands, including tourist floats promoting travel to the United Kingdom and Fort Lauderdale, gave out samples and played music. 

What I thought was most interesting were the divisions of floats from different cultural backgrounds. There was a pan-Asian group, Indonesian group, Brazilian group, African group, Black American group, and more. We ended up not staying for the entire duration because we were hungry. My friends actually had arrived at 11 am to ensure they got a good spot, and I was fortunate enough to join later.

We went to Cafe Asean, which my Indonesian friend deemed was the best South East Asian food he had outside of South East Asia. 

A lot of support expressed from family and friends

The Asian Group

Random winged man

Mayor Blasio

The Cast of Orange is the New Black

The Caribbean Group