Ladies Weekend in Montreal

I went back to Montreal with two girl friends. It is about a 6 hour drive from New York. On the way up, we stopped at my Buddhist Temple, and I left some lilies for my grandparents there. It made me think of that time when I was very stressed about the exam, and I saw those flowers there and felt better. Hopefully the flowers that I bought can do the same for someone else.

My tastes do change with age, and one of the things that I've really come to love is French fries. Thus, in Canada I wanted to have poutine. I was very tired when we arrived, partly from driving, partly because I had been sick. On our way up, we had missed the American duty free, and had to go back around. On our way back, I drove up to the customs agent, who looked a bit angry. He said, "did you not see the stop sign back there?"

I didn't. Oops. Anyhow I apologized and he let us back through. The American duty free store is a lot shabbier than the Canadian one. I bought a bottle of sparkling wine and some candy. 

That night, we went to an amazing Canadian restaurant called Pied du Cochon. It may be one of my favorite restaurants in the world. They feature fois gras and animal innards. We ordered fois gras poutine, pork chop, kidney stew, and blood sausage. For dessert, we had pecan pie and maple creme brûlée. Definitely one of the best meals that I have had in a while.

The next day, my friend suggested we go into a coat store, called Kanuk. Their costs were amazing, and even warmer than the Canada Goose that I have. I fell in love with a bright red coat that was cut very stylishly. Apparently it was made two weeks ago in the shop upstairs. It is their new line, so I was one of the first to buy it, and probably the only person in the US with this coat. For now. The coats allow you to pick the trim for the hood, so in a way it's very personalizable! The sales person suggested colors that would match well, with some being fluffier than others. There is even a cold room where you can test out the jackets. I'm very happy with my purchase. 

Later, we went to a diner for some more poutine, and to a few bars. There was a speakeasy called "Big in Japan" next door to the diner, which was beautifully decorated and had good cocktails. We went to another bar for oysters, but I forget the name.

One woman offered to take us to a bar that she promised would be fun. She had a friend who was quite young with her, apparently he was from Belgium and travelling for a year. When it got to the "bar" which turned out to be a restaurant, it became apparent that they were a couple of some sort. They then proceeded to engage in a very serious conversation about where their relationship was going and how he was leaving and she wanted a baby. Maybe they were drunk, but it was awkward so we tried to sneak away while she was crying, but then they were like, "Wait why are you going??" We made up a lie about being tired, and left them to debate their future, while we got burgers at a gas station and made our way home. 

Actually, before going home we went to check on our car, but had recorded the wrong street, so we could not find it. At first I thought it had been towed and began to worry. It was also very cold, and we were standing outside with some drunk raggedy looking people on the street. Luckily, my friend remembered that as we exited our car, I had gotten excited because there was a Cambodian restaurant. We typed Cambodian into Yelp, and that is how we ended up finding our car. 

It was a short trip, but one that was a lot of fun. I would really like to go again, perhaps for a longer stay.

Japanese Food

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my friends, and a very busy month. I haven't written as much as I used to. I'm about to begin another chapter in my life, as a new contract is now underway with the United Nations. After coming back from China, I had trouble getting another job in public interest law, and with my name on the roster, I decided to just sit back and do some work that I otherwise would not do. 

For a long time, I wanted to open my own restaurant or cafe. I still do, though it definitely is a lot of work. I took a job as a hostess in a Japanese restaurant so I could get a sense of how it would be like to run a restaurant. I have no restaurant experience, so I was surprised that I got hired. The maitre D said it was because I knew how to speak to people, and seemed diplomatic. They are fairly new. The chef used to be the head chef of Nobu in New York and now opened his own place. Since they recently got a Michelin Star, reservations have been blowing up so they are trying to hire more people. 

The first day was super exhausting since I wasn't used to being on my feet. After a few days though, I got used to it. There was actually something quite relaxing about it, mainly because I could let my mind take a break. Perhaps it's the routine and the repetition. 

There are a lot of horror stories in restaurants, and yes some of those are true. You do meet customers who think you are garbage or less human because you are wait staff. However, you witness some really great things too. Because the restaurant is so expensive, people often go there just for special occasions. You see friends treating each other on their birthdays, old couples having date night, or new couples that are nervous and still getting to know each other. I remember one person slipped me his credit card because he knew his friend would try to pay, and asked me to tell the friend when they tried to pay that the chef has decided to comp the meal on the house. Another man, a French man, took his daughter to the restaurant because she wants to be a sushi chef when she grows up. The chef let her sit at the counter and watch him work. Today will be my last day working at the restaurant, before I start again with the UN. 

While working there, I did get to sample some food. The chef flies his fish in from Japan, so I tried a lot of sashimi that is not normally served at restaurants in the United States, including Fugu, pufferfish. He also grinds fresh wasabi from wasabi root, using a piece of shark skin. A lot of the fish we serve is not served in any other restaurant in the city. It was a very interesting experience, and one that I am glad to have had. But I am also looking forward to starting my new contract.

Taylor Creek

I'm currently on the plane back to New York, after about three weeks in California. The past weekend, my family and I took a day trip to Lake Tahoe. Supposedly mid October is when the salmon migrate to the river to lay their eggs. It was a bit early, but we were still hoping to see some of the fish. 

On the way over, we stopped by an Austrian Cafe that had really good pastries. Their breakfast special included crepes with berries, cream and almonds. I think it was called the Pastry Cafe; it is close to Davis, or possibly in Davis. 

When we arrived at the visitor center of Taylor Creek, a family of bears greeted us in the parking lot. The mother bear was walking through the visitor center area, with two brown baby bears and a black baby bear bumbling behind her. Rangers surrounded the bears, instructing people to stand back. I had always read that mother bears are very aggressive, but this one seemed to be a bit more accustomed to human presence. The Rangers were like her private secret service, telling all the humans to stand back and clearing any path that they imagined the bears might head to. The baby bears were not so well behaved. Instead of following their mother closely, they would take breaks and stray. One would climb up a tree for no particular reason, and then climb down. Another almost wandered farther into the parking lot, to investigate a barking dog. The three babies were large, probably around 8 months old. The ranger said that baby bears stay with their mothers until they are about 18 months old.

As we walked down the trail, we saw a few red bellied salmon in the stream. These were the ones who had gotten a head start on their migration. Good for them, since the river was less crowded. There were pockets of still water where the fish would rest, before getting their act together and swimming against the current, wiggling their way up stream. They climbed up the river this way. I wonder if salmon have any sort of buddy system for migration. 

The same bear family made their way to the trail, causing a commotion as everyone dove forward to take pictures. As they left, I followed, hoping to get better pictures. At one point however, two of the baby bears had veered off the path. By the time I realized that, I was standing in between the mother and two of her babies, something you are never supposed to do. Luckily though, the ranger secret service were there. "Move away!" They instructed.

"Where?" I asked, though keeping my voice quiet so as not to startle the bears. There was no where for me to move--towards the back was the mother, towards the front were the two cubs. The mother seemed to be doing her own thing by the river, and the two cubs were climbing yet another tree. 

The ranger then took out his whistle and started to blow it really loudly. The Cubs darted out of the tree and scampered back towards their mom. 

From there, the bear family went for a swim. The mother walked through the river to get to the other side, while the Cubs jumped in to play. They rolled and wrestled in the water, before jumping out on the other side and shaking off the water like a dog would. 

The rest of the hike was very nice too. Before we left, we saw the bears again in the parking lot. The Cubs put their paws on a truck before running off to who knows where. The mother, walking behind them, stood up on her hind legs to try to see where her naughty kids had run off to. 

It was a 3.5 hour drive each way, but worth it. 

Red Moon Rising

I remember in fifth grade, I watched a movie called Practical Magic, with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. There was a scene in which there is a red moon, and Nicole Kidman says it's "blood on the moon," and it seems to be a bad omen. Nevertheless, I don't think the red moon is a bad omen, but there definitely is something a bit freaky about it. Supposedly hundreds of studies have shown that there is no correlation between phases of the moon and disasters or homicide rates. The red color comes from light being refracted around the Earth, but in some myths is said to signify coming change; eclipses could be seen as a challenge to the normal order of things. In some cultures, eclipses are seen as an "attack" on the moon, and a bad thing, while in other cultures eclipses are seen as a time for the moon to heal. The moon yesterday was supposed to be the first time that there would be a blood moon and a super moon at the same time in 18 years.

This weekend was Mid Autumn Festival, a Chinese Holiday in which families are supposed to look at the moon together, and eat mooncake. The tradition comes from some tyrant Emperor, and people trying to organize a rebellion. Since they were afraid to communicate openly, they hid an egg yolk in a cake to signify that they would attack on the full moon. The coordination was successful, and thus this holiday continues to be celebrated. According to my mom, there is now a new tradition of barbecuing meat too.

Thus this year, we grilled meat at night, and were looking for the moon. We couldn't find it, and my mom kept insisting that there was supposed to be a great eclipse from 7:00 ish to 8:30 or so. As it turns out, the eclipse had happened, so we could not see the moon. As the moon was coming out of the eclipse however, we saw a sliver of white, and the rest of the moon illuminated in a deep shade or rust red. It was a really cool experience, because we were able to see the moon coming out of the eclipse, gradually growing larger, and then turning from that rust red to a brilliant silver white. When the moon was at it's fullest, it hung heavy in the sky, so bright that it outshone the lights of the various helicopters that had gone into the sky with people who were smart enough (or rich enough) to plan ahead and take a helicopter to see this phenomenon.

Here is a photo of the red moon.

On another note, here is a video from a Kawehi performance that I should have posted back then, but it's a nice song and worth posting now. Enjoy!

The Brooklyn Mirage

This weekend went by very quickly, and it's hard to believe it's already Tuesday. In general the time has gone by more slowly since I have been unemployed, but perhaps things are speeding up. 

On Friday, I went to two very different activities. The first was to Hotel Conrad, in the financial district. I was going with a friend whose friend wanted to try to meet her future husband there. The Loopy Bar is on the top floor of the hotel, and offers nice views of the city; their specialty are Popsicle cocktails, which essentially are very good Popsicles from People Pops stuck in a glass of prosecco. It's 20 dollars, but most people get it for the experience. This bar was completely full of women. It was a bit sad actually, in the sense that it really seemed like a place where women went, decked out in makeup and high heels, hoping to find a banker husband. My friend works in Goldman Sachs next door, so he stopped by, but didn't stay long because I guess all the bankers are still working. It was an okay bar, but I don't think I would go again.

Later in the evening, a friend of mine invited me to a pop up club in Brooklyn. The event series was called the Caravan, and it was temporarily hosted at the Brooklyn Mirage, a warehouse type of venue deep in Williamsburg. It was decorated with tee pees and tents, Chinese lanterns and Christmas lights, and an enormous dance floor. There was an Ethiopian Coffee Shop as well, and a tent where someone did tarot card readings for free. I did not get a reading done, since I already had one done by my tarot friend in China, but my friends went. While waiting in line, the conversation was interesting. Everyone said, "I don't believe in this stuff, but might as well do it for fun." 

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Someone asked.

"Yes," I said.

"I don't believe in ghosts," said someone else.

"That's because you've never met one." I replied.

"Have you?" They asked.

"No," I said, "but I know reliable people who have." 

The way I see it, there is no proof of the existence of supernatural phenomena, but there is also no proof that it doesn't exist. A proper scientist therefore, should be open minded to the possibilities available. Sometimes, by trying to come up with an explanation for everything that happens in this world and disregarding those that we cannot explain, we end up being bling to a lot of possibilities.

Anyhow, I was skeptical of this tarot reader, for a reason that might not entirely be fair. I sort of have a prejudice in believing that the ones that actually are powerful are a bit more secretive about it, and wouldn't go to a festival full or people, half of whom are one some sort of substance (maybe 70 percent), to share her talents. Of course who knows, she might have been extraordinarily skilled. But I remember being told that reading fortunes is bad for the fortune teller, because they are disclosing the secrets of the Gods, and that cannot go without consequence. My tarot friend said the same thing--she said that because of her skills, her life will have a certain sadness to it, so she might as well do her best to help people. If each reading carries risk, I think they would normally be more discerning of who they give readings too. In any case, I imagine that most people who hold themselves out of readers without pay may be doing it more for fun anyhow, and may not be that accurate, so may not suffer in the same way. 

When my friend went into the tent, I went in with him just to observe. This reading was a lot more general, unlike my tarot friend, who answers a very specific question that is asked. The gist of the reading was that my friend was anxious about a lot of things and having trouble sleeping at night, and he just had to let things go. He is a phD student (I forgot what he studies), and probably has quite a bit of stress. I remember back in China, my friend gave very specific details to her clients. It made me think as well, of the cultural differences. My tarot friend never asks for any information about birth, while many readers in the US ask for date of birth or astrological sign. 

Later, someone was telling us about how she met her boyfriend, who she also complained about because she was angry at him.

"Why do you like him so much?" Asked one of my friends.

"From the moment I met him, I thought that he is the person that I'm going to spend my life with. But I've been wrong before."

"We've all been wrong before," said my friend, "but that still doesn't mean that intuition is nothing." 

Humans do have remarkable intuition. It makes me think of a documentary about penguins that I saw. These penguins do not mate for life, but they stay together for the entire breeding season. The narrator said, about how penguins choose their partners, "we don't know what it is they are looking for, but we know when they have found it." Animals too, are capable of forming very deep bonds. 

I am writing this from the airplane, and honestly it's been a noisy and smelly flight. Between the super loud snorer and the little kid that intermittently screams, and the stinky heavy man, it's not easy. But it could be a lot worse. 

Anyhow, the next day, I relaxed and read a book in a cafe in upper east side. After such a busy Friday, it was really nice the have a brownie and a latte and recharge. The cafe, Jax, used to be an antique store, so the basement level was full of antiques. There were comfortable sofas to sit on, and it was a very warm and cozy environment. It makes me think of Central Perk, the cafe from Friends. This place would be the ideal place to meet a small group of your friends on a regular basis. They also have amazing coffee and a wide variety of gluten free baked goods. 

That day was a Saturday, and apparently the beginning of Oktoberfest. There were the German American day parade, which caused traffic jams for several blocks. I didn't get a chance to watch it, but I went to a beer hall later. Unfortunately, I was way too tired, and went home early. I'm not a fan of traditional German music, especially when every song is meant to be punctured with shouting in unison. It's the type of thing that is really fun after two or three beers, but can be kind of annoying if you are sober. 

At the Brooklyn Mirage

View from the Ethiopian Coffee Shop

One of the tents

View from a park on the Upper East Side

Oktoberfest

Box 4

I have been going to Flushing a lot lately, specifically to my favorite cafeteria, Box 4. I had come one evening to find the place boarded up, and was horrified that perhaps they had closed. As is turns out, they simply moved to another location, and was now a part of Cafeteria 28. 

Today was a good day because I took my first ballet class. By first I mean first class as an adult. It was a lot of fun, and a really good class to have in combination with Bikram yoga, since Bikram yoga doesn't do so much with the hips. 

Earlier at box 4, I had ordered my food and prepared to sit down and eat in peace while reading a book. Some random guy sat next to me and said, in Mandarin, "excuse me miss, but can we please be friends?" I had heard that in China before and assumed that it was because I was a foreigner and they really wanted a foreign friend, but I'm beginning to realize that perhaps when men ask to be "friends," they mean in a romantic sense. Now it makes sense when a random "friend" in China kept trying to buy stuff for me, and I had protested, and he had kept saying, "we are friends now, so I have to buy you stuff." These culture issues are so interesting.

Anyhow, this guy was really unattractive, and I wanted to be left alone, but I felt unsure of how to reply. Because in theory if someone just asks to be friends, it's okay if indeed they just want friendship. My first thought was to pretend I didn't speak Mandarin. Then I just blurted a lie and said, "I already have a boyfriend."

I had mixed feelings about this, because I had read an article about how women always try to spare men their feelings and invent a fake boyfriend, or they say they have a boyfriend because sometimes men will refuse to back down unless you have already been "claimed" by someone else. "We shouldn't be afraid or feel bad to just say, 'I'm not interested,'" the article said. But I do feel bad, because I think it takes a lot of courage to approach someone.

"Oh ok," he said, and backed off. He then proceeded to take out his cell phone, and watch a drama at full volume. I hate when people don't use headphones. It's really rude to make other people have to listen to your music or your shows. He also chewed his food super loudly, with wet smacking noises. In Asia, apparently it isn't rude to eat noisily. I moved to another table to enjoy the rest of my meal in peace.

Philadelphia

I had to go to Philadelphia for some business, and stayed with a friend who lives there. Some people say Philadelphia is like New York's uglier and less accomplished younger brother, though the same is also said of New Jersey. What I like about Philadelphia is it is smaller, less crowded, and cheaper. The main thing about New York is that it has so many options, and a lot of them are more grandiose, but Philly is a very liveable city. There is a nice shopping district, and amazing ice cream, all within a short distance.

What is not so great about Philly is the lack of Chinese food options. Yes, there is a Chinatown, but it's not a very good one. I happened to run into my cousin at the worst Chinese Restaurant I have been to in some time. What puzzles me is that it was rated so well on yelp. I don't remember the name, but I wish I did so I could warn people not to go there. It's right next door to Lam Zhou Hand Pulled Noodles, which has very good spicy beef tendon. Anyhow, when I ran into my cousin, I complained to her about how awful the food was. She was with a non Chinese friend, who was there for their soup dumplings. These were awful soup dumplings. They were way too sweet, and didn't have a good crab flavor like good crab and pork soup dumplings do. Pretty much everything at the restaurant was bad, except for this one tofu dish. 

My friend lives with a roommate, who bought the house about 8 years ago. Since then, it has tripled in value. It used to be a very bad neighborhood, but it has gotten a lot better. A few blocks up, it appears less safe. The roommate said that the block used to be run be some gang that sold heroin (or maybe cocaine?) "it was so safe then," she said, "because the gang didn't want police coming around their homes, so they would actually police the streets and prevent crime. They did a better job than the actual police. Then something happened and they moved away, and right away there were two burglaries on the block." Apparently her dad had visited back then, and was wary of the men in cars leering at him. When they saw him with her though, they had assured him that they kept an eye on his daughter to make sure she was safe.

They have a dog with very strange teeth. She has a severe underbite, which makes her face look funny, in a cute way. I commented on it and my friend snapped, "stop talking about her teeth, she's sensitive about it!" Indeed, every time I tried to take a photo of her face, the dog would turn her head away to not show her teeth! Animals are so funny. I managed to get one eventually.

Philadelphia City Hall is not well organized at all. The sign that they post up has grammar errors, saying "sign you're name" instead of "sign your name." It's not worth talking about, but I pity anyone who has to go do anything there. 

I had amazing gelato AND amazing ice cream. One of the best in a while. The gelato place is called Capogiro, and it was rated best in the world by National Geographic. I had their cashew and dulce de leche. The ice cream place is what ice cream should be, hard, dense and creamy, in contrast to the gelato, which was soft, rich, and creamy but light. The ice cream place, Basset's, it's supposedly the oldest ice cream shop in the United States. I had their Irish Coffee and Vanilla with hot fudge, which made me think of childhood, when Haagan Daaz used to make bailey's ice cream. It was an enormous portion, but I ate all of it. 

Philadelphia is nick named the city of brotherly love, but to me it will be the city of ice cream, because that may be my most memorable experience. I ate at some restaurants too but they are far over shadowed by the amazing frozen treats.

The bus ride back was horrible. It was pouring rain, and the bus was an hour late. There was no shelter, so I was completely soaked and cold. Luckily I had a change of clothes in my bag so I could put on dry clothes when I got on the bus. Megabus is horrible. I guess they are super cheap, so you get the customer service that you pay for. 

By the Building of Municipal Services

West Indian Day Parade

The West Indian Day parade may be the closest thing to Mardi Gras that we can get in New York (or at least, what I imagine Mardi Gras to be). It was an explosion of feathers, sequins, and colors. I was really tired that day though, since we had gone to Electric Zoo the night before. I don't remember this at all, but my friend later told me that when she tried to wake me up I said, "bitch please, let me sleep." I guess I can be really rude when I'm tired? I really have no recollection.

When we arrived, there were people selling flags. I had been starving, so my main motivation was to find food ASAP. Aromatic food stands lined the streets, with the first few being extremely crowded. I had grilled fish and rice, while my friend had jerk chicken. 

I decided that I wanted to march through the parade too, so we managed to go through the police line to walk around one of the floats. People were really nice to us, though at one point we ended up being bumped to another area. 

Electric Zoo

A friend came to visit me over Labor Day weekend, so we had a few activities planned. We got some last minute tickets to Electric Zoo, a large electronic music festival. I wasn't crazy about the music, or so I thought, but I really like music festivals. I do like a band called the Glitch Mob, and they were performing on Sunday. Tickets were a bit expensive, but I managed to find them for a bit cheaper on Craigslist closer to the date. Part of the advantage of being unemployed is having the free time to snag random deals. 

There is quite a long list of prohibited items, and a thorough search as you enter, so we were careful about what we brought. They even limit bag size. Since both of us are fairly cheap, and everything at the festival was really expensive, we decided to walk to the island as opposed to taking the ferry or the bus. We arrived at 125th near the Bronx. After using bathrooms in China, I'm not so picky, but my friend said she did not want to use a porter potty, so we stopped by McDonalds.

The line for the bathroom was ridiculous. The girl ahead of us was on something, possibly super drunk, but she greeted us happily. We were polite and engaged in some conversation.

"Yeaaaaah!!" She slurred. "Eeeeeezoooo." She hiccuped a few times and said, "sorry, I am really sorry."

"No worries," said my friend, "you're fine...but um...if you have to throw up, face the other way." 

In my head, I could already see her projectile vomiting all over us, but then she collapsed onto a little ball on a chair, and that was the end of that. 

"Let's just use the porter potties," I said impatiently, "this line is too long."

"Have you been to a porter potty??" My friend asked. "They are awful."

Of course I have, what a silly question. "Whatever," I said, "it's like the bathrooms in China, just run in, hold your breath and pee, and then run out."

But she wouldn't budge. "I guarantee you, the lines at the Porter potties will also be long, and most of the people in line will be like our home girl over there," she said, pointing to the girl who was now being force fed water by her friends.

As it turned out, there was a bathroom for employees only. I tried to sweet talk the employee guarding it, to see if he'd let us use it. Finally I just said, "I'll give you a dollar if you let my friend and me use the bathroom."

"Ok," he said. 

I think I started a business for him, because after we used it, others were paying him to use it. The employee bathroom was for sure cleaner than the public one. 

My friend has T Mobile, which allowed us to use the VIP line and the VIP booth. While in line for the booth she complained to the worker, "so I have no service right now. Can you do something about that?"

He said, "I work for E-Zoo, not T Mobile. And I have ATT because T Mobile sucks."

The music was really good, and I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. I'm not entirely sure who we were listening to, but I made sure that we made our way to see the Glitch Mob around 8:00. There was another VIP balcony, but you had to have master card to get in. We tried to talk our way in and failed, but then these random people allowed us to go in with their group. From the balcony, we had a really good view of the stage. A boy said, "I'm hiding from my ex-girlfriend." 

"Oh, what's her sign?" I asked.

"She's an aquarius," he replied.

"Yeah, she's going to find you," I said. I'm an Aquarius, and we are pretty stubborn and persistent. To be fair to her though, he wasn't doing such a good job of hiding, since he was leaned over he balcony. Maybe he really wanted to be found; sometimes we aren't really sure what we want, and our actions and words contradict. But I guess if she doesn't have a MasterCard he'd be pretty safe.

The food at the festival was over priced and just okay, but that is to be expected. My friend turned to me and said, "since this festival is so expensive, it's probably a good place to meet boys because everyone here must have a good job of some sort." But then she stopped to think. "Oh wait, but you are unemployed and you are here."

"Also," I added, "a lot of people might be using their parents' money. There were definitely a lot of college kids there too.

The headliner, Alesso, performed at the main stage at the end, with fireworks. 

As we headed back, we decided to stop by IHOP for food. It was like the apocalypse. Everyone was exhausted from the festival, and people had remnants of glitter and confetti on them, as well as dirt and grass stains. People were slumped over tables. The food at IHOP was just okay, but again that was to be expected. 

All in all though, I would highly recommend it. It's fun with the right group of people, and you should bring ear plugs.

Wedding in Poughkeepsie

My friend from law school married his childhood love; they met about 12 years ago so perhaps teenage love is a better description. Since I am in between jobs at the moment, I went to Poughkeepsie early to help them with set up for the wedding. The bride works as a theatre director, and is a dancer, so of course there would be a dance number. While the wedding party was rehearsing, I helped assemble lanterns. At one point the entire room was a mess of cardboard, plastic, and other packaging materials as we scrambled to cut the flowers and set up the center pieces before the ceremony. I joked that they picked the wrong person to hang lanterns on the trees--since I'm quite short, we had a bunch of low hanging (though pretty) lanterns along the trees. Later some taller people added more.

I was in charge of the welcome table, along with my other friend. I had taken off my high heels because we had been doing a lot of moving around, and as the guests arrived, I realized that I had lost my shoes! My friend took over the table for me, while I searched frantically for my shoes. As I found them, someone asked me whether the ceremony would start on time, since some people were still walking from the station. I said it wouldn't, since I figured they might still be rehearsing. "But the groom said it would start on time."

"Well he's probably right then, so they should hurry. Anyhow what do I know, I lost my shoes!" 

The ceremony was beautiful, and held outside, overlooking the river and mountains of Poughkeepsie. It really was a gorgeous venue. The groom was so happy that he cried, which was really sweet. The food was particularly good, and there was an open bar. My favorite was the shrimp and coconut panna cotta, and for dinner I had rib eye steak. I hadn't eaten that much meat in a while, so I ended up feeling a bit sick the next day but it was worth it. Of course, the dance party was a lot of fun, since the bride is a dancer and many of her friends are very good dancers too. 

They chartered a bus to take us home, and I passed out and slept the entire way back. 

Zhong Huang Spa

Since coming back from China and getting massages there, I wanted to try to find a more affordable massage spa in the US. I think it is probably good for your body to go regularly, if possible. I hadn't been actively looking though, but I guess that is when you often find the things you need. 

Last time I went to Flushing, I had come across a cafeteria that had a long buffet, and allowed you to pick five items for five dollars. This was probably the closest thing I found to the little eateries in China. I was able to get the steamed eggplant with cilantro that I liked, along with wood ear and celery, and broiled tofu skin. Today I decided to go back to that eatery, since I have more free time. On my way there, I saw signs for massage spas. Since my Chinese reading has improved, I could now understand that it was 25 dollars an hour for a full body massage. Since there were many, I used yelp to look at reviews. 

One place, called Zhong Huang spa, was rated very well. They were slightly more expensive, at 30 per hour, but reviews stated that the workers there were a lot more skilled in acupressure and Chinese medicine. I decided to try it. 

They do not really speak English, which is fine for me. I even helped interpret for a random stranger who also went to the spa. At first it was relaxing, so relaxing that I almost fell asleep--but then the real massage began. This ended up being an incredibly painful massage. My masseuse was very skilled, and pointed out many of my problems right away. However, he was also merciless in trying to fix these problems. I yelped in pain a few times and he said, politely, "you have to endure the pain, otherwise it won't get better." During the session he explained, "when non Chinese come for massage, they want it to feel good. If it is painful they get mad, and my English is not good so I can't explain to them that it is supposed to be like this." In fact, they actually don't call their massages "massages", they call it "body work." 

After the massage, I felt like I had been beaten up. I dragged myself to a tea house to get a bubble tea, and then crawled onto the metro, curled up into a small ball and leaned against the rail. I felt exhausted! But in 30 minutes, I felt great. I ended up meeting a former colleague for coffee. When I arrived he said, "are you okay? You look like you've been crying." I was, on the massage table! There were some areas that were so painful that my eyes watered. 

Now I'm on the train to Poughkeepsie for a wedding, and I feel really good. I will definitely go back to that massage place again. 

Mount Vernon Bike Trail

I went to DC for my best friend's birthday, and it also happened to be restaurant week. She had mentioned that we might be riding bikes, but I didn't think much of it, and only packed dresses. When I arrived, it turned out that riding bikes meant a 9 mile bike ride. One of the friends is pregnant so she was going to drive, and I tried to go with her, but was peer pressured into staying. It turned out to be really fun though. I had forgotten how much I liked bike riding. Last time I went biking in DC we had gone through the city, and narrowly missing a bunch of cars put me off biking for some time. I like biking on trails, where there are no cars.

The lunch restaurant was an Italian place, called Filomena. Apparently President Clinton used to go there and eat their lobster pasta. Afterwards, we went to the spa at the Ritz Carlton. There was a private room for our group, and no other party was there so we had the entire locker room to ourselves. Dinner was at Nopa, which was a really good restaurant. We ate grilled octopus and cod, but now I really miss Chinese food again, after two days of not having it.

On Sunday, I helped my friend babysit a little girl who is half Korean and half American (not entirely sure what her mom's background is). She is really cute, with Asian features and blue eyes. She is two years old, and very smart. I don't interact with children much, so I tend to think of them as very fragile. "Let's hold hands," she announced, as we were about to cross the street. As we walked around the field in back, there were stepping stones, and I was worried she would fall. "I will be careful," she said. At one point she almost tripped and I gasped, and she turned to ME and said, "are you okay??" She is very considerate. When anyone has a problem, she will ask immediately "are you okay?!" You can tell that she has a really good heart. And of course, a lot of energy. 

When I meet children like that, I really hope that I will also have such a happy child one day. She wanted her father to play with her but he had to study. She was about to cry--and most kids I know would just start screaming. But I quickly said, "let's go pick some flowers and bring them back for your daddy. Daddy has to work, so we will take you to play. You like flowers right?" She nodded, and within a few minutes she was smiling. It is a blessing to have such an optimistic child, I think. Such children can look on the bright side and focus on the happy things. I do think of the people I know who blame their parents for so much--certainly there are some awful parents in the world, but I definitely have met some adults who seem to have no heart for their family. They only remember the bad things their parents did, and the mistakes. I wonder if people are born with personalities like that. Some kids are just born to be more forgiving, and others more small hearted? There isn't really an equivalent word in English, but in Chinese one says a person is small hearted when they count tiny grievances and cannot let them go. A child who is optimistic, no matter rich or poor, will manage to have a happy life, I think. 

On the bus ride home, I happened to sit next to someone who was reading the same book as me. What a funny coincidence. Now I'm on the way to Flushing to get Chinese food.

Jones Beach

The last two days, I wandered around Soho and Lower East Side, catching up with old friends and exploring new pockets of the city. New to me anyway, since most of these places have been around for a while. Yesterday, I went to Jones Beach. Who knew there was such a nice beach so close to the city. Prior, I had been to Coney Island and Rockaway beach. I had gotten a bad ear infection swimming at Coney Island (people say it is quite polluted), and it is usually super crowded. Rockaway was better, but I don't really remember it. 

The water was unexpectedly warm, and the sky towards the land was thick with low hanging clouds, while the sky above the water was solid blue. When I looked above, the cloud pattern made the sky look like breaking waves. Since it was Thursday, there were few people. Beside us, a family had brought a stereo and played Latin music, so we could also benefit. Of course, I like Latin music, maybe other people would have found it annoying. I was sad when they packed up, and we were left with silence. It was a beautiful day to spend at the beach though.

I am now on the bus to DC, for my best friend's birthday.

Stevie Wonder

I thought I would be bored coming back to New York, but I forgot that it's impossible to be bored in New York. One can be many other things--broke, stressed, tired--but never bored. If you are bored in New York, then you will likely be bored everywhere else in the world.

On my first day back, I went to a cocktail bar called Pegu, that is themed with the 1930s. There was live music and dancers in costume. 

Yesterday, I walked down fifth avenue, and went to the New York Public library. Lions are used to guard buildings in America too--I took a photo, to compare with the Chinese lions. Chinese lions tend to be portrayed with curlier hair and larger eyes. 

For dinner, I met a friend in Koreatown. She is having some problems with her apartment because her roommate rented to some person who is causing her trouble. She didn't want to go home, so I said we should walk to Central Park. She mentioned there was a Stevie Wonder concert, and she had tried to get the free tickets, but was unable too because they had all been taken within minutes of getting posted online. I figured we could just stand outside the concert venue and listen. When we arrived however, nobody asked for our tickets, so we just walked in. I haven't really listened to his music, but he is a fun performer, and it was very entertaining.

At the library, I started reading the novel Norwegian Wood. I thought of a line from it today, when I visited the United Nations. The author talked about lowering flags at night, and said he doesn't understand why that is done--the country does not stop existing during the night, and there are also many laborers who work throughout the night--don't they deserve the protection of the flag too? Every evening, at the UN, almost 200 flags are lowered and stored in a compartment below the flag pole. I thought the author's comment was interesting. 

I got a massage today too. It was a gift from my past self to my present self. I had forgotten that I bought a groupon a few months ago, and got an email reminding me to use it before it expired. That was nice. The masseuse was from China, and when I spoke to her in Chinese, she was so happy. She gave me extra treatments. I think it must be so tiring to work all day and struggle to communicate with people. When I was traveling through Italy, I remember feeling relieved to just hear some English on TV. It must be hard for workers like her, to constantly have that difficulty.