palin with pregnant teenage daughter

i can't help but automatically think of britney and jamie spears' mother when i think of palin, after hearing about the news of her 17-year-old daughter being pregnant and the emphasis that she will marry the baby's daddy. i know it's not an accurate comparison because palin has made a career for herself where as i'm not sure what spears' mom does...or if she does anything at all.

i think it's just my possibly inaccurate assumption that neither of these mothers made sure their daughters received intelligent sex education. the whole emphasis of a conservative lifestyle that insists on abstinence as the only form of birth control just blows my mind. maybe it's the lack of a seemingly proper education that encompasses a large, well-rounded volume of information that allows "white-trash" to pop into my mind, a term which i associate with the uneducated. of course, palin's daughter and her baby's daddy could've been using birth control, and this is one of those 2% chance accidents too.

north carolina

i am back in new york, having spent the week in north carolina. it's always nice to visit that state. it's so lush and green, and i found myself not washing my hands obsessively as i do in new york. i don't cringe when i drop something on the ground and enter an internal debate as to whether i should just throw away the item or consider the possibility of salvaging it by wiping it down with bleach.

the main purpose of this trip was to attend my sister's wedding. i got in on friday afternoon and went to the rehearsal dinner that the groom's family threw for those who were in town. it was a nice precursor to the wedding because i had met only very few of d's family but have heard lots about all of them.

e & c were gracious enough to let me crash with them that night. they had recently moved from baltimore to durham and bought a house, an actual stand-alone house that's become a phenomenon to me. i've actually never lived in a stand-alone house before. my family had always lived in rented apartments, and my mom currently lives in a duplex where her side walls are shared with her neighbors. also, i've spent the past 6 years in los angeles and new york, living in cramped spaces, so my sense of a home has been warped, particularly compared to the american norm, which i think of as a house. e & c's house is lovely and wonderfully spacious with a woodsy backyard. i could hear crickets at night, standing on the porch.

saturday was the big day. i picked up r at the airport and headed to elmo's diner for brunch with e & c. then, r & i met my parents. it was the first time r met my mom, which went well, as i had expected. we headed to the hotel to check-in and to get ready for the wedding.

the wedding itself was very informal and small, just close family and friends. it wasn't even really a ceremony, more of a celebration. b & d had actually gotten married at the magistrate's the day before. the gathering was held at the horace williams house in chapel hill, they had the best north carolina-style bbq restaurant - bullock's - cater, and the strawberry shortcake was made by mad hatter's. they've known each other for about 10 years so it's been a long wait for all of us. the two of them put it together pretty much all by themselves, and only the day of did they ask their friends to pitch in and physically set up everything.

towards the end of the evening, a handful of us said a few words to the newly weds. k got everyone's attention and basically acted as the most awesome master of ceremonies. d's grandfather spoke first, sharing his wisdom on what makes a solid marriage. i then followed and teared up merely a third of the way through my short speech. d's brother went next, quoting some marriage adages. b's best friend from middle school said her words, sharing her experience with the couple since she's known them. and d's father ended the night with his speech as b & d cut the cake and champagne was passed around for the toast.

r had to leave the next day, having to return to work, but we were able to squeeze in some time on unc's campus, ncssm's campus, and duke gardens. here are some pictures from the gardens:


lily pond


couple of turkeys?


lamb's ears


maybe dandelions?

after my parents and i dropped off r at the airport, we headed to jacksonville. we took it easy on monday, not doing anything, and did hotpot for dinner:



it's one of my favorite meals because it's simple; thus, all the ingredients have to be fresh.

on tuesday, we went to hammock beach, one of the places i make a point to visit on almost every one of the trips i make to north carolina:


the dock where we arrive at bear island, the beach being on the other side of this island


an egret we spotted on the ferry ride


the beach


clear water


sea gulls keeping an eye out for anyone with food

overall, the trip felt very short but probably one of the happiest. i can finally refer to d as my brother-in-law after all these years. my mom finally met r and got along well. i got to see my friends and their new house. i was able to make it to the beach with the scrapes on my knees to prove it. and every night, my mom prepared the most delicious meals. but the vacation could only last so long, and it's good to be home too.

stuck in time

i had no idea china still enforces re-education as a method of punishment. the new york times published an article today about two women in their 70s, who had been requesting a permit to hold a demonstration because of the little compensation they were given for beijing to tear down their houses for the olympics. the chinese government not only rejected their request but sentenced them to re-education.

i thought re-education was something that occurred just during the cultural revolution era, a punishment popular for the intellectuals and the elite. the idea was to "re-educate" them about the virtues of the proletarian life. they were sent to farms for years where they labored in agricultural work, under the supervision of farmers.

the notion that the government is sending two women, in their 70s, to be re-educated, which could entails laborious work and forced confessions, is cruel. it's frightening that china is becoming/has become a superpower, and things like this happen. i guess it's similar to the u.s. government that still allows trying juveniles as adults and sentencing the mentally disabled to death sentences. hm.

music & musings

this past sunday was the last day of central park summerstage, a series of free concerts held in the park. it was our third time there, and they closed it out with the best show: sharon jones and the dap-kings. it's soul/funk music. sharon jones has the most incredible voice, and the dap-kings are a super-tight band. they were great entertainers and had so much fun and energy that you couldn't help but get pulled right along with them.


(this was a blind shot of the stage. being short, i just held up the camera above the crowd and snapped a few.)


(this was from a blind shot as well but cropped.)

they're based out of brooklyn so it was perfect to have a local band end the series. also, they apparently had been on tour and were ecstatic to be back. this is one band where i don't think i can see them play enough.

so every time we've walk along the eastern edge of central park, i would notice this sign:



did no one realize how disturbing this would come across? it makes me think "mystery meat" whenever i see it. one time, i even saw a yellow school bus parked near the building just past the sign. i was a little horrified for the children.

yesterday morning, i went jogging around the neighborhood and saw a dairy truck delivering products to a store. it had "hygrade milk" as part of the artwork on the side of the truck. i can't recall the brand although i'm sure it wasn't one of the major national brands, but i guess it's a good thing i don't drink milk. would you trust milk that comes from a place that had "hygrade milk" as part of its advertisement? it was one of those moments where i had to kick myself in the ass for not having a camera on me.

more summer movies

r and i saw the dark knight over the weekend. awesome. we were still thinking about the movie the next day and want to see it on imax now. the acting, particularly heath ledger, was phenomenal. just the title itself, the dark knight/night, so apt to the theme. there was a slight mention of terrorism, but it was pretty soft-handed considering how much it has been used in movies in the past few years. but then, r and i discussed that the word "villain" has been replaced by "terrorist" just because of the times. also, i felt a sense of warmth when hong kong entered the picture as a location. i even found it fitting that the mob's accountant spoke mandarin instead of cantonese, the dominant chinese language in hong kong, because of the way the city has changed and the rising power of mainland china. college kids would surely be writing papers on this movie in their film classes.

we had seen hellboy 2 earlier in the season and had a lot of fun, consistent with the first hellboy. the ending was a little weak, but the new characters introduced were incredible in terms of the imagination that brought it to life.

lastly, f and i saw mamma mia but without r, which actually turned out to be a good move. it was totally a girl's flick. the story was a little ridiculous and predictable, and i bet the musical in the theatre setting is better just because it creates more distance between the audience and the character, thereby allowing the sudden burst into songs more acceptable. but i found myself amazed with meryl streep and mouthing along with the abba songs. abba = happy.

i can't think of any other movie i must see at the moment, but we're eager for the curious case of benjamin button to hit the theatres. r had worked on it and was very proud to have been a part of it.

this year might just be the year when the cinema looks worthy again.

joining the digital age

i have finally joined the rest of the world and bought my first digital camera, a nikon d40. here's the first picture i took with it, of some plants on the window sill.



the goal is to be able to share pictures more easily so more to come...

did it again

i just completed another round of the master cleanse/lemonade diet, a detoxing procedure i have done once before and would like to attempt once a year. it's always a struggle, not so much the lack of food (it's a liquid diet consisting of a specifically made lemonade) but the socializing that's involved with food.

i think the detoxing might've been tougher on r because he enjoys going out to eat but hates to dine alone. but it's over now, and the feasting can resume.

the last time i did the detoxing was during the winter which i thought might've been a poor strategy because you have a natural urge to bulk up during the cold weather. so i tried it this summer, thinking my appetite will diminish in the hot weather and an ice-cold lemonade might be refreshing. i realized that it's mentally tougher, however, because of all the wonderful produce available during the warmer season. i was drooling over all the peaches and nectarines and berries at the farmers market but unable to taste them. next time, i think i'll stick to the colder season.

olympics opening ceremony in beijing

wow. the chinese are so going to take over the world. genius move to have zhang yimou in charge of the ceremony.

flowers

r surprised me with a bouquet of roses last night when he came home from work. i can't recall ever receiving flowers from anyone. funny enough, i saw a woman, probably in her early 50s, struggling to maintain a grip on a couple of bags and a beautiful bouquet of lilies. bringing home a bouquet of fresh flowers, whether for yourself or someone else, is a lovely treat. it brightens up the place and the people in it. and then it occurred to me that in the year that we've been together, r had never brought me flowers. i'm not the kind of girl who would expect a guy to bring me flowers, although i'd appreciate it, so it wasn't something i had thought about until then.

i had bought flowers for myself when i was single, just as a treat for myself, something pretty to look at. but to be surprised by someone, to be given something because he had been thinking of you and wanted to do something nice for you, to be conveyed that tangibly, was wonderful. the skeptical part of me didn't even surface to suspect anything. (flowers and jewelry are the sure signs that a guys is up to no good, right?) it just made me happy and feel loved, exactly what flowers should do.

stranger at the hotel

we went to the gramercy park hotel yesterday in search of a rooftop bar. the weather was kind of dreary, and because of the rain earlier in the day, the hotel decided to cover up the bar which defeated the point of our mission.

instead, we went to downstairs, to the lobby level, to check out the art work. the hotel had the good taste of hiring someone to purchase art by keith haring, andy warhol, basquiat, and the likes. i was especially taken by one piece, a mosiac consisting of painted butterflies. the effect was quite astonishing. i was looking at it to observe the pattern and imagining the work, the planning and the discipline that this piece must've required, and was searching for the artist's signature. all of a sudden, a man in his fifties walked up and asked me what i was looking at. i was completely taken by surprise; the room had been empty except for r, j, and me.

r immediately walked up next to me. the man kept talking, a little tipsy having ben drinking in the other room where the bar extended. i grabbed r's hand, out of a bit of fear, unsure what the man was up to. i thought it's not a bad idea to let him know that i have a boyfriend, especially one who's bigger than him.

the man then asked if we would like for him to recite an oscar wilde poem. out of fear of his reaction if i had rejected his offer, i said yes. i just figured it was probaby safer to go along with whatever he said. by now, we had caught j's attention. so the three of us listened and watched this man recite the poem. his performance was actually excellent.

a couple had strolled in during this recital. after he had finished, he shook our hands and went over to the other couple. then, he offered to recite another poem, which i can't recall. my guess is that he's an actor, but i was a little creeped out by how much he was looking, almost staring, at me, looking over at the others every once in a while as if remembering there were others watching him. finally, he went back to the other room where he claimed his girlfriend had been waiting.

it's not something atypical to happen in new york, but i was not expecting the unsolicited attention in a place as nice as the gramercy park hotel. i guess i shouldn't be surprised, but i don't think i will ever get used to being approached by strangers, whatever the reason.

modern mobility

now that i've recently moved, i'm in the process of updating different government agencies and business with my new address. it's strange that we've gotten to an age where our physical mailing address is less permanent than our email address, our land-line telephone number is less permanent than our mobile telephone number.

also, for the past couple of years, i would encounter fits of sneezes, about 10 in a row. i wonder if it's my body having been overworked to adjust to new environments. i've moved from north carolina to los angeles to new york within the past 6 years. all three places are vastly different from each other. i noticed no particular sneezing fits until i moved to new york. is it because the smog here is different than the smog in los angeles? are you less exposed to smog by sitting in a car where your air is filtered on a certain level than being out on the street, especially where you're nose-level with the exhaust pipes of buses and trucks? or is it my body no longer being able to adjust to new environments after having adapted to los angeles after north carolina, from breathing clean air to heavy smog?

i get the impression that people move more often and farther than they used to. at least, i know i've moved more often and farther than my parents have who have probably moved more often and farther than my grandparents had (except my maternal grandmother who immigrated to the states and moved around among my uncles). i'm sure i'll be moving again shortly, possibly as soon as in 4 months. i'm not even unpacking most of my stuff, like books and extra linens that i know i wouldn't need...for now.

i am tired of moving though and hope i can settle somewhere for at least 2 years before moving again. by the way, i hired movers for the first time instead of begging friends. they are definitely worth the money although i felt sort of bad that one of the men looked as old as my father. it is their job though, their means to a living, so i just gave them a generous tip.

indoor rain

i'm terribly behind on blogging, but here are the reasons: r's apartment flooded 2 weekends ago, and i'm moving there this sunday. yeah, i'm actually moving to a fema-like apartment. it's actually not that bad. at least the dry walls are not molding...yet.

r lives on the 1st floor of his apartment building. the unit on the 3rd floor, directly above his, encountered a water pipe busting. it was the sprinkler pipe, to be exact. it's a really old building, a converted knitting factory, and my guess is that the sprinkler system is the same one that was put in place when buildings were finally required to install certain safety features.

water just poured, POURED, from the pipe, raining through the floors, through r's and eventually to the basement unit where it all collected. we were sleeping in and woke up to what we thought was a rain storm. but then, we were puzzled that the rain sounded like it was coming from the wall behind us, where the bathroom was. so r, being the man, got out of bed and climbed down the loft to investigate. i followed him. when he swung open the bathroom door, we saw rain. it literally was raining IN the bathroom. and then the rain moved to the kitchen, then to the hallway just outside his unit. it was rain beyond pots, pans, or buckets.

the fire department showed up and somehow found a way to stop the water. when r went up stairs to check out the 3rd floor, the girl who lives there was in tears. you are totally helpless when water is just pouring from a pipe or the ceiling. the guy on the 2nd floor was out of town. being the holiday weekend, the super was away, and no one could even go into his apartment to try to help him save his belongings.

luckily, we were able to move things out of the way, mostly furniture, to avoid any damages. the management company has started the process of getting the insurance company doing their thing so construction to repair the building can start soon.

i'm still moving all my stuff there on sunday. lightning doesn't hit the same spot twice, right?

2nd amendment

i don't like guns. i don't ever want to be in a situation where either i'm faced with it or have to use it. i see and respect the supreme court's ruling to protect the right of an individual to bear arms, but it's sad that we live in such fear that we need that protection.

i'm applying for naturalization, and i think the part where i'm asked if i would bear arms for this country was where my interviewer tried to trip me up. i stated on my application that i refuse to bear arms in this country. i would, however, be willing to perform non-combatant services for this country. only people who aren't intelligent enough to resolve a conflict would rely on guns and any act of lethal violence.

my interviewer proceeded to do a separate q&a where she asked me to state my name and place and date of birth. she asked if i claimed to be a pacifist for religious reasons. i said no. she asked what if someone was holding a gun to me. i said i would try to convince them not to shoot me. instead of asking a question, she simply states, "well, then you'd be dead."

first, i was insulted that she assumed that i wouldn't be able to persuade the armed person. second, just because someone holds a gun to your face doesn't mean they necessarily want to kill you. it's a scare tactic. more often than not, they'd probably be too scare to fire it. i was so caught off guard by her statement that i just said, "well, if they're determined to..."

really, what else could i have done in the situation? have a gun on me and shoot them back? is that what america is about? i don't think i'd be able to live with myself to shoot someone with a weapon as powerful as a gun, no matter the circumstance. yeah, there are some people i wish would die because they're jerks, but i don't hate them to the point of wanting to kill them. (i would just wish accidents would happen to them instead of nice people.)

i'm not going to say anymore about my naturalization interview until i receive the decision. when i get it, i'll have quite a story to tell.

but back to the 2nd amendment, in a better world, it would be an irrelevant argument, regarding an individual's right to bear arms. we shouldn't be living in a world where we feel we would need protection from a weapon that powerful. to me, guns are nuclear bombs on a much smaller scale. there's really no need for it.

apartment hunting

work has been taking a toll on me lately. i ended up pulling some 15 hours shifts last week and last night. on top of this busy gig, i've begun apartment hunting. just thinking about it stresses me out. i can only hope that apartment hunting is no where as painful as it is in new york.

last weekend, i looked at a one bedroom apartment that's a co-op. it's really nice, particularly for its price, but it was still a little too much for my budget. also, it's another 4-story walk-up. my current place is a 4-story walk-up already, and the idea of at least another year of climbing the stairs, especially after a long day of work, is not appealing.

earlier this week, i looked at a studio that was in the basement of a building. it was dreadful. i'm already short, and yet, i felt suffocated by the low ceiling. d, who accompanied me, kept expecting his head to hit the ceiling. there were only 2 tiny windows, one of which would be looking out into trash collecting area for the entire building. i felt a bit of vomit in my throat just thinking about the odor that would seep into the place, particularly in the summer heat. the place made me a little angry because it was obviously not a suitable space to create loft. the owner of the building basically forced it into some resemblance of an apartment. it's inhumane.

today, i had lined up two places to check out. the first place had an open house 2p-4p. we arrived at about 2.30p. not only did someone already put down a deposit but there were 10 other people in line ahead of me who wanted to be on standby, in case the first person doesn't work out.

the second place was a little less intense. i'm probably also about the 10th person who looked at the place, but it was more of a bit of an interview. the couple who owns the house is renting out a studio on the first floor. they wanted to meet all the potential tenants before choosing one so at least the pressure isn't as great.

tomorrow, i have potentially three apartments to look at. i hope i find some place decent that's situated in a safe neighborhood and affordable. only in new york is it so tough.

summer blockbuster season begins...

we attend a screening of sex and the city last week. neither of us watch the tv show, but r worked on it and received tickets to the cast and crew screening. i wasn't impressed at the beginning but then grew to enjoy the rest of the movie. as r pointed out, there were a lot of classic storytelling elements that made the movie good: the romantic ending to miranda and steve's story, the cinderella tie-in, charlotte's inevitable confrontation that turns out quite differently than she had imagined. also, the sets look fantastic!

yesterday, we saw indiana jones and the kingdom of the crystal skull. i have only seen the first indiana jones and must've missed a lot of references to the previous movies. it was a string of action sequences, and i found it enjoyable. it's no brilliant plot. the crystal skull actually looks kind of cheesy. but isn't that the point of summer action movies? i think cate blanchett's performance made it worth watching.

more to come as the season passes...

baltimore

r and i visited friends in baltimore this past weekend. since r didn't get to see much of the city the last time he was there (only a day trip), we aimed for mostly touristy things. e & c, being gracious hosts, took us all over the city. as we drove around, they shared interesting facts like the history of certain buildings, places where john waters lives and hangs out, the bar where the charm city cakes staff gets their drink on, etc.

we spent saturday at the american visionary art museum and the orioles game against the red sox. we got to see manny ramirez hit his 500th homerun, which was pretty exciting, even for us who don't follow baseball.

on sunday, we visited the baltimore museum of art and caught their comprehensive photography exhibition, looking through the lens. it made me fall in love with photography all over again. we stopped by poe's grave and then ended the day at fort mchenry, making it there just in time to see the flag change.

e & c took us to cool places for food: delicious sopapillas at golden west cafe, brunches at miss shirley's and rocket to venus, yummy italian pastries at vaccaro's, comforting afghan food at the helmand, and arguably the best hotcakes at pete's grille.

r really liked the city and got to see a very different side of it than the one portrayed in the wire. the only down side to the trip was the traveling itself, the traffic and the truck running on its last leg. we will probably plan another trip there in the near future, but we will be taking either the bus or train next time. nothing will keep us from traveling!

whitney biennial

i was disappointed with the whitney biennial. before moving to new york, i had always felt i was missing it by not living in the city. maybe i had built up too high of an expectation.

the pieces were uninspiring. nothing held my attention for more than 5 seconds. the art felt lazy; there seemed to be this attitude that technique was unnecessary. that argument would be fine except that the pieces felt lazy conceptually too. the ideas gave the impression that they were not throughly thought out and/or executed.

i would've been more humble about my opinion had r not confirmed them. he's an artist, and he felt let down by the show too. also, we visit museums quite a bit, particularly art museums. in fact, our first date took us to the whitney. at the time, they had a great show on 70s psychedelic art, like music posters, elaborate drawings on sheets of acid, photographs of the era.

i was ready to buy a membership just to cut the line, but there was barely a line. considering it was the last weekend of the show, i should've realized that it was a sign.

byog

on our walk from the train station to r's apt last night, we walked past two girls and overheard the words, "bring your own gun." i didn't catch anything else they said so this might be totally taken out of context. still, i can't think of anything it could mean other than a new party theme i haven't heard of until now. it's not the type of party i should attend anyway. i'm pretty clumsy.

gotta have that smoke

last friday night, i was waiting under the virgin music building in union square to meet r for dinner. being a popular meeting place, there were quite a few people that came in and out of that area. it was also raining so the number of meeting places that provided shelter became more limited.

the people who stopped by were in their late teens, 20s, early 30s. then, a guy showed up, a bit older than the normal crowd. he set his bag on the ground and picked up a cigarette butt. to my horror, he proceeded to put it to his lips and attempted to pull a drag from it. he appeared unsuccessful on the first try so he looked for other butts.

he didn't have a light on him or asked anyone for it, pretty much keeping to himself. he seemed as if he was trying to suck just something, anything, out of them. i'd say a rainy night would prove to be a disadvantage to his feat. but maybe i had mistaken what he was looking for, maybe not a smoke but just something to do while waiting for the rain to subside.

fat ass and little pricks

on my way home last night, i took a seat on a bench for two on the subway. since it was fairly empty when i got on, i sat with my bag taking up the seat next to me and put my nose to a magazine. more people boarded during the next couple of stops, and one woman sat down next to me. her friend blocked me in by taking the seat in front of me.

i moved my bag, just standing it upright between the woman and myself. she started to shove herself against my bag to the point that i became concerned that she cracked my laptop in the bag. after a minute, she said, "sweetheart, can you move your bag, like put it on the floor? it's bothering me." immediately, i noticed the stench of her cheap perfume. (i HATE perfume. you only need to wear perfume if you have major BO issues.) also, my petite stature does not give anyone the license to call me sweetheart in that tone.

to keep her from further annoying me, i just moved the bag onto my lap. it was annoying because there were other empty seats on the train that she could've taken. if she was uncomfortable, she could take another seat. with my irritation growing as her fat ass pushed me up against the wall, i finally just stood up to climb over her and her friend to take another seat, even while the train was still moving.

then, she had the audacity to tell me to have a nice day. really? can't people just keep their mouth shut? also, it's the end of the day already. the sun had set. my day had been nice, but her fat ass and loud mouth just squashed my evening.

even after i switched trains, i couldn't focus on my magazine. my mind kept coming up with things i should've said and/or done to her: call her "fat ass," reply with "i had a nice day until you showed up," moo her, stand next to her for the rest of my ride on that train and hover. i was so deep in thought that i missed my stop. at least i realized just one stop later.

i got off the train and proceeded my trek back to my apartment. along the way, i passed a group of high school boys, hanging outside a building. they saw me, a little asian girl, and started harassing me. it's the same game: they start off saying, "hi," just to get your attention. if you don't respond, they'll start calling you names. i got "ugly" and "no ass." (asian girls generally don't have wide hips.)

i passed them in silence, being totally outnumbered, but was, once again, thinking of things i should've said and/or done to them: wave my little finger, make a sympathetic face and say "aww, i remember how it was, boys your age, with your undeveloped little pricks, longing for your first taste of pussy," yelled back "at least i'm running home to get laid."

i made it home fine the rest of the way. i'm just glad tonight's trip home was uneventful, which is exactly how i like it.