How to walk in New York

There was a slogan on Duane Reade drug store ads: Take everything you need in 15 minutes, or as New Yorkers call it, lunch hour.

I was like, "Wow, New Yorkers really live their days in such a fast pace?! No wonder they never have lunch on table." 24 hours are all rush hours. However, contrarily, though there are 8 million people in New York, all you bump into on the 5th Avenue is tourists, other tourists and still other thousands of tourists. Comparing the speed they walk through the town with New Yorkers', wow, it seems like heaven and the H-E-double-L. If a tourists suddenly pauses for a snapshot, that would be like a crap blocking up on the sidewalk. Who's gonna piss off? New Yorkers! Since they work here, they don't have the patience waiting you for a goofy smile. I guess they must hate the tourists using much sapce to take a photo with a CHANEL bag on 5th Avenue or a photo with the flashing bulletin on the Time Square. They hate it because it's already crowded here, and all you people just fly all the way down here and steal their air to take a breath.

Broadway broadens your horizons

Live show is irreplaceable!

I have watched the Cats DVD, The Phantom of the Opera DVD, the Lion King DVD and maybe hundreds of DVDs, but nothing is going to bring down the house like live shows.

The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway's longest-running musical, is such a sad love story that made the two old ladies sitting behing me burst into tears. Owing to my own listening disability, I could't really catch every words slipping from their mouths, especially with a British traditional accent. Anyway, I was still mesmerized by the melody and the choreography. Everytime the theme song flew through the musical hall, it kept me having goose bumps out of surprise and touch. It's such a pity that I couldn't understand the purpose of each scene and the lyrics of each song, and this was probably the reason I didn't cry like the two old ladies sitting behind me. I knew the outline but not the details. But, I love it! This is just all I can say.

If you don't agree with me, that's okay. But if you don't agree with the public response, well, that may be your problem. haha

Broadway is professional, like listening to a lecture in college, while Off-Broadway, which ticket price is much more friendly, is like listening to a talk show. A lecture can teach you something deep, deep as a black hole containing mystery. Well, a talk show is like a laughing-your-ass-off time, when you are brain dead for the time being.

Blue Man Group, an Off-Broadway show, dosen't have the so-called friendly ticket price. What they have is much more expensive price and a few seats available per show. Two prices: $78 or $68. What?! You serious? That's even much pricier than some of the Broadway shows! There must be some reasons, right?

Think about it, Blue Man is an Off-Broadway show. They don't tell some literature art work, while they bring you joy and laughter. Different from other Off-Broadway shows, even the price as high as the skyscrapers in Manhattan, their tickets are still often sold out, 24/7. They prosper, and grow stronger. Right now, their name is household. As for poor students, yes, they offer special limited tickets. And the chance is like winning a lottery. But, the other night, me and my brother were the winners! It was true! We got the limited tickets at the last second. $29 each. HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHA!!!

Anyway, the point is not the price, is it?! The point is that Blue Man is just too awesome! I'm not going to tell you what they did during the show or how unbelievable they were, because that will ruin the mystery, imagination and your expectation.

Just go for it and enjoy it, I mean, if there is a chance... (wow, this is kind of bitchy. XD)

Yanks, you almost eat up the earth

I just have to announce something: American should stop overeating. This announcement may not have any effect on people living in a big city, such as Manhattan. But, to those who live in the surburbs or any other towns in the U.S, please stop OVEREATING and exercise more to save yourself and save the earth.

Whenver I go to a mall in uptown or just drive a hour more away from the city, it seems that everything is going to be magnified. Cars are getting bigger, seats are getting larger, roads are getting wider, and most important of all, people are getting fatter, I mean super-max-over fatter than they should be. And those who try to help them live better, invent something so convenient that they don't even have to move their fingers to open a door and walk without any steps. How do they do that? Tech! State-of-the-art tech help them save more energy, conserve their calories, and consume more electricity, destroy more trees.

Foods are all over the continent of the America. Who can deny that? As a baby or teen, they are so blessed to have so many dairy products (the best milk and wonderful cheese) to build their bones and muscles. As a result, they never lack in calcium or protein which Asian kids do. They grow stronger, taller than most of Asian teens. However, after reaching their 50's, they don't change the habit of eating protein and so many high-calories food which is good for the young but bad for the old. Then, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, obesity, arthristis and thousands of disease pop up to shorten their lives or just kill them in one second. I just have seen so many elders hanging their big butts or grabbing their lovely handles to move across lobby. When those fat American running upstairs, it seems that you're watching a motion picture in a slow move. They grab stair rails, pant, sweat and hope the government should build the hell escalators everwhere around the city and in every buildings even though they are just trying to reach the second level.

Also, since they always have anything oversized, they waste them all. They throw food, clean toilet paper, any kinds of recyclable things in trash can, not to mention recycling. They really have no idea how to recycle. Ironically, many American company claim they care about the environment and keep producing green, eco-friendly stuff but they just don't print any flyers or ads teaching you which kind of materials bottles belong to or paper is RECYCLABLE!

May I have your attention, please, most of the Americans? Save the earth. Stop eating and think about what you can do to improve the environment.


The picture just shows how tired I was after visiting the Metropolitan Museum. Because I really have no idea most of the display and those holy art work pieces, the ugly doll face shows my confusion. XD

Why the peeve?

I don't know. Such a stranger, not a complete one but a true one. Frankly, I don't want to talk about it. Things have past and I hope that won't last ever and never. I'm not going to thank someone for that experience. Generally, this was supposed to be wonderful and unforgettable. I should appreciate all those memory and stuff. But... it just didn't turn to that way. The most gross thing is that pair of goddamn human hands. Those stupid things ruined everything. Anyway, I think there is no way I would treat it right as the past. Probably, it was my fault not to make it clear. Hold on ... I think I have made it clear enough, but it seemed that the jerk couldn't get it all right and kept doing things like that. I don't want to hurt you at all, but I've got to say it out loud. Even though this is posted on the Internet, it IS the whole f***in' truth. Yes, the ugly truth. Oh my god, this is just so disgusting whenever I look back on it.

Leave it, and leave me alone.

Questions are better than orders

"Mom, how do I look?" "No, honey, I think you should try on this one." The Mom was frowning. "I think it's cute! I'll take it," the girl insisted.

From baby, kid to teen, I think most of what I say, think, do and wear are somehow decided by my parents. I'm not saying that they are dictators or something, while what I mean is why they didn't encourage me to make the decisions on my own. Their decisions gave me the sense of security which I've always relied on. I appreciated all thier efforts and care. But... isn't it too much?

I've shopped a lot recently, though this is not the point. XD The point is that I just found Amreican teenage girls know what they're gonna wear so well. "Mom, I think this is much better!" "That one sucks!" "Oooh~ Mommy, this dress is so cute!" Why didn't I act like this when I was a little girl? I was always like, "Mom, which one is better?" "Mom, what do you think? I don't know which one suits me." I had no idea what I'd like to wear. I mean, independencs and confidence can start from these daily stuff, don't they? I wonder why everytime I prefered something, there was always a person telling me, "No, you shouldn't," instead of "You really think so? then take it." I think a question mark is much better than an order, an imperative tone, which is what American education discourages.

They know who they are, what they're gonna be, and what they like. Because thier parents and teachers always give them a question, they definitely (well, maybe) have answers in thier own minds. However, I (or we Chinese), was always asked to listen to instead of speaking. Therefore, we don't have answers and thoughts since we're not asked and not supposed to ask.

If there were no questions, how come there would be any answers?
If there were no questions, how come there would be any thoughts?
Education throws you questions, and learning teaches you how to catch them. Like baseball, if you learn well, you hit a home run.

New York, a country?!

There is an ad slogan written on a pharmacy store, Duane Reade, which is the top convenience store in New York City. The slogan says that, "No other American city is so intensely American as New York."

No, I don't think so. As a matter of fact, I have the opposite thought. New York is not the most American city in the United States. Contrarily, New York can be the most non-American city in the United States. Why is that?

When you ask someone from New York that, "Hey, where are you from?" He or she is definitely going to answer you like, "Oh, I'm from New York," instead of, "Oh, I'm from the United States." Apparently, they see themselves as New Yorkers not Americans, even New York City or New York State governed by the Federal Law. It's probably that New York City is such a big city that it's most likely people will forget where the hell the president is. So, Stop saying that New York City is the capital of the United States! But if you say it's the capital of the world... well, I'm not going to deny that. It really is! Anyway, because New York can be the capital of the world, it naturally attracts people from every corner in the world. And the diversity turns to be the best feature of New York. So is New York that American? No, it's universal.

In the past, New York state was called the Empire State and this was exactly how the name of the Empire State Building came from. Though New York may not be the most biggest town in the world right now, it's still a city that has its own charm and fantasy. And I believe it will be.

Most of all, you can grab any kinds of food in Manhattan. Like, American, Mexican, Italian, German, French, Jewish, Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Cuban, Turkish, and so on. In New York, there is just no such thing as too close.

Cool dancing Mom

This is a video clip I captured in the film festival. The cool Mom just grabbed all my attention. Watch how she danced and you will realize you CAN'T dance. Remember to look close to her face move. She is really a cool Mom. XD

I just attended a film festival in Boston. In fact, I've read film festival thing in a book before, but I still really didn't understand what it was all about until that Saturday, 08, Aug.

At any certain square, Americans can have lots of fun altogether. Wherever there is a lawn, a marsh or a plaza, they can hold an activity for families, friends and visitors. Before the moive was put on, the host kept having games for children and lead everyone to do their moves along with the music. I felt like I was one of them at that moment, though almost 99% people were American. With a blanket, a picnic box or a beach chair, American weekend can be really laid-back and chilling out. Kids were all so excited and parents also. Those Dad and Mom and grandpa, grandma were all so relaxed that it seemed like they don't have anything to worry about. This is the way they lead their lives. Speaking of work, they are experts. Speaking of having fun, they are pros, too. No matter if they are 5 or 82, enjoying life is something they can do.

The toilet stuff

In terms of the trash we do manufacture by ourselves, that must be the restroom matter. When traveling, toilets can be as important as water, and even money. You drink and you pee. This is how nature works , you know. Anyway, I'm not going to discuss about the best gesture to pee when using the public toilet or how to ignore the mess that the former user made. I have been to the U.S. twice and I just found an interesting thing. Well, maybe it's not that interesting as you think but it is to me.

Everytime you step into the restrooms in America, you don't smell something rotten, or something just so disgusting that makes you want to cut off your nose. It's clean! Probably that all the bathrooms, but most of them are really tidy and "white." There is just no color yellow or red splash like the water-painting on the canvas. It's just so white and clean.

Maybe because the U.S. is a developed country, they have toilet tech on the edge. The facilities decrease the numbers of your touch in the restroom. After finish, I'll shake my ass a little bit to let the machine feel me and flush the crap down automatically. haha... Actually, I do have lots of fun when it flushes by itself. I don't know why. XD

See that toilet pic? There is no button or place to push for flushing.

And also, there must be two boxes hung on the wall. (Actually, three boxes, I'll explain.)One is for trash, like the packages of pads and tampons. The other one is the most holy thing in the restroom. TOILET PAPER! There is no way you are running out of papers when using the restrooms in the U.S. They always have back-up paper rolls stored besides the paper box and they are holy free!!!

Now, I'm going to explain why their toilets are so clean is because that they flush down everything along with the human trash. Where are all those dirty papers go? They flush 'em down. Where are all those terrible bloody tampons go? Flush 'em down. The toilet always stays as clean as it has never been used before. To tell the truth, I always have lots of achievements after using U.S. restrooms. Because the next user is not going to hate me for any mess.

The last box hung on the wall, which I've never used before, contains paper for the protection of direct touching. It's, also, flushable!!

The only thing I can't get used to at first is the door. There is a peeking line!!! The door never touches the wall and you can see through it, it's not a clear view though. I've been thinking what this is for, and my answer is to check if it is occupied or vacant. I'm not sure it's right or not, but ... it's truly not a big deal because you can't see anything through the peeking line actually.

So... this is just another reason why I love the U.S. I really enjoy peeing in their restrooms. XD And the most amazing thing is that almost any restrooms are all like this, including restrooms in any rest stops, fast food restaurants, and any other public places.

The bigger, the better

See that cheese section in the mall?! This's why I love the U.S. ! In the so-called freedom land, people here take, eat, and buy things in a crazy way which the largest size is the top one lifestyle. Sometimes, it feels great to find that it costs little each product and no doubt that it still has high quality at the same time. Other times, when you get a super-universal-king size of food, you feel like puking after having a few bites. Actually, everything oversized is really disgusting. But it seems that American are quite proud of it. You can see their achievement by their clothes size ... , and this is another reason why I love the U.S. (haha) I always ask, "Excuse me, do you have smaller one? Like size zero?" when shopping. It feels like I'm the only one who is pretty slim fit in this world. XD

Me and my big brother. We walked from 59th street through the midtown and to the 33rd street on 3rd August. Our feet both got crippled after the marathon. But it's worth it! Smile!

The 24-hour commute from Taiwan to NYC

It's been a long time since I left my hometown. I thought I always take the long flight easy, and feel nothing after landing. But, it happened that my ass was not that satisfied with the seat at all this time. Since I was seated by the window, I couldn't move my ass whenever I wanted to. If I did so, the woman seated by the aisle would probably hate me waking her up. Therefore, after the 14-hour flight from Hong Kong to New York, I heard my spine screaming like, "Hey, you're too fat to let me breathe!" And the result was that it hurt a little bit.

Anyway, the meals were pretty tasty. As the picture shows, I can even smell and taste of the spaghetti again! It did is mouthwatering!

I went to the airport in Kaohsiung at 9 o'clock in the Saturday morning, and landed at JFK airport in New York City in the Saturday evening,(but it's Sunday morning in Kaohsiung.) That is, it took me almost a day to commute from Taiwan to NY!! What a long trip.

This was what we looked like after the 24-hour commute. We were both beated and ugly. XD