wow. there’s so much to write about today, isn’t there?
yesterday morning, TN and i set our alarm clocks for 8:30 am so we could have a last meal together before i had to head off to YF and AL’s wedding. we decided on tom’s restaurant where we shared lemon ricotta pancakes (with a choice of THREE flavored-butters) and a spinach omelette. we went back to her place where i got dressed for the wedding and she prepped for yoga and hockey — what an athlete! we hopped on the train together and said our goodbyes at canal street.
i continued on the q up to 57th and met the bride and groom at their apartment, where we promptly got into a limo with their friends and photographers to head off to jersey city. the reception hall was gorgeous, overlooking the river with views of ellis island and the statue of liberty in the distance. the couple had made a list so we promptly checked the tasks off. there ended up being very little for us to do, but to stand around, sipping champagne, and enjoying the views. we also had to rehearse for a dance that the bride asked me and her friend AW to be a part of after her aunt and uncle dropped out due to stage fright. none of those already involved knew the whole routine so we stood around, trying to assemble the dance from the bits and pieces we each knew. thank god it consisted of a pretty simple two-step and some jazz hands. we figured that even if anything did go wrong, no one would notice — can we say open, top-shelf bar? the bride also informed AW and i that we were to walk with the wedding party into the reception hall so we had to choreograph a last minute entrance dance. we opted for a “shopping cart” move followed by a crump. it was pretty embarassing.
they were already technically married — both through a catholic ceremony and at city hall — so last night was all about partying. there were speeches from the fathers, best men, and maid of honor, and then we danced the remainder of the evening. did i mention open, top-shelf bar all night long? surprisingly, i’m fully awake and mobile today. the evening winded down at that venue, but all the out-of-town guests got onto a rented bus and headed off to slate bar for the after-party. once we arrived, the management informed us that they would only stay open an hour longer so as one of the organizers, i prayed that folks would start trickling home before the hour was over.
once inside, one of the guests informed us that osama was killed. osama bin laden? THE osama bin laden? my mindset was in the frame of love, so it took me awhile to register the enormity of the death of someone so hateful. it wasn’t until i got to my family’s place in queens and watched the “celebrations” taking place on the news did it start to sink in that i’m in new york and this is a HUGE deal to the people here.
i share a room with my aunt here so we were watching the news together. in my broken chinese, i was trying to say how odd it is that people are celebrating someone’s death. why didn’t they capture him instead and grill him for information? although she didn’t disagree, she made the point that his death is a really symbolic closure for many whose lives were affected permanently by 9/11. NY1 news started playing footage from that day and all the memories and emotions came flooding back. seeing those two towers fall again just made my heart start palpitating and admittedly, a part of me could understand why his death would be considered a symbol of “justice.” yet, his death doesn’t really solve anything in the long run. this is not a mom and pop operation that ends once the leader is dead. this is a huge, established, sophisticated network that will go on, unfortunately. how do we address that moving forward? just have more wars? more killings? how do we step out of this sick cycle of destruction?
i don’t know how i feel about getting on a plane today. remember those days before 9/11 where you could traipse on through the security line? when your nosehair scissors weren’t considered a threatening object? when shoes were for protecting your feet and not a place to store bombs?
i choose to remember 5/1 as a day of celebrating love. that above and beyond all else, love will trump all — eventually.
Will Dao 