Tag: recounted

speaking of willy from the block… MAY IS ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH and i forgot.

it’s so important to feel loved.

i cannot let facebook distract me from eating my frogs. somehow i slipped back from twice a day checking to every hour checking again. bad bad bad. today i must:
– upload wedding photos
– exercise
– write here
– search for jobs
– grocery shop
– pay bills
– see lily’s revenge

it’s about 67 degrees right now and SUNNY in san francisco. looks like i came back at just the right time. i cannot believe that tomorrow will be about 70! if only we had a car and could drive off to the beach to sunbathe! but i guess MGS is also a bit busy these days prepping for his shows.

we saw piece of work, a documentary about joan rivers. she is about 76 this year and does not rest a single day. she’ll hit up hole-in-the-wall comedy clubs at night just to keep performing. i admire the crap out of her work ethic and think that maybe it’s exactly that constant hustle that i would never get used to. as awful and insensitive as some of her jokes might be, i have a new respect for the boundaries she’s breaking and the commitment she has to her art (… err, or at least her lavish lifestyle which doesn’t come cheap).

it’s great to be back in the bay but i already miss my friends and family. my mom was doing much better — she’s very proud of her quick recovery and i’m glad to see her so energetic. i could still sense the strange tension between her and my aunt, but what can you do? we are humans with personalities and sometimes that just causes conflict. it’s crazy to see that that whole generation is now either single or widowed. very sad reality, isn’t it?

i’ve decided my next project will be a fairytale… or that i should somehow write mine in that style. let’s do it.

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.

exhausted. got into nyc this morning at 7:30ish and took public transportation to TN’s place. i snuck into her bed while she was showering and ended up passing out until 2:30. luckily, she was a bit hungover today and didn’t mind napping either. when we finally left the house, it was close to 4pm. of course, i had to do the requisite stop at uniqlo and spent WAY more than i intended (though, i swear, all the clothing i bought was necessary). we then took the train to ktown to dine on gam me oak’s delicious-hangover-curing oxtail noodle soup. oh man! i haven’t had it since i moved and i wanted to cry it was so good. THEN we finished and walked down to my friend’s pre-wedding party at brass monkey. it was a nice venue – a bit fratty for my taste, but still nice to catch up with friends and friends of friends. when i’m asked to be a part of ceremonies, i end up being MORE nervous than the bride and groom most of the time. i know — doesn’t make any sense.

oh new york. how i love you in the springtime. we walked along the highline today as the sun was setting and it was just gorgeous blue skies all the way across to dirty jers. i can’t believe i’m here for less than 72 hours. i definitely put way too many eggs into the foundation position that i didn’t end up getting. it’s a bit awkward being asked what i do… professional temp? i have been answering that i’m “in the performing arts” more, which is probably a good step towards accepting myself as a performer/artist and defining myself as such. i really wanted to check out a broadway show while here, but neither time nor funds will allow. alas!

time to get some beauty rest. hopefully i can update somehow somewhere tomorrow though not likely. soooo see you in a few!