I was walking home from work today. It was around 6pm, so it was already dark. Walking, walking, faster than usual because it was so cold, I just wanted to get indoors. I come to the crosswalk at West 13th (maybe at this point its East 13th) and 4th Ave, and I see the bright white dude, telling me its okay to cross. So i cross.
Then I see the bright lights of a large taxi. I sort of lean back, step back, and I feel the cold metal through my glove. I still can't believe how close of an encounter that was. It happened so fast. The taxi driver must have stopped to make sure he didn't fuck up, but I just kept walking, getting onto the sidewalk. I wasn't shaky at all afterwards. Usually when something like this happens to someone, don't they feel like their whole perspective on life changes? Maybe that's being a little too dramatic. But I know for sure, I'm going to even more wary at crosswalks, even when it is supposedly okay to cross. Stupid taxis.
I've been meeting up with friends whom I haven't seen a really long time, and it feels so good to chat and reminisce, hear what they have accomplished during the time apart, discuss the future. There are still people I want to see, which makes me look forward to the beginning of school. And I guess after this close shave, makes me look forward to anything in the future.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
I've moved..
.. into school housing. It gets easier and easier each year, I suppose my family and I have got this moving in and out of dorms down. We used these lime green container bins that my mother bought, and it made moving in so seamless. I used to use a few suitcases and a bag here for shoes, another bag for clothes, and other bags for various things. With these containers, all we had to do was unload from the car, load into the large wheely bins, and unload in my room all in two trips.
And now I sit here in my room near Union Square, look across my room, and actually can't believe I'm a week from starting what could be my second to last semester of university. I'm still on the fence about graduating early, only because I'm afraid I'm going to be limiting myself. Yes, its great that I will be finished with a major and a minor, but I question whether I should go beyond that. Should I go ahead and finish another minor, or go for honors in my major? Will be worth another semester of NYU's insane tuition? This is something that I really need to make a decision about very soon. I guess a trip to the advising center is in order.
Other curiosities pop into my head: what will this semester be like? What should I expect? Usually I tell myself not to have expectations, just so that I won't be disappointed in the outcomes. But sometimes I do wonder what will the next semester bring me. I think it does surprise me in the end anyways, with changes in social circles, in knowledge, in the world, and in myself.
I'm excited to get this semester going, even though I know it will be not as easy in terms of schoolwork as my time in Prague. My fall semester abroad is now a pleasant and lovely memory, and I am ready to get Spring semester started. hahaha, maybe I really do love school a lot. I think when I hit that mid-semester slump, I'll just look outside my window and see the new highrise next to my building... one day I want to live in the city comfortably in such a highrise apartment building, but until then, I've got to continue working hard.
And now I sit here in my room near Union Square, look across my room, and actually can't believe I'm a week from starting what could be my second to last semester of university. I'm still on the fence about graduating early, only because I'm afraid I'm going to be limiting myself. Yes, its great that I will be finished with a major and a minor, but I question whether I should go beyond that. Should I go ahead and finish another minor, or go for honors in my major? Will be worth another semester of NYU's insane tuition? This is something that I really need to make a decision about very soon. I guess a trip to the advising center is in order.
Other curiosities pop into my head: what will this semester be like? What should I expect? Usually I tell myself not to have expectations, just so that I won't be disappointed in the outcomes. But sometimes I do wonder what will the next semester bring me. I think it does surprise me in the end anyways, with changes in social circles, in knowledge, in the world, and in myself.
I'm excited to get this semester going, even though I know it will be not as easy in terms of schoolwork as my time in Prague. My fall semester abroad is now a pleasant and lovely memory, and I am ready to get Spring semester started. hahaha, maybe I really do love school a lot. I think when I hit that mid-semester slump, I'll just look outside my window and see the new highrise next to my building... one day I want to live in the city comfortably in such a highrise apartment building, but until then, I've got to continue working hard.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Saturday in Flushing
After a week of commuting to and fro, I spent a nice day with the family in Flushing. It's the first time I went to Flushing after coming back from Europe, and after I got out of the car, I was smiling ear to ear, as I was happy to be back in this environment that is familiar to me. The main mission of the day was to get the hairs did, as we usually do every six months or so. I ended getting my hair cut shorter and dyed a coffee-brownish color (ok, maybe my description of the color sucks.. but its much lighter now). I like it, and the hair color may take some getting used to. Upon further inspection, it looks like the hairstylist may have cut one side slightly shorter than the other, but I am hoping that it is just because its slightly more curled than the longer side.
Then, we had a wonderful lunch at 紅筷子, or Red Chopsticks. I had heard that this restaurant had pretty decent Taiwanese cuisine. It has a fabulous 3 Dishes, 1 Soup lunch combination for $19.95, which is a price that can't be beat. We ordered Ma Puo Tofu, San Bei Chicken, and Sauteed Spinach. My mother added Oyster Noodle Soup and other little appetizers. The food came quickly and I devoured my bowl of rice quite quickly. I must have been hungry, or I just hadn't had this kind of food in such a long time, that I just couldn't stop myself. HAHA. I will definitely be going back to this little restaurant on 41st Ave.
Tomorrow I will be moving back into housing. I have been preparing myself for a less-luxurious semester in my dorm, after being spoiled in the newest building in our school's housing. I've got my ricecooker (which I missed so much in Prague) all ready.
Then, we had a wonderful lunch at 紅筷子, or Red Chopsticks. I had heard that this restaurant had pretty decent Taiwanese cuisine. It has a fabulous 3 Dishes, 1 Soup lunch combination for $19.95, which is a price that can't be beat. We ordered Ma Puo Tofu, San Bei Chicken, and Sauteed Spinach. My mother added Oyster Noodle Soup and other little appetizers. The food came quickly and I devoured my bowl of rice quite quickly. I must have been hungry, or I just hadn't had this kind of food in such a long time, that I just couldn't stop myself. HAHA. I will definitely be going back to this little restaurant on 41st Ave.
Tomorrow I will be moving back into housing. I have been preparing myself for a less-luxurious semester in my dorm, after being spoiled in the newest building in our school's housing. I've got my ricecooker (which I missed so much in Prague) all ready.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
the next time i fly....
I will keep this article in mind..
"Perhaps there’s only ever been one trick to keeping one’s cool in challenging circumstances, the same one the British adventurer T. E. Lawrence offers for dealing with pain in David Lean’s film “Lawrence of Arabia,” set a century ago, in another war. The trick, he says, “is not minding.”"
"Perhaps there’s only ever been one trick to keeping one’s cool in challenging circumstances, the same one the British adventurer T. E. Lawrence offers for dealing with pain in David Lean’s film “Lawrence of Arabia,” set a century ago, in another war. The trick, he says, “is not minding.”"
Sunday, December 27, 2009
renewed spirit
ok, so Prague blogging didn't quite work out like I wanted to. I'm going to try again, and maybe allude to my experience abroad with these future entries.
It has been a week since I returned to the USA. Although I was sad in the days leading up to my departure from Prague, I was so happy when the plane touched down in Newark. Perhaps it was from the long and trying day of traveling. I've done long days of traveling with trips to Taiwan, but what I experienced this time around never happened on my trips to Asia, which now seem so much smoother in comparison to my trip to Europe. So, my flight from Prague to London was delayed two hours, thanks to the snowstorm in Western Europe that Thursday/Friday. The Czech Airlines plane arrived in Heathrow around 4:05pm, and my scheduled flight to Newark from London departed at 4:00pm. My fellow travelers and I went to the Virgin Atlantic transfer desk and found out that there was a flight out at 8:00pm, however it was fully booked, and we would be on standby. For about 2hours, I tried in a crowded Terminal 3, to find the best way to contact my parents. I tried buying internet, but my laptop failed to work properly and efficiently. I tried using the payphones, but that didn't seem to quite work. Then I opted for the quick internet kiosk, and sent an email. But I later realized that I could have just used my Czech phone to call home, since I still had some crowns on it. Sigh... wasted a bit of money.
Anyways, went to the gate and waited, waited, for all the passengers to board the plane. It looked like there were a lot of people, and I had to keep reminding myself that it was a big plane. Tried reading, but I just kept thinking about the possibility of spending an extra night in London. Which I guess, wouldn't be too bad. But at that point, I was ready to get into my own bed in NJ. Then the crowded winded down, and the rest of standbys gathered around the desk. A steward called out one name, and then said that everyone was getting on the flight... yaaay I jumped and exclaimed "I'm going home!" There were many extra seats too.
On this flight, I learned from watching "Revolutionary Road" on the way to Europe, and watched a lighter movie. "500(days) of Summer" was a better choice, and I discovered how cute Joseph Gordan-Levitt is. I attempted at "Julie&Julia" but dozed off halfway through, not because it was bad movie, but because I was just so tired from not sleeping that much the night before, and being on the move.
The next day, I had lunch at Mitsuwa, and went grocery shopping with my parents at Han Ah Reum. Even though these are Japanese and Korean markets respectively, it was slightly shocking to be among people that looked like me, and to have some of them speak a language that I could understand. I think I blinked several times to just adjust myself to this environment. I was also just HAPPY to be eating real and delicious Asian food. It also started snowing on Saturday, so it was a good thing that I got on that 8pm flight out of Heathrow on Friday, otherwise I would have been stuck in London for sure.
Today, I went shopping at Jersey Garden's, a local outlet shopping mall. Its huge, and always jam packed around this time of year. Sitting in the food court, I sat there thinking, if I were an alien and landed in this particular food court, I would not think that I was in the USA. Most of the people were Hispanic or Indian American, and not a Caucasian American in sight. This would not be the case in the Midwest, I'm sure. If an alien had landed in Kansas, for instance, it would have thought it was a completely different country. Ahhh, diversity. How I've missed you.
This is an interesting article.. "Taiwan's Santa bus drivers." Its about bus drivers in Taiwan, dressing up as Santa and decorating their buses, and the Taiwanese "superficial" approach to the holiday. They've really commercialized it, but so has the USA. I see it as new way of bringing Christmas spirit. Must be an interesting sight to see Asian Santa Clauses, and all lined up waiting by their buses.
It has been a week since I returned to the USA. Although I was sad in the days leading up to my departure from Prague, I was so happy when the plane touched down in Newark. Perhaps it was from the long and trying day of traveling. I've done long days of traveling with trips to Taiwan, but what I experienced this time around never happened on my trips to Asia, which now seem so much smoother in comparison to my trip to Europe. So, my flight from Prague to London was delayed two hours, thanks to the snowstorm in Western Europe that Thursday/Friday. The Czech Airlines plane arrived in Heathrow around 4:05pm, and my scheduled flight to Newark from London departed at 4:00pm. My fellow travelers and I went to the Virgin Atlantic transfer desk and found out that there was a flight out at 8:00pm, however it was fully booked, and we would be on standby. For about 2hours, I tried in a crowded Terminal 3, to find the best way to contact my parents. I tried buying internet, but my laptop failed to work properly and efficiently. I tried using the payphones, but that didn't seem to quite work. Then I opted for the quick internet kiosk, and sent an email. But I later realized that I could have just used my Czech phone to call home, since I still had some crowns on it. Sigh... wasted a bit of money.
Anyways, went to the gate and waited, waited, for all the passengers to board the plane. It looked like there were a lot of people, and I had to keep reminding myself that it was a big plane. Tried reading, but I just kept thinking about the possibility of spending an extra night in London. Which I guess, wouldn't be too bad. But at that point, I was ready to get into my own bed in NJ. Then the crowded winded down, and the rest of standbys gathered around the desk. A steward called out one name, and then said that everyone was getting on the flight... yaaay I jumped and exclaimed "I'm going home!" There were many extra seats too.
On this flight, I learned from watching "Revolutionary Road" on the way to Europe, and watched a lighter movie. "500(days) of Summer" was a better choice, and I discovered how cute Joseph Gordan-Levitt is. I attempted at "Julie&Julia" but dozed off halfway through, not because it was bad movie, but because I was just so tired from not sleeping that much the night before, and being on the move.
The next day, I had lunch at Mitsuwa, and went grocery shopping with my parents at Han Ah Reum. Even though these are Japanese and Korean markets respectively, it was slightly shocking to be among people that looked like me, and to have some of them speak a language that I could understand. I think I blinked several times to just adjust myself to this environment. I was also just HAPPY to be eating real and delicious Asian food. It also started snowing on Saturday, so it was a good thing that I got on that 8pm flight out of Heathrow on Friday, otherwise I would have been stuck in London for sure.
Today, I went shopping at Jersey Garden's, a local outlet shopping mall. Its huge, and always jam packed around this time of year. Sitting in the food court, I sat there thinking, if I were an alien and landed in this particular food court, I would not think that I was in the USA. Most of the people were Hispanic or Indian American, and not a Caucasian American in sight. This would not be the case in the Midwest, I'm sure. If an alien had landed in Kansas, for instance, it would have thought it was a completely different country. Ahhh, diversity. How I've missed you.
This is an interesting article.. "Taiwan's Santa bus drivers." Its about bus drivers in Taiwan, dressing up as Santa and decorating their buses, and the Taiwanese "superficial" approach to the holiday. They've really commercialized it, but so has the USA. I see it as new way of bringing Christmas spirit. Must be an interesting sight to see Asian Santa Clauses, and all lined up waiting by their buses.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
a gentle reminder
Today: Went to see "Swan Lake" at the Narodni Divadlo. It's now my favorite ballet. No more Nutcracker for me. The dances with the swan ballerinas were the best, with the blue lighting hitting their white tutus. My friends and I sat in the highest seats, but I liked this perspective of the ballet. One can appreciate the dance formations a lot better. Had my internship today after my only class for the day. Prepping for the upcoming conference in Copenhagen. Before the ballet, I had dinner at the gallery cafe at Cafe Lourve. One day, I will go back to the actual Cafe Lourve that has the tall ceilings. It was also a beatiful autumn day, made me wish I didn't have responsibilities, and that I could just roam the streets.
Yesterday: Not as exciting. Had my Eastern European Comparative Politics class and my Germany and East Central Europe history course. These two classes complement each other quite nicely: the comparative politics covers World War One onwards, German history class, from the medieval era. At one point, the material will overlap. I'm (hopefully) going to be well-educated in the histories of the Czech Lands, Germany, Russia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and other neighboring nations
Sunday: A blustery day. Studied at the Czech Republic's very first Starbucks, and the opening of this Starbucks was like a gateway to more Starbucks in the Czech Republic (there are a total 20 stores) and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe. It was opened last year in January, and it is one of the largest Starbucks I have ever seen. There is a basement with additional seating!! The drinks are a bit overpriced, and what's interesting is they try to keep the cafe feel by serving drinks in mugs to those who are enjoying them in the store. I was reading the recent letter sent to the Obama adminstration by past leaders and officials of Central Eastern European countries for my European-American Relations midterm. We have to prepare a memo as if we are high-ranking staffers in the State Department. After reading the letter, I truly understood how difficult a job the State Department has, as well as the entire United States. Since we are the one world power, many many countries ask us for their support, and therefore shoulder more responsibilty. It's such a difficult job.
Yesterday: Not as exciting. Had my Eastern European Comparative Politics class and my Germany and East Central Europe history course. These two classes complement each other quite nicely: the comparative politics covers World War One onwards, German history class, from the medieval era. At one point, the material will overlap. I'm (hopefully) going to be well-educated in the histories of the Czech Lands, Germany, Russia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and other neighboring nations
Sunday: A blustery day. Studied at the Czech Republic's very first Starbucks, and the opening of this Starbucks was like a gateway to more Starbucks in the Czech Republic (there are a total 20 stores) and the rest of Central and Eastern Europe. It was opened last year in January, and it is one of the largest Starbucks I have ever seen. There is a basement with additional seating!! The drinks are a bit overpriced, and what's interesting is they try to keep the cafe feel by serving drinks in mugs to those who are enjoying them in the store. I was reading the recent letter sent to the Obama adminstration by past leaders and officials of Central Eastern European countries for my European-American Relations midterm. We have to prepare a memo as if we are high-ranking staffers in the State Department. After reading the letter, I truly understood how difficult a job the State Department has, as well as the entire United States. Since we are the one world power, many many countries ask us for their support, and therefore shoulder more responsibilty. It's such a difficult job.
Friday, October 2, 2009
In the clouds
The day began at 6:30 this morning to hike up the tallest mountain in the Czech Republic. The mountain, Sněžka, lies on the Czech-Polish border, a three hour ride from the Centrum of Prague. I was a bit wary about the hike up, but despite that and the current soreness throughout my ENTIRE body, I had a great time. An unforgettable experience.
We get to Pec pod Sněžkou, the small town at the base of the mountain, have Bohemian Bagel baguette sandwiches, and embark on our hike. It is important to note that the weather at this time was partly sunny and maybe 40 degrees Fahrenheit, because the weather changed drastically as the day progressed. As we walk closer and closer to the mountain, we are surrounded by nature: a babbling brook, tall tall evergreen trees, as well as trees that were just beginning to turn colors. There are restaurants here and there, and we see many people (mostly older) who had already made their hike up and are enjoying the downhill walk.
At first I thought the chairlift would be like a gandola, with enclosed pods. But no, we get to the station, and I see that the chairlift is like a skilift, with chairs hanging from the cable. I was scared. The chairlift system just celebrated its 60-year-anniversary. But the view from the metal chairs was beautiful. We went passed through a corridor between evergreen trees, and as we got past the treeline, a great part of the Czech lands came into view. The weather starts getting colder, and there was a wintry mix.
We get to the midpoint station (the second portion of the chairlift was closed due to strong winds) and get off to continue hiking up. At this point we were already about 1354meters above sea level. The walk to the top was tough. The inclines are steep and on the mountain there were wide stairs with many rocks jutting out here and there. My friend and I took our time getting up, and I every once in a while, would look back and take in the scenery. Trees everywhere, and a sea of clouds. As we get closer and closer to the top, visibility decreases and the wintry mix becomes icy snow.
It was a great feeling to finally get to the top. It was freezing, we took a celebratory group picture, and explore the peak. Unfortunately, the post office was closed. The post office was built in 2004 and it is completely environmentally friendly. I wanted to send some postcards from there. After visiting the tallest chapel, we start heading down. This first part of descending was difficult; the path was rocky, therefore slippery. And the ice was falling on a slant, and would hit my face really hard. It was so so chilly.
What was really cool was that we were now completely on the Polish side of the mountain. Now I can say I've been to Poland. We also went to a little restaurant in Poland. I paid 20kc (a little more than 1USD) to go to the bathroom, and the lady would collected the money had little piles of different currency. But after being warmed up in the building, going back outside in the cold was hard! My clothese were all wet, and the chilly wind did not help. But was we started to walk down the mountain, it got warmer and warmer.
We hiked the entire way down. All 5620 ft of the descent. Regardless, it was a more peaceful and tranquil walk. Once we got back to the town, we had dinner, and bussed back to Prague. I am so sore now, and know I will be even more sore tomorrow. But it won't beat going to the highest point in Czech Republic and briefly visiting Poland.
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