New York Log

So, I went to NYC for the weekend and kept a log. Here it is, unread, unedited.

I'm currently sitting in a Virgin America flight up to San Francisco as a pit stop for the flight to New York. Ah, the Big Apple. I'm not sure how I feel about this trip; it's all happening so suddenly... I mean, I haven't planned at all for this trip, didn't even realize I was leaving SD until Monday, and definitely haven't even the slightest idea of what I'm going to do in the one day I'm staying for. I'll be arriving at New York's JFK Int'l Airport at 7:45am EST tomorrow, which means I get about 5 hours of sleep, yaay. Which reminds me, this is going to be my first redeye flight of my life. Hope to have a good time and post about it when I return. Until then, peace outtt. PS: Chris botti's Cinema Paradiso, as we were beginning to descend, I marvelled at the warm tungsten glow of the bay area... once again. I couldn't help but ponder my future as a pilot. Again, I questioned the direction my major was pointing me towards; I just couldn't see myself working in a lab or medical office ten years from now. However, I definitely wanted (desired, even) the life of a pilot. I can travel the world flying planes, see the awe-inspiring birds-eye view of cities across the world, experience different cultures, eat cultural foods, and still maintain status... STATUS: I believe this is what my parents fret about the most. It's the reason for 'career options = medicine/pharmacy' being engrained into my skull, into my very being. If only it weren't so. I've noticed that my parents don't really speak of career paths when they converse with me nowadays. Does that mean they've finally dropped the desire for me to become a scientist? I would love for that to be true. Well, about to land. Will finish this thought at a later time. Edit: pilot executed one of the smoothest landings I've experienced... Envy.

Update: it's currently 4:35am PST or on the east coast, 7:35. I tuned into the local MSNBC tv news channel and have been watching the updates on the apparent storm that's been raging for the past day. Totally not what I expected as a welcome from New York. Times Square is all dressed up in white! There will be up to 30 inches of snow in certain areas by the end of the day. People are helping each other get out of their driveways, clearing snow and all, doing whatever they can to help best the storm. It's pretty heartwarming, actually, something we'll never see on the west coast.

As I'm watching the struggles of these New Yorkers on-screen, the news camera pans from snow-covered scene to another snow-covered scene, and each time it does, instead of feeling sympathy, I think to myself, "damn, that'd be a great workout." Is that wrong of me...? Alright, plane about to make final descent and touch down. I will write more later. Very much looking forward to the day; or maybe it's just that desire to shovel snow. Want: lox on plain bagel, plzkthx.

7:58am EST

Re-routed to another airport. Might have to take a train or something to Manhatten. Alone time! May get to actually trek to bagel land! WOOO

8:07am EST

Owaitnvm. Things have cleared up at JFK and we're back tacking towards it now.... A bit disappointed, but on the bright side, at least this will be less stressful on my parents' behalf.

9:20am EST

Finally out in the airport itself. At Carousel #2, awaiting my luggage. WANT CRANBERRIES.

2:32am EST

Extremely exhausted. Just finished a family-friend dinner type deal with my father's long time friend. Listening to my father's act of profane jest, him exchanging exciting childhood tales, and his other personality was definitely both a bit jarring and much-appreciated experience. In the car on the way back to the hotel, my father's friend was talking about his experiences here in Flushing, NY. He hated it. It wasn't really the place, he explained, it was the people: he didn't appreciate how the Southern Chinese immigrants assimilated to the Northern Chinese here in Flushing just because they're considered the minority. He made it sound incredibly unbearable... Hearing that made me think of the essentials of a happy life: food, shelter, and almost just as important, a sense of belonging. If you don't have that, you'll hate everything around you, and my father's friend is living proof.

Oh yeah, thought about making a documentary about the lives and hardships that new immigrants from HK face as inspired by my father's friend in the car on the way back to the hotel. It could be pretty cool... No one's ever done it before.

7:58pm EST

On Virgin America flight #

Just woke from a short fifteen minute nap. Went to Ess-a-bagel today expecting a smoked salmon w/ cream cheese bagel sent from heaven but ended up disappointed and leaving the place 10 dollars poorer. Off day, perhaps? Saw a shittonnn of awesome-looking hole-in-the-walls walking down 1st ave. Passed by Luzzo's, which I will definitely visit the next time I'm in NY, and walked about 2.5miles to Chinatown. Passed by Katz on the way! We went to Angelo's per father's request for lunch. God, the food was disgusting. Ruined the day for me. Guess my NY foodie adventure won't happen until my next visit! Next, we trekked our way to the Soho district and, to my surprise, passed by Lombardi's! I wanted to grab my two hesitant parents and head right on in to enjoy some authentic NY pizza, but my hopes dropped quicker than flies as we neared the entrance and saw the bustling line. Bummer. Walked a bit further and found UNI KUROOOOOO! The store was incredibly large, 3 stories, I believe? Everything seemed stocked, great sales on great styles, and the store actually didn't look down-trodden at all... considering the MASS OF PEOPLE SHOPPING IN THERE. As I made my way past the checkout lines and rushed up the flight of aluminum-split stairs to the men's floor, I thought, "FFS, I don't even feel like trying anything on any more. MUST. GRAB. HIGHLY-REGARDED. SOCKS. And leave." Like a pre-programmed robo-vac, I went straight to the undies section, grabbed my socks ($10/3pairs!), saw some comfy-looking briefs, grabbed two ($7.95!), and bolted for the registers. *sigh* They had a new 'luxury' line that felt really nice-to-the-touch, too. Next time... *

Afterwards, we went straight back to Flushing in Queens and found Golden Shopping Plaza, home to many-a authentic Chinese food stalls. Ever since watching Anthony Bourdain's NY episode, I've been wanting to try Xi'an Foods. I went expecting a certain type of pork belly burger, but was disappointed by the chopped up variety. My father wasn't really feeling Xi'an, so he ordered some noodles from the stall behind us: Lanzhou Hand-Pulled Noodles' Beef Shank Noodles. It was alright; the noodles weren't as springy-fresh as other hand-pulled noodles I've had before, the broth was MSG'd, the beef was surprisingly the best part. Hmm. Discontent, my father found a dumpling shop in the back of the mall and skimmed the menu. In an effort to make up for his noodle-fail, he went on a spree as he ordered four dishes: lamb stew, peanut butter lo mein, shui gao noodles, and braised pig knuckles. The lamb stew was alright: lamb innards were bit overcooked, not as fresh as I would've liked. The soup base = MSG =\. The lo mein wasn't anything special, but because I haven't had it in a while, I thought it was amazing. I mean, the first taste was incredibly bland, the noodles weren't the springiest I've had, but after adding a bit of vinegar, it came together and tasted a lot better. Peanut butter + vinegar = wtf, right? Worked... The pig knuckles were cold and a bit overdone, hence the chewing difficulties that insued. The shui gao was lacking in structure and had an unfreshness to it. Unfresh ingredients, mayhaps

12:07am EST

Still on VA Flight # ****

Five hours into my flight. We're about an hour away from landing at SFO. As my short day-and-a-half NYC family vacation draws to an end, I'm feeling quite content.

Sure I didn't get to go to visit Central Park, didn't get to try the infamous dirty water hot dogs, didn't really get a feel for what life as a "Nu-Yohka" is like, it ends well. I stopped having to remind myself that I shouldn't be discontent because I'm already a lot more fortunate compared to many many people. I can't imagine how many people want to see the setting of TV sitcom, Friends, the birthplace of American pizza, the city where 1000 sq. ft. condos cost more than three-story houses, but never get a chance to. Best of all, I shared the experience with my parents, who have also never been to NYC. Heh, kinda feel like a third wheel right now with them being all lovey-dovey clasping each others' hands and whatnot. Ugh, get a room, freakin-a, hahaha.

And so, this atypical, stormy, uber cold, short-lived thing I called a vacation should actually be remembered as unique, snowy, toasty, quality time spent with the parents.

I have my whole life left to go venture out on my own, right?

*Edit: after reading this for the first time, I found a whole chunk missing. I'm adding it in for completion's sake.