Happy New Year - may all your hopes and dreams come true and may all your days filled with good health, peace and happiness.
On Friday, November 26th, we had a typical schedule that most tourists would do when visiting the Big Apple. We went to lunch at Peter Luger before the show Wicked. We took the D train, then transfered at Broadway-Lafayette Street for the downtown F train to Delancey Street, went upstairs to get the M train (Jamaica bound). We got off at the first stop (Marcy Avenue) after the train crossed over the Williamsburg Bridge. We walked to Peter Luger at 178 Boardway for lunch.
Inside, the local landmark since 1887 looked exactly the way I saw it being featured on the Food Channel as the best steakhouse in NYC. After walking thru the door, I noticed to the left was the regulars having their drinks at the bar. How do I know they were regulars? They were all men, talking at the same time to the bartenders, relaxing and looking very comfortable as if they were in their living rooms. On the right were many plaques lined the walls with front covers and articles displaying a who's who of culinary critiques and top stars.
We walked up to the bulletproof-glass cubicle in the foyer where two serious looking older women were sitting. It must be where the cash being kept. We were greeted fairly nice by a short middle-age woman looking like a Carla of Cheers, even with our appearance of casual attire and “poor people with no money” written on our faces!
We ordered quickly as to prove our worthiness of eating in this establishment. CP selected the steak for one and a salad and I ordered the lamb chops. I made the mistake of asking Victor what kind of soup they had available. He responded, “No soup”, with the look that said, “You should know that we don’t offer soup here”! 
The phones did not stop ringing the whole time while we waited for our steaks being prepared. It must be for the New Year Eve party. There was a card on the table that read, “New Year Eve reservations are subject to availability with required advanced deposit of $50 per person, for 2 hours sitting.” That would be $200 advanced deposit if you wish to reserve a table of 4 and try to eat fast because you are allowed only 2 hours.
So we did it, spending our cash foolishly so we could say that we ate at Peter Luger. It was one of those sort of “bucket list” items that we had to do to fool ourselves into thinking that we deserved to have a taste of the good life. 
Personally, I did not care much for the music, the over-sensationalized story lines, the characters of Elphaba and Glinda, and the whole show trying to be “catch-all” political correct, specially the role of the goat-professor. I was so bored while the audiences, including my husband, were laughing all around me at humor I found either annoyingly or somewhat idiotic! See Wicked if you wish, you might like it but for me I would have liked to see Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice, James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave in Driving Miss Daisy or Kelsey Grammer in La Cage Aux Folles. These shows were all sold-out, so I got Wicked!
Our flight from St. Louis on Tuesday, November 23rd was sort-of smooth flying. It was not crowded at Lambert International Airport when we left St. Louis. We experienced turbulence but it was not a major “shake-up”. We actually arrived at the gate about 20 minutes before scheduled landing. LaGuardia Airport was not as busy either. We knew that tomorrow, Wednesday would be different as it would be the day before Thanksgiving, a historically most travelled day. My brother, VL, picked us up and it was much appreciated. Later we had a nice dinner, delivered to the house from Tay Ho Vietnamese restaurant.
The next morning, after we took JL to school, we stopped by McDonald for breakfast. I noticed that most of the old men that used to hang out at a local Italian bakery, were now spending their time at McDonald. The bakery closed almost two years ago when the owners decided that they had enough and moved to Florida (well, it was a long story!).
After Coney Island, we took the Q train to Times Square. We thought we could try to get tickets for a Broadway show. We did not really search for a particular show but most of them were sold-out since it was a holiday season with lot of tourists in town. We purchased tickets to see Wicked on Saturday.
From the World Trade Center, we walked to the Brooklyn Bridge. Then it was time to take the #7 train to Flushing to meet up with my friend, MG and her family for dinner.
I am about 2 days late with this post. (My faithful readers know that I am "a day late and a dollar short" kind of blogger.) According to a news article, "Thousands of people of all ages and walks of life gathered in Times Square for a group "kiss-in" on Saturday, August 14, 2010, in the first national day of remembrance for the World War II generation.
At estimated 6,000 buglers played "Taps" coast to coast and numerous events were held at World War II memorials and City Halls all across the country. In future years, the commemoration will be held on the second Sunday of August.
(Above photo of Ms. Green M. Liberty was taken in December 2007 at the Hershey Store in Times Square, NYC.)I have been thinking about what I would write for this post about our 30th Anniversary. One of the blogs I enjoy reading is from David Michael Bruno, http://www.guynameddave.com/, and he wrote, "these days when a person achieves something like the American Dream (let's just say that's moving solidly into the upper-middle class), his lifestyle changes. He becomes a cigar aficionado and also starts collecting fine wines. He starts driving a sports car or a luxury car, perhaps both. He buys a larger, flatter TV and pays for access to sports cable networks."
Well, I have not become a cigar aficionado or collecting fine wines (I don't consume alcohol) and though I love hockey and football, I would not pay extra for sports cable networks. We drive a sport car (well, the T-bird belongs to my husband) and recently purchase a 48" HD lcd tv with blue ray dvd player. With the current economy and the unknown future, I don't think we would ever move into the upper-middle class but I know we have achieved the American Dream.Here is what I wrote on January 10, 2008, "28 years later, did we achieve the American Dream? Compared to some people, we did. We have achieved the level of comfortable living, earned college education, being homeowners, professional employment, and most of all, watching my nephew growing up in a country with plenty of opportunities to achieve more and become better than previous generations. Compared to others, we are not millionaires, nor owners of international companies, not well-known politicians or leaders, not movie stars or even contestant on American Idols!
We have achieved the American Dream in our own way. There are still other levels we could try to reach. I am thankful for all the people who have provided assistance, extended friendship and helping hands. I know my Dad is smiling and saying, "Good work", as our family celebrate our 28th Anniversary coming to America. To my Dad, the foundation and the guiding light, Happy Anniversary. I sure hope there is plenty of chocolate ice cream in heaven for you to enjoy, Dad."
I left Viet Nam when I was 18.5 years old, so I have actually lived in America longer. I am always proud to be an American and I appreciate all the blessings we have received living in America. Earlier this year, my sister and I planned to visit Viet Nam but it did not work out. It just occurred to me that it would not be so terrible or a disappointment if I never go back to visit my birthplace. I had many wonderful memories growing up but there were also many unpleasant incidents that I would not care to remember.
Yes, I believe we are living the American Dream, by our own definitions of hard work, paying taxes, owning our homes, taking care of our families, being active in our community, performing civic duties, making contributions for the good of society and never take freedom and liberty for granted.
(PS: My anniversary celebration was dampened when my Patriots failed badly to the Baltimore Ravens, final score 33-14 Ravens. On the good side, yesterday the NY Jets advanced beating the Bengals 24-14 and the Cowboys eliminated the Eagles 34-14. What is with all the losing teams only getting 14 points? Next game is the Packers v. Cardinals this evening. Whichever team wins is fine with me as I like both Rodgers and Warner.)
Tuesday, December 29th - Two more full days of work and then another 4-day weekend before the long stretch of having any holidays until Memorial Day. Where I work, Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday and Presidents' Day are not considered paid holidays. Maybe I should demand a day off for Lunar/Chinese New Year or Tet-Vietnamese New Year. (I need to join the crowd using the race card or cry "racism" to get special treatment.) I wonder if I changed my name to Patricia O'Mara, would I get a day off on St. Patrick's Day? Not much going on at work due to the holidays. Besides I have made a promise not to talk/write about work or even mentioned the name of the head clown and his minions at the circus!
New York's famous landmark, Grand Central Station, looked so festive and beautiful with the lights shows and decorations.
There I stood, with my camera, taking photos like a typical tourist, in the middle of a sea of people rushing around at Grand Central Station. Trains arriving from Connecticut or Pennsylvania poured waves of bodies onto the platforms. These waves of bodies then crashing across the lobby, rushing towards the subway, emptied into various tracks, uptown Manhattan/the Bronx or downtown Manhattan/Brooklyn on #4, 5 or 6, to Flushing, Queens on #7 or to Times Square-42nd Street if you wish to get a seat when the train makes its last stop before turning around heading to Flushing. Looking at the Subway map, I just realized that I never took the S train which only runs back and forth from Grand Central Station to Times Square. My sister CH said she felt like Pacman in the video game whenever she gets off the subway, walking across the lobby to get outside the building then to her office. CH said she tried to time her steps, to the left, to the right, as not to be crushed alive by giant waves of passengers rushing from the trains to the subway. (How I wish I could protect my little sister who was born with muscular dystrophy from people who have no compassion towards those who are physical disadvantage. I am always proud of my sister because she never allowed any setback deterring her independence.) 
I have a lot of wonderful memories taking the trains to Connecticut and Pennsylvania with a group of foreign exchange students. The years were 1982-84. There were about 20 students in the group. Each American family would receive two or three students for the weekend. The students had the opportunity to practice their English and to meet "real" Americans, in additional to typical New Yorkers! I still keep in touch with two families I met back then.
Have you ever noticed the cameras outside the building where you work, shop or a government office you just happen to be walking by? The next time you are at the post office, look up and find out how many cameras there are. A local post office I visit regularly has seven cameras and it was only about 1,000 square feet. The above photo shows the two cameras outside the building where I work. I don't know exactly the purpose for these cameras. If a worker from one of the offices in the building was attacked as the person was leaving work, the parking lot was almost empty and it was dark, what would these cameras be good for? Was there someone who monitored the cameras and came out to help stop the attack? Are these cameras real or only to serve as warnings to deter the would-be vandals? Do the workers feel safer or just a false sense of security?
I have shopped at this Wal-Mart many times but I never noticed the sign (above) with the warning "Security Camera In Use". I could see why there is a need for camera in the parking lot in addition to those inside the store to catch shoplifters. The photo below shows a cart (left) that was damaged compared to the one on the right. I asked a worker who was collecting the carts from the corrals but he did not know what caused the damage. It could be that a snow removal operator accidently piled the heavy snow on top of the cart during the snow storm a few weeks ago. Perhaps it was a careless driver that ran into the cart. Or the damage was caused by a woman I saw earlier when she was about two steps from the corral, instead of gently pushing the carts inside the corral, she pushed the cart so hard that it almost fell over, barely gotten inside the corral. Two more steps and the woman would not make the efforts to put the cart inside the corral as a civilized person would have done.
I am sure you have witnessed rage in different forms, road rage, shopping rage, and so many other displays of rage from people who seem to be angry at the whole world. Like the time when I left enough space for two vehicles to merge over to my lane as I saw the traffic lights already turned red. The woman behind me blew her horn to let me know that she did not approve my action. Later, she sped up after moving to the other lane, then slow down enough for me to see the display of her "finger" and with her angry contorted face mouthing the F word! I wish she saw the smile on my face and heard what I said, "Peace be with you". 
I chose the above photo from Rockefeller Center because with the trumpet, the statue looked as if he/she announced the new year has arrived. Here are best wishes to all my adoring fans for a healthy and peaceful year that will be filled with love, happiness and prosperity.
We took the subway from Brooklyn and got off at Grand Central Station, then walked to the United Nations. There were performances called Light Shows during the holidays. I thought it was appropriate to show the famous clocks that most of the people would recognize as the trademarks of GCS. There were also art & craft booths as part of the holidays fair. We purchased two ornaments and was given a third one at no charge.
For a few years, 1982-1985, I was a member of Metro-International, a program providing orientation to international university students on living in New York City and learning about American cultures. I became a non-paid volunteer yet had all the authority as a staff person conducting meetings and helping the executive director with office matters. During a trip to Pennsylvania Dutch Country (Lanscater County ), we visited Hershey Park and had a great time there. Each student stayed with an American host family. Mr. & Mrs. GE, who were the Mennonites, was my host family. I went back and visited them a couple of times on my own. We still keep in touch and exchanged Christmas greetings, birthdays and anniversaries cards, to this day. (Compared to the Amish, the Mennonites are less conservative, have relaxed dress codes, are permitted to drive automobiles and the use of electricity. The GE family did not have television, only a small radio.)
If my husband had his wish, we would be among the million people standing around for more than 8 hours waiting for the countdown and lowering of the crystal ball as the New Year arrived. We tried getting a hotel room but could not afford the rate of $459 a night. I told my husband that I would not physically be able to stand around or even if sitting on a portable chair, to withhold my needs to use the restroom for more than a few hours. 
The photo above show Times Square and the crowd. Then we went up to the second floor in the M&M Store where I found a great corner to take photos of Times Square from up high, as shown below, with the traffic and again the bright lights. 
Saturday, July 7th, we were back on the road, driving back to St. Louis from Virginia. We started early in the morning around 6:30 a.m., merged onto I-64 towards West Virginia. After 5 hours, we stopped for lunch and it was my turn to drive as we were to stay on I-64 for about 6.5 hours. As mentioned in previous entries, I only handled the driving when we stayed on a straight road for a few hours with no worry of getting off and getting on to another interstates.
From West Virginia, we crossed into Kentucky, then into Indiana, then Illinois, and finally into Missouri at around 9:30 p.m. We set our watches back one hour to adjust to the time zone. After 8.5 days, 2,418.97 miles, crossing a total of 10 states and two borders, we were so glad to be home.
