New Year’s Eve Destroyed

My New Year hopes were crushed by a falling Big Apple. With Jeff taking a small detour to visit his roommate, it was only me in a neighborhood (Jamaica/Queens) that is so different from Manhattan. It was all Blacks everywhere and I only saw 2 Caucasians in the whole area.

Any courtesy that you might think of Americans is non-existent here, as crowds push and cars honk gleefully. No one speaks with an American accent here, and they even have trouble understanding my fake American accent. It would seem that many of the people who live here belong to the lower middle class and are either first or second generation immigrants. I took 3 hours to find my way to the hotel; the only saving grace being it’s still comfortable and amenities like wireless internet is available.

So here I am, in the fringe of NYC, on New Year’s Eve with no one to talk to. NYC is really huge and I’m feeling out of place in this foreign section of the city. My MSN is down, so please log on to AIM or Skype if you have an account! I had hoped to have an explosive New Year party in Times Square this year, but because of the rain and distance, I’ll have to postpone it till at least a year later.

I sincerely pray that tomorrow will be a brighter day for me.

Update: Jan 1st, 2006, 00:01 a.m.

Happy New Year to all! I hope and pray that 2006 will be lovelier, richer and more fulfilling year for everyone! Here’s starting the new year with a few new resolutions. . .

1. Be at a big New Year’s Eve party in 1 year’s time
2. Maximum experience for the next 2 school terms in UMich
3.

New Year’s Eve Destroyed

My New Year hopes were crushed by a falling Big Apple. With Jeff taking a small detour to visit his roommate, it was only me in a neighborhood (Jamaica/Queens) that is so different from Manhattan. It was all Blacks everywhere and I only saw 2 Caucasians in the whole area.

Any courtesy that you might think of Americans is non-existent here, as crowds push and cars honk gleefully. No one speaks with an American accent here, and they even have trouble understanding my fake American accent. It would seem that many of the people who live here belong to the lower middle class and are either first or second generation immigrants. I took 3 hours to find my way to the hotel; the only saving grace being it’s still comfortable and amenities like wireless internet is available.

So here I am, in the fringe of NYC, on New Year’s Eve with no one to talk to. NYC is really huge and I’m feeling out of place in this foreign section of the city. My MSN is down, so please log on to AIM or Skype if you have an account! I had hoped to have an explosive New Year party in Times Square this year, but because of the rain and distance, I’ll have to postpone it till at least a year later.

I sincerely pray that tomorrow will be a brighter day for me.

Update: Jan 1st, 2006, 00:01 a.m.

Happy New Year to all! I hope and pray that 2006 will be lovelier, richer and more fulfilling year for everyone! Here’s starting the new year with a few new resolutions. . .

1. Be at a big New Year’s Eve party in 1 year’s time
2. Maximum experience for the next 2 school terms in UMich
3.

Washington DC

I wonder if Washington DC made the capital, or if being the capital made Washington DC the way it is today. In truth, it’s probably both. DC does not belong to any state, and has some of the world’s best museums because as a capital, it caters for the nation’s best only.

In one day, you can get lost in one of the numerous Smithsonian museums and not be able to cover everything in it. We only had time to go to the Museum of Natural History and the National Air and Space Museum, and even so I know there were whole catacombs yet to be explored.

Today was the last day in DC, and we visited the Capitol Building, the War Memorials, the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, and the White House; this city definitely needs a second visit in the future. As one gazes in awe and stupor at the sheer majesty of these structures and the experiences and lessons that came with them, that person will question his or her existence and wonder: Where is it all leading to?

Washington DC, as the capital, helps build pride and national esteem in the millions of Americans who visit it. It helps them, as well as anyone else who visits, remember of times past and the struggles that people of those generation went through. And with that, strive for a better future.

King Kong Kaput

nice lights. . . spoiled the movie

We had to stop by Chicago again today – on our way to Washington DC – so we figured we could catch King King since we had more than enough time to spare

So we got to the first ten minutes of the show, when the character played by Jack Black was trying to sell his film idea to the producers:

PRODUCER: Will there be boobies?

JACK BLACK, confused: Boobies?

The movie cuts, the screen is black and the lights in the cinema come on.

MEMBER OF AUDIENCE, :after a pause: Guess there won’t be any boobies. . .

I hope that made you laugh, cause it certainly made me! What actually happened was a small fire broke out in the first floor of the cinema (we were in the upper floors), so needless to say we evacuated. After much hassle, we also got our money back. Looks like King Kong doesn’t want us to discover his nice cozy island right now.

The nights on the train have been tough on my sleep, especially when some Americans insist on chatting with people who don’t want to. It’s not good to fall sick when on holiday. It’s not full blown at the moment, so I’m trying to suppress it by not exerting myself. But tonight’s gonna be an even longer night on the train seat so I dunno what’s it gonna be like tomorrow.

I Am. . . The Dream

One of the great attractions of Memphis is the Civil Rights Museum, which is housed exactly at the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. was assasinated. In case you’re a armpit scratching monkey who doesn’t care about civil rights, MLK Jr. was a very prominent figure in the pushing for indiscriminate voting rights in 1965. Undoubtedly he became a martyr with his death in 1968.

So in it you get to learn about the abolition of slavery in the 19th century, leading to the ability to vote no matter the skin color, and current problems that society faces today. At first, I presumed it was going to be a short visit since it was a small building, but as we got absorbed into all the information, we lasted 2 hours there, interrupted only by our need to get lunch and head to our next destination.

I definitely had fun in Memphis; it has the lure of southern food, live blues, shady districts and influential American history.

The Chronicles Of Narnia

Jackie Chan, Ewan McGregor, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy. . . and me

Being stuck in Chicago meant we had an extra half day to kill before our new train ride to St Louis. Because I’ve been so cinematically deprived for the past 4 months, we decided to take this opportunity to catch one of the more hyped up movies this holiday season.

King Kong would be too long, so we settled for the The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I really liked it a lot. Although I’ve never read the books, the movie captured the magic of a children’s story book perfectly. You could feel the wonder when the children discovered Narnia, and for that time you were transported to your infant years when imagination made anything possible.

One aspect that I prefered in Chronicles compared to Lord of the Rings was that they used more mythical and real world animals/creatures. While I don’t know how accurate the movie is to the original literature, I do hope that more Chronicle movies will be made in the future.

Room 303

Stuck in Chicago. . .

Stupid, stupid, stupid; we have been visited by the Ghost of Christmas Disaster. Me and Jeff were stuck in Chicago for one night when we missed our original train to St. Louis. Although I’m now looking at the front of the Gateway Arch as I’m typing this, we had to push back the schedule by one day. In short: time and money wasted.

Then, the newly arranged train ride to St Louis was prolonged because of some malfunction of the track signals; we ended up arriving 3 hours late. The Americans who sat beside me became all worrisome and heeby-jeeby, showering their Moms with whine after whine. The delay was unfortunate, yes, but these people can get jittery so easily.

I wonder what other calamities await. . .

Shadow Of The Future

If only I were in the driver’s seat

I got the chance to sit in Thomas‘ new car today – a 3.0 liter Jaguar – of which I do not know the exact model. I only know it’s a beautiful car and even though it’s not quite my taste, I can guess it’s quite expensive.

I don’t think I’ll ever get to own such a highly desirable and costly car, because I simple don’t think I’ll be earning a lot of money. While the business people go about finding their gold mines, I would rather follow my heart, where my dreams live. Of course, these things can go together, but if I had to choose one, I would definitely want to live my dreams.

Which is why I’m very grateful to my parents, the ones who sacrifice so much to help me achieve that goal, as well as paying for stuff that I like to get even though it may not be something that I need. I pray that one day I will achieve enough to make them proud.

Expended Ammo

Prime evidence. . .

Ah, college life. I was at a friend’s room to help pack some stuff (I shall not reveal his identity to embarrass him!), and as I looked at the catacomb that is under the bed and beside the wall, I found a piece of rotting plastic, no doubt with decomposing biological substances inside!

My friend sleeps on the lower part of a double-deck bed, and according to him, his roommate threw the condom down (intentional or not, I don’t know) by the side of the bed, and there it has stayed since, laying eggs I’ll bet.

Sex can be nakedly casual over here, so try and imagine the bed frame rocking above you while you try to get to sleep. Imagine the shock when you see, out of the corner of your eye, something translucent white falling to the side and to the depths beyond.

Actually I find it pretty funny. Hah.

Ideas Are Bulletproof

“Remember, remember, the 5th of November”

Having read comics for close to 9 years, one of my most well-loved graphic novels is V For Vendetta by accomplished writer Alan Moore (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was written by him). And like a lot of other comic franchises in recent years, V is going to be released as a movie in the first quarter of 2006.

If you like the genre of a morally deteriorating society where ideas are suppressed, then you should watch V, or read the graphic novel. I gave mine away to a friend, but I’m gonna get another copy soon! It’s one of the movies I’m looking forward to next year. By the way, it’s gonna be rated R, so if you’re not legal, don’t be evil.