NYC Welcome Corner

I love bookstores with their themed tables, display corners, and books with handwritten “recommended by staff” notes. I also enjoy well-curated tourist info booths, B&Bs, and coffee shops with guest books. When I started to organize things around the apt today, I thought it would be fun to construct my own welcome corner for visitors and friends. Detailed descriptions after the jump.

Family Time A-Z (Sandy/Athena ‘12 Edition)

Avatar
Beast amorphous
Coconut water
Darkness
Earth benders
Fun photos with “sparkle” filters
Games
Halloween chocolate sorting
Indian basmati rice
Juggling
Kit kats
Lights
Morning run
Nanowrimo
Outage, power
Ping pong
Questions and “Q” in scrabble
Red panda squishable
Scallion pancakes
Tbsp and tsp
Unimpressed
Volleyball
Walnut bread
Xtra scallion
Yeast
Zuko, Prince

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Written in the same vein as my previous A-Z entry [link], about 2 days after my family got power back after the combination of Hurricane Sandy/Storm Athena which changed people’s lives forever. The storms will be heavily documented in history books to come.

My friend Gail wrote about ten lessons she learned [link] on her blog, and I agree with all them. My A-Z list is not mean to trivialize the storm and aftermath in any way, despite the fact I wrote more about the positive stuff that I experienced. As a result of my family’s house losing power (my apt had also lost power for the same week), I went to live with a relative’s family for a week or more. For the first time, I got to hang out with my cousins D. and C. and found myself getting to know them better.  This entry is a tribute to our time together. Sure, the outage and storm and devastation will also be remembered, but I have to say I was quite thankful to have D. and C. around.

At first, I had wanted to post the scallion pancake recipe that aunt had taught us. I had documented the process in detail along with photos. D. and C. used the recipe I wrote down as basis for the pancake they made all by themselves a few days later. Decided against posting the recipe, but do enjoy the photos below!

Portland–City of Roses and Water

Without looking at my travel notes, I can narrow my Portland trip down to two major impressions: the best bookstore experience and the numerous fountains (both the drinking kind and the decorative kind).

After sorting through my notes, I realized I had forgotten about the informative city walking tour, the dazzling and overwhelming rose garden, as well as the Japanese garden, the Chinese garden, vibrant life in Pioneer Square, and more. There is a lot to Portland that cannot be photographed. I also spent good number of hours browsing the magazine rack at the famous Stumptown coffee.

By the way, I have never been to Portland before, and didn’t see Portlandia [tv series] until I went to Seattle right after my stay. I really didn’t have too many expectations (high or low) but did hear great things about the bookstore. Having experienced major sightseeing spots and downtown’s efficient public transit along with the best weather one can hope for, I came away with a very positive impression of the city.

Seattle– The first 24 hours

Seattle was the fourth leg of my west coast trip from August. My one-week stay last year [entry] was substantially longer and slower-paced than this quick two day stopover.

Cast of characters
me – Arrived by BoltBus and looking to wrap up my 10-day trip. What, we’re going hiking and a show?
E. – My gracious host who moved recently to a new apt with a view of the space needle. Attempting to complete his mountaineer program while entertaining me and J, who are both visiting from out of town.
S. – E.’s friend from college, visiting Seattle for the first time. Originally from NY and based in Chicago. Huge radio lab fan and avid traveller.

The Night Before
Sushi, sake, and funny Portlandia show

The Prep
Breakfast: E. made scrambled eggs with turkey, spinach, tomato, mushroom for all of us. Way to start out the adventures with a bang!Coffee pickup: Caffé Vita [http://www.caffevita.com/]
Lunch pickup: Bahn mi place that I can’t remember the name of. We got awesome sandwiches though.
Backpack contents: 2 jackets (one fleece, one windbreaker), water, blue Gatorade, chocolates, trail mix, Bahn mi sandwiches for lunch, camera, extra shirt, socks.

The Road Trip
Mt. Si is a few hours away so we spent time talking, listening to podcasts (mainly SYSK and Radio Lab I think?) and NPR. I don’t have a pic but we actually made a make-shift iphone speaker out of a camping cup. E. and S. would make for good road trip buddies.

The Ascent
Besides taking a few photo breaks here and there, I used most of the climb listening to our hiking footsteps (quite relaxing), chatting, and just letting my mind wander. The hike was tough but incredibly rewarding. I will let the photos speak for themselves:

Mt Si VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Best pizza outside of NY
During my previous visit in Seattle, E. introduced me to Verde Primo pizza from Pagliacci Pizza. I liked it so much, I actually requested to have it again. Here’s the description from their menu: Artichoke hearts, mushrooms, pesto, goat cheese, garlic and mozzarella on our seasoned tomato sauce. We also tried some Mac & Jack beers on tap from the place.

It’s (Radio) Show Time

Before the show I only knew Radio Lab as a cool podcast (I loved the Colors episode!). Props to S. for suggesting this awesome live show, especially as there probably was zero chance to ever even get near tickets in NY. The only unfortunate part was we were so exhausted from the hike, we ended up missing a portion of the show. Some highlights that would sound incomprehensive to people who haven’t seen it: space part near the end, lights in the audience, dancing eyeball people with eye patches. Go check out the live show if they are going to your town. Or if you don’t get a chance to, check out the podcast.

Stay tuned for the next 24 hours:
-Pike’s Place Market
-Coffee / Cafes
-Lowell’s
-Meeting J.
-Shopping

NYC A-Z (Summer '12 Edition)

Air conditioners
Bagels and bourbon
Cookies
Dark Knight Rises
Espresso from Financier
Five Guys
Good stuff diner
Hale and Hearty - Mac n cheese
Ice cream at Duane Reade
Juggling in Bryant Park
Korean dinner in Ktown
Lobster roll
Mets and the Met
Night skyline from Brooklyn Bridge
One percent
Potbelly's chicken salad
Queens by subway
Roosevelt Island
Staten Island Ferry
Trucks (of the food variety)
Umbrellas
Village
Walking Summer Streets
X - Lexington line (4/5/6)
Yes, we rock!
Zeytuna's

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About this entry:

I wrote the above on my iphone on the plane back from west coast while fighting insomnia (gotta love those late night rides from west to east). Most of the letters came to me quite easily, while others took a bit more time. I kept the original version although there had been multiple attempts to edit and replace letters/words. That’s when I realize I just need to post it. I wanted to put some photos from the summer along the way but most of the good shots have been posted in the previous entry [link here]. My other thought was to have links to all of the letters but that seemed too busy and cluttered. Even writing this paragraph is destroying the minimalistic entry I set out to do.

When I first came up with the A-Z project a year or so ago, I was inspired by children's’ books, especially ones that came with colorful pictures. How cool would it be to do my own NYC book with my own photos? The project was stuck in draft form when I agonized each letter and whether or not I would be able to take a photo of the associated objects. Would I have Mets (baseball) or the Met (museum) for the letter M? Do I do a tourist version and include major landmarks? Do I do a park version and focus on park and outdoor sightings? Are branded landmarks excluded (i.e. iconic cube Apple store?)

In any case, while my A-Z photobook project is still underway, I do like how the Summer ‘12 edition came out. It’s a time capsule of sorts, just waiting to be forgotten, uncovered, remembered, and treasured for summers to come.

San Diego–Bonus Chapter

San Diego was the first stop on my four-city West Coast Trip. While it was my first time visiting the city, I only did enough research to narrow down my “to-do-list” to Coronado Beach (Voted number one by Dr. Beach in 2012) and Fish Tacos (the hype lives up). My friend and travel companion E. recommended the San Diego Zoo (one of the world’s best, didn’t you know?). I liked the fact that the Zoo was inside Balboa Park, another popular sight mentioned by various San Diego guides.

Outside of the main three attractions, I considered all the other stuff we saw along the way extra bonuses. This entry is all about those bonuses, and also a celebration of taking “side-trips”, “detours”, and “spontaneous adventures” before heading back to the main road and final destination.

Tribute to Classic Baseball Stadiums

Petco Baseball Stadium was one of these bonus side-trips. We were heading towards Coronado Ferry/Coronado Beach and decided to stop by the the stadium for some photos. Once we got there, we find out the stadium tour had just started so we ran halfway around the stadium to catch up with leader. Last year I took E. to AT&T Park in San Francisco (2011 blog writeup) and had a fun time. Could this be the start of a new travel tradition? (note to self, start a separate entry listing all the baseball stadiums/tours/etc).

Out of the many stadium photos that I took, this is the only one that features the western metal supply building.

The old building kept most of its original structure and columns on the inside. I loved walking inside it and running my hands along the brick/wood structures. Keeping this one old building to build a stadium around it… what an idea.

One word of caution for SF Giants fans and NY Mets fans (myself included) who love their stadiums: Petco stadium doesn’t try to look too grand or luxurious. The “canyon” feel of the stadium as well as its many tributes to classic stadiums (Wrigley, Old Yankee Stadium, Camden Yards, Fenway, etc) make it understated yet very special. The paintings of famous players found in the VIP section are unique and lovely and provide a decidedly different feel than classic ball game photos that are featured more prominently in other areas of the stadium. Another nice touch for the fans is the slanting of the stadium seats on the sides towards the home plate, without straining your head. Regular stadium seats that are on the side simply direct attention to what is in front of you whereas everyone is inclined to sit facing pitcher’s mount/ home plate.

The Harbor had a few boats

Architecture around Balboa Park

Wishing well and nearby fountain

Santa Barbara Station - The most postcard-perfect tree

More to come:

• San Diego main entry (Beach, fish tacos, and giant pandas!)
• San Francisco (Where we caught the mist over Golden Gate Bridge)
• Portland (Where I spent way more time than is healthy at Powell’s and went to three gardens)
• Seattle (Where I hiked Mt. Si, saw Radio Lab, and chilled out in Pike Place Market for an entire day)
• Trip notes as recorded and organized in tiny memo pad, with more virtual links
• and of course… tons of photos

Summer in NYC

Assorted shout out and photos for H., T., and the lovely S. Cheers for good times and beautiful new found friendships.

Cheering on the Mets at Citifield
Take the 7 to Mets-Willets Point.
First Mets game for T. and S. The Mets may have lost 13-0 but the experience  of the beautiful stadium and lobster roll outweighed all of that.

Chilling with Comfort Food at Wonjo
23 W 32nd St. New York
http://newwonjo.com/
After a night of happy hour specials, I had the idea to get some good hearty food. While I’ve been to Wonjo for Korean BBQ a million times, I stayed from that this time. Cold noodles in beef broth was just the right dish for hot summer nights. I probably should have ordered the regular bibim bop instead of the cold veggie version (which was more like a salad with rice…) Made the right call to order a small seafood pancake for a group of four, just enough food to get people interested but not so much to get all greased out from them. We also ordered the tofu… (I still prefer BCD tofu house but found out they moved recently).

Waving to Statue of Liberty from Staten Island Ferry
White Hall Terminal
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/ferrybus/statfery.shtml

Midtown Night from Brooklyn Bridge
Look for the benches near the middle and enjoy the skyline and the cool evening breeze. There’s nothing quite like crossing the bridge at night. It’s a completely different experience from the day.

Walking together on Summer Streets
This is a NYC city sponsored event where an entire stretch of the city becomes car-free, and the streets are clear for biking, roller-blading, and walking. My two favorite sections of the entire walk were the roadway leading up to Grand Central and the entire downtown section (below Astor or thereabouts). First Saturday I took the entire route from City Hall to 72nd (around 2.5h). Second Saturday I went with T., H., and S. and we had a blast walking south from 51st to 23rd or so. We also tagged on other activities along the way.

 

Eating Brunch at Spoon
17 West 20th street (between 5th and 6th avenues)
http://www.spoonnyc.com/
Three of us ordered the Hungry Man Special, which consisted of two sunny side up eggs, blueberry pancakes with the best syrup ever, toast, bacon and shitake hash browns (the best!). While I didn’t realize this at the time, Spoon is actually my first proper Manhattan brunch after I moved into the city. I guess this is what people call one of the essential city experiences, hanging out with good friends and catching up over good food. I liked it even better since I didn’t have to wait in a long line or anything.

Browsing Books at the Strand and the B&N
Strand 12th Street and Broadway.
http://www.strandbooks.com/index.cfm
B&N Straight on Union SQ north side
http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2675/

Lounging at Ginger Man
11 East 36th Street
http://www.gingerman-ny.com/
Every bar should have comfortable couches in dim-lit corners and 60+ beers on tap. Feel so incredibly spoiled! Before you order any bottled beers, read this wise quote we found at the entrance:



Walking up the steps of NY Public Library at Bryant Park

Taking a break with Ginger and S’Mores Gelato from Ciao Bella in GCT

Admiring the Cloud City exhibit of the Metropolitan Museum
http://www.metmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/listings/2012/tomas-saraceno

Obviously the complete Met experience also included American Wing, Egypt Temple, the Knights and Armor Room, Chinese Garden, and even sitting on the front steps. Pleasantly surprised that T. liked this museum as much as I do.

Just an appetizer from Ooki Sushi
1575 3rd Ave. New York NY 10128  ( between 88th - 89th Street )
http://www.ooki-sushi.com
I can definitely recommend the tuna tataki here (next time will try toro) and it impressed both people in the table next to us (awesome!)

30 Days of Queens: Day Five – Barone Pizza

Everyone loves New York thin crust pizza. My neighborhood pizza joint (in Flushing on Main Street of all places) is right under the LIRR bridge. Come to think of it, my favorite scallion pancake place (should be a dedicated post all together) is also under the bridge on the other side of the street.

My regular order is a slice of mushroom pizza with a shake of pepper flakes and a bottle of Snapple. I keep on meaning to try the other items like chicken rolls (J’s favorite) or ziti but always fail to make the leap.

In the summer, Barone Pizza opens up an Italian ice stand that probably offers the best tasting and best priced sweets on the street. Very frequently on a hot day, I would literately walk by, pick up an ice, and eat it on the way home. By the time I get to my apt, the ice would be gone and I would have been much cooler.

Will have to be on the look out for the new neighborhood pizza place…

30 Days of Queens: Day Four – RenRen Restaurant

When people get “take out” in Flushing, it’s not quite the same as regular take out. As an example, one of my favorite take out places is Ren Ren Restaurant on Main St, next to the library and a liquor store. The English title is No.1 East Restaurant, ambitious title much?

41-27 Main St
Flushing, NY 11369
http://www.yelp.com/biz/no-1-east-flushing

They always have takeout combos available for 5-6 dollars and it comes with main entrée (usually meat), veggies, pickled veggies, fried egg, rice, and soup. The style if Shanghainese, so if you don’t like that style (typically good seafood and saucy meats, meat tend to be cooked in sweet sauce), don’t even bother. I had spent a summer in Shanghai and crave sweet and savory from time to time. Good thing I don’t always have to go to a fancy sit-down to get the food.

My favorites, in order of frequency:

• meatball - 狮子头. If you haven’t had Chinese meatball yet, you’ll enjoy this.
• fatty pork - 东坡肉. Dong Po Pork is literately pork belly braised…if you don’t put enough sweetness into this, the dish is ruined. of course, trying to explain to my entire family who don’t like/appreciate Shanghainese food is sometimes not worth the fight. So I just order it for myself to my heart’s content.
• ribs -无锡排骨. Not sure I haven’t ordered this more often. I just had it today and loved it. I think I was always worried they were going to ruin the sauce with some vinegary stuff (which is another style of ribs)

The restaurant also offers a good sit-down meals there since they have a nice set of fancy tables/chairs ready. The place always has enough business to fill on weekends but not crazy enough that you’d need to wait in line or anything. Most places in Flushing get so hectic and waiting staff try to hurry people along.

According to Yelp the place is also great for breakfast. I suppose I will have to come back and see next time.

30 Days of Queens: Day Three – Payag

I attempted two Meet Up outings in one day. First was the origami group [previous entry], second one was a foodie get together in Queens Filipino restaurant Payag.

Didn’t get a chance to take photos because I was too busy eating and chatting with all the cool new people. Funny that after all these years of living in Queens, I’ve never been to the 52nd St. Stop. The area actually looks nice, with a park and the restaurant etc. I’m going to miss all the ethnic foods in Queens (after all, they say the best international/diversity is around Queens).

Payag
51-34 Roosevelt Ave
Woodside, NY 11377
http://www.yelp.com/biz/payag-woodside

The best dish was Kare-Kare, a curry peanut beef stew. If you go with a small group I recommend getting this and maybe a vegetable dish. The cheesy mussels were also tasty to get as appetizers. The menu is really extensive so I think everyone can find something they like. I can’t seem to find the menu online so I suppose I’ll have to use yelp as reference.

I ordered a squid dish cooked in squid ink that tasted great but looked a bit scary. In the past I’ve had squid ink dishes from Spanish restaurants before, but don’t remember it being this dark! The other dish I ordered was a vegetable medley, including bitter melon, okra, eggplant, and bell papers. I couldn’t get enough of it. Other dishes we tried were pork and crepe with minced meat. The pork was on a sizzling plate and very spiced up and flavorful. Everything goes amazing with rice.

I didn’t order any fancy drinks but they do have an impressive drink list. I like how their regular tap water has lemon and cucumber slices in them. I do that with my own water at home sometimes to add additional flavor.

Last but not least, awesome service must be noted for everyone who wants to try the place. Our waiter was attentive and gave a brief explanation of all the background/overview of the dishes and even travel trips for Philippines.

30 Days of Queens: Day Two – Kane’s

Brunch is a big deal in Manhattan. We’ve all heard and witnessed the long lines, the hype, the overpriced lox omelets, the underwhelming fresh juices or mimosas. How about brunch in Flushing? The only line I’ve seen for brunch are for dim-sum joints and soup dumplings. I don’t like to participate in either hype and I hate how loud those places are (I don’t know about you, but when I’m groggy in the morning, I like to sip my coffee and not deal with screaming people). As such I only reserve dim-sum for 10am (early bird) when family is visiting. and I go to the soup dumpling places for dinner on a week day so I don’t have to get with the crowd.

For a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning, and by morning I actually mean between 10:30am-1pm, I go to Kane’s for brunch. My philosophy around brunch is that I shouldn’t have to take 30min getting there and that I shouldn’t have to wait for more than a few minutes getting a seat. The breakfast food shouldn’t suck (if a place can’t do eggs they really should just close down) and the menu shouldn’t cost more than a normal dinner. Kane’s meets my brunch philosophy perfectly and even offers me a booth when I only have party of two. Try that anywhere else and they’ll tell you they only give booths to four or more…

Photo courtesy of a Yelper (placeholder until I take my own photo):

At Kane’s I always start with a pot of coffee, whether I need it or not. Then I take about ten minutes (this drives my companions bananas) to leaf through the colorful laminated menu made out of magazine cutout of celebrities. When I came to Flushing I could swear the menu was more scandalous. The current and newer version is much more tame. Anyhow, in between the celebrity pictures, you’ll find plenty of food options.

In no particular order, various recommendations:

• sunny side up eggs
• garden omelet
• spinach feta omelet
• French toast (their version is superb)
• breakfast sampler
• morning kiss breakfast combo
• bacon (it should be part of most combos, skip the sausage)

Other things I like about the place are the photographs on the walls and the funny looking lights. There also used to be a nude statue holding take-out menus at the entrance which may or may have been removed.

Kane’s, thanks for for all those weekends when I’m too lazy to cook or have visitors from out of town. In my search for my new neighborhood diner, I hope to find a place that has a healthy combo of cozy atmosphere and tasty eats. Maybe I will come back for some French toast when I come for a afternoon Mets game in the future.

30 Days of Queens: Day One–Unisphere

I’m moving out of Queens in July. In the last 30 days I will try to hit places that I haven’t been to. As a tribute to my time here, on days when I don’t explore a new place, I will write an entry on a frequent hangout.

Ideas below:

Unisphere, Queens Museum of Art, Citifield, Library, Botanical Gardens, various food places, Meadow Lake, various supermarkets, various bakeries, etc.

I first heard about unisphere from the movie Men In Black. I haven’t seen the movie since I moved to Queens but probably should see it again, just to compare notes. If you remember the scene where Will Smith and co are battling aliens who are trying to fly away in flying sauces, you’ll recognize the above. At the time I had no idea where the scene was, so when I moved to Flushing, it was quite nice to see the unisphere from the subway and plan a trip to there.

The flying saucers themselves are not that interesting since the structures are quite old and there doesn’t seem to be much going on. On a sunny spring day, the unisphere is surrounded by cherry blossoms and can make for a nice photo op for tourists (although there are few… who wants to trek all the way to Flushing just for this?) You will also find plenty of skateboarders using the area under the unisphere as a place to practice.

The different placards around the unisphere explain the world fair history. It’s kind of strange to read about the grand exhibitions when most of the structures have been torn down. I suppose the good news is that at least the area had been converted into green space and public park for all to use.

For more reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964_New_York_World's_Fair
http://www.westland.net/ny64fair/
http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/fmcp

Mangosteen, rocks, and trying new things

Who doesn’t enjoy catching up with friends? The distance and time apart means they have had a chance to learn things from different circle of friends and environment. When we meet again, we always have something new and interesting to share. When E. came into town, I was introduced to so many new things it made me wonder how often these knowledge sharing sessions happen and whether we all need to take up travelling around the world so all of our friends benefit from our knowledge.

It started out with fried mantou (Chinese pastry) with condensed milk [link with a pic here]. Both items are familiar to me but the combo wasn’t. If you’re curious about this item, take a look at Sunway’s menu next time you’re in Flushing [link to yelp]. I also recommend pairing vanilla ice cream with hong kong style coffee tea. Take spoonful of the coffee and pour it onto the ice cream. Awesome.

Along with all the sweets, E. told me wonderful stories of his rock-climbing experiences. His tales opened me to a new world of adventures out there, although it didn’t prompt me to take action. This must be one of these things that people enjoy hearing and observing, but never participating, such as parachuting and eating weird things.

At work on the same day, a colleague of mine shared a few words of wisdom from a leadership conference. The key message was to raise daughters with confidence and allowing them to take risks in order to set them up for future success as leaders. While I originally declined the invitation to go rock climbing (too far, I’m too tired, I don’t know how to do it, etc, etc), I realized that I really ought to use this as an opportunity to explore something new and to challenge myself (fyi I have no upper body strength and not sure if I ever managed to do even one pull-up in my life.

I convinced myself to show up at Brooklyn Boulder after work and tried out both bouldering (no harness) and top roping (with harness and robes and a very high course). The key to this activity is keeping my arms/fingers active and using my legs to pull myself up. Physically preparing myself is difficult, mentally I also have to be persistent and to have good amount of will-power and patience. At first I could not finish a course due to muscle exhaustion and my inability to follow the colored stickers/leads. Eventually toward the end of our session, I told myself there is no giving up and that I’m going to finish the course. Apparently this mental pep-talk did the job and I even began to enjoy the challenge. Will my success lead me to future courses/practice sessions? probably. Will it inspire me to climb actual rocks? I’m not sure I’m that hardcore yet. 

After rock climbing, we ended up getting a slice of NY pizza and saying hello to E.’s grandmother, who is in her 80s and in great health. I liked chatting with people who are wiser and more experienced with life. I also tried a mangosteen for the first time, which has a sour and sweet taste that is not quite like anything else. E. said he got it out of nostalgia for southeast Asia.

Another friend of mine said the same thing about dragonfruit. It’s interesting how food leaves lasting impressions like nothing else.

I also learned there are people out there who eat baozi (steamed buns) with sauce just like I would with dumplings. Call me conservative or very particular, I just know what I like.

After giving E. some of my own recommendations for Sasquatch festival, I realize at least in the realm of music, I am still quite active with new bands and new sounds. I hope to continue learning and trying new things in the journey ahead.

$1 Daydream (on the $168 Million Jackpot)

These days everyone is dreaming of winning the Mega Million Jackpot. Tough economy, loans, mortgages, increasing cost of living, healthcare and tuition, and many other factors explain the long lines outside the stores that sell lottery tickets, especially on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. We all know the odds are extremely low (damn those statisticians for ruining all our fun). So why do we do it? Recently my wise uncle said to us that the utility of the lottery ticket is not in the prize winnings alone. The real fun is that for as little as $1, you can fantasize about all the things you can do when you win. Think about it, can anything else worth $1 or less buy you an fantastic opportunity to dream? A small coffee? A small pack of gum? A toy ring out of a vending machine? It apparently only takes $1 to motivate me to write a new blog entry, and I’m feeling quite inspired. What a great investment! I have only until drawing time tonight, so here I go. In a way, this daydream and writing exercise near the end of the year can be a good tool for setting my goals for the new year. As it happens, we all know what we want when we have a lot of money. We just don’t realize that we can already accomplish many of those things without winning the $164million jackpot. It’s all about figuring out how we can put our time and energies into these hopes and dreams.

What is my method for picking lottery numbers? I used to write in numbers on those sheets (mostly using birthdays, days of significance, fortune cookie slip, etc). Recently though, I only do random numbers (picked by the all mighty computer) and only put a dollar on a ticket if the jackpot is over $100m (but not every time the jackpot is over $100m). I figure, random is just as good as any of my guess and the process is so much easier. It’s hard coming up with numbers all by yourself! I can’t stand using the same numbers either. And hey, all it takes is one dollar to win, I’m not putting more money down on the line. As an economist, I know that utility value is different for everyone. In my case, $1 is enough to satisfy my lottery dreams. If I had put on $5, I might as well use that $5 for a tasty beef soup noodle for dinner. and yes, before you ask, I do sometimes measure money in food form. and $168 million is a lot of beef soup noodles. haha.

Since my team at work specializes in contingency planning, I try to apply a little bit of work into this lottery dream plan. In discussion of the lottery with my coworkers, I noted that by dreaming out loud and talking about what we will do, and maybe even writing down a basic plan, we are planning for ourselves. Who knows what factors will sway us once we have those winnings? Crazy stories (and some quite tragic) had come to many previous jackpot winners. We may be calm and smart now (yes, first finish payment on house, then loans, then…), but if we win, that hot car, boat, mansion, and gadgets we don’t need and cannot afford will also seem much more tempting and distracting.

This is in no way a legal document, but for entertainment purposes only. I suppose I may put a little bit more thought into the real numbers and breakdowns if I win.

Jackpot on Dec 24, 2010 – Total $168 million. Distribution breakdown:

1. Taxes – $84m. I know it’s less than half of the total but I’m just making my math simple here. And hey, taxes fund scholarships and stuff so it’s a good thing.
2. My parents – $10m. This will help finish payment for the house. I also hope this will be repayment for my expensive but prestigious tuitions. My parents seriously deserve a vacation, if not world tour, then definitely a spa or resort hotel with amazing food.
3. My close relatives (uncles, aunts, cousins) – $10m. They’ve been supportive throughout my upbringing. My uncles and aunts treated me like a daughter and my cousins are the siblings I never had. They are all very successful to begin with but I’m sure they can put the money to good use, especially the young ones starting their career and possibly starting families in the near future.
4. Charities – $10m. At a recent book event I went to, the panelists discussed alternative ways to celebrate the holidays without excessive gifts. After all, what do we really lack? We have food, clothes, shelter, jobs, education, and good health. Do we really need another gadget or designer handbag or toy? There are many people out there who do not have the basics like food and water. Isn’t it much better to help them out and donate to charities and organizations that are doing good in the world? This holiday season I’ve looked up a few of those organizations. Amnesty International is a huge one for human rights activists. I’m also interested in various health/research orgs. I have started donating and will likely continue in small amounts even without winning the lottery, but I think if I had more money I would definitely do more to help. Human rights, education, health, arts, and wild life are some types of organizations that come to mind.
5. Schools – $5m. This includes my high school, college, and graduate school. I think mostly my high school and college because they did more to shape who I am. My graduate school has a decent endowment and I had only spent a year there, so the bond is not quite that strong. I would probably just start scholarships, unless there are green campus initiatives. I’m not sure how much a building name costs, I’d rather buy a brick or dedicate a tree or something on the side for the future generations.
6. Remainder – $49m…Wow, didn’t realize I still had so much left over after all that stuff above! Not going to itemize the rest but will provide a wish list in no particular order.

• Travelling: A Europe trip with T. A Europe trip with TB. A China reunion trip with S. and W., A Brazil and Japan trip with J. Maybe throw in a cross-USA trip (via car or train) in there with a bunch of friends.
• Personal: I actually don’t know what I really need. Basic necessities are taken care of, and I’m not particularly obsessed with hot cars (except for the Porsche Boxster Spyder, which has an awesome catalogue for ipad, go check it…). I wouldn’t mind a boat but really…how long can a person stay on a boat? I’ve done a short cruise and that was already too much.
• Housing: I suppose an apartment in NYC and an apartment in Shanghai would be nice. Best of both worlds. The only problem is lack of storage space, which would be a hamper to my lofty goal of starting a personal library. I’m going to start a NYC book collection and do one room of that theme (black, white and gray only). New Yorker Posters. Minimalist furniture. Beautiful photo coffee books. Various NY themed decorative items, snow globes, statues, legos, building miniatures, museum postcards. In fact, I already have one snow globe and one NY book (500 buildings) to start my collection.
• Education/Self-Improvement: I would actually go back to school as weird as that may sound. While I enjoyed my undergraduate studies as well as more in depth training in my masters program, I am always learning and reading more outside of work. I would like to get back to the investigative/intellectually challenging environment again. Maybe more science and languages this time around, since I have had plenty of English/history/political science etc in my past. Granted, even without a ton of money, I plan to read up on subjects that I’m interested in, so that I may gain an understanding into them. I just think reading alone may not be enough though. I need more discussions and writing and thinking. I need to find more people with common interests and time!

Well, I come away from this entry with some better goals and long term plans. Hopefully I’ll share the good news soon, if not a jackpot winner, I will write about how I’ve worked towards my dreams and goals. What are your plans and goals and lottery dreams? Leave it in the comments and check back next year!

Statue of Liberty

I finally made it to Statue of Liberty despite living and working rather close to it. Most locals have taken visiting friends and relatives to the famous Liberty Island, but apparently I haven't hosted enough tourists.

I can't even remember how I found out about the special night event. Probably from a newspaper. Basically, the Statue Cruises company had two special nights in September where they had boats going to Liberty Island for special night tours. I was surprised the tickets were not sold out when I looked on the website a week prior. I bought a pair tickets for J. and me.

The directions said we needed to go through airport security level of checks before boarding the boat, so we arrived at the entrance in Battery Park quite early. The sun was about to set and without sunglasses I was practically blinded by the light. Our tickets got marked off and we were directed to place our belongings in plastic containers that went through the x-ray machines. Luckily, we didn't have to take our shoes off. The whole process took a few minutes and we boarded the boat smoothly.

Once we got on the boat we climbed to the top level, which is the best place to grab photos and to take in the scenary. We got comfortable on the benches and were soon surrounded by people taking photos. I had some trouble getting a clear shot of the skyscrapers behind us. Once we got near the statue (face-on), everyone went crazy for photos. The sun was setting so the photos came out quite well with those pretty clouds.

Upon arrival, we headed straight to the cafe. The meal options were quite good compared to many tourist spots I've visited. Our tickets came with a meal voucher so we could have one entree and one drink. Passing the sodas, I saw a row of specially marked Statue of Liberty bottles. On the inside of the bottle there is a colored print of the statue which is magnified by the water. I decided to get it for drinking and as a souvenior.

I don't know about the capacity of the cafe seating during the day when the crowd is larger. For the evening, we were able to grab a nice table near a tree outside, with a view of the sunset and the Verrazano Bridge. The most romantic spot to eat a bacon cheeseburger and fries, ever!

After food, we walked around the island to the Statue of Liberty. I always thought it'd be bigger than it actually is. Maybe because I always see it from airplanes and tall buildings and afar. The torch and crown are the most impressive parts because they are so bright up close. The hand holding the book looks bigger than it should be. Granted, I guess the woman who was modeling it must have been really buff. You have to look closely at the arm holding the torch next time you're there. With so many floodlights, it's no surprise that the statue is visible from miles away. To get a night photo is difficult, I basically had to stand near the floorlights and get my photo taken.

Lights of midtown, the Empire State Building, and the long Verrazano Bridge are all visible from Liberty Island. If you toss a couple of quarters in the binoculars machine you can take a closer look at them. The wind blasting across the island made it pretty chilly to walk around. I can only imagine how cold people are during the winter when they visit the statue.

In the clearing, NPS had set up a screen where they were showing excerpts from Ken Burns's National Parks documentary. If you have ridden the subways, you have probably seen huge ads for this program. J. and I are both fans of his, although I didn't know Ken Burns until he spoke at my graduation and J. had known Ken Burns through PBS documentaries a long time ago. We both love to watch his stuff and point out the spots where he pans and zooms in on a still-photo. On the particularly night where we went to Statue of Liberty, we braved the wind and watched clips of the national park and interviews with park rangers. I bought two cups of hot cocoa when it got too chilly. They worked well as hand warmers too! I hope I get to go visit more national parks in the future.

On a sidenote, my birthday cake this year was one of the best ever, even though I ate it a day later after having dinner out with family. The cake was a custom order from Gabriel's Fountain, a restaurant that also made home-made ice cream. It was a two layer ice cream cake with fudge in between. Top layer was vanilla oreo and bottom was chocolate peanut butter swirl. They topped the cake with oreo bits and wrote the birthday message in light blue. I wish I had ordered a bigger cake because it was so delicious! If you're a fan of ice cream cake, you should call your local ice cream place and customize your next cake with your favorite flavors. It may be a bit more expensive than the regular ready-made ones you can pick up, but it's totally worth it.