Aisha and I were in LA this past weekend. Lots of things to do and reflect on in that short time span.
The main reason we were there was to attend my sister's college graduation. I'm so proud of her. Aisha mentioned I should be very proud of my parents and what they have accomplished. They are immigrants who helped all three of their children graduate from college. Being Chinese, I always thought this was to be expected, but Aisha let me know that this is not commonplace.
The ceremony at Cal Poly Pomona was wonderfully small and intimate. I got to meet some of my sister's college friends at a bbq the previous day which was hosted by one of her professors. It was definitely the opposite of my rather impersonal years as a student at Berkeley.
Since we were in LA, Aisha and I went scouting for a location for our wedding. I am amazed to say we have found and secured not just the site for our banquet and reception, but also one for the ceremony itself. AMAZING! It took all of one day to find the perfect spots. I won't spoil it for anyone, but the wedding will be in Pasadena and it will be absolutely amazing. I'm excited just thinking about it.
We were able to have lunch with Akie the next day. She's started her own interior design company and is doing very well. She's got a wonderful new beau and a new apartment that I missed the chance to see this time around. Akie has graciously agreed to help design the two spaces we've rented for the wedding. Can't wait!
I also celebrated my 30th birthday. I usually don't think much about birthdays, but I found myself dreading the big Three O. It is about getting older. I know I'm still a stud, but time does march on. My siblings gave me what I think is a wonderfully ironic gift: a portable Nintendo game system. What's the perfect gift for the old guy? Why, a toy aimed at elementary school kids of course. I LOVE the thing! Playing it reminds me that I'm still a boy at heart.
This was also the first year that Aisha bought me a relatively modest gift. She is usually very extravagant and I was amused to see that she's changed her budget to accomodate our (hopefully) temporary drop in income while she attends school. The hat she got me was very stylish and of course I always need another pair of shorts (shorts are the new ties as the 30s are the new 20s...nach).
There's an active debate on NYC that started about the exhorbitant cost of living in Manahttan:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/fsbo/fsbo-138-bway-williamsburg-009430
Here's my 2 cents:
I live in Manhattan (Upper East Side) and just moved here from San Francisco/Berkeley about a year ago.
My fiancee and I are planning to move somewhere else in a year.
Reasons for our move here:
1. It is the place to be for the Fashion industry
2. We've always been fond of Manhattan from our visits here when we were younger
What we've found is that it's a lot different when one has to live here. Manhattan is OK, but the big downsides are:
1. Filthiness of the city
2. Weather is unpleasant for half the year
#1 is the real deal breaker. I cannot believe how dirty the city is (the word ATROCIOUS is not enough to describe it). I've since acclimated myself a bit, but still cannot get over how foul the streets and subway are. I swear there is dirt buildup from the early 20th century in the grooves of escalator steps here. And what's up with the practice of leaving garbage bags on the streets for pickup? Yuck!!! I am already dreading the melange of summer heat and sidewalk garbage bags.
Having visited other MAJOR cities with similar or HIGHER population densities, entertainment and cultural offering (Rome, London, Paris, Tokyo) that are perfectly clean compared to New York, there is just no excuse. I would have no problem eating off the streets of Tokyo, but feel dirty walking down Broadway with three pairs of socks on.
I realized why I fell in love with Manhattan when I visited in my early twenties. One is that I, like many people at that age, was in my partying mode so of course I had a good time. Secondly, since I visited on business trips, most of my time around town was spent in the evening. Manhattan is a much more agreeable place at night ('cause you've probably had some wine and you can't see the dirt!).
Additionally, the LARGE majority of genuinely interesting, wonderful, outgoing and happy people we've met here are not native New Yorkers. New Yorkers are definitely more focused on their own lives. I'm not saying New Yorkers aren't nice people, but you have to draw it out of them. My observations are that they do not display the intellectual curiosity for other people's lives or the natural courtesy that one sees in cities on the West Coast and in the South.
