crossroads of the world

You would never know Times Square is above ground but walking through this subterranean maze it really feels like the crossroads of the world. You hear people are speaking Russian, Chinese, French, Spanish...There's a mime in the station with his face painted white. Or a Chinese man playing a screeching stringed instrument only he seems to enjoy. It's been a while since I've seen the short Michael Jackson impersonator. This is the crossroad of my world twice a day when I change trains going to and from work. On some days it feels like I've gone further than that.

casting my vote

All the hype leading up to this moment...

Last year my voting location was in a senior citizen's facility, this year it was in a church. I wouldn't have known that was the place except there was a 8 1/2 x 11 xerox sign posted outside. I walk inside down the hallway to a large room with tables, each for a voting precinct. Seated at each table there are two elderly volunteers, one with a folder of names A-L the other with a folder of names M-Z. I walk up to the 89th precinct table and wait behind one person while the woman at the table is slowly flipping through the pages searching for her name. She's interrupted by a volunteer with a question. They talk about it for a while, then she goes back to flipping through her folder looking for the name. The volunteer finally finds the name and the voter signs the book, then she gives her a card after slowly writing the voter's name and a number on it. I don't think I could have moved ahead six feet any slower.

After I get my card and give it to another volunteer, I walk up to the old fashioned voting machine and close the curtain behind me. It feels like I'm in a dressing room, when the curtain falls off the volunteer rushes to hang it up to give me my privacy. I took a photo to remember my participation in this historic moment.

Chinese New Year

I should have known I had a legitimate excuse for taking the day off. When I was growing up in Iowa, few people even knew when Chinese New Year was. Our family might have gotten together with the few other Chinese people in town for a potluck dinner. Chances are we probably just sat around and watched tv after dinner. In New York, Chinese New Year is like a Jewish holiday when the Chinese people and other Asians who adhere to the lunar calendar don't show up at the office. To me all Chinese holidays are the same...they all involve eating lots of food.

On a clear day you can see forever

Upper West Side horizon line looking down West End Ave. from 85th St.