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| Central Park @ mirandablue |
My first visit to New York City a few months after 9/11 was overwhelming. There was so much to see and experience in such a short trip. Stringent security procedures were implemented, and people secretly eyed each other with curiosity (especially if you're an alien). You couldn't miss the vibrancy of American travelers as they rushed in airports, but there was an underlying tension under the "business as usual" attitude.
After meetings in San Francisco and Dallas, I flew to NYC and it was purely for pleasure. I wanted to see Ground Zero, at the same time, looking forward to experience New York City in springtime. But when I arrived, it was at the beginning of spring. It was wet and cold and the streets were covered by a muddy slush of melted snow. The trees were bare still and the sky was downcast. I was miserable!
I stayed with a friend in Brooklyn and she wanted to show me around. But I could barely get up in the morning---my friend had to drag me to the shower and out of the apartment so I could see the city. All I wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep all day long. Itchy pimples erupted on my face and I never felt so ugly in my life!
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| Ground Zero @ mirandablue |
One of my dreams was to see a show in Broadway. To cheer me up, my friend bought us tickets to see "Mama Mia" in Broadway. After the show, it was so cold outside I needed a shot to warm me up. We went into a bar and ordered whiskey. But the bartender looked at us like we were aliens [from outer space] or we had grown a mustache. My heart skipped a beat when he asked for an ID---do I look like a terrorist? I gave him a look of outraged disbelief. Angry thoughts were running round my mind---I wondered if this was some kind of racial profiling. I was about to express my indignation when the bartender said that it's illegal to serve alcohol to minors. "Huwattttt? We're not minors!" we protested. Then we realized how funny it was! We stopped being minors for the past 20 years or so. In fact, back home, we're fondly called old maids! We were laughing so hard while I was showing the bartender my passport.
He chuckled as soon as he opened my passport and told us that he worked in Hawaii and got in trouble because he didn't check the IDs of some Asian girls.
A group of [Caucasian] men behind us remarked how lucky Asian girls are---that we look perpetually young! We said a charming "Thank you" and gave the bartender a generous tip.
Oh, remembering the bar incident still tickles the tip of my nose.:p
