Learning to Paint in Premodern China is an interesting exhibit at the Met- There are some lovely works that I really could have stared at for hours- the delicacy with which these works are done…

Met Galleries 760,61,62,63 and 64. We are starting to get to some of the works that I really wonderful- I loved the last three images, and when peaking into the next galleries I know I am in for a treat…

• Urban Hawker is an Asian Food Hall that recently opened in midtown Manhattan. I had the Classic Roti John sandwich from Ashes Burnitt pictured on the left, while my daughter had the Stingray Fried Rice from Mr. Fried Rice. The offerings at this food hall show a range of Asian cuisine, and while some stands are better than others, there are many amazing options.
• Enchilada Suiza’s from Amor Loco in theater district Manhattan. My daughter and I split because the portions are huge at this place, but the food is delicious and somewhat reasonably priced given the location.

• Parade on Broadway- sad but well done musical based on a historic event- I will talk more about this experience in a future post
• Big East Basketball Tournement
• Some Like it Hot on Broadway- Old fashioned singing and dancing Broadway show loosely based on movie of the same name
• The jigsaw puzzle that was 20×20 and fit perfectly on my coffee table

New York Historical Society is one of my favorite museums in NYC- I think they curate some really interesting exhibits. The Scenes from New York room is one of my daughters favorite places in the city. The Kara Walker exhibit is really thought provoking and well done. The History of the Jewish Deli is just a fun walk thru.

Every evening I write down ten things that defined my day. I try to capture the good and the bad, things that I am grateful for, things that I am looking forward to, and what I do that day just for me, I really just write the little details that made that day different from others. I enjoy it and it works for me. Here’s some things pulled from various days over the past week:

1. went to Farmers Market. Forgot to put my money in my change purse. Was only able to buy one apple.
2. My daughter was able to get home successfully despite a few flight issues
3. Got email from a friend from writing class who moved after the class ended. Always nice to hear from people and have fun email conversation
4. Kitchen organization angst! Sometimes my lack of space starts to get to me
5. My next coffee table will be larger so it can accommodate larger jigsaw puzzles
6. Had a day where I wanted to dwell and obsess. Decided I let it become a self fulfilling prophesy after having written about dwelling
7. Grateful for some good workouts
8. Pets slept with my daughter instead of me…for one night anyway
9. Got to see my friend K before she went back west
10. finished jigsaw puzzle!!

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. Buddha

I was eavesdropping the other day-

(I know we’ve talked about who a story belongs to, but I’m sorry- if you are at Starbucks and are talking loudly enough for half the place to hear you, your story is not your own. I’m betting most urban writers have lifted plotlines and characters from real life)

So I was eavesdropping:

Two women, my guess would be thirty something… Blue says to the Yellow:

You’re so lucky to have him.

Yellow, the recipient of these words, didn’t say anything, but just sort of looked at her friend. She didn’t smile or acknowledge or anything. She just looked at her blankly.

Is telling someone that they are lucky to have someone a COMPLIMENT?

If someone told you that you were lucky to have your partner, what does that really mean?

Does it mean that your partner is out of your league and therefore you should count your lucky stars every day that they lower themselves to be with you?

Does it mean that you don’t deserve to be in a relationship with this person?

Does it mean that the speaker of these words wishes they were you and this particular person wants to be with your partner?

Under what circumstances would you tell someone that they are lucky to have someone?

I don’t like this phrasing. I think it implies an imbalance in the relationship- it presumes that one person is better than the other.

Is one person in a relationship “better” than the other?

Wouldn’t it be better to say something like: You two balance one another out? It’s good to see how you two work together towards a common goal? Isn’t that the heart of a relationship: two people coordinating together to make a life?

Would it be better to say: You’re so lucky that your partner does X?

But even then, are you lucky that, say, your partner does 50% of the household duties, or is it not luck but communication and setting expectations?

Does luck have anything to do with an ongoing relationship?

Have you ever told anyone that they are lucky to have someone? What did you mean by it? How would you feel if someone told you that you were lucky to have your partner?

Discuss:

We have a little snow this week in NYC- Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Met Museum- Permanent Collection- Galleries 756-759. I thought the painting about moving day was really cool- May 1 used to be “moving day” in NYC, when everyone’s leases were up- so everyone moved that day. Also thought the work by Perry was pretty cool.

Berenice Abbott’s New York Album- Small, but interesting exhibit. I’m a sucker for old NYC photos. Some of these feature my neighborhood and areas I frequent often.

Virginia Woolf exhibit at the NY Public Library

• Brooklyn Craft- I took a knitting lesson- fun!!
• Empire Bakery- they make bakery versions of yodels, twinkies and sno balls. Yum.
• L’antica Pizzeria da Michele- this pizza is SO GOOD. For any Eat Prey Love fans- this is the Julia Roberts pizza from Naples. They just opened an NYC outlet!!

Every evening I write down ten things that defined my day. I try to capture the good and the bad, things that I am grateful for, things that I am looking forward to, and what I do that day just for me, I really just write the little details that made that day different from others. I enjoy it and it works for me. Here’s some things pulled from various days over the past week:

1. my sister introduced me to WordleBot- this could be addictive
2. Took knitting lesson- which was a learning experience in many ways
3. Woke up saturday morning to a huge messy hair ball on my pillow right nest to my shoulder
4. When I was washing hair bally sheets, the washing machine broke during spin cycle- two hours to dry my clothes
5. I used to buy my drug store brand cosmetics from Bed Bath and Beyond- bummed they aren’t selling them anymore
6. thought to ponder- do we hate things that are “nice”
7. When doing wordle i came up with the word pooka before I thought of polka…
8. Forgot to bring poop bag on dog walk. After betty did her business, i was trying to find something to clean up with. I looked up and there was a newly installed box from a local vet containing poop bags! huzzah!
9. I bought eye shadow from Sephora. When I got home I realized that it was used. The sales clerk when I exchanged it was less than stellar at customer service
10. Happy with my subplots for my novel

Buildings fall; even the earth perishes. What was yesterday a cornfield is today a bungalow. But words, if properly used, seem able to live forever. Virginia Woolf

Earlier this week I wrote a post about a recent theater experience was marred by a crazy number of people taking their phones out during a live performance.https://wakinguponthewrongsideof50.com/2023/02/27/take-your-phones-out/

One of the comments that I got was that the theater should make an announcement before the show to remind people to silence their phones, because clearly, no one would dare turn on their phone after an announcement is made.

I laughed at my naivete. I didn’t realize that there were places where announcements were not made about silencing cell phones before a performance or movie.

I chuckled a little about those that thought that simply making an announcement would be enough to stop people from taking their phones out.

But let’s get back to the reality of the situation:

Even if rules are clearly posted, said over a loud speaker and reenforced by ushers going up and down rows, some people are not going to listen to the rules.

Some people are above the rules.

You know my stance on rules- without rules, and people following them, we have anarchy.

Are some rules stupid?

Of course.

Should we need to have cell phone rules at live performances? Probably not. It seems like it would be common sense to shut down your phone when at the theater or concert hall. But alas, common sense isn’t so common anymore.

I’ve written about rules a lot over the years, and you all know my song and dance by now. But until people realize that the sun does not revolve around them, there will just be more and more rules.

Buckle up (which had to be made into a law btw because people didn’t think that buckling up was important).

Rules? Yes or No?

I once asked my daughter about her greatest regret from her younger days of schooling. She said that she wished that she had taken/learned Mandarin.

Her reason?

It wasn’t anything cultural, or about the education or about socioeconomics. It was purely personal: she wanted to know what the other girls in the honors block were saying about her.

However you look at it though, learning Mandarin is a thing.

I recently read two books that have somewhat different takes on the learning of Mandarin.

In The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks, the learning of Mandarin is seen as the thing to do to make your kids competitive in the world, even if some think it’s pretentious and bougie.

You have to get him into Rolling Hills…They start Mandarin in the second grade...I nod, thinking, Mandarin in the second grade?

However

In Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng, the learning of Mandarin is relayed as questionable:

The news calls China our greatest long-term threat…sometimes angry parents complain if their children choose to study Mandarin, or Chinese history.

Admittedly, OMH is a dystopian novel, however, I can’t say that no one aligns with the above sentiment. There are people who are afraid of the cultures of others.

So how do you feel about the teaching/learning of Mandarin in elementary, middle or high schools? Is it a pretentious, elitist thing to give kids another accolade on their resume?

Is it a needed skill in today’s world?

Is it problematic for any number of reasons?

Have you not even considered it for any reason?

Discuss