SMARTPHONE

I’ve joined the ranks.  There’s no turning back.

ALIVE

I am still here.  I promise. 

T-MOBILE TRAFALGAR SQUARE SING ALONG

Before I repost this on my Tumblr, I thought I’d embed it here first.  I wish T-Mobile USA would do these types of things in NYC.  They seem like so much fun, and I love the spirit of happiness and camaraderie that results from it.  This is T-Mobile UK’s second major public act, with the first being the T-Mobile dance off at Liverpool St. Station.  This may not be a specific targeted type of advertising about the T-Mobile network or its products, but I think it does add a sense of cool and is a nice way of spontaneously bringing people together (or stick[ing] together, T-Mobile USA’s slogan).

A Tralfalgar Square crowd singing the Beatles classic “Hey Jude”.

THE TWILIGHT OF MY CHILDHOOD

In August I will be 23.  Legally, I’m already an adult.

But I don’t feel like one.

I still grasp for the imaginative creativity I utilized daily as a child.  I long for what I presume to be simpler times, full of play and joy and a sense of adventure.  I hold my memories of being a kid close to my heart.  I anchor some of my boyhood memories and experiences to tangible things, to places and people.  Many of them are gone now.  I associated news with Peter Jennings and ABC, movie reviews from Joe Spiegel, “school” was St. Joseph’s, “the park” was always one particular park near my uncle’s house, and “the mall” always meant one specific mall not too long a drive away.  Some people are no longer with us, and places inevitably change.  There are a few institutions left that I can still visit, places I inherently know when visiting, or revisiting.

One of them was a gyro stand in a mall.  It was there that I had my first taste of a gyro, something I considered “exotic” food, even though what I ate at home is probably far more “exotic” to most people… or at least once was, before the proliferation of Thai restaurants.  I have returned to this gyro stand nearly every time I have been home as if it were a religious pilgrimage.  The taste was consistent and the food was comforting, if not exactly very healthy.

Now it’s closed.  The humble stand closed forever.  I found out a week afterward, when I tried to order my gyro platter and found myself standing in front of a metal gate as opposed to a sign that read “Acropolis”.  I was shocked, and more startled at how deeply this event affected me.  I had not realized I had internalized this place, this gyro, as a link to my childhood.  I expected continuity.  I wanted to demand it, force someone to open this shop again and make my the gyro I always knew and occasionally longed for.  My adult brain knew how futile such acts would be, but the kid that I had evolved from was groping dearly for a knowing sense of normality.  The lust for this specific food and its particularly taste would not die.

I have coped.  I have come to terms with the fact that this place will not return.  I believe we call it “acceptance”.  I cannot stop wondering what else will change next, what other institution I have unknowingly bound my heart to will fall and fade away.  There are not many physical places left that remain untainted from change.  I understand that is the way of things.  However, I cannot help but feel that this closure of a small gyro stand has symbolically ushered in the twilight of my childhood.  It is a chilling feeling, and my taste buds will never be the same.

SPRING

Perhaps the title should read “Spring?”.  The weather around this area has been rather strange.  Ranging from freezing winter temperatures to a high of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, I’ve weathered through all four seasons in the span of two months.  Today seems like a most typical spring day, albeit for April: rain showers supplemented by a brisk of cool air.  I’m glad that the weather patterns have seemingly become more predictable (at least for now).  The rain is somewhat refreshing to me, and I don’t mind the inconveniences that arise from it.

Nevertheless, activities are picking up as the summer months inch closer.  The past few weekends have been quite active but enjoyable, full of socializing and old friends.  They tend to be freer as schedules become more flexible, work slows and everyone begins planning for faraway vacations.  I hope to be doing the same, though perhaps not too far.  While a part of me dreads the oppressive heatwaves from June to August, the other part of me cannot wait for summer, with all the buzzing and untapped potential for fun times and new experiences.

I suppose a more fitting title might have been “Awaiting Summer”.

WORK COMFORT

Despite the fact that this looks really odd to wear, I would do it, just because it looks soooo comfortable.

DEAR HOBOKEN “RESIDENTS”

——————————-

From: sngk

To: Metropolitan Area [Stereotypical] Yuppies

Date: 13 March 2009

———————————

Dear Residents* and Visitors**:

I understand that the city where I grew up in has many restaurants and bars.  I thank you for frequenting them because it’s good business for my hometown.  However, I’d like to remind you that your college years are over, and that they ended some time ago.  Please don’t get completely wasted and then ruin the delightful, gentrified neighborhood that this once diverse place has become – it might not be the same Hoboken I grew up in, but it’s still a scenic and beautiful city.  I am confident that longtime residents and people who have moved here viewing it as a relatively charming and calm city agree.  Here’s some proof: (Please ignore the fact that “defecating” was spelt incorrectly.)

You can read the rest of the letter here.  There are also some lovely photos of drunken revelers from last week’s St. Patrick’s Day parade here (Hoboken celebrates it early for some reason).  So please, help keep this city clean.  I’d like to remember this place fondly and not as some quaint little gentrified city overrun by drunk yuppies.

Sincerely,

-sngk

Residents* = Mid 20-somethings who move to Hoboken and only stay for a few years before moving to the suburbs with their new families (You know, for the two-story Colonial house with the white picket fence and 2.5 kids).

Visitors** = Mid 20-to-30 somethings who come to the city on Friday and Saturday nights to engage in drunken revelry until 2ish AM.

LAST WEEK OF FREEDOM

Of course it’s raining for half the week.  What to do, what to do…

BOLLYWOOD

Is awesome. (At least I think it’s a Bollywood film or TV show.)

Interesting take on the motorcycle diving under a truck action shot.

NOKIA BRICKS

When I was studying abroad in the UK, I purchased a Nokia 1600 generally because it was a) cheap, and b) seemed to be a quality candy-bar phone (thanks to my reliable history with my such Nokia devices).  It worked flawlessly, and I still have it in storage here at home (it unfortunately does not run on North American GSM bands). It may not be the prettiest mobile device, but it certainly worked well and was quite practical.

Then I read this story today… and I couldn’t help but smile. Haha.

Nokia 1600 survives week in fish’s belly, still makes smelly calls