New Urban Oases

Sixth Avenue and 23rd Street

I've noticed lately that Manhattan streets have become kinder public spaces.  The busy crossroads like 23rd Street and 6th Avenue, the 34 St Herald Square area, and Times Square, are much nicer to pedestrians by inviting them to sit down in these nice cozy chairs and tables.  Growing up, these intersections were traffic nightmares and pedestrian no go zones.  I happened to be walking around 6th Avenue and 23rd, and it was such a serene (for New York) setting.  The air was nicer because there was no exhaust fumes coming out of so many cars, the traffic was diverted away from these rest areas.  People were enjoying the day and just sitting around small tables people-gazing or eating.  It's just so civilized.  A lot of this is due to former Mayor Bloomberg who championed these urban islands of serenity amidst all the noise and pollution.  Giuliani may have made New York safe, but Bloomberg is the mayor who made New York livable.

Think Before You Cosign for that Student Loan

A lot of college students are making their way back to campus to start their semesters.  Many of them have student loans that their parents have co-signed, and who are ultimately responsible for paying off the loan.  Most parents would never think of refusing to cosign a student loan for their child.  However, it's important to note that one should take some precautions before they cosign the loan.  The story of Steve and Darnelle Mason is a cautionary tale of what can happen when the unexpected happens.

The Masons readily cosigned student loans for their daughter, Lisa, who was going to nursing school.  Lisa graduated from her nursing program, got a job as a nurse and was starting to pay off her loans, everything was okay.  Unfortunately Lisa died suddenly and she died with most of her student loans still outstanding.  You would think that those outstanding student loans would have died along with Lisa's passing but that is not necessarily true.  Lisa's loans, that were part of a federal program were forgiven.  However, most of Lisa's loans were from private programs.  Now Steve and Darnelle are liable for Lisa's student loan, the balance remaining being $100,000.  In addition, Lisa's two children now live with the Masons so  the couples expenses have increased.  The Masons make a modest living and were unable to pay off the loan.  Pretty soon because of late fees and interest, that original $100,000 became $200,000.

Declaring bankruptcy would not be a solution because these private student loans are exempt.  The Masons would still have to pay off these liabilities.  They have asked for relief and some of the organizations have reduced the outstanding balance or have forgiven a loan in light of their situation.  The main loan provider, according to the most recent articles, has not gotten back to them.

So how can parents protect themselves in such a case as this?  One solution is to buy term life insurance on their child.  Of course no parent wants to think that their child would pass away before they do, however, if you are thinking of co-signing for a loan in which you would be responsible, protect yourself in the case of an unexpected passing by getting life insurance on your child.

XO Taste Restaurant

Pan fried dumplings

I went to lunch with my client and she recommended this restaurant as a different take on the traditional Chinese dim sum.  The pan fried dumplings above are amazing.  It's a mix of seafood and pork in simple soy based sauce.  There were originally six of them but I stopped myself before they were gone so that I can take a picture.  We also shared a large won ton soup and the won tons also had seafood in it.  For a drink, I ordered a pineapple crush which is a smoothie made from a mix of coconut milk and crushed pineapple.  Unfortunately I didn't take a picture because I was hungry and thirsty and everything was just so delicious.  We also ordered the spare ribs dim sum and mango pudding.  The spare rib was just like the normal dish but they added taro to it to take out the greasiness from the ribs. The mango pudding tasted like real mangos.   No pictures of either, they were all gone.

 I did take an interior shot of the restaurant and you can tell that they strive for something a little different.   The decor is a mixture of industrial and rustic.  The pergola gives it a nice homey feel and the chinese lantern style lamps keep a touch of tradition.  The prices were very kind.  I don't think anything I ordered was over $5.  I plan on coming here again.

The restaurant seems to also try to cater to non-locals because there are many pictures on the walls of various dishes and their prices in English.  The menu was a mix of Chinese and English.  The restaurant is located in Chinatown, 41 Elizabeth St and the cross street is Canal St..

Robin Williams Passed Away and I'll Miss Him

Who was not shocked to hear about the death of Robin Williams on Monday afternoon, August 11?  It was so unexpected.  One of the funniest men on earth and I thought someone who also enjoyed life.  My thought was that someone who can see the funny side of life and makes us see it should be able to deal with his own demons better.  I guess not.  Still, I don't want to remember Robin Williams as a troubled soul.  I want to remember him as someone who was unexpectedly funny and sweet.  As a child who watched Happy Days who can forget when we first saw Mork?  Who didn't laugh when Mork first sat down in Mork & Mindy?  Robin Williams' comedy was refreshing and sweet.  His humor was never mean.  It always spotlighted those odd things that people think are normal.

As for his movies, I will never forget him in Good Morning Vietnam.   He played a DJ who cheered up the troops with his morning radio show.  The way he said, "Good Morning Vietnam!" woke you up happy to be hearing him first thing in the morning.  His rapid fire delivery and quixotic jumps of comedic vignettes was a wonder.  My next favorite Robin Williams movie was Mrs. Doubtfire.  Enough said.  But I think one of the best scenes in a Robin Williams movie was the waltz scene in The Fisher King where all the commuters in Grand Central danced.  In the movie, Robin played Parry, a homeless man who fell in love and follows her through Times Square.  The scene was magical.

His verbal virtuosity was sublime as the voice of the Genie in Walt Disney's Aladdin.  You could just listen to him for hours.  Any one who listened to him as a stand-up comedian is amazed.  Of course, as a performer, he challenged himself with other roles and not just in comedies but also in more dramatic pieces.  I could never sit through those movies.  I thought there's so many people who can do a dramatic role.  I preferred him in funny scenes, comedy was where he shined.  Not many people can do comedy well.  One savors his comedic performances.

There are very few artists where I experienced a feeling of loss at their passing.  Jim Henson, the creator of The Muppets was one.  Robin Williams is now the second.  These two were such original, creative beings.  You know that the world had lost something when they moved on to the afterlife.

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

It's funny. It's loud.  Two babes are fighting it out.  Great music.  There's also a wise-ass mammal.  That's what Guardians of the Galaxy has going for it.  As an older member of the viewing public, I didn't know what to expect from this movie.  It was based on a teenage comic book saga now on the widescreen because Hollywood lacks its own creativity.  However, this movie at heart is a traditional western.  Think the Magnificent Seven reduced to five with the setting in outer space and lots of special effects.  The plot also reminds me of  The Chronicles of Riddick but not so dark.  Needless to say the movie is about a group of misfits who banded together to save the universe from a dominating overlord because at heart they are noble heroes.  You can't resist it.  The execution is highly stylized with plenty of pop culture references to keep it interesting.  It's worth your time and effort to go.

Dinner and Movie Meetup - My First Event

Shawn, the one with the grin, is the organizer

I finally attended a meetup.  For those of you who don't know me, and you may be many but you're probably a select few, I am part of several meetup groups.  I don't know why I do this but I can easily join a meetup, get announcements for meetings and then I don't go.  It's gotta be annoying for organizers because, I am probably not the only one.  Anyway, I went to my first meetup and I had a great time.  I joined a group of 30 and we met at the Starlight Diner, not far from the 34th Street AMC movie theater, to have dinner.  Afterwards we went to see Guardians of the Galaxy.  I got to meet a lot of nice people.  Shawn is the organizer of the meetup.  I can't wait to go to another dinner-and-movie meetup since this was a pretty easy event to attend.

Meetup is a great idea to meet new people who enjoy the things that you like.  It's easy to find any type of group in your city.  Of course, the website is Meetup.com.  One of the things, in a technology obsessed culture like ours, that have gone by the wayside is cultivating friendships on a reality level.  I don't care what anybody says, I just don't think a Facebook friend is a friend.  And yes, I know that people go on Facebook to have thousands of friends, but what does it mean at the end of the day?  I'm biased because I don't have a Facebook account.  And I may open one in the future, but I just think it's odd to count Facebook friends as real friends.  At some point, relationships will probably flower from those group of contacts but, I'm not sure that those people are presenting their real selves.  Besides, it would be hard to hold these Facebook friends accountable to their real identity.

It's far healthier to have real time friends.  It's more of a commitment, but that's part of the whole deal.  We have, as part of our mythic traditions, the rugged individualist.  But in reality, our society has thrived more by people coming together and doing things together.  I can remember from my history class that people had the barn-raisings when the West was settled.  The keen French observer of American life, Alexis de Tocqueville, was surprised by all the volunteer organizations that we had and called us "a nation of joiners" in his book, Democracy in America.  Americans are joiners because each of us know that having friends or a network of people with whom we can have relationships with is what makes our life fun.

Now, I do not deny that there are all sorts of dysfunctional people out there.  But it is up to you whether the dysfunction is something that you can tolerate or not.  I would never advocate suffering a toxic relationship.  However, just as with anything, you have to discern what relationships are healthy for you and what are not.  And the more relationships you have, the better you will be at discerning what is a good relationship for you.  Good relationships are hard to come by and Facebook friends just don't cut it.

The Millennials are not Saving their Money

Millennials spent their discretionary money on three things: Coffee, fast food, and alcohol.  First of all who are the "Millennials"?  According to the report by Level Money (a budgeting app), it's that group of people in the 18 to 35-year-old age range; they are formerly known as Generation Y.  That's a pretty wide age range. Technically, you can have a parent and child in there and they would both be called Millennials.  The two can enjoy their fast food together while the 18-year old pairs it with an iced coffee and the parent can enjoy a brewski.

Apparently, you are a Millennial if you were born at least 17 years before or at most 17 years after the turn of the century.  The oldest in this group was born when personal computers became popular, barely knew that a nation called the Soviet Union existed, and listened to music on CDs or MP3 players.  I can relate to this.  My parents listened to 8-track tapes while I listened to music using a Walkman.  Remember those?

The members of this group spend their money trying to wake up, rushing through lunch, then taking advantage of Happy Hour.  They splurge on Starbucks, cheap out by eating a Happy Meal, then indulge again on cocktails.  Nowhere on this report does it say that they save money for that rainy day that inevitably comes or that they save money for a goal such as buying their own place.  Retirement is not even a blip on their thought horizon.  I guess it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.  I don't think anyone in America is taught to be financially practical nowadays.  I was brought up by lower-middle class parents who taught me and helped me to understand the value of a dollar.  And even then it's hard for me to resist materialism.  How much more so for people who don't have parents like mine?

Am I the only one who...

does this?

• Takes home the extra roll of premium toilet paper when I stay at a hotel?  Everyone takes the soaps and other stuff but if there's an extra roll of toilet paper and an extra box of Kleenex, I take those too.  I think it's mine because I paid for the room and it's included.
• Plays with their pudge?  You know what I mean, men call it their flat tire, I call it my pudge.  It's that roll of fat around my waste that I have been trying to get rid of since forever and never seems to go away, so why not play with it.  It's soft and squishy.
• Takes home extra Splenda from gourmet coffee houses?  For the prices they are charging for a hot beverage at those places, I feel that I should take extra.
• Smells a shirt or pair of pants to see if it's worth wearing one more time?