Letter from NYC (23-3): Not Making a Scene
My trip back to NYC is ostensibly mainly for administrative purposes: mostly taxes and updating various accounts. I budgeted more time only because I know well the gross inefficiencies of things here, not to mention my newish tendency to "lie flat," a by-product of the pandemic era. Otherwise, I'd have preferred to have spent more time in the UK.
Carrier Strength, Internet and Weather I don't have WiFi here, cable contract terminated when I exited NYC in October, 2020. So I resort to my cellphone, which is under the T-Mobile family plan of a friend in Atlanta, not a NYC number. It has never worked well. Phone connection is tenuous and varies in different parts of the apartment. I use the phone only sparingly for calls and Wechat, and I rely on Personal Hotspot for my Laptop (one doesn't write an article on the Cell). Even though my use is modest (emails, news and maintenance of this blog,) it proves to be a big hassle. The Hotspot works only sporadically, and weak even when it does. I do have a Data card I bought in HK, but I haven't installed it yet. That I can get by at all shows you my high tolerance. I do my essential routines this way (including anything that requires PIN), and go to the Public Library and use their open WiFi for more casual tasks, like browsing or shopping (but not ordering; usually for audio). As I don't have Word and MS Office and don't like using them on MS internet (can't anyway with my poor connection; don't like Clouds either) I write the draft of my articles on WPS (a Chinese equivalent of MS Office) and transfer them to Blogspot when it's ready. I then upload the (ir)relavant pics. But, it's more fun to directly write on the template of course, just freer and less editing in the head.
One strange thing I found is that my phone and hotspot work better downstairs in the lobby. I'm on the 9th floor and close to the landing flight path of some LaGuardia routes - some flights turn in full sight and shave pretty close to a nearby building. I wonder if there is a lot of interference. I also wonder if a NYC number would work better than an Atlanta number (even regular telephone connection is very slow). Also, bad weather makes things worse.
The Environs The Chinatown that is Flushing hasn't changed that much. Just as crowded and, regrettably, civically challenged. Peddlers continue to line the already crowded Main Street (this began during the pandemic and shows no sign of abating). Only a few old establishments have gone under. Despite what I have read about US inflation, prices in the Chinese supermarkets seem to be not much different than pre-pandemic (competition is fierce). Prices in the only non-Chinese supermarket however shows significant increases in certain food categories, especially processed food like cereals and junk food. Chinese restaurants prices however have gone up at least 50%, and quite expensive for me, but they seem to be doing brisk business. As a consequence, I eat out even less than I did before, which was not much anyway. Even more than before, I hate walking around here, as there is nothing much of interest and a lot to annoy. Lack of exercise and a sedentary lifestyle are for sure undesirable.
Food Being alone, and lazy, means eating not so well. For breakfast, I'd have a bagel or ham and cheese sandwich, sometimes with tomato and lettuce. Easier yet, cereal. Lunch could be a larger sandwich, or pasta with ready made sauce and some sardines. Two or three times a week, I'll take out (with my own container) from the Senior Citizen Center. I am a member but never partake in their activities - the only senior citizens I'd hang out with are old friends or audiophiles. The menu is set down in advance for the month, so I know which days I'd go. The stuff is incredibly healthy, on the bland side but surprisingly not completely tasteless. More often than not, I forgo dinner and go to sleep around 9 pm. Confession, some junk food like chips and mini pretzels with wine in the late afternoon.
TV Almost everyone reading this blog probably has Cable TV. Not I, but I still find some worthwhile things to watch, and that's a miracle given the pandering nature of what is left of free TV now. I love news but US news delivery has long been among the worst in the world. CBS, NBC, ABC, they are all the same, on autopilot and rewind of weather report. Almost no world news, of course. Aside from a few exceptions, the anchors are increasingly examples of mediocrity, much lacking the poise, charisma and, sorry to say, taste, of their predecessors. The prevalent wokeness and profound national schism means a balance, or formula: mixture of skin colors on the screen, lip service to socially "relevant" news, and pretty much not covering or commenting too much on the truly important matters. Still, I watch a little of it and, to my surprise, find Fox better than the big three (likely not the case elsewhere, especially in Red States). Even the camera work is better (so closed-up and blah on the big 3). Fox is of course also broadcaster of the ongoing Women's FIFA World Cup. Have you watched any? Let me tell you, the series is so good it's mind boggling (to me much more fun than the men's). Almost every match is worth watching, and it's great rooting for underdogs like Jamaica and South Africa and Nigeria. Not to mention Haiti, a country hopelessly messed up by the big powers, foremost among which the USA. Women's soccer (football) has come such a long way that standards are amazingly high. Consider this: World number 1 and 2, US and Brazil, are ousted after the first round! I caught some of the first rounds on Fox at 5 am, which is when I usually wake up! Perfect! But now the matches seem to have moved mainly to their FS1 channel and I don't have access given the sorry state of my internet now. I hope I'll get to see a few more of these! And then there are two more channels that I watch. 2.2, a CBS channel, runs old TV shows. I'm a fan of Cold Case (a Jerry Buckenheimer production, so you know what it's like), which I watch at 3 pm everyday. Kathryn Morris, despite her surface fragility, projects grit that was most impressive (especially in one 2-part episode where she was trapped and psychologically tortured by a serial killer). I recently got hooked too by Covert Affairs (2 pm), which is a spy thriller. Although the technology looks kind of old now, I love watching the charismatic lead Piper Perabo (I looked her up and she seems to be a very interesting person in real life), a secret agent who arouses, and gets aroused by, not only agents she works with but also her targets! Improbable stories, but aren't they all! The other channel is 5.2, a Fox channel that runs old movies. It never tires me to watch anything by Audrey Hepburn for example. And I love the old Technicolor. Not on demand, so you never know what you will get! I much enjoyed discovering The Lion, an intimate portrait of life in Africa (at least compared to, say, Hatari, which older audiophiles may be familiar with). I was riveted by the child star Pamela Franklin. Or Yul Brynner as the robotic cowboy in Westworld. Sometimes, I even find it amusing to watch totally incoherent and un-woke screwball comedies, which shamelessly parade scantily clad ladies (which I enjoy). Yes, much of these (as well as TV series like Covert Affairs) were male fantasies but they are more fun (and frequently less insincere) than the equally formulaic but woke stuff we get today.
The Library Pre-Covid, I'd go to the library every day and read The New York Times. Not now, but I still use the free WiFi when I need to. I also borrow some magazines for their investigative reporting on all sorts of things, The New Yorker for sure; New York, a much better magazine now than before; occasionally even Times. I used to read The Economist religiously, but now I find it hopelessly biased. I also noticed that The Atlantic has disappeared from the shelves; I wonder why. Occasionally, I'll come across a book too. This time, Constance Wu's Making a Scene literally found me when I turned around while looking for something else. I much admired her work in Crazy Rich Asians. The biographical bits are wonderfully written, though without too much echoes from Asian American issues; I was particularly surprised by her candid and confessional accounts of her sexual relationships. I also borrowed Alex Ross' Wagnerism, an imposing tome on the influence of Wagner (did you know Willa Cather was a fan?) I'm sampling it so far, timid at the prospect of tackling it whole.
Audiophilia Remember what I said earlier? I only hang out with fellow senior citizens who are audiophiles! Especially if they offer wine. Some of these meetings shall be chronicled in coming articles, including follow up on B&W 801 and a new Bell integrated, 3DT. A few pics to entice you below.
Monthly Menu of the Senior Citizen Center; Samples of the $2 meals include Steamed Pork
with Salted Fish and Tofu. Fruit and Yogurt/Milk
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Man leave your politics out of your great AUDIO blog. I don't wanna know that you are some ignorant asshole...
ReplyDeleteIt's his blog, stfu
DeleteWatch your language, you could become one like what you had just said
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