A Brighter Future Beholds the Younger David
05.23.08 (7:34 pm) [edit]
And the rumble was over. David Cook was pronounced the winner on the recently concluded ‘American Idol Season 7’. The number of votes has proven that the more mature David has gained a pack of followers more than enough to make him win.
I admire the two for their abilities, their strengths, even their weaknesses. Both can carry on to successful careers in the music industry. But my prediction is that after the hype is over and a new Idol is crowned, one David will still prevail and the other one may have to choose another path.
The younger David may not have the right numbers enough to make him win. But he has more than enough qualities to last in the business than the other David. This is not only because of the age, Archuleta being 17 and Cook 25. It is with their overall appearance.
One look at Mr. Cook and you will feel like, ‘He looks like someone,’ or ‘He sounds like someone.’ And I don’t think that will do him any good in the long run. But this guy will definitely be famous. His first album will make it big. But for how long he’s going to be able to sustain that, I’ll give it one to three years. I can actually see him as a soap opera star or a poster boy for ads like flyer printing .
David Archuleta, on the other hand, seems to be the type that is full of surprises. It surprised me that he didn’t win, as a matter of fact. But aside from that, he can still go through a lot of transformation through the years. This is not only regarding his looks, but also his type of music and even his style.
After Carrie Underwood, I thought that the Idol could no longer produce exciting talents. I thought that they have lost their magic touch on star building. But they really have proven it wrong this season.
Yes, the winner has been decided. But the game is not over. It is just beginning for the two David. It couldn’t be helped that long after the show is over, they will still be compared. So the pressure is still there for the two. Cook has to prove that he is deserving of the title. And Archuleta has to prove that even without the title, he is a winner.
I admire the two for their abilities, their strengths, even their weaknesses. Both can carry on to successful careers in the music industry. But my prediction is that after the hype is over and a new Idol is crowned, one David will still prevail and the other one may have to choose another path.
The younger David may not have the right numbers enough to make him win. But he has more than enough qualities to last in the business than the other David. This is not only because of the age, Archuleta being 17 and Cook 25. It is with their overall appearance.
One look at Mr. Cook and you will feel like, ‘He looks like someone,’ or ‘He sounds like someone.’ And I don’t think that will do him any good in the long run. But this guy will definitely be famous. His first album will make it big. But for how long he’s going to be able to sustain that, I’ll give it one to three years. I can actually see him as a soap opera star or a poster boy for ads like flyer printing .
David Archuleta, on the other hand, seems to be the type that is full of surprises. It surprised me that he didn’t win, as a matter of fact. But aside from that, he can still go through a lot of transformation through the years. This is not only regarding his looks, but also his type of music and even his style.
After Carrie Underwood, I thought that the Idol could no longer produce exciting talents. I thought that they have lost their magic touch on star building. But they really have proven it wrong this season.
Yes, the winner has been decided. But the game is not over. It is just beginning for the two David. It couldn’t be helped that long after the show is over, they will still be compared. So the pressure is still there for the two. Cook has to prove that he is deserving of the title. And Archuleta has to prove that even without the title, he is a winner.
A Sidebar Response on My Space Cyber-Bullying, Suicide and Etiquette
05.16.08 (6:40 pm) [edit]
What are the rules of online chatting? Are there rules that a user strictly follows once they enter the stream of millions of online users? Do we train ourselves or our children on who to avoid, when to stop, and how to treat other users?
The freedom the internet offers us makes it hard to set up any rules that apply to everyone. The internet has become a public space where people from all walks of life intersect and collide. It welcomes a global audience that is diverse and multi-cultural. Thus, rather than set-up any rules that might step on anybody else’s toes, there aren’t any.
Rules only apply in certain rooms and communities where people of the same interests join. Still, the rules are not as encompassing or thorough. Social networks, online communities, and groups can only do so much to monitor activities and regulate them. This is quite problematic, especially for sites or spaces that children can access, explore, and even fall victim to abusive online users.
The internet comes as a double-edged razor which everyone must know. It is a virtual world that allows anyone to become who they would want to be without consequences. They can be as good and as bad as they want to be. They can assume identities that of another or one that does not exist at all. And they can easily come and go as they please.
The most recent and disturbing way one can use the internet is illustrated in the case of the 13-year old girl Megan Meier who committed suicide; who through her MySpace account, encountered love, loss, and of course, bullying. Lori Drew and her co-conspirators drew up their own MySpace accounts, the former even created a false account and identity by the name of John Evans, a 16-yearl old high school student.
The girl who had, supposedly, an online relationship with John was harassed and humiliated. At one point, they even addressed a message to Megan saying the world would be a better place without her.
The FBI and other authorities are looking into the case but might not have anything to charge Lori Drew and her co-conspirators with except for some penalties. The reason? There aren’t any laws applicable to the said case.
This incident could have been prevented by both parties – the neighbor Lori Drew and Megan’s parents. Both should have known better.
Then again, were there any canvas prints , handbooks or guidebooks on chatting, social networking, cyber-bullies, online predators and so on?
There are online rules I observe in order to attract the right kind of people and deter the ones who are simply up to no good. And if you have children, there are ways to make internet a safer place for them by understanding and knowing certain measures.
1. Ignore users who PING you just to initiate chatting. This is a rude gesture and should never be done.
2. Immediately ignore users whose on-screen names are just way beyond dubious. These are the ones with long numbers, random letter combinations, and of course, sexually explicit names.
3. Understand online language, lingo and abbreviation. If you know what LMAO stands for, then you wouldn’t want your young child to use that expression. Moreover, there are coded messages that seek to evade your monitoring like the simple word POTS – parent over the shoulder.
4. Report bots. These may not always solicit information from you or your children, but they only seek to do one thing – direct you to a site which is not secure or appropriate for children.
5. Report spam mail.
6. Report people who really violate the terms and conditions generally agreed upon when becoming a member of an online community or social networking.
7. To render your reports more effective, know how to provide proofs or evidence. Know how and what Print Screen can do.
8. If you experience any form of verbal abuse, harassment, hate mail and so on, it is best to just close your chat window, delete your files, and create a new and different account. You don’t have to put up with any crap from people you don’t know.
The freedom the internet offers us makes it hard to set up any rules that apply to everyone. The internet has become a public space where people from all walks of life intersect and collide. It welcomes a global audience that is diverse and multi-cultural. Thus, rather than set-up any rules that might step on anybody else’s toes, there aren’t any.
Rules only apply in certain rooms and communities where people of the same interests join. Still, the rules are not as encompassing or thorough. Social networks, online communities, and groups can only do so much to monitor activities and regulate them. This is quite problematic, especially for sites or spaces that children can access, explore, and even fall victim to abusive online users.
The internet comes as a double-edged razor which everyone must know. It is a virtual world that allows anyone to become who they would want to be without consequences. They can be as good and as bad as they want to be. They can assume identities that of another or one that does not exist at all. And they can easily come and go as they please.
The most recent and disturbing way one can use the internet is illustrated in the case of the 13-year old girl Megan Meier who committed suicide; who through her MySpace account, encountered love, loss, and of course, bullying. Lori Drew and her co-conspirators drew up their own MySpace accounts, the former even created a false account and identity by the name of John Evans, a 16-yearl old high school student.
The girl who had, supposedly, an online relationship with John was harassed and humiliated. At one point, they even addressed a message to Megan saying the world would be a better place without her.
The FBI and other authorities are looking into the case but might not have anything to charge Lori Drew and her co-conspirators with except for some penalties. The reason? There aren’t any laws applicable to the said case.
This incident could have been prevented by both parties – the neighbor Lori Drew and Megan’s parents. Both should have known better.
Then again, were there any canvas prints , handbooks or guidebooks on chatting, social networking, cyber-bullies, online predators and so on?
There are online rules I observe in order to attract the right kind of people and deter the ones who are simply up to no good. And if you have children, there are ways to make internet a safer place for them by understanding and knowing certain measures.
1. Ignore users who PING you just to initiate chatting. This is a rude gesture and should never be done.
2. Immediately ignore users whose on-screen names are just way beyond dubious. These are the ones with long numbers, random letter combinations, and of course, sexually explicit names.
3. Understand online language, lingo and abbreviation. If you know what LMAO stands for, then you wouldn’t want your young child to use that expression. Moreover, there are coded messages that seek to evade your monitoring like the simple word POTS – parent over the shoulder.
4. Report bots. These may not always solicit information from you or your children, but they only seek to do one thing – direct you to a site which is not secure or appropriate for children.
5. Report spam mail.
6. Report people who really violate the terms and conditions generally agreed upon when becoming a member of an online community or social networking.
7. To render your reports more effective, know how to provide proofs or evidence. Know how and what Print Screen can do.
8. If you experience any form of verbal abuse, harassment, hate mail and so on, it is best to just close your chat window, delete your files, and create a new and different account. You don’t have to put up with any crap from people you don’t know.
Television is Today’s Opium
05.13.08 (6:16 pm) [edit]
I have been a couch potato for a long time.
However, this is not to say that I don’t get off my ass to go to work, do my laundry, and of course, blog. I do all these things with regular routine. But when placed in front of the television, I forget all things like a 5-year old kid watching television on a Saturday morning. Forget that the cereal has become soggy. Forget that I’m still in my pajamas at noon. Forget that I haven’t had lunch yet. Television is the most addicting pastime, hobby, or leisure anyone can afford.
This is one of the many reasons why watching television have made many of today’s generation so oriented towards it. It has become a family activity that renders both parents and children’s free time glued to the screen. What used to be a past time has now become a household routine which both amazes me and perplexes me.
I admit to being one of the millions of people out there who turn on the television once they get home – without even watching it. I just walk in and turn it on. Change into comfortable clothes, prepare my meal and 30 minutes later, that’s the only time I get to sit down and see what is on the television.
If you take a look at this picture, nothing says sadder than a single person eating dinner in front of the television. Take another look and you’re just looking at millions of others like me. One more look and you’d know why many people tune in and watch the tube.
I get a dose of news, a bit of entertainment with good movies, some brain food with channels like National Geographic or Discovery Channel, and a bite of culture through Travel & Living. These are the redeeming qualities of television – it makes all your time worthwhile with quality programs like these
However, this is not always the case. This must be why TV Guide is created. It allows you to optimize your time and help you find whatever it is you are looking for. Then again, we don’t always buy a TV Guide because really, we think we don’t watch that much television anyway. And so, we don’t actually have brochures at home to browse through, thumbing the pages for any good old movie or that particular sitcom we liked and caught last week, whatever that was.
Nevertheless, my point in case is that the time we spend watching television is most probably spent on not watching it at all. I don’t know if there are any exact figures that demonstrate the watching habits of people – but I bet that this is true. Most of the time, we spend hours upon hours surfing between channels, watching a program we caught halfway and then switching it on to another without really finishing it, and then as boredom sets in, we struggle in futility to find a program we really like. But to no avail, it is already way past our bedtime and we sleep more tired than ever. This is not to count the other things we do like answer the phone, put our dishes in the sink, and take a bathroom break.
Many people have the misconception that watching television is relaxing. Well, it really isn’t. It’s time we hear what people who don’t spend as much time watching television tell us. Watching television is an activity that requires our attention and concentration – so while we may be entertained, we are still straining ourselves for hours on end trying to decipher everything that our senses are assaulted with.
It is time to change our watching habits. I, for one, would want that more than ever. Call me a goody-goody two shoes or a spaz, but I have had my share of television watching. It is simply about time that you realize too that watching television should not be a passive activity. Don’t just sit there waiting for a good program to come up. Either you know what you want to watch or you just turn in for the night and catch a long, sound sleep.
However, this is not to say that I don’t get off my ass to go to work, do my laundry, and of course, blog. I do all these things with regular routine. But when placed in front of the television, I forget all things like a 5-year old kid watching television on a Saturday morning. Forget that the cereal has become soggy. Forget that I’m still in my pajamas at noon. Forget that I haven’t had lunch yet. Television is the most addicting pastime, hobby, or leisure anyone can afford.
This is one of the many reasons why watching television have made many of today’s generation so oriented towards it. It has become a family activity that renders both parents and children’s free time glued to the screen. What used to be a past time has now become a household routine which both amazes me and perplexes me.
I admit to being one of the millions of people out there who turn on the television once they get home – without even watching it. I just walk in and turn it on. Change into comfortable clothes, prepare my meal and 30 minutes later, that’s the only time I get to sit down and see what is on the television.
If you take a look at this picture, nothing says sadder than a single person eating dinner in front of the television. Take another look and you’re just looking at millions of others like me. One more look and you’d know why many people tune in and watch the tube.
I get a dose of news, a bit of entertainment with good movies, some brain food with channels like National Geographic or Discovery Channel, and a bite of culture through Travel & Living. These are the redeeming qualities of television – it makes all your time worthwhile with quality programs like these
However, this is not always the case. This must be why TV Guide is created. It allows you to optimize your time and help you find whatever it is you are looking for. Then again, we don’t always buy a TV Guide because really, we think we don’t watch that much television anyway. And so, we don’t actually have brochures at home to browse through, thumbing the pages for any good old movie or that particular sitcom we liked and caught last week, whatever that was.
Nevertheless, my point in case is that the time we spend watching television is most probably spent on not watching it at all. I don’t know if there are any exact figures that demonstrate the watching habits of people – but I bet that this is true. Most of the time, we spend hours upon hours surfing between channels, watching a program we caught halfway and then switching it on to another without really finishing it, and then as boredom sets in, we struggle in futility to find a program we really like. But to no avail, it is already way past our bedtime and we sleep more tired than ever. This is not to count the other things we do like answer the phone, put our dishes in the sink, and take a bathroom break.
Many people have the misconception that watching television is relaxing. Well, it really isn’t. It’s time we hear what people who don’t spend as much time watching television tell us. Watching television is an activity that requires our attention and concentration – so while we may be entertained, we are still straining ourselves for hours on end trying to decipher everything that our senses are assaulted with.
It is time to change our watching habits. I, for one, would want that more than ever. Call me a goody-goody two shoes or a spaz, but I have had my share of television watching. It is simply about time that you realize too that watching television should not be a passive activity. Don’t just sit there waiting for a good program to come up. Either you know what you want to watch or you just turn in for the night and catch a long, sound sleep.
Bishop Gene Robinson and the Right to the Pursuit of Happiness
05.08.08 (7:18 pm) [edit]
There are things in life that are much worse than death says Bishop Gene Robinson.
I couldn’t agree more with the fellow.
Yet with all the happenings and controversial issues on and about religion in the US – the polygamous sect in Eldorado, Texas and Pope Benedict XVI visiting the USA – nothing quite compares to openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson ’s interview in the Today’s show with Matt Lauer. His belief that living life to the fullest, being able to love and marry the person you want to, in this case his own life partner Mark Andrew, is something that God wishes him to do.
Many gays and lesbians have pushed for this principle a long, long time ago –with or without God in the equation. And so, while a lot of countries have already allowed homosexual couples to marry, a man of the cloth marrying another man seems to bring or make a different equation – especially when the foundations of the Church concerns it and it begins to shake.
I am a true believer that everyone has the right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Gays, lesbians, transgendered among others have as much rights as any other straight Dick or Jane on the street. I am not particularly an expert on the subject but I know for sure that the fundamentals of the Church are facing very different and difficult times.
Opening up to changes and new ideas are not the best qualities of the Church. By the capital “C” I mean the institutions of the Catholic or Christian religions. So while gays and lesbians can be just about anybody, a lot of speculations are brought to mind when Bishop Gene Robinson declares he wants to marry Mark Andrew.
Just what is a priest anyway or a bishop for that matter? What concepts are we changing? What history are we making? And what does this all have to do with the Church? I still have to work out the contradictions that keep floating on the surface on my mind.
Personally, I think there is a certain hypocrisy in the Church whose doctrines and interpretations marginalizes a lot of people even when at the core of all its teachings only tells us to love. All this humanistic values they preach are somehow exclusive to a select kind of people. So I guess Bishop Gene Robinson must be a more contemporary or unconventional man of the cloth.
Isn’t that disturbing or frightening? Why do we offer to judge who is acceptable in God’s eyes or worthy of His love? Are we to live life trying to see whether we pass the qualifying rounds?
Now, the simple act and desire of one man brings to surface many issues the Church has ignored for a long time. It has failed to answer or acknowledge many pressing issues of the times as though banners and vinyl signs weren’t raised to bring many issues to light. Well, it’ll surely be a tight squeeze this time around.
And while I ponder and sort my own voice on this issue – I suggest the rest of us do the same. This is not just one man’s life, but everybody else’s – who are gay, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered, who are straight, who belongs to the church, who fights for liberty and rights, and who fights for the pursuit of happiness.
I couldn’t agree more with the fellow.
Yet with all the happenings and controversial issues on and about religion in the US – the polygamous sect in Eldorado, Texas and Pope Benedict XVI visiting the USA – nothing quite compares to openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson ’s interview in the Today’s show with Matt Lauer. His belief that living life to the fullest, being able to love and marry the person you want to, in this case his own life partner Mark Andrew, is something that God wishes him to do.
Many gays and lesbians have pushed for this principle a long, long time ago –with or without God in the equation. And so, while a lot of countries have already allowed homosexual couples to marry, a man of the cloth marrying another man seems to bring or make a different equation – especially when the foundations of the Church concerns it and it begins to shake.
I am a true believer that everyone has the right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Gays, lesbians, transgendered among others have as much rights as any other straight Dick or Jane on the street. I am not particularly an expert on the subject but I know for sure that the fundamentals of the Church are facing very different and difficult times.
Opening up to changes and new ideas are not the best qualities of the Church. By the capital “C” I mean the institutions of the Catholic or Christian religions. So while gays and lesbians can be just about anybody, a lot of speculations are brought to mind when Bishop Gene Robinson declares he wants to marry Mark Andrew.
Just what is a priest anyway or a bishop for that matter? What concepts are we changing? What history are we making? And what does this all have to do with the Church? I still have to work out the contradictions that keep floating on the surface on my mind.
Personally, I think there is a certain hypocrisy in the Church whose doctrines and interpretations marginalizes a lot of people even when at the core of all its teachings only tells us to love. All this humanistic values they preach are somehow exclusive to a select kind of people. So I guess Bishop Gene Robinson must be a more contemporary or unconventional man of the cloth.
Isn’t that disturbing or frightening? Why do we offer to judge who is acceptable in God’s eyes or worthy of His love? Are we to live life trying to see whether we pass the qualifying rounds?
Now, the simple act and desire of one man brings to surface many issues the Church has ignored for a long time. It has failed to answer or acknowledge many pressing issues of the times as though banners and vinyl signs weren’t raised to bring many issues to light. Well, it’ll surely be a tight squeeze this time around.
And while I ponder and sort my own voice on this issue – I suggest the rest of us do the same. This is not just one man’s life, but everybody else’s – who are gay, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered, who are straight, who belongs to the church, who fights for liberty and rights, and who fights for the pursuit of happiness.
Just How Helpful and Practical Are All the Technologies in Your Ordinary Mobile Phone?
05.06.08 (11:30 pm) [edit]
If they could turn mobile phones into mobile cars, I’d probably be impressed.
With all the technology today, a simple mobile phone is not all what it seems. Call me a laggard, but who can really keep up with the pace of all the technological innovations and inventions that keep springing up? While you barely have the time to distinguish what makes a 10 megapixel camera better than your 7 megapixel camera, you would have found out that there’s a 10.90 megapixel camera out to do you one over.
How many “powers” of your mobile phone can you truly utilize all at the same time? Let me rephrase that. Can you fully utilize all the features of your gadgetry before another model is released, posed to make it obsolete?
I have so many pressing questions that only a novice like me can ask. While some of you may take my questions literally, I ask these questions not as a fundamentalist, but to assess how much technology do we need? Do we use?
So while you may think and brand me as stupid, is it really embarrassing for me to ask these questions? If you have a normal phone like I do – a basic Nokia with 3G technology – haven’t you ever really questioned just how relevant it is, its features, and all its numerous add-ons?
Now that I reflect about these things, I aim not to question the merits of science & technology and all its pursuits. I am raising these questions because I wonder how truly essential and helpful all these technology can be.
I have asked myself these questions have up come with this list, which is probably enough to fill a catalog for booklet printing .
1. Just how do you blog using an ordinary phone?
2. Do you really want to see the face of the person you are speaking to? So, how frequently do you do it over 3G?
3. Do you really have the time to surf using your phone? How many minutes does that hobby last?
4. If your mobile phone allows your laptop to connect to an internet connection, just where do you intend to go?
5. Which places do you really find yourself in where there is no internet connection and you have to send a file?
6. In relation to both questions 4 and 5, just how frequently do you lug around your laptop just to make surfing with or on your phone convenient?
7. How frequently do you use Bluetooth ?
8. Do you have plenty of accessories that accommodates the Bluetooth technology?
9. How many emails do you receive in your ordinary phone?
10. Do you often reply using your phone?
A mobile phone have just released its new sets of mid-range phones. Are you buying?
With all the technology today, a simple mobile phone is not all what it seems. Call me a laggard, but who can really keep up with the pace of all the technological innovations and inventions that keep springing up? While you barely have the time to distinguish what makes a 10 megapixel camera better than your 7 megapixel camera, you would have found out that there’s a 10.90 megapixel camera out to do you one over.
How many “powers” of your mobile phone can you truly utilize all at the same time? Let me rephrase that. Can you fully utilize all the features of your gadgetry before another model is released, posed to make it obsolete?
I have so many pressing questions that only a novice like me can ask. While some of you may take my questions literally, I ask these questions not as a fundamentalist, but to assess how much technology do we need? Do we use?
So while you may think and brand me as stupid, is it really embarrassing for me to ask these questions? If you have a normal phone like I do – a basic Nokia with 3G technology – haven’t you ever really questioned just how relevant it is, its features, and all its numerous add-ons?
Now that I reflect about these things, I aim not to question the merits of science & technology and all its pursuits. I am raising these questions because I wonder how truly essential and helpful all these technology can be.
I have asked myself these questions have up come with this list, which is probably enough to fill a catalog for booklet printing .
1. Just how do you blog using an ordinary phone?
2. Do you really want to see the face of the person you are speaking to? So, how frequently do you do it over 3G?
3. Do you really have the time to surf using your phone? How many minutes does that hobby last?
4. If your mobile phone allows your laptop to connect to an internet connection, just where do you intend to go?
5. Which places do you really find yourself in where there is no internet connection and you have to send a file?
6. In relation to both questions 4 and 5, just how frequently do you lug around your laptop just to make surfing with or on your phone convenient?
7. How frequently do you use Bluetooth ?
8. Do you have plenty of accessories that accommodates the Bluetooth technology?
9. How many emails do you receive in your ordinary phone?
10. Do you often reply using your phone?
A mobile phone have just released its new sets of mid-range phones. Are you buying?
A Postcard View of People and Places as Inspired by Giada
05.01.08 (7:22 pm) [edit]
Travelling is a luxury we cannot afford regularly.
Any plain Joe or Jane would know just how regular trips would dent one’s pockets and savings. And with the continuous increase of oil prices, who can truly afford to go so far? And so, I have resigned myself to watching television programs that featured all these must-see places, must-sample foods, and must-try activities.
I love and hate television this way.
This ambivalence, of course, can only spring from the fact that you are sitting at home watching these people visit one destination after another when it could have been you. All the while, you mutter under your breath “You lucky people.” And you think about this, time and again, and the irony presents itself louder each time. You think - how can I just sit here and watch these travel programs? Why cannot I just go and wander off? It’s not as though I am chained to this couch. Besides, am I not working to earn enough and fund what I love to do? But in the end, the reality just bites you in the ass. There are bills to pay, work to go to, a cat to feed, and so on.
Then you pity yourself and reality sticks its head back in the room. Reality hangs around as you mull over thoughts that prick your ego like needles. You think you want to stop watching travel programs but you can’t. You know how this cycle is insufferable yet you still do it. This sado-masochistic activity pulls your heart two ways.
And so, once you have had your fill, you retire to your bed and wonder how you’ll boost yourself for the next day.
* * *
That’s me right there. The person who can’t seem to have anything going. And funny thing is, I’m sure I’m not the only. I’m sure this isn’t my story alone.
So while I can’t afford to go to a private island just yet, I’ve decided to do what two things that will help me through. As inspired by a program by Giada de Laurentis, I will do even the most cliché things that any tourist would do – I might, hopefully, learn a few things that way. I’ll do this by visiting select places that a particular town or city is famous for – be it by their frozen custard ice cream or by a local lake. When that is not an option, I can go on a little adventure and can look for a postcard perfect view of my own – even if I am in an urban landscape.
And so, as inspired by Giada de Laurentis, I do these things: 1) At the River Side café, I will sit under the Brooklyn Bridge with a Manhattan cocktail in hand, watching the sunset fade out into the night while the skyscrapers’ lights fill the skyline. 2) Wait in line at Grimaldis and order a whole Margherita pizza; 3) I will find a heavenly spot in the acres of sprawling space that is Central Park and have a breakfast of bagels with smoked salmon or cream cheese, foamy cappuccino, and fresh strawberries. 4) Go up the Empire State Building and capture my own picture, postcard design perfect image of New York.
Any plain Joe or Jane would know just how regular trips would dent one’s pockets and savings. And with the continuous increase of oil prices, who can truly afford to go so far? And so, I have resigned myself to watching television programs that featured all these must-see places, must-sample foods, and must-try activities.
I love and hate television this way.
This ambivalence, of course, can only spring from the fact that you are sitting at home watching these people visit one destination after another when it could have been you. All the while, you mutter under your breath “You lucky people.” And you think about this, time and again, and the irony presents itself louder each time. You think - how can I just sit here and watch these travel programs? Why cannot I just go and wander off? It’s not as though I am chained to this couch. Besides, am I not working to earn enough and fund what I love to do? But in the end, the reality just bites you in the ass. There are bills to pay, work to go to, a cat to feed, and so on.
Then you pity yourself and reality sticks its head back in the room. Reality hangs around as you mull over thoughts that prick your ego like needles. You think you want to stop watching travel programs but you can’t. You know how this cycle is insufferable yet you still do it. This sado-masochistic activity pulls your heart two ways.
And so, once you have had your fill, you retire to your bed and wonder how you’ll boost yourself for the next day.
* * *
That’s me right there. The person who can’t seem to have anything going. And funny thing is, I’m sure I’m not the only. I’m sure this isn’t my story alone.
So while I can’t afford to go to a private island just yet, I’ve decided to do what two things that will help me through. As inspired by a program by Giada de Laurentis, I will do even the most cliché things that any tourist would do – I might, hopefully, learn a few things that way. I’ll do this by visiting select places that a particular town or city is famous for – be it by their frozen custard ice cream or by a local lake. When that is not an option, I can go on a little adventure and can look for a postcard perfect view of my own – even if I am in an urban landscape.
And so, as inspired by Giada de Laurentis, I do these things: 1) At the River Side café, I will sit under the Brooklyn Bridge with a Manhattan cocktail in hand, watching the sunset fade out into the night while the skyscrapers’ lights fill the skyline. 2) Wait in line at Grimaldis and order a whole Margherita pizza; 3) I will find a heavenly spot in the acres of sprawling space that is Central Park and have a breakfast of bagels with smoked salmon or cream cheese, foamy cappuccino, and fresh strawberries. 4) Go up the Empire State Building and capture my own picture, postcard design perfect image of New York.