I promised myself several times that I would not, would not, would not watch the show, but there I was last night, glued in front of the TV, watching the “live” final episode of “The Apprentice”. I partly blame Markie for this, as he was hogging the computer, and CSI: Las Vegas, for airing a re-run at that time. I had nothing else to do! (I know, I know, I could have done the dishes. Heh.)

So there I was, semi-hypnotized by the cheap TV antics and silly tomfoolery of The Donald and company (as in, Trump “spontaneously” calls in Regis Philbin to do an “unscripted” interview with some of the members of the audience, among other things…hello! give me a break!).

Then, Regis announces that they were unveiling their latest “surprise”, and the video rolls…

16 hunky, muscled men (some of them good-looking). 16 stories of the families behind these men. Clips of the men and their beloved in different modes of hugging and kissing…

Uh-oh.

Here comes “The Contender”.

The official website says: “”The Contender” is a new unscripted drama about the lives of 16 boxers. The boxers will be selected from a nationwide search and will represent the best and most promising talent available. Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard will mentor these young boxers as they compete for a million dollar prize.”

Sly and Sugar Ray are “mentors” on this show?
You betcha my dad and others of his generation
will be tuned to the tube every Monday.

The website goes on to say: “”The Contender” is not a show simply about boxers or boxing, it is a show about people and the dreams, hopes, desires and fears that motivate all of us in our battles big and small.”

Boxing + telegenic young fighters + Sly Stallone + Sugar Ray Leonard + 16 emotional/inspiring/dramatic family stories + $1 million pot up for grabs.

Man oh man oh man. This will be like watching “Rocky” with commentary by Oprah.

Yes, Virginia, it looks like another ratings coup for Mark Burnett and company.

And so, for good or bad, “reality TV” lives on…

Posted under Navel-Gazing

It’s another chilly night in Florida, and my thoughts turn to a few nights several months ago, much colder than this, when we were out in the freezing streets of another city…

Less than a year ago today we found ourselves in New York City, during what The New York Times would call “the sharpest cold of winter”. But not even the chilling, finger- and toe-numbing cold could stop us from having three of the best days we’ve had all year.

Armed with nothing but an email from an NY-based friend, a travel book, and some maps, Mark and I flew in to NYC from Florida. Our friend was at work that day and couldn’t meet us at the airport; we got instructions from her on how to take the AirTrain to the Howard’s Beach subway station, and from there take the subway to Manhattan, and meet her in Time’s Square.

At the JFK airport, Mark’s sense of direction was impeccable. He got us across a narrow street between the arrival area and the parking lot, up the elevator, and to the AirTrain. We were on our way to the vaunted “Capital of the World”.

Once out of the subway station in Manhattan however, I had to take charge, as the lights of the city seemed to dazzle Mark momentarily, and he looked around at the neon signs and the skyscrapers with a slightly dazed look on his face. A few minutes later, we were at the meeting place our friend Janjan had designated.


Time’s Square! Whoo-ee!

“Welcome to New York!”, Janjan yelled, grinning as she walked across a narrow side-street towards us. She was, of course, appropriately attired for winter in NY, down to comfy thick boots. I was, however, shivering in the trainers I’ve been wearing since we got on the plane in Florida.

“Where do you want to go first?”, Janjan asked. “Dinner!”, Mark and I exclaimed in unison. Dinner it was then, and that night we went to Chinatown, to a little hole-in-the wall restaurant that reminded me of other hole-in-the wall Chinese restaurants in Cebu, Binondo, Hongkong, and Singapore. I was pleased.

After dinner we walked around Chinatown a bit, then headed to Janjan’s apartment in Brooklyn, a good hour away by subway. That night, for the first time in my life, I went to sleep with the heater on, instead of the airconditioner.

WALKING TOUR

The next day we decided to have a walking tour of New York, minus guide. We had bought 7-day all-you-can-ride Metrocard passes (which sold for $21 each at that time), which would allow us unlimited rides in the subway and in buses. We had also gotten a copy of the Subway map, which Mark and Janjan pored through over breakfast, marking out the spots we wanted to visit, while I made sure we had all our necessary items in my “fanny pack”.

First stop was the Dakota Aparments, on the Upper West Side. Mark had seen a photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in front of their NY residence at this website, and wanted a similar one. Janjan gamely knelt on the sidewalk just to get the proper angle for this photo, before rushing on to work. Then it was just Mark and me, and NYC!

Spot the difference.

We decided to take the subway up to the north side of Central Park, and then walk down the length of Fifth Avenue, and meet up with Janjan later that evening at Rockefeller Center. We were on the lookout for the Metropolitan Museum of Art (popularly known as The Met), which was “somewhere in the middle part of Central Park”, along Fifth Ave. Before we got there however, we wove in and out of Fifth, Madison, and Park Avenues, admiring the brownstone houses. That was when we saw the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, and decided to check it out.

There was an ongoing exhibit at that time. We decided to follow a tour guide, who was leading a small knot of visitors, around the museum. We soon learned that the museum we were in used to be the residence of Andrew Carnegie and his family. We marveled at the architecture and the lavish attention to detail. In fact, we were more impressed with the house (well, mansion really) and the vision of its former owner than with the exhibit it was hosting at that time. We also found out that one of the intricately carved wood ceilings was imported from the Philippines, and made by Filipino woodcarvers. It was gorgeous! And I must say that our guide was also very impressive in both her depth of knowledge and sense of humor.

After leaving the Design Museum and walking around for about another thirty minutes, we finally arrived at The Met. We had a quick “lunch” of hotdog and soda outside on the front steps, and hurried inside to start our tour. The museum was huge! Even after we walked around for more than two hours, we were only able to view the exhibits on the first floor. I was particularly drawn to the European sculptures and paintings, as well as the Arms and Armor exhibit. We had to cut our visit short though, as it was a Thursday and The Met closed at 5:30 pm that day.

We had gotten tired from almost-nonstop walking, so we decided to ride a bus down Fifth Avenue. There was a bus stop right outside The Met, but it took a while for us to get on one, as many of the people from the museum were also trying to catch a ride.

Finally, we got on a bus, but had to stand for several minutes before we could get a seat, as the bus was packed! We rode the bus for about ten minutes, then got off as the row of shops beckoned with their lights and displays. We walked past Saks Fifth Avenue, ducked into Tiffany’s for a few minutes, and continued walking until we got to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral on 51st Street. We wanted to go inside and look around, as Saint Patrick’s is known as “the largest decorated gothic-style Catholic Cathedral in the United States”. We sat on the steps outside and took some pictures, before finding the door and going in.

Then on we walked again, headed for Rockefeller Center. By this time, we were all walked out, and our feet were aching like anything! We went inside the NBC store to rest and get warm until Janjan met us there. Then it was on to dinner.


At the Rockefeller Center

We made our way to John’s Pizzeria in Greenwich Village, hailed by New York City for Dummies as “one of the contenders for best pizza in town”. After some discussion, we agreed on Pizza #31. I am not ashamed to say that I practically wolfed down several slices, partly because it tasted really great, and partly because I was so tired and hungry.

But our walking tour was not done yet! Mark wanted to check out CBGB before we left New York, which is known as the home of underground rock. We walked about five blocks to the club, before finally going back to Brooklyn for much-needed sleep and rest.

LIBERTY, LIFE, AND HAPPINESS

We started off early on our third day, to get to Liberty Island and see the renown Statue of Liberty. By the time we got to the ferry, it had gotten colder and the wind had picked up. Once on the island, we tried to brave the stiff wind and near-freezing temperature, but all we could manage was about 10 minutes’ worth of picture-taking before we ran inside the tourist center to seek shelter from the cold. It was so uncomfortably chilly that we decided to forego getting off the ferry at Ellis Island, which holds a museum dedicated to the history of immigration. Hopefully we’ll be able to visit this island the next time we’re in New York.


Bundled up against the cold

Back in Manhattan island, we took the subway to Ground Zero. We looked around, expecting to see a huge memorial somewhere, but maybe we looked in the wrong place or we were just tired by then, but we didn’t see it. We could see though that work was already starting on the new building(s) that would be built on the site. We took a moment to remember 9/11, and the impact this had on the world and in our lives.

Across the street from Ground Zero, we stopped at a sidewalk stall selling souvenirs. That was when we noticed a lot of people streaming into some department store doors. The sign above it read: Century 21. The only Century 21 we knew was the real estate company, but we half-remembered Janjan telling us there was a big department store by that name. In we went to check it out, and boy, were we in for a surprise. This store was comprised of 3 or 4 floors of really great bargains! After browsing around, I knew that it compared favorably with the some of the outlet stores I’ve been to in Florida. We bought a few things, and were very pleased with our purchases. The store does seem to live up to its tag “New York’s best-kept secret”.

From Century 21, we went up to 8th Street to check out the New York University (NYU). We learned that NYU was not just one building inside a “traditional” campus, but several building scattered around that area. However, when we asked several staff members at the Barnes and Nobles outlet there for directions to the nearest building, they were no help at all, and a couple of them were even very curt. Tired and somewhat discouraged, we decided to just walk around, when we saw this cozy little bookshop named Shakespeare & Co. Our interest piqued, we went in. The shop was indeed small and cozy, but it had a great selection of books, as well as very friendly staff. We ended up buying several books and journals before setting off for the direction of the NYU building that they pointed us to.

After walking up and down more streets, we made our way to meet Janjan for dinner in Haveli, an Indian restaurant in Second Avenue, between 5th and 6th Street. For some reason, we got off on the wrong subway station, and ended up walking several blocks! We were beat and famished when we got to the restaurant. But its warm ambience, attentive staff, and great food rejuvenated us. And the price wasn’t bad either. A great meal can be enjoyed for about $15-20 per person. That night, happiness for me was a perfectly-done lamb curry. When we come back to New York, Haveli will absolutely, definitely be one of our stops.

Taking our wish to have a “food trip” to heart, Janjan suggested we go one street over to “A Salt and Battery”, a small restaurant between 4th and 5th streets, for dessert. There, we ordered their famous deep-fried Mars bars (which came with vanilla ice cream). I first thought this might be gross, but it was actually very delicious!


Janjan scooping up the yummy dessert

The next day, we went up to 8th street before heading off for the airport and back to the relative warmth of Florida. We noticed that it had gotten even chillier - even the dogs were in sweaters! I couldn’t feel my fingers and toes anymore! It was only at the airport that Mark saw this article in The New York Times:


But all in all, this trip was definitely worth the chill and the aching feet. It gave me a better appreciation of the city, and admiration for its denizens. New York is a wild, beautiful, crazy, exciting, fantastic place. We’ll definitely be back for more.

Posted under Travel