Thanksgiving

There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter--the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something... the city that is a goal. It is this third city that accounts for New York’s high strung disposition, its poetical deportment, its dedication to the arts, and its incomparable achievements. Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion... each embraces New York with the intense excitement of first love, each absorbs New York with the fresh eyes of an adventurer... ~E.B. White

I love this quote. It was part of a subway advertising system aimed to make those of us who take public transportation smarter. Also included are the opening lines from Metamorphosis and quotes from “notable” New Yorkers. I’ve hesitated putting it in my blog because anything along the lines of lyrics to “New York, New York” clearly labels me a transplant. But as a true New Yorker told me this past week, I have to live here for at least eight years before I can say I’m a New Yorker anyway. Even then I might not earn that right as my crucial to my development as a person, high school years, were spent in the suburbs. So I might as well enjoy the glorified tourist status while I’ve got it.

Part of the fun of being a transplant in NYC is the joy of doing everything you possibly can, from scavenger hunts and 200+ person balloon fights, to pub crawls and local museums. Added to the joy of random sighting such as the guy who dragged his dead stuffed dog on wheels throughout the subway station. Questions such as “What?, Why?, Really? are very common but met with the attitude of: “Who really cares. It will make a great story.” It took me a while to realize that I live here so if I don’t head off to a museum or a meet-up event every weekend it will be okay. I’m not a tourist that has to fit it all in within a few days.

For Thanksgiving this year I got to host, sans the cooking portion. We saw the balloons get inflated (with barely able to move through crowds), the Macy’s Day parade (with crowds starting around 6:30 in the morning), Dave and Busters (dad got beat in almost everything), and Black Friday shopping (four hours of speedshopping and we only got through two stores). Hopefully next year mom will be able to join us.

Taboo

Recently, I’ve been intrigued by the National Geographic show Taboo. It takes a look at a variety of customs throughout the world that outsiders might find forbidden or unmentionable, ranging in topic from food and standards of beauty, to death and child-rearing. I respect the show for trying to remain unbiased even if it doesn’t always succeed. It includes American customs I take for granted through the lenses of an outsider, shaping behaviors as strange, even unthinkable. The episode on demon possession presented American preachers in the same light as vo-doo priestesses. It makes sense; in a society without the belief in demonic possession either would seem anomalous. In a similar vein, putting make-up on your dead relatives, filling them with chemicals to avoid decay, and literally staring at the bodies, really is a little odd compared to the rest of the world.

Americans are notorious for not even trying to adapt to a different way of life when visiting other countries. Sometimes it isn’t on purpose; it takes a lifetime to adapt to all the nuances that cultures develop. These little behaviors create an “us” enabling a sense of belonging. But there is a danger when the “us against them” mentality emerges. There is a lot more to say about this topic and it always inspires dynamic, energetic, discussions. I leave it firmly within the category of being both a blessing and a curse and instead wander to amusing stories where my own unconscious cultural paradigms were exposed.

When visiting Montreal as a child my family wondered why the McDonalds was so loud, only to find when we all started eating that all the noise had been coming from one table… ours. A fellow classmate who came from a society that did not wear jewelry on hands asked me to explain the meaning of wearing rings. Seemed simple enough until I realized there are a lot of variables, and always exceptions- the gender of the wearer, which finger the ring is on, what stone is in the ring. While visiting a Thai University American culture class my team was asked: “Why do you keep your kids in cages?” We didn’t even know what they were talking about at first- cribs and playpens. I’ve been asked if I have a awful relationship with my mother because I destroyed our life link- I have a pierced belly button. By the way, I don’t have a bad relationship with my mother; she inspired this blog and follows it among other things.

DayZero

One of the traits that I inherited from my mom is a love of lists. I make all types of lists not just the typical “To-Do” types. Sometimes when I don’t accomplish enough on the list, I go back through, write down what I did spend my time doing just so I can have the satisfaction of crossing it off. Yes, it is a little sad but gratifying.

A friend who is also addicted to lists recently gave me two separate, wonderful ones: A list of 1,001 books to read before you die. I have to read approximately 1 a month until I’m 80 to finish.

The other is a blog movement similar to a “Bucket List” or a grand “To-Do” list: 101 Things to do in 1,001 days. Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Why 1001 Days? According to Day Zero, the movement’s source, 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, better for organizing and timing tasks such as overseas trips. I’ve included a sampling of my list below. My date of completion is July 30, 2012. Which incidentally is just a few months before the world is supposed to end anyway.

Travel
Travel to Australia- Done 6/24/11
Travel to Antarctica
See the Cherry Blossoms at New York Botanical Garden- Done 4/24/10
Do 5 touristy things in NYC- Done 6/20/11
Visit the Grand Canyon
Visit a state I have never been to before- Done 4/16/11 (NC)
See the Statue of Liberty close-up- Done 12/5/09
Touch the Pacific Ocean- Done 6/25/11

Walk within photo distance of lava

"Why Not" Adventures
Get scuba certified
Fly in a hot air balloon
Go sky diving- Done 7/4/2010
Go white water rafting- Done 8/7/2010
Get disaster certified
Go camping- Done 8/17/10
Apply for a game show- Done 3/26/11
Compete in a ballroom dance competition- Done 3/20/10
Run a marathon- 1/2 marathon done 4/3/10 Full done 10/2/10
Host Thanksgiving- Done 11/26/09
Attend the Macy's Day parade- Done 11/26/09
Shoot a gun (non-paintball)- Done 6/14/11
See a Cirque du Soleil show- Done 6/11/2010
Get really dressed up and go to the movies and a fast food restaurant
Get motorcycle license
Fly on trapeze- Done 1/1/2010
Break a record- Done 5/12/2010
Be an extra in a movie
Go to an art gallery opening- Done 12/2/2010
Dance in the rain
Win a prize- 7/9/10
Go kayaking on the Hudson- Done 7/24/2010
Participate in a scavenger hunt- Done 10/10/2010
Get a puppy
Get a massage- Done 12/11/10
Leave a note in a book for someone to find- Done 2/1/11
Attend 25 live music performances

Friends and Family
Send out Christmas cards- Done 12/24/10
Get new family portrait taken- Done 12/26/10
Have a 2nd date that is just as fantastic as the 1st and 3rd dates- Done but I'm not telling when it was ;)
Allow someone else to pick my dinner at a restaurant
Kiss at one of the wonders of the world (natural or manmade)- Done 6/16/11

Self-improvement
Go w/o caffeine for a month - Done 12/16/09
Become conversational in Spanish
Get a new tattoo- Done 12/30/09
Find a volunteer organization
Try sushi again- Done 8/4/10
Cook dinner for another person and the person lives- Done 6/8/2010
Unplug for one whole weekend- Done 1/17/2010
Finish a crossword puzzle on my own. Monday version counts.- Done 1/16/2010
Get rid of 50 things in my room- Done 5/10/11
Eat vegtables everyday for a month.