..Continuation...
The city that never sleeps is a pretty apt name for NYC. We may think, oh, it never sleeps cuz it's so fun, so many things to do! It's incredible... Well, partly that, but NYC can't sleep mostly because it cannot afford to sleep peacefully. It just cannot. New Yorkers have that jadedness embossed in their posture and every one of them has a secret and pain of life waiting to be shared. The city is almost tired.
 |
| South Seaport - Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Willy-B Bridges |
So the new budget kicked in. I could feel the impact because I was working in the public sector. All day long people were talking about what-ifs, what if they got laid off, what if this and that. Meanwhile, work is piling up and people just don't have the will to finish it anymore. I mean seriously, who would have the energy to solve other people's problems while their own livelihood is being threatened. I guess that was probably why they hired sooooo many interns because most don't have financial interests. But the workload + inexperience drive things even crazier... Anyway, one time I was randomly talking to a woman (ex police officer) on the subway (I know I broke the No.1 unwritten rule of NYC!) and apparently she was being coerced to quit without unemployment benefits because she was seeing her dying mother in Colombia for a few weeks. Those are some ways the city is trimming on their budget, including eliminating Transit service which bugged the hell out of me. But I can adapt fast. I feel bad for tourists who were holding on to travel guides with the old subway/bus map and they got lost on the M train... I know it was for the sake of efficiency in this city of 8 millions not counting the suburbs, but for a city this size it is really taking a toll on the residents and employees alike, esp. public employees.
Back at the restaurant, it has been a drowsy month due to the World Cup (people go to bars, not restaurants) but it was OK. Since we had so much more free time talking shit, we talked about everyone's lives and stuff. The past, the war, anti-communism, whatever... it has been a struggled for everyone. We are all immigrants trying to earn a living, a very very harsh living. However, I feel like people here haven't caught on to the study abroad waves. They called us COCC (con ông cháu cha - relatives of communist officials) because for them that was the only way to go abroad... I did not justify or defend myself because I know their pain of a bloody past cannot be changed within a blink of the eyes. Moreover, it might seem like a tight-knit community but behind it all, they talk about how the other people are being fake, and that in the States they are no such things as self-less motives... Maybe I'm not in the community long enough to see that but the perception of a utilitarian society has seeped so deeply into the community, creating distrust and doubt... It is always on alert mode...
I still can't imagine living in New York City peacefully. Even when I was just a temporary, I had so much difficulty in everything, from work to money to accommodation to people... keeping me on edge most of the time. So many things happened... Not exactly for any specific reason. I'm contagiously insomniac.
However, the beauty of the city is also exactly that, its disturbances, its 5-hour energy drink effect... It is an amazing place, to find yourself, to find passion, and to feel like you own the world... Concerts, free stuff, pretty parks and beautiful people keep things interesting... And that accent, that very New York-y accent that I've come to endear a little bit more. It sounds rougher, but full of characters and warmth. I mimicked it sometimes too when I talked to people. I guess it must have sounded pretty weird. Anyway, the moment I realized how mundane New York City is, it was also the moment when I had fully immersed myself. I started asking why would people come to New York? (The same question for Saigon also) But nonetheless it always felt good to be able to show visitors what I knew about the city, I mean not like a local expert but maybe with a wider scope of perspectives (?) Such as... everyone should know not all the best stuff is in Manhattan... There are absolutely no good Thai places in Manhattan with a decent price... It's just one example...
I don't know where I'm gonna end up in the future but I am definitely gonna miss NYC. Living here is not an option, it'd better be a sleepless passion...
Back at the restaurant, it has been a drowsy month due to the World Cup (people go to bars, not restaurants) but it was OK. Since we had so much more free time talking shit, we talked about everyone's lives and stuff. The past, the war, anti-communism, whatever... it has been a struggled for everyone. We are all immigrants trying to earn a living, a very very harsh living. However, I feel like people here haven't caught on to the study abroad waves. They called us COCC (con ông cháu cha - relatives of communist officials) because for them that was the only way to go abroad... I did not justify or defend myself because I know their pain of a bloody past cannot be changed within a blink of the eyes. Moreover, it might seem like a tight-knit community but behind it all, they talk about how the other people are being fake, and that in the States they are no such things as self-less motives... Maybe I'm not in the community long enough to see that but the perception of a utilitarian society has seeped so deeply into the community, creating distrust and doubt... It is always on alert mode...
I still can't imagine living in New York City peacefully. Even when I was just a temporary, I had so much difficulty in everything, from work to money to accommodation to people... keeping me on edge most of the time. So many things happened... Not exactly for any specific reason. I'm contagiously insomniac.
However, the beauty of the city is also exactly that, its disturbances, its 5-hour energy drink effect... It is an amazing place, to find yourself, to find passion, and to feel like you own the world... Concerts, free stuff, pretty parks and beautiful people keep things interesting... And that accent, that very New York-y accent that I've come to endear a little bit more. It sounds rougher, but full of characters and warmth. I mimicked it sometimes too when I talked to people. I guess it must have sounded pretty weird. Anyway, the moment I realized how mundane New York City is, it was also the moment when I had fully immersed myself. I started asking why would people come to New York? (The same question for Saigon also) But nonetheless it always felt good to be able to show visitors what I knew about the city, I mean not like a local expert but maybe with a wider scope of perspectives (?) Such as... everyone should know not all the best stuff is in Manhattan... There are absolutely no good Thai places in Manhattan with a decent price... It's just one example...
I don't know where I'm gonna end up in the future but I am definitely gonna miss NYC. Living here is not an option, it'd better be a sleepless passion...
No comments:
Post a Comment