Signs of the Times (#2) - Even Dim Sum Goes On Sale

And why not? There is a price for everything. One of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown – Grand Harmony on 98 Mott Street is now running a Dim Sum on sales special - $2.25 for all sizes on weekdays only, excluding weekends and public holidays. Normally a small dim sum dish goes for $2.25, a medium one costs $3.50 and a large one commands $4.75. So your best bargain would be to order the large ones and it will cost you only $2.25 per selection. That said, most people I know don’t usually order dim sum based on size, but rather, based on whether they like a particular item or dietary restrictions. Surely a vegetarian would not order a roast pork bun even if it free?

While we are on the topic of food, OpenTable which allows you to book restaurants online is now running an “Appetite Stimulus Plan” at a number of NYC restaurants November 17-21 (similar to the annual Restaurant Weeks during the summer), with 3-Course Menus & Double Dining Rewards Points (not sure what you can redeem the points for). Costs: $35 Dinners, $24 Lunches.

Deflation is everywhere. And bargains will be had everywhere too.

The Worst Compliment......

That someone can pay you is to look at an old photograph of yours and say "wow, your photograph looks so pretty"; or “is that really you?". Ok, this has happened to me twice in the past year and each time it took place when I went shopping in my sweats, hair uncombed and sans make-up, and I was asked for an ID as a proof of my identity (I probably did look like I was homeless). I presented my driver's license - with a photo that was taken 16 years ago - face artfully made-up, hair properly coiffured, and body designer - suited up.

Each time the cashier took a double take to see if indeed I was the person whose picture was on the driver's license! Well it isn't my fault that the New York State DMV grants automatic renewal of one's license with the same photo and no requirement of retaking the photo to reflect the rite of aging! I suppose I can always volunteer to take an updated photo that would show that I am now 15 lbs heavier than 16 years ago; and certainly time has gallantly and graciously added a few lines of life's trials and tribulations to my face. But then I thought, why bothered? It surely beats getting the opposite reaction whenever I presented one of my expired passports at immigration counters. That passport photo had me looking like a drugged-out convict or a refugee with Don King hair (it was taken on a very windy day). For 10 years it took me unusually long to clear customs every time I traveled overseas, as agents are trained not to comment about my appearance but will search on their computers high and low to see if my mug shot will appear on some terrorist list!

I revel in the shock value that a photograph can generate!!

Signs of the Times (#1): Recession Special - $5 for a Single Tan

As I stroll thru the streets of NYC I can’t help but begin to see signs of carnage from the fall out of the sub prime crisis (shuttered retail store fronts, homeless folks on the rise, etc) hitting NYC, albeit slowly. Between now and the end of this crisis or the beginning of an economic recovery (whenever CNN or CNBC make that pronouncement), I endeavor to go around NYC or wherever my travels will take me to chronicle real life “Recession” or “Sales” specials in these tough economic times. Hopefully in 2 years I will look back onto this blog and find the photo-journal documentation of this period an enlightening one.

So the first entry goes to Hollywood Tan’s Recession Special - $5 for a single tan.

Exactly what does a single tan mean?

Does it mean you tan only one side of your body only? One arm, one leg?

Well, the info was posted on the window: depending on the type of machine that you use to tan yourself – the cost ranges from $12 to $30 per session. Alternatively you may sign up for an UNLIMITED monthly package of between $39.99 to $99.99 per month depending on the machine.

A Reflection on the Election

It has been 2 days since the dawning of a new chapter in American history, and I am feeling two very profound emotions.

I am profoundly moved that some of my overseas friends who do not know our President-elect Obama have shed tears of joy for the American people when we elected him on Nov. 4th. A fellow passenger whom I met on the Royal Scotsman Train recently emailed me to say as he and his family was watching the US election on TV in Italy, they cried in joy for the American people. And he told me a recent poll in France showed that 93% of the nation would have voted for Obama.

It is then that I am equally profoundly disturbed that in our own nation, people have become so polarized during this entire process where (correct me if I am wrong), many supporters of McCain / Palin are so hateful of Obama that one could feel the venom of abhorrence for him and for his supporters (just witness all the exchanges on Face Book between the 2 camps of supporters and editorials in newspapers). However much one dislikes Obama on policy, experience or ideological grounds, one must give this junior senator enormous credit of galvanizing a team of smart and focused lieutenants and a record number of people to work on his campaign and executing an impeccable campaign. If a CEO of a corporation has the ability to galvanize his or her people to garner record market share or earnings, he or she would be deemed successful. And if such is the criterion by which one judges the CEO of the USA, then I say Obama is showing early signs of being a successful president. I voted for Obama based on my belief that he has the ability to EXECUTE his strategy because he is smart, and he will by and large pick the right team to help him with the enormous task of rebuilding America both on the domestic and international stage.

So to the anti-Obama folks, I implore you to do the following: instead of calling names or making judgments about the people who supported our President-elect, or calling for the early demise of his ability to do a good job, why don’t we all unite behind him and help him restore America’s respectability and economic prowess? If we are living in this country (and I am assuming we are living here by choice), then why don’t we stand behind Obama and prove the rest of the world that they are right – that the American people made the right choice. The alternative is simple, we can always leave the country if we don’t like what we see.

UNITE WE STAND, AND DIVIDE WE SHALL FALL (OR FAIL)!!

http://www.aarp.org/issues/dividedwefail/

A City of Two Tales

Today is my mom’s birthday and I use the occasion to celebrate in relative high style via dinner at Gordon Ramsay At The London (yes, a mouthful for a restaurant name, but then if you have your own reality show by the name of Hell’s Kitchen, you can name your restaurant any length you like), followed by A Tale of Two Cities, one of the latest productions to hit Broadway (full house). I couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that the restaurant was packed and Time Square was mobbed with people. Where is recession or the imminent arrival of it?

Over the past month I have taken out-of-town guests from the other coast or from 8,000 miles away to sample the culinary delights of NYC. Without fail every high end bar or restaurant was packed with people or next to impossible to get a reservation on a weekend; and Time Square was forever packed!! It seems that the more expensive a restaurant, the harder it is to get a reservation!! Ostensibly on the surface it does not look like anyone is worrying about job losses or the slow down in the economy. So now it begs the question: why are people still spending in spite of the recent economic woes and the loss of perceived or real wealth from the stock market? Perhaps you have people like me who will celebrate special occasions such as birthdays by splurging. Perhaps the foreign tourists who booked their trips 6 months ago are here using their strong currencies (well less strong by the day)? Perhaps people have saved enough from the great bonuses of the past 2 - 3 years that a minor dent in the stock market won’t alter their spending habits? Perhaps people feel even more compelled to spend for fear there is no tomorrow? Perhaps those who do not have the means to spend simply just put more on their credit cards since presumably Uncle Sam will bail them out? Perhaps people are still using their corporate cards to take their clients out?

I know not the answer but I do know that sometime in the next few months this picture should be very different from today as various firms are cutting their staff in NYC – ranging from Wall Street to media to publishing. It is estimated that close to 200,000 private sector jobs will be cut by end of 2009 in NYC, not to mention the public sector. Certainly from the closure of retail store fronts on the Upper East Side alone in recent months (seems like one every few blocks along Lex, Third and Second Ave) should portend a period of significant slow down. There is a retail clothing store 2 blocks from me that has a ”Going Out Of Business” sign accompanied by a 75% off notice on its window – less than 6 months after it opened. I wonder what the rest of NYC will look like in the spring of 2009?

I Should Have Listened to My Fortune Teller

It is amazing that only in hindsight one believes in the accuracy or uncanny-ness of fortune telling. In the summer of 1995 I went to a fortune teller in HK (renown I was told, with laser precision accuracy) who told me there are 2 things in life that I must avoid, one of which I heed, the other one I did not. The first was NEVER to play the stock market, in spite of the fact that I was a stock broker and continued to be one till 2007. He told me in no uncertain terms that while I would make a good living as a stock broker, I will not fare well if I invest in the stock market on my own. I remember quipping to him that I shall not practice what I preach to my clients then, he affirmatively stated, “NO”. I thought perhaps he read my in past that I had bought HSBC warrants in 1993 and the Fed hiked interest rate 14x in the next 2 years causing my warrants to expire worthless in 1995, so I really did not pay him much attention.

Along the line of money, he went on to tell me that it isn’t my lot in life to win any lottery tickets or for that matter, raffle tickets, therefore I ought to save my hard earned savings and don’t waste it on such frivolous items. He told me I will never win anything gambling so I should never step into a casino. Over the next 13 years what did I do? I did exactly the opposite of what he told me, and the stock market proves to be my Achilles’ heel!! I have won a few lottery or raffle winnings, but in aggregate lost more than won. The same went for my occasional visits to casinos.

The one thing that I did heed was not to drive. I have a license that renews automatically every 4 years on my birthday, but I have not been behind the wheels (for more than 5 blocks) since that fateful reading in 1995. Call it superstitious, but I do have terrible spatial distance recognition issue – which will compel me to go at 75 miles per hour on the highway while I am merging with about 10 inches of space between me and the car in front of me, rendering me absolutely dangerous on the road and a hazard to all around me.

So now I will most astutely heed any future fortune teller’s warning!!

Nightmare On Main Street

Last night I had the most bizarre nightmare ever. Ordinarily I do not recall most of my dreams and rare is the occasion that I have nightmares, but this will give any dream interpreters a run for their money.

I succumbed to the vicious attack of a flu bug 2 days ago and had a severe sore throat and ear infection that made swallowing excruciatingly painful, a persistent scratchy cough that rendered me sleepless till 3 in the morning. I was squirting 10 sprays of Chloraseptic sore throat spray (it is suppose to be alcohol free, aspirin free and sugar free) to numb the pain every 10 minutes in the span of an hour, when the instruction on the bottle read 5 sprays every 2 hours. When I finally dozed off to la la land, I dreamt the following:

I was walking at night on a desolate but well lit street in an evening dress heading somewhere in NYC, and suddenly a large number of dogs of all shapes and sizes came out of nowhere and they were either on fire or their tails were attached to blazing lanterns. They were approaching me but none hurt me as they ran pass by me. I hurried pass them and ducked into the side door of a non-descript building. The building turned out to be a hotel. I went into a room where a group of people in black tie and evening gowns were having dinner and I joined them. Shortly I realized that someone had stolen my make-up case, my blackberry, and my cell phone. As I was searching for those items by walking around the dining table and rummaging thru other guests’ properties, we were told that we need to evacuate the building as the dogs were coming up the staircase to burn down the hotel. We could clearly hear the barking of the dogs (by now they sounded like they were howling) and them approaching our stairwells. We were instructed to leave by elevator. We congregated by 2 elevator banks. The first elevator door opened, it was rather smoky and hazy inside, packed with people and could take only one more person, but no one would get in as there was an announcement from inside the elevator that whoever gets into this elevator may die, and yet if no one enters into the elevator, it will not move (and surely everyone will die when the dogs burn down the hotel). Finally a brave young lady volunteered to go in and the elevator turned into a train once the door was closed. The young lady sat next to another young lady and both chatted and laughed away, but as her train car sped by me, the light went out and became pitch black, while all other cars remained lit. By now the second elevator door has opened, and there were room for a few more people, that was when I woke up, in shock!

Perhaps the nightmare was a manifestation of the demise of the financial markets and the turbulent times we live it; or perhaps it was a result of over dosing on Chloraseptic, I know not which, but I hope I will never dream of anything so dark and disturbing ever again. Perhaps now I can write a novel that rivals Stephen King's!!