Archives for August 2010

As customers of the MTA we have just adapted to paying $2.25 for a single ride. The Mass Transit Authority is working on setting a new increase of 75% of $2.25 which would be $3.25 for a ride.

How many times must we come to the conclusion that we are either fat or ugly because of these pictures we see in the magazines? Well I tell you one thing it’s too many, the times that we feel horrible about ourselves are much greater than the times we feel good about ourselves. We see the constant ads for these dieting supplements and the pictures of models that are size two and then you wonder why America has become a country obsessed with weight loss. However the fashion industry is slowly changing and now the fashion for the skinny is now available for girls with curves. 

Forever 21 is offering a new collection that I think it sparking much attention. The line is called Faith 21 and it offers fashionable styles for an affordable price. With sizes ranging from XL to 2X, finally the average women who are size 14 can find something that they love and feel cute in. All women want to look cute but when you think about it, who doesn’t? Now with prices that are affordable and with a line that has variety and fits, our runway to becoming best dress is nearer than you think. I recently went to Forever 21 and I was amazed at what I came out with. For once my shopping experience wasn’t filled with disappointments, I was actually pleased that I found a lot of pretty clothes and that everything I wanted had my size. 

So it’s possible for us all to feel beautiful in our own skin, just because we are curvier that doesn’t mean we have to wear trash bags, we are allowed to look cute and wear the same things that these models wear. If there is something we should remember it is that we are all gorgeous and we shouldn’t feel insecure just because we are curvier, there is nothing wrong with being bigger –the average women is a size 14. We all want to rock the latest fashions and it’s about time that the fashion industry is making room for other body types.  

On Sunday, August 1, 2010, the volunteers for Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE)’s Annual Summer Street Festival were assigned to clean up Columbus Park. What they realized was that cigarette butts dominated the “trash” in this park.

As the state recently raised the tax for cigarettes this summer in an attempt to decrease the overall consumption of cigarette, it seems that the Asian community needs more than a raise of cigarette tax and price.

“Not much research has been done regarding the Asian smoking community,” said Peter Gee, the Associate Director of Resource Development and Programs of AAFE.

The people who use the stone part [Columbus Park consists of a playground, a basketball/volleyball court, a soccer field, and a stone part filled with picnic and chess tables] of Columbus Park are continuants and street dwellers of the Chinatown community. They are seniors who smoke there while playing Chinese chess and paper mahjong; it is their place to socialize.

Even with the increase of cigarette prices, the Asian community still smokes a lot.

Though the American cigarettes that are taxed are expensive, the Chinese community could still seek smuggled cigarettes that are not taxed, thus much cheaper.

Before the festival I only know that Asians- especially Chinese people- smoke a lot (especially back in China where it seems to be a cultural thing). With cigarette butts everywhere, I questioned myself, “Why are the seniors smoking this much? Why isn’t anyone reaching out to my community [Chinese/Asian] about the impacts of smoking? What government resources are offered to my community?”

I finally released that my community smokes a lot and it is a problem when seniors are the main contributors to the cigarette trash in the park.

The city has a lot to offer to communities that wants to push for a Smoke-Free initiative. The problem is it’s not being outreached to the Asian communities.

With their own booth and a designated workshop in the festival to educate and encourage the Asian community to quit smoking, the city finally approached the Asian community in AAFE’s summer street festival.

In partnership with AAFE’s bilingual translators, the Manhattan smoke-free partnership educated the Asian community (especially senior smokers) about the city’s free nicotine patches.

Hopefully when the volunteers are sweeping Columbus Park on AAFE summer street festival in 2011, cigarette butts will not dominate the trash in the park.

‘Zeitoun’ is a novel about a man’s journey through Hurricane Katrina, and the measures he goes to attempting to care for his beloved town. ‘Zeitoun’ tells the true story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a Muslim man living in New Orleans as the respected and responsible local contractor, decides to stay in New Orleans to care for his neighborhood and properties. 

Of Mice and Men is a novel written by Nobel Prize author John Steinbeck. It’s one of the books that must be read. When I first read the book, I was astonished by the details and the way the book was narrated. Many books that I have read previously were hard to understand when reading the first few pages of the book. The books didn’t grab the reader. Of Mice and Men is an amazing book that catches the reader immediately as they start reading the book.

The book had many action and exciting scenes that flowed with the story. I found the beginning scene, which set the stage for the story, interesting. Lennie, being attracted to colors, went after a girl that was wearing a bright colorful shirt that attracted Lennie. Lennie walked towards her, having no ill thoughts about her. He just wanted to feel her colorful shirt that she was wearing. Unfortunately, the girls got scared when she realized that a man was approaching her direction, rather awkwardly. She immediately ran for safety and that prompted the town people to hunt down Lennie and George.

Lennie and George were forced to leave the town and find another place to call home. George is a normal person while Lennie is mentally retarded. Lennie causes a lot of trouble that irritates George, but he is unwilling to leave his friend behind.

Lennie and George have a goal that they want to accomplish. They dream of saving up the money they earn from the farm and building their own ranch. Lennie, usually in love with animals, dreams about having a rabbit, a mice and horse to play with. Their dream was cut short when Lennie caused some havoc on the farm. He accidently kills the owner’s son’s wife. Since the owner’s son had a feud with Lennie before and dislikes his character, he immediately pointed fingers at Lennie for killing his wife. George realizing the situation and decided to take the life of his friend by himself because he feared that the others would torture him to death if they found him.

The story ended in a dramatic fashion. Not only was it a heart-wrenching story but the way it ended kept the story in the flow. The story receives mostly positive reviews for keeping the reader entertained throughout the novel.

When your at a family reunion, you sometimes wonder who are all these people. When was the last time I saw you or are we related? When I was at my aunt’s 50th birthday, I met up with cousins that I didn’t know and I found out we have a lot in common. Having a family bond is necessary because in this life, children are more separated than before from their relatives. 

Statistics from childstats.gov shows that race plays an important role in family bonds. Whites carry the highest percentile in two-parenting than any other race. Whites two parenting in 2010 is 78.1, black is 38.7, and hispanic is 68.7.

According to childstats.gov, parenting for mothers is high in blacks. Black mothers carry 49.9 percent in single parenting. This is basically 50 percent in our society. Knowing that family bonds now in our society rely a lot on single parenting, what can we do? Children should have two parents instead of one. When you limit that for either a girl or boy, it allows these kids to take the same trend as their parents.

Family bonds should always play a strong role because in our society, teens have more divorced parents than 10 years ago, according to childstats.gov. If divorce rates were lower, teens wouldn’t have to suffer as much. Many of teens bonding comes from a common understanding of pain. You might find that some teens without any family connection have more of a reckless, and have a harsh life. Some use drugs and live on their own.

Having a family bond not only makes us a better family member, it gives that teen or adult that your helping a sense of friendship and someone to connect to. I know some of my friends that don’t even talk to their moms, call their pops dead beat, and struggle to live on their own. Making that difference to say hi and getting to know people in your family might just save someone life. It might even give you a sense of why we family in the first place.

Tourists think there is so much to do in New York City and the fact of the matter is, they’re right. While New Yorkers may get bored by the city they live in, it is only because they are not looking hard enough for things to do. They are stuck in their daily routines, bound by repetitiveness. Yesterday, walking around Washington Square Park with my family from out of town, I was amazed at everything going on. Everywhere you looked, there was a street performance and an audience to watch it. The sense of community felt there was amazing. Now, as a New Yorker, I don’t think to go down there often because it is not my neighborhood. However, as a musician, this is a very exciting opportunity. I can take my guitar down to Washington Square Park and play with everyone else there. Nobody discriminates and everyone listens to each other. I could even make some money!

When you venture down to lower Manhattan, you can find almost any form of entertainment. You could spend a whole day just walking around and watching New Yorkers do what they do best, perform and thrive off of the company of others. This is great because you never know what you’re going to find, be it a comedy show, a dance performance, a music performance, or tons of other things. Street performers are out there day and night, rain or shine. I think that street performers are an essential part of the New York culture because it shows people that they can utilize all of their talents for whatever it is they want to do. I believe that street performers show the best things about the community in New York and that is that we all may be very diverse and speak different languages, but we still can bond together and all be a part of a great performance and we can all do great things together.

There is always something to do in New York City, all you have to do is look around you.

During these past few years, the price for MetroCards has kept rising and bus and train services had decreased.  An Unlimited MetroCard was only $60 a few years ago, but now it costs $89.  And soon, under a new plan, the new price for the “real” Unlimited would be up to $130 maybe. And the price for a 90-ride “unlimited” MetroCard would be $99. 

It’s irritating when you find out there are zits, blackheads, or whiteheads on your face. It would be wonderful if we could obliterate it in one second, but it always comes back for you when you don’t want it. It just lowers the confidence and makes the day miserable. It seems the best way to deal with it is to hide in a hole and never see anyone.