the cultural attempt
this week is the freest since the start of october for me.. since i have no deadlines to meet and no tests to study for.. it was a great time to be cultural again and go for broadway shows to the max.. (did i mention that i am such a frequent patron of the box office for broadway and sport tix that the people recognised my name?!) but alas the timing is just right.. to be caught in the middle of a strike..
it sounds so amusing to hear through the phone.. after trying to call the box office for 2 days and deciding to call any random number i find on the website with regard to the theatre.. that the staff is on strike.. i started laughing because it was a situation i never found myself in.. and never would have expected that i would be affected by.. and thus my plans for watching that particular broadway show was postponed after 2 days of trying.. happily laughing it off and expecting another broadway show tmr, i came to realise today that almost the whole of broadway is on strike.. it sounded more serious than amusing the second time..
determined to continue being cultural and of course not wasting the precious free week i have, i visited the metropolitan museum finally.. a long awaited and postponed visit, i set myself on the journey on my own.. bustling with tourists, it is a place that you really understand the convergence of international culture, both past and present.. gallary after gallary there are never ending artifacts to see, sculptures to admire and the way of life to understand.. from asian to european to egyptian to greek to roman to african, seemingly one walk brings you through the history of each region, yet that walk awakens the knowledge that there is so much, perhaps too much, to see and learn that it will be a journey which will never end.. 2 hours in the met and i was barely able to finish the history of one region, of which i still could not thoroughly browse through the exhibits before me and immerse in the imagination of life in the past..
on a less cultural note, i have been on a shopping spree since the weekend.. suffering from deprivation of fun for the last week.. i sort of went on retail therapy.. haha and gambling and shopping in altantic city was fun too :) i'm definitely looking forward to my trip for thanks giving.. hope the weather stays like what it was today.. now i noe what they mean by it being a beautiful day.. no rain + warmth haha.. fancy that coming from a singaporean..
25th Hour
at the 25th hour of the day, it's good to take the extra hour to reflect on my life in New York..
today is the return of day light saving, which came to me as a surprise only when I was gently reminded that I have earned one more hour in everything.. a pleasant surprise esp when I seem to be running out of time all the way over here.. the pace is fast, perhaps because life is good and exciting, meeting new people, doing new things, learning new skills..
food has not been the best.. but so long as i don't get lazy i generally won't starve.. sometimes i just feel like pampering myself to some good food.. so i splurge :) well i splurge by the Singapore standards.. but i think it's normal over here in NY.. and i'm getting used to the prices.. dorm is more like home now.. though i can't say that i don't miss my fluffy bed and the many conveniences of real home.. well it gets more appealing as the weather turns colder.. coz it's the only place that we'll probably find warmth..
school has been busy.. and as usual i don't know how to balance my work and play considering that i'm on exchange.. but i think i'm doing justice to my efforts i put in and my pride.. results haven't been fantastic.. but they are passable in my terms.. self satisfied.. perhaps some may think i spend far too much time on work and too little on play.. but maybe i just can't help it.. frankly, however, there is a lot more to look forward in school over here.. the wise professors, the scope of knowledge and the learning for the s ake of learning and not results.. comparisons may be cruel, but i now understand the reason for the differences which i never seemed to understand before..
i have been realising many dreams over here.. many things i once dreamt abt but never thought it was so easily possible.. or perhaps they are always so easily possible, but within my comfort zone back home i never thought of going out to realise them.. perhaps one of the things i've done most over here is watching sports and broadway shows.. one dream which was paved carefully was my watching of Federer live in action.. and his winning the championship in the US Open.. i've watched baseball, ice hockey and just came back from an NBA match today..
what is most worth mentioning is my night at Les Miserables.. it was one of the first musicals i have encountered in my life, when they came to Singapore almost 8 years ago for the performance.. still a primary school student, i hardly knew what musical was.. but when i was exposed to the music and the dvd of les miserables shortly after, it has been music that is familiar to me.. watching it live on stage has been one of my dreams, and dreams they are for more than 8 years.. the many tests and the lack of sleep couldn't seem to dampen my excitement as i approached the theatre and walked into the grand setting.. and as i sat there thinking abt the songs and trying to remember them, the curtains were drawn and the prologue played.. the familiar melody impacted me as much i wanted to cry, and it didn't take long for my tears to fall.. i hardly could control myself yet i couldn't understand why.. every moment was a dream come true, as i tried so hard to cherish the music the atmosphere and the emotions within, hoping to grasp them but knowing they will soon slip by.. and as i stopped trying to reason my feelings and gave way to my heart, it was one of the most emotional times i had watching a performance.. so much so that i could hardly continue on..
as the music ended and the curtains came down, i stood up almost immediately and applauded for the voices which sang to my heart, and the performances which were brought to life by professional actors/actresses.. i asked myself: can anything be better? i know deep down that i am convinced without giving other musicals a chance that nothing can be in comparison.. perhaps because it bears special meaning to me.. perhaps because it has been familiar to me almost all my meaningful life.. and as i tried to savour the last bit of the night by taking photos, lucky star was shining upon me..
we soon realised that people were waiting outside a door at the outside of the theatre, and i started to guess that it was an opportunity to meet the performers and if we were lucky, get some autograph and photos with them.. and indeed i got lucky.. signatures on top of photos.. i was totally over the moon.. smiling almost silly just being in close proximity, not to mention in the embrace, with the stars i admire so much on stage.. i dreamt this moment before, but never knew it would ever come true..
the withdrawal symptoms were expected.. as a week has passed and i've not yet wiped out the excitement that those moments could bring me.. continue dreaming perhaps.. because they might all come true :)
