differentiate.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting New York City. The last time I hit the big apple pavement was back in '07. The World Trade center site was still a disaster, with minimal progress on the memorial. At that time the city was fun as always, but still scary and a "big deal" to maneuver my way through the subway system. My recent visit was a much different experience.

Thank God for girlfriends who let you crash at their crib. My friend J loaned her couch and a set of keys to me for the week in the city. She lives in Queens, which is a neighborhood of New York I had never visited and never knew where it was located in relation to Brooklyn. Aside from my experience of Jamaica Queens in Coming to America, this burrow might as well be on the moon. In my mind it was a far distant land, like Staten Island. But something in me has changed since living over seas. Nothing excites me anymore. It's not that I don't find anything exciting, I just did not view New York City as the same frightful place. Give me a map, a transit pass, and some cab fare, go. That's really all you need, well maybe a little more money and a fearless attitude. I've been a tourist and an expat lost in foreign lands for so long, nothing phases me. I've seen some crazy ish, stuck in the middle of nowhere-Cambodia/Philippines/Malaysia with oxen mooing at me, and lost in Bangkok ghettos, so why would the dirty streets of NY cause a stir? New York felt foreign just like the other cities I traveled to (Macau, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok), and just like I maneuvered through the concrete jungles of SE Asia, I did the same in NYC, feeling like I was conquering new territory.

Of course I still got lost. Even with my handy NYC Mate app, I realized the cray cray of MTA. Why is there no train connecting Queens to Brooklyn? They say use the G line, but according to one native New Yorker, it is the bastard child of Mass Transit. New York on the weekend is relaxed, and apparently so are the trains. They don't run as frequently, and some completely shut down after a certain time. I realized I do not like the subway system in New York. I actually prefer Chicago's elevated trains. At least I can see sunshine, breathe fresh air, and jump if a terrorist attacks. I also realized New Yorkers are very nice, helpful people. . . except when you ask for directions, because I also realized NOBODY really knows where they are going. It's like an unwritten rule that if you want to look like a New Yorker, you don't carry a map. Good thing I don't care. If I relied on people's false sense of "I know where I'm going" I would have never got home. Funny thing is, everything you need to know about the trains is written plain as day inside the subway on the Helvetica-printed signs. Good thing I can read.

Vietnamese New Year Celebration and Dragon Show

I didn't see fire breathers or men hanging water buckets from their eye lids in NYC, but I did see my fair share of street performers and skateboard acrobatics :-) 

shifting, changing

Since I have returned to my home country from my self imposed exile I have not been inspired to write, but the spirit of writing about unconventional adventures is not dead, just dormant. I am sifting through ideas of where to take this blog or how to expand its reach Another physical trip may not happen soon but there are still journeys that I want to explore. Discovering my ethnic heritage is one I'd like to dive into. I am also passionate about the African-like cultures I learned of in the south pacific like the Melanesians or the Aborigines. Where did they really come from? Along with all that anthropology I am passionate about humanity, the way people are treated, in this country and abroad. So I may take my blog in the direction of humanitarian issues that relate to the places I've been.

One issue that came across my daily reading was human trafficking, which doesn't just happen in Thailand, it happens here, in America too. Jada Pinkett Smith has created a web space to get the word out and new music video (Jada can sang!) with her group Wicked Evolution. It melodically explains in Spanish the experience of a young girl caught up in a sex trade.

I present the video to you as a challenge. This week I challenge you to use your creative talents to produce a positive change. Ignore the superficial, minute simple conversations about hair, someone's personal views on trivial politics, and chicken sandwiches. Invest time in fighting and protesting serious, and unnecessary struggles that are negatively effecting people as I type.


Jada's Video 
DONT SELL BODIES!  

Pinks and Blues

One of many things to look forward to in summer is sitting outside and watching the sun set. Sure you can do this year-round, but it's more fun when you're beach side wearing a sarong instead of seven layers of clothing. As of now I have yet to see a sunset as beautiful as the ones I saw in the tropics of SE Asia. Here are a few moments captured when the sky is painted pink and blue:

"A  September dusk", View from my Viet balcony in HCMC

"A December Sunrise" in Palawan, Philappines

Almost up,  in Palawan, Philappines 

Bali Sunset

Boracay Sunset, Boracay, Philippines

Cambodian Sunrise, Angkor Wat

6:00 AM Sunrise, Angkor Wat Temples, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Sunrise, Gulf of Thailand, Absolute Sanctuary Resort, Koh Samui Island

I Have Learned the Secret!

If there was one reason why God sent me to live and work in a foreign land, less prosperous than the one I came from, then this verse says is beautifully: Philippians 4 verse 10-13

Thanks for Their Gifts

¹⁰ I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

The Realities of American Education

Education vs. Incarceration

gud thangs.

3 Good Things about living in Atlanta

1. Abundant choices of Black Hair products, especially at the World Natural Hair Show.
2. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, they just opened a new International Terminal too!
3. All kinds of sweeet-soulful-southern yummy food you can eat.

New Age

Applying for jobs has been fun. . . not. But, I did receive a quirky application the other day. After succeeding to Round 2 of virtual interviewing, I was asked to answer the following 3 questions:

Q. What is Scoutmob?
A. Like Goodie Mob of the app world; a super-swag mobile app, born and bred in ATL, Georgia, used for scouting out the best of the best locally-owned businesses in your city to help you get "tha hook up".
Q. If you had one last day in Atlanta, what would you do and where would you go?

A. Funny you ask, because I’ve had two “last day” moments. My first “last day” in Atlanta, so I thought, was spent packing and buying décor for my first apartment in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. I was geeked to move to the urban environment and attend grad school at SAIC. My second “last day” in Atlanta was 2 years and 2 months ago. I spent quality time with the fam, and then flew across the world to my new home in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

    However, if tomorrow was another hypothetical “last day” in Atlanta, I would use Scoutmob to find the best Vietnamese phở for breakfast, or a cute café in Virginia Highlands. I’d scout the best southern style soul food for lunch, and for dinner I may check out my favorite spot Loca Luna. In between the meals, I’d eat again. I’d use Scoutmob to find that west midtown bakery that served Coca-Cola cupcakes back in the day, I think it's called West Egg (now they have Sweet Tea Liqueur Milkshakes, whaaat!). 
    Actually, for dinner, I would find a restaurant serving African food. It would be my going away celebration, because my next destination would be Cape Town, South Africa. Design Indaba, here I come!

Q. Design a quick logo refresh of your favorite Atlanta brand/hotspot/locale/joint/team/strip club.

Strip Club? Can't say I have a favorite one in ATL or anywhere for that matter, but I will say my favorite area, Little 5 Points, could use a nice imagemark.