Bklyn Blggng

(57 St Station, Manhattan)

(Lok Sing, 290 Grand St, Manhattan)

Jo may have gotten to the lobby before I did, but in blogging -- as in love -- it's all about who posts first.

I have no idea what that means, actually.

(Le Parker Meridien Hotel, Manhattan)

Moving is stressful, emotional, and hard on your back. If you're sentimental like me, you can't help but be reminded of just how temporary life is while you pack, seal, lift all those boxes.

So always get a friend to help, even if you have movers doing the heavy stuff, because you'll need the moral support. This weekend, I was the friend helping another friend. A Zipcar comes in handy, too.

To remember you on the day you left us, I went to the place where you worked for a dozen years, six nights a week (sometimes seven), for eight to ten hours a day. You would come home reeking of food, oil, smoke. You did this because you had two kids to feed, a mom working in a Chinatown sweatshop, two mortgages left behind by your ex-husband.

It's a tacky place now and probably was then, too. But when I was twelve, I thought it was cool that you worked there. The food tasted good and my friends were impressed that you waited tables at an exotic, expensive restaurant. Their parents worked at boring office jobs or stayed at home taking care of them.

Your co-workers would tell me how hard you worked and how lucky I was to have you. The praise made me proud, but the impact of those words wouldn’t hit me until many years later. Partly, it was your fault: you never let on how hard the job was, or how precarious our situation in life. Whenever we asked for money, you just gave it to us. You never told us that it meant doing an extra shift or losing your only day off.

You never stopped working, even when things got better. You met a new husband, you sent two kids to expensive university, you found another home. You waited tables at other restaurants until, finally, you got to open a few of your own. Then you worked even harder.

Even at the end, you kept working, fighting even when it would have been easier to let go. It surprised everyone – except us. We knew you would never stop.

Thank you, Mom.

蔡美麗 1947-2006

(Mt Fuji Steak House, West Orange, NJ)

Rich Wong of Colma fame fixes a malfunctioning Mole on a short film shoot in the Garden State.

I was supposed to be helping him out on this shoot but
1) I don't know jack about lights and
2) those things are damn hot, yo.

So I left it to the pro and just snapped away.

(Clifton, NJ)

More Colma:
SF/SJ: Colma Stays!

More Mole:
LA: Painting With Light

No pies or cakes were harmed during the making of this video.

(Ben Ash Deli, 7 Av, Manhattan)

I say this every time I come to San Francisco, but next time I’m definitely gonna do my own photo homage to Vertigo. The idea is cliché, I know, but I still wanna do it.

(San Francisco, CA)

More SF/SJ:
The SFIAAFF
Chapeau Shopping
Bay Area Transit Is Rapid
The Guest Cottage Life
I Visited The Mothership
Special West Coast MICW
You Heard?
Babe's Mufflers
Flight To

Hats off, hats on.
Speaking of Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, Jo and I heard a story about him here from a fellow filmmaker/actor that made us respect the man even more. I won’t repeat it now, but ask me about it next time we’re in the same place.

More SF/SJ:
Bay Area Transit Is Rapid
The Guest Cottage Life
I Visited The Mothership
Special West Coast MICW
You Heard?
Babe's Mufflers
Flight To

(Brooklyn)

Related post:
The Q Is My Favorite Train, Part 1

(Brooklyn)

The memory is hazy, but warm...

(Dupont Circle Metro Station, Washington DC)

Related post:
Dupont Circle Station

This one is dedicated to everyone that, like me, got a bad cold or flu this season. Get well soon, Jo!

(Kam Man Foods, 200 Canal St, Manhattan)

Happy new year!

(Mirror of Light [1974] by Waltercio Caldas, Museum of Modern Art, Manhattan)

Related posts:
iFetish
Transport
Viewer
Family Romance
Atrium

(Super Stop-N-Shop, Clifton, NJ)

Related posts:
J & J & D On CCTV
Good to See You

(Riverside, RI)

(Lucky Garden Restaurant, North Providence, RI)

In his four years in office, Mayor Bloomberg has made government more efficient and transparent, kept crime down, and -- most importantly to me -- taken control of the schools. I think he's done great work.

His opponents have tried to paint him as out-of-touch rich guy that caters to his fellow elite, but fortunately most New Yorkers see right through these desperate, personal attacks. We know that rich people can buy their way out of dangerous neighborhoods, bad schools, and inefficient government services.

The rest of us can't. Fixing these things means the City works better for all of everyone, especially the poor. Bloomberg's done plenty of this much-needed fixing, and he deserves four more years to keep at it.

I'm happy to vote to re-elect him on Tuesday and I hope you'll vote for him, too.

(B.B. King's, 42 St, Manhattan)

Related posts:
Lost Amongst the Pigeons and the Crumbs
Meet Me at the Corner of Dirt & McGirt

Computer alert! Computer alert! One day after my Treo took this photo, it died. I guess the weird but cool scan lines were a hint things were about to go wrong. (A replacement Treo came a few days later.)

Title reference: Pavement

(Ikea Elizabeth, Elizabeth, NJ)

More Jo Jo On The Lingonberry Go Go:
Date With Ikea: Jo On The Go (1)
Date With Ikea: Jo On The Go (2)

Title reference: Pavement

(Ikea Elizabeth, Elizabeth, NJ)

More Jo Jo On The Lingonberry Go Go:
Date With Ikea: Jo On The Go (1)

Jo's always on the go, even in the Ikea cafeteria.

Title reference: Pavement

(Ikea Elizabeth, Elizabeth, NJ)

Happy Birthday to Daniel (aka DVCAM), who enjoys the Ikea experience so much he likes to hang out at the entrance greetin' customers and snappin' their photos.

Title reference: Pavement

(Ikea Elizabeth, Elizabeth, NJ)

More DVCAM:
Three Questions for Daniel

(J Y Market, 56 St & 8 Av, Manhattan)

(Coney Island, Brooklyn)

(34 St-Herald Square Station, Manhattan)

(Chase Bank, Mott St & Canal St, Manhattan)

(Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle, Manhattan)

(Spring St & Crosby St, Manhattan)