NASCAR in NYC

On our hurried 10 minutes walk from Grand Central to work, we had to stop and gawk. 42nd Street was blocked off. Cars, trucks, and cabs were stopped from crossing one of the busiest street on the island. Evan, the forever rubber-necker insist that we stop and see what's going on. I, never want to be mistaken as a tourist, insisted we keep walking and get to work. My curiosity compromised. We walked along 42nd Street slowly. I figured, if nothing happens by the time we reach Broadway, whatever going to happen is not worth it.

When we reached the public library, across the street from the Grace Building, we heard it. Loud rumbling. Very loud rumbling. Evan wondered aloud what that sound can be. I thought, it's probably some construction truck on the corner of 7th and 42nd. Instead, we saw a race car, followed by a double-decker bus. Then, even louder rumbling. Now, I can tell that it's not a construction truck. It's engine reving up. Big engines.

Stock cars. A line of approximately 10 NASCAR stock cars drove slowly in front of us. The famous cars and drivers passed in front of us, reving their monster engines. It was definitely cool to see something like that on the humdrum commute to work. Of course, we had Evan's iPhone to take some pictures.

After I got to work, I did some quick search on NASCAR and NYC. I found out that today's event was the parade of cars (Victory Lap in New York). But I also found out that this might be the last time NASCAR will drive through NYC. Due to lack of interest and general NYC apathy toward this sport, the event will move to Las Vegas. I was glad that I caught a glimpse of the event. I am sad that it's leaving NYC. But, I can also understand. I was one of those New Yorkers that didn't know or cared if Evan didn't make us gawk.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tom_bowles/11/27/banquet/

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Day 2 of $50 a Week

Well, we had our first hiccup in our experiment. I've been bringing lunch and breakfast to work for the first 2 days. I spent $0. Evan hasn't been so frugal. He bought coffee and lunch for these two days. He's making a decent sized dent into his $50.

Today, we wanted to buy grocery for dinner. Of course, instead of just getting the necessary provisions for dinner, we both chose snacks, chocolate cookies for me, cheese and pretzels for Evan. Question was, who is going to pay. In the past, one of us will pay since after enough times, we figured things will even out. Now, we have to decide.

I want to save part of my $50 for a decent bottle of wine this weekend, so I don't want to dip into my $50. Of course Evan don't want to spend more of his $50. So, we had to split everything in half. Never done that before. Let's see how tomorrow and the rest of the week pan out.

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$50 a Week

We are going to do it. We will live on $50 a week each, starting tomorrow, 11/26. We went out today to run some errands and came home with stuff. Stuff we don't really need. Since we can afford them and they were there, so we bought them. It's now at a point that we have to pro-actively limit ourselves.

The rules are $50 have to cover food, entertainment, and any extra spending. Mortgage, utilities, insurance, Christmas gifts, and car payments will not count. This will hopefully keep us from going to dinner just because, buying whatever strikes our fancy, and stop the "buy buy buy" mentality.

We will start this experiment for the next 30 days.

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Flushing, Queens, NY

Okay, Flushing, Queens is not quite a travel destination by any means. But, traveling is a method to experience different culture and a way to be outside of one's comfort zone. And, Flushing Queens definitely fit the bill. Even though I grew up in Flushing, I've moved away from that area for nearly 20 years. So, every time I visit Flushing, it's like going to a new place.

Well, today is the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. That's the day my family gather in my grandmother's house for a whirlwind lunch. Everyone show up, set out the food, sit around the table, eat, chit-chat, and we are out. All within 2 hours. None of the niceties like Evan's family. No bother with the hors d'Oeuvres, no liquor, no hours of catching up. It's a different culture.

Exactly what a quick jaunt to a new culture is suppose to be.

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Black Friday

Yes, I participated. I shopped. Didn't want to be part of the big spending horde storming the local mall. My local mall is only 5 minutes away. It was calling me. So, I went.

The bargains were there. 40% off on sweaters in Old Navy, 30% off on dress shirts in Banana Republic, $20 off on all jeans in Express. I have never seen so many people at the Poughkeepsie Galleria. It was kind of fun to be part of the great big American Consumerism tradition.

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