Rent

My friends YC and WL got together for a "dinner and movie" last night. Due to both YC and myself working until 6pm or so, we went to Sapporo, a midtown Japanese restaurant for a quick bite. Although the waitresses are not friendly, rest of the staff reminds me of old-style Japanese restaurant with full of vitality in cooking and communicating. The restaurant reminds me of the time when there were no good ramen noodle place in NYC except for Dosanko (which no longer exists) in early 90s. Anyone who is craving for Japanese ramen, curry, etc., I highly recommend this place.

After trying to figure out what we want to watch, we decided to go see Rent. I haven't had the opportunity to see the broadway show, but I loved the movie! (I am sure the broadway show is better though). The story eloquently depicted how the life in alphabet city was like back in late 80s, with everyone in the neighborhood somehow were all intertwined with one another. The interesting and yet sad reality of NYC becoming safe each year is that as neighborhood becomes "safe," deeper connections between neighbors, sense of community, and vitality and uniqueness of a particular neighborhood get lost. I love the fact that I can take almost any subways, explore any neighborhoods, and freely walk around by myself, I do miss waking up with the sound of street noise, constant hunking between taxi drivers to communicate with one another, and energy and affection from New Yorkers toward their city I could feel in the air.

There are a few other movies I would like to see this winter season, including the ones I haven't seen yet, although they have been out for quite some time (e.g. Harry Potter). I may just go see them during the New Year holiday.