Valentine's Day (the film and the day) seemed to have overshadowed Chinese New Year this year with both falling on the same day. Except if you're in Chinatown, where you're either closing up shop for the day, part of a clan or a club complete with some woefully off rhythm drumming and confused dragons, or a tourist taking many a crazy photo of children shooting off pressurized confetti.
This year there were a couple of organized events (concerts/speeches in Roosevelt Park, sponsored by Verizon of course) but the real fun of Chinese New Year is the whole running around the nooks and crannies of East Broadway, Grand, and Mott street hoping to purchase something of value or something completely worthless (Canto pop music for instance?). After running around for 3 hours you sort of get the picture, and I sat down to some vegetarian dim sum over on Pell. We got some annoying treatment ("Sir would you like to sit in the basement?" - "What's in the basement haha...I guess nobody found that funny") and our food didn't come out for about half an hour. Which was fine, but this table that sat down way after we ordered got almost all of their food immedietely. I was pretty peeved at that. Don't you hate when you get your food after tables who have already sat down had gotten their food, and some of the same items no less? That should be a rule or something.
The dragons were a bit off this year; I blame the drumming, some of these kids just aren't very good at keeping the beat. You always want that slightly chubby, 40-something Chinese guy to keep the beat, he won't let you down. The 18 year old scrawny kid? Fail.
Anywho, I ate so much that I went to bed by 9pm and after 12 hours of sleep I was pretty good to go. We brought home leftovers from last night, but I forgot to put them in the fridge.
Girlfriend: Vic, you forgot to put the leftovers in the fridge!
Me: Oh, hmm I was too focused on getting the frozen dumplings in the freezer and I forgot. Different bags, I must have put it down and forgot.
Girlfriend: Barely different bags, I feel bad because you were going to have them today for breakfast.
Me: ....I'll still eat them, what the hell. It's vegetables so I should be good.
Girlfriend: If I wasn't here you totally wouldn't have given it a second thought would you.
Me: Definitely not.
So I ate the leftovers and my stomach felt like a bottle of Penzoil. Worth it? Yes.
With the Chinese New Year, I celebrate with Swordsman II, one of my favorite kung fu movies and favorite movies in general:
