September to Remember

Well, talk about a whirlwind trip home! I've been back in Hong Kong for a whole week now, but between September 9th and 18th, I got to spend another incredible eight days with my family and friends in the tri-state area, the last bit of my twenties that I'll get to enjoy in my home country.

For the first time in the seven years since I moved overseas, my flight touched down at JFK instead of Newark International Airport. You see, when I booked this set of flights, I knew I'd be venturing straight into Manhattan upon arrival instead of heading to my family's house in Central Jersey. And since airfares to either Newark or JFK were literally identical (and both flights depart Hong Kong within fifteen minutes of each other), I thought I'd try something new.

Let me just say, I don't think I'll ever fly into JFK again! Landing just around 11pm, I didn't get to Heidi's apartment until nearly 2 in the morning! For whatever reason, I opted to take the subway all the way from the airport to 72nd Street. While it was surely a bargain at a single $2.75 swipe of my Metrocard, the late hours (not to mention alterations to the E train due to construction) meant that I had to switch trains twice, with painfully long waits each time. Let's just say, few gin and tonics have ever tasted so well deserved as the one Heidi prepared for me upon arrival.

Wide awake early on Saturday morning, I made my way down to the Financial District for brunch with a stellar group of friends. Bottomless glasses of champagne at my old haunt, Harry's at Hanover Square, with some of my best pals made for a memorable brunch indeed. And we followed it up with a few al fresco drinks on Stone Street under the glorious September sun.

Before the day was out, we had a tasty sushi dinner, a couple of hours of karaoke and my first visit to the legendary McSorely's, claimed to be New York's oldest watering hole.

The anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th always make for a somber but poignant day, and I always feel very fortunate when I'm able to return to the States and spend that day with my family. Me and my cousin Chris met near Ground Zero on Sunday morning to attend the memorial service, and we spent a bit of time at the spot where Chris' brother, my cousin Joseph, has his name engraved, while so many other names were read out. Chris' son, Julian, came, too, and Joseph's best friend Arthur was there with his son, Luca, as well.

The spot where Joseph's name is engraved at the memorial

Afterwards we headed to my aunt and uncle's home in Brooklyn, where my dad and sister were waiting. As I said, it's always a tough day, but to spend it with family is about the only way to spend it. 

One of the reasons I was able to pull this trip off was because I managed to squeeze several work visits in Manhattan into my itinerary. Thus, I could take a minimal amount of vacation days by justifying the days with meetings as working days. And on Monday afternoon at 3pm I was in Manhattan again, this time for work! 

The ferry ride to Hoboken afterwards was a great mode of transport to the spot where I was meeting Danielle for some drinks and Monday Night Football. It was fun to spend a night out with my sister and her friends, and I'm glad I got to spend some time in Hoboken, in my opinion an overlooked gem of a town across the river from Manhattan.

My dad and I spent a lot of the week I was home cleaning up the house, and although it might sound strange, it was great fun. Dusting off old books and knickknacks from the past and remembering all the good family memories, it was quite a poignant string of days.

It's also perhaps strange to note that one of my favorite home activities is one of the simplest: going to the supermarket with my dad to stock up on groceries and other household necessities. It's the little actions of daily American life that are totally missing from my expat life in Hong Kong. Driving around my hometown spending time with the old man is something I'll always look forward to when I return to New Jersey for visits.

One day while home, my dad suggested we order a pizza pie from my local favorite, Ciro's, just around the corner from the house. And when I was handed the change upon picking up the pie (half plain, half vodka sauce, in case you were wondering), I noticed I had, at long last, been given a Missouri quarter.

Back in Carl Sandberg Middle School, in 1999 or early 2000, I bought a large map of the United States with depressions for each states' quarter. I immediately began filling it in, and over the ensuing seventeen years, I slowly made progress until Missouri was the last remaining quarter needed to complete the map. I was oh-so excited when I realized I had finally reached my goal!

Before I knew it, it was Saturday, and after breakfast with my sister, cousin and aunt on Staten Island, I made my way to Manhattan, meeting up with my friends Heidi, Rusty and Abbey at Cipriani Dolce in Grand Central Station.

With literally seconds to spare, I was aboard the MetroNorth train taking me to Cold Spring for the wedding of Lisa and Tak. Seeing old friends and an obviously over-the-moon bride and groom made for a memorable finale to my trip home. I was sad to leave about three quarters of the way through the reception, but I had a plane to catch, and the taxi was waiting in the parking lot to whisk me to Newark for my return to Hong Kong.

As hard as it was to leave, I can bask in the great memories of another stellar trip home! See you next time, New Jersey!