2023 Year In Review

Another year draws to a close. With memories of the the pandemic lock-down still vivid, we treasure the ability to do stuff with an extra dose of gratitude. Looking back at 2023, quite a bit happened. Here is a list of the most noteworthy events. Run This year I ran my very first race, a

Islamophobia and Bad Math

Flying While Muslim, similar to Driving While Black, describes the discrimination many Muslims face while traveling by plane.  It is often manifested in the form of extra scrutiny at airport security.  During this election season, however, there appears to be an uptick in stories of travelers being inconvenienced by fellow passengers’ false accusations.  I jotted

I Hate CNY

Every year around this time, I get very depressed.  It has become a pattern for a few years, and the intensity only seems to grow.  It’s the Chinese New Year, plus minus a few hours depending on where you are.  Some prefer to call it the lunar new year or Asian new year, just to

Broken Hands

For the past 10 months, I thought 2009 was a pretty bad year and couldn’t wait for it to be over. Around New Year 2010, however, I “broke” my left hand.  According to the doc, it’s “just” an inflammation.  I think the formal name is deQuervain’s Tendinitis, but I wouldn’t quote myself on that :p   The cause

Rum & Coke

I stepped off the train.  This was the first time I’ve seen Penn Station this empty.  And I was glad.  I wore a baggy hat, a baggy scarf, a baggy coat, and even had four things in the coat pockets.  Then I had one baggy bag on one shoulder, and another baggy bag on another

Batman – the Dark Knight

This movie was awesome: I had seen the first Batman movie many times as a kid where he battled the Joker.  This remake is nothing the original could compare to (pretty dark and scary too).