One Year Ago...

A year ago today, one of the most unforgettable moments in my life happened when the Boston Marathon bombings went off.  In one aspect, I can't believe it's already been a year since then (when the memory still seems so vivid), but at the same time, I'm not surprised because as people, we have the ability to put the past behind us.  What I remember vividly from that day was that I was in Amherst, visiting my high school friends at UMASS for the weekend.  It was a great time, but because we had been traveling and going out every night, the last day, we all decided to stay in and relax.  That's when I got the first text from my sister, telling me what had happened.  I'll be honest, that I didn't take what she said seriously because I was half asleep, and thought it was just a joke; I mean, the marathon is usually so guarded, I didn't think anyone could ever set off a bomb, but within' minutes, the news and social media exploded, confirming that what had happened was real and serious.

After realizing what had happened, I called my dad because he was at the marathon scene with one of our friends, but luckily, he wasn't hurt.  After that, I did the only thing I could do, and watched the news, trying to figure out what really happened.  News was slowly coming, so I had to act like it was a normal day, when it was far from it.  My friends and I ate dinner that night, and I took the bus back through Boston the next day, but things were so different afterward; I could tell.  The city was silent, extra police were everywhere, and people didn't look happy.  Our city was hurt.

Within' the next few days, we found out major news that helped solve the case.  Footage from the cameras caught something, two boys were spotted leaving the scenes without bags, and from there, one of the biggest manhunts in Boston history happened.  I remember trying to go to the bank that day to open a bank account, but once city officials were sure the bombers were in the area, the whole city was closed for hours.  The hunt took over half the day, and left a few people dead unfortunately, but Boston police did their job and caught the bomber.

I won't go into detail about all the rest because you can find that information anywhere, and I'm not the most equipped to talk about it, but now that a year has past, I'm so glad that our city has found a way to recover a little.  We'll never be able to forget what happened, and unfortunately, we'll never be able to help those that were hurt/killed, but we can do what we can as a city to stand together.  I know the bomber will get his justice, but I just hate the fact a few people caused it when it hurt so many people.  Something like that seems to major, so the fact a few idiots did it is asinine.  If it was up to me, he'd get the death penalty, but that's another post for another day.  The important thing is that what happened last year is in the past, and now it's time to move forward and make positive memories.  I'm so proud of how we, as a city, have come.

Boston Strong!

New King Fung Garden

Usually, I never talk about restaurants on this blog, but I couldn't not talk about this place, especially after today...

My friend Phu and I were in Boston's Chinatown to get dinner after a day of window-shopping, and walking through the rain.  Chinatown has a lot of places to eat, but there's only one place we love to go to consistently, and that place is New King Fung Garden.  I know the name sounds like a feng shui type of thing, but it's a restaurant, and it serves great, affordable food.  I had never heard of it before until my friend Phu took me there years ago, but ever since, we've made it one of our regular dining destinations whenever we're in Chinatown or just want to eat good food on the cheap.  Today was one of those days.

So we're walking in Chinatown, and we get to the location of the restaurant, when we walk in and see flowers on the outside, new tables, and people we've never seen before.  At first, I question if it's the same restaurant with just a different name, but my friend Phu realized it wasn't once he saw the food.  We were caught off guard by what we discovered, so we asked the people who are now at the current location if they knew where New King Fung Garden is?  They say they do, which is great, and give us directions, but that's where the day turns to frustration.  We followed the directions the people gave to us, yet we still got lost, and we walked around Chinatown for at least half an hour, but couldn't find it anywhere.  It was so disappointing, especially since we were both hungry and craving the place.  We didn't concede easily, but we eventually did for the day, going with our second option to eat, which was Sal's Pizza in Downtown Boston.  It was good, but it wasn't New King Fung Garden good with their giant scallion pancakes, real crab rangoons, etc.  But after the miserable day we had, I couldn't complain.

After reading this, I'm sure you're wondering why my friend and I would make such a fuss about one restaurant, especially in Chinatown where there are tons of places to eat?  I have several answers why that is the case.  One, the food at New King Fung Garden is affordable, delicious, and different than any other place I've been too.  Secondly, their service is good, and the ownership is family run.  Third, the place is a small business, so I always root for those places to succeed, especially in a place like Boston with the Back Bay and North End.  And lastly, I make a fuss about it because it's a place my friends and I can eat where we know what to expect.  That may not sound like a big deal, but since we're older, we've seen places we used to go to change, which has made it hard to find a new "place", but New King Fung Garden was one of those places, which is something that can't be replaced easily.  I know it the place isn't gone, but since my friend and I can't find it for now, like they say near the end of "Gone With The Wind", "Where shall we go?  What shall we do"?  Well, for now, I don't know, but we'll figure it out. 

My Day In Maine

Maine is known for a few things around the globe; it's bright blue waters, it's fresh seafood, and for today, I saw first hand whether it was really worth the hype.  Now don't get me wrong, I didn't go to Maine just to see this firsthand.  I went to Maine because my eldest sister has always been one of those people who always wants to do family events together.  We had meant to do this trip for awhile, but other things always messed it up until now.  With a plan in motion, and everything coming to fruition, I went to Maine for the first time today, and came away happier than when I left.

The trip up to Maine was tiresome, but surprisingly, it felt longer than my trip to New Hampshire, which is closer to Boston.  My sisters and brother wanted to go to the beach, so we went to Orchard Hill Beach because it had a little bit of everything: beach, rides, games, food.  The beach was bigger than anything I had seen in Boston, and it was more crowded, meaning there were parts that were more disgusting, like the bathrooms.  Ugh, you have to pay 50 cents just to pee there.  What a ripoff!  Because I hated the beach, I wandered off with my sister until everyone was done swimming and tanning.  Afterward, we went on one ride there, called the Superstar, which spins people in moveable carts in mid-air.  The ride itself wasn't bad, but it was scary at times because of height, and the fact it didn't seem that safe.  My brother and I enjoyed the ride, but it's safe to say that my sisters were traumatized and we were done with rides for the day.

That one ride was tough, but we made up for it by spending a lot of time and money at the arcade there.  It was a bit childish, but because Boston doesn't have an arcade, and that's the only one around for miles, I didn't complain.  I used $7 and tried my hands at games like the crane machine and pinball, but didn't win anything.  One thing I was good at though was Skeeball and Whack-A-Alligator, so it wasn't all a complete failure.  My siblings and I won 350 tickets and tried to get my dad a souvenir with it, but we didn't have enough, so we just used the tickets on something we wanted, and bought him numerous souvenirs at the many gift shops they have there.

Maine had a lot of things I like compared to Boston so far, like an arcade and cheaper prices on items like DVDs, but where they really impressed me was the restaurants and shops they had there.  The restaurant we went to called The White Cap Grille wasn't our first choice because other places we wanted to go to were packed or closed, but the service was fantastic, and the food was great.  I didn't get seafood, which is Maine's staple, since it was too expensive, but I did pick some off my sibling's plate, which I enjoyed.  After eating a great meal there, we went to a popcorn store, toy store, and clothing store before heading home satisfied with everything we bought and experienced.

So all in all, I loved Maine and what it had to offer to me.  It will never be Boston because no place could be, but I would love to visit there again.  And since I've been there once, now I know what to expect.  

Losers By Name, But Winners In Our Hearts

The story isn't supposed to end this way, at least not for the good guys.  They're supposed to win and triumph over the villains, but that wasn't the case with the San Antonio Spurs or the Boston Bruins.  For the Spurs, I wasn't shocked because they were playing the Miami Heat and Lebron James (although they should have won Game 6).  For the Bruins though, I was disappointed like everyone they lost because they outplayed the Chicago Blackhawks in almost every game, but blew so many chances to close them out.  I know it's just sports, and we as fans can move on, but this Stanley Cup Finals run was more than just an attempt at another sports title; it revived the city and gave them hope after the Boston Marathon tragedy.  You may not believe that, but lots of teams have revived cities after tragedies, like the New York Yankees after 9/11, etc.  Unfortunately, it seems like the right team never wins.

I could get into analyzing how the Bruins lost, but no one wants to read that (and you can see that anywhere on ESPN).  I just want to take this small space I have to say thanks to them for a great title run.  They may have fallen a little short, but for what they accomplished, thrilling us Boston fans, we'll look back on these Stanley Cup Finals with more smiles than frowns. 

The Bruins are holding their heads down after losing, but they raised our spirits in ways we Bostonians never expected after the Boston Marathon tragedy

One Week Ago...

Looking back on the past week in Boston, with the marathon tragedy, and the capture of suspect #2, for some reason, I'm thinking of a scene from Dead Poets Society.  The scene I'm talking about in particular is when Professor Keating, played by Robin Williams, goes on his desk and tells the boys in his class that everything is different based on perspective.  The boys laugh what he is saying at first, but then they get on his desk and realize what he's talking about.  That scene had to do with telling the boys to do things for themselves, and to think about things in depth.  I know that scene and the film have nothing to do with what happened last week, but I can't help but look back on a week ago with the perspective I have now.

A week ago, I was in Amherst at this time, having breakfast with my friend Scotty, then going to the library to do some homework with him.  I did a little, but not much because I was focused on the Red Sox (who always play early on Patriots day for those of you who don't know).  After spending a few hours there, I ate lunch with my other friends Phu and Johnson.  Once we were done eating, I figured the rest of the day would be quiet with the marathon going on, but that's when I, and many others found out what happened at 2:50.  Most people were at the marathon, or saw on TV what happened, but I found out because my sister texted me about it.  At first, I didn't understand it, but once I turned on the TV, it was hard not too.  I was worried because my dad and his friends were there, but luckily they weren't hurt.  Unfortunately, others were because of what happened.

Now that a week has passed, it's hard to believe that it was that long ago, when the feeling of it is still very fresh.  Suspect #2 was caught on Friday, but I know that this dilemma is far from being solved, and the people who lost loved ones or sustained injuries will never heal.  As time goes by, maybe things will get better, but we'll never forget what happened at 2:50 on April 15, 2013 because it's part of our lives forever.  Our perspectives may change, but the feelings of sadness, sorrow, etc, never will.

R.I.P all the victims of the Boston Marathon Tragedy.  None of you deserved the pain you endured.

More Boston Marathon Tragedy Thoughts

Whenever I blog about an idea, I try not to do the same subject twice, but I had to write about the Boston Marathon tragedy again because I was in Boston today, with more feelings than I had yesterday.  Here are some of them...

• Walking in Boston, you can see the effect the tragedy has had on the city.  People seem sadder, places like South Station were emptier, and police were everywhere.  I even saw armored vehicles for the first time today.
• Hearing President Obama speak today gave me some answers and hope, though I don't know what kind.
• Reading all the stories of tragedy and triumph was truly moving.  
• Re-watching the explosion video again brought tears to my eyes for various reasons.  The pain, the sound, the fact that the people there were just normal people like me and you, who weren't looking for trouble, but somebody wanted to give it.
• Sports is secondary to this, as it should be, but it's a nice when athletes do nice things to help out for a cause, like Danny Amendola offering to donate money for his catch totals next season.  It shows that athletes aren't as stuck up as they look on TV, and that sports can help people move on.
• Lastly, the word terrorism has been used, which has caused many people I know to rush to conclusions, but regardless of who did it, everyone shouldn't discriminate against a whole race or ethnicity because the person/people who planted the bombs don't represent the majority.  What I'm technically saying is, don't discriminate.  It's already political enough, so let's not dirty ourselves in it. 

Boston Marathon Tragedy Thoughts

Usually, when it comes to the current events in the world, I tend to have an opinion on it, but when something like what happened at the Boston Marathon happened, I'm honestly thrown off.  I understand it's a tragedy, but I can't fully comment on it until more facts are released.  I understand it's easy to place blame, but I don't think it's right to do that yet.

One thing I can do though is say how I feel, so here it is, even though it isn't much...

• Like everyone, I am saddened that this tragedy occurred in the first place. Patriots Day is supposed to be a relaxing day off, where people can enjoy the marathon, but unfortunately, some sick minded individual/s thought otherwise.  Any time people get hurt is terrible, but I am glad many others were unharmed.  
• Kudos to the police, doctors, ambulances, and anyone else who helped aid those who were hurt from this ordeal.  
• This tragedy reminds me of the Virginia Tech incident only because I remember it happening during the Boston Marathon many years ago.  Two different events, but two terrible tragedies.
• My dad, and one of his friends running in the marathon were down there today, but thankfully none of them were hurt.
• An event like this makes you grasp onto life a little more, and makes you think of think of life from a different perspective.
• Boston is hurt right now, but we'll get through this ordeal together.
• Lastly, my thoughts and prayers to all those affected from the tragedy.