Current Notice:

If you are in New York and would like to volunteer/donate much needed items like (clean) socks, food and water, please call 1.800.801.8092, or head down to Chelsea Piers. Names will be put into their volunteer database and listed together with whatever kind of help you can provide, and they will call when you're needed.

If you are outside of New York, please call 1.800.GIVE LIFE for info on donating blood. New Yorkers may donate blood at one of the following blood centers:

• Manhattan 310 East 67th St. (btwn 1st & 2nd Avenues)
• Manhattan 150 Amsterdam Avenue (btwn 66th & 67th Streets)
• Manhattan Citicorp Center (Lower Level), 53rd St. & Lexington Avenue
• Manhattan Metlift Bldg., 24th St. & Madison Avenue
• Brooklyn 120 Lawrence St. (near MetroTech)
• Staten Island 1625 Forest Avenue
• Long Island 2500 Marcus Avenue in Lake Success
• Long Island 3125 Veterans Highway in Bohemia
• Long Island 333 Merrick Rd. in Rockville Centre
• Long Island Route 110N in Melville/Huntington
• New Jersey 167 New Street in New Brunswick
• Lower Westchester County 525 Executive Boulevard in Elmsford

You may also give to the relief effort by making a monetary contribution.

Sunday, September 16, 2001

X   2:45 AM EST : comments (0)

The Real bin Laden (link from World New York)

"Osama's mother, a Syrian beauty, was his father's fourth, and final, official wife (the other three were Saudis), and she was considered by the conservative bin Laden family to be far ahead of her time. (For instance, she refused to wear a burka over her Chanel suits when she travelled abroad.) Osama was her only son. Tutors and nannies, bearers and butlers formed a large part of his life. He and his half brothers—and, to a lesser extent, his thirty half sisters—were playmates of the children of the kingdom's most prominent families, including various royal princes and princesses.

In 1968, Osama's father (along with his American pilot) died in a helicopter crash, and Osama, at the age of thirteen, inherited eighty million dollars. When he was fifteen, he had his own stable of horses, and at nineteen he entered King Abdul-Aziz University, in Jidda, where he received a civil-engineering degree in 1979. A barber who saw him often in the early nineteen-seventies has told the Mideast Mirror that in Beirut's flashy night clubs and bars his client was known as a free-spending, fun-loving young man—'a heavy drinker who often ended up embroiled in shouting matches and fistfights with other young men over an attractive night-club dancer or barmaid.'"

Saturday, September 15, 2001

X   1:57 AM EST : comments (1)

I feel guilty every time I smile, as if it were wrong to.

I jump at the slightest sound, as if I were afraid to not.

I drown myself in work, with the hope that all shall be forgot.

Thursday, September 13, 2001

X   11:56 PM EST : comments (1)

It really upset me this afternoon when a friend of mine, who is of Middle Eastern descent, described how tired he was of having to constantly watch his back. People would walk by him and mutter racial slurs under their breath, people would point at his dark skin and eyes and tell him to "go back where you came from", people would run up to him with anger in their eyes and raised fists.

My friend has done nothing in response. But that doesn't stop him from being angry either. "People assume that just because I look Arabic, I had something to do with the attacks," he said softly. "I know I really shouldn't be mad at people who don't know any better, but I don't know why people can't be more rational even in their anger y'know? America's my home too, and I'm angry at what happened also, if not more."

He is the son of a prominent Egyptian diplomat, yet people on the street treat him like less than the good, kind person that he is, because of his ethnicity. I know racism like this has been going on in America for a long time now, but that doesn't mean I am anywhere close to understanding it.

X   4:39 AM EST : comments (12 )

URGH!! Ignorance really bothers me, but while I know that you can't yell at a person for being ignorant if you're not willing to teach them, I'm getting just a tad bit annoyed at having to break down and justify the pain that I - along with the millions who also live in America - feel. From this blog entry, here are a couple of comments (with grammatical errors intact) re. the tragedies, along with my responses.

Comment #1 - By GIRL:
ah you all. you all don't know nuts about what's going on. all you see is what the news show you, what america wants you to see. what about taking a step back and opening your pretty little eyes to see it from another point of view???

america bombed palestine, how come it's not all over the news, or how come nobody cares. all those 'accidental' things in china...

come on man. america is dirty. and if the government sucks, the people suffer. it's the way things are. accept it.

we all know something like this is bound to happen. even their own citizen, that timothy guy, is anti-america. it's such a big suprise america is being attacked.

i think if you all don't know what's really going on, you all should not talk about it. read the news, but don't believe everything they tell you.

it's bullshit.


My Response:
well GIRL...you obviously don't have enough balls to put your email address, because you're too chicken shit to handle the backlash that might occur with your thoughtless statements.

you're probably so comfortable in front of your TV in singapore/malaysia that you honestly have no idea about the magnitude of the damage done and loss of human life. YOU didn't have to worry about your friends making it home to their families, YOU didn't have to witness the chaos that ensued in the city first hand, YOU didn't lose anyone that you love. your comments about innocent people suffering because "the government sucks" is immature and puts you on the same level of Timothy McVeigh, who claimed that the loss of innocent civilian lives was "collateral damage" (which you probably don't know the meaning of, so you should probably look it up).

no matter whose government it is, NOBODY deserves to suffer like that. NOBODY. you're safe and secure in the knowledge that nothing of this magnitude will probably happen in singapore/malaysia, therefore you're complacent with your comments about "sucky governments". you must really be in your own little bubble if you believe that you're really as safe as you think you are.

maybe it is YOU who should learn more about the current situation before making any more comments about it.


Comment #2 - By think objectively please:
there is no crime against humanity, only sin against God.

what you see is what happens when humans try to rule the world.

aye, why are you all agitated when the usa is attacked and thousands are dead? everytime an earthquake strike a chinese city thousands die...did you care? how about all the boat people trying to get into aus and other places...why cry for those that are already dead, and do nothing about those still alive?
if you care about the world so much, why dont you something about it?

when the usa bombs iraq or anywhere else did you protest?

are american lives worth more than middle eastern lives? every govt has done something bad, dont cry for usa just cos you think they're the good people. no govt is good.


My response:
Thank you Ling, Kirs...I'm sorry to say that people tend to think rather narrowly, even when they like to perceive that they're thinking objectively. People also tend to use (as arguments for "objective thinking") what they *truly* feel, and I think that says a lot about those who claim that our (as people who live in the US) anger is misplaced and directed at only one racial group.

Think Objectively - I said it once before in response to GIRL's comments, but I'll say it again: no matter whose government it is, NOBODY deserves to suffer like that. I'm not shedding tears because I worship the US government or its people...rather, having lived here for the past four years, I've long learnt to shed the "ang-moh is best" idea, and develop very strong opinions of my own regarding many of the issues that everyday Americans face. And I'm not just pointing an accusatory finger at people of Middle Eastern descent...I have many friends within the same tight-knit circle whose parents are from the Middle East, who are themselves first-generation American. Instead, I've cried constantly since the tragedies because I almost lost a couple of friends, who, in turn, did lose a few of their own friends. Because there were so many innocent lives in that building (read Ben's comments re. the ordinary human beings that those people were), everyone you know (who lives in NYC and its surrounding suburbs at least) knew at least a couple of people who worked in those twin towers.

I guess it's difficult to explain to someone who has never had to watch a symbol of their city collapse because of one people's hatred of religious and political differences, while rendering innocent lives lost in the process. Though I may try my darndest to explain the pain that I felt when I thought I'd lost my close friends, or the tears that I see on people's faces as I walk on the streets of the city going about my daily business, I don't think you'll fully be able to comprehend the degree of disruption and insecurity we now feel. Still, all you need to do is try to put yourselves in our shoes, and not accuse others - who have succeeded in having a natural human sympathy - of being biased towards the United States.

Wednesday, September 12, 2001

X   6:13 PM EST : comments (0)

A couple of photos - not of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers - from Time and CNN (put your pointer over the images for captions):

X   11:41 AM EST : comments (0)

Right outside my window sits the USS George Washington and its fleet. It's an ironic sight - the ominous shadows of warships sitting in the horizon amidst the sparkling blue waters of Long Island Sound. I know I'm supposed to feel safer because both the East and West Coasts are now being protected by heavily armored ships, but if anything, I feel even more nervous.

My mother told me that I should pack a small bag just in case something were to happen and we were to be evacuated by Singapore Airlines (for whom my father works) or the Singapore Embassy.

Precautions, precautions...hopefully, these are only unnecessary precautions.

X   10:20 AM EST : comments (2 )

This is completely spooky. For those of you who don't know who Nostradamus was, he was a French astrologer and physician who lived during the 16th Century, and whose fame lies on his book Centuries, a series of prophecies in verse.

X   10:15 AM EST : comments (0)

All CUNY classes have been cancelled again because of transportation difficulties within Manhattan. Somehow I'm extremely thankful...a part of me feels like the destruction is not complete.

X   2:15 AM EST : comments (1)

"In any case, to give you an idea of the location of where i used to live... the marriott hotel, which is further out from ground zero than my old apartment complex, is currently on fire."

Thank goodness you moved a few months ago...I saw pix of the Marriott, Century 21, and the building where Brooks Brothers was located...they're burning so hard, it's scary.

X   2:07 AM EST : comments (0)

Insensitive and immature people like the person who commented on the current situation here (scroll to girl) get me extremely pissed. Talk about a sheltered and complacent Singaporean (for some reason, I really do believe that she is Singaporean...maybe it's her English)...it is people like you that make me ashamed to say that I am Singaporean also. Shame on you.

X   1:35 AM EST : comments (1)

It just occurred to me that I'd blogged about the hatred harbored by the top suspect behind the attacks on America - Osama Bin Laden - just a few days ago. How eerie.

Although all NYC public and parochial schools are to be closed tomorrow, life has to carry on as usual for me, along with thousands of other City University kids in NYC. I have classes at both Hunter and Baruch tomorrow, and I have to say that although I'm going to have no problems with attending classes (my mom doesn't want me to though), I most certainly do not intend to take the subway. Not so much am I worried about commuter crush as I am about the potential damage that another terrorist attack could do, if terrorists decide to bomb subway stations and such, especially during the rush hour. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I'd honestly rather be safe than sorry.

X   1:16 AM EST : comments (1)

Thank you to all of you who sent me emails, messages, and your prayers for my safety today. I'm quite okay - I've been sitting in front of my TV for the last 15 hours watching for updates on the horrifying events that unfolded at the beginning of this day. I haven't been able to come online until now because I wanted to make sure that our phone lines were open to field phonecalls from family and friends who wanted to make sure that my family and I were doing all right, as well as for us to make outgoing phonecalls to our friends here in NY to make sure that they're doing okay as well. The following is a still inconclusive journal entry from my paper journal.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001

X   2:35 AM EST : comments (4 )

I had no idea that my town had such a cute website!

The site features some very pretty pictures taken by local photographers as well. For some reason, I'm so excited now. Heh.

P.S.: Be sure to observe the many shots taken of beach volleyball...maybe you can spot yours truly :)

Monday, September 10, 2001

X   3:20 AM EST : comments (0)

New journal entry: Two Emails

And now I'm off to bed. Good night.

X   1:29 AM EST : comments (0)

What a great play on his last name!

In unrelated news, my friend Winnie (who spent this past summer interning here in NYC) just got offered a job with Morgan Stanley. She just entered her senior year at Cornell, but they apparently liked her so much that they offered her a position right after she graduates in May. Starting salary is US$4000/mth...I have to admit that I'm just a teensy bit jealous. I'm very happy for her though.

X   1:09 AM EST : comments (0)

How does anyone harbor so much hate against their fellow man?

Sunday, September 09, 2001

X   3:42 AM EST : comments (0)

I was just reading this wedding recap when I thought about my friend Doris, who just got engaged last weekend. Her fiance popped the question while they were celebrating their first year anniversary in the Hamptons (also where they first met just over a year ago). Just this past Thursday, I saw her for the first time since school started and I noticed the engagement ring on her finger (shaddup...I'm female, so I *do* notice these things).

Oh wow. Talk about a rock. It is an absolutely stunning 4-carat Three-Stone Anniversary Ring from DeBeers, featuring three emerald-cut diamonds with a platinum band. Talk about one lucky girl eh?

X   3:10 AM EST : comments (0)

Newly discovered: a couple of peeps who linked me in my referrer logs today. Thank you, you, and you. Oh, and you too.

Currently trying to gather up enough motivation to either, a) get my lazy ass up from in front of the computer and mosey on into bed, or b) continue work on the first new layout in about four months. I wish I was one of those who have enough time/motivation/energy to redesign constantly.

Unrelated: I really ought to go drop off that roll of film that's been sitting by my bed for the longest. I'm so lazy.