Birthday Musings: Perspective

I was three years old during the year I was supposed to die. In Viet Nam where I was born, a new brand of baby powder had hit the market, and new parents paid good money for what they thought was a luxury item for their infants. What they didn’t know about the powder manifested weeks later when the children’s ward of the local hospital became chock-full of sick kids suffering from a high fever, coughs, and seizures. The powder seeped through the body like a poison. Weeks into my hospital stay, after countless diagnostic tests, my skin began peeling like a snake, and bed bug bites caused lesions all over my body.

My dad and uncle carried me up and down the hospital floors for tests and treatment. My mom sat with me, talked to me, told me stories, asked me to stay with her. The gravity of the situation hit when the boy in the hospital bed next to mine got wheeled out one night because he did not make it. Someone had lost a son that night, and my mom prayed not to lose a daughter. Somewhere, in the midst of my unconsciousness, I must have heard her plea. I followed the thread of her voice, step by step and inch by inch, and let it lead me back to the land of the living.

In a lot of Asian countries, the elderly are revered for their wisdom and experience after having lived a long and fruitful life. Yet in America, it is a taboo to ask someone (especially women) to give their age, and people shy away from saying how old they are, saying on their birthday that they are “another year younger,” and joking that they have turned an age at least a decade younger than their actual age. Wrinkles, fine line, gray hair—all reasons to freak out.

I have a different perspective on aging, and I'm reminded of it in the things that I love. I love the color purple. I love how the smell of homemade food imparts a sense of comfort and nostalgia within me. I love autumn walks on crispy fallen leaves that have turned brilliant shades of crimson and gold. I love the scent of the ocean, the roar of the waves, the warmth of the California sun, the feeling of fine sand eking between my toes. A lot of people bemoan turning another year older. Today, I celebrate the gift of life and the fortune of having been given a second chance at it, to continue discovering new things to love. Whether I am celebrating among a big group of loving friends and family or have some quiet time to reflect in solitude, on a day like today, I think about how I lived when I should have died, and I wish myself, "Happy birthday."

Washington DC

Travel Dates: October 28, 2013, to October 31, 2013

We arrived in the evening to Washington DC and tried not to fall asleep from the jet lag during the long shuttle ride to our hotel, the Carlyle Suites. Best fix for that? An enormous slice of pizza. Apparently, these are the norm in DC. We passed by several eateries advertising jumbo pizza slices.

Skeptical as to whether or not this will all fit in me. Good thing Tung opted to share this time.

Having lived in DC for a time, our friends Chester and Penny were nice enough to thoroughly plan our entire itinerary for us. After buying a SmartTrip pass from a local Walgreen's, we took the metro to the Smithsonian.

Organized, clean metros of Washington. Public transportation here rocks.

First stop, the Museum of Natural History, my favorite one out of those we visited.

In front of the National Museum of Natural History

I am but a morsel to this huge fish

Near iconic giant elephant in the rotunda

T-Rex skeleton

Tung being civil with neanderthals

I love all the visual displays in the museum. You can easily work up a trove of facts and knowledge by spending some quality time here.

A visual of the exponential growth of the human population

The multi-story museum

Tiny shrimp magnified behind glass

One of my favorite exhibits was the Gems and Minerals Collection. What woman doesn't like to look at jewels? I also liked seeing them in their raw form and having the facts about each mineral laid out for me.

The Spanish Inquisition necklace: 15 Columbian emeralds, 336 diamonds, 45-carat center emerald

The Hope Diamond: Over 45 carats and over a billion years old

We next toured the National Archives, which doesn't allow inside photography. This one had more of a hushed, sombre library feel to it. It was dark inside to preserve such monumental documents as the US Constitution, which had already begun to fade from sun exposure in the past. It was cool to see the original, flowery cursive of the forefathers of the nation, make out the Preamble that I had to memorize in high school, and watch videos of the painstaking process of document recovery and preservation techniques.

In front of the National Archives

After being stuffed up inside museums with sensory overload, we toured the outdoor Sculpture Garden. My favorite piece was this silver tree with very realistic branches jutting out at all angles. It looked like someone had poured molten silver over a real tree to completely coat it.

Having browsed the art collection of the British Museum, Louvre, and Orsay, we made our way to the National Gallery of Art in DC to see how it stacks up.

The impressive rotunda with huge, huge marble columns

A rather casual rendition of "The Rape of Europa"

Diana, one of the more popular goddesses. We saw the likes of her in many museums on our tour.

Bronze replica of Rodin's Thinker, thinking away

One of Monet's Nympheas

Impressionist painting of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. With jet lag, lack of sleep, and a sense of deja vu, it really did seem like I was seeing the cathedral in a dream.

John Constable's "Wivenhoe Park (1816)." I love his "Hay Wain," and his landscapes always evokes a sense of nostalgia in me.

"Youth," from "The Voyage of Life," a series of 4 paintings by Thomas Cole. Detailed landscape and colorful representations of each stage of a human life.

Cool, funky tunnel with moving walkway and changing light patterns.

We also checked out the Modern Art wing, but neither of us are very much into modern art. The coolest piece for me was this fish made of wires and glass, mounted in a way that threw different shadows on the stark white wall.

At the Freer Gallery of Art, we checked out a lot of Asian art exhibits, from sculptures, pottery, china, and scrolls of the Chinese, Japanese, and Indian heritages.

Vase with lovely pastel colors

Bodhisattva carving

Special Gold Room display--peacocks inlaid with gold

Next, to tour the outside of the National Mall.

Pretty mum cluster

 

WWII Memorial

I found California, golden state of my heart

At the Reflecting Pool with Lincoln Memorial in the background

Inside Lincoln Memorial, one of the biggest

Viet Nam Veterans Memorial

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

Jefferson Memorial, facing Lincoln's on the opposite end of the Tidal Loop

Dinner at the conclusion of our second night was at Amsterdam Falafel Shop, a popular hole-in-the-wall place highly recommended by Chester and Penny. With falafel balls that were flavorful, crunchy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside, and boasting unlimited toppings as fat as you could stuff the pita bread, this place did not disappoint and was truly the BEST falafel sandwiches we've ever had--even for a cannibal like Tung who gained new respect for the yumminess of a vegetarian diet.

Awake and refreshed the next morning from very comfy and large beds in comparison to Europe, we enjoyed the view of an east-coast autumn from the kitchenette of our hotel before setting forth again to the metro.

We had breakfast at Wicked Waffle, a place that does not believe in syrup as a topping. I was shocked by this, but then I bit into a crispy, eggy, delicious waffle whose flavor was not covered by the scent of maple syrup, and I was sold. The guy who served my waffle said they were thinking about opening a store on the west coast after learning that we were from California, and I told him if they got around to it, I'd be a regular customer.

Strawberry AND banana waffle with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle

We explored the Air & Space Museum, which I didn't think I'd like that much, but it turned out to be pretty modern and interesting.

Model of Icarus and wings

A space rover

Early airplane model

With Amelia Earhart

For the final day, we wanted to tour the Capitol Building, but it was closed for the morning. We were going to eat all our food and drink our entire water supply for the day as no food or drink were permitted inside, but it's a good thing we saved some as the Capitol Building remained closed indefinitely for the day due to some special event. We walked around the outside to admire the architecture instead.

Walked to the Supreme Court, but it was closed for the special event as well.

Saw the White House from a distance. Very well guarded and fenced off by miles.

We toured the Botanic Gardens and saw many flowers and plants on display. What I enjoyed about the Botanic Gardens is that it's a feast of scents as well as for the eyes.

1000-bloom chrysanthemum special display

Orchid display

I have always wanted to see an east-coast autumn. We caught autumn at the early end, so at first I was disappointed over how green all the trees still were, but then we found patches of trees whose leaves were starting to show off their magnificent red-orange-gold display.

Last night's dinner at Pho 14

That's it for our Capitals Tour!

City lights of SJC