2000: Montreal, Canada to London, England

My last year of the 20th century began at the top of the Funiculaire in Montreal and ended at Simpson's in the Strand in London. I spent two weeks in Alaska, left New York in September, lived two and a half months in Atlanta playing with the Epstein school's wonderful 3-year old class, and prepared for my move to Vietnam to be closer to my 92-year old grammy.

I enjoyed a year full of the arts, visiting the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Metropolitan Museum, the Hayden Planetarium, NY's Museum of Natural History, Storm King Art Center with Ron and Peter, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design, the Whitney, the National Gallery of Art, and London's Royal Academy of Art. I watched Roman Holiday at the MoMA, musical performances of Barbara Bonney with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, Maazel's Ring without Words, the beautiful dance of Isabel Gotzkowsky and Friends in So Soon Thereafter, theater including The Wild Party, The Time of the Cuckoo, Proof, Dame Edna, Current Events, Bomb-itty of Errors, Comic Potential, the reading of Superfriends of Flushing Queens, and in London, Life x 3, A Servant to Two Masters, The Caretaker, Long Day's Journey into Night, Stones in His Pockets, Merrily We Roll Along and La Cenerentola at the Royal Opera House. I experienced live music by David Krakauer's Klezmer Band, King James Version, 2 Skinnee J's showcase at the Bowery Ballroom, rock band Redtime, and a catchy Cuban Rhumba band in NJ.

I continued to study Italian, volunteered for New York Cares at the Chinatown Manpower Project, lunched in the park in Little Italy, was entertained by drag queens at Ziegfield's, reconnected with old AIDS Riders at the Spokebuster Gala, saw Hitchcock's Psycho for the first time, said goodbye to my dear Ong Ngoai, smelled the roses in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, biked the five boroughs in Bike New York with Adam, Ed, Kirt, and 32,000 others, promenaded along the Brooklyn Bridge, exchanged five words with graffiti artist Lee at Tokion's neo-graffiti party at Agnes B., finally made it inside the New York Public Library, watched Independence Day fireworks with Lisa on Jim & Dave's rooftop, had quiche at Jesse & Dana's Bastille Day celebration, tried Pall's spinning class, criticized pho' with a food critic, artistAlex Melamid, and authorKatya Arnold, barbequed on Dietmar's rooftop, was awed by the Northern Lights (aurora borealis), consumed delectable dinners homemade by Eric, Albert, Belinda, Eileen, and Jonathan, broke the fast (twice) in Atlanta, carved a pumpkin, watched ice hockey live, learned some Hebrew, ate a turducken at Lori & Ori's Thanksgiving, was fascinated by Cirque du Soleil's Dralion show, visited Nigel's colorful home in Notting Hill, and caught the remnants of the Brooklyn Pops Up exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library.

And then there was this adventure in Alaska

My ride life was more active this year, logging a total of 1,500 miles. I trained throughout New York and biked 500 miles in the mountains of Alaska with my trusty dear Les and 1,503 other cyclists in the inaugural Alaska AIDS Vaccine Ride.

Our journey was far more difficult than any of us imagined. We rode in rain, sleet, snow, headwind, crosswind, hills, gravel, sub-freezing temperatures, and an elevation gain of 3,000 feet, only to arrive at camp located at the edge of a glistening glacier to pitch our tents on soaking wet boulders on which we would sleep for the snowy evening. That was only Day 2 of the six-day ride which continued to Anchorage where we celebrated our victory over the adversity we faced together and the net $4.1 million raised for the discovery of an AIDS Vaccine that will one day save millions of lives.

Alaska is majestically beautiful and the ride and its people are inspirational. I am lucky to have met so many passionate people, and am grateful to have participated in such an enriching life experience. [see my Alaska newsletter]

Top 5 realizations that I lived as a New Yorker
5. My bed didn't fit in my room when I moved in. So I left it when I moved out.
4. I remembered I didn't need to make a phone call for a cab.
3. Directions to my apartment began with "Ok. Walk to the front of the train..."
2. I memorized the scripts of the F-train panhandlers.
1. I measure distance by NY city blocks: "Twenty blocks equals one mile..."

Returning to Vietnam
I've no idea how long I'll be in Vietnam - six months, a year, maybe two. I'm anxious to return to the place I was born, and to be with my Ba Ngoai (grandmum) with whom I'll live. I'll reunite with relatives I left 26 years ago. I'll taste its indigenous fresh fruits, wander its beaches, travel along the coast, and explore its exotic culture.

While in Vietnam, I hope to improve my fluency, my reading and writing, cycle the countryside, and dig into its mythology and folklore, for which it is rich. As for work, I'm going to leave it up to the opportunities that will come my way. As of February 3, I would be thrilled to receive mail at:
[hidden]
Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM

To Life, to You
I celebrate life, friendship, and you. I raise my sapphire & tonic (with extra lime) to you because I have met you, and you have touched my life. Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote in Ulysses, "I am a part of all that I have met." Thanks for being in my life and bringing to it your friendship and joy.
Happy New Year! May you spend your year in awe and sunshine.