so i’m a big fan of this show called The Wire. I’ve only finished seasons 1 and 2. But I’m hooked! I’m curious as to why it only lasted 5 seasons, but perhaps the remaining 3 aren’t as good. In any case, this is a great show. For those of us who grew up in and around Baltimore, it’s a magical show; bleak but magical.

I recently read an article on CNN about The Wire and the overly bleak picture the show seems to display regarding the youth in Baltimore. [ref: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/22/the.wire/index.html] And it made me sad.

Is growing up and living in Baltimore that hopeless? No. I know. I’m a college-educated, 20-30something asian american living what most probably consider “upper-middle-class”. But I grew up/worked in some of these neighborhoods.  Whenever I mention that I grew in these neighborhoods, people are shocked.

I was far privileged than many of the characters on the show, but what made me different? Joseph says that sometimes he can’t understand what I’m saying when I’m back in Baltimore talking to some of the “urban locals.”  So it’s definitely not the way I speak.

So what makes me connect to show? ….

My parents used to own a store called “Charles Carryout”. Thanks to Google Maps, I think I found it:

across the street used to be an abandoned lot. People used to park their cars there with no rhyme or reason.  My dad used to park our beat up 12yr old station wagon there. And next to the lot, i don’t remember ANYTHING as nice as the building that is there now, which sort of looks like an office building.

My parents lived above the store. My brother and I lived there on the weekends and summers. It was just a block or so from the projects and the schools were horrible. so my brother and i lived with my grandmother during the week (more on that in a future post perhaps).

what i remember most was running from the station wagon to the store to avoid potential gun fire, lewd comments, and getting harassed. entering the doors, and still being told to run to get behind the bullet proof glass doors that were locked at all times.

my favorite memories were playing ms. pac-man and centipede with some of the neighborhood kids. the guy who owned the video game machines would give us 20+ free credits when he emptied out the bins. other memories included playing/sleeping in tents that fit over the twin sized mattresses our parents bought me and my brother. the huge dogs that lived in the backyard. i only ever got to see them from afar since they were so scary.

just a little insight into my strange but fun childhood

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Post tags: 30something, 5 seasons, asian, brother, building, car, cars, cnn, dad, doors, games, glasses, google, grandmother, gun fire, joseph, kids, lewd comments, locals, locks, maps, memories, office, parents, rhyme, showbiz, sleep, station wagon, upper middle class

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so my insurance stinks. it took them forever to approve my MRI. some folks suggested to joseph that i
try calling the insurance company to push my approval through, so I did that. Turns out the insurance co
thought no one put in my request. i’m inclined to believe my doctors office who said they did. the office
also called the insurance company again and was able to get an approval right then and there. soon
after i was able to schedule my MRI. yippee! *sarcasm* so that’s thurs afternoon. the MRI will be used
to determine the final diagnoses of what is likely a sprained MCL. this is pretty standard.

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so what have i been doing in the meantime? working from home. definitely not fun. i much prefer to be
in the office, but that hasn’t been possible since I can’t really bend my knee. and going up and down
stairs has proven to be difficult and painful. that basically means that i can’t ride the subway. i take cabs
to my dr, and take the bus when i’m not in a rush and i’m sure to get 2 seats. one for my butt and the
other to keep my leg elevated.

but i’m scared to take the bus now too. i was sitting in one of the two seaters, and it started to get
crowded. each new person who entered the bus would see the second seat empty from “afar” and think
“whooo… empty seat no one wants!” head over and then be disappointed. one lady said “oh! BUSTED
KNEE!” and kept walking towards the back of the bus in search of another seat. but what made me
scared was actually a woman who didn’t bother to look at the seat before attempting to sit down. she
got pretty close to sitting on my knee. the only thing that stopped her was my hands on her back and
saying “PLEASE DON’T SIT” a number of times.

so this means i don’t leave the house that much. so i’ve been doing this instead:

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an extremely generous friend was kind enough to send me some materials, a circular needle, and a
book! she works for the designer who also authored the book and sells a line of chunky yarns.

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honestly i’ve never worked with chunky yarns before so it was a little awkward. i had to start over a few
times, but eventually i got it and the scarf turned out great! i modified the pattern a bit to fit more my
style (less ruffles and narrower), but it was a fun project! i’ll be starting on a knitted hat from the book
soon too!

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Post tags: insurance company, knee, knitting, mcl, office, scarf, subway

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so something like this would be great!:

And to go with my puzzle rug:

[via: Pervisioni]

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Post tags: cords, desk, mess, office, rug

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