Happy Holidays!


The holiday season is an exciting time to visit New York City, though not for the faint hearted or those with social anxiety disorder. Even I thought I needed Zoloft. The entire City is like a stampede about to happen. Talk about population density! With the strong Euro and the weak US Dollar, there's an influx of tourists off late. I'm sure the souvenir shop proprietors must be very happy.

Yes, it's only a few days to the New Year and tourists from all over the world are headed towards the big ball in the East the Crossroads of the World. No doubt they will be jostling for a spot to view the famous Waterford Crystal & Philips Lighting sponsored ball drop at Times Square this coming Monday night.

They hoisted the ball today. No kidding. We saw it going up slowly at snail pace this morning. Here it is. All ready to drop.

Even the stage is ready for some serious entertainment and partying.

Well, we plan to herald in the New Year from the comforts of our living room (as usual) watching Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve 2008. The idea of having to stand in one spot for 6-8 hours and not being able to pee or sit isn't very inviting to us. If you leave your spot, you won't be able go back in. Vultures will be hovering by the edge ready to pounce on your vacant spot.

With these Charmin Bears so near your viewing area, you'll be thinking, "So near, yet so far." And your instant New Year's Resolution: I will not pee in my pants on New Year's Eve.

Anyway, it's too early to be talking about 2008. It is still the holiday season so let's rewind a little bit to the theme at hand.


Rockefeller X'mas Tree
The famous tree looks a bit withered. But, still so regal and strong.



Saks Fifth Avenue X'mas Window
One of my absolute favorite things to do. Admire the window dressing and listen to the stories that go along with it. A sure crowd pleaser as you can see from the photos below:

Hoards of people crowd at the Saks window. Ages 1 to 90+.

Some of the moving displays...

Penny Harvest Field at Rockefeller Center
Taking the meaning "every penny counts" to a whole new level.

The 100 million pennies collected by students in NYC on display at the Penny Harvest Field.

Pennies, more pennies, a sea of pennies!

Do you think this would work in Malaysia? I think by the end of the day, the harvest field would be "fully-harvested". Where did the pennies disappeared to??? Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!