When you're down and troubled

Get off train A at Dyckman St stop and a short walk away is The Met Cloister Museum in Port Trien Park. I love the architecture and garden setting of the medieval European monastery overlooking the Hudson River. Went with book club members. We toured the museum and took out the lunch box, watermelon, coffee, madeleine, and bakery prepared by the vice president on the lawn. We toasted Makku Makgeolli, which was founded by a friend's daughter-in-law, as an accompaniment. It has a clean, refreshing taste that is neither sweet nor bitter. The children who came to the picnic were also sitting around and eating lunch.  When I was a kid, I remember snooping on the teachers sitting on the grass and having a meal when we went on picnics. Similar to teachers' lunchboxes, our lunch boxes are bulgogi, pork, braised pollock, lotus root and stewed anchovies, radish and spinach sprouts. 

If I were the vice chairman, I would have thrown a bottle of water and a kimbap. As expected, those who lead the meeting have extraordinary leadership. She looked around for delicious lunch boxes and bought them from the most delicious restaurant. The ripe watermelon has been cut into bite-size pieces. I ate well and headed home, saying that it was my duty to follow the lead of the chairman and vice chairman.

We were on Dyckman Street, unfamiliar with the neighborhood, and followed a fourth-year (40-year-old) member to a station. For reference, our book club has members from 4th grade (40) to 7th grade (70). A tall white man stopped us. "Do you speak English?" I thought he was a tourist from the countryside asking for directions. Even if we did speak English, we didn't know the neighborhood well enough to give him directions. The four of us stared blankly into his face, unable to speak. "Where are you from? Are you from Asia?" The attitude of asking is not good. I said, "I'm from West End Avenue." answered. He made a puzzled face that he didn't know about 'West End Avenue'. We looked at each other for a moment  and then we left.

This is the second time this month I've been stopped by a man on the street. I wondered if it was because there were a lot of lonely people who wanted to make small talk that they hadn't been able to during the pandemic, and I looked up the psychology of men approaching women on the street on YouTube. 

‘Approach a woman alone with confidence. Approach neat and tidy to look attractive. Continuing a comfortable conversation that makes sense and naturally compliments the other person's style and fashion. If you get rejected, don’t panic and leave your seat coolly.’ The more you practice like this, the more likely you are to succeed. If you're single, wouldn't it be nice to curl up at home on a sunny day and practice without getting depressed? find your own happiness.