We’ve reached the end of day, and of a really important one.
Today marks 20 years since I moved to the United States.
If it enlightens anyone, by way of my preschool education in the Philippines, I learned what North America was before I fully understood what New York was. It turned out to be a decent city with good people, and definitely with a lot of stories to be told — ones I’d hope enrich our communities.
Something else I’ll share: I received free doughnut holes from the staff at Sunnyside’s Alpha Donuts my first week. That diner has since closed weeks after I finished undergrad — and I’ve tried to not read that closely as a metaphor. Alpha Donuts is immortalized in a film with Robert DeNiro (h/t Palash Ghosh for the tidbit), and through this note.
Earlier this month, Sunnyside Up Café opened where the diner was. Maybe it is a time to start something new — or pursue something different?
I mainly write this note to say thank you to everyone who has ever crossed paths with me in the U.S. these past 20 years. I can only hope the next 20 — hopefully still in New York — are wonderful.
