[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-2%||||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px|||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n
My first string of jobs in NYC was waitressing, from Flushing to Manhattan, from Brooklyn to Greenwich, CT.<\/strong> I was fired constantly, because I knew nothing about serving, its culture within the culture. I was terrible at counting money. I often forgot to get clients to sign their credit cards. I didn\u2019t understand why my boss called me a \u201cwhore\u201d when I sat down to chat with a client upon his invitation. Finally, a friend took pity and found me a job in a Flushing law office.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/employee-1118183_1280.jpg” title_text=”employee-1118183_1280″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”|5%||5%|false|true” border_width_all=”19px” border_color_all=”rgba(204,168,128,0.74)” box_shadow_style=”preset2″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n Mr. Manzie hired me right away, $5 an hour, 24 hours a week, cash. His girlfriend Phillis wasn\u2019t too happy. She wanted me to get some \u201cnormal\u201d clothes to meet the office \u201cdress code.\u201d<\/p>\n I grew up with hand-down clothes from my mom and aunt. If I wanted new clothes or shoes, I made them myself. Before I arrived in NYC, I stopped at HK and bought some skirts and shirts. I found them stylish and beautiful, but not Phillis. She wore heavy makeup, gold rings, earrings, necklace, bracelets, anklets. With her blonde hairdo, she looked like a Barbie.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-1%||||false|false”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/beauty-3659605_1280.jpg” title_text=”beauty-3659605_1280″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”1%||||false|false” custom_padding=”|5%||5%|false|true” border_width_all=”19px” border_color_all=”rgba(204,168,128,0.74)” box_shadow_style=”preset2″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”1%||||false|false”]<\/p>\n \u201cGo to Macy\u2019s and get yourself something nice,\u201d she told me, when she handed me an envelope on Friday, my first week salary. It had $120 inside.<\/p>\n After $20 for rent, $20 for food, $20 for saving, I would have $60 to spend, in Macy\u2019s.<\/p>\n I\u2019d never heard of Macy\u2019s. In 1986, there was no internet. So I walked across the hallway and asked my friend May, a realtor secretary, to take me to Macy\u2019s.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ make_equal=”on” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”1%||||false|false”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#ffffff” background_color=”rgba(40,22,0,0.63)” module_alignment=”left” custom_margin=”|||0px|false|false” custom_padding=”7%|7%|7%|8%|false|false” border_color_left=”#e09900″ border_width_left_tablet=”0px” border_width_left_phone=”” border_width_left_last_edited=”on|phone” box_shadow_style=”preset6″ box_shadow_horizontal=”-5px” box_shadow_blur=”30px” box_shadow_spread=”15px”]<\/p>\n May was from Mainland China, young and pretty, married to a Chinese merchant in Flushing two years ago. She dressed and talked as if she were a real American. And she loved to show me around to melt me into the American dream as fast as possible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We took 7 Train from Flushing to Elmhurst, and walked into Macy\u2019s.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/subway-2631638_1920.jpg” title_text=”subway-2631638_1920″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-1%||||false|false” custom_padding=”0%|2%|||false|false” border_width_all=”16px” border_color_all=”rgba(204,171,134,0.61)” box_shadow_style=”preset1″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n My mouth dropped when I stepped inside. What hit me first was the perfume. I\u2019d never smelled such thick fragrances in the air. A woman, dressed like Phillis, sprayed something on my face. I sneezed violently. May laughed and told me I\u2019d get used to it. She sneezed like a country bumpkin herself during her first visit. When I got my breath back, I looked up and saw the cosmetic counters under bright light, women sitting on stools like penguins, waiting to be attended by beautiful girls.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/admin-ajax2.jpg” title_text=”admin-ajax2″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”84%” border_width_all=”21px” border_color_all=”rgba(204,168,128,0.74)” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”12px”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”4%|||-6%|false|false” custom_padding=”|||5%|false|false”]<\/p>\n \u201cWant to try my lipstick?\u201d May asked. She picked up a dark cherry tube and smeared it on my mouth. \u201cTake a look!\u201d<\/p>\n The black lipstick looked lovely on rosy-cheeked May, but deadly on my malnourished face.<\/p>\n \u201cPhillis would hate it,\u201d I said, wiping my mouth clean. I picked up a pink sample, and placed it against my lips. I didn\u2019t dare to put it on. I was holding my first lipstick in my life. Nobody had used it. Was it waiting for me? Or was it simply not as fashionable as May\u2019s dark cherry?<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”3%|8%|||false|false”]<\/p>\n May made a face and sighed. I was being a \u201ccountry bumpkin\u201d again. She sat down on a stool, closed her eyes, and let a sales girl put on \u201cshadow\u201d on her eyelids.<\/p>\n I looked around, my fingers turning the lipstick round and round. This was the world I\u2019d tried to imagine before I came to America, and it was vastly different. I was born in Shanghai, China\u2019s most fashionable city, then moved to an island on the East China Sea. Whenever I visited my grandma, my aunt would take me window-shopping on Huaihai and Nanjing Road, Shanghai\u2019s fashion center, with the oldest and largest department stores.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/WangPing-child-shot2jpg.jpg” title_text=”WangPing child shot2jpg” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”5%||||false|false” custom_padding=”|||2%|false|false” border_width_all=”20px” border_color_all=”rgba(204,168,128,0.7)” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”21px” box_shadow_vertical=”13px”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”2%||1%||false|false”]<\/p>\n My only memory was the crowd, so thick that we never got close to the counter. After the window shopping, my aunt would get some fabric and make beautiful clothes from what she remembered. She was an engineer, but she was also a talented singer, dancer and tailor.<\/p>\n Macy\u2019s was spacious, shiny, fragrant, and busy, bustling with people and merchandise, from cosmetics and jewelry to hats, bags and clothes, counter over counter, space within space, goods upon goods. I looked at the price of the lipstick on the counter. $19.99. That was my whole week\u2019s food and transportation! The shadow May was sampling cost $36.99. So the two items alone would wipe out my $60 budget. And Phillis made it clear that I must get some dresses more suitable for her office. Her office? It was Manzie\u2019s. And I just discovered that his girlfriend was Rosemary, who had showed up today looking for Mr. Manzie. I didn\u2019t tell her about Phillis, but my heart ached for the lovely Puerto Rican who had been living with my boss for 12 years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-artem-beliaikin-2292953_1280-1024×683-1.jpg” title_text=”pexels-artem-beliaikin-2292953_1280-1024×683″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-1%||2%||false|false” border_width_all=”22px” border_color_all=”rgba(204,168,128,0.74)” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_blur=”21px” box_shadow_spread=”2px”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Maybe I could buy a dress this week instead of cosmetics? I ventured over to the clothes section. A yellow jumpsuit jumped into my eyes. The skinny mannequin looked sassy and lovely. Would that pass Phillis\u2019 dress code? Perhaps not, because she never wore pants, only skirts and dresses. But the bright yellow would match her hair! It cost $45, but \u00a0it was one for two, top and bottom together. I picked Size Small off the rack, and walked to the mirror.<\/p>\n \u201cHmm, it\u2019s definitely not for office,\u201d May said behind me. The gray shadow on her eyelids and dark lipstick made her look like a lovely witch.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ text_text_color=”#ffffff” background_color=”rgba(4,28,56,0.49)” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”rgba(147,93,17,0.48)” background_color_gradient_end=”rgba(20,6,0,0.9)” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”1%|0%|1%|0%|false|false” custom_padding=”5%|5%|5%|5%|false|false” box_shadow_style=”preset6″ box_shadow_horizontal=”7px” box_shadow_vertical=”7px” box_shadow_blur=”42px” box_shadow_spread=”12px”]<\/p>\n I let the jumpsuit drape from chin to feet. Without trying it on, I knew I\u2019d look sassy, just like the mannequin.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did you do with the sample lipstick?\u201d May asked suddenly.<\/p>\n I froze, feeling the tube burning against my thigh. I must have pocketed it when I picked up the jumpsuit. What should I tell May? In my pocket? I had meant to return it? Would she believe me? The contempt in her eyes said I was not only a \u201ccountry bumpkin,\u201d but also a \u201cthief.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI got a headache. I need to go home and make some ramen,\u201d I whined. Since I couldn\u2019t return the lipstick to the counter now, under May\u2019s watch, I could return it tomorrow, on my own.<\/p>\n She nodded and walked to the exit with me. As we were about to get out, she dashed back to the cosmetic counter. I knew she was checking to see if the sample was still missing. She came back with a big frown. She couldn\u2019t even look at me. My heart sank.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n We parted our ways in Flushing. That was the last time I ever spoke to May, my first girlfriend in NYC.<\/p>\n I went back to Macy\u2019s on Saturday. A new sample lipstick stood there like a pointing finger. I left the old, untouched sample on the counter. Would the sales girl even notice or care? Macy\u2019s was having a giant sale that day. I bought the jumpsuit at half price, and a down coat for $59. It wiped out my saving and half of the food money for the week. But the coat would keep me warm in my little room. My landlady kept the house just above the freezing point. I had a feeling Phillis would hate the jumpsuit. She\u2019d be disappointed to see my naked face on Monday. But she\u2019d have to wait.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/WangPing-at-Maceys2.jpg” title_text=”WangPing at Macey’s2″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#002642″ custom_padding=”|25%||25%|false|true” border_width_all=”17px” border_color_all=”rgba(204,168,128,0.7)” box_shadow_style=”preset6″ box_shadow_horizontal=”-13px”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n I walked out of Macy\u2019s in my new clothes, the first \u201cbig\u201d purchase I made with my first paycheck in America. Deep in my heart, a question kept gnawing: is this why I left everything behind for America? To make money then spend it all on a jumpsuit and coat?<\/p>\n I stopped a passerby and asked her to take a picture of my first \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d outside Macy\u2019s, for my parents, siblings and friends in China.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My first string of jobs in NYC was waitressing, from Flushing to Manhattan, from Brooklyn to Greenwich, CT. I was fired constantly, because I knew nothing about serving, its culture within the culture. I was terrible at counting money. I often forgot to get clients to sign their credit cards. I didn\u2019t understand why my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":237883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,10],"tags":[289,288],"class_list":["post-236118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-let-there-be-light","category-stranger-than-fiction","tag-american-dream","tag-immigration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}