Jennifer 8. Lee

Move over, man dates. (You too, massive manatee!) Not your week, Nevaehs. In Sunday's New York Times Style section, reporter and fortune cookie chronicler Jennifer 8. Lee wrote the story she was born to cover: "Marry Me at 8 on the 8th, O.K.?," all about the glut of weddings scheduled by Chinese and Chinese-American couples on the luckiest day of the year: 8/8/08.

Ms. Lee writes:

[T]his fortuitous Friday is not only the chosen date of the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics; it has also been circled in red by many couples...

Chinese people find the 8’s highly desirable for cellphone numbers, license plates, prices (and this reporter’s byline).  read more »

THE FORTUNE COOKIE CHRONICLES: ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF CHINESE FOOD
By Jennifer 8. Lee
Twelve, 291 pages, $24.99

I ordered lunch today from the go-to Chinese restaurant around the corner from my office. It came in a large plastic bag that held a large paper bag filled with all sorts of containers: a white, microwave-safe bowl of chicken with cashews; a box of vegetable fried rice; a tightly sealed bowl of hot and sour soup; a small wax-paper bag with one vegetable spring roll; another small wax-paper bag with those crispy noodles; a Ziploc bag thoughtfully packed with a fork, a spoon, two napkins, one packet of Chinese mustard, one packet of soy sauce and two packets of duck sauce, plus a separately packaged fortune cookie; and finally, in its own stapled brown bag, a pint of homemade lemonade. Total cost: $9.48.  read more »

New York Times metro reporter Jennifer 8. Lee, who has been working the night shift for the city section since January 2006, will move full-time to City Room, the Times' local news blog, starting tomorrow.

Ms. Lee, who has written some of the Times' most widely-read conceptual pieces in the past few years, recently completed her book on the history of Chinese food in the United States, which is due out in March. She will start filing to City Room, which is led by reporter Sewell Chan and edited by metro deputy Patrick LaForge, today.

A memo about Ms. Lee's new job from metro editor Joe Sexton after the jump.  read more »