Year of the Dog

Spent Saturday morning cleaning the apartment- swept and mopped the floors, cleaned the bathroom, tidied things up. Went for a nice run- the weather has been gorgeous this weekend. Then headed to Chinatown with Q2 and her boy to check out the flower market. I had been looking forward to it all week! There was a tented area set up in a park and a long line to get inside. Following the Chinese way, we cut in line and were in pretty quickly.

There were a lot of different tables set up and people milling around buying pussy willow, ginger, carnations, gladiolas, and curly bamboo. That was the extent of the selection. . .it was kind of a let down. . .oh wait, there were lots of bad silk flowers too. . maybe I've just become a snob about flowers. I had hoped to buy some flowers for the apartment. . but guess it'll have to wait til this week.

Called home this morning to wish my family Chuc Mung Nam Moi! (Happy New Year) and wishes for good health, long life, etc. Turns out the clan took a trip up to NOVA to be with my mom's side of the family. In return, my pops, mom, aunt, and uncle all wished for me to get whatever it is that my heart desires. It was all very sweet and now I'm feeling a tad homesick.

how risk averse am i?

given all the drastic changes in my life- it may seem surprising that i would consider myself risk averse. . . but here i am, deciding what to do about my job situation/career. i had started temping at an IR/PR firm that i love. it's a great company, with a lot of growth potential, and the there is a lot of opportunity to move up in the company and possibly travel to china. lots of positives.

yet today i found myself thinking- this is not what i am passionate about. . the whole point of moving to NY was to figure out what i want and pursue my dreams. i think my gut is telling me that a full-time job would just be sidetracking me. . and hey, i'm not getting any younger, right?

so even though money will be tight and it's all kind of risky, i'm just going to go for it.

evening run

it's been so hard to keep up my workout routine since moving to ny. in LA i worked out 5-6 times a week and was in great shape. . these days, i'm lucky if i get to run twice a week. . .part of it is the weather, going out most evenings, not having a gym membership, and because it gets dark so early in the wintertime.

but tonight i needed a nice hard run. so after getting back from the florist, i suited up in my underamour (great christmas gift!)- the ninja suit i call it because except for the sneakers, it's all black- black hat, black turtleneck, black sweatpants & black gloves. i put on some angry chick music and was off on a brisk pace and ran 6 miles. it felt great to get my endorphins going and my knees weren't bothering me after i was done.

i definately need to make it a more regular habit again. . .

going out in willie-b

so J & Q2 and i went out last night in my nabe which was great since i haven't really explored the scene here very much. . .we barhopped along bedford and winded up at "the abbey" on driggs. after a few rounds, we were all ready to dance and made our way to "triple crown". . unfortunately, the music was good, but more for freestyling/break-dancing. . we hung out for half an hour or so and went back to "the abbey". while i chatted with the cute bartender, my sidekicks held audience with some random guys.

eventually we headed to a party in bedstuy. it was jammed packed crowded, just way too much pushing required to get from one end of the room to the next. . .my girls weren't feeling the party so we left fairly quickly.

Q2 and i grabbed another drink at "the abbey". .before i knew it, it was after 2 AM and after way too many drinks and cigs (yes, i am a social smoker), i went home. definately feeling it when woke up this morning. . . after downing what must have been a gallon of water, an advil, and going for a nice run, i am feelin sufficiently detoxed. . .some greasy brunch food is the last ingredient in my self-prescribed hangover cure. . .am about to meet my roommate and some friends there in a bit.

am having an open house from 5-7 PM tonight to find a new roommie. i'm not really lookin forward to it. . all the awkward small talk and chit chat. . just hoping to find someone chill, not psycho, responsible, and clean. wish me luck.

weekend outings

last night went to a variety show- mostly to see "project jenny, project jan" a friend of the roomie's perform. . .there were a few comedy acts, some sketches, and a short musical. . . i have not laughed so hard in a long time and it was a great way to start the weekend. jeremy, the singer of the 2 man band, is just mesmerizing to watch!! i've never seen one person command an entire audience like that!! unfortunately, he only performed 3 songs. . .but i plan on going to his full show in february!

btw, you can check out "project jenny, project jan" on the link below!

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=30698035

after the show, a big group of us went to "heathers" in the LES to meet up with A, a cool girl the roomie and i befriended in china this past summer. A is friends with the bartender who hooked us up with some very stiff drinks. . needless to say, after a couple rounds i was very happy. . .the time flew by and the next thing i knew it was 3 AM and i headed home. . woke up a too short 5 hours later to drive to long island for work.

after a nap and curry, i'm getting ready for ladies night out. . going to check out "triple crown" and hopefully dance the night away!

pondering "brokeback mountain"

went to see "brokeback mountain" with VK after work today. . .kind of a heavy movie for humpday. . .for those that have yet to see this ang lee masterpiece, i'll try not to give too much away. . .although i thought i was the last to see it.

as of late, i have grown somewhat cynical towards any movies about love, whether they are romantic comedies or dramas about unrequited love. . .certainly, the passionate love shared by Ennis and Jack certainly affected me. just like any other audience member, i wanted them to break out of their loveless marriages and go start their cattle business. at the end, i found myself near tears, trying to make sense out of how senseless their misery was.

after the movie though. . i began to wonder. . would i ever want to be experience such an all-consuming love? yes, the high is such a high, but the lows are so incredibly low. . .i believe i have never experienced such a thing. . .and then, digging deeper, how real is such love? would their love have been so strong had they been able to settle down into marriage like any heterosexual couple, without any stigma or judgement? would that passionate love die down if they actually did spend every day with the other? of course the romance and passion are strong when you only see your partner once every 3 or 4 months. you don't get into the petty arguments. every moment is just bliss and you ignore all the annoying things about the other person and you yourself are on your best behavior because you don't want to spoil the precious few hours you do have. . .

any thoughts?

stressful departure

just got back from taking my friend P to laguardia. . .this morning had been nice and relaxing. grabbed breakfast with P and the roomie, went to the guggenheim for a bit, and walked around the UES.

left the apartment a little after 2pm expecting to have plenty of time to get P to her 4pm flight. unfortunately, the BQE was blocked off. given that my driving in new york has been limited to taking the same route to long island and back, i didn't know an alternate route to get to laguardia. we got off at maurice and stopped at a bp to get directions.

with some consultation from Q2's boy, we managed to get to the airport by 3:10 PM. traffic was attrocious but i managed to not get in an accident and finally, after an hour and a half of stop & go driving, i'm back at home. but now, i'm a bit deflated and just feel like vegging out in front of my laptop. . . turns out the BQE was closed because of an overturned fuel-hauling truck was the reason for my somewhat stressful afternoon.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-BRF-Tanker-Fire.html?hp

at least no one was hurt and hopefully P made her flight okay and is safely on her way back to NOVA.

going going gone

has been a busy week of going out and having fun and i think it all caught up to me.

monday-bachelor night
wed-late dinner out with grad school friends
thur-ladies night
fri-roomie's b-day dinner, dancing, & movie

by the time P arrived i was just plum worn out. . she arrived in time to grab brunch at teddy's. after that, we headed to century 21 to do some bargain shopping. being the crazy, shoving, pushing, madhouse of people it is, that really was the final straw.

around 5pm, P and i dragged our tired selves back home to rest. . unfortunately, my planned nap was foiled by phonecalls. . by now, i have a tired headache. . . and no coffee to help it. . .but we met up with Q2 for dinner at ebisu and had some really really fresh and great sushi. with the nasty weather, the desire to go out drinking & dancing was squelched. (read: i. just. couldn't. do. it) instead, we headed back to willie-b, changed into PJ's and chatted. . ahhh. . certainly an even more satisfying ladies night given the circumstances.

it's sunday morning, the ground is dusted with snow and it looks cold out. . but P and i are readying ourselves for a nice, leisurely brunch and see how the day unfolds.

3 times a bridesmaid. . .not that i'm counting

the other night, one of my girlfriends called to ask me to be her bridesmaid. it's always an honor so i gushingly accepted. . . so there's a saying that goes "3 times a bridesmaid - never a bride":

1. big sis's wedding

2. mango princess's wedding

3. my girlfriend's wedding next year

unfortunately i'm superstitious. . fortunately, i'm feeling pretty relationship/marriage phobic these days so the idea of not getting married doesn't bother me too much. i have too many girlfriends with relationships that are less than great, have seen too few marriages that are truly happy, and know too many people that wind up settling. i wonder if i'm too much of a romantic and am asking for too much out of marriage. . surely i realize that marriage and love are not perfect and that a relationship is not always going to be exciting, fresh, and wonderful. i am not convinced yet that there are soulmates. . .i just want to find a relationship where i am completely in love with the other person and feel that this is the most amazing man i've met and who has those feelings for me. . .

right now i am young and carefree and am willing to wait for that special connection. . but i worry that i will get tired of waiting, i will become impatient and settle for less. . afterall, no one is an island though and that all people crave companionship at the end of the day. i know that i myself am just learning to be "alone" and truly embrace and enjoy that freedom.

ahh, this is too much serious talk. . . but here's to keeping the romantic in me alive and enjoying myself along the way!

dim sum

i think i need to brush up my event planning skills. . somehow my group of 10-12 people for dim sum whittled down to 4.

luckily for me, Q2 was willing to pick me up and drive me to C-town otherwise it would have been a party of 3 (multiples of 4 are best for dim sum b/c a lot of the dishes are served with four pieces)! we met up at Golden Bridge on Bowery and i was blown away by how massive the place was. i climbed the stairs to find huge masses of people waiting for their party to be called. the roomie and R were already there and had both managed to get a number in line. after a few minutes, our number was called. we went to the extremely large dining hall and after walking around aimlessly for a bit, a server motioned us to go back to another room. this room, while smaller, was quite large (esp for new york standards) as well. we tried to find a table but found out we were supposed to wait in another line.

we finally were seated and after we ordered a few dishes, VK arrived. the dim sum was quite good but our table did a terrible job pacing. we ordered too many dishes early on and were too full to try the new dishes being carted around towards the end. all in all, i was very satisfied with goldern bridge and will probably take my family the next time they are in town.

after dim sum, R & i walked around C-town so i could do some grocery shopping. i bought lots of produce, some bbq pork buns, dried pork, banh chung, and some canned vegetables. i always get carried away because i never know when i'll be going to C-town again!! then R & i walked back to Q2's apartment, but not before we stopped by donut planet to buy Q2 and her boy some donuts. they drove me home and i've been tidying up and surfing the net since.

one of my best friends - we go WAY back (gildersleeve baby)- is visiting next weekend so the pressure is on to plan a nice weekend of activities and dining venues!!!

unexpected evening in

got home around 4pm and met two prospective new roommates. . will keep looking.

was supposed to meet up with R & Q2 for dinner tonight. but with the L not running, Q2 being injured from skiing, and it just being too damn cold out, we ended up postponing. so it's 8:24 p.m. and i'm eating leftovers (thanks again, mom) and boiled vegetables with nothing on it (VK would be SO proud).

surprisingly, i am looking forward to an evening of vegging out!! i will finish some proofreading for a friend, shop for my sister's b-day gift online, and catch up on emails. i plan on drawing a hot bath and soaking in the tub for an hour, watching some chick flick and knitting, and falling asleep.

btw, A.H., i guess i found a nice remedy for making myself feel better:)

one of those mornings

so it's not even 9:30 a.m. and i've managed to lock my keys inside the apartment and get bumped and scolded while commuting to work and get into a seriously lousy mood.

sigh.

celebrating with ceviche and sangria

have been meaning to try lima's ceviche bar

http://www.limastaste.com/

ever since i walked by it in october when meeting up with a friend for dinner in the west village. finally had a chance to go with VK last night. she made reservations at 7pm and usually i get off work at 6pm so it should have been plenty of time.

yesterday was also the scheduled date for my "chat" or salary negotiation with my boss at the PR firm. yep, i've decided to go full-time there starting march. it just seemed like such a cool work environment, interesting job with a lot of mobility and possible travel (to places i like, e.g. china and california), and great opportunity overall. the talk was initially supposed to be on monday but luckily *because i had not prepared enough mentally* it was postponed til wednesday. which was nice since i had a chance to bone up on "tips for salary negotiation" and mean incomes for practicioners in the industry.

the boss wanted to have our talk in the morning, but i did not want to wind up sitting in the same office as her all day long if the talk turned out to be too awkward. so we started talking around 5:30 and didn't finish until 6:30p.m. . . there was actually very little negotiation and it was in fact more a discussion of my position and the company and how i would fit in. in the end, i ended up with a salary i was happy with on the condition that there was room for upward mobility and monetary compensation for it.

i bolted out the door at 6:30 and busted my butt over to ave of the americas and 34th to catch the train down to W4th. i eventually got to the restaurant around 7:15 p.m. VK and i decided to order the ceviche mixto (a mix of shrimp, white fish, mussels and baby octopus in a zesty marinade), ceviche caliente (shrimp and scallops in a bold, slighty spicy sauce over friend yuca), papa rellena (a mound of deep fried mashed potato stuffed with beef, raisins and olives), and cow heart anticucho (which was yes, cow heart). aided with a pitcher of sangria that packed quite a punch and over a surprisingly delicious dinner, we exchanged gifts and caught up in the drama in each other's lives.

by the end of dinner, VK and i were both feeling a little loopy. we meandered back to the subway and chatted up til she had to get off at 14th. . ahh. . good girlfriends really are a blessing!

the bachelor is back- and perhaps ladies night too?

so my former roommate, VK, and i used to watch the bachelor religiously. it started as a distraction from studies during graduate school. once VK finished her masters and i got into a more laid back second and third year, we started watching the show together.

it became our ladies night. sometimes i'd have dinner first if VK got off work too late, but there was always some type of wine, cocktails, and snacks.

eventually, we even developed a drinking game where we'd have to drink if a member of the show said certain phrases, e.g.

"he/she is the man/woman of my dreams"

"she's so beautiful"

"she/he is so awesome"

etc etc.

turns out the show is back on and VK are again living in the same city. . perhaps, a return to our monday night ladies night?

http://abc.go.com/fsp/index.html?channel=TheBachelor

Happy New Year!!!

last night i ended up going to a couple of house parties in green point to commemorate the new year. it was a lot of fun. the roommie and i had a quick dinner of leftovers (thanks mom(s)!) and split a bottle of wine (thanks dad!) before heading over to C & O's for drinks. after a few drinks, we all walked over to George's poker buddy's where the main soiree was.

very cute apartment nicely decorated. as with the whole night, food and bubbly were freely flowing. mostly hung out with the usual crew but got to meet a few of George's poker buddies. turns out there were a number of VA folks who wound up going to UVA together and living in New York. they were a nice group of guys, especially Flowers who was a riot.

before i knew it, everyone in the party started counting down, the ball dropped in Times Square, and i turned to kiss and hug my new friends and acquaintances, i began to reflect on how different my life has become. O had been telling me about a Dominican superstition that whatever you do on New Years is what you'll be doing the rest of the year. then for me, that means that 2006 promises to be a year of many "firsts". quite an exciting prospect.

to my dear friends and readers whom i've been a little homesick for, "Happy New Year" !!!