heartfelt moments

the boy and i went to DC this weekend for one of my best friend's wedding. reesy. . we go way back. i still remember sitting in my parents' house working on campaign posters with her. now, she's a beautiful, young, accomplished woman.

really moments like this that make me realize how much we've all grown up and changed.
























a beautiful weekend filled with heartfelt moments. two moments stand out in my mind.

1. the rehearsal dinner. as typical of all rehearsal dinners, the bride and groom-to-be presented the bridal party with gifts. however, what made this moment special was that the bride and groom took the time to explain the relationship, history, and importance the individual played in their life. it was sincere, honest, and touching.

2. the bride's entrance. over the course of a year and some heft change, i consulted with the bride on the numerous wedding details, witnessed the high degree of stress and anxiety the bride endured. the moment when it all came together was when canon in D began to play and the bride began her walk down the aisle. my heart was bursting with joy and happiness, knowing that this was the moment the bride and groom was waiting for. . . the actually "getting married" part. the pure joy on R's face was simply beautiful.

the wedding was just as a wedding should be . . . a great party. everyone had a blast. the wine was flowing the food was tasty. every one was relaxed and happy!

best of all, i learned how to do the bus stop and danced up a storm with my honey. 

reality check

nothing like coming back to the daily routine after a fabulous vacation to jolt your system.

as i sat in my nice office space on monday morning and busied myself with my usual tasks, the monotony of it all began to sink in. . .

don't waste your time.

what are you doing at this job?

is this what you want to do with your ife?

in short no. i have no pretenses. this job is a means to an end. . something stable to keep me afloat while i pursue my dreams and build up some experience and capital to take the plunge.. the reminder was swift kick in the arse that i needed. . i think i've gotten comfortable and a little lazy. that's also dangerous b/c my responsibilites have increased as the company is restructuring (read: lost an employee and hiring a new one) which has taken away some of the flexibility previously afforded to me.

my dad has taught me so much about being an entrepreneur. he and my mom managed to scrape together a sizeable amount of start up money on very low salaries meanwhile raising three hellions.

jpan's wedding is rapidly approaching so i'll be busy til end of sept preparing. . . after that, no excuses. my only consolation is knowing my dad was in his early 30s before he started his first business. . .

Goodbye Barca

It's 2:30 AM on Saturday morning and with sadness I reflect on this trip to Barcelona.

Top 5 Things That I Will Miss:
-Amazing architecture
-Street culture and graffiti art
-Exploring the barrios
-A city that truly doesn’t sleep
-Incredible wines, cheese, bread, and cured meats

Top 5 Things That I Will Not Miss:
-The advances of overly eager Spanish men (e.g. hissing noises, guttural noises, and other types of cat calls)
-Almost hourly shouts of “Chinois” “Ni Hao!” “Konichiwa” or “Japonis”
-Not being able to find a store open between the hours of 2 and 4
-Being stared at (guess Asian girls are still a novelty here)
-B.O.

One week is simply not enough time to even begin to know its complexities and contradiction, its culture and soul. What I take away, is the impression of Barcelona as a city of proud individuals that have a true love and appreciation for beauty, art, food, music, and life.

Day Six in Barcelona

Famished at 1 pm, Q2 and I set out on a hunt for a fine lunch. Our first stop was Commerc 24, a new Catalan restaurant recommended by Anna. Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed until the second week of September. Next we decided to try Agullers, a tapas restaurant run by Cal-Pep’s cousin (Cal-Pep is closed in August). We were sad to discover it too was closed. . maybe a family vacation. . .Luckily, the third time was a charm and we stopped at Petra, recommended by a UCLA colleague.

Cozy. Blue. Innovative in their décor. Menus are printed on the labels. Chandeliers using forks, spoons, and knives.
























One of our best meals with simply prepared dishes using fresh, high quality ingredients. We started with a salad of lentils, cured ham, and mesclun greens. Next was carapacchio, squid dressed in zesty orange sauce. Very fresh. Our main dish was duck served with poached slices of pear in a rich, red wine sauce. The duck was succulent, cooked to perfection. We ended the meal with duck pate, thinly sliced and layered across a large plate, and drizzled with a sweet raspberry dressing that provided just a hint of tartness which contrasted beautifully with the decadence of the meat.

During the afternoon, we went back to Massimo Dutti whose window display we had admired a couple days before. Their clothes are high quality and quite affordable, a genuine find. Zara and H&M lost their appeal afterwards and we were both (if you can believe it) shopped out.
We made our way back to the apartment and cooked dinner. After dinner we watched “Happiness” which is one extremely twisted movie and which I have not gotten my mind around. Q2 fell asleep for a bit. Then, we packed most of our things up to get it out of the way. I can hardly believe that tomorrow is our last day in Barcelona. It’s been an incredible trip, perhaps one of the best I’ve taken thus far. Am feeling like a very very lucky girl. . . 

Day Five in Barcelona

What a beautiful way to end the day! Q2 and I were walking back from visiting Sagrada Familia and saw a sign for a wine tasting at a boutique wine shop called Seleccio Natural just steps away from our apartment. We walked to Seleccio Natural to find out more information and discovered that the tasting would be featuring local Catalan wine and other boutique vineyards. We decided to stop by the pharmacy to pick up some toiletries, drop off our bags at the apartment, and head back to the wine store.

We sampled four wines from different regions of Spain including Ribera del Duero, Penedes, and Montesant. We learned about the oaking process and the different grapes and climates for producing wine in Spain. The goal of Seleccio Natural was to educate people about Spanish wines outside of Rioja and in particular the boutique vineyards. The best of the four wines that we tried was from Montesant, a young but spicy red wine, produced by the son of a famous French winemaker.

Like many of the individuals that we’ve encountered in the past few days, the woman helping us had moved to Barcelona from another European country. Originally from the northernmost region of Sweden, she moved to Barcelona with her boyfriend who is Columbian. She shared her outlook on Barcelona, the people, and culture. A proud people, Catalonian people are considered the “Germans” of Spain- hard working, private, and socially conservative.





























Over the course of the tasting, we also made conversation with a San Franciscan that had moved to Barcelona to live with his boyfriend and a vacationing Spaniard. The communal feel (and four healthy servings) left us feeling quite warm and fuzzy! 

elusive sleep

listening to the sounds outside the thin walls. people coming back from a late night of partying. rain drops. dog running around outside.

church bells chime.

one. two. three. four. five times.

fleeting thoughts of my parents. work. relationships.

church bells chime.

one. two. three. four. five. six times.

now 6:39 AM. decide to stop chasing sleep, turn on my trusty laptop, and surf the net.

Day Four in Barcelona

Today forecasted for rain. Q2 and I made our way out of the apartment around 2 PM to grab lunch. Unfortunately, Cal Pep is closed for all of August so instead we went to Euskel Etxea, a bar/restaurant that serves Basque style pinxtos.

The dining experience in Barcelona has been wonderful. Q2 and I have been on a tapas/small plates craze for the past several months- scouring nyc for the most authentic tapas restaurant. While we’ve found some great restaurants, nothing has compared to the real thing. Here, tapas are in its true form, simple but exquisite bar snacks. Plates of delightful and exotic creations served on small sliced baguettes: smoked cod, roasted red peppers stuffed with seafood, tuna cakes topped with grilled green peppers, succulent spicy sausage, and etc. All the tapas have toothpicks in them, so after you finish eating, the waiter/waitress counts up all the toothpicks and bills you accordingly.
























Q2 and I laughed about how this honor system would never work in NY or China. . .the fact that it works in Spain is a beautiful thing! You can see the remains of our meal!!!

After lunch, we made our way to La Pedrera and were again wowed by Gaudi’s genius. One thing that struck me was his inventiveness and creativity in problem solving. He devised a model using weights and strings to simulate the arches in his designs to calculate how much weight they can sustain because he did not know how to mathematically calculate this. Even more, the pure beauty of his work is breathtaking. Against the stormy sky, the structures on top of La Pedrera, twisting, undulating up to the sky is simply unforgettable.

Day Three in Barcelona

Shopping, shopping, and more shopping. Ahh, the beauty (or danger) of traveling with a fellow shopaholic!! We woke up on the earlyish side, around 10AM, ate breakfast and made our way to Bar Gothic which had a million little boutiques featuring the designs of local artists. Q2 and I make great shopping partners, we both have a lot of patience when it comes to sorting through racks to find hidden treasures, trying on clothes, and critiquing fashion.

We chatted with the saleswoman from Depeche BCN for a bit, seems to be an interesting story there. She’s from London but of Portugese descent and had moved to Barcelona 3 months prior. She recommended a nearby restaurant that had a good prix fixe lunch so we stopped there around 3:30 pm for a bite to eat. Q2 ordered the gazpacho, bacalau carpaccio and I had the chicken and mozzarella salad, beef steak. We shared a bottle of the recommended rioja and finished off with apple pie. The whole meal was 22 euros each which considering the wine, was a great value.























After lunch, we walked around a bit more and ended up on a crowded rambla lined with chain stores. Both of us were feeling a bit claustrophobic so we veered off onto a smaller alley. We slowly made our way back to the apartment, stopping at a couple stores to buy milk, bread, and cereal.

Back in our pad, we unfolded the pull out sofas and relaxed. While I watched LA Confidential, Q2 napped. Around 9pm, we got up and prepared dinner and planned our evening. We decided to go to Jamboree for Monday night WTF (what the fuck) jazz session.

http://www.masimas.com/MENU/default.htm

Supposedly jazz greats had performed there which added to the appeal. The venue was underground, dimly lit, and crowded with young hipsters swaying and bopping to the beats. the performance was quite good and after the session ended we went upstairs to the sister club of Jamborree and danced for a good long while the DJ was very good -at least he played the type of music I dig dancing too (R&B/hiphop). . .i had forgotten how much I love to dance!!!

We left around 2AM and there were still masses of people milling around. barcelona is truly a city that never sleeps. . it even beats NY in that regard.

Day Two in Barcelona

Slept in until 2pm!!! Those that know me well will know what a rarity that is!

Q2 and I showered up, ate breakfast, and planned out the remainder of the day. We decided to spend the day worshipping Gaudi and made our way to Casa Batllo. Given our shared love of shopping and food, it was a given that we had many detours along the way including jewelry shopping at Nature Art and sampling a heavenly chocolate macaroon from Xocoa. It is these little adventures, wandering random alleys, when we discover interesting storefronts, vibrant displays of graffiti, and local restaurants that have made this trip so remarkable.

After exploring Pricessa Avenue we strolled down Las Ramblas (a little too touristy for our tastes) and eventually found our way to Casa Batllo. All my friends had insisted that I see Gaudi’s works and extolled his genius, and after two hours of walking around Casa Batllo and photographing every amazing angle of his masterpiece, I am completely sold. The design completely unique, modern yet timeless was also aesthetically breathtaking and purposeful. I felt as though I was transported in time and space.
























After leaving Casa Batllo, it was close to 8pm and too late to go to Sagrada Familia. We took a short break and stopped on the rooftop of the Hotel Majestic. Then we started to follow the suggested Walk on Modernisme from Time Out Barcelona. We saw the Casa Comalat, Casa Terrades, Casa Dolors Xiro, Casa Josep Thomas, Palau Ramon de Montaner, Casa Villaneuva, Casa Jaume Forn, and Queviures Murria. By then, we were both a little weary from all the sightseeing and decided to hop on the metro back home.

We got off on the Jaume stop and planned to buy some bread from a bodega before stopping back at our apartment. . But halfway back, we were lured into Sagardi, a tapas joint on Argenteria Street. We shared a plethora of tapas including amazing blood sausage, tuna cake topped with green peppers, and a couple glasses of cava for twenty euros each. A perfect end to a perfect evening!!

Day One in Barcelona

Q2 and I arrived at Barcelona’s airport around 8:30 a.m. after a luckily uneventful 8 hour plain ride from NYC. First stop was the baggage claim (although both of us only had a carry-on size bag, we thought it would be easier to check our bags rather than deal with the increased security and restrictions regarding liquids). Next stop was the ATM machine to withdraw money for the apartment that we are renting for the week.

We took an aerobus to Placa Espanya and from there got on the metro to the Arc de Triomf. The weather was cool and the surroundings simply beautiful, so we took our time walking to the apartment. It was around 9:45 and the streets were mostly deserted. With time to kill, we decided to stop in a little café for dos café solo and a croissant.

We were on time to meet Anna, the woman who Q2 has been dealing with to rent the apartment. She showed us the apartment and we chatted for awhile. Originally Dutch, she moved to Barcelona 6 years ago and is fluent in English, Dutch, and conversational in Spanish. Anna is representative of the wave of immigration from Europe and other parts of Spain into Barcelona. She is a lovely woman and explained how Barcelona is such an attractive place to live in Europe.

Based on the little I’ve seen, I agree entirely.
























The afternoon was low-key. Q2 and I both napped for a couple hours while the cleaning woman finished tidying up the apartment. Then we both showered up and went to grab lunch at a nearby café. We shared two emapandas (1 spinach, 1 manchego cheese with mushrooms), a spinach crepe, red wine, and flan dulce con leche. The entire feast came out to 20 euros and the food was quite good. The dessert was exquisite- the most creamy, flavorful, and rich flan I’ve ever eaten!!

After lunch, we did some window-shopping around the Born (Barcelona’s SoHo). A couple hours later we were both hit a wall and decided to stop at a wine shop and grocery store to pick up food to make dinner. The wonderful advantage of renting an apartment is having access to a fully stocked kitchen and really being able to relax and feel at home in a foreign city. This really is the best way to travel!

Luck has been on our side as we made it back to the apartment just as the rain storm hit. . now just need to rest up in case we decide to go bar hopping later in the evening. 

mystery solved!

in the past 10 months of living in my apartment, i have never seen anyone enter or leave the apartment next door. for awhile i assumed that the neighbor is just a hermit. but lately, it's started to nag at me.

occasionally, i hear noises but never anyone coming up or down the stairs. there is a picture of the ramones next to the door.

knowing that i'm a scaredy cat, my friends like to tease me that there is a ghost living next door. . .sometimes we'd debate about whether or not anyone lives there at all. . but that wouldn't make sense since these apartments are nice, rent is not outrageous in terms of market average, and demand for apartments in williamsburg is high.

so instead, i've been imagining (or trying not to imagine) that there is a ghost or dead body residing in the apartment next to mine. all my friends told me i should just call the landlord and ask him what the deal was. . but part of me didn't want to know. . if he told me no one lived there then i would be freaked out b/c i have heard sounds coming from that apartment. for example, last night i heard the phone ringing next door, but no one picked it up. . no answering machine either. . .

today, i ran into my landlord on the way to the gym. i asked him if the apartment was empty. he said that there was a man that lived there. . . it's probably just the little, old polish man i see once and awhile leaving the building.

fighting the urge

y'know when you are a couple days away from vacation it's just impossible to movitave yourself. . i'm already in vacation mode. . . thinking of what i need to pack, etc.

greek pride

went to roosevelt island with jpan on sunday to go to her future mother-in-law's (FMIL) house for lunch. while we were waiting for the bus to come, an older greek gentleman (OGG) came up to us and asked if we were american.

V: yep

OGG: where were you born?

V: virginia.

OGG: ahh! that's where all the virgins are. it's a beautiful state, i've been there before.

V: (taking a breath, remembering to be patient, and with a fake smile) the state was named after the virgin queen elizabeth.

OGG: yes. that's where all the virgins are. . and what about you (leaning towards FMIL)?

FMIL: well it's a long story. my parents are chinese but i was born in panama.

OGG: so you are chinese.

FMIL: yes, but also panamanian by birth.

the rest of the conversation made me feel like i was in a scene from my big fat greek wedding.

OGG: i'm from greece. do you know any greek words?

FMIL: (pauses thoughtfully). . n-no. . i don't.

OGG: democracy.

FMIL: (nodding respectfully) ahh. . so that's a greek word.

OGG: philosophy. another greek word. so many words have foundation in greek.

then OGG continues to rattle off some more words and launches into a rant about war and how the greek shot down german parachuters but that greeks don't get any respect.

OGG: the olympics originated from the greeks. do you know how long ago that started? 776 BC!!! before christ!

FMIL: (playfully) see, that's why i don't know. that's before i was born.

jpan and i exchanged glances and noted that our bus had arrived. since it comes on the half hour, we started to *politely* pry ourselves from the conversation and make our way to the bus. FMIL noted that the bus ride was two dollars. i pulled out my wallet and started to pull out 2 singles.

V: (to the bus driver) so it's $2?

BD: (glancing up at me) for you? it's free. get on.

V: (surprised) thanks!

following my lead, jpan and FMIL follow me to the back of the bus without paying the fare. and that my friends, is good karma. . .

only in new york

after work on tuesday, the boy and i headed to union square to hang out for a bit before i went to the gym. we were walking from the 6 train to the exit when i heard a voice yelling "V, V".

i spun around trying to see who was calling my name. to my surprise, i saw my best friend from middle/high school, ddt.

V: DDT!!! i can't believe it's you!

DDT: i recognized you immediately. i was like, that's V!

V: that's so amazing! i was just talking to cRich about you about how we were both wondering where you were.

DDT: i live right around union square. i'm working on my MBA and working at l'oreal. do you live and work here now?

V: yep, i work in the city and live in brooklyn.

DDT: let's definately catch up!

V: definately.

we exchanged numbers. . . i have managed to run into so many old friends in ny. it's amazing how small the world is. can't wait to sit down and talk to DDT and catch up on the past 9 years of our lives!

bye bye fridays

lots of changes with work. debs is leaving the company and DJ is coming on full time... that means that my role will be expanding and i'll be facing increased responsibilities. . .which entails increased hours and saying good-bye to my fridays off. it's too bad, i had a great thing going with my 3 days off a week. . but in retrospect, i wasn't being very efficient with my extra day off. just took longer to go to the gym, run errands, relax. . not going to work on side-gigs like it was meant to.

the positives is that i'm getting more experience, there's the potential for more event planning gigs at and through my current company, and with increased duties there should be increased compensation. all good stuff.

i'll just have to be better at managing my time. . . the problem i always have is overcommitting (e.g. not being able to say no) and being too ambitious with the time i do have. . between work, the boy, friends, family, side gigs, and exercising i barely manage to catch my breath. . .of course, the first thing to go is sleep.. . thank heavens for redline.