it's my party

for a girl that grew up being the "sensitive one" (read: crybaby), i doubt i would be described as emotional as an adult. my friend xiaofun claimed i sounded emotion-less on the phone, lori called me cold when we were saying our goodbyes before she left my company for good, sappy movies do zilch, and i generally have a fairly stoic view on life tragedies. and yet tonight, i was nearly moved to tears.

this evening was my GM's going away party- a dinner at an italian restaurant in huntington village. my GM is an amazing woman who has dedicated 8 years of her blood, sweat, tears, and soul to the company. her enthusiasm, her empathy, and her sense of fun have touched each and every one of us and has made my company a better place to work. so it was without surprise and with great love that all the managers rallied together to have a farewell dinner and get a nice gift for AL.

after work let out, a few of us met up to share a couple drinks, unwind, and catch up. one by one, the majority of the team came out and by 7:30/8PM we had all arrived and were seated. apps were brought out and served family style. we all digged into the calamari, salad, antipasta, clams, and bread. diva ordered entrees for the group. everyone was happily eating, cameras were snapping away, and the chatter was steady.

after the apps were cleared away, the store manager stood up and announced that gifts were to be presented.

SM: (lifting up a huge, beautifully wrapped box) this is something from all of us, we wish you the best of luck, and want you to know V, that you have truly left your mark here.

in stunned silence, i looked around at the table and realized that i was attending my own (co) going away party. .. and that all these people cared enough to give me their blessings but were sad to see me go. i was completely moved and realized, once again, how i would miss this second little family, the good friends that i've shared so much with and grown to love.

and i realized, that while i did not cry- part of me is truly sad to see the closing of this chapter in my life- to lose this sense of comraderie and support in a work environment. i know it is a rare and valuable thing. so while i will look forward to this new stage in my life, one full of new challenges and relationships,i hope and vow never to forget my beginnings and the people in HNT.

bit by bit

i am finally car-less and it's a beautiful thing. i had two days off in a row and decided to drive the car out to my brother's place for my parents to pick up on the weekend. i piled into the car- armed with coffee and lots of quarters and small bills (couldn't remember how many and how much the tolls are) and headed out to PA.

once i got to the tunnel- i realized that i left my brother's house keys in my apartment. damn- that meant having to find a place to stop and wait. in any case, the ride- except for passing periods of near blindness (i hate driving during dusk, the glare is horrendous) and near passing out (i always get sleepy driving long distances)- was uneventful and i made good time. i found a CVS near chimmy's house, bought some magazines, and headed over to dunkin donuts to have a coffee and read.

half an hour later, i met chimmy at his house and waited for the missus to get home. we exchanged christmas gifts and chatted in the meantime. dinner was at yang ming, a surprisingly good chinese restaurant not too far from their home. after feasting on hot & sour soup, fried lobster served in a coconut curry sauce, a tasty eggplant and tofu dish, and 4 spice beef, we waddled our way to the grocery store where i was astounded by how cheap groceries were.

back home, we watched the first half of superbad before we all got tired and went to bed. the next morning, chimmy dropped me off in philly's chinatown and i grabbed the 9AM bus back to nyc.

it took me over an hour to get home- F train to 60th & lexington, transfer to the 6, and the 6 to 77th. i didn't mind one bit. it was funny, it was as if i haven't taken mass transit before- seeing the different types of people and listening into odd bits of conversation... i had forgotten how much i love it all.

dining out

after reading the tony reviews for top 10 burgers in nyc, i was very excited about going to market table with Q2 which had secured the #1 spot.. . but fortune would not have it. we were unable to score reservations or bar seats. instead, we decided to go to perilla... a restaurant started by harold dieterle, the winner from the first season of top chef and which has been on my "to-try" list for quite some time.

so instead of a burger, i got to feast on spicy duck meatballs, buffalo tataki, and roasted guinea hen. poor me, right?

the spicy duck meatball, was actually not spicy and quite a bit more mild than i was expecting- served with pasta and a tasty gravy with egg yolk reserved for dipping. while this app was well balanced and solid, it was not extraordinary. the buffalo was served in thin slices across a delicate bed of greens- surprisingly sublte flavors for what i assumed to be a gamey meat. the roasted guinea was the winner for the evening- amazingly succulent, fresh (i haven't eaten chicken so fresh since china in 2000), and as flavorful as duck. the hen was served with a persimmion sauce and on top of a bed of spaetzle that was a perfect blend of chewiness and crispness.

all in all, the dining experience was wonderful and warrants a second visit. while not every dish was a hit, the chef shows tremendous promise and talent. the atmosphere was cozy and laid back and the service was fine (not particularly good or bad).. . compliments to the chef!!!

nyc will do that to you

i don't know how i manage to do it- but i manage to come back to work after a restful 5 days off with a cold. it's still in the early stages so i'm trying to head it off by listening to my body and getting lots of rest (right taz?).

in any case, inventory wrapped up on the 15th and on the 17th, i made my way to gator-town to visit my sister + family. i brought the NE weather with me because it was rainy and cold during the majority of my stay. in spite of it all, i had a lovely time with the kids, got my fill of chick-fil-a and crackerbarrel, and plenty of sisterly bonding.

during my time in gatorville, i realized how i have guarded i have become and unaccustomed to southern hospitality.

scenario 1:
after rushing from home to the subway to the bus to newark international airport, i buy a couple of magazines and make myself comfortable at the gate. a short wait later, we board onto the airplane. i get to my seat 6A and realize someone is sitting in my spot. the seat stealer (SS) looks up anxiously.

V: i think you are in my seat, 6A?

SS: i'm not in 5A? i'm so sorry. let me change seats!!

V: (glancing at the long line of passengers waiting to walk past me) no no no.don't worry about it. (i quickly throw my carryon into the overhead bin and get situated)

SS: (leaning towards me) are you sure it's ok? we can switch seats?

V: really, it's fine. the seats are the same.

i put in my earbuds and pull out my book to signal the end of the conversation. shortly after all the passengers, the pilot's voice comes up on the sound system.

P: after loading all the luggage, we discovered that the plane was overweight. however, closer inspection indicates that the two fires have gone flat. we need everyone to take their belongings, deplane, and reboard after we replace the tires. this should only take an hour.

seriously? how often does that happen? i gather my belongings and get off the plane with SS trailing behind me.

SS: that's the most basic mistake an airline can make!! how often does that happen?

and so SS continued to make efforts to engage me in conversation. wary of his intentions, i give one word answers to his questions in hopes that he'll get the hint that i don't want to talk. nevertheless, he continues prodding. eventually, i get tired of the whole thing and find an empty chair to plop down on until it was time for reboarding.

scenario 2:
an elderly gentleman (EG) shuffles towards me, hand stretched out with a little red buttons with white characters on it.

EG: can you read this?

i glance down at the pin and recognize that they are japanese characters.

V: (shaking my head) no i can't.

EG: it's chinese

V: no, it's japanese and i can't read it.

EG: can't you read it? aren't you chinese?

now i'm annoyed- why would this man assume that i am chinese? if i were, that wouldn't necessarily mean that i could read chinese. and if he can't read it, why would he insist that it's chinese characters.

V: sir, i'm not chinese. i am vietnamese. besides, those are not even chinese characters.

EG: (he points to my sister) but she said you could read chinese.

V: well like i said, i'm not chinese and those are japanese characters.

EG: (rifling through his pocket) wait wait, i have another one that's chinese. (he pulls out another small red pin. also with japanese characters)

V: (making no effort to hide my irritation) sir, that's the same pin. it also has japanese writing. (i walk towards my sister and the kids)

EG: (incredulously) so you are not chinese? what are they? are they vietnamese too?

V: (emphatically) yes, we are all vietnamese.

looking back at both encounters, i realize that both situations involved harmless individuals who had good intentions. paraphrasing a title from smart went crazy, all i can say is, nyc will do that to you.

the baggot inn

back in november, digits, boston, and i started a new tradition of meeting up around the 15th of every month for drinks. however, after another exhausting day of inventory prep and warnings of snow, i was this close to cancelling my plans to meet up with digits and boston. but a promise is a promise, so i met the girls at the baggot inn to listen to the charles soule band.

i'm glad i decided to go. it was nice catching up on work gossip, checking out a new venue, and listening to a new band- who were good despite not being my type of music. all in all, a good night.

gutter balls

i've been meaning to check out the gutter, a bowling bar in williamsburg for some time. . . so i was pleased that the boy and i winded up going on friday night. we arrived sometime after 11 and were able to secure two bar stools and got a number for the waiting list.

i liked the bar a lot- the pluses:

1. very homey in a neighbor's basement/living room during the 80s but not the hip 80s sort of way
2. prices were reasonable
3. unpretentious crowd
4. friendly staff
5. beef jerky snacks for sale!!

three rounds of maker's mark and brooklyn browns later, we were up! we got our bowling shoes- which i've always had an affinity for- on and headed to lane 1. turns out all the equipment is old so we had some problems with our lane restarting between sets properly, but were given a round of drinks on the house by the owner. by then, i was certainly not bowling straight yet somehow managed to score a strike.

it was a lot of fun to do something out of the norm- though i wouldn't mind if bowling became a regular. . . while i am terrible at it i can't help but love playing!

rallying

the holidays are finally over and there was a intermediate lull in my busy schedule. last weekend off allowed me time to rest and recover from long stretches at work, angry and impatient customers, and the increasingly negative vibe of my work peers. a beautiful weekend- lunch and cell phone shopping with Q2, some quality V time, and a nice night in with the boy.

now, it's back to the grind- double time due to inventory. it's a tremendously arduous, tedious process that requires meticulous planning and preparation. for the past couple weeks, i've been slowly but surely prepping my areas and before i knew it stockroom inventory had begun.

teaming up with MM and over the course of 8 hours of nonstop work- we made our way through one of the most difficult stockrooms, mostly because it was filled with thousands of pieces of small merchandise, much of which was without tickets or possibly discontinued. working like a team twice our size- we made sure that everything was labelled and accounted for.

i had started the morning with a mug of coffee and two energy drinks but still started to lag by early afternoon. a break with sher and tinyD helped was much needed relief before making a final push in the afternoon. around 7, MM and i surveyed our progress and left work, proud of our accomplishments for the day but exhausted.

with only 5 hours of sleep, i'm relying of caffeine to get me through another day of inventory.

feeling a little torn

i awoke this morning overwhelmed by a sense of melancholy- it's been creeping up on me for a few days now. and inspite of my pretenses and feeble attempts to drown it out with happy music and mindless distractions, this feeling of sadness persists, troubling my sleep, and weighing me down.


these feelings are at odds with the blessed life i lead- one full of amazing relationships, loving friends and family, exciting prospects. and yet, no matter what i do or where i go, i can never escape it completely. because inevitably, i am reminded of the troubled life of another- marked by loneliness, paranoia, and bitterness. it is enough to make me weep.

so today, even though i recognize doing so will resolve nothing, i allowed myself to be sad. i listened to songs that reflect my somber mood. i took a long walk- losing myself and my thoughts in the crowds, and hoping to find the strength to stop running away.

noche vieja

new years, much like valentines, is one of those overly commercialized and hyped events. . . there is this sentiment floating around that insists that one does something absolutely fabulous, surrounded by a million partiers, screaming like maniacs when the clock strikes 12- or else you are a loser. there is a plethora of options if you are willing to pay- all the restaurants have fancy (read expensive) prix fixe dinners, clubs that promise to deliver a mind-blowing party in exchange for a king's ransom for cover. if not, you have to convince one of your friends to throw a house party and hope that (1) you know more than a couple of the guests or (2) there are cool people to make conversation with so that you aren't bored out of your mind.

to circumvent the whole dilemma, i decided to gather my small group of friends over at my place to celebrate the new year. as usual, the east coast anal (thanks keting2 for the new term) part of me was mildly panicking over preparations. i had chosen a spanish theme and devised a somewhat ambitious tapas menu that required more prep time that i actually had to spare. moreover, i was expecting a bigger party than i had originally anticipated so i was starting to get concerned with not having enough food. luckily keting2 had arrived in town sunday night and was both willing and able to play co-chef. while we caught up on each other's lives, i prepped the dates and meatballs. by midnight, the bed was calling me so i decided to turn in.

monday morning i headed off to work and was pleased by the relatively stress and drama free day of work. a few friends cancelled at the last minute which relieved my concerns about food quantity as well. the icing on the cake was when my boss excused me to leave half an hour before closing time so i was able to get home by 6:30 and score a sweet parking spot for the boy. i rushed in and was relieved to find keting2 had everything in control. i set up the apartment, got dressed, and starting working on food prep. the rest of the night was smooth sailing and i think it was the most stress free party i'd ever thrown thanks to keting2.

the party was a great success. everyone got along tremendously well. everyone enjoyed the food. there was plenty of alcohol and no dead, awkward moments. around 11:30, we started divying up grapes for each individual and passing them around. then at midnight, the boy cued the sounds of 12 clock chimes as we each began to furiously try to eat one grape per chime. as i looked around the room and began to reflect on 2007, i felt truly blessed at the wonderful developments in my life and the people that have become part of it. . . and excited about what 2008 will bring.