regaining order in the household

all in all, my family's visit was great and it was wonderful seeing my niece and nephew. however, it took me a solid evening/morning of cleaning/organizing to get my apartment back in some semblance of order. i came home on sunday night to find a box full of food (mostly non-perishables), a bag of random things (hats, chicklets, shoes, etc), three pillows that aren't mine, bedding, etc.

argg. . . my parents accidentally took two of my pillows which offered the perfect amount of flatness (unlike most girly girls, i am not "into" pillows, like them flat, and need one. . though i have two for symmetry) and left theirs. . . so not only am i missing my two pillows, i no longer have a matching set of white cotton sheets. this is highly disturbing. .. sigh. . . but what can i do?

the OCD girl in me enjoyed the process of organizing. working in retail, i've managed to accumulate a large number of cosmetics sample products, vendor gifts, etc. i carefully arranged these in labelled ziplock bags (com'on, i admitted i'm OCD) and cleared a great deal of shelf space.

i still have a fair amount of stuff that i'll have to return to my parents over thanksgiving and donate to salvation army, but otherwise to have successfully decluttered!

matt pond pa

i'm one of those people that has always enjoyed music but can never remember a band's name, a song name, and am downright lazy (and too cheap) to explore new music. over the years, my taste has evolved thanks to friends recs, etc.

of late, this has been especially true via the boy who has been my music guru from the get go. my new favorite band is matt pond PA who i had the pleasure of listening to at the williamsburg hall of music on monday night. the venue was set up exactly like bowery ballroom which makes sense since it's the same owner. the sound quality was excellent and the band sounded just as good live as recorded which was great.

after the show, which ended much too quickly, we headed to anytime where i picked up a burger to go. then we went to zablowski's for drinks. we made friends with the bartender and whiled away the night sampling beer, music, and enjoying good conversation. . . before we knew it, we had closed down the place.

survival of the fittest. . .or is it wittiest or loudest?

my sis, bro-in-law, niece, and nephew arrived around 1 pm today with enough time to unload bags and bags of luggage (seriously, are they staying for two weeks?) into my apartment before dropping of their rental car at hertz.

from the minute i squeezed between t and wes in the backseat of the car, the two were battling for attention from their current subject of interest- that means, whoever is "new".

in terms of cuteness, they are both evenly matched. however, their strategies were completely different and interestingly enough, reflected gender roles.

my niece used her intellect, reminding me of the places we had visited the last time she was in new york.

is Q2 coming? we ate at that chinese restaurant with the dumpling soup with her.

she was also great at engaging and keeping your attention as long as possible.

ma ni, let's talk! we can talk about our favorite things. my favorite number is 100. listen to me count to 100.

1. 2. 3. . . .50. 51. 52. 53. .. .99. 100!!!

my nephew on the otherhand was all about being physical and loud. after cuddling with my arm in the car, he proceeded to hit me in the stomach (a love tap?) and make honking noises. as we walked to the subway stop he showed off his jumping skills.

look ma ni. aren't i a good jumper? watch me jump!

it was an action packed afternoon. we lunched at lombardi's where my niece showed off three different ways of eating her pizza. the traditional way, folding it in half ny style, then by taking off all the toppings and eating them separately before biting into the crust- end first- t style. we split a large pie but my brother-in-law was still hungry so we decided to get dessert. we walked by ruby's and after i raved about their burgers he decided to stop for one. next stop was coffee for me and cookies for the kids before we made our way down broadway.

we stopped at various random stores before heading into pearl river mart where i found some great notebooks, two new varieties of trainer chopsticks, and bacon mints!!! luckily, wes was able to nap for a couple hours in his stroller, resembling a mini-hobo, while we took our time checking out various shops. around 6 we headed to the west village via train and decided to walk around a bit there before grabbing dinner at pardo's chicken. we stopped in a cute little boutique which had little unusual and random trinkets- interesting salt & pepper shakers, pie/cake cutters, egg whisk, pens, etc. now fully awake and hyped up, my nephew touched everything he could get his hands on and made a mess of the displays in the back of the store thereby invoking the ire of the storekeeper.

at that point, we decided to head to dinner where we met up with theng and Q2. food was delicious and the loud, family style atmosphere was perfect for the kids. now overly full, ready for bed, i await the arrival of my parents who i'm sure have gotten lost. . .

no one's home

momma v has always had a lot of ideas. . . like most moms she is a worrywort and was paranoid about everything.

don't get in cars with strangers b/c they will kidnap, rape you, or kill you and stuff your body with drugs

don't sleep over your friend's house

if you see someone get hurt, don't touch them! they might sue you!

the best though, was during halloween.

don't go trick-or-treating b/c they might give you candy that's really drugs but looks like candy

don't open the door for trick-or-treaters b/c they might actually be a serial killer, rapist, etc

so of course i've been trick-or-treating maybe twice in my life and the protocol was to turn off all the lights in the front of the house and hide when the bell rang!!!

that's a little "treat" for you all to enjoy!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

not quite southern or hospitable

VK and i decided to meet up for an early dinner tonight. since i didn't have any particular cravings and was meeting up with one of the most laid back and accomodating people i know, it took awhile to figure out where to go. however, by the time i managed to get through midtown traffic, i was tired of dealing with idiot pedestirans and incompetent drivers that i has an overwhelming desire to head back uptown.


i suggested southern hospitality, a restaurant i've been meaning to check out for awhile despite the mixed reviews. how could i resist a supposedly good southern restaurant so close to my abode, especially when it's backed by favorite ex-boy bander justin timberlake? (naony, that bit is for you)

we ordered the nachos, buffalo wings, a side of cornbread, and a side of collard greens.

bad. bad. bad. not bad.

the nachos were drenched in velveeta cheese and the corn chips were not fresh let alone homemade. the buffalo wings were not spicy although the waitress claimed they were hot. they also had a strange mushy texture that i couldn't figure out. were they pre-fried then reheated or kept warm under a heat lamp ala micky d's? the cornbread came out in little mini-muffin form and were a bit hard- indicating overbaking or staleness. the tasted okay but were more like corn muffins than traditional cornbread. the collard greens were not too bad and had sizeable chunks of bacon though i'm used to a more spicy, vinegary bite.

overall, the food was not particularly authentic or good. moreover the wait staff had a tendency to rush their customers. i will concede the fact that our sampling of the menu may not be representative of the traditional southern bbq (ribs, brisket, pulled pork). that being said, the sign of a quality restaurant is being able to get the basics right and making every dish good if not great.

while the food left much to be desired and i feel like i wasted calories on a subpar meal, my curiosity has been quenched. and so, while JT may continue to bring sexy back, that will never be enough to bring me back to southern hospitality.

coming to terms with coming of age

as theng predicted, tonight ended up being quite rainy. q2 was busy with work and neither theng or i were motivated to hang out. it ended up being the perfect night to stay in and put some semblance of order back into my tiny abode. before heading home, i decided to stop by a couple of stores in a last ditch attempt to find shoes to go with my party dress for saturday night. the dress is gorgeous, silvery gray that is remiscent of a flapper dress with the intricate beading and tiered layers at the bottom. i had almost bought a pair of mustard pumps in gainesville but they only had the floor sample which wasn't in the best shape. . .so lo and behold, i was very pleased to find these beauts at aldo!!!!

with treasure in hand, i made my way back home and made some tuna melt pitas for a quick dinner. after chatting with the boy online, sweeping, mopping, and tidying up the apartment, i headed to the gym for some cardio action. i got on my currently preferred cardio machine and plugged in my headphones. fabulous! gossip girl was playing. i started to program in my settings.

workout profile: 5
workout goal: time
workout time: 60 minutes
age: 2-7

and it dawned on me. . . starting tomorrow, i could never (honestly) put in 27 as my age. . . i have definately reached the late 20's early 30's bracket and there's no going back! all that being said. . . the late-mid 20s have been amazing and i would never want to be 18, 21, or even 25 again. . .26 and 27 have been all about growing into my own skin and as cheesy as it sounds, finding myself and the journey has been good. so cheers to 28 and let the adventures continue!

making chili out of catfish?

due to corporate visits, atypically long work hours, and attempts to maintain a social life, i've been getting out of my normal gym routine and eating way too much. . .both which are starting to affect my waistline and bother me a great deal.

i planned to jumpstart my health kick by working out after work today. . somehow, working out on sundays makes me feel as though i'm getting a head start on the week. it looked a little close, i didn't leave work until 7:45, traffic was miserably slow, and the gym closes at 10pm on sunday nights. luckily, i got home by 9:05, was dressed in workout clothes by 9:10, and at the gym by 9:15. i got a solid 40 minute cardio workout in and rushed home.

i had bought come ground beef last week and decided to make some chili for my lunch at work. i chopped garlic, onions, red and green peppers, and chili pepper, and started heating them up in a sauce pan. i pulled out the ground beef. . .ack!!! it was no longer red but brown. crap. . now what am i supposed to do?

i still had two fillets of catfish left from the dinner i cooked on friday night. working quickly, i remembered i had a chicken chili seasoning mix. i threw that in with the beans and diced tomatoes. i added some paprika, tomato paste, and ended up with a fairly decent fish stew.

crappy giant

last night celestial and i took q2 to little giant for her b-day dinner. . i had been there long ago with q2 and debs but that was a lifetime ago. . . a cozy, tiny little restaurant low-lit that makes new american, hearty, comfort food.

around 6:50PM both q2 and celestial contacted me to let me know that celestial would be late to dinner. . . i swing by q2's place to pick her up and we walk to the restaurant from her pad. arrive just a few minutes after our reservation at 7:30pm. we tell the hostess that our 3rd party member may or may not be coming. . .


ho-stess: so did you want to wait for your friend before you order?


v: no, we're not sure if she'll make it in time for dinner. we'll go ahead and sit and eat.


ho-stess: well, i can't hold a big table for you. you can sit here or here (motioning to two tables in non-ideal locations). i'll have to break the tables up but if no one else sits here when your friend comes then she can sit here.


there was a two top at my left and our table that was squeezed in next to a plant. it was a four top- two tables pushed together. the hostess wanted us to sit further away from the occupied two top. q2 didn't look happen and muttered something about feeling smushed.


v: uh, is it possible to sit on the left table?

ho-stess: (huffily) fine

we sit and puruse the menu and decide to share the chicken liver pate, fig & prosciutto salad, braised short ribs, and brussel sprouts. after the appetizers arrive, celestial calls and tells us she's on her way. i notify the hostess.

waiter 1: is your friend coming?

v: yes she's on her way.

waiter 1: well can you order for her?

v: we asked her, she wants to order when she gets here.

waiter 1: (huffily) fine. it would help to get her order in sooner.

v: well, she wants to order when she ges here.

we chat, enjoy our appetizers, which are delicious but i'm starting to really get annoyed with how much they are rushing us. . don't get me wrong, i totally understand they are just trying to run a business and a restaurant needs to flip more tables so they can make more money. . but not at the mistreatment of their current guests!

celestial arrives and looks over the menu. she places her order and soon after our entrees start coming out. everything is well prepared, flavors carefully balanced. short rib is wonderful, tender, succulent, but the portion is somewhat small. the brussel sprouts were a tad sweet for my tastes but contrasted well with the pork. celestial ordered the beet and arugula salad and scallop entree which were both solid. while we were munching on the food the waiter stopped by as if to clear our plates which we were still working on.

i told him we were still working on it then he left us alone til everything was pretty much gone. after clearing out plates he brought us dessert menus. before we even had a chance to glance it over, he stopped by and asked us if we knew what we wanted.

celestial: we haven't had a chance to look it over.

granted we continued to carry on our juicy conversation. . 30 seconds into it, the waiter stopped by again.

waiter 1: what would you like?

celestial: actually, could we have another minute?

waiter 1: it would be great if you could place your dessert order so we can get the table ready for our next guests. there's a long line and we have to get to our next reservation.

we had only been there for an hour and a half!! that was the last straw. we asked for the check. the angry little asian girl in me was ready to ask to speak to the manager but my girlfriends asked me not to make a fuss. so i let it go. . but i will never ever go back to little giant and i will never recommend it to anyone.

while i might not expect good service at a dive or certain restaurants (vietnamese, chinese, etc), if i'm gonna pay over $25 for an entree i expect an all around quality dining experience including decent customer service!

like a kid in a candy store

it's always rough going back to work after an enjoyable weekend. . . especially bordering on visit/event days where i'm pulling 2 stretches (working open to close) in a row.

on saturday, the boy and i went to his friend and former co-worker's wedding in norwalk, ct. the ceremony was quite picturesque. we lucked out with a gorgeous fall day for an outdoor wedding in the garden of an inn facing a lake and encompassed by trees with leaves in shades of rust, gold, and brick. the ceremony itself was short, sincere, and sweet- marred by the sound of cars whizzing by, a lawn mower/weed wacker, and bees (the pitfalls of outdoor weddings). guests dispersed to the patio of the inn while the bridal party took photos.

the wedding seemed to go off without any hitches- first dance, father/bride dance, mother/groom dance, toasts, and the typical greeting from table to table. it was a blur of new faces but by the end of the reception, i had befriended most of the people at our table. afterwards, a large group of us decided to head somewhere else for drinks and we ended up at gingerman in so-no, yep, that's south norwalk for you non-ct'ers.

the boy and i decided to head back to the city around 9, which seemed quite late but i suppose i had been up since 6AM and we'd been drinking since noon? we dropped off glue-guy and then after deliberation decided to meet up with meandering moses for drinks in willie-b. it was a good time but i was beat by midnight.

sunday was all about recuperation. the boy is coming down with a cold so i made chicken soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for us. afterwards, we went to go see "darjeeling limited". on the way back we stopped by dylan's candy store and we each picked out an unusual taffy, literally like two little kids in a candy store. in keeping with what is quickly become our sunday night routine, we stopped by death & co for a couple drinks before heading to yokocho for a late night snack.

a beautiful weekend and a delightful time with the boy.

loose ends

text-mex is moving to miami this fall. after several weeks of exchanging texts in attempts to coordinate a when i could pick up a couple things i had left at his apartment back in january, we finally managed to agree on dinner along with theng and kev at max's.

i'd been wanting to check out max's for some time now, won over by in vino's meatballs, excellent wine selection, and personable staff. upon entering max's, one immediately noticed the warmth (both in atmosphere and temperature) and coziness of the darkly lit, homestyle italian restaurant. long and narrow, the restaurant stretched back with a front and back dining space separated by the kitchen then small bar.

i arrived first and waited at the bar and nursed a glass of prosecco until text-mex arrived. shortly after theng and kev arrived. we were seated and purused the menu. i ordered the beet & avocado salad. kev ordered the gnocchi. theng the osso bucco. text-mex had the zucchini soup and meatloaf which essentially was one ginormous meatball. the salad was a surprisingly delicious contrast of flavors with the sweetness of the beets was offset by the creaminess of the avocado and goat cheese. theng's osso bucco was a tad salty and reminded me that while i always think i will like it, i never do. somehow the fattiness of lamb is not enjoyable the way well prepared pork belly can be. kev's gnocchi was tasty and extremely rich. the meatloaf was wonderful and an enormous amount of meat.

dinner was filled with light conversation and before i knew it two hours had past and i knew it was time to get home. i dropped everyone off.

at the end of the night, i was struck by how one's emotions, attachments, and life can change so much in a year's time. . . i've moved apartments, switched jobs, and started a new relationship.

no two jugglers are alike

today, along with 4 other managers from my workplace, i went to white plains for a training on "coaching". the woman giving the class is actually a gifted teacher/public speaker and kept us all engaged for a 7 hour long class.

what i learned about myself. . .

1. i may be a natural born juggler- during our first exercise, each group had a designated coach, performer, and observer. by default, i became the performer and the task at hand was to learn how to juggle. i was intially frozen with fear (those of you that know me, know that i can be uncoordinated) but decided to just go with it. started off just catching one ball with one hand. then two balls with two hands at a time. i was so surprised by that simple task that i have vowed to learn how to juggle with three balls.

2. i can be long winded and need to work on being more concise to more effectively communicate my message.

3. i don't miss the suburbs

yes, but i'm an accountant

some days, keeping my patience at work is extremely challenging. . . i had an annoying exchange with a customer that if i weren't involved, i would laugh. . .

c: excuse me, can you help me?

v: sure, how can i assist you?

c: i want to exchange this item i purchased on my registry. some of the crystals fell off.

v: ok, let me see if we have that item in stock.

i check the register and go back to the stockroom, lo and behold, we actually do have the merchandise and i happily bring it to the customer. after i start processing the exchange she stops me.

c: actually, i think i want to get these two items instead. . .

v: ok, let me check to see if we have them.

i bring out the boxes and first return the item c brought in and rang her up for the two new items.

c: wait, i didn't get my tax back?

v: i'm sorry, what's that?

c: you didn't give me my tax back. c brings out her cell phone and does some fuzzy math on her calculator.

c's mom: (in a smug tone) she is an ccountant. she will know.

wtf? all of this is automatically calculated.

v: i don't understand what you mean. everything is calculated pre-tax and that tax is added at the end so it all cancels out.

getting tired of the accountant's unconvincing explanation of how she was cheated out of tax, i pull out my calculator and re-calculate everything for her.

v: now, whether we tax before taking the difference or after doesn't matter.

let's say:
A= pre-tax amount you are due from the return
B= pre-tax amount you owe the store for the two items you are purchasing
so, C= A-B is the pre-tax amount you owe the store then C'=C * NY tax is the amount you owe the store including tax

now, let's say:

A'=A* NY tax is the amount you are due from the return including tax
B'=B* NY tax is what you owe for the two items including tax
then C'=(A* NY tax) - (B*NY tax)= (A-B) * NY tax= C * NY tax

so C' the net amount you owe including tax remains the same whether you tax the return and purchase amounts before you take the difference or after you take the difference.

c: ahhhh, i see. you're right.

damn right i'm right. after all. . i do have a masters in economics. but i would never say that out loud because that's obnoxious.

rough start

met up with the boy and some of his friends last night at union hall. stayed out a little too late and ended up closing the place down. got home around 5:30 AM and decided to not sleep and take the chance of oversleeping and missing my flight to gainesville. instead, i goofed off online for an hour then took a shower and got ready to go. got to the airport and was at my gate with plenty of time to spare. fell asleep while waiting to board and luckily stirred to wake and noticed a line forming and asked the guy sitting next to me which flight was boarding. jacksonville. oops, almost missed that one. slept through th entirety of the flight and landed in florida ten till noon. the kids were just as excited as i was to see them. we all went to lunch at the cheesecake factory then walked around the large outdoor mall for a couple hours. by 5, we were all beat and made our way back to gainesville. got to check out my sister's new home, a cute one story house. very comfy with a large family room, perfect for a small family. the kids have grown so much and my nephew is turning out to be a rascal (but so freakin cute you can't stay angry at him when he's being bad). the two remind me of my brother and myself when we were little . . . either playing and making eachother laugh by saying "poop", " fart", "pee", or "booty" or fighting. spending time with them makes me realize how children- their laughter, noise, and chaos- can make a home warmer and complete.

the straw

i haven't been blogging as regularly as of late. . .while i was warned that a lot of changes would be happening as long ago as the spring, some have certainly been a surprise and some have not. regardless, it's going to be a rough holiday season and i'm starting to get a bit nervous.

at the same time, i know that even when things seem unbearable, we all find a way of getting through it and life goes on. though i expect it will get worse before it gets better. now how bad. . .only time will tell.

with friends like these. . .

survival instinct

as a child i was quite sensitive and self-conscious about speaking vietanemese. probably b/c there was a number of times when my mom or relatives would laugh at my attempts to put together a sentence or pronounce something. my mom would always try to explain that no one was laughing at me. however, being a child, i could not comprehend it.

as an adult, listening to my niece and nephew speak vietnamese (or any child speak a foreign language), i often find myself moved to laugh from the sheer joy it brings me. i guess my sister feels the same way. . .

this came up while talking to my sister on the phone this morning. she told me how my nephew was driving her crazy the other day b/c he peed on the sofa (note: he is turning 3 in october and is still potty training). sis lost it and was screaming up a storm. she cleaned my nephew up and sent him to his room.

she stopped by his room later to see him sprawled on the bed, reciting hail mary in broken vietnamese. i guess my nephew is much smarter than i was at that age, he knows how to use his cuteness to his advantage!! in any case, it worked b/c my sister had to do everything to keep from laughing and couldn't stay mad at the rug rat.

could you?

a perfect day

woke up around 7:30 AM with a full night's rest. hit the gym and caught up on the news. went to sunrise mart in the east village to pick up some japanese goodies and then trader joes where i got tilapia (price finally went back down), greek yogurt, chicken, walnuts, and crumbled blue cheese. . . hmm, i'm already thinking of the salad i can make with the last three ingredients!

got home and took care of some odds and ends and started working on my wall of food photos- an idea which i've been visualizing since january!! around 4 i headed down to midtown to my company's headquarters for an event. had a promising conversation with my director about my future at the company and where i wanted to be.

headed home and tried to make "mom's catfish in claypot" or ca kho for a second time. the recipe is from a vietnamese/thai cookbook and a linke is available on the epicurious website (though the omit the instructions for making the caramel sauce).

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/232438

funny thing about cooking. . there are so many dishes my mom makes that i would love to emulate (she really is an excellent cook) but she never taught me growing up. . every time i tried to learn, it would be, V, go study, don't worry about cooking! so now, i'm strugglin to learn how to make all her dishes while i can. it's difficult b/c she doesn't follow recipes and does everything to taste.

ca kho is a staple dish, we eat it a lot with kanh chu, sour soup. in any case, i tried this recipe out a couple weeks ago but was annoyed by the inconvenience of making the caramel. . i don't think i simmered the sugar and water long enough to get it to the "caramel" stage, more just a supersaturated sugar/water liquid. the dish came out ok, a little too sweet. this time i modified it, added sugar directly to taste and used tilapia instead of catfish. it came out well. reminscent of my mom's cooking.

it seems that vietnamese "flavour" boils down to fish sauce and sugar!

mustering up the will power

dunno if it's the change in seasons but i've been feeling pretty beat the past few days. . no major sleep deficiencies of late and plenty of caffeine.

i'm one of those odd ducks that rarely has difficulty motivating oneself to go to the gym. i enjoy my workouts. a time to zone out. get the endorphins going.

it was a struggle getting myself to go last night. every ounce of willpower to hit the stairclimber. once there i was annoyed because i arrived during the evening rush. argg. . .my favorite machines were in use. i went to the 3rd floor and they were also occupied. back downstairs i opted for the stairclimber (the one that actually has rotating stairs). got through half an hour on that and then switched to the gliding machine.

now it's 8:30 PM and i'm pumping myself up mentally to go. . maybe i need a change in routine? i would go for a nice run but it's dark out and i don't like to run at night by myself. . . hope i get out of this slump soon. good thing i have tomorrow off!

some of my pet peeves

besides peope that wear sunglasses indoors (no, you don't look cool, you look like an asshole), ranking on top of my list of pet peeves is (1) ordering the wrong dish or (2) overpaying for so-so food.

both happened last night when i met up with celestial for dinner at momofuku ssam. being a fan of the original momofuku and having read many good reviews about momofuku ssam i was pretty excited to finally try it out. the buzz was that it was an affordable restaurant with great meat (i.e. swine) dishes and i was excited to try the momofuku ssam.

celestial was running a bit late, so i was escorted to the back of the restaurant and told to stand around a square, metal island until the whole party was there. . .why i couldn't sit at the bar which had plenty of seats i dunno. five times i was asked if i wanted to order a drink which just seemed awkward standing in the back of the restaurant, drinking by myself, standing next to a short metal island. nevertheless, i was tired of being asked so ordered a glass of the sparkling shiraz (which turned out to be quite delicious and refreshing).

i half browsed through the menu and watched the cook staff prepare food (i do like that feature of the restaurant). . i did a double take when i read through the menu. the average entree was $25, the most expensive was over $100 (tho you get a whole pork butt). . so much for cheap eats. according to celestial, the menu had changed significantly from the restaurant's early days- prices had gone up and a lot of the cheaper items had been replaced.

celestial and i shared the eggplant tatine (essentially roasted vegetable bruschetta) and the short ribs. the eggplant tatine was good but not great. the short ribs were pretty tasty- slightly tangy marinade and the meat fell off the bones, and there was definately enough to fill us both. don't get me wrong, i don't think momofuku ssam is a bad restaurant, in fact, i think they turn out solid, tasty food in a casual, trendy atmosphere. yet somehow, i left feeling a bit let down and unsatisfied.

beware of what you wear

i was sporting one of my new favorite t-shirts, a gem i picked up in philly while visiting my bro, just yesterday. it reads "nerds have bigger hard drives". i took a leisurely walk through the union square farmer's market while killing time before meeting up with nels for coffee.

through the blasting of my headphones, i heard a random guy (RG) call out to me and felt a tap on my shoulder.

rg: excuse me, do you know where the granola stand is?

v: um, no sorry. . i don't really come here very much.

rg: well that's ok. i really didn't want to ask about the granola. it was just an excuse to talk to you. i like your shirt. you know i'm a nerd.

v: hmm ok. alright then. (while trying to edge away)

rg:my name is jonathan. and i'm a nerd. nerds have bigger hard drives. i have a big. .

v: alright jonathan. it's nice to meet you but i have a boyfriend already. . so . . umm.

rg: well that's not surprising. is he a nerd?

v: ok jonathan, have a nice day. bye!

i left in a hurry. i found the whole incident pretty amusing and give the poor boy credit for having the nerve to come up to a complete stranger. hmm, who knew a t-shirt would have such an effect?

whole again

sleep. is. good.

i was seriously run down yesterday- full fledged zombie mode which has not happened for awhile. though i probably have no right to complain since it's mostly from going into the weekend tired from work, having too much fun, and not enough sleep over the weekend.

went with the boy to against the grain on friday night. since the boy is a beer connosieur i am always on the look out for places with extensive or interesting beer lists (as long as there is a small selection of wine or i can get a gin and tonic i'll be happy). against the grain was a smallish place connected to grape and grain a small wine bar/restaurant that was opened by the owners who happen to love beer in addition to wine. i don't have a strong impression of the place. a little too dark which was highlighted by the fact that a t.v. provided the majority of the light in the place. actually don't like t.v.'s in bars unless it's a sports bar. it was very empty for the first hour, in fact we were the only customers for awhile. on our second round, the place filled up quite a bit. the server was actually pretty nice though i didn't love his wine suggestion.

two of the boy's friends, dapper and filmster, met up with us and after they finished a round we all headed to death & co. i guess the boy's love for the sazerac rivals my own as he had already raved about it to his friends. so we all partook. somehow the time had slipped away and we managed to close the place down somewhere between 3 and 4 AM.

by 11 AM the next morning i could not sleep anymore though i knew i was still tired. instead, i left the boy to sleep and went to the gym and grocery store. did some laundry and made some orzo salad to take to work during the week. around 4 PM we headed out for supper and went to mara's homemade in the east village. i had scouted out the place upon the boy's request to have good cajun cooking. we shared an order of gator bites. yes, pieces of alligator coated in cornmeal and then deep fried. delicious! he ordered jambalaya which turned out to be a dry version (mostly rice with pieces of chicken and sausage). it was good but not great. a little bland says me. my dish was a knock out though. catfish with creaole seasoning and topped with crawfish etoufee served with a side of broccoli and rice pilaf. the catfish was slightly crispy and the crawfish etoufee was extremely flavorful and rich, almost a gravy type sauce.

after dinner, we checked out our creative garden, a little community run garden on the corner of east 6th and ave b. lots of hippies and random passerbys. the place was overgrown with a hodgepodge of plans and random garden decor. the most striking element was a tall wooden "sculpture" with random stuffed animals, flags, and toys hanging on it. the garden seemed a little sad to me.

we had a couple hours to kill before the bowery ballroom's doors for cloud cult would open so we went to good world to have a drink in the garden. the concert was amazing, i was happy that they sound as good live (perhaps better) as they do on album and they are fascinating in concert. they are a multi-media performing group with a video projector in back and two artists (the lead singer's wife and the trumpet player) painting throughout the concert. at the end of the show, the paintings are auctioned off to the highest bidder. unfortunately, the two opening acts played for an hour each and the first group was pretty tired and the second was better but just tiring to listen to (too mellow).

after the concert was over i took the boy to auction house and then went to a diner. i had a horrible croque monsieur and he had a so-so omelette. it was 2:30 AM and i was beat. got home around 3 something and up by 7 the next morning for work. my boss was kind enough to let me leave at 6pm and i was home by 8. had a quick dinner of leftovers then went to bed at 9:30. 10 hours of sleep later, i woke up and feel like a whole new woman.

pennies are so tacky!?

theng is coming over for dinner tonight. i love cooking for friends and ever since going to spitzer's corner a couple weekends ago, i've been wanting to try cooking mussels with chorizo. since i had the whole day off, i decided to venture out to chinatown for groceries. food shopping turned into a 4 hour ordeal (probably didn't help that i took the bus all the way back uptown)!! chinatown, trader joes, whole foods, agata & valentina, and wine store!

mott has a ton of little seafood and produce stalls. i picked up mussels and greens at one food vendor. tomatoes, red bell pepper, and red onion from another. more greens from another. frozen minced lemongrass and clam juice from a vietnamese grocery store. was still missing zuchini, fennel, baby clams, bread, and e.v.o.o. (yes, i'm obnoxious like rachel ray and like to abbreviate that!).

walking down grand i saw the duck and bbq pork hanging from the restaurant window. it looked delicious and i couldn't resist but stop in to buy a pound. i asked for a pound and went to pay. the little old woman (l.o.w.) muttered something in cantonese.

v: duo shao qian? (how much in mandarin)

l.o.w.: si kuai liu mao. (four dollars and sixty cents)

i pulled out a five and started counting change. i gave her the five and she gave me a one as i continued to dole out change. when i put a quarter, three dimes, and five pennies in her hand she balked and started ranting in chinese.

v: what? why can't you take the change?

l.o.w.: no tax. i can't take pennies.

v: why can't you take pennies??

l.o.w.: pennies are so tacky.

v: i gave you five sixty. what's wrong with that?

another employee stood nearby and i spoke to her.

v: why can't she take pennies?

a.e.: no tax for you.

v: ok, that's fine. but why can't she take pennies?

l.o.w.: give me that dollar back.

v: i don't understand why you won't take the pennies? it's the right change!

l.o.w. grabs the dollar back and gives me forty cents back.

a.e.: no tax for you.

i left being pissed off and thoroughly confused. . did i miss something? when did pennies become bad? and what does that have to do with not being taxed?

a (couple of) funny thing (s) happened at the met

met up with DDT and her lil sis at the met this afternoon. i haven't seen her sis in 10 years, amazing how time flies and how people grow up.

i was excited, i've been meaning to check out the rooftop bar/cafe for over a year and for some reason or another it just hadn't happened. we made our way there after visiting the egyptian exhibit and the european scultpure and decorative art section. getting out of the packed elevator, we stepped out onto the rooftop to see several large metal sculptures.

#1 funny thing. . .

as i circled around the black piece, i noticed an older asian couple standing right next to the sculpture. the man was speaking animatedly to his wife and started banging his fist against the sculpture. to my astonishment, this continued for a good minute.

i'm guessing he was trying to figure out what it was made of?

finally, a couple of the museum's employees approached the man and the banging ceased. i had to walk away because i couldn't help but burst out laughing at the audacity of it. . .i guess a reminder that social etiquette varies by country!

after having a cocktail with the girls, we decided to check out the chinese/japanese art exhibit. btw, the drinks are terrible!! stick to wine or beer!

#2 funny thing

i had forgotten how big and complicated the met's layout was and the three of us had had to ask for directions repeatedly. once we got down the stairs, i asked one of the employees (rabbit) where the chinese art was. he explained how to get there and the three of us went on our way.

once we got back to the lobby, we looked at the map again and reconfirmed the directions with the attendants there. . .much to our surprise, rabbit reappeared. he motioned to us to follow him up the escalators.

rabbit: here, i'll personally escort you there!

V: wow, that's great customer service! thanks!

rabbit: so you from out of town?

V: no, two of us live in new york and my friend's little sister is visiting for the weekend.

rabbit: oh. where do you live?

V: i live in manhattan my friend lives in queens.

rabbit: oh, that's nice. rabbit proceeded to guide us to the exhibit for chinese and japanese art and gave us a mini tour. i don't usually do this.

V: we appreciate it! thanks!

rabbit: at the end of the tour. so what's your name?

V: V.

rabbit: ok V, it was really nice to meet you. my name is rabbit. y'know, i also work on saturdays and i hope to see you again.

V: oh ok, thanks.

wtf was that? was that a pick up? that's the first time a museum employee has ever tried to pick me up!!!

now. . that's GOOD customer service

i decided to go for a run this morning to clear my head and get pumped up with endorphins. running along to pencilgrass, pjpj, and modest mouse did much to lift my spirits. i decided to cool down by walking around the nabe and remembered i had run out of eggs.

i stopped by dags and picked up a dozen eggs- quickly checkin for any damage before making a selection. while i was waiting in line, the manager came up to me and asked me if i found everything ok.

v: yep.

m: you probably have shopped here before. i just wanted to take the time to introduce myself. would you like some coffee?

v: would i like a coffee? um, would i like a million bucks? YES!! yea, that would be great.

m: follow me. here, help yourself to whatever you want. this coffee is from me to you.

v: wow, that's really nice. that's excellent customer service, thank you!

the manager told the cashier to comp the coffee. excellent customer service doesn't happen often. as a manager working in retail, i have discovered just how rare it is and just what a difference it makes on customer loyalty. . now, i will probably continue to buy my seafood, meat, and produce from agata & valentina but i will definately continue to buy my staples there and i will definately share this experience with others.

lonely alina

my friend alina was a sad little girl growing up. her greatest desire was to belong, to have her own family to love and to be loved by. alina grew up to be a beautiful young woman and unfortunately completely naive and completely romantic. she met a dashing, charismatic man from a good household. soon after the two were married and started their own family.

alas, alina soon discovered her prince was nothing of the sort. the love, happiness, and fulfillment she hoped to find in marriage would remain a fantasy. it would be her children, not a career, not hobbies, not friendships, that would sustain her.

her loneliness haunts me. saddens me. so i do what i do best. i make myself busy. i rush around from the gym, to work, to hang out with friends. i do everything but stop and think. i laugh with friends. i enjoy good food and wine. i listen to upbeat music. i do everything but stop and think. because if i stop all i will think about is alina. and her loneliness. and how much it saddens me. but tonight, i cannot help but stop. and think. of alina.

pure incompetence

got to the parking garage at 7:20 AM to pick up my car. . .as usual, it was not ready for me. i sighed and rang the bell for the attendant. 10 mintues pass by.

the garage door opens and two men are standing there, one man i recognize as another customer who drives out in his SUV.

hmm. . that's strange. i don't recognize the other guy though he's dressed in uniform.

the service at the parking garage has gone downhill in the past month. the management/ownership changed with a brand new staff. the cars were never read when you requested it. the attendees took their time and had a bad attitude.

the man in uniform explains that there is no attendant. he disappeared who knows how long ago. i ask him to help me find my car but he says that's not his job. i have no idea what level my car is parked on.

it's 7:35. i normally leave at 7:30 to get to work on time. shit. i call my boss and leave a VM on her cell explaining i may be late. i decide to wait another 10 minutes. then another ten.

finally, another attendee (who i think is the supervisor) rolls up in his car. i have no idea if he's the missing attendee or not. the other man in uniform explains that the attendee has been missing. finally, i get my car and am on my way to work. by some miracle, traffic is light and i manage to make it to work in an hour.

i am infuriated. terrible service. the guy didn't even apologize. i don't understand how someone can just walk out on the job that way. . .

too good

have had a maddening craving for sushi for the past few days and so i asked the boy to go with me to kura sushi. unfortunately, it was such a late dinner that my appetite had waned to some degree and i also didn't want to look like a pig eating in front of the boy. (yes, i am always like this in the beginning of a relationship and yes i hope it goes away soon!)

so tempted to go to death & co., the cold weather is perfect for a sazerac. . but we both wanted to try something new so we headed to von which i had read good reviews about. supposedly a nice divey bar with a good beer and wine selection, and few douchebags. not a great selection, but definately a great wooden bar for leaning with hooks for coats & bags and nice foot stool, plus a fun bartender and generally speaking a nice & low key clientele.

over the course of the night, i learned a lot of interesting new things about the boy:

1. he has traveled to thailand, china, japan, and uganda
2. he is in a lot better shape than he was when he was in high school
3. i can talk to him for hours without getting bored and i totally lose track of time around him

(3) explains why we managed to close down the bar on a weeknight and i'm in bad shape today. .

high school reunion

my 10 year high school reunion was smack in the middle of my last holiday.

as senior class president (and just because i love planning things) i had taken it upon myself to take the lead with planning the reunion. three fun but simple events- happy hour friday night, saturday picnic at the park across from my high school geared towards families, and the finale was a dinner/cocktail party at a nice japanese restaurant. everything went smoothly and i was quite happy with the actual turnout for most of the events. we also didn't go over budget which was a major stress for me.

it was surreal seeing old friends & classmates after so long. . . a handful still looked the same and have held up great over the years. . a handful i had to do a doubletake because i didn't recognize them. many are married with children. many are still living in the hampton roads area though a good number are in NOVA/DC, and some are abroad serving in the military.

it's funny how these milestones make you stop and reflect on your life. over the past few years, my priorities have shifted and my sense of self has developed tremendously. in a way, i think i've changed more in my mid/late twenties than ever before. . . i guess it's called growing up, and hopefully older and wiser. . .

allmooost over

i am so not looking forward to returning to work. my vacation has been wonderful and it will be another long stretch before i have any time off. . . how depressing.

neurosis

i love throwing dinner parties- whether it's just for one friend, or ten, or twenty, i truly enjoy it. however, i also have the tendency to drive myself crazy with the preparation and stress myself out.

today for instance, i was having the boy, Q2, and char over for dinner. initially it was just going to be the boy and i, so the original menu was quite simple- moules steamed in a white wine sauce and frites with a mixed green salad. ever since i invited Q2 and char, i was obsessed with revamping the menu. i spent some of my free time in NN reading through a variety of mussel recipes and settled on a saffron cream recipe. this morning i caught an 8 o'clock flight from NN to NYC and during the entire trip (albeit a short 50 minute jaunt) i debated about what sides to accompany the mussels. . .

got home by 9:40 and ate breakfast, scanned through a couple of my recipe books, and took a nap. when i woke up, i looked through the books again. too many decisions:

1. saffron mussel and leek soup OR mussels in a saffron cream sauce
2. wild mushroom risotto OR seafood risotto (where i would omit the mussels and just use calamari and scallops) OR shrimp risotto OR fries
3. mixed green salad with balsamic vinagrette OR tomato and zucchini casserole

i called my sister, reesy, Q2, VK, and theng for a second opinion all to no avail- no one picked up, maybe the sensed the ridiculousness of the call. by a fluke, i was able to get in touch with reesy.

V: blah blah blah (going through 1-3)

reesy: are you sure everyone likes mussels?

V: yep, everyone does and likes seafood.

reesy: have you made any of these dishes before?

V: yea, i've made a different version of the risotto and the mussels before. i think they are fairly simple recipes, just hope they are good.

reesy: well do the risotto. that's always good and is impressive.

V: you don't think i should do the saffron soup? it's a little more complicated but sounds really good.

reesy: are you nuts? you just got back from traveling. just do whatever is easier!

V: you're right you're right. . i just have a tendency to choose the more complicated things. ok, i'll stick with the mussels and shrimp risotto. thanks!

somehow i managed to get off schedule, probably because i had to go to three different grocery stores to get all the ingredients. firstly, the guy in front of me at agatha and valentina bought one too many pounds of mussels so i had to go to citarella to get another pound. secondly, i realized i forgot to buy grated parmesan. then, i got the bright idea to decorate the apartment with flowers (always cheers me up when i'm down and nice when there's company). so rather than starting food prep at 4 i didn't start until 4:45PM.

i called Q2 to tell her to come half and hour, 45 minutes later. . . the boy arrived around 6 and helped me with odds and ends and managed to pull most of it together by the time Q2 and char arrived. i forgot to take pics (see how flustered i musta been?) but it turned out beautifully and quite tasty. . trusty old epicurious!!!

and y'know what? i want to do it all again!

feeling "bleh"

you know when you have a list of things to do? but you don't want to do any of them?

yup. that's how i'm feeling.

or maybe this is what is called relaxing.

hmmm. not sure if i like it.

there's something about home. . .

i find myself staying up watching old episodes of the cosby show. subsequently sleeping in way past my normal time. feeling lazy.

and yet, this trip feels weird somehow. perhaps it's because my sister, nephew, and niece are no longer here.

my parents' home has always carried a sense of melancholy and calm. . . it was masked temporarily by dogs, the stream of friends that my brother and i would bring home, then later with my sister's little tykes. . .but now, the house seems a little forelorn.

some things never change

enjoying a nice dinner with my folks at a local steakhouse in port warwick. we catch up on family gossip, work, news about my friends, and my immediate plans when my mom can no longer hold her thoughts back.

momma V: you know what would really make me happy?

V: (rolling my eyes, bracing myself for the onslaught, and silently to myself) um, nothing???

momma V: for you to have someone that loves you and takes care of you. your sister and your brother are settled. i won't be happy until you have someone.

V: i think my main priority right now is to get my career settled.

poppa V: you really are my daughter (with a hint of pride)

momma V: it would just make me so happy if you told me you had a boyfriend. i'm just waiting for that day.

V: mom, that's my last worry. besides, by american standards, especially in a big city, i'm not considered old yet!

poppa V: yea, you don't have to worry yet. maybe once you hit 40.

momma V: no, she needs to have kids before then.

V: well, it would be safer to have kids by 35. . . BUT, if i don't meet the right guy by then, i can always adopt.

momma V: young kids these days put their careers first.

V: mom, i am just asking you one thing. i understand where you are coming from and your concerns. but please don't ever mention this to me again. you can complain and express your thoughts about me not getting or being married to dad or my brother or sister but don't tell me. it'll either make me sad or piss me off.

momma V: chuckling. ok ok.

for now that is. . . just temporary respite.

chocolate rain

too good not to share. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTZ2xpQwpA

perfectly lazy summer days

had a beautiful weekend and indulged in merry making and various leisurely activites.

friday night, the boy and i went to the nuyorican cafe to check out some slam poetry. it had been on my to-do list for awhile and i'm definately glad we checked it out. highly entertaining and two of the guests were quite talented. afterwards, we headed to tried and true death & co to meet up with theng, hosmillo, and his co-worker. several rounds of sazerac's later and way past theng's bedtime, we headed back uptown.

the next day i ran a few errands and took care of a couple of work things. then it was time to get ready for celestial's b-day party. lack of sleep from the previous night meant neither the boy or i were in condition for another late night. we left around 1am and grabbed a snack at schiller's before heading home.

sunday was all about catching up on sleep and taking it easy. have had quite a hankering for asian food of late, so upon ricktitintin's recommendation, we headed to yummy noodle in ctown for spare-rib casserole. it was delicious, hearty, and definately hit the spot. something nice about sharing a meal with a non-asian who is completely comfortable with eating meat on the bone and slightly exotic (read: weird) food.

we checked out the dvd store for fallen angel and simpson's movie with no success. the boy insisted on getting boba tea so we checked out a few teahouses before settling on ten ren. turned out to be an excellent choice as my first boba tea in years was perfectly mde.

before i knew it, it was time to queue for the upright citizen's brigade 9:30 PM free improv show. we anticipated a long line because of the beautiful weather but were overly cautious and were on the early side. we passed the time people watching, blowing tapioca pearls as far as we could, and etc. once we got our tickets, we headed to trailer park diner to grab a snack and drink. it's a great, kitschy place with funny signs, random and slightly freaky mannequins, and elvis paraphenalia. the boy ordered a fat dog and tater tots but by the time it was done we had to get i to go. upright citizen's brigade was very funny- the best was amy poehler and horatio sanz.

monday was sunday 2. completely lazy. hung out doing not much of anything until my hunger got the better of me and i insisted we head out for food. craving a good burger, we decided to go to dumont burger in williamsburg. after a very satisfying meal, we went to the levee for a couple drinks before calling an end to a delightful weekend.

just semantics

celestial's b-day dinner/party was last night- our group of ten feasted on upgraded comfort food at alias. during dinner, Q2 mentioned that char, her current romantic interest, was coming to the party at fatbaby.


Q2: we aren't dating though.


V: yes you are!


Q2: but we aren't. we have only been seeing each other for two weeks.


V: length of time doesn't matter, you've been spending lots of time with eachother. . .


Q2: but we don't really go out places.


V: yea you should work on that.


then the question of what do the phrases "dating", "seeing someone", "hanging out", "talking to someone" all mean became the topic of conversation at our end of the table.


the unofficial conclusion?


talking to: you have not really had a chance to spend much time with someone so you are still figuring out how much you like them


hanging out: on the casual end of the spectrum of dating, not necessarily going to end up being romantic though i suppose it could be sexual


seeing someone: you are spending time with someone with the potential to become serious but more casual than dating someone

dating: you are spending time with someone and checking out their seriousness potential but have made no commitments as of yet

ai-ya. . . dating, hell even defining anything, is no simple task!

day trip to the city of brotherly love

woke up quarter til 10 and debated if i could get down to chinatown in time to catch the 11 o'clock ride to philly. hopped outta bed, quickly showered, grabbed my things and was out the door.

got to the bus station around 11:05. there was a white bus and an attendant yelling at me, "ride to philly?"

v: yes!

attendant: ok, get in.

v: ok! wait, what time do you leave?

attendant: noon

v: damn! aww. . ok.

i walk around the shops to buy some iced tea and a snack. walk back to the bus and climb on. make some calls to kill time then put my headphones on and sit back and try to nap. it's twenty til. the attendant comes back and starts barking at everyone.

attendant: where are you going?

v: philly.

attendant: the bus for philadelphia is in front of us.

i scramble off and run to the philly bus. the door is shut and the driver starts pulling away. i bang on the door and he lets me in. phew! that woulda been bad. i am surprised that we are already leaving as it's still 11:40.

i text my brother and let him know i'm on my way. the bus starts driving around. i close my eyes and try to nap. when i open them, we're back to the same stop! wtf? what's going on? we wait around a man climbs on the bus. then we pull away again and start driving.

i close my eyes again to nap. i open them again and see that we are back at the same stop again!!! i feel like i'm in a b-movie version of ground hog day.

finally, it's after noon and we leave for real.

the trip to philly was short. at least it seemed short as i slept through it. fun day with my big bro and his wifey. did the cheesesteak thing at jim's steakhouse. window shopped in the blistering heat. checked out his apartment. then grabbed dinner at el vez. back on the bus at 8pm and home by 10:30pm. nice day off.

no mean to disrespect

minding my own business. standing in front of washington diner in the west village waiting for mr.ct to pick me up. cleaning out my text message inbox, when. . .



random guy (rg): yo yo yo.



i look up.



rg: can you show me how to do that?



v: huh?



rg: can you show me how to put that stuff in my cell phone.



v: with no attempt to disquise the annoyance in my voice. i think you know how to use your cell phone. i can't help you.



rg: c'mon. i really don't know how to use this phone.



v: wtf. asiatic? i have a different phone. i don't know how to use your phone. i can't show you.



rg: now now, miss asiatic. you are disrespecting me. just because i'm a black man. you assume that i know more than i do. i just got this phone. i don't know how to use it. see. what do i do after i get to the menu. gestures to his phone.



v: ok, that's nonsense. how is that disrespectful to assume someone knows more than they actually do. i'm really sorry. i don't know how to use your phone. i have a different one.



rg: ok. . i'll leave you alone. i'm going now. but i really just wanted you to show me how to do that on my phone.



v: yea sure, whatever.



and saved by the text. mr. ct textes me, "i'm here". i spot his car and hop in.

three times a charm

the workweek should really be four days because one day is inevitably filled with running errands. yesterday was such a day.

1. bank
2. get duplicate keys made
curse my fancy apartment locks that costs $12 to copy one key. get annoyed when the locksmith quotes $60 + tax to replace the cylinder
3.hardware store to buy new cylinder
$13 for the cylinder
4. gym
5. back to locksmith b/c the duplicate gate key didn't work
curse that i had to waste my time going back and forth
6.buy groceries
7. track down maintenance guy to replace cylinder
happy that i only had to slip the guy a $20 for the job and saved myself $30
8. clean my apartment
9. back to locksmith AGAIN b/c the second duplicate gate key didn't work
now i'm really annoyed and this time the owner makes the dup himself. but it finally works!!
10. catch up on blogging, emails, etc
11. cook dinner
12. laundry
13. knock myself out with nyquil.

coming home

flying back home was easier than the flight to peru. shorter layover. only complaint was dry throat due to dehydration and not being able to sleep well on the second flight.

in any case, my plane touched down ten til 6 AM. was in a cab and on my doorstep by 6:45.

home sweet home.

let myself in, took off my shoes, and dropped off my bag while scanning the apartment. oops. . forgot to throw out those old flowers and i could smell the decay. eww. i grabbed the bag and my keys and went to the trash chute just outside my door. i threw away the trash and walked the few shorts steps back to my door and realized. . .

i. had. the. wrong. keys.

shit.

i jiggled the doorknob uselessly. arggg. . i hadn't even had a chance to have a glass of water. i had no shoes on. no cell phone. no nothing. . . darnit- i've been thinking about making dups of my keys and giving them to VK or Q2 for months but had been too lazy. stupid stupid.

i spyed a neighbor taking out her trash and greeted her. i explained my situation and she let me in and looked for the super's number. . unfortunately he was away for the weekend but i left a message. my kind neighbor lended me some slippers and her key for the front gate so i could come and go and check out the locksmith nearby. still closed. it's only 7AM on sunday morning afterall.

i go back to my apartment and look at the bathroom windowsill and debate whether or not i can climb in that way. no chance. it's a few story drop down on stone. too risky.

there's a number for an emergency locksmith near the call box at my apartment entrance. i grab the business card and the yellowpages that are stacked near the mailboxes. i go back to my neighbors and call for price quotes. i get them down to $70 and they are on their way.

i'm pissed i'm wasting $70. but it'll be worth it to be back home. neighbor's husband warns me that the locksmith will try to rip me off b/c i'm a girl. he tells me not to pay any additional fees and that i can buy the cylinder myself and get one of the maintenance guys to install it.

i go wait outside for the locksmith. he arrives twenty minutes late. the lovely neighbors head out to the beach with their daughter and wish me luck. i lead the locksmith back to my apartment and he inspects the lock.

ls: i will have to drill and break the lock. so the lock has to be replaced. that will be additional.

v: i only want you to open it.

ls: but you will eventually have to replace the cylinder. regardless, it'll cost $65 just to open the lock. another $175 fee. . .

v: no no no. that's not what i was quoted on the phone this morning.

ls: i'm sorry, it must be a misunderstanding. there is an additional fee.

v: that's bad business practice. you can't change the price of a quote. i called twice and got the quote of $65 (yes, i lied, i got $75 the first time and $70 the second time).

ls: who did you talk to?

v: i don't know the names. i spoke with a woman the first time and a man the second time. you really can't change the price like that. very bad business practice.

ls: ok, maybe it's just a misunderstanding. let me make a call. ls makes a call and speaks foreign language. he sighs. ok. b/c it's a misunderstanding, i'll honor the $65.

v: ok. just open it. don't replace the cylinder.

ls: ok. (in a skeptical tone) if that's what you want to do.

minutes later the cylinder is drilled and the door is open. i grab my keys and debit card and put on my shoes. i rush to the ATM to get cash to pay the guy.

finally back at home. i have a glass of water. take off my shoes. eat some cereal. then crawl into bed. turns out the dry, itchy throat is a cold.

Day 7 Lima

sightseeing in the morning- eddie took me to pachacamac, ruins just outside of lima. a religious site with a sun and moon temple- one of the hypothesis is that virgins were housed in the temple and at some point were chose to either become courtesans for royalty or sacrificed for the gods. . . supposedly women were considered sacred- during a woman's menstrual cycle the could not be touched by men so men instead engaged in homosexuality, bestiality, etc.

after our tour, we decided to grab lunch. another amazing meal. the best was a minature version of a staple peruvian dish. bite size piecs of plaintain, rice & beans, marinated flank steak, and a piece of quail egg. . .seriously i've been in foodie heaven. who would have thought lima would be a culinary center?

pintobean and i met up in the afternoon to go to the inka market to buy gifts for friends and families. i love markets. . .such neat arts and crafts. the peruvians have some amazing furniture/woodwork, pottery, and jewelry. . . 3 hours of shopping later i had managed to finish the bulk of my gift shopping.

i learned that haggling/bargaining in peru is VERY different than in china. in china, you are given a price by the vendor. generally it's safe to counter with half of that price (sometimes more). there are several rounds and you can usually get the vendor to go down if you (1) walk away, (2) agree to buy more than one piece, (3) promise to bring your friends back to buy more. .

in peru you are given a price by the vendor. you can get maybe 15-20% off the asking price. but bargaining ends at 2-3 rounds and it's impossible to get them to take off just 2-3 solas.

Day 6 Lima

rolled out of bed at 9:30, had a hearty breakfast, and was on the road by 10:30 for sightseeing.

first stop was the monasterio de sanfrancisco. i entered through the side doorway and walked through the church, taking in the various altars and tributes. exiting through the main entrance, i saw signs for the catacombs. i bought a ticket and joined an english tour that was already in progress. supposedly 25,000 bodies were buried under the cathedral. different bones were separated into different holes, skulls in one, ribs in the next, etc. only the franciscian monks were allowed to enter the graves, the families could look down from the church and pay tribute to deceased, loved ones.

next i stopped at the museo de la inquisicion- a building used by the spanish inquisition from 1570 to 1820. my anal tour guide (who chided me for taking up her time by stopping to take photos and chided the other two visitors in my group for stopping to read the panels) explained the system for deciding an individual's penalty and the various torture methods. apparently, the goal was not to actually kill anyone. . just get information and compliance, because death was not compatible with the religious guidelines but stretching peoples limbs out was completely fine.

marino drived me around the plaza de armas, pointing out the congress, the catedral de lima, etc. i had my fill sight seeing for the day and headed back to the hotel. eddie and i grabbed lunch at larco mar where i saw this young peruvian woman trying to swindle an older american man who was trying to swindle her. she obviously wanted a ticket to the U.S. he obviously wanted some young peruvian woman to warm his bed. kinda gross. but kinda mesmerizing to eavesdrop on.

hung out at the hotel for a bit then met up with pintobean for drinks. we went to a trendy, peruvian restaurant called scena where we had delicious scallops and carpaccio and fruity versions of pisco sours. the restaurant actually had live performances and we watched a short acrobatic show and a juggling act. after dinner, we headed to a cozy, artsy wine bar. we split a navarro correas malbec and sampled delicious snacks that was served with the wine. incredibly good food and think i'll have to make it back to the winebar for dinner!!! there was lima beans coated in a spicy pesto sauce, mini potatoes in a zesty, lemony, slightly tart sauce, and candied carrots. hmmm.

Day 5 Lima Part 2

next stop was barrio chino- chinatown!!! every major city has one and it's always fun to check out. . the chinese-peruvian are pretty well integrated and most that you see look mildly exotic but it's difficult to tell they are of chinese descent. barrio chino is pretty small- perhaps the size of DC's chinatown, just a couple streets really. . a block.

enjoyed myself wandering around the main market where they were selling meat (not so sanitary looking), produce, random odds and ends, and pet food!!!

things that i learned while driving around lima:

(1) doens't matter what way the street runs, you can park in any direction!!!

(2) street performers take it to a new level! at traffic stops it's not uncommon to see a bunch of kids doing cartweeks/break dancing, or juggling for money.

(3) new york bus/cab drivers have nothing agains limenes!!!

(4) peruvians are pretty industrious. while i was in the car waiting at a traffic light, i had a multitude of people coming by to sell various products. . got a hole in your sock? no problem! running low on engine oil? no problem!!! need to occupy your whining kid in the back of the car? no problem- coloring book!!! feelin a little hungry? no problem- chocolates, biscuits, etc!!!

Day 5 part 1: doing the museum thing

my ever considerate friend arranged for a driver he knew to escort me around the city today. on the agenda: museo de la nacion, museo rafael larco herrera, and barrio chino.

while devouring a hearty breakfast at the hotel, marino pulled up in a weathered, blue car. i joked that marino must not be peruvian because he was actually ahead of schedule. eddie laughed then went outside to give marino instructions before coming back in to finish up the meal. we parted ways and i was off to museo de la nacion- a museum documenting peru's prehistoric civilization and heritage with extensive exhibits scattered about three floors. i was not very impressed with the museum. while there was a lot of stuff- the captions were not very informative and quite sparse and the layout of the museum did not seem to flow. efforts seemed half hearted (displays and descriptions more thorough and presentable on the first floor but quality diminished as you went up every floor). the most exciting thing was a strike that seemingly appeared out of nowhere in front of the museum. there was an ambulance truck and people shouting. after fifteen minutes it dispersed.

museo rafael larco herrera was as great as the first museum was bad. an 18th c. mansion turned into a private museum, the grounds were beautifully maintained with bright fuschia colored plants, cacti, and flowers. inside, the exhibits were impeccable. i learned about the development and evolution of pottery and ceramics in peru over the course of time- changed spurred by technological advancement, merging of civilizations, etc. walking through a huge storeroom- shelves upon shelves of ceramics in a daunting array of animals, fruits, shapes, etc- i was awestruck. even more interesting was the exhibit of pre-colombian, erotic pots that depict to a precise degree various sexual acts. yep, look close and squint and you are seeing what you think you see!!!

Day Three: Machu Picchu

machu pichchu is a 3 hour train ride away from cusco. we had splurged on a nice train with big windows along both sides and on the ceilings of the car allowing for optimal viewing of the scenic landscape. there was a moment of confusion as all the groups tried to figure out the seating arrangement. although everyone had purchased numerically consecutive tickets, the seats were actually not together. in the end, we were able to get seats together.

i dozed in and out of sleep during train ride, listening to music, and reading bits and pieces of "conversation in the cathedral" by mario vargas llosa. before i knew it, we had arrived!!

machu picchu is simply breathtaking.

our tour guide "charlie darwin" reminded me a little of joe pesci. he was great and liked to address us as "my dear friends" and told us about the great incan traditions. at the end of the tour, he hawked his $30 book to us and suggested various hikes/tours we could take.

CD: the key is to walk S-L-O-W!!! some elderly tourist had a heart attack. yep. no luck for him. he died.

um. o-kay! the tour was nice because i got to learn about the construction and history of machu picchu. i just wish i had more time to explore the various trails. . . the day passed too quickly and before i knew it it was time to get lunch and head for our train back to cusco.

Day 2 Cusco

woke up at 4:30 AM, which felt even earlier because eddie and i had stayed out until after midnight with his gradeschool friends. good peeps.

we got to the airport in the nick of time to board without waiting around. of course, i promptly fell asleep and woke up to views of cusco. a little town tucked away in the mountains set against a blue blue sky. touching down i noticed two things: (1) a slight headache and (2) shortness of breath. . darn, guess i would not be immune to the effects of high altitude.

the inn owner picked us up from the airport and inundated eddie with trivia about cusco. cusco- shaped like a puma- represented the earth. according to incan belief, there are three worlds: the heavens, the earth, and beneath the earth. after a short drive we arrived at llipimpac where the owner gave us some coco matte (tea made from coco leaves helps alleviate the effects of high altitude) while we waited for our room to be cleaned. a short nap later, we ventured out for lunch at pucara where we feasted on a delectable lunch. sopa a la criolla (mildly spiced creamy noodle soup with beef and peppers), broiled fish, and assorted veggies, corn (did you know there are over 20 types of corn and 18 are grown in peru?), and potatoes.

the tour started at 2:30 and the rest of the afternoon was a blur of sighseeing: convento desanto domingo del cusco, la catedral, saqsaywaman, q'enqo, pukapukara, and tambumachay. the sacred structures that the incas built were simply amazing in its precision, care, and design. every aspect of the architecture seemed to be brimming with symbolism and/or purpose.

i was struck by the beauty of the land and the sense of calm/peace i felt there. what's more, i loved the fact was that the essense of cusco did not seem to be lost by the barrage of tourism that has flooded the town. it was not at all hard to imagine what cusco was like long long ago.

Day 1 in Peru

Stayed up chatting for a bit, then had a nice restful sleep. Woke up around 10:45 AM to find out we were going to check out apartments with Eddie's realtor. Half an hour later, we were out the door and met up with the realtor at a set of apartments on the coast.

Apartment 1: Duplex with amazing views of the ocean and public tennis courts, handball courts, etc below. Decent sized kitchen. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Plenty of closet space. Spiral staircase. Fully furnished. Decor downstairs had a New Mexico kinda feel. Lots of dried flowers. Slightly overpriced.

Apartment 2: One level apartment. More modern decor. Views not as nice. Formal dining/living room area and informal living room. Two bedrooms and three bathrooms. More spacious living room. More spacious feel. Reasonable rent.

Apartment 3: Entire wall of the apartment was glass windows overlooking the ocean. Unfurnished. Wooden floors. Sleeker apartment and kitchen area. But overpriced and requiring too much work.

After apartment hunting, we were starving and headed to Segundo Muelle which I had read about in the Lonely Planet. They brought out roasted corn kernals (which may be the perfect bar snacks ever) and Eddie ordered a beer for himself and a pisco sour for me (hey, when in rome. . . ). We ordered an assortment of ceviche and a crawfish risotto. The ceviche was delicious- the fish extremely fresh and the sauce was light and flavorful but did not overwhelm the fish. Incredible octopus drenched in garlic. Didn't have much room for the risotto by the time it came, but it was perfectly good.

From our seats, we had a great view of the "Love Park" which I am told a lot of couples get married at. . and there is an appropriate statue of a couple embracing. I actually noticed a fair bit of that throughout the afternoon, PDA seems to be a lot more common in Peru than in the US.

After lunch, we headed to LarcoMar, an upscale mall built into a cliff overlooking the sea. I was shocked by the number of tourists there. We picked up some books for the long train ride to Machu Picchu, stopped for some gelato and coffee, and browsed the shops.

Next stop was Barranco (cliff), kind of a bohemian, artsy neighborhood Eddie equated to Venice Beach in CA. We happened across a great little market where they sold all sorts of random things and yummy looking food. (note to self: have to go back to try the skewered cow hearts).

All the walking tired us out, last stop was Wong, a very lively grocery store with amazing and cheap produce (and the biggest carrots I have ever seen!) to pick up water and altitude sickness medicine. Now, just resting a bit before heading out to meet up with some of Eddie's friends. Tomorrow will be an early day- flight leaves at 5AM.

International flight cont'd

So 8 hours is a really really long time to layover. It is boring. No way around it. I slept a lot. Or as much as possible in uncomfortable chairs. I people watched. Read some magazines. Listened to music. Moved to a different area.

By 5 PM I was starving and decided to eat my last energy bar. With my throat being so sore and it being so painful to swallow, the idea of eating wasn't so appealing anyways. But it still blew my mind that the terminal didn't have any cafe's or restaurants!! Around 8PM, I headed to gate 4 where my flight would be boarding. I actually found a comfortable chair where I could prop my feet up and slept a bit more. Flight attendants came around and checked my boarding pass.

Finally, it was 9:40PM and still no signs of boarding. Then an announcement was made. People seemed annoyed and the man next to me threw his bag back on the ground. Hmm, either the flight is cancelled, which would really suck, or delayed, which also sucks. Really, I think I had reached my limit for waiting around.

I went and talked to the flight attendant, found out there was a temporary delay. I ended up making conversation with a nice couple from the Bay Area and we decided to leave the terminal to get something to drink. They led me through this passageway, which lo and behold had a cafe!!! EUREKA!!!

I

I ordered a jamon and queso arepa and food has not tasted sooo good. Unfortunately, I was only a 1/3 in before we were called back to our flight. I boarded and, yes, promptly fell asleep. Woke up to a meal of extremely salty fried rice which I tasted and yes, fell back asleep. Hmm, am starting to sound like a narcoleptic. . . Around 2, my flight landed and I managed to get my baggage and through customs fairly quickly. Saw Eddie almost instantaneously upon walking out of the gates- nothing like seeing an old friend again.

International Flights

I have always loved flying- not sure what it is- the sense of glamour of it all. It doesn’t matter if I’m flying back home or some international destination. However, flying internationally is always a bit more interesting because of the little differences in protocols across airlines.

Today I’m flying Avianca. What I discovered during check in and boarding is a pro-family approach. There was a separate check in line for minors traveling without their parents. Check in was relatively easy and quick and I got to my gate with an hour to spare. Announcements were made regarding boarding but I couldn’t really follow because it was in Spanish. I asked a fellow passenger what they said. He said they were boarding travelers with kids first then would call out by zones.

It actually makes quite a bit of sense from an efficiency standpoint. Families with children always take the longest to get settled in because the kids have so much extra stuff- toys, bottles, games. Then the other passengers don’t have to wait in the aisle as the parents do so.

I have always felt fortunate that I am not prone to motion sickness and have an uncanny knack of falling asleep, sound asleep, on moving vehicles be it plane, train, bus, or car. Today was no different. I slept through the majority of my 5 hour flight from NY to Bogota, waking up only to eat and drink. That’s another nice thing about Avianca compared to some American airlines is that even if you are asleep, the flight attendants will still serve you food and drink.

I am now sitting in Bogota with 8 hours to kill before my flight to Lima. I walked the entire wing but there are no shops or restaurants. Just two vendor stands serving hard liquor (nice) and snacks. Good thing that I don’t really feel like eating with my sore throat, otherwise I’d be in a bind. Across the way there are two massage chairs where travelers occasionally stop and get massaged with bizarre looking contraptions.

on route

it crept up on me slowly, wednesday night i felt the itch in my throat. body aches. i could feel a cold coming. on my way home from work, i picked up 5 bottles of vitamin water and two packages of airborne hoping to head it off. getting out of bed was brutal but i had a big corporate visit to deal with.

by thursday afternoon, my cold was in full force. swollen glands and fever mixed with chills. my boss let me leave work early and i got stuck in traffic for two hours.

got home around 7:15 and went to bed. woke up around 2AM and packed for my trip to peru. it's almost 5AM and will run to the ATM machine for cash. luckily i'm feeling a bit better. my fever is gone and i can catch up on sleep at the airport and on the plane.

bocce hustlers

mr.ct and i wound up at union hall in park slope sunday night with the purpose of checking out bocce (pronounced boche-e). the very shortened version of the game is that there are two sides with different colored balls. a small white ball, the pallino, is thrown out on the alley and the goal is to get your team's colored ball as close to the white ball without hitting the back wall. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocce

while i was slightly nervous, afterall i am terribly uncoordinated, i love these type of games- bowling, skee ball, even when i'm bad at it.

v: so how competitive are you?

mr. ct: don't worry about it. if we lose i won't mind. and if you never want to play again that's fine too.

whew, pressure is off, i can just enjoy myself.

v: cool. i'm not very good at sports so just a forewarning.

while he signed us up, i settled into my barstool. by the time we were up, we had had several rounds of drinks (boddingtons for him and random glasses of red wine for me). our competitors were another couple, friendly peeps from brooklyn. the guy appeared to be a seasoned player but the gal was playing for the second time. we had a jolly time. especially me as i had a beginner's streak. we actually won the round of bocce, closed down union hall, and i discovered a new favorite bar and game!

yesterday morning at 7AM i got a text from Rex-Mex.

RM: i know this might seem random. i now know what it must have felt like when i checked out. i'm so sorry. i suck.

huh? i was kinda stunned. . . if i still cared- it would have been too little too late. but seeing that i had long since moved on- i was annoyed by the fact that it raised my curiosity and questions- what was Rex-Mex going through that caused him to send that text? why does he feel compelled to apologize?

V: yes that is a bit random. it was a long time ago but i appreciate and accept your apology. hope you are well.

RM: sorry it's been a crazy 24 hours.

V: are you ok? let me know if you need to talk.

RM: that is sweet and considerate and consistent with the great person you are. but i don't want to bother.

then why text me at all? if you know that i'm a caring person you know that i'll want to help if i feel that you are going through hardship. so stop being so selfish and unloading your guilt on me!!! ARG!

so if you haven't figured it out by now, i'm one of those annoying people that tend to overbook/plan/fill her schedule. the next few days were looking pretty hairy especially with a big corporate visit on thursday:

saturday: work early shift. run home. change. head to JP's for a housewarming.
sunday: work all day. run home. change. meet up with mr.ct.
monday: pack. pay bills. bank. gift shopping. clean apartment. laundry.
tuesday: work early shift. meet up with jpan & Q2 for dinner.
wednesday:work 11AM-10PM.
thursday: work 8AM-10PM.
friday: leave for vacation

and at some point- fit in 3-5 workouts, go to the grocery store (one too many snack wraps), sleep, and feed myself.

i made the selfish decision to free up my saturday night and take care of my own business. JP was understanding *i think* and instead of heading out to what i'm sure was a delicious dinner party, i went to waldbaums and got groceries for the week. once home, i turned on the ipod and opened up a bottle of wine and relaxed while cooking beef basil and brown rice. after enjoying a glass of wine, US weekly, and my home cooked meal, i arranged the sunflowers i bought from the market. this was followed by some sweeping, mopping, and cleaning.

and now, it's time to hit the hay. tomorrow is a new day and while i didn't finish everything i wanted to, it was nice to have some time alone and lose myself in cooking and cleaning . . . while sounding strangely domestic, i've always found the two to be relaxing. . perhaps b/c they were "legit" excuses not to study while in grad school?

feeling overwhelmed