friday highlights

dinner with george was long overdue. having missed his big birthday party last month, i wanted to treat him to a nice meal out. so we settled on dokebi on grand in willie-b. i had been so excited not to have to trek all the way out to k-town for good korean food.

we met up around 7pm and there were only a couple groups sitting down- no wait. the decor was a bit off. the floor tiles and the small square tables were reminscint of a cafeteria. there were cutesy cartoon prints on the walls. but this was all offset by the nice wooden tables with grills in the center. the music ranged from hip hop to soulful korean pop. we ordered a kim chi sampler and a single order of bulgolgi and a single order of steak cubes (marinated ribeye dipped in olive oil). the waitress mixed our order up and brought two orders of the bulgogi. the meat was pretty good. however, i felt the food was watered down korean- despite having lettuce leaves to wrap the rice, veggies, and meat in, the rice was mixed with red bean and the kim chi and side dishes were subpar.

over dinner, i was telling george about my conversation with my mom earlier in the afternoon.

momma V: so what are you doing tonight?

translation: do you have a date?

V: oh, just going to hang out with george. i'm taking him out for his birthday dinner.

momma V: that sounds nice. which friend is that again?

translation: hmm, are you interested in him. is he a potential boyfriend?

V: you remember. we had dinner with him back in october. he's one of nels' best friends.

momma V: (blurting out in desperation/confusion) Does anyone like you?

translation: what's wrong with you? why doesn't anyone like you? why aren't you looking for a husband? you aren't getting younger. . .

V: um, no mom, i guess not.

trial by water

last night, VK and i went to the culture project to see trial by water a play about two vietnamese brothers who are fleeing to america by boat. what was supposed to be a one-two week trip becomes a tragedy as the boat gets stranded at sea, passengers begin to fall ill and die, and people resort to cannibalism. while the script itself was well written and the story was certainly compelling, haunting, and at times gory (i won't be eating sushi for at least a week), i felt some of the actors were overacting/reaching and a little more restraint would have created a deeper impact.

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117930037?categoryid=33&cs=1&nid=2562

after the play, VK i went to taisho on astor place and feasted on various skewers, japanese pancake, and grilled rice mound. delicious and simple food. i felt like i could have been in some tiny bar/restaurant in tokyo.

adjustments

i started working full time this week- 4, 10 hour days. it's a sweet arrangement as i get fridays off and can use that time to work on the whole event planning thing. but i'm not used to working 10 hour days and am exhausted. it's also been getting busy with earnings season beginning. i imagine i'll get used to it after a couple of weeks.

hopefully our office move will go through smoothly next tuesday and we'll be in a much bigger space and i won't have to share an office with my boss. it's been working out fine, but can be kind of stressful at times.

debs leaves for spain on saturday. . .i think it'll be a tame couple weeks while she's gone. but, i'm looking forward to some down time and getting back into a routine. would like to fit more reading, exercise, and exploring the city into my schedule.

trying to look at the bright side

last night i went with k-flo to a sports bar called still to watch the UCLA-Florida basketball game. her company was sponsoring free diet mt. dew drinks, $1 draft beer, and free wings. i was excited, there were nice flat screen t.v.'s and they actually turn the volume of the game and play music only during the commercial breaks. moreover, we got prime seats despite a crowded bar.

oh so quickly were my hopes dashed. florida pulled ahead of ucla by over ten points fairly early on and ucla simply couldn't catch up. florida was just outplaying ucla.

i know i should just be happy that ucla has made it as far as they had considering the bad shape they were during the lavin era. . .but i believe that howland has worked some miracles considering its only been a couple years since he's taken over. . and the same boys are playing much more consistently then they used to and are stronger overall. i imagine a championship win is in the near future. . .

hmm. . . i don't think k-flo will invite me to another office party again. . i was so entrenched in the game that i barely made small talk.

up to my ears in empanadas

k-flo and i stayed up til 12:30 last night prepping for tonight's fesitivites. she was making sangria and the cheese/fruit tray and i was making mojitos, cuban sandwiches, and empanadas.

i went to six different stores before i got all the ingredients! (thank you food emporium for the empanada wraps) i found the empanada recipe online- manchego cheese, hazelnuts, raisins, spinach, and onion. . should be good. despite not altering the recipe, there was enough filling to make 40 empanadas. to prepare for the cuban sandiwiches, i also roasted some pork in a red wine, garlic, dill, rosemary, oregano marinade. . .unfortunately i wasn't able to let it marinate overnight. . .but since the pork is just going into sandwiches i doubt it will make a noticeable difference. . my only concern is that i don't have a grill so i won't be able to press the sandwiches but will have to make do with baking the sandwiches in the oven.

as i was squeezing the nth lime for the mojitos (because the lime juice concentrate just won't do). . .i realized that k-flo might be right, i am a perfectionist. . and with this shindig, i have been a bit too ambitious with the menu. . . today after work i'll have to rush to leave early, pick up french bread (wanted it to be fresh), tin foil, more limes or some other fruit juice, seltzer water, a couple more pitchers, and flowers. . .ahhh. . the crazy thing is i actually enjoy the stress and chaos of throwing a party together.

by 9 or 9:30 everything will be ready, the food will be displayed beautifully, i'll have a glass of wine in hand decked out in my havana nights party dress the rest will be about having a good time, relaxing, and catching up with my friends.

sniffles

it started with an itchy throat last night. . . wasn't sure if it was from the cigarette i had tuesday night. . when it persisted this morning- i knew it was coming. as the morning wore on, a slight fever developed and my body began to ache.

i hate getting sick and the timing is terrible with the party i'm throwing friday and the weather just starting to warm up.

i took some tylenol cold and have been drinking plenty of fluids throughout the day. . . cancelled my evening plans with pua so i could go home and veg out. hopefully a solid nights sleep will ward off the cold.

tomorrow will be a busy day prepping for the party. have to hit a couple grocery stores, buy some flowers, go to the dry cleaners, and meet up with nels to go to MOMA.

i hate verizon

i have spent the better part of my day on the phone with verizon. i have been coordinating our office move from the 29th floor to the 5th floor. i ordered a new phone line, placed a move order for our phone lines and DSL on friday, and ordered a new line to be installed with DSL during the week to minimize internet downtime. sounds simple right?

on my day off, i get a call at 9:30 from my boss saying that something had gone wrong with the order. not something, everything. somehow, they thought the move order was for today! then they got the wrong address for the new phone line to be installed on the 5th floor so the guy was in a different district and wouldn't come to our office. then they cut off our DSL on the 29th floor and said there was no way of reversing it, even though we hadn't given them authorization to cut it off!

after five hours on the phone with everyone and their mother at verizon, i still haven't been able to get things completely back in order. in the beginning i was patient and calm but after being transferred for the n-th time, the little angry asian girl in me came out. not a pretty sight.

www.angrylittlegirls.com

weekend highlights

went back home to visit the family- help my brother with his wedding planning, meeting up with friends, playing with the tykes.

thursday-

got to leave work early to make my 6pm flight home. . flight was delayed for 2 hours so i didn't get back to my parents' house unil 11pm

friday-

call from stalker #1. the message goes something like this (you better believe i wasn't going to pick up that call!)

hey V it's stalker . . i know it's been awhile. just thought i'd give you a call and see how life is treating you. see if you want to hang out i guess. i know i might have seemed a little, um rash, the last time we hung out. but i do like you. and i am hoping that you give me a call to hang out and we can do something chill. if you want to hang out give me a call. my number is 555-555-5555. love to hear how you are doin gwell and everything. let me know. talk to you soon.

um, WTF. . a little "rash". i don't think so buddy. let's get together so you can freak out on me again or kidnap me!!

saturday-

had some one-on-one time with momma V. got to hear about how i need to settle down and get married because women age quickly and i won't be able to find anyone that would want to marry me. blah blah blah. and the only purpose of life is to be married and have kids. blah blah blah.

so i'm 26 and i should already be getting desperate to get married? because i really know so many couples that have happy marriages? and may i remind you, i just got out of a 6 year relationship in september?!!!

sunday-

ran into an old friend while getting brunch with the family. hadn't seen her in years and had been wondering what she had been up to. exchanged contact info and hopefully will meet up in nyc in april.

going with the flow

met up with Q2 for hot-pot at grand sichuan on canal and bowery. . .i must say, it was pretty tasty- perhaps not quite as good as what you can get in china- but the upside is it's the first time i've had hot pot and not had serious stomach aches afterwards. we ordered the two broth hot pot- one with chilies, anise, and whatever other spices that give sichuanese food its kick and one with a regular soup broth. we were a bit overzealous with our ordering and didn't even finish half of it- beef, squid balls, dried tofu, cabbage, golden tipped mushroom, wood fungus, winter melon, potato, etc.

right before dinner got a call from debs who was itching to go out. so we decided to meet up at happy ending for some drinks. . it was closed so we went to verlaine instead which had happy hour until 10PM. . great lychee martinis for $4! one drink turned to almost one too many after debs' cousin and friend came. sometime before 1 AM we went to a little japanese restaurant that served great late night snacks. hmm. .

debs crashed at my place and we were up and ready to get to work on time. . unfortunately, someone got sick on the L train ahead of ours so we were seriously delayed. . otherwise, i was ready to pat myself on the back for a late night and making it too work on time!

tying up loose ends

last night my plans to meet up with coolP and jus fell though, as i anticipated. . . instead, i met up with mikey and we tried to go to trader joes but the line was literally out the door just to get in. . .and it was just to cold to deal with the wait. instead we walked around whole foods to warm up and eventually ended up at starbucks and chatted for awhile. after that, went home and had a quick dinner and fell asleep reading interpreter of maladies. it's a great collection of short stories. . writing has to be particularly compelling to capture my interest with a short story and jhumpa lahiri succeeds.

woke up early and had a nice to-do list to tackle: taxes, wedding planning stuff, exercise, write letters, pick up laundry, buy some flowers, etc. .

unfortunately this morning i realized i am missing almost all of my LA W-2 forms! i guess i did not change my mailing address with all my different employers last year. what a pain.. .so i spent this morning digging through old emails to find the right contact info to ask them to re-send my forms.

what a pain!

kind of puts a wrench in my to-do list. . .think i should hold off on running for a bit. my knees were killing me this weekend and i really don't want to push it. if the weather isn't too bad, maybe i'll go for a walk instead. oh well. . i guess i better see to my other errands.

mixing things up

It’s been a lot of fun kicking back with the girls, eating out, and bar hopping. . . but have it’s been getting a little stale lately. One of the beautiful things about living in NYC is the plethora of cultural and artistic venues. So after a long day of work on Friday, Debs and I headed out to the International Center of Photography to check out an exhibit of African photographers. I had read about the exhibit and heard about it on NPR and was pretty excited to see it.

The backgrounds of the artists varied as much as the style and subject of the photographs. Some of the more striking, and perhaps my favorite pieces, were done by Andrew Dosunmu and Boubacar Toure Mandemory. But the shots of people’s homes and depictions of daily lives were captivating and reminded me of how ignorant I am of other country’s cultures and history.

After the museum closed, Debs and I met up with Q2 for dinner at Epistrophy- a small wine bar in the LES with simple but delicious foods and an interesting, primarily Italian wine selection. The place was very low-key and I felt like I could have been eating at a friend’s house. Quite nice. A new friend of Debs, Red, showed up at the restaurant. Cool guy, originally from Long Beach. Tired from work, Q2 made a hasty getaway after dinner ended. Of course, we ended back up at bobs and stopped at 46 grand for a bit. . but I was not really feeling it and made my own way home.

Saturday woke up on the late side and got up for a run. . .my knees have been bothering me this weekend, so I’ve only been running 4-5 miles. Must be the cold or perhaps I overdid it with my long run during the middle of the week. Met up with K-flo to look at some apartment stuff. Got a very nice knife set which I’m happy about and a bin to sort our recycling.

In the evening we went to go see a group called Billionares for Bush- a group that does satirical, musical acts and sketches.

http://billionairesforbush.com/index.php

Overall a good show, entertaining, and we both had some laughs. Afterwards, we met up with K-flo’s friend at my favorite local Mexican restaurant, Bean. Then we made our way to Black Betty. Hung out for a few and George and another friend of K-flo’s eventually joined us. Made friends with the DJ and chatted with Rico for a bit. A little before 2AM, I decided to call it a night. 

stalker #2

had been chatting with this guy i met through myspace for a few weeks. .. i know i know. . the whole concept seems kind of weird to me too, but i was trying to be open-minded and i have friends for which it has worked out. . and hey, i'm always happy to make new friends.

from the get go he was eager to meet up but with my busy schedule and reluctance to actually meet, it didn't really pan out. . then we made plans to meet up for lunch last weekend. that's when things started getting a little weird. he had told me about his little pantyhose fetish (btw, note to guys, do not start getting into your sexual fantasies unless you are sure that the girl you are talking to is open to that. it just struck me as odd and overly aggressive). then he started pleading with me to wear them at our first meeting. i was trying to play it cool and told him not to expect anything. . when he kept on pushing, i got annoyed and told him that i don't like being told what to wear. sensing that, he backed off and apologized profusely. so we were still set to meet on saturday. we exchanged numbers in case anything came up but still never talked on the phone.

out with my girls friday night and i realized that something was just off with the myspace guy and i didn't feel comfortable with the situation. so saturday i sent him a text to say i didn't think we should meet up. he tried calling but i didn't pick up. then he texted me several times. telling me i'd enjoy talking to him in person. asking if we could still meet up for lunch. asking if he could call me. i told him that i would call him when i was ready to talk. and basically have been ignoring him online since.

last night he sent me a message saying how messed up it was that i blew him off on saturday. i explained that i had thought about it and didn't think it would work out between us. when he kept on pushing, i said i thought it would be better if he didn't contact me again.

then he told me that i shouldn't have given him my number then and suggested i change it. and promptly logged off.

hmmm. . stalker material much? i'm kind of freaked out. . .i think that is the beginning and end of my attempts to meet cool people through myspace.

taking it easy

have spent the past couple nights recovering from my crazy night out tuesday. wednesday night i met up with j at sushi ann for dinner- can't believe it's been months since we've hung out. silly (or not silly depending on how you look at it) wants to go back to school again. . not satisfied with his JD he now wants to get an MBA. . .after dinner, promptly crashed and got a good 8 hours of sleep in.

after work yesterday, i had a nice seven mile run. i'm thinking about doing a long distance run this weekend. . maybe 10-12 miles. there's a nice little community of health nuts at the park i run at. one of the guys, a personal training, gave me kudos for running. that added a little spring to my steps. spent the rest of the evening relaxing, cooked dinner, and went to bed early.

now, i'm all rested up for a fun weekend ahead. tonight will have dinner at suba, a tapas place q2 suggested, mayble a little salsa, and bar hopping in the LES. saturday will meet up with jboy for lunch in astoria then go to the museum of moving images. in the evening, another crew is heading with me to supreme trading. they are recreating the space to be a saigon bar circa 1975. should be interesting to say the least.

a night of firsts

was hanging out with my buddy ec1 last night. met up at the mercer for a drink then walked over to woo lae oak for dinner. prices were higher than typical and portions were smaller- but that is probably a given since it's located in soho and going for the trendy vibe. with all that said, the miso soup was very good, reminded me of an ex's mom's home cooking, and the meat was incredibly good.

we met up with a co-worker and bob at la taverna for a bit. but ec1 and i wanted a more lively scene than just chill.

i had spoken with ec1 earlier about having always been curious about going to a strip club and being a healthy male, he was game. wound up at scores where we got a seat upfront. surprisingly, the place was not sketchy and with the stage set up it certainly felt more like a performance than women just getting naked and writhing around a pole. in fact there was no pole. the women were all beautiful, with varying body types, and differing degrees of dancing skills. . . the best dancer by far was victoria, a polish woman who had been living in LA previously. she had very striking looks and was very sensual and just had a great sense of rhythm. the second best was probably paula, a latina with an incredible figure and who was just hot.

my buddy bought me a lap dance from both. it was definately a surreal experience and i was somewhat uncomfortable at first. the whole concept is strange- the illusion is that these beautiful women are trying to seduce you but at the core, its simply an exchange of money for a service.

nevertheless, it was a fun experience. but expensive!!! never have i been to a place where they are so capable of draining your pockets!

by 2AM we were ready to dance. went to happy ending but the music was kinda lame. bob was closed. and blue sapphire was all techno. . .guess it wasn't meant to be. crawled into bed around 4:30 AM and man, i have never had such a hard time getting out of bed. . .ahhh, the sign of a great night!

weekend with the family

so my nephew who is all of a year old and some change is definately a "boob man". it's quite amazing and somewhat startling! large, small, tan or white, he is fascinated by breasts.

he likes to stare, touch, poke, etc. a grown man would get slapped for much less! lucky for him, he's still a baby and so darn cute that everyone adores him.

weekend with the family was wonderful- low key and pretty relaxing. one thing i did realize is that new york city is not exactly the most kid-friendly place. it was a struggle trying to get around with two kids and a big bulky stroller.

on friday, met up with sis, her hubby, and the kids for lunch at "say cheese" in hell's kitchen. a great place for kids and the best cheese sandwich and tomato soup i've ever had. our waiter was incredibly friendly and accomodating.

http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/37045373/new_york_ny/say_cheese.html

then we went to the american museum of natural history. it was wonderful for tj. the kids got to run around, touch whatever they wanted, and stare in awe of the huge dinosaur fossils. then we checked into the hotel and rested a bit. we drove back to williamsburg and grabbed dinner at the williamsburg cafe. i had only been there for brunch before but i must say they have amazing sandwiches (ribeye. . hmmm. . .).

seconds after getting back into the car, the kids were passed out. we got back to the hotel, chilled, and watched t.v. and talked for a few hours. next morning, we met up with a few friends and my parents at dim sum in c-town. dim sum go go was the place. definately nice decor and the food was okay, but i still like golden unicorn the best.

my parents were exhausted because the greyhound they took was delayed and they had to wait for four hours at the richmond station for the baltimore bound bus. so we just went back to the hotel and rested up. i think we all ended up napping. for dinner, my sister and i went to hanbat to order korean takeout for the family. we had a huge feast and it was quite good (although not as good as eating there). originally, my sister, brother-in-law, and i were supposed to go out for some drinks. . but i wanted to spend more time with my parents since they got in so late.

i ended up watching lady in the tramp, beauty & the beast christmas, and mulan with my niece until she fell asleep. then my sis and brother in law went for a walk, stopped at blockbuster, and picked up some dessert. we watched "layer cake" and started to watch SNL when we heard a loud thump followed by horrendous crying- apparently my niece fell off the bed.

poor thing. . funny tho that she had no recollection of it the next day! sunday morning we headed back to williamsburg to meet nels for breakfast and so my parents could pick up the car.

the rest of the afternoon was pretty relaxing. hung out with nels for a bit, went on a 7 mile run, and watched a couple hours of the oscars at the williamsburg cafe.

momofuku

solo dinner last night at momofuku. . was craving a heart soup of pork neck ramen- perfectly hearty and salty and satisfying. . .had to wait for a few minutes to get a table in front of the kitchen. although i could have had a sit right next to al franken who was accompanied by his wife (?) and daughter (?) and her friend. . .

after dinner, came home and after surfing the net for a bit, completely crashed. at 10:30 PM. . woke up at 8AM feeling very refreshed.

nice long run at the park this morning. the first twenty minutes was pretty warm despite the beginnings of snow flakes. . all of a sudden, the snow starting coming down harder and the temperature dropped significantly.

hmm, hope it warms up by tomorrow. it always seems that when i have company in town, the weather takes a turn for the worse. . . 

unexpected late night

rolled into work around 10:30 a.m. today. . yikes! last night was a lot of fun tho. . all my girls were in excellent form!

debs & i met up with qq at inoteca in the LES. very pleased with the place- extensive wine list and while the wines by the glass are $7+, they are pretty generous portions. we ordered some cheese, cured meat, a poletna dish with root vegetables, and chicken liver salad. the food was tasty, simply prepared, and paired well with the wine.

afterwards, we checked out belly where we had another round of drinks and met up with cantongirl. being a tuesday night and early no less, it was unsurprising that the scene was dead. the four of us headed to china one and chilled for awhile. got a private tour of the bar downstairs, kitchen area, etc. and hung out with burns for awhile. cool guy. debs totally worked blondie from texas and his friends.

bob appeared as out of nowhere and took us to his bar. cantongirl was holding court with two boys that we had met from china one. sometime after midnight, she was ready to jet so i left with her. met up with nels and a friend at teddy's. couldn't drink anymore but hung out anyways. . stayed up way too late. . . had to rush to get to work at some semblance of a reasonable hour. . left my contacts at home and can't remember if i turned the water off. . .

what a difference

feeling very good this morning.

went to bed around 11pm last night and got up at 7am and went for a run. warmed up sufficiently by the 2nd mile so i didn't notice the chill and my fingers were no longer numb. had a healthy breakfast, showered up, and was only a few minutes late to work.

it's amazing what a good nights rest and a little exercise can do for the spirits.

fat tuesday! will hang out with debs and q2 for a bit before heading home. don't want to stay out too late so i have time to plan the weekend with my family.

in celebration of mardi gras:

Meet Katrina Levy
Drunk girl #1: I have so many beads.
Drunk girl #2: Stop showing your tits!
Drunk girl #1: I can't!
--Mars 2112 ladies' room, 51st & Broadway
Overheard by: Lauren Lerner

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/004619.html

made it to gawker stalker

http://www.gawker.com/news/stalker/gawker-stalker-colin-farrells-holy-triumviratela-esquina-scores-unidentified-east-village-apartment-157196.php

long weekend

felt like a very long weekend. reluctantly went out with the girls friday night in the LES. went to china one and people. made friends with the bar owner at china one- seemed like a cool cat. unfortunately we had to leave on the early side as the bar/restaurant was raided by cops. . ok, slight exaggeration.. more like an "inspection" that ended with them telling the owner that they did not have certification for basement occupancy and made everyone clear out. it was all kind of surreal. the lights came on and the cops were posing for photos with skimpily clad women.

people didn't really strike my fancy. surprising number of asians there. the male:female was kind of overwhelming and i felt bombarded by drunk, asian american men with thick brooklyn accidents. . .like i said, surreal night. happy to leave around 2AM.

saturday consisted of cleaning and a trip to IKEA with nels and george. nels moved the last of his things out and k-flo stopped by with her pops to install a door. i was pretty exhausted, so after grabbing dinner with the boys at Panera and helping to move the cats, i went home and crashed.

spent sunday morning cleaning, organizing, & rearranging my room. too cold to go out, so i mostly chilled at home. did manage to go to tops and buy food to make dinner for the week. i cooked dinner for the new roomie and i- after trying to meet up for the past couple weeks, it was nice to finally sit down and talk.

all in all, an eventful weekend with a lot of changes. . .

a little laugh to take away your monday blues

a lil short called "yellow fever". . .

http://www.youtube.com/v/5HITeEV8y10

don't know if i agree about everything- i myself prefer less hair on men. . and the majority of my male relatives (including my brother) are asian men that have successfully landed caucasian partners. . . nevertheless. . .an amusing watch.

exploring willie-b

feeling a bit tired/hung-over from last night and obviously struggling to focus on work!

last night was lots of fun. VK and i met up at bozu for dinner.

http://www.nymetro.com/nymag/columns/barbuzz/16003/

have been meaning to try it for some time and was glad i finally had- and it met if not surpassed expectations. it's a japanese restaurant known for their small plates and "sushi bombs" (essentially like sashimi but it's a round ball of rice) and shochu. thumbs up for the decor and ambience: dim (just enough to be flattering and not so much that you can't see your food), romantic, and cozy. all the waitresses and sushi chef were japanese which were good signs.

i ordered the chef's recommended appetizer- salmon sushi topped with sea urchin. . .( sea urchin is hard to get right, it must be very fresh to be good), raw scallop dish marinated in a zesty citrus sauce, and a unagi sushi bomb. paired with some excellent sake and VK's lovely company, i was a very happy woman.

after dinner, we walked over to black betty to have a drink. some joe-shmoe tried to pick up my girl. . .he seemed harmless and wasn't overbearing. . .george and nels eventually showed up just as VK was preparing to head back home. the boys and i stayed for a round and then went to spike and divel across the way. . .interesting place. . great beer selection if you are into beer. . after i could drink no more, we headed out.

tonight am having a late dinner with Q2 at sushi seki. supposed to have phenomenal sushi. . ahh, i can never get enough of the stuff. don't know if i'll have the energy to go out afterwards. . . wouldn't mind just going home and crashing. will be a busy weekend with k-flo moving in.

celeb spotting and more

goin to break the usual routine to describe my first celeb spotting since movin to nyc.

was standing in line to return some jeans at the levi's store on broadway and spring when i noticed a beautiful, petite young woman talking with the salespeople. she looked a bit timid and shy meanwhile exuding the whole "is anyone looking at me" vibe which made me think it was a celeb. after a couple seconds of staring i realized it was winona ryder - yes- there was even eye contact! sans make up, she is even more gorgeous in person than in the movies. no diva either- the salespeople were raving about how nice and sweet she was. she's one of my favorite actresses so it was a very cool spotting.

in any case, i returned to my mission of finding a pair of skinny jeans and a pair of black jeans. the ones i had ordered online were not the right size. i loaded up on different styles and sizes to figure out what size fits best. i asked a salesperson for help and she directed me to the back of the store where the fitting rooms were. they had a huge contraption- the intellifit- that scans your body and tells you what sizes fit you at their store.

http://www.intellifit.com/Intellifit/Home.aspx

don't know if i find the results credible though. . according to the machine, i was a zero in all the different styles. my first reaction was- wow, that's nice. . . until i realized it is probably vanity sizing and i was sad that levi's has resorted to using that tactic. . i mean, gap/BR/j crew- sure. . but levi's??

finding the silver lining

tuesday morning started off well. went for a nice long run to venice beach and back. spent a little time dishing with eul before getting ready.

but then, started getting annoying texts from D asking me why i wasn't at work. . hell-o! i asked off two weeks ago!! obviously K didn't remember that and was pissed. . wanting to savour the rest of my vacation, i put it out of my mind and finished cleaning up and packing.

AH picked me up and we went to a cute cafe for brunch. as usual the conversation was stimulating. sigh- too little time to really catch up with everyone. . .

in any case, i made my flight on the nick of time and was even able to buy some magazines before boarding. the flight was fine- slept a little, read a little, etc and before i knew it i was back in NY. nels picked me up and after dropping some things off at his new digs and hanging out with his new roommate, we went to the grocery store and he cooked dinner. D had been texting me throughout the day, telling me how upset K was and his accusation that i had made it all up.

that really got me worked up and i was basically ready to quit. tired of the commute, less than great pay, lack of breaks, and K's moods. unfortunately, he beat me to it. as i was checking emails, i saw a short note from him saying he didn't think i was a good match with his business and my last check would be mailed to me. no explanation. no phone call.

it's like a break up. even though you were going to break up with the other person, it sucks to be he one that was dumped. so i've been coolin off for the past day and a half and think i am now sufficiently calm to write him an email back.

on the bright side, i've been meaning to look for a new job after valentines day at a florist closer to home. . . K's email just gave me the little push i needed to keep moving forward in my goals. so today i plan to get myself organized and tonight i'll get some downtime with my girl VK.

chill day

los balcones del peru was incredible!!! the food was amazing and the price was perfect ($15 per head including alcohol and we couldn't even finish everything). started with ceviche and calamari. main dishes included a lightly battered and fried white fish accompanied with mashed rice and beans, beef in a soy sauce/lime marinade, and a mix of seafood in a wonderful sauce.

afterwards, we went temple bar which is normally great for live music. there was a very good R&B group, the lead singer had an amazing voice. unfortunately, i had hoped for something more upbeat to help me fight tiredness (not enough sleep and too much good food). i guess the others felt the same because one by one, everyone but eul and i hung around until after 1pm. finally e picked up up and we met up with conroy and the rest of the latins at a house party. was much better vibe and music.

by 2 something i was exhausted and eul and i headed home. we chatted for awhile and fell asleep. next morning woke up late and went for a run. showered then met up with e for lunch.

drove out to san gabriel to my favorite vietnamese restaurant- my ngoc- and chowed down on delicious & cheap food. hit the spot and reminded me how much the west coast rocks in terms of asian food. after that drove back to venice and went to a cute store i'd run by a couple times "anonymous" for some retail therapy. then we went back to e's and chilled until it was time to meet up with conroy for dinner.

drove out to silverlake area and had a drink at an irish pub then headed to "the kitchen" for dinner. it was great to sit and catch up with conroy. hadn't seen him in a year since he was doing field work and when he got back to LA i had already moved to NYC. after dinner, met up with eul at saints and sinners where i got my 2nd wind and made friends with tenessee & n-fil.

woke up this morning and realized that i had left my long sleeve black shirt at the bar. . . it's getting to be a bad habit.

the pleasures of LA

landed around 11:15PM and e was there to pick me up. hadn't eaten much besides a small fruit & cheese snack box on the plane ride so e and i headed to father's office to grab a late bite. unfortunately, by the time we got there the kitchen had closed. so we headed to swingers instead where i had a yummy tuna melt and part of e's nachos.

around 2AM got back to e's place and promptly crashed. this morning, woke up to rainy skies (rain in LA!!! the one weekend VK and i visit LA and there's rain!). called eul and she picked me up. . .we sat and talked for 2 hours and the suddenly the clouds parted and it had become a beautiful, warm sunny day. i decided to go for a run and had a great run to venice beach and back aided by a sweet new playlist(thanks nels). while the run on venice blvd was less than inspiring, it was a beautiful thing to walk around the beach a little and see the ocean again.

got back and showered up quickly. called maekre and decided to go to my old digs on sawtelle. i was astounded by the changes. a couple standbys (the sushi restaurant with no name and the red neon "sushi" sign) had closed and some new places had opened. went to hide for a small bite to eat and then did a little browsing at the boutiques there.

now, about to head out to a peruvian restaurant with a big group and go out drinking/dancing after. should be a blast. . .

much needed respite

last night i was at work until close to 8pm. not that late all things considering- it was just a more stressful day than it needed to be. ended up having to cancel my plans with kflo and rescheduling for next week. stopped by the grocery store and went to move my car for street cleaning only to find a parking ticket and no good parking spots.

turns out i had parked next to a fire hydrant but didn't realize it because of the huge mounds of snow on the sidewalks. pretty f-ed up. . but guess that's life. not that i'm bitter or anything but i just have to say that there are far too many fire hydrants in williamsburg!!

got home and had a glass of malbeck trapiche and cooked a simple dinner of pasta with shrimp, sun dried tomatoes, and spinach in a garlicy wine sauce. halfway through packing i took a break to watch the diversity episode of the office (love love that show!) with nels. then resumed packing.

left early to get to work to finish thing up before my trip to hel-lay!! i couldn't sleep that much because of the anticipation. . should be fabulous!

valentines day- a success

in total we had over 140 valentines day orders. it was pure madness- the three of us were running around like chickens with our heads cut off. . and as soon as you start getting into a groove with making arrangements, it's time to answer the phone or help a customer. . can i tell you, there is nothing more frustrating than last minute orders, customers that expect you to drop everything and have their order done within - oh let's say, 5 minutes (and had they had some foresight maybe they could have ordered it a couple days ago, hello!), the drivers getting an attitude with you, and people getting mad that their deliveries weren't made by a certain time even though we do not guarantee delivery times.

but somehow we managed to make it through and i was out the door by 7:15pm. not too shabby. best of all- i was able to do some cool arrangements- respite from the standard dozen red roses in a vase.

by the time we were done, i was just ready to go home and have a few drinks. . instead, i was pleasantly surprised to come back to a nice home cooked meal followed by a good laugh from "wedding crashers" (thank you netflix). all in all, a very nice valentines day! 

valentines day

left for work extra early in case of bad traffic conditions. got to long island around 8:45 a.m. and didn't leave until 10:15p.m. no time for breaks. that's over 13 hours of standing on my feet making flower arrangements, running back and forth to take orders, etc.

most of the orders were generic- dozen red roses in a vase. i lost track of how many i put together. at some point, i went into auto-pilot and was just churning them out. . .but all i can say is if i don't see another red rose for another year, i will be a happy woman!

i feel that long stemmed roses are overrated. . .there are so many more beautiful and exotic flowers. . .

in any case, the most annoying things about working at a florist on valentine's day:

- men that place orders the day of valentine's day

-tacky/boring generic arrangements or overly specific ones (give the floral designer some freedom to work and we will surprise you with a unique arrangement)

-cheesy messages

-walk-in customers that expect you to finish an arrangement in 10 minutes

-customers that are suprised when the cost of roses have doubled (don't blame us, demand is high and supply is limited- wholesale prices have doubled)

ok. enough ranting. i need my rest for valentine's day.

going out in a blizzard

ladies night out was fun. pinxtos for hands down best tapas where the three of us split two bottles of wine. stopped at sapphire lounge but it was still empty so we went to b.o.b. - still my favorite dance spot. all the girls had a good time. didn't hurt that we got two rounds of drinks on the house.

sat went to work. working hung over is no fun. in any case, with the blizzard and being tired, i wasn't so pumped about going out again. but having already committed to going to see project jenny project jane - i went out anyway. had a surprisingly delicious dinner at the diner with the roommie. tiny place- cozy is a good word to describe it. simple menu but they had a number of specials. we shared an appetizer of crostini topped with olives, garlic, and onions. i had the flank steak with creamy mashed potatoes and the roommie had incredibly tender short ribs.

it was hard to leave the diner and head back into the cold. . but we somehow managed. we arrived at sin-e just in time to catch the show. unfortunately, the crowd was not super receptive and there were some technical difficulties. . .overall, not their best showing, but still fun. afterwards, we met up with ka-ting2 at the lotus for some drinks. by 1:30 i was ready to call it a night. . . fate would not have it.

the roommie and i tried to hail a cab, then catching the train, then hailing a cab, and finally gave up and just started walking to the essex JMZ station. . as luck would have it, we just missed the train to brooklyn and had to wait a good 20 minutes before the next one came. . didn't get home until 3:30, was thoroughly wet, tired, and plum worn out.

needless to say, i will not be going out in a blizzard again any time soon!

headn out

ka-ting2 is in town for the weekend!! going to pintxos and out dancing with the girls. . . i love ladies night out!

am going to bust my butt to get home, change, and meet up with the gals by 8pm.

i am not looking forward to the impending snow storm, will make commuting to my florist job a b**ch. will make visiting my west coast peeps even more delightful!

in any case, i am in good spirits having finally found a new roommate. seems like a great gal.

overall- things are looking on the up and up.

a heavy morning

Working at the florist this morning when I heard some very sad news that weighed me down. An ex from back in the day emailed me- his brother, only 30 years old, had died. It just puts things in perspective- how life can be so short. I feel sad for him, his family, for a life ended much too early. And I feel helpless that I cannot ease his pain and grief. So this is just a reminder, to myself, and to us all, to cherish those that we love and to express that often. 

a good day of arranging flowers

Some days I feel like I haven't made any progress in learning to arrange flowers. Today was a slow day- the calm before the storm of Valentine's day!! It took me forever to choose a container and which flowers I wanted to use. . .didn't help that we have not been keeping as fully stocked in efforts to make room for roses and other cheesy V-day arrangements.
In any case, once I got started with the moss, all the other pieces feel into place. I was actually satisfied with the arrangements I made. . .it's a good feeling. 

for the love of dim sum

had made plans to meet up with friends for dim sum this morning and go watch part of the new years parade in chinatown. the roommie and i decided on to drive my car- i needed to move my car, get gas, and we decided to pick up "the wang". on a whim we decided to take the manhattan bridge into chinatown.

big mistake. BIG.

the bridge was seriously backed up and chinatown was a zoo of people and cars. matters weren't helped by the blocked off roads, chinese people doin the chinese thing and walking out randomly on the street, and having to wait for the parade to go by. it took us an hour and a half to get to the restaurant. by 1:45PM the roommie told the wang and i to go ahead to the restaurant and he would park the car and meet up with us later.

btw we got to the restaurant, everyone else was already seated and eating. although it was a serious pain getting there- the food was incredible (i don't think most people realize that dim sum is great hangover food) and we did get to see the parade.

looking for a roommie

i've been looking for a new roommate for the past month. after my openhouse in january, i thought i would be done. . alas, it didn't work out with the two women that i liked.

seeing as i live in a RR style apartment, it is important to find someone i'm really comfortable and compatible with. . . i've restricted my search to women given that things got a little too comfortable and compatible with my current/last roommie. . .in any case, despite posting an ad for a female roommate i got an email from a male model in his mid-20s. . .kinda fun to imagine the possibilities. . .ha ha.

guess i'll have to keep on keepin on.

TGIF kids!

character building

ended up going to the wholesaler with my boss today. car rides with him kind of remind me of childhood car rides with my mom where she would use the time -where we had nothing to do but listen to her talk- to lecture us and teach us life lessons.

today's lesson from K was that young women need to build character and find ways to offer something besides their youth and attractiveness. for this reason, he had been encouraging D to do volunteer work in some remote area in asia. we talked about how easy it is for women to get sidetracked from their own personal growth, career path, etc by relationships.

i don't really know if i agree entirely with K. . but there is some truth somewhere in it. i think it is common for young women to romantacize marriage and hope that it will fulfill them in some way. i think that's why couples that marry too young generally have unsuccessful marriages. these individuals have not focused on making themselves a better person and finding what makes them happy. i guess K's point was that we should all try to become a "worthy" mate that can contribute something meaningful to a relationship.

anyways, somehow all this talk reminded me of my dreams of going to vietnam- teaching english or doing some work and living there for a year. . . i've been pushing it away in my mind- but the idea keeps on resurfacing. . . and i never want to look back at my life and regret not having done something. . .so we'll see- keep your fingers crossed for me- and we'll see if i can make it happen.

when a bad date just gets worse

went out with D on saturday night in brooklyn. met this guy on sat night- let's just call him numero 5. vietnamese american with a bit of an edge. thought he was interesting and seemed nice. exchanged numbers and talked about getting together for dim sum for chinese new years.

next day i just felt like vegging. . .blame it on going out two nights in a row, being hung over, getting too little sleep, and the winter weather. all i wanted to do was stay under my warm covers, knit, look at the internet, and watch dvd's. numero 5 called in the PM hoping to grab dinner but i wasn't up to it and suggested later in the week. i suppose it should have been a warning sign that he was calling the next day and wanted to hang out so soon after meeting. i mean on one hand it's nice to know that a guy is interested, but somehow it just sort of reeked of desperation. in any case, i was trying to keep an open mind and figured one date couldn't hurt, right?

so we meet up after work on monday in the LES. the bar he recommended was closed so we walked to st. marks and ended up at a thai restaurant i've been meanin to try. date started of nice and normal. talked about our families, life experiences, religion, etc. . .but things definately moved into the weird zone once we went to a nearby sake bar for an after dinner drink. numero 5 went from being laid back and cool to super intense and borderline psycho. after i turned down his suggestion to go to his place (or mine), he started drilling me on whether i was dating someone else, why i wouldn't go home with him, and going on an on about how great he thought i was and how he didn't want to spend anytime apart from me. oh yes, and let's throw in major bouts of jealousy and guilt tripping. for a guy that claims to be happy being alone, he was sure hankering for something serious!

by now, there were major warning bells ringing and i was trying to figure out how to gracefully extricate myself from this awkward predicament. eventually i made it home (ALONE- thank heaven) with the understanding that we wouldn't be seeing one another again. since monday i've gotten three calls and one text from numero five. . .and i just can't seem to understand how any sane person would act that way on a first date!!! i mean, would anyone think this type of behavior is attractive?? ugh.

so- lessons learned:

1. if a guy calls you the day after you first met- just might be a sign of needy/possessive/stalker qualities

2. there are A LOT of freaks out there, especially in new york, so be careful of who you give your number out to

3. go for more neutral ground on a first date and have a backup plan

Year of the Dog

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

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

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

how risk averse am i?

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

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

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

evening run

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

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

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

going out in willie-b

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

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

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

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

weekend outings

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

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

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

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

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

pondering "brokeback mountain"

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

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

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

any thoughts?

stressful departure

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

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

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

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

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

going going gone

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. big sis's wedding

2. mango princess's wedding

3. my girlfriend's wedding next year

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

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

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

dim sum

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

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

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

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

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

unexpected evening in

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

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

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

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

one of those mornings

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

sigh.

celebrating with ceviche and sangria

have been meaning to try lima's ceviche bar

http://www.limastaste.com/

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

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

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

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

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

the bachelor is back- and perhaps ladies night too?

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

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

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

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

"she's so beautiful"

"she/he is so awesome"

etc etc.

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

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

Happy New Year!!!

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

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

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

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

some new year's resolutions

on my drive yesterday, i had time to reflect on the past year and all the changes in my life and what may come in the year ahead. in an effort towards self improvement, i came up with a list of goals for myself for 2006. here it goes:

1. learn (begin to, at least) a new language

2. learn how to salsa

3. learn how to swim properly

4. run another marathon

5. travel to someplace new (S. America, Spain, Vietnam?)

some new year's resolutions

on my drive yesterday, i had time to reflect on the past year and all the changes in my life and what may come in the year ahead. in an effort towards self improvement, i came up with a list of goals for myself for 2006. here it goes:

1. learn (begin to, at least) a new language

2. learn how to salsa

3. learn how to swim properly

4. run another marathon

5. travel to someplace new (S. America, Spain, Vietnam?)

home sweet home

it's been a long day and i'm about ready to crash. stayed up last last night chatting with the brother-in-law and sis. didn't go to bed until around 2 am and woke up around 7 am.

i hit the road a little after 9am and met cassanova at a cool art museum on the harbor in baltimore around 1 pm. after a nice lunch, but not nearly enough time to catch up, i was back on the road. stopped in newtown to pick up the roommie and rest up for a bit. had a nice home cooked chinese dinner and it was back on the road again. there was a major bottleneck between jersey and n.y. and we spent what felt like eternity waiting to get through the holland tunnel. actually just to get up to it.




we got to new york before 10 pm and i just finished putting everything away. it's funny how i had four days off of work but feel more exhausted than before i left! sorry for the unexciting
post, i'm simply too tired to come up with something more witty. at least i included cool pictures- V-POWER!!!

traveling during the holidays

sat night i was up until 4 a.m. finishing the scarf i was knitting for my mom and packing my things. my flight was at 8 a.m. at laguardia and i called a car service to pick me up at 6. i decided to take a "nap" for an hour and get up around 5 and finish getting ready. of course i passed out and woke up to hear my phone vibrating on the floor. somehow i managed to turn off or not hear my alarm.

i got dressed and ready in 15 mintues and was out of the apartment by 6:05. i got to laguardia in about 15-20 minutes and was able to check in fairly quickly. just as i was starting to relax and feel i had plenty of time to buy some magazines and a i heart NY shirt for my niece, i saw the line to go through security to get to the gates. it snaked all around the entrance waiting area and outside.

luckily i had over an hour before my flight and got through with twenty minutes to spare. a little after 8, i boarded the plane only to end up sitting on the runway for two hours. the time passed by quickly as i slept straight through the waiting period and the flight.

the rest of the evening was typical for any holiday. lazying around, eating too much, and watching t.v. ahhh, bliss. . .

Merry Christmas!

in the middle of last minute packing. mariah carey's "all i want for christmas is you" playing the background.

i'm exhausted but the idea of seeing my precious nephew and niece, the rest of the clan, and a couple old friends is keeping me going. need to finish my mom's christmas present, wrap it, put together a little presentation, and maybe get a few hours of sleep. . i'm going to be plum worn out tomorrow.

last night Q2 and i took jpan out to dinner at the spice market and out dancing at b.o.b. afterwards. it's been a long time since i've enjoyed a girls night out but we had much to celebrate- namely, jpan's engagement. dinner was delicious (although i'm not sure if it lives up to the hype). we shared spicy chicken samosas (yum), a crab noodle salad (so-so), very spicey (read: lots of kim chi) striped sea bass, the most tender spareribs, coconut sticky rice and a very good pinot noir. the restaurant's decor was amazing, very south-east asian.

b.o.b. was great as usual. fabulous music and low-key. it wasn't too busy so we were able to sit and to dance without fighting for elbow room. we all got hit on. . i guess that's what happens when girls go out by themselves. Q2 by a vegan personal trainer. me by an electrician that lives in brooklyn and is from st.croix. jpan by his cousin. . . luckily they weren't pushy, just friendly and making conversation.

the girls crashed at my place and we didn't go to sleep until around 2am. then i woke up around 6:30 to go to work since i had to take public transport (the roomie took the car back to philly). worked from 9:30-2:30. got home and took a short nap and got cleaned up and met R & Q2 for a hearty korean dinner at hanbat. excellent pajun despite having a different consistency/texture than what i'm used to.

anyways, i hope everyone is spending the holidays with loved ones and getting some much needed R&R!

the kindness of strangers

this morning i was prepared to walk in the bitter cold, over the williamsburg bridge, and attempt to grab a cab once i got to manhattan in order to come into work. i bundled up in layers of clothes and with ipod and new camera in hand, i was out the door.

as i was walking along bedford ave, a woman in a SUV called out to me:

Woman 1: Are you going to Manhattan?

V: Yes

Woman 1: Do you want a ride?

V: Yes!! Thanks so much.

There were two other women in the backseat so I got into the passenger's seat in the front. They all introduced themselves. At first I thought they all knew one another, but after a few minutes of comfortable but superficial conversation I realized we were all strangers. We made small talk about the strike, when it would end, what we all did yesterday in terms of work, etc.
The driver was going to the upper east side, Park and the 50's. The other girls were dropped off on the other side of the Williamsburg bridge and around E 14th & 1st Ave. I was the last drop off and got off at 33rd and walked a few blocks over to Park. So, what I expected to be an hour and a half commute turned into a 45 minute commute.

I was lucky. Another girl that works in the office who lives in Long Island said that it took her over three hours to get home. She was waiting outside Penn Station for an hour and a half just fighting the crowds to get to the LIRR. Guess it's the whole survival instinct surfacing.

Now, I just need to figure out how I'm going to get home. . .

Strike Halts New York Subways and Buses

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/20/nyregion/nyregionspecial3/20cnd-strike.html?hp&ex=1135141200&en=76117d48a59c9e0c&ei=5094&partner=homepage

i guess it's strategic on behalf of the union to strike one week before christmas when everyone would be doing their last minute holiday shopping.

personally i'm not pro- or anti-union but in this case (not because i'm feeling incovenienced) i feel that the union's demands are quite unreasonable. essentially it seems as they want a cut of the momentary surplus that the MTA finds itself with. what they are asking are for permanent increases in wages and improvements in their health care. commonsense will tell you that this will leave the MTA in serious future debt as this year's surplus is transient and is most likely not recurring.

ironically, i think everyone will lose out with the strike. the loss of tax revenue, cost of increased police patrol, loss revenue to businesses, etc will surely outweigh the MTA's surplus. happy holidays, huh?

a little bit of justice

the guy that stole money from D's parents was arrested. the kid was 20 something years old and within a very short amount of time spent 10 G. turns out he had overheard the parents talking about the money that was in the moving truck. luckily or unluckily for the family, by starting the fire to cover his tracks, the kid left enough evidence to lead to his arrest.

the insurance company will cover up to 100G in damages. sadly, there's no way of recovering what was lost- D's mom's wedding dress, photo albums, etc.

chance meeting

saturday night i found myself waiting for the 1 bronx bound train to go to riverdale. yes, the bronx. over an hour commute from my place. however, it was my turn to visit my middle school friend MF since he's come to williamsburg or met up with me halfway every time we've hung out. plus, he was cooking dinner for me.

i came prepared for the long commute and had my ipod blaring and knitting needles and yarn. before i could knit my first stich, i hear a deep voice yell/ask "V"? i looked up and saw a familiar, slightly aged face that i haven't seen in 6-7 years.

"W?"- i respond. we hugged and spent the trainride catching up on gossip and our lives. we had met in beijing when i was studying abroad there. he had dated a friend of mind and i had dated someone from his school. half british/half american- he ended up back in new york where his mom's side of the family lived. since beijing, he had completed a masters in england and worked at columbia for a while and is now looking for work and planning on pursuing a law degree in the states. he had just moved to riverdale and is living with his girlfriend. i gave him a very shortened version of my saga. it would be nice to expand my social circle and make new friends so i hope we do actually hang out in the future and it's not just one of those polite these you say to someone that you haven't seen in a long time.

these chance meetings with old friends/acquaintances always reminds me how small the world really is. . .

starting new friendships as a single woman

it's always tricky starting new friendships with guys, especially when you are currently unattached. . . maybe it's the prudish side of me or something. my parents' reminder for me to act dang wang or proper. this is especially true in front of people of the opposite sex. this means- no flirting, talking or laughing too loudly, touching inappropriately, and heaven forbid- drinking more than one alcoholic drink in public!

perhaps this is why i've always been a bit cautious with how i act with guy friends. at least in the beginning of a friendship and particularly if i suspect that a guy might be interested in more than friendship (and i'm not feeling the same way). so while i'm generally an affectionate person, i always try to maintain distance and minimize physical contact until i'm sure the friendship is solid.

you might think this is silly. . .but i've learned from experience. in college i made the mistake of being friendly to a guy that i thought was just a friend. then it got messy because he was interested in more and i wasn't.

so i found myself in one of these beginning stages of a new friendship with a guy and in an awkward moment. we decided to meet up for drinks. as usual, the conversation was nice and i found myself having a good time. we closed the place down and as we said goodbye, there was a slight awkward pause where had it been a date, you would hug or kiss. luckily there was enough distance between us that it would have been too obvious had he made a move.

in retrospect- i wonder if i'm being slightly paranoid/neurotic. i've been in one serious relationship after another for the past 10 years and now as a young, single woman i am finding myself in a lot of new situations. i'm comin to the realization that i am woefully inexperienced with handling weird "dating" situations, flirtatious encounters, and relationships with men. i have a feeling it's going to be an interesting 2006. . .

tragedy

looks like i didn't get my day of R&R like i had hoped yesterday. under the circumstances, i hardly have reason to complain. around 11am my long island boss called to ask if i could work in the afternoon. D had taken the morning off thursday so she could help her parents move (they were moving from long island to new jersey). somehow, the moving van which contained all their possessions was burned in a fire.

it's all pretty shady. somehow the movers had packed one of the drawers up that had around 20G in it. D's mom realized it too late and mentioned this in front of the driver. coincidentally, that same drawer was not damaged in the fire and the money was missing.

of course, D couldn't work because there were fire marshals and police there investigating the scene. looks like i may be helping her sift through all the rubble and see what may be salvageable this weekend. i think her parents are in shell shock. i would be too, to lose everything. i can't imagine, things that you've had for years and with so many memories. my prayers really go out to her family at this time.

the little differences

living in LA in no way prepared me for life in new york. while LA certainly qualifies as a big city, is is much more like a huge suburb than anything else. you drive everywhere- to the grocery store, to the bank, to the post office, to one end of the parking lot to the other (just kidding, sort of). because space is not at such a premium, and especially as a grad student, you stock up on things out of convenience. target & costco were king and at any given time i would have X number of paper towels, Y boxes of ziplock bags, and Z rolls of TP.

so i've adapted. (my roommate looked at me like i was crazy when i loaded up the cart with various paper products when we went to target for the first time) i only get items i need for that night or week from the grocery store, i no longer stock up on toiletries, and my fridge actually gets empty.

now with the winter settling in, running errands is unpleasant. luckily, everything in new york- and the US in general- has been evolving to deal with that. you can get groceries or any type of take out delivered to you at any time of day. there are laundromats that you can drop off and pick up your laundry. (my friend's cleaner in the bronx actually picks up his laundry and returns it to his address) it's quite amazing. . so today while i'm recovering from my cold, i will stay inside. watch "city of god" which i got in the mail via Netflix (love them!), do my christmas shopping online, and catch up on various projects i have going on the side.

psycho-analysis at work

my boss is a character. usually he listens as D and i chat away about boys, life, etc. occasionally, he likes to say outrageous things and waits for our response.

example 1. v will be a mean step mother.

example 2. d will become a bitter woman and be an even meaner step mother than v.

of course these statements require a lot of assumptions. namely that i will get married, have children, and my children will be married. there are generally no explanations for his predictions, just a laugh and twinkle in his eye.

tuesday morning when we were all busy with various tasks: cleaning flowers, arranging flowers, and putting together fruit baskets, the boss actually made quite an insightful statement. my co-worker D is a wonderful girl. laid back, out-going, cute, and generous. despite her many wonderful qualities, she always ends up with guys that are jerks or don't treat her well.

for instance, D had gone out this past weekend with some guys, one of which was married. although she made it clear to him that they were only friends, the guy ended up getting angry that she wasn't giving him enough attention and winded up leaving her at some random bar in manattan during the wee hours of the morning. clearly, a d**k move.

the boss's observation was that D somehow gave men the impression that she is a casual, fun girl and that's why they don't take her seriously or treat her better. that leads me to the question, what makes one girl seem like a serious girl and another like a fun girl? is this the equivalent to guys being "just friends" material or "more than friends" material? another interesting comment raised by the boss is that women are silly by making such a clear distinction between friendship and boy/girlfriend relationships. he says that for men, those relationships are not two distinct points but lie on a continuum. hmm, still mulling over it. . .

one of those days

ended up going out last night afterall. anthropology christmas party with the roomie. was fun & mellow. only bump in the evening was trying to find the place! it was in the stuversant apartments.

this morning got a late start. had brunch with the roomie at the williamsburg cafe. i've been meaning to try the place as it has good reviews on citysearch. was pleased with the brunch (esp the free bloody mary's!). i ordered cheese grits with chicken sausage, bacon, and hashbrowns. the hashbrowns were very fine but quite tasty. the bacon was perfectly cooked, packing a good crunch without being burnt! and how can cheese grits ever be bad? it was so rich i was only able to eat half, if that much!

then i was off to get my haircut in manhattan. a great place called the little hair shoppe. unfortunately it was a slightly rushed job. the earlier appointment ran over and i was supposed to meet Q2 at 4pm to see memoirs of a geisha. . only after rushing out of the salon at quarter til, i got the text from Q2 saying the 4pm showing was sold out and she got tix for the 6:40pm showing instead. . . i didn't really feel like staying out too late so i decided to go see the movie another night.

on my way to the subway, i decided to go to chinatown to do some grocery store shopping. got some baby bok choy, ginger, garlic, green onions, & asian pears. i walked into a vietnamese grocery store hoping to stock up on some frozen dumplings and canned goods but found out they only take cash and i was down to about $5. so instead i picked up a packet of chinese sausage and dried pork and headed home.

unfortunaetly, i wasn't paying attention and missed my stop a couple times. by the time i was home, i was cold, my feet hurt (breaking in my new boots), and my nose was running like crazy. . not a pretty sight. i spent the rest of the night cleaning up the apartment and knitting.

this next week promises to be busy. a close girl friend is visiting her family in long island so we're doing the sleepover thing tomorrow, wed dinner in UES, thur dinner in Willie-B or LES, sat dinner in UWS, and sunday hopefully will be dim sum. . lots of good eating. can't wait til i get over this cold, will (hopefully) start running again no matter how early i have to get up to do it or how cold it is.

recent work

a few arrangements i've worked on the past couple weeks.




recent work

view outside

brrr. it's cold out. coming down with something. thing i'll stay in tonight. again.


view outside

girls night out

went to chibitini in the LES with VK last night. we made sure to get there for the happy hour- 2 for 1 cocktails. it is a tiny place, very quaint and there is a little, friendly pug-nosed dog that runs around. the entire night (we were the first and last customers to leave), there were only three parties! don't know how the place manages to stay open.

we ordered a bunch of appetizers and dumplings and had a couple cocktails each. the chibitini is suprisingly, deceptively strong. (read: i fell asleep with my light on last night and am not feeling so hot this morning) overall, the restaurant was fun and the food was good. my complaint is that we were overcharged for drinks.

towards the end of our meal- one of the other customers started talking to us. i guess he just moved to rivington from canal street. friendly guy. seems well traveled. just grabbing a quick meal before his blind date set up by a friend. the whole dating thing seems strange. especially in new york where you would expect it would be easy to meet people but it's just like any other city where everyone is doing there own thing and stuck in a the same old social circles.

there are so many events that are catered to people just trying to connect with another person. speed dating, wine tasting for singles, online dating, match.com, etc etc. it just seems a bit too coerced. then again, i've been lucky and have been able to meet people in school/academic settings which is a bit easier. . you already have a lot of information about the other person and there are more opportunities to hang out. i guess this is what all my formerly single girlfriends were complaining about post-college!

new temp job

last week i started working at a start-up PR firm. it's been pretty interesting although i've been mostly doing administrative stuff. there are only 3 full-time employees at the ny branch, the president of the company, the director, and a senior account exec. there is also a california and two china branches. half of the company's clients are chinese firms and the rest are american firms.

the president started the company after her previous firm got bought out. although the company is less than a year old, it seems quite promising. they have some big name clients and seem to be growing quite a bit. right now they are subleasing space in a recruiting office which makes for an interesting set-up. i share an office with the president. . which has its perks (window view, big office) and downsides (i share an office with the president and can't really take a break). thank goodness they will be moving offices in march!

there is potential for a permanent position and expanding more into managing accounts. i'm not sure if that's the path i want to go. but luckily the president is fine with giving me time to decide what i want to do and also with seeing how the company grows and their needs change.

there was a period in college when i was interested in PR jobs so it's great being able to try it out and see if i actually like it.

work is wearing me out

my posts have gotten less and less frequent. . . will make amends to be better about updating.

working 2 part-time jobs is wearing me out. . don't know how my friend/co-worker at the flower shop manages to work every day of the week!!! by the time i get home, all i have energy to do is eat and curl into bed!!

that's exactly what i did monday night. i had woken up early to move the car before street cleaning and drive to long island for work. i got up around 6:30 a.m. at work i was clumsier than usual, probably lack of coffee didn't help. i really need to get a travel mug so i can get my two doses of caffeine in! in any case, i went to bed at 10 pm. i can't remember the last time i've been to bed so early.

tuesday i was worried about the snow. so i left for work very early. too early it seems. . the snow that promised to be 6 inches and leave the roads slippery and treacherous was more like a light dusting. . in any case, i got to work an hour and a half early and used the time to make phone calls and knit.

last night i spent a good part of the evening putting up framed pictures that i got from IKEA (the frames not the pics). my room is almost complete. . i'll take photos soon and post. the roomie's room is looking much homier now too.

ok, it's 9am i should start working. post more later.

Cooking Club

Ever since moving to New York, I had planned on starting a cooking club. After feeling a bit more settled, I decided to make a go of it and sent an email out to all my old friends and a handful of new ones that live in the New York vicinity.

The premise of the club sounded simple. Ideally, a group of 8-10 of us would meet once a month. A different host would be selected for every month and the cooking club would meet at that host’s apartment. The host is responsible for coming up with a theme, find recipes, and setting up and cleaning up after the event. Everyone else cooks and buys ingredients.

Responses trickled in slowly, but a few days before the first meeting, it seemed as though there would be a good group of 8-9 people. As host of the first cooking club meeting, I decided to go for a Latin American theme- Peruvian ceviche, Argentinian empanadas, Leche Asada, and mojitos.

As the day wore on, and battling exhaustion (my fault, I stayed out drinking with friends til 2:30 a.m.) and frustration at work, my excitement about the cooking club began to wear thin. Also, four people backed out at the last minute and there were two unexpected (but welcome) arrivals, and two unexpected (not so welcome) guests came. Of course I was panicking because there would be less food. On my way home I stopped to buy ingredients for mojitos and picked up some Mexican pastries, chips, and salsa.

Of course in the end it worked out. Somehow there was just enough food for everyone to eat. The empanadas were delicious and I plan to try some variations on it with different fillings. Everyone seemed to have a good time, but it felt much more like any other party rather than a cooking club. Guess I’ll have to re-think the design, maybe fewer people and closer friends?