Monday, December 31

this christmas...will be...a very special christmas...















since it's NYE, what everyone wants to know is: "what are you doing tonight?" and just the whole process of it, along w/this holiday itself, is making me feel tired. and it hasn't even started yet. so instead of focusing on that, i'm gonna think of mellower times: christmas w/the fam in jersey.

had such an adorable and relaxing time home w/the fam over the holidays. since i barely hung out w/anyone in order to recharge my batteries i just goofed off and was extremely immature w/my younger cousins and little sister. got some good presents that i can actually use and would wear this year, always a plus.

even tho this whole time home was for recharging my batteries, i did manage to see Bear and Whoa. Bear and i did the whole super jersey experience by going to Chili's for dinner and then heading over to Cleveland's for drinks after. Cleveland's is like going to a mini high school reunion for me b/c all the kids who ended up never leaving my hometown end up there for the night. Bear and i got there at a little after 10 pm and the place seemed mellow, like a local bar. as soon as we sat down i ended up seeing a boy i had a crush on from high school. we did our nods of acknowledgement and moved on. then i noticed the table he was sitting w/were all from my high school. this sparked a lengthy convo w/Bear about what we would've been like if we had stayed in our hometowns: would we be going to Cleveland's every night? would we take a date here? would we come here if we were single and were looking to hook up? it was an endless convo of "what-ifs" and i'm not sure i'm too curious to find out the answers.
around 11 pm the place really started to fill up and then it was a flood of ppl i went to high school w/. and that was our cue to leave. it's not that i don't like those ppl. they're nice enough. the issue is that i don't have anything to say to them nor do i really care what's happened to them. i only care in a gossipy-did-they-get-fat-where-are-they-now way. so why bother?
right before i left i met w/Whoa at this cofffee shop which i never knew of but am going to be a regular at from now on called Fine Grind. it's adorable and the menu is ginormous. love it. i opted for a Diana's Decadence (vanilla hazelnut latter w/whipped cream topped w/a nilla wafer and peanuts) while Whoa got a Mint FroHo (frozen hot chocolate w/mint). we haven't had much time to chat w/her starting her 1st year of med school so we spent a lot of time catching up on what's been going on. even w/the trials and tribulations of med school Whoa still managed to get a boyfriend who sounds very promising right now. lucky biatch. so happy for her tho b/c she deserves to be w/someone good. she's too much of a hottie and way too smart to be single.
of course a trip to jersey wouldn't be complete w/o gorging myself at Minado so the family had a mini-reunion for the holidays at Minado my last night there. so much seafood. so gluttonous.

Wednesday, December 26

an Oppa pseudo-date

did i ever mention this crowning achievement? yep, i once had the fortune of having an Oppa pseudo-date.

let me just clarify this term "pseudo-date" tho i'm sure it's not hard to decipher. it's just the word i like to use to define hanging out w/a boy who you feel really comfortable w/ but it's just the 2 of you and you do stuff that might be considered a date if it wasn't for the fact that there is no chance of anything romantic or intimate happening beyond a platonic level. however, b/c i truly enjoy it and hope that all my real dates are so comfortable and fun i like to call them "pseudo-dates": essentially they're models for the future. wishful thinking.

so i've had pseudo-dates w/Prez and a lifetime full of them w/O-Henry and now i can confidently say that i've had 1 w/Oppa as well. this was back when i was still recovering from the plague but had spent so much time indoors at that point that i needed to get out on a friday night but didn't have the stamina for a real night out. Oppa happened to call and was in the same mood as me and was coming into the city w/some friends. at 1st we were supposed to meet at some place whose name i can't remember but as soon as i found out it was a ultra-trendy club i passed. Oppa wasn't feeling it either so he dropped his friends at the club and we met up at Blue Owl as recommended by Debs as a low-key lounge. i actually really like this place although it was a little more crowded than i'd hoped (but not obnoxiously so) and i guess that's a sign of a good place. it was fun to chat w/Oppa about everything and nothing. mostly i lament about how un-dateable i am and Oppa tells me why (do i talk too much? or is that a rhetorical question when asked on a personal blog?).

afterwards we went to Players for a few more drinks before Oppa would have to pick up his friends from the club and drive back to jersey. while there we randomly ran into Joebo and some of Oppa's other friends. ktown really is so small at 1 or 2 am. right as we were leaving Goldilocks and Yuka met me b/c Joebo had been clamoring for food. we finally sat down at Kunjip and then Joebo all of a sudden jumped up and said he had to go. it was so weird although i was advised by Oppa that he was obviously drunk. and you know why it obvious? b/c before Joebo left he gave me a hug and said "i love you". that's why it's supposed to be obvious (translated: he would never say that if he was sober. thanks, thanks a lot). regardless the girls all ended up staying and we ate some much needed food before heading back to brooklyn.

Monday, December 24

me i want a hula hoop

i'm back home in jersey (for some reason i keep wanting to say "dirty jerz"...someone must've been teasing me about it recently b/c i NEVER want to say that) for x'mas w/the fam.

you know, for all my bitching, i actually enjoy being home w/the fam. aside from the fam perks, being home's just relaxing. since there's really nothing to do, it just ends up being no pressure and completely thought-free. it's like a sabbatical from real life. plus, i usually get to see some old friends that i haven't seen in forever.

even tho i couldn't see O while he was home-it happened to be during exams and then he left on the 16th but we did have a deep deep conversation about why he hasn't settled down and how i'm so motherly about it-i did see O-Henry and that was much needed. we met up for dinner at Panevino, an italian place in livingston that i've only been to once. it's so typical nj how we ended up here. we were deciding where to meet up for dinner and both of us were pretty much "bleh" in deciding and then i ran down the usual list w/him: chili's, TGIF's, applebee's, outback, etc. and he was very decisively "no" about those options and then i could only suggest a smattering of asian restaurants before i pulled Panevino out of my butt. it's so atypical tho: when we were in high school the only places we ate at were those chain restaurants b/c we could afford them and they were located relatively equidistant from all of us. then we went to college and would come home for break and pick those same places for the same reasons or else go into the city. now we're adults and b/c we never travelled outside of those comfort zones before and are only home for short periods we have no other options. it's so weird. especially now that i live in NY where the options are pretty much endless and travel's so easy.

o and p.s.-how weird is it that i googled the restaurant to see if it had an official website to link to and found a blogger who had done a whole review of it and a picture that i could post? i just didn't expect it...

i got home on friday night, aftter spending the whole day completely hungover from the after-finals party at Galway Hooker (post complete w/pictures to come shortly-i promise). the next day i immediately set out to do all my x'mas shopping b/c i hate procrastinating on this stuff and i truly dislike the mall (although as a teen i loved it-i am getting SO old). so the whole family trudged off to Willowbrook Mall where i'm proud to say i did all my shopping w/in 4 hours. impressive no? fine, well i think it is.

aside from that just been doing the quality time w/the fam and sleeping a lot. altho i did go see Alvin and the Chipmunks today. i always watch childish movies w/my sister but in all honesty, it's only b/c w/her i can pretend like i'm not the 1 that wants to see it when i reality i totally am. the movie was adorable although nothing stellar but completely brought back memories of watching the cartoon show when i was younger.

ok, i just completely got distracted by the official movie website... i am a complete child
Default-tiny Chris Brown-This Christmas imported by LADIIFREEZE

Wednesday, December 19

last hurrah before Thanksgiving















let's reminisce about happier days...or at least more fun days. the last time i can recall that iwas actually out and about was right before thanksgiving. that's so sad... well at least when i did go out i made it worthwhile.
APALSA planned a last hurrah event at Vesta, planned by the 1L reps and they did a good job. definitely lots o' asians. although most of them didn't go to BLS. nor were they members of APALSA. o well, the more the merrier i guess. Adidas, Wifey and i went there together and it was kind of quiet at 1st but then ppl started to trickle in. i'm actually not a big fan of Vesta only b/c it's kind of small. however, they came through by offering 2 for 1 deals. YEA!! and you had to buy both drinks at once (easier to administer it that way). so double shots all around! Adidas and Wifey began the night by deciding to see who could outdrink the other (it's not really a contest b/c it's pretty much lose-lose either way: Adidas will turn into a sloppy mess while Wifey will turn belligerent and sullen). Snoopy had called me earlier b/c he'd gotten an invite from 1 of the 1L reps (yes it's a small world always) and met me there. it's hard to pinpoint anything specific for the night b/c there was a lot of ppl there and there was lots of different stuff going on. 1 of the 1L reps was trying to get his mack on. Adidas somehow knew a whole group of boys that nobody knew. BST was doing "Cali dancing" ( it involves lots of arms if i remember correctly). Hey-Yaaa and i were discussing how i felt weird talking to ppl i didn't know b/c everyone was very 6-degrees of separation but we kept perusing the crowd for good-looking boys. hitting on Buddy and his little brother. and lots and lots and lots of Grey Goose shots.
afterwards we went to Kunjip for food. i can't remember if we took a cab or walked or what. i think it was a cab. yea, this is where the night got kind of hazy. i know we got to Kunjip and i sat w/Co-Chair and Buddy.Snoopy was sitting across from me and like a good friend he kept asking me if i was okay. and we drank lots of baek saeju. i think that's all i ended up imbibing at Kunjip. no food, just drinks. and i kept bugging Buddy about his little brother b/c they look nothing alike. i kept asking "are you guys really brothers? really? REALLY?!?!" i'm sure it was annoying. poor Buddy, i always bug him when i get drunk...is it my subconscious trying to say something (wink, wink)?

then we all trudged on the subway back home b/c we're all poor law students. and somehow i lost my student ID.

Tuesday, December 18

they raped me then made me their bitch

i mean the exams for Federal Income Taxation and Corporations of course...

had Tax on saturday morning. if i wasn't crying about the exam i would've thought what happened is funny or at least amusing. the reason i had the exam on saturday morning was because it conflicted with my Commercial Arbitration exam so it was rescheduled. about 2 days before the exam i got a confirmation about which room i was going to be in. i show up on saturday, sit down, get set up, and they give me the exam and it's multiple choice. i am beyond ecstatic. i mean, multiple choice? my life couldn't get any better. then i look at the top of the exam form. DEAN?! my prof's Polito! i go up to the proctor to advise her of the situation and she spends 15 mins telling me to just sit down and take the exam and it's all fed income tax exams so it doesn't make a difference etc. since i don't know exactly what to do i decide to sit down and just take the damn exam. luckily the proctor comes to her senses and checks w/the controller and they tell me to go to room 601 where my exam is being administered and sorry for the inconvenience. needless to say, when i finally get the right exam i'm ready to weep and just give up. no multiple choice and (for me) so tough and definitely not enough time. i walked out of that exam totally traumatized.

i had my Corporations exam the following monday (yippee! only a day and a half to prepare!). luckily She helped me study. i perused my 100-page outline and then we went over exam questions together and discussed various concepts for 4-5 hours before i went back to my place and slept for 2 hrs and then continued studying until the exam at 1 pm. i was feeling pretty confident in my knowledge of corps and ready to go. then i got the actual exam. 3 hours for the topics that were on the exam was definitely not enough time. she covered SO MUCH stuff. par value? corp opportunity doctrine? conflict of interest? self-interested transaction? SEC 14(a)? LLCs, LLPs, GPs, close-corps? take-overs? mergers? sigh...the list goes on and on. the exam was 3 hrs with 3 sections: 2 essay questions and 6 short-answers. the irony is that she alloted the whole exam to take 2 hrs and 50 mins. SHE ACTUALLY EXPECTED US TO FINISH IT WITH 10 MINUTES TO SPARE!! blech...i wrote down to the wire and am just crossing my fingers and hoping that everyone was as traumatized by the exam as i was.

so obviously i was irritated by all this. then i got home after my exam on monday and the cleaning lady the Bobsey Twins had ordered arrived. ok, here's the deal w/this situation: i got back from my exam on saturday and was advised by Tweedledum that they had ordered a cleaning lady and i was to pay $30. they ordered a cleaning lady w/o ever asking me. she would be coming to clean both bathrooms and the kitchen. i was pretty pissed at first. who would ever make a decision w/o consulting others particularly when it comes to money. but, i'm not a bitch and since Tweedledee had already paid for the service on her credit card i was willing to pony up this time. then i met the cleaning lady. she was 2 hrs late and brought no cleaning supplies w/her. what was sadder was she went to clean the Bobsey Twins' bathroom 1st and couldn't find any cleaning supplies and came out to ask them if they had anything like a scrub or brush or anything to clean w/. and they said "no." the implications from their "no" is ironic and funny and sad all at the same time. it begs the question: so what do you usually do? and the naturally inferred answer is: nothing. so the cleaning lady had to use the supplies from Wifey and my bathroom. and this is what i paid $30 (so cumulatively $120) for. argh... luckily Egg came and rescued me and we went to Joya for dinner while she was here b/c staying would've been like having to listen to someone rake their nails over a chalkboard for 4 hrs.

Wednesday, December 12

out of context

ok, 1 down and 3 to go. ironically the next 3 are going to fly by b/c they've basically been jam-packed into my schedule. i've got Federal Income Taxation on saturday morning, Corporations on Monday morning and Evidence on Thursday afternoon.

and i hate all these classes.

hmm...well that's a predicament huh? well, there's nothing i can do about it so i'll just keep trudging for now. the 1 exam i'm done w/is the only class i really liked this semester: Commercial Arbitration. aside from 1 of the professors being very dry, the content was straightforward but interesting. thinking of commercial litigation focus now, which coincidentally is what the Rock's doing in HK which i just found out a week ago (when i was communicating w/the outside world).

since finals started i've realized:
1. it's amazing how much ramen a single person can eat
2. how easily distracting the Internet and TV; literally 2 hrs fly by whenever i take a "break"
3. i can actually (relatively) function on 3 hrs of sleep
4. how pretty the sun rise can be
5. how awful the sun rise can be
6. the ability to accomplish nothing while simultaneously working all day

ok, now onto what this entry's really about. a while ago i introduced Puff (who had to be renicknamed at his request. who knew ppl actually care about their pseudonym?) to Adidas on a random weekday night when he came to the Heights for the 1st time for drinks. we headed to Brazen and i just watched these 2 and realized: why hadn't i ever introduced them before? they actually have a lot in common. aside from the obvious (chinese males) they both like to party a lot and always have completely reedonkulous stories when they get wasted. ok, so maybe that's not a lot in common, but trust me, they actually do have a lot in common it's just hard for me to explain (they're both very childish, hilarious, have extremely high standards when it comes to girls etc.).

Adidas and his gf just recently broke up (well not recently anymore) and we were discussing his inability to be single and his potential to prove the "pimp" status he's always bragging about (he always claims he's "so good-looking". if you were here you'd know i was rolling my eyes right now). although, Adidas has been putting in more of an effort. he actually gets dressed for school now. well, "gets dressed" means he puts on jeans and a t-shirt as opposed to the swishy pants and grey sweatshirt he used to wear to school everyday. Egg and i saw him last week and we were both commenting on how he cleans up nice...

Friday, December 7

a pounding headache

i'm hiding out in my room for exams, but i'm still not being very productive. as evidenced by this entry. so sad can't make it to Stitch's holiday party at Opus 22. come to think of it, i missed it last year too b/c of exams. i'm also missing Debs' friend's holiday party. sigh. it's at this amazing apt located right near Union Square above the Chase Bank. you can't miss it. it looks like the kind of apt that exists in movies about 20-somethings living in Manhattan. except this person's real. and friends w/Debs.

since i can't go to these fun events, i'll just reminisce about an event that i've been meaning to write about for a while but hadn't gotten around to it: BLSPI Talent Show. i didn't go last yr, but decided to go this yr and help out (yes, i'm actually part of another org aside from APALSA). turns out they really didn't need my help but i stayed and Brantley and Ol' met me there. i was still on antibiotics from the plague at that time and i remember i was feeling pretty loopy from just 2 beers (yea antiobiotics!). the show was pretty good:
1. Chase Honeycup sang and played guitar. funny antics ensued involving the mic stand and Chase's height
2. BLS has its very own Jewish lawyer version of Eminem! he was actually really good and i'm kicking myself for not remembering his name. it was something hysterical...
3. the girl who should've won was actually something totally unplanned. some random girl was running towards the stage during intermission and took a massive digger. that everyone saw. i know it's mean to laugh at the person who falls, but it was funny. and for some reason the way it happened/how she did it was so that nobody there didn't see it
4. Institution did TaeKwonDo. umm, at least i think it was Tae Kwan Do...think he'll kick my ass if i misquote it? he does take it really seriously...
5. asians breakdancing. yea, you heard me right. well, actually, 1 asian. but still impressive. i remember Buddy and i rushing to the front and grabbing seats in the 1st row when it was time for breakdancers. we're such a couple of groupies.

so yea, the event was fun as a whole. but of course the really fun stuff happens afterwards, when everyone goes out for more drinks. we started out at Brazen Head which was completely packed. Egg and i walked there together w/some others and an argument got started about who should've won the talent show which somehow snowballed into an argument about gender and social trends. awkward. once it got too serious i just stayed neutral but Egg seemed pretty mad and left not long after getting to the bar.

or wait, did he? things were pretty chaotic. i remember stealing Buddy's hat and wearing it around and then Kinky and i got completely engrossed in a conversation about antics related to his name. this conversation was actually how Kinky got this nickname. and recently i found out from Egg that Kinky's got an Asian fetish. maybe that's why we were having that convo. hmmm...

we later travelled to Floyd's where i kept bugging Buddy, and in retrospect, i might've been cockblocking him. my bad... afterwards, Kinky and i went to Brantley's to potentially drink some more. then something weird happened.

Kinky and i were talking while walking into the elevator and then Brantley walked in w/this random guy. i could swear they were talking when i saw them. then he went w/us to Brantley's and we sat around drinking wine and Brantley was hiding out in the kitchen w/Kinky when the topic of pancakes came up but Brantley claimed to be too drunk to make them. then things were all of a sudden weird-like the atmosphere was weird. Kinky said he'd be leaving and the random guy went w/him.

now, the whole time i'd just assumed that Brantley knew this guy; that they'd met at Floyd's or just knew him from BLS since he lived in Feil. but nope. he was just some random guy. Kinky came back to Brantley's about 15 mins later which makes me realize how oblivious i am (that Kinky knew to draw this guy away but to come back). Brantley made us pancakes (yea!) and then i headed home where i passed right out b/c by that time i'd started to get that wine-related pounding headache.

as a post-script i was recently informed that that night was a just a fluke for random weird guy and he's actually very cool. who knew?

Sunday, December 2

the 1st snowfall

it's snowing in NY! and i was actually awake to see it! of course it's because i've been sleeping at insane hours (basically vampire-like sleeping schedules) and now it's exams-time so i pretty much imagine being up virtually all the time now... regardless, it was nice to be up and see the 1st snowfall in the city (well ok, brooklyn, but let's not get technical).


it being my last wkd before disappearing into the dark, dank hell of reading period i decided to spend time w/some of my favorite ppl (tho i couldn't w/ALL my favorite ppl, after all i'm only 1 person). i had a mini-slumber party w/Bubby and Kiks at their apt in Astoria where we gorged out on fondue and tapenade, flourless chocolate cake and wine. i love doing that w/them b/c it reminds me of my Smithie days (it was an all girls school so every day was a slumber party). there were highs and lows to the night: we watched Spiderman 3 (low) and talked about going to Taipei for my spring break (very big high). i really really really hope that works out b/c i'm dying to go again. it's 1 of my favorite places in the world. anyone else interested in going? i'll totally go w/you...


next morning i got to see Bubby's dad who was visiting her from Albany. it's been a long long time since i've seen him but he's always fun and since he's a lawyer and successful too, definitely someone i aspire to be like so seeing him's like seeing a mentor-he helped me in deciding law schools, gave me a summer internship, wrote me a recommendation and was always there for advice. Kiks and i went to Costco which is always so addictive for me. i just can't help myself from buying stuff when i'm there. plus Kiks got to see 1st hand my "get out! shut up! no way!" shopping attitude which she also found hilarious. hmm...if only i could see myself doing it b/c everyone seems to find it so funny.

that night i also had a really fun pseudo-date w/1 of my favorite ppl. we went to Kenka and had a really late dinner. i always have a lot of fun w/him but this was 1 of our 1st times out together 1-on-1 (hence the term pseudo-date). i miss the days of being friends w/guys like i was w/O-Henry (once we became platonic-ish) and O. there's only 1 downside about dinner which was that our pseudo-date had to be a secret. it makes it really weird when i truly think about it. i mean, we're not doing anything. i mean, literally, nothing. we ate dinner and talked. is that really something that's got to be under wraps? ok, so yes we are a guy and a girl and yes, other ppl might not get it and those who don't might have their suspicions, but for me it's always been a "who cares" view about all that. people are always gonna talk regardless of what you do, but when you start keeping things secret, you make yourself look suspicious right? o well...maybe i'm just overthinking it and it's his choice plus since we're not anything romantic i'm not gonna make a fuss-but if we were that would be very bad