Monday, December 28

outsourced

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

my holidays were of the usual sort: eating and drinking TONS with the fam, gift exchange, etc. however, since nothing good ever happens without the bad, of course i also had a technical nightmare of a holiday.

on Christmas Eve, as relatives were arriving for a hotpot lunch, my "trusty" HP Pavilion ze2000 was attacked by a virus. all of a sudden my screen went bonkers and the wallpaper changed from an adorable baby picture of my friend SFM to the words "you're computer is infected", my AVG anti-virus program was going nuts stating i had a million infections, and, although i could get on-line, i couldn't access any websites but instead was redirected to advertisements and other sites every time i clicked a link. it was a nightmare.

in this day and age, a person's computer is akin to their cellphone or iPod. it's something i've learned to not live without-ok, that's false. i could live without it, but would i want to? i doubt it. i brought my laptop to PC Warehouse to be looked at ASAP and luckily for me it was open on Christmas Eve. the guy at PC Warehouse could qualify for being in My Five recently. only in August i brought my comp to be completely re-installed back to factory default settings and then i've probably seem him at least 3-4 more times since them. the most recent visit my comp had been attacked by a virus and had to be cleaned for 2-3 days. and that cost upwards of $75-$100. suffice it to say that although PD is a great guy, i really wish i wasn't seeing him so often.

i prob spent a good hour and a half sitting there while PD manually went through deleting various trojan horses (yes, i know the term but what exactly are they i have no idea, just that they're bad news). i brought it home, relieved the crisis was over. or so i thought. INCORRECT. those nasty viruses were still there, just changing and evolving to evade capture and deletion! that was the end of my laptop for the Christmas holiday since i had to drop it off to be fixed on Saturday and will not see it again until Monday at the earliest.

when did computer use and surfing the Internet become so hazardous? according to PD, some site i went on must've had the virus and it attached itself to my computer just waiting for me to click it's link. and those tricky little buggers make themselves look all official mimicking the Windows insignia and claiming to protection programs (and no, i did NOT click any of them even if it did say that-i'm not completely stupid). what irks me is to get a virus on my comp without even doing anything: yes, i may have been on a site with a virus embedded or attached to it, waiting to pounce, but i didn't click anything that was remotely any advertisement or outside link. so how did it get into my comp? it'll always be a mystery. i remember the days when i was even more reckless with my Internet use, downloading this and that, clicking every link a friend sent to me, without ever seeing a virus enter my comp. now, i go on 1 harmless site and my whole computer's down for the count.

i also spent 141 minutes on the phone talking to Comcast and Linksys about our spotty wireless internet connection. what a nightmare. 1st it was Comcast to make sure the connection was good (which it was) and then it was Linksys phone support for our faulty wireless router. it was clearly outsourced tech support, but my technician, Mary, was very helpful and spoke english with a Canadian accent (which is ironic since she was clearly Indian-i knew this from her side conversations). however, i was seriously skeptical and pissed off when Linksys told me that i had to pay to get phone support!! what a rip! and so i handed the phone to my mom and let her rip them a new one before i ponied up and just let them sucker me (what else was i supposed to do? if i could've fixed it myself, i would've already).

it's times like these that i wish i was more tech savvy.

Tuesday, December 22

Quarantined in Sick Bay

for the past 2 weeks, i feel like i've been on a perpetual and never-ending airplane ride. one that just keeps taking off and landing, only those 2 actions. in actuality, i haven't travelled or gone anywhere, but my ears have been constantly plugged up. i keep trying to pop my ears by clicking my jaw, which ends up making me look like fish.

this winter is turning out to be more hazardous than any winter before it that i've experienced in the past. everyone in my household seems to be on rotating shifts of getting sick and being in my house feels like visiting the sick ward of a hospital. i just barely avoided a severe cough and cold (after self-medicating with Robitussin and Zicam for 10 days) and now i feel another itch in my throat that is quickly developing into a cough.

oddly enough, i've never been squeamish about being around sick people (at least when it's people that i know). i possess a completely unfounded confidence that i won't get sick, even when i interact with sick people. however, as soon as i feel even a twinge of illness in my own body, i get into hyper-defense mode and bombard myself with Airborne and Zicam hoping to head off the impending illness.

it seems i've become a hypochondriac in my old age (but only when i start to feel ill.).

i have to add a caveat to the above statement about not getting squeamish around sick people. i get COMPLETELY squeamish around sick strangers or people i don't care about. hence, flu and cold season on a NYC subway is not exactly a fun situation for me. however, MOST new yorkers maintain a level of etiquette while out in public. then there was the Cougher i met last week.

i was on the platform waiting for the E train to arrive on my usual morning commute to work. the train arrived and it was packed like a sardine. of course we all tried to squeeze our way onto the train but it was definitely impossible just as i got to the front of the crowd. i let the doors close and waited for the next one. i realized i was dangerously close to the edge of the platform and tried to back up and realized a woman behind me who was staunchly standing in her spot, refusing to move and refusing to let me back away from the edge of the platform. it took more effort and a blatant shove to get myself even 2 centimeters back from the edge. clearly, the woman was not happy with what i'd done. so she proceeded to cough violently all over me. although she had nothing in her hands, she did not cover her mouth. so while being all pressed up on me, she proceeded to cough all over me for a good minute. GROSS. that is just not acceptable behavior, particularly in NY (or anywhere else really).

Friday, December 11

Followers vs. Leaders

every paper and news feed has been discussing either the global warming/climate change issue in Copenhagen or else it's Obama's Nobel Peace Prize. usually i just read these things and shrug in a "hmm, so now i know what's going on in the world" kind of way, but not today.

really?! as if we didn't know we've screwed over the earth completely? are we really that surprised? or did we just assume that 80 degree weather in September is just a natural phenomenon? and there's all this hoopla about how the meeting in Copenhagen is to create standards and limitations for countries to try and combat the damage we've already done. ppshhaww. i'll believe it when i see it. in the scope of things that occur in each individual country, the last thing on a nation's mind is the climate. and honestly, we're the ones that did this to the environment, so to make a big hoopla now seems a bit hypocritical. i'm sure this will all be forgotten once the talks in Copenhagen end.

more interesting is Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Award. seriously?! they've awarded an acting President, in the midst of war, who just determined to deploy more troops to Afghanistan, the Nobel Peace Prize? gimme a break. because of this decision the Committee that determined the award had to come out publicly and defend their decision for the 1st time in history (or so says the NY Times). during the awarding of the prize, it was said Obama is the realization of Dr. Martin Luther King's dream. perhaps that's true. but that doesn't qualify Obama for the Nobel Peace Prize. shouldn't the American ppl be receiving the Nobel Peace Prize then? they elected Obama into office, he didn't appoint himself. of course, i'm trivializing the effort and courage and perseverance the Obama camp had to have in order to get to where they are, and that's not fair. and maybe that does merit the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize. however, for some reason, it just doesn't sit right with me. i just can't accept that, based on Obama's current achievements, he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. i don't think so.

it's really unlike me to rant on about real-world issues. if you've noticed, i rant about idiotic personal things usually. i'm chocking it up to my shortened amount of patience and tolerance for idiocy that commuting to NYC from NJ for work has created in me.

Tuesday, October 27

who's the culprit?

someone in my house keeps pouring a dose cup of Robitussin in the morning and then not drinking it. every morning i wake up between 10 AM-11 AM and on the kitchen table are the signs of a rushed breakfast consisting of cereal bowls and crumbs, the remnants of Dad's sandwich-making-lunch for the kids, and a lone cup of Robitussin or Dyslam. this has been going on consistently for the past week.

and it's slowly driving me mad.

i finally broke down tonight when i was doing the dishes and wiping down the table and asked everyone if it was them but nobody admitted to it. everyone just kept blaming each other as the likely culprits.

so what could it be? is there a ghost who has a sore throat? or is it a subtle sign that somebody thinks I'M getting sick and should be taking medicine?

if you've never seen a girl running in heels...

...and when i say running, i mean RUNNING.

have moved back home to the Jersey, living at home with the parents. i thought i'd be going mad, and i definitely did for a little bit, but now i've grown used to it and like it (for the most part). however, i haven't resigned myself to being at home forever. every time i go to the City, especially during the latter part of the summer, i remember all the great things about NYC. i miss the ease of the subway, the closeness of everything, being outdoors (instead of in a car-in Jersey you can't get anywhere without a car which essentially means you're outside in the fresh air for all of 2 mins it takes to travel from your house to your car and your car to your destination). i get calls from friends in the City telling me to meet them in an hour at some place in the City and i have to inform them it'll take me at least 2 hours to get there: 30-40 mins to get ready and then travel time via public transportation. it kind of dissipates any feeling of spontaneity and also makes going to the City feel like a chore vs. when i lived in Brooklyn and could just hop onto the subway or take a $15 cab ride.

i've been going on a few job interviews and had one in midtown east last week at 10 AM. i woke up at 7:15 AM to get ready and hopped on the 8:25 AM bus estimated to arrive at Port Authority by 9:35 AM. of course the bus was late and i didn't get into Port Authority until 9:45 AM. i had to sprint to the "S" which is the farthest train from the station and then took the 1st exit to Grand Central which is right outside the Hot and Crusty. there's a handicap ramp across from the Hot and Crusty that is the steepest and longest handicap ramp i've ever seen. i sprinted up that ramp like my life depended on it. in 3-inch heels. in a business dress. i'm sure i looked completely ridiculous but nobody seemed to bat an eyelash to the scene.

i was a few minutes late to the interview (i know, i know, not good). the whole thing took about 30 minutes and i was back on the street at 10:35 AM. i sprinted back to Port Authority to make the 11 AM bus back home and arrived back in front of my house by 12:00 PM.

if you think about it, i spent a total of 4 hours prep and travel time just to spend 30 minutes in the city. it took me all morning to spend 30 mins in the city.

these are the times i particularly miss living in NYC.

also as a side note, for the korean fangirl in me, Yoo JaeSuk and Infinity Challenge is in NYC as 10/26 and reportedly they'll be there for 10 days. just hang out around K-town i'm pretty sure that's where they'll be. ::sigh:: if i still lived in the City i would totes be a stalker right now. if only...

Tuesday, August 25

Generation Gap

i'm confronted with exactly how old i've become whenever i look at my younger sister, Poopy (yes, it's a nickname, and ironically, that's her real nickname. I gave that nickname to her when I was about 14). i'm not going to reveal the means, but i somehow discovered my sister was sneaking out to meet up w/a college boy. and not a hello-i'm-a-college-freshman college boy but an i'm-older-than-a-college freshman college boy. and did i mention my sister is only sixteen?

not that i haven't done my fair share of hijinxes and shenanigans when i was her age, but regardless, it's completely different when it's your baby sister that's doing it. because of our age difference, my sister and i straddle the sibling relationship and the mother-daughter relationship (we're 11 yrs apart). we've never been able to cross that hurdle to being full-disclosure siblings who talk about boys we like and etc. so instead we've stayed in limbo where we spend most of our time teasing and goofing off with each other. just yesterday she hopped on my back for a piggy-back while we were in the supermarket. however, since my mom and dad work all day, whenever i'm home i make the meals for my sister, take her to her tennis lessons, set up dentist and doctor's appointments, etc.

this weird gray area made it really hard to determine what is the proper response to finding out she had snuck out to meet up/hook up with a college boy. my skin still crawls at the idea of her hooking up with that boy. and what does hooking up even mean now-a-days? it usually means something different to everyone, and since i have no intention of asking Poopy what it means to her my mind is just going to make up the worst possible scenarios. NOOOO.....

and then my head exploded.

ok, so it didn't. but i kind of wished it did. this whole situation's made me uber-confused. i'm obviously being very hypocritical since i probably did all the things she's doing now, so why does it bother me? i'm not her actual mom so why can't i be the cool-older-sister type instead of getting all worked up about it? should i confront her about it? do i have to give the talk?

the whole idea of the talk is also totally foreign. my family's never given the talk, ever. the way we deal with it is just hope that you'll learn everything you need to in college, when you're out of the house. back when i was a kid, that wasn't the smartest thing to do. however, in this day and age, i truly believe having the talk for informational purposes is completely unnecessary. in this day and age of television and movies, sex and all that accompanies it has become taboo-less. there isn't anything that you need to know that you didn't learn from Dawson's Creek, the O.C., Laguna Beach, and etc. And since these are reality shows, sex definitely isn't romanticized and most of the practicalities have also been explained. every show has an STD or abortion episode. look at True Blood. Jessica's a virgin forever and she explained that every time she has sex it's "gonna hurt like hell". hmm, that's not something that even the talk usually touches upon.

ultimately i had a mini-version of the talk with Poopy which was ultra-awkward but, according to most of my friends, necessary just to let her know that I knew something was up and that she had someone to talk to. I'm not so sure that the message came across that way but what's done is done. but it made me feel really really old doing it.

Sunday, June 14

hiatus



so after being MIA for this long, i come back and immediately post MVs instead of doing anything fun?? yea, that's right. that's what i'm doing.

yea, lots of stuff has happened:
i've graduated from law school (who would've thunk it?)
celebrated a birthday
Coleslaw has left NYC (forever? sniffle, sniffle, i hope not)
AMW and i are kaput
Oppa celebrated a birthday and got a girlfriend (another who would've thunk it moment)
and so much more...

and maybe i'll tell you all about it. but right now i'm spending all my time studying for the dreaded bar exam. which means i spend 3-4 hours every day in Bar/Bri and then spend another 6 hours doing the other prep work assigned by the course. i literally only left my apartment twice today and each time was only about 10 mins. it's so miserable.

which means, in the small amount of down time, i don't want to think. i spend my time watching tv or surfing the net, and a lot of time while transcribing notes, listening to music. and these 2 MVs were amongst my internet browsing. i'm a big fan of the group which is 1 girl and 2 guys. and the MVs are like little movies, which fits perfectly into my allotted downtime. it's like watching 2 movies in the span of 10 mins.



Tuesday, March 3

oh... my stomach

i realized the full nod towards the hallyu trend when i saw the Real California Milk commercial featuring a korean cow (which i also found hilarious). i happened to see the commercial not long before i saw the episode of Flight of the Conchords where they also sang old school korean karaoke. so, see? it's not weird how into korean culture i am. it's the trend. jump on the train already.





i was fatally wounded a few weeks ago when i made the mistake of drinking a magnum-sized bottle of pinot grigio w/AMW. the night started out pretty calm. both of us have been trying to watch what we eat so we decided to get together and make a dinner of steamed veggies. at the same time, AMW had gotten a magnum bottle of white wine and we decided to drink some of it w/dinner. no biggie, right? o how wrong i was.

i have this bad compulsion where once a bottle of wine is opened, i feel the necessity to finish it otherwise i feel like i'm being wasteful. so before i knew it, i had pretty much drank about 80%-85% of the bottle on my own while AMW had only drank a more reasonable amount. suffice it to say i was definitely wasted. i woke up the next day with the most intense functioning hangover i'd ever had. i managed to make it to class (thank god. don't ask me how. it was brutal) but that was about it. i went home and retired to try and fix myself up, but took myself out of retirement to attend Coleslaw's Mardi Gras event since it's a fundraiser for SHN and Coleslaw's such a best bud.

the event was a huge success and super fun, but i spent the night suffering from the worst stomach cramps known to man. whenever i walked around i looked like an old man, hunched over with one hand propped on my side. even laughing was painful. my theory is that the sugars in white wine wreaked havoc on my tummy. never again.

someone sitting 2 seats next to me just yelled at me to type softer. i don't know why but the keys on my laptop are very loud. i'm a little irritated that she had the audacity to say that to me, but since it's not the 1st time someone's said it to me (albeit those ppl were usually my friends). so now i'm typing slower and tensing my fingers up to try and hit the keys with as little force as possible. however, the space bar, enter key, and the delete key can't be helped...

Saturday, February 28

Food Babies

in terms of eating, my food style fluctuates quite a bit, although it's still all cycle-ular (is that a word? i know i've used it in sentences and ppl understand exactly what i'm talking about, but still...). basically i go into a food craze where i can't stop eating (as if i have a tapeworm, but i don't). and then my clothes start getting snug and my feeling of heffer-ness starts pressing down on me, and then i exercise and start eating healthily and less. and then something happens e.g. dinner out w/friends, a bad day, etc. and the cycle starts again. obvious to say, this is not a good way to eat.

with this in mind, let's talk about Restaurant Week. due to funds and time, i didn't go to that many this time around. however, i did go to Blue Water Grill and Park Avenue Winter, both which i've been wanting to try out for some time. i went to Blue Water Grill with Kiks, my tried and true Restaurant Week soulmate. we've been going to Restaurant Week dinners every year since we'd graduated college. that's a 5-year tradition! this was the 1st time we went w/o Bubby, which couldn't be helped since Bubby's moved to South Carolina. sigh...how things change. regardless, it was a perfect lesbian date w/Kiks (tho there were no butches this time, only femmes). the menu they offered this year was pretty impressive. for apps i got the Hamachi Tartar while Kiks got New England Clam Chowder, both which apparently aren't on the regular menu at this time. i love when Restaurant Week menus aren't just a hodgepodge of stuff from the regular menu, but are instead specials. both apps were amazing, although the chowder was a bit better, particularly since it was cold at the time. it had a perfect crouton for the dense, dense chowder. for entrees i got scallops and Kiks got a fish, both were really good, but nothing special. dessert was also pretty typical, a devil's food cake which was better than usual because it didn't taste like those you just buy at the convenience store. the real highlight of eating at Blue Water Grill is to make reservations for the Jazz Room downstairs. the menus are the same as upstairs, except there's a live jazz band playing for you. it's a perfect atmosphere for having a nice dinner w/o all the pretentiousness. the music's not so loud as to drown out conversation, but still a nice filler for those lulls when you're both eating. and if you listen, you'll notice the jazz band playing some interesting choice of songs e.g. Nirvana or No Doubt. the only negative i'd say about the place is the wine list. although there's an extensive collection, it's all pretty pricey. the cheapest glass of wine i could get was still $10.

the setting of Park Avenue Winter is amazing. the restaurant's se
asonal, so the food and the setting changes depending on the season. since the menu's seasonal, the Restaurant Week menu was compromised of items that're usually available on the regular menu. i can forgive that in this instance. when we went for lunch, the restaurant was all decked out in white. it felt a little stiff for during the day, but i can imagine it would be pretty impressive for dining at night. Coleslaw and i got the Butternut Squash Soup and the Porcini Ravioli w/Swiss Chard and Gorgonzola Cream as appetizers. the ravioli was amazing and the soup was dense with a slight smokey taste. for mains i got the Filet Mignon Sandwich, which was good, especially with the cherry tomatoes and horseradish creme, although it's presented in a weird way, where it doesn't feel right to just pick it up like a normal sandwhich, but instead to have to eat it w/a fork and knife. Coleslaw got the Crispy Calamari & Carrot Salad w/Roasted Peanuts and Lime Vinaigrette which is perfectly light for lunch, but i wouldn't really call filling. the dessert was the best part of the meal, and i can honestly say i have no idea what Coleslaw ordered because i was so happy with mine. although, i can't exactly remember what it was. however, i do remember it was banana ice cream with some crunchy caramel thing, and then a cakey thing at the bottom of the glass. ok, not a great description but let me just emphasize that it was delicious.to top off these decadent meals, i also hosted a hotpot at my apartment. it was sort of like a last hurrah before the weather turned too warm (although i don't have any problems eating hotpot even in the summer, however, the ingredient are harder to find). ppl brought beer and drinks but what was more impressive was when AMW brought the keg she'd absconded from the even that had taken place at Geraldo's right before my dinner. eventually they had to bring the keg back downstairs b/c Feil Hall has a rule about no kegs allowed in apartments. but not before we filled a whole bunch of Dixie cups full of beer!

Monday, February 23

Bringing it Back to School

compared to the olden days (my 1st year), student orgs at BLS haven't been as active in organizing bar events and outtings. it seems to be reflecting the student body, the make-up of which has changed drastically since my 1st year. more and more, BLS students are less interested in socializing as a student body and more and more about study groups, job fairs, and workshops/seminars. while this is all fine and dandy, when did BLS students become so boring? i remember, as a 1st year, there was always something to go to at Floyd's, Magnetic Field, Last Exit, Brazen Head, or Trout, just to tick off a few. yes, the neighborhood's changed (no more Trout or Magnetic Field), but more importantly, it's the characteristics of the students that's changed even more. step it up people. i'm not saying don't study or do work, just learn to balance! it's not that hard.

the only 2 events i really remember being held as bar events in Brooklyn was a Back to School held at Deity and a Bar Review night held at Ceol (which seems to have become the new Floyd's for BLS).

i've only been to Deity this 1 time, and i truly think once is enough. the venue seems completely displaced in it's attempt as a wannabe Manhattan bar. and the prices are similar too. there's a dance floor downstairs and a sort-of lounge upstairs. it wasn't bad, but i wouldn't actually call it good either. if i hadn't been there with people i liked, or if i hadn't run into someone who kept buying me drinks, i would not have stayed there as long as i did. i still eventually left and headed to Brazen Head, but i don't really remember what happened and i didn't stay long because i was in such a state.recently, BLSPI hosted its own event at Ceol, which took place after a wine and cheese event hosted by SBA. i have to admit, while the outdoor bar events have dwindled in number since my 1st year, the free food and drinks events have remained on par. and this 1 was no exception. i hadn't eaten much that day (never good when faced with unlimited wine) and only managed to nab 5 cubes of cheese before it was all depleted. so it's no surprise that i have no recollection as to why it took so long from when the SBA event ended and when i got to Ceol. apparently there was a 2 hr lapse. what was i doing? no idea.

i do remember running into Tongsen on the way to the bar and she bought me fries from Carroll Gardens Diner, which was much needed. then we headed over to Ceol together.

the climax of the night was when we all headed over to Brazen Head together. it was a freezing night and BGA started to run so i started to jog with him. in high heel boots. while very drunk.

not a very good idea.

i kept wanting to stop but BGA kept egging me on. the ends did not justify the means in this case. as soon as i got to Brazen i promptly threw up. suffice it to say, it was another night where i didn't stay long at Brazen before i just went home and passed out.

Tuesday, February 17

Saturday Morning cartoons

i've been home for MiniMe's bday. my family's never been that big on birthday parties (honestly, it seems like you only really get them when you get older like it's-a-miracle-you've-made-it-to-60 kind of gatherings). instead, my family gets together for a dinner and the birthday person gets to pick the place. then we all go home and have cake. yea, it's simple, but it's family and somehow...it's heartwarming (yes, that's cheesy).

whenever i'm home, there's endless airings of my favorite cartoon, Avatar. which is ironic, since it's never airing on Nickelodeon when i'm at school. it's always just goddamn Spongebob Squarepants, over and over again. hmm, does that sound like i'm harboring some animosity against the yellow square sponge? anyways, i was flipping around the cartoon channels and i notice a new show, Ni Hao, Kai Lan. this show is hilarious. it's like Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, Diego Go! but for chinese kids. the main character's named Kai Lan and they use english in the show with smatterings of chinese phrases. o, and Kai Lan has a sidekick named HoHo! it's a little white monkey but still, best sidekick name ever!

cartoons have been coming up a lot lately. Jackass had a pizza party at his place (paid for by BLS-yes, i'm so glad the school is allocating my funds so well; i'm being sarcastic b/c basically 3 ppl from Jackass's building showed up aside from Cubed, DRC, and me, who don't live in the building so BLS basically paid for Jackass to stock his fridge with beers and boxes of pizza). while we were there, i noticed a Recess marathon on the Disney Channel. does anyone else remember this show? it was bunch of kids and the hijinx they get into during recess? as it turned out, most ppl at the party did remember it, and loved it as much as i did/do! and it's such a better reference than some of the more popular ones. i mean, everyone's seen Saved by the Bell, but it's truly and exciting connection when someone shares your love of Doug, PepperAnn, or Recess because they're more obscure.

Friday, February 13

Heartbreaker

i try to keep truly personal things out of this blog, but something's really been pressing down on me as of late. but since AmericasMostWanted doesn't want to deal with the situation head on and i don't think (at this point) it's worth it to seek her out to tell her, i'm gonna air it out here. usually i wouldn't do this, but it's really been bugging me and while i could talk it out over and over again with other friends, that just gets tiring for me and those friends. i also don't wanna do that and then lose all the steam in how i feel and then just let the situation go because then i'll feel like more of a jackass than Jackass for continuing the friendship. then i'd truly be a frenemy.

last week BLS threw an inter-law school mixer for valentine's day. i wasn't too stoked to go because funds have been very tight as of late. however, a bunch of ppl i knew were going and then i found out the event was held at Hudson Terrace, which i've never been to and is only used as an event space so i might not have another opportunity to go. the place has an amazing rooftop, which must be so great in the summer or early fall, but in this freezing February was not that fun. but the place has potential (although very expensive) and the night started out great. Coleslaw and i got ready together, AMW brought wine down and we pre-gamed a little before, and then Coleslaw, Cubed and i headed over on the subway together. this part of the night was fun and fine. and then things took a turn for the worse...

this part of the story is a tried and true example of why you should always go with your gut and never let anyone talk you into doing anything you don't want to do. because you'll just live to regret it. AMW was pretty wasted at this point and Coleslaw and the crew were ready to go to the Brazen for cheap drinks and i was so down for that plan. but then AMW stumbled over to me and pleaded that i go out with her in Manhattan instead of going back to brooklyn. the only reason i ended up going wasn't because of the money, but because AMW was drunk and i knew she was going out with Jackass, who she always swears up and down she is over and done with and wants nothing to do with (in a romantic capacity), so i wanted to make sure she didn't do anything stupid while she was drunk.

biggest mistake of my life. ok, that's exaggerating. but definitely up there. i spent the cab ride to Cheap Shots (yes, i ended up there, and the whole place smelled like pee, which was so fun) being "asked out" by Jackass while he and AMW held hands in the cab. when we arrived at Cheap Shots i hopped out of the cab as fast as i could, only to be accosted by Jackass who repeatedly asked me out. i went to the bathroom and came out, and the 1st words out of AMW's mouth is, "just so you know, Jackass has a small penis."

ummmmmm.............did i ask you anything? no, i don't think so. i then i endured another 15 minutes where Jackass spent his time refuting the fact while AMW spent her time reassuring me it was true. um, that's not awkward at all.

here was what i thought would be the ticker for the night. while the guys were in the bathroom, i told AMW what Jackass had been doing all night and how i'd given him a piece of my mind because it was so disrespectful to AMW and to me and to all the other ppl involved. to which she responded, "Jackass told me to ask you if you liked him."

i promptly told her that she could tell him to suck it and repeated all my harsh words. to which she responded, "well, i'm not gonna say anything because i don't want to be in the middle of this." i just lost my shit. i can't believe AMW told me she didn't want to be in the middle of it, when she's the reason i was in the middle of it at all. at that point i told her i just wanted to go home because i was fed up.

we all went back to brooklyn (but not without making another scene, very AMW-style) and met the crew at Brazen Head. i was livid at this point. i didn't talk to Jackass or AMW for the rest of the time we were at Brazen. except for 2 incidents.

1. Jackass came up to me to claim he was "kidding" about the whole date thing. honestly, i really don't care. if he was kidding, it wasn't funny because of my friendship w/AMW and other girls he's done this to. if he wasn't kidding, the same reason still applies. as i've gotten older and with everything that's happened to me, friends and family are most important to me. and it's a big thing that nobody can say shit about either while in front of me. when i say "shit", i don't mean utterances that represent venting or being temporarily annoyed at them. that you can do all you want. but when you start insulting or attacking them, it's on like donkey kong. as long as i'm there, no one's gonna do that or hurt them in anyway. which is why Jackass's actions really enraged me, because he was doing something that was disrespectful not only to me, but hurtful to AMW and others. and that's not allowed and i won't be a part of it.

2. AMW, before the night ended, pulled me into the bathroom with her to discuss the situation. she told me she was "mad" for me. she went on to explain the 2 reasons why. 1st, if he was really hitting on me, she was mad for me because of the situation it put me in or something like that. she didn't really explain this reason because even in her tone, you could tell she didn't actually believe this reason.
so let's move on to reason number 2. AMW was "mad" for me because she knows Jackass was only asking me out as a joke. why? i'm not gonna explain how i know this, or what happened, but about 3 weeks ago, Jackass revealed he's a bit of a bigot. apparently asians are all "chinks" etc. and he has no problem using this kind of language. so AMW knew for sure that Jackass was asking me out only as a joke because, and i quote, "he'd never actually date an asian girl. he said so himself." and so, that's why AMW was "mad" for me. because i am a "pretty girl" and it's just "so rude" of him to hit on me as a joke, etc. what got me tho, was she wasn't really mad at him. she spent the whole night talking to him and cuddling by themselves. to a guy who was a bigot to me. and the capper on this night? AMW and Jackass had been making out in Brazen while they'd been having this conversation. and she still went home with him that night.

and that really breaks my heart.

Monday, February 2

Waterfalls

THE QUESTION: what is art?
SUBQUESTION: how do you feel about public a
rt?
CONTEXT: in this current eco
nomy and the cutting of the budget particularly in the arts, is art necessary? and when it comes to public art, where there are many instances of ppl having negative reactions to art in public spaces, should there be a formula for appropriate public art?

this was the question posed in my Law, Politics, and Personality seminar with Leonard Garment. someone's currently making an argument that there's a difference between "art that provokes with a message" vs. "art that just provokes." i don't agree with this statement. just like "one man's trash is another man's treasure" there can never be a blanket statement that there's only art that "provokes" without a message. i mean, maybe that's just me, but with content as subjective and varied as art (in all forms and media), i think it's hard to make such overly broad statements.

speaking of complex pieces of art (yes, this is a bit of a segue)Coleslaw has grown 1 year older. HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLESLAW! and as with all birthdays, there's gotta be a party. i tend to look at birthdays as actually non-momentous occassions because it's really just another day and pales in comparison to what you've undergone for the year. however, a lot of birthdays have been back-to-back lately and it's made me think about mine coming up. this year's definitely felt like 1 rife with more internal battlings and circumstances and when i look at Coleslaw's last year, i think she's also come across a lot and had a lot of experiences. everything that happens to us changes us in some way, and the more momentous and eventful the year, the more you change, grow, and develop. yes, i know, this sounds like a Hallmark card, but there's definitely a degree of truth to it.

not that any
of that was reflected in the actual celebration. Six had made an Earl Grey infused vodka, which, if done properly, tastes delicious with lemonade or sprite and also her infamous sangria. i'd had it before, but never liked to eat the fruit (i swear, i'm gonna die of scurvy), but i ate some this time and the amount of rum steeped into that fruit is reedonkulous! every time i ate a piece my face would scrunch up and pucker but in a good way(?). everyone came over to pre-game a bit with Six's home-made beverages, and a rousing game of Kings ensued.

word of warning: never play Kings with Six if you're playing with waterfalls. that girl does not know when to stop! and as luck would have it, she was commonly the start of the waterfall or else close to the front.

next word of warning: never play Kings with sangria heavily infused with rum. it's quite dangerous, particularly when in conjunction with the above warning. Six got wasted before we even left the apartment. how wasted was she? she managed to break the heel to the boots i lent her before she even left the apartment. that's quite impressive.

Coleslaw's party was at Brazen (of cours
e) and she headed over first with Cubed while DRC and i finished our drinks. we couldn't have been more then 45 mins later than Coleslaw to the party, and when we showed up, Coleslaw seemed fine. by the time i got my beer and turned back to her, which was probably 15 mins, Coleslaw was sloshed. i mean completely. it was really surprising.
********i have to make a break in this entry to comment that someone in my class just used the word chutzpah*****************

the whole night i kept getting calls and texts from Oppa because he was attending the party of a guy he'd wanted to introduce me to. around 2 AM i raced over to the Park to go meet him, only to find out 2 crucial facts he had left out of the scenario: 1. Oppa was wasted; 2. the party was the birthday party of the guy he was introducing me to. so suffice it to say, the guy was pretty drunk. not the best 1st impression and not the best way to meet a guy. i love Oppa to death, but when he's drunk, he really will stop at nothing to get you to come out but then when you do, it's usually never really worth it.

i cut my losses and said "bye" after hanging with them for about an hour and half. what did perk up my night was what happened on my way out. outside of the Park i ran into Joebo. i've met him before, and we've hung out (sort of) but he's not usually that social or talkative (to me anyways). but perhaps he was a little drunk, but we ended having a pretty deep and philosophical conversation about the state of the economy and politics. altho Joebo's a Republican and conservative, luckily i don't get into a frenzy the way Egg does so the convo went pleasantly.

i did learn something interesting tho, that raised Joebo's status in my eyes. he had just recently dumped the girl he was seeing because she didn't know who Palin was. gotta give him props for that.

Monday, January 26

Another One Bites the Dust

goodbye to Bubby.

and NYC loses another resident. Bubby has officially moved to South Carolina. why you ask me? why?!?! honestly, there's no real reason. i refuse to believe it. and i'm positive she'll be back. i'd bank on it (but the lawyer in me also wants to add a caveat just in case).

the weather's been amazing lately and it seems to have brought all the dogs out. on the walk to school this morning, i almost stepped in dog poop twice. and keep in mind that i live only 3 blocks from school. and i had class at 9 AM. i mean, really?! come on people!

Thursday, January 15

Graceful as a Ballerina

i hate losing contact w/friends, but it's inevitable when they don't live in the same city. and if they're in Cali, then the time difference also plays a part in whether or not significant phone conversations are made. which is why when AmericanJoe called me to let me know he was gonna be in NYC, i was beyond ecstatic.

AmericanJoe is a friend i met when i studied abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland for my junior year of college. i'm not sure why, but we really hit it off and i truly love this boy (altho not in that way, tho i'm not sure why because he's adorable and very funny). regardless, he was arriving from Cali and staying with his brother before they headed home together for their Christmas family reunion so of course we had to meet up.

i thought we were meeting for drinks or coffee in the afternoon, but that ended up changing to dinner at Schiller's Liquor Bar on the LES. that wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that by the time i showed up i really, truly couldn't eat a bite. however, i didn't want to be that girl who orders nothing while everyone is eating, so i ordered to Mac & Cheese which is served w/bacon bits. however, i only could eat 2 bites. AmericanJoe's brother had been raving about the dish and how he could eat 3 servings by himself, so i offered it to him but he said "no". and since we were going somewhere after dinner, it wasn't practical to have it packed up, especially since i was carrying a clutch person as opposed to a bag i could put it in.

it was probably one of my saddest moments to see them throw away an almost full portion of food.

the party we went to was around the corner and while AmericanJoe and i hung back the others went into the party. just as we were negotiating with the bouncer to get in (there was a cover-i hate covers. honestly, you're not that cool), our party came back out. turns out the party was very whack and not fun so we just bounced to a nearby bar for a drink or 2 before we split and headed home.

did i mention that it had started snowing while we were out? and the ground had turned very icy? o yea, it had and it did. so i was walking down the subway in my high-heel boots and i slid down the stairs. yes, it's embarassing as it sounds. and i broke my heel.

what was the best was when the couple that'd been walking next to me and saw me fall came over to check on me. i was fine except for my bruised and embarassed ego. and then the girl said, "well, that was really graceful. the way you fell."

Sunday, January 11

late anniversary dinner




how cool is that? i really, really like this group. apparently Prepix was the inspiration for the Jabbawockeez (but that's unconfirmed, so don't quote me). this is also the choreography they created for my currently favorite korean song altho their dance and execution is a lot better than 2PM's.

Restaurant Week is rolling around the corner again: January 18th-23rd and 26th-31st. yeah! it's one of the few times this year i'm allowing my fat ass to eat that much (and spend that much). Coleslaw and i already have reservations for Park Avenue Winter.

as a blast from the past, i recommend going to Brandy Library if you're into whiskeys, cognacs, and brandy (i don't know what the differences are but they're all nice). this place is super classy and quiet, perfect for a date. and if you're the girl, you'll def impress the guy by knowing about this place. there's an overwhelming amount of drinks on the menu, and it's perfect for the guy who likes whiskeys etc. because you can get a tasting of everything. i kind of want to go back there right now...

after the Brandy Library, i went to the Harrison for dinner. in case you didn't know, the Harrison is the restaurant that the 1st winner of Top Chef came from (Harold, who has subsequently opened Perilla after winning Top Chef). it's been over 2 yrs since i was there and it looks like the menu has changed, but i remember the dining experience as extremely pleasant. since it was a date, the atmosphere was good for a date, nice and intimate, but in other sections of the restaurant there were definitely ppl having dinner parties. and when i went downstairs to the bathroom, there was a beautiful private room where, if you can afford it, it'd be great to have a dinner party of 10 ppl or so.

now that i'm reminiscing about this date, i'm getting a little sad. that was prob my last real nice date...

Monday, January 5

My Pheromones are On the Fritz

last night, while making kimbap with Egg, somehow the conversation came up where he mentioned that Japan had created a national law against obesity. and it's true! who would've guessed? it looks like the way it works is that company and govs have to do an annual checkup of their employees and included in that is a mandatory measuring of waistlines. if the waistline is over the national standard, the company has 3 months to "re-educate" the individual and see if they lose weight. if they don't, the company or gov gets fined. here's the newspaper article.

i wonder if a law like this would be effective against me, even if i was the person who had to pay the fines. there'd definitely be some inner turmoil about whether it'd be worth it to pay the fine just so i could eat my favorite foods. money vs food; hmm, that's a toughie. speaking of eating, i went out for a last hurrah dinner w/Debs, who's moving to Cali tomorrow ::sniffle, sniffle:: we ended up eating at Yakitori Taisho since we are both pretty strapped for cash. love that place for hot food and it's pretty good when you're just 2 ppl b/c it still feels intimate.

now there's something i have to say about Debs. i'm sure i've mentioned it before, but Debs has this unexplainable effect on boys. i mean, of course, she's cute, she's very intelligent, classy, and dresses elegant and far from trashy, so yes, she's got all that going for her. but that's not the Debs effect. without fail, whenever i go out with her, and to tranquil things like quiet dinners or coffee, someone always hits on her. this is a tried and true theory i've come to realize.

as we were leaving dinner, the guys at the table sitting behind her totally made a mild, giggly pass at her. and then, after dinner, we went to St. Alps for tea and some dessert toast, and the guys at the table next to us stopped to ask her what she was eating and have a whole convo. now, this wouldn't be considered much, except the guys had already finished and had no intention of ordering anything else. so see? we went to only 2 places, and neither were typical pick-up spots, yet Debs managed to have male attention at both places. and this is the norm.

Debs must have the most powerful pheromones on the plane. and mine must be broken.

Thursday, January 1

Detroit in the House

DRC has turned 1 year older. congrats to DRC! the celebration was 3-fold: dinner at Joya, pre-game at DRC's apartment, the final party at M1-5.

the dinner at Joya got botched b/c Joya messed up the reservation so instead we ended up eating at Cafe Chili, which i've never been to before but
had heard good things about. the price is slightly higher than Joya but, for me, the quality was comparable, altho the number of options weren't as plenty as Joya's. there's also a whole Italian side of the menu that you can order from, but the prices for those entrees were exorbitant.the real celebration was when the drinking started (of course).

by the time we arrived at M1-5, DRC was pretty rocked (as should be expected of the birthday girl). DRC reserved tables and got comped a bottle of champagne and some drink tickets which helped to make my night better and i definitely drank a sufficient amount to the point i kept leaving floaters of Jack and Coke all over the place.


as fun as it was, i'd broken my heel right before we entered the bar (i never even knew that really happened!) and when the party started to move to Williamsburg i decided to forego. it wasn't so bad to go home earlier tho b/c at least i got to share a cab w/Crush <3>