hello jersey!

this NYT article caught my eye: it's all about rebutting the Asian-American concept of a Model Minority.

um, if only they'd read my seminar paper from undergrad. i wrote a whole paper on the topic! harumph, if only i'd submitted it to the NYTs. maybe i'd be published by now.

my favorite Oppa (ok, my only oppa-or at least the only guy i call oppa) just purchased his 1st apartment. congratulations! such an adult now; it's mind-boggling. b/c he's just so popular (and some inter-friends politics in additional the size of his apartment), he had to have multiple house-warming parties. i was invited to 1 of them and brought Coleslaw w/me to jersey city to see the new place. i have to give props to Coleslaw who was very gung-ho about going at 1st, then she found out it was in jersey. but like the classy person she is, she sucked it up and didn't back out (tho i wouldn't have blamed her).

we take the PATH train from WTC to the Exchange Place stop and head out. of course, i don't have directions to Oppa's place but i figure i'll just call him and he'll lead the way since he says it's not far from the station. however, why is it that boys always give directions by using terms like north, south, east, west? do i carry a compass on me? i don't think so. so then Oppa tries to tell me to go towards the water vs. away from the water etc. this is also no good. from now on, let's just use the name of the street and a well-known landmark like the Au Bon Pain or the diner/deli on the corner etc. please, for my benefit.

Oppa's place is pretty impressive. immediately i noticed the super high-tech elevator the building has. it announces the floor that you press and lets you know when you arrive. it also tells you it's leaving and what direction it's going in after you've exited it. thank you Ms. elevator. i like to keep up-to-date on these things. his apartment is set up super-bachelor-y which means ginormous flat screen TVs (1 in the living room and 1 in the bedroom). the view's pretty nice. it's got a washer and dryer in the apartment (which i am completely envious of-i would love to not have to lug around my giant laundry bag or make all those trips down to the basement or share and wait for machines). 1 of the best features of the building is the rooftop. they've got it done up snazzy (to the point that they're thinking of opening it up for commercial events): it's got a bar, a jacuzzi, outdoor showers; basically the works. Oppa is very correct that it is definitely a PD for guys: if you bring a girl up there her panties will most likely drop.

Coleslaw and i drank frequently and although there was no plans to stay over, that's what ended up happening. this probably wasn't the best idea b/c i had to wake up super early to meet my parents at 9 am in Chinatown. we only barely made it, and i still had to go home and shower and change. it was cute tho when we got off the PATH and my dad happened to call right at that moment. i told him we were in front of the WTC and he offered to pick us up and take us back to Feil.

i don't think any of my friends since college have really met my parents let alone had to be picked up by them in the car. it was very cute to see Coleslaw sitting in the back and i introduce her to my dad and she greets him w/a "nice to meet you Mr. Ma." i couldn't help but giggle.