karaoke weekend: "the best weekend of my life"

anyone who's been talking to me lately has probably heard the phrase "twins" thrown around a lot (let's thank Oni and Chipmunk for that). regardless, there was this one crazy weekend that started the whole phenomenon off.

on Friday night Oni asked me to go out w/VP and his friends b/c VP had somebody he wanted Oni to meet as a dating prospect. so we all went to ktown and had dinner at Seoul Garden which i'd never been before and was skeptical of, but i have to admit their soonjubu and nangmyon is really good. i think i got a pretty good handle on what kind of food Seoul Garden offers b/c VP's friend, who is visiting and invited his 3 friends all from Japan, decided to order just about everything you would usually order from the menu and we ate family style. we ordered haemul jun (the seafood pancake) and japchae for starters. everybody split bibim nangmyon, nangmyon, soonjubu, seafood soonjubu and bbq ribs. the only thing missing was chigae and the usual korean bbq choices (we opted against bbq, which was a good choice b/c Oni and i went out later and it would've sucked to smell all bbq-ey). i had ordered a budae jigae but they forgot and at that point i didn't want to spend any more money on food, plus nobody was finishing anything at that point.

afterwards, it still being kind of early (9-ish) we went next door to Toto for karaoke. it was all of ours 1st time at Toto and we'd just randomly picked it b/c it was next to Seoul Garden. the room's actually very big which was nice since we were 8 ppl but it's the system they have set up that's the most impressive. the tv screen is ginormous, there's 2 tambourines on the table when you sit down, and the place is BYOB. it's the remote that's the most fun: aside from having a button to create applause, you can also use it to make disco and techno versions of every song you sing. it was a lot of fun to use it on VP's japanese friends b/c they all sang really well so we had to just mess w/them a little. right in the middle of their song Oni would just randomly press the techno button and the song would speed up and VP's friends' eyes would widen but they'd go along w/it anyway. 1 of my favorite moments was after singing Don't Stop Believing i texted Pal and Douglife who were my Hoboken karaoke buddies w/the lyric: "strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard/their shadows searching in the night" and got the reply text from them stating: "streetlight people, living just to find emotion/hiding, somewhere in the night". *giggle*
while there i got a call from the Twins (Chipmunk to be exact) who were on the LIRR into the city. since they were arriving at Penn Station i told them to just meet us in ktown and we would all figure out plans for later. the Twins and their friends went to Off the Wagon and Oni and i met up w/them later. i'd warned Oni of the scene there but since she thought the Twins were cute and it was her 1st time meeting them she was game to at least give it a try. for anyone who's never been to this bar, let me just pre-warn: this is the ultimate college frat party. what's sadder is, i'd been there before. so when Chipmunk was calling me to tell me where they were going and he couldn't give me an address, as soon as he said Off the Wagon i knew where it was. in my defense, Pal and i used to go to Village Ma w/ppl from work for a giant karaoke night and it happened to be right next to Off the Wagon and that's how this bar 1st came into my life. the other escapades were few and far between.

afterwards be bounced to another bar on Yuka's recommendation but since it was around 4 am at that point, everything was closing so the Twins, Oni and i cabbed it back to Brooklyn and the Twins stayed over at my place. tho, once again, i'm obviously getting old, b/c Chipmunk slept on the sofa and Casper in my bed while i slept w/Wifey. and why didn't i just sleep in my own bed? i don't know. it's just kind of hard to articulate in writing. was it cause i'd only met the Twins the week before? or that i'd only known them for a total of 2 days? or am i turning prude? or just too old to sleep w/ppl i don't know? or b/c Casper was grumpy b/c he was annoyed at Chipmunk? sigh...

the next day Twins, Oni and i went out for dim sum at Jing Fong. Casper told me that it was his 1st time there w/o his parents. aaw... o yea, in case my tone hasn't told you already: the Twins are 23. and i always thought that Debs was gonna be the youngest person i would go out w/ (that's not blood-related). anyways, if i make a lot of "aaws" in this posting, it's not my fault. it's instinctual and reflex. since the weather was so gorgeous we walked over to South Street Seaport and just sat around. it was actually a pretty chill time.

eventually the Twins went home to change and get ready for another night out in the city and Oni went to have dinner w/a friend and i got to go home and take a nap (which was much needed although it made me late to meet up w/Stitch at Max Brenner's). Stitch and i headed to Sing Sing and waited for the rest of the crew to get there and start...another karaoke night. yep, you didn't read incorrectly. Um and Stitch and i had planned a week before that we would go out karaoking so that was the scheduled activity. plus, they're hilarious anyway so i just knew that karaoke was gonna bring out something even better. and it did! Um sang bedding songs (all R&B, all about how much he's gonna love you down) which just floored me and Stitch danced to Jordan Knight's Give it to You. CLASSIC. after an hour of Sing Sing i suggested we move to Toto b/c the space is better and it was cheaper w/the amount of ppl we had. so on saturday night, around midnight, i found myself in exactly the same spot in ktown i'd been the night before. who knew? later we got some more korean food and called it a night.

still had a great time tho there was a mini dramatic moment w/Oni and my voice was hoarse for the following week. and that quote used in the title of this posting? it's not mine.

there is one caveat tho. after this weekend, i am completely camera-ed out. the Twins each had a camera, Oni and i had one, and Yuka had one as well. taking the same picture 5 times gets trying after awhile. i noticed on the following weekend there was a lot less of it going around.

the Debs 411

i recently had dinner w/Debs for our monthly touching base. we went to Republic, which i haven't been to in a while but that Debs hasn't been to since O and Cha went to NYU. i think we were still in high school at the time.

it was raining pretty badly that night and i was pretty exhausted from an entire weekend of karaoking but i always have time for Debs. we've known each other since we were babies after all. in retrospect Republic may not have been the perfect place to go for someone w/a hoarse throat. it wasn't until we sat down that i realized how loud it is in that place.

i'd originally tried to get a hot toddy to calm the throat but they didn't have any, tho how that's possible is always beyond me (who doesn't have whisky, hot water, lemon and brown sugar?). so instead i got hot sake. we split calamari skewers to start (really good except that they don't slice up the squid before-hand so it's difficult to eat an entire skewer at once). i got grilled salmon as an entree and she had noodle-soup, something w/coconut in it. b/c Debs claimed this was going to be her last meal (she was going to start eating healthier) we even got dessert: black sesame ice cream and a chocolate cake.

during dinner Debs filled me in on all the stuff that's been going on w/her. it seems like she's really at a crossroads in her life trying to figure out what to do. after meeting the Twins, i realized what it feels like to be an older sister figure (yes, i have a younger sister so technically i do know what it's like-it's just i've never really felt that about anyone aside from family) and i'd never considered Debs as younger than me (not really anyways). i think w/Debs it comes and goes. sometimes we're peers and i think of her as close enough to be family then other times i feel like the older sister giving advice and listening to a younger sibling.

welcome newbies!

yesterday was my first day back to school: i am officially a 2L. this means i only have 2 more years of school, then i have to take the bar exam, and then (if i pass) i'll be a full-fledged lawyer! hmm...even i'm too tired right now to get excited about that statement.

about a week ago all the 1Ls started to move in. i immediately got nostalgic as i watched them pull up in front of Feil Hall w/their parents and start unpacking all their stuff. even tho it was a year ago, watching them i felt like it had just happened to me. and they're all so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed about it all. it's adorable and at the same time i just want to turn them around and tell them to get out while they can.

a co-worker, who also graduated from BLS, had told me that you can always tell 1Ls apart from the 2Ls and 3Ls. aside from the fact that they're an unfamiliar face, they're also the only ppl who randomly say "hi" to strangers. i thought he was lying but i was doing laundry last week and got in the elevator w/2 girls. as we're passing the 3 minutes to travel from the 16th floor to the lobby, 1 of the girls turned to me and asks, "so, are you a 1L?" and it was said so patronizingly i just instinctively believed it had to be a 2L or 3L trying to be friendly but in a condescending way (they always do this. when they want to befriend a 1L they talk to them as if they're a baby or a puppy. it's unavoidable). so i curtly replied "nope". i asked them what year they were and when they told me 1L i couldn't help but go "oh". but let me tell the truth. what i actually said was:

"oooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

i swear it was that long. and by the time i'd finished we were at the lobby and they hopped out. i did not make a good impression.

i also had my first APALSA meeting last week. i haven't been a member of an organization or had board meetings in so long. it was fun to just see some ppl who haven't been around this summer and also think about the things APALSA's going to accomplish this year, but it was also annoying how long the meeting took b/c we would run off in tangents repeatedly.

lastly, i had my 1st full day of classes yesterday. i have to admit, my class schedule this semester kicks ass. 5 day weekends with 3 classes on tuesday and thursday and 1 evening class on wednesday. so i got to preview 3 of my professors yesterday and i have to admit, so far so good. Karmel is adorable and she posts outlines for each class on-line which helps so much b/c then i just copy and paste them to my Word doc and take notes in class (a little trick i learned from Egg but it really works). Pitler is hilarious b/c he walked into class and then proceeded to tell us he forgot his notes in his office and you could see he was debating whether to go and get them or just wing it. he decided to wing it for 5 mins before he adjourned himself to go get them. content-wise, Evidence isn't proving itself to be a nail-biter yet, but it was only the 1st day. and if i think Evidence is gonna be a yawn, Federal Income Taxation might just put me into a coma. it's all numbers and tax expenditure and standard of living charts. *yawn*

on the biggest plus side, my seats in each class are pretty good and i happen to be sitting next to some random ppl who have been really nice so far.

i met the mayor at his house

i realized that the majority of the time that i'm writing a post, i start with "so...." which is scarily similar to the American Pie band camp girl. i think i'm a little worried about this, and rightly so. as of now i'm going to make a concerted effort to not start posts like that.

a little bit ago, probably about a week after i'd started at OATH, the City held a giant BBQ for all the city interns, which was a great idea. everyone got to meet/see Mayor Bloomberg and we ate yummy (and free) burgers, chicken, fries, etc., the usual BBQ fare. the highlight tho, was getting to go to Gracie Mansion. turns out Gracie Mansion is the mayor's house. well, technically it is anyway (i mean, of course Mike Bloomberg doesn't actually live there b/c, while the house is nice, it's pretty much a hovel to him).

when Gohm was here he lived on 86th and York and we did explore his neighborhood quite a bit, but i'd never known that Gracie Mansion was right there. it does explain the reason why there are so many Gracie's Diners and Gracie's Cafes around that neighborhood. i'd just always thought there were a lot of ppl called Gracie.

day at the beach

sometimes life is so surreal. there are always these random "Dynasty" moments that pop up in my life, and then it's all back to normal life again.
but that's neither here nor there, and irrelevant to this posting. well, mostly irrelevant anyway.

so since summer's dwindling down and school's about to start, it was a good time to go to the beach (sadly NYC's not really a beach city. it never really occurs to anyone that it's even possible). after a hilarious mass email chain, Stitch and i went w/a bunch of friends to Jones Beach. i've never actually been to Jones Beach but, being a Jersey girl, have heard lots about it on the radio (thank you Z100 and KTU). i and an-individual-who-chooses-to-remain-nameless (we'll call him Anonymous) took the LIRR on the Port Washington line to go meet Stitch and her friends in Manhasset. there we were, chatting away, when all of a sudden we looked up and we were in Port Washington. we'd missed our stop! so i called Stitch and it was arranged that she and the Twins (not to be confused w/the evil Bobsey Twins or a reference to Stitch's boobs) would come and pick us up in Port Washington.

so we wandered around Main Street and it reminded me so much of being back at Smith wandering around Northampton during my college days. there's really only 1 main street and it's not that long. eventually we got to a supermarket and decided to duck in and pick up some snacks. as soon as we walked in it was like heaven on earth. after living in Brooklyn for the past year i've forgotten how luxurious a real supermarket is: the multitude of options, the cheaper prices, the fact that everything you could want is under 1 roof. we just kept wandering up and down the aisles in total bliss and lamenting the fact that NYC doesn't have anything even close to it.

eventually Stitch came and got us and i met the Twins for the 1st time. initially, nobody had told me they were twins, and since 1 was sitting in the front seat and 1 in the back, i didn't really think they were twins. it was only once we got to the beach that i realized they were twins. when you see them together you can't help but notice they're obviously very similar looking but it really hit me they were twins when i mixed up who was who later that night. anyways, Jones Beach was pretty quiet that Saturday so there was plenty of room close to the water and not too many annoyances/distractions, except we had the misfortune of sitting next to teeny boppers who wouldn't shut up about throwing each other into the water and abercrombie & fitch bathing suits. it was very annoying.

i took full advantage of tanning by using SPF 4 tanning oil. Casper did the same since everyone was poking fun at him for being so white. ultimately he and i got burnt, although he was severely burnt and peeling just a day later. the only place i peeled was my face which happened to be the only place i didn't put on suntan lotion (i know, i know, bad bad girl).
later on, Gohm chastised me for wearing a bikini instead of a granny swimsuit to the beach. i mean, really...

I AM THE SCRABBLE QUEEN

so i recently went to Camp (a bar in Brooklyn, not an activities program for teens/pre-teens) w/friends for a simple night out of drinks and board games. this bar's gotta be one of my faves in the Heights b/c it's so relaxed. fun rock/80's/lounge music and really cheap drinks ($5 mixed drinks? so cheap). the other highlight's the selection of board games that you can play: Jenga, Monopoly, Sorry, Scrabble, etc.

so we all played Scrabble and i whooped ass! ok, maybe that's an exaggeration. but i still made some pretty impressive words: helix anyone? yea, i know, that's impressive.

so hungover it hurts

so last Tuesday i randomly met up w/Pinky who i haven't seen for over a year for drinks at Forum. poor Pinky had texted me around 8 p.m. to see if i wanted to meet him since he was already there having drinks w/friends but they were taking off. i was a little indecisive but then said sure and got ready, which took a while and i got side-tracked. i finally made it to Forum around 10 p.m. poor poor Pinky.

since i wasn't sure if Pinky was going to stay b/c i'd taken so long, i called Pal since she lives in the Union Square area as well. luckily she was at Heartland Brewery so i told her where i was going and we'd keep in touch to see who finished up first. when i got to Forum Pinky was chatting up a cute lady sitting next to him at the bar. turns out she works for Saks and Pinky's always networking, not that he has any probs chatting and being social when he goes out. i ordered a drink and Pinky ordered another vodka and redbull. this is how i knew he'd been waiting and drinking for a while: the bartender comped him his drinks, and later, comped him 4 shots of Petron.

Pinky and i caught up, which was good b/c i don't know that much about him in the 1st place. did i mention that he's the owner of pinkyotto? when we'd met about a year ago, he was in such a party mood in his life. he travelled Asia and has been back for months and he seems to have mellowed out a lot. it was fun. later Pal and her friend came and met up w/us and that's when the Petron shots came flying out. afterwards we headed towards Pianos but for some reason we ended up not staying/going in and headed somewhere a block away instead. so the night gets a little hazy from there and i hadn't eaten dinner so....yea. i was smart enough to pour myself into a cab around 2 am but i suffered horribly for the next day+

Pearl the Landlord

since i find this HILARIOUS i just wanted to share...