Dinner date at Yuca Bar

I met up with my good friend, Patty, from undergrad tonight at Astor Place around 7pm. We met by the sculpture of the cube turned onto its corner. Deb Oakley would probably have loved this sculpture, but who cares.

We walked around the East Village in search of a Turkish restaurant which we did not know the name or location of. Without luck and growling bellies, we decided to eat at Yuca Bar. It proved to be quite tasty and it was a perfect night to eat outside. Patty had the Churrasco grilled skirt steak and I had the oh-so-delicious guava BBQ short rib with yuca fries. Hooray yuca fries! Holy moly they were good. Thick cut and crispy like nobody's business. Patty got major food envy, so I happily shared some of them with her. We also had glasses of sangria and shared the Warm Chocolate Cake cortadito. To quote Rachel Ray...YUM-O! It gets better and better as you dig into it once you get into the gooey, warm, chocolately core.

It was really great to see Patty and reminisce about old times, gripe about the architecture profession, and talk about all the concerts that we will be going to. Can't wait....I've been wanting to go to some concerts now that I'm finally free from the shackles of grad school.

So once we finished dinner, we started walking back towards the NQRW line past all the too cool hipsters in the area. As we were chatting we happened to pass by a group of these cool guys, one of which said "Don't they look smart." So why did he say that? Just because I happened to be wearing a collared shirt with sweater vest and we both wear glasses....does that make us smart looking? I guess so.

I was told the same thing before when I used to work at Crate and Barrel back in college. I've been wearing glasses full-time since I finished high school. I remember always being asked by customers where they could find this or what was good about that, even though there would be another sales associate right there. My one coworker said it's probably because I'm asian....and then of course glasses don't help. They probably thought my eyes got so bad from reading all those books by candle light (not from watching too much tv).

I am so smart....SMRT.

Good movies I've seen lately

Here's a list of good movies that I have seen recently and thorougly recommend:



Little Miss Sunshine
Absolutely hilarious comedy with great characters!


Everything is Illuminated
This one was chosen during a stroll through Blockbuster. Again, really wonderful, funny characters and bittersweet story.


Capote
Excellent film about Truman Capote and the story behind his final novel. Another amazing character, this time from real life. Beautifully shot and acted.

Groundhog Day
A timeless classic with Bill Murray in his prime that I had to introduce to Sam who hadn't seen it yet (?!). Rise and shine, campers! And don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today.


Wallace & Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Who can resist a Wallace & Gromit movie. Really funny and the rabbits are just adorable.

hey punkin (^^)

I just got my new cell phone two days ago and boy is it purty. Looky look! It's my new Motorola PEBL.


Lucky for me my company has a discount through Cingular and Tmobile...I went with Tmobile. I've had Cingular for the past couple years since AT&T got bought out by them. I do miss my Nokia phone though. The organization of stuff makes more sense to me, but that's only because I've had Nokia phones since 1998/99. Anyway, I got my phone for $50. Excellent >=)


One of the coolest things about the phone is its matte color coating which resist fingerprints and smudges and feels like a baby's bottom. Goo goo ga! The other really really cool thing is the one hand opening mechanism. You just push down on the face of the phone with your thumb and then the hinge flips open. Ta da! It's magic.

And when you're ready to close the phone, it snaps closed thanks to its interior magnetic faces. I'm sure I'll have some problems with my cards getting demagnetized. In the manual, it recommends that you not keep your phone in the same pocket as any of your credit cards. What were they thinking?? It's still cool though. What can I say? I'm in love with cute and beauty.

Weekend at the Jersey Shore

Sam and I spent a fun filled weekend (Aug 12-13) at Dave and Meredith's house in Howell, NJ. Dave is a good friend from architecture undergrad at the University of Maryland as well as my friends, Kim and Jason (who are getting married next summer). Ali was also supposed to be there, but poor thing has insomnia issues :( Soon.....soon the posse shall be complete!



I made some yummy delicious sangria. I love sangria! It went well with the yummy food that Dave and Mer bbqed.













Here's Dave and Meredith. Congrats Dave on getting your wife knocked up! Wasn't it only last year that we went to your wedding? I guess you have to start early if you're serious about having enough for a soccer team. What is that....ten more??
I took this picture at this really bad college frat party that we went to briefly. There was a mechanical surf board, bands, dunk tank, and ice luge (for pouring down shots of course). That's the way they roll ova hee.









Jason is plotting to steal Kim's Curious George while she's not looking. Bad Jason. Tsk tsk....remember she beat every single one of us. You are not alone.











Beautiful firework show at Manasquan for the families. I had some yummy delicious black raspberry Italian ice during the show, which was surprisinly long.












A beautiful day at Manasquan Beach. Plenty of sun, surprisingly cool summer breeze, sunblock, and non-stinging jellyfish that felt like breast implants, according to Sam. He was right.










These were just a few of the pictures from that weekend. Click here to see some more.

Puerto Rico

Sam and I went to Puerto Rico for rest, relaxation, and Eduardo's wedding between June 28th and July 4th. It was so HOT and HUMID! I don't do well in heat :P It rained in little spurts here and there everyday, but then it would get hot again. Our hotel, called El Canario by the Sea, was a quaint little place in a neighborhood of San Juan called Condado. We were just steps from da beach. Ahh..

Eduardo and Nori's wedding was held near Ceiba (I'm pretty sure) and the reception was in Loiza. It was a simple wedding at a cute little church and the couple looked so beautiful! Look at the photos and see.

One of our favorite activities was taking a night time kayak tour of the Bioluminescent Bay in Fajardo. We got eaten alive the entire night by mosquitos, but the tour was just AMAZING. Truly a must do before you die! The water is full of tiny plankton called dinoflagellates that glow...well maybe you can just read about it. It's a surreal experience :)

Other cool places of interest: El Yunque tropical rainforest (the only one in the US), the Caves at Camuy (stalagtites and stalagmites galore + several thousand bats), Arecibo Observatory (featured in the films Goldeneye and Contact), Old San Juan, the birthplace of the Pina Colada, Gilligan's Island (on a nice day), and any other beach.

Today's photos

This is my temporary bed in my temporary home in Palisades Park, NJ. This is Sam's sister's room...*sigh*

Broad Avenue on a beautiful, cool, sunny day.

Waiting for the 166 Express to New York City.

On the 166 bus.....nap time!


Walking down 42nd Street from Port Authority to the NQRW subway downtown.

Walking through the Farmer's Market (Mon, Wed, Fri) at the northern tip of Union Square and twoard Broadway.

My row on the 3rd floor at Perkins Eastman Architects.

My lovely desk which is a vast improvement over my first desk (windowless room, 10'x10'?). Again this is temporary. Starting monday....new desk on the 6th floor on the Broadway side. Movin on up!

another day another dollar

This past week was the first week of work at my new job with Perkins Eastman Architects. I spent the first day and a half going through orientation which was long and . My office is located on Fifth Avenue around 19th Street...right next to Victoria's Secret (good thing because I have a coupon for a free pair of underwear). The address is 115 Fifth Avenue and we occupy half of the 2nd floor, the entire 3rd floor (which spans from Fifth to Broadway), and now half of the 6th.

I will post pictures showing my typical day going going to work soon, but here's my schedule:

6:30 wake up to a sweltering hot house (Sam's mom is allergic to a/c) and get ready for work

7:30 pack lunch

7:45 Sam drops me off at Broad Avenue and I catch the 166 bus to NYC

8:20 I usually nap on the bus. We drive down the turnpike, through the Lincoln Tunnel, and then finally arrive at Port Authority.

8:30 I walk down 42nd street down a couple blocks past the Amsterdam Theater (Lion King) to the NRQW subway station which I take to Union Square, 14th Street.

8:45 I walk through the Farmers Market (except Tues and Thurs) up Broadway. Then I turn left at 19th Street and again at Fifth Avenue.

9:00 Start work day

1:00 Lunch

6:00 GO HOME

...walk...subway....walk....bus....walk....

8:00 dinner

11:00 SLEEEEP