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10.30.05
Katie, Sandy, and I had lunch at a Korean place in San Leandro.
We really wanted to try this soul food place but it was closed.
Afterwards, we went shopping at Nordstrom Rack but I didn't find
anything I liked.
10.29.05
Oooh, I found some Blue Cult blue jeans for only $24 and
I got a pretty pink corduroy fitted jacket by Meghan
Noland.
10.25.05
Favorite Songs of the Moment:
Jet - Look What You've Done
The Killers - All The Things That I've Done
The Love Makers - Prepare For The Fight
Papa Roach - Scars
Weezer - This Is Such A Pity
10.24.05
I'm such a nerd. I've discovered podcasts. For those not
familiar with podcasts, they are a method of publishing audio files
to the Internet and are often times free of charge. I get to listen
to commentary from NPR but the
cool thing is that I get to listen to stuff that I'm interested
in. Here are some random audios I've listened to recently:
Art
Pop from Seattle's Death Cab for Cutie
California
Catches the New York Cupcake Craze
The
Complete Calvin and Hobbes
Is
the Blue Jean Bubble About to Burst?
10.23.05
I went window shopping around 4th Street in Berkeley. Of
course I visited Anthropologie, one of my favorite stores to window
shop because I could never afford anything there. >< Later,
I ended up getting some kitchen utensils from Lenox, who was having
a going out of business sale. Oooh, and Hydra had some cute
soaps that featured neighborhoods around SF. It's always fun
trying on the jewelry from Jest Jewels.
Afterwards, I had brunch with Emily and Stephanie at Bette's
Oceanview Diner; the wait there is horrendous on the weekends
and according to Stephanie there is actually a line before the diner
opens at 6:30 am, craziness. Anyway, they had amazing souffle pancakes
that I'm definitely going to order next time. They were so light
and airy. =d It was a gorgeous day so I tagged along with Stephanie
and helped her pick out a kite for her friend at the Berkeley Marina.
Oddly, there were a bunch of guys dressed in medieval gear on a
hill sparing with each other.
10.22.05
Oooh, I ran a really good mile today, my best time in a very
long time. Mmm, I'm thinking of signing up for one of the shorter
races in SF next year. Haha, it'll be a good test of my endurance
and discipline.
10.21.05
Lately, a handful of people I know are getting engaged. My
coworker is getting married a year from today. Someone from my floor
is engaged. People from my business frat are engaged. Another college
friend is engaged. Must be something in the air. Autumn weddings
are nice though in the Bay Area; not too warm and lower chances
of rain. Anyway, we had lunch at Cancun; they have all sorts of
yummy salsas.
10.18.05
Yay, I finally finished my first sewing project. I made a
pair of blue flannel pajama pants that will be perfectly cozy for
the winter. They have cute cargo pockets and a drawstring. It's
pretty cool to see how all the pieces of fabric fit together. Gradually,
as you sew things together, it becomes more apparent what you're
making. My sewing instructor was trying to convince us to model
our projects for the March fashion show. =p
Next projects are a flannel scarf and a winter skirt. Heehee, my
new favorite thing to do is to go fabric shopping.
10.17.05
Oooh, does this scarf look pretty? I'm tempted to make it
but it looks time consuming because all the flowers are hand sewn.
The scarf reminds me of a BCBG cashmere top I was lusting over.
=p
10.16.05
Mmm, I'm addicted to chocolate covered coffee beans. And
I get a bonus caffeine kick. I'm also weirdly jet lagged, waking
up at 4:00 am not able to sleep. I think I'm still on New York time.
10.15.05
I got to talk to Crissy on the phone for the first time since
she left for Taiwan. We chatted for an hour using Skype, this free
internet phone service. The voice quality was pretty decent and
I love how it's free. It's so difficult to find time to chat with
her because when my day is just starting she's heading to bed and
vice versa. Anyway, read about her adventures here.
She sounds like she's having so much fun. I'm jealous.
10.14.05
I really like washi, which is Japanese, traditional, handmade
paper. I also like Japanese bowls and I always stare at all the
dinnerware stuff when I visit Marina Foods or Ranch 99. All those
cute cherry blossom adorned ceramics. Heehee.
10.13.05
Hello, I'm back from my vacation. NYC was awesome as usual
but the weather was horrible. What gives? October is supposed to
be one of the best times to visit, mild temperatures, and supposedly
the least amount of rainfall. Haha, we got thoroughly drenched though;
it rained cats and dogs for two days. We made them museum and shopping
days but it's still no fun when you have to walk around from place
to place. My shoes were soaked after walking around outside for
30 minutes. If it rained that much in the Bay Area I would seriously
consider getting cute rain boots like these:
Anyway, I watched the Kirov Ballet perform Sleeping Beauty at Zellerbach
tonight. They are one of the best ballet companies in the world.
I can't remember the last time I watched a ballet. Anyway, I like
fairy tales and it enjoyed the performance. I especially liked how
there were all these fairy tale cameos at the wedding such as Little
Red Riding Hood, the wolf, Puss in the Boots, and Cinderella.
10.12.05
- Chelsea
I had a chocolate croissant and latte at La Bergamote, this cute
cafe but really it was a good way to stay dry because it was pouring
really hard outside. Ironically, our hotel is in Chelsea but we
never got the chance to explore all the wonderful galleries.
- Greenwich
Roamed around all the confusing crooked streets.
- Magnolia Bakery
I stood under an awning in front of a bookstore for 30 minutes
across the street from the bakery waiting for it to open. Why?
Because it was pouring really hard and I had no idea where the
closest cafe was or where else to go. I thought, "Dude, this
is my last day in NYC. I'm here already, I need to find out what
all the hype is about." Every time a car passed, a huge wave
of water would splash toward me. Booo! At least I didn't have
to deal with any lines. Who would be crazy enough to venture out
in that kind of weather for cupcakes. Anyway, I had a cupcake
and didn't like the sugary frosting. I think I'm more fond of
creamy desserts like ice cream, creme brulee, or cheesecake.
- H & M
I bought a cute tweed blazer. I was tempted to buy this velvet
hour glass pencil skirt but I couldn't justify the price. It had
cool criss crossing, black ribbons though.
- Zara
Didn't find anything but I got lunch a block away from one of
those street vendors. Mmm, chicken gyro.
- Mark C highly recommended going to Jacques
Torres chocolate factory in SoHo. How can I resist delish
chocolate? I bought some truffles and some rich hot chocolate.
Some of my favorite flavors were Almondine and Love Bug.
- Loehmann's
This is like a high end Ross or Marshalls but more disorganized.
- Flew back home, vroom.
10.11.05
- Empire State Building
The entire week the Empire State Building was covered in fog whenever
we attempted to visit. But this was pretty much our last chance
so we braved the horrible weather. Rain and wind are a bad combination
where you're at the top of a skyscraper. Luckily for us the rain
stopped after 20 minutes or so and visibility was decent enough.
- World Financial Center
There was some random Taiwanese performance in the Winter Garden
area .
- Century 21
I bought this pretty dusty pink sweater wrap.
- Canal Street and Chinatown
I bought this pretty black beaded purse, great for going out at
night.
- Greenwich
- St. Mark's Place
Kinda reminds me of Telegraph Avenue.
- Pomme Frites
The mango chutney sauce is the best.
- Beard Papa's
Mmm, coffee cream puffs.
- Washington Square Park
- Washington Mews
Very quaint street with ancient brickwork in the street.
- Annisa
You are given the opportunity to consult with the chef about your
food preferences and she'll prepare something especially for you.
I had squab with some sort of savory sauce.
- Five Course Love
Cute off Broadway musical. It was funny and clever how the same
3 actors each played 5 characters each.
10.10.05
10.09.05
10.08.05
- The Metropolitan Museum of
Art
- Saigon Grill
- Guggenheim
- Dinner with Ben and his twin Lawrence in the East Village at
Kenka
We got to make cotten candy as a dessert. Anyway, it was good
seeing Ben; I can't believe he competed in a triathlon, all that
training and preparation. I was joking with Ben that it seems
like everytime we meet up in New York, it's the worst possible
weather ever. Last time Crissy and I had dinner with him it was
really windy and sleeting, extremely icey on the ground.
- Australian for sorbet
- Pomme Fritte
10.07.05
10.06.05
- Ground Zero
- Battery Park
Pretty views of New Jersey with the Statue of Liberty in the distance.
- South Street Seaport
It's kinda weird to shop at a chain store when visiting in a new
city but Express had a good sale. I got two silk tops; great for
layering.
- Wall Street Walking Tour
It was often difficult to hear our guide over all the traffic
and construction going on in the Financial area but she had great
insight about the historical neighborhood. I really like the US
Custom House building; be sure to take a closer look of the four
statues in front of the building. Each one represent a continent
that the U.S. was trading with in the early 1900s.
- Chinatown
Lots of fun browsing around Canal Street. If you like pashmina
scarves or beaded shoes and purses do check out the stores. And
be sure to bargain with the store owners. I recommend dropping
by the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. They have flavors like lichee,
green tea, and almond cookie.
- Joe's Shanghai
Yummy soup dumplings.
- Littly Italy
Delish cannolis.
- Soho
Lots of galleries and boutiques.
- Phantom of the
Opera
The first time I saw this musical I had pretty bad seats and couldn't
see a thing. We got awesome seats from the TKTS booth and I kept
on having, "ah, so that's what happened" moments throughout
the musical. Anyway, very exciting to see such a classic musical
in NYC.
10.05.05
Red eye flights are a great way to efficiently use your time
when visiting the East Coast but dude are they tiring. I barely
made it through today. I had some trouble focusing during the Central
Park walking tour and briefly dozed a off a few times during the
philharmonic, oops, heehee.
- Lincoln Center
We went to get $10 student rush tickets for the New York Philharmonic.
The Lincoln Center is a concentration of performing arts such
as the theatre, jazz, opera, and ballet. I like how the Metropolitan
Opera House has two huge Chagall paintings.
- Cafe Lalo
They filmed a scene from You Got Mail here. The walls are covered
with vintage posters. I ordered a salmon salad but it was too
herby for me. The desserts looked delish but we were too full
to sample them. Supposedly some semi-famous soap opera actress
was being interviewed next to our table.
- Central
Park Walking Tour
Central Park is huge and I think we would've gotten completely
lost if we didn't have a guide with us.
- Sarah Chang and the
New York Philharmonic
Dynamic performance as usual and it's still startling to realize
how talented she is and yet she's only 25.
10.04.05
Yay! I'm going to New York again, so very excited. This time
I'm going with my college friend Sandy.
10.03.05
Favorite Songs of the Moment:
All American Rejects - Move Along
The Bravery - Unconditional
Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To
Hot Hot Heat - Middle Of Nowhere
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