God is fair

Some wiseman said I should be contented that I have a job.  God is fair.  What makes people think God is unfair, that is, when people can't live to their own expectations, or get their desires.


Was enlightened for a day.  Next day, I woke up feeling pesky and dread going to work.  Maybe God isn't being mean to me.  But, I really hate what I'm doing now. Though not dreading the work scope, it's another 101 reasons that I really hate what I'm doing.  Including working my ass more than 60 hrs a week with pathetic compensation.

I should pray to be wiser.

New York

There could be 10 reasons to hate New York, but no less than a zillion reasons to fall in love with her.

freedom, where thou?

I'm dying to have 100% of it .

Thank You, Alicia

Friday, 3:45PM - Alicia arrived at Penn Station after a long train ride from Buffalo to celebrate my belated birthday. I received a hand painted "tulip" wine glass from Etsy and an Anthropolgie giftcard (yeah!!) as gifts.

5:30PM - Proceed to Ellen's Stardust Diner at Midtown for dinner and live performances from Broadway singers!

7:35PM - Strolled down to Minskoff Theater on 45th to watch the musical, Lion King that I had pre-ordered online a week before. The most expensive musical I ever watched. (Review entails shortly in separate post.)

Saturday, 10:30AM - Had breakfast at Elmhurst's popular diner, Georgia Diner. Belgium waffles, sausages, and over easy eggs. Truly nostalgic - thinking back to college days where all of us would pig out on American breakfasts after gym, after exams, or when we're drunk. Sinful, yet satisfying. Besides, what could possibly go wrong with Belgium waffles for the mornings? Stand united, waffle fans!

1:00PM - The whole afternoon at Museum of Natural History. (My next biggest birthday wish after watching a musical!) Pretty upset that the exhibits on 2nd floor were closed for a personal event. :-( Took the C train up to 93th to visit all-time favorite wine tasting bar, New York Vintage. It was as good as carnal pleasure. ;-) Walked out with LiBella's Pinot Grigio and a wine bible.

8:00PM - Called Domino's for pizza and wings. Devoured Pinot Grigio while watching missed episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty. Shared chocolate layered cake with Alicia over hot tea and coffee. Gained extra 10 pounds after a fantastical night in.

Sunday, 11:15AM - Had brunch at upper west side's sexy Latin American restaurant, Calle Ocho. Bottomless flow of over 6 different Sangrias, high energy music, and zesty decor. Best brunch on a lovely Sunday! Checked out flea market behind Museum of Natural History.

3:00PM - Sped downtown towards Brooklyn. Got off at High St. in Brooklyn and walked over the Brooklyn bridge towards Manhattan. Weather was incredibly sunny and pleasant.

4:00PM - Went to Chinatown/Little Italy to get Alicia's pashimas. Brought her to Ferrara's for some Italian sweet. Enjoyed my first coffee of the day.

6:30PM - Dinner at a steakhouse near my house. I felt 200% carnivorous after ordering a plate of grilled pork chops. Was taken back by the extremely reasonable prices for morbidly huge serving. Tried chimichurri for the first time.

Monday, 4:00AM - Penn Station to bid Alicia goodbye.

Thank you, Alicia!

1:58AM

I detest myself utterly. In the worst way ever, I need a drastic change in terms of character - desperately.

Here's what I need to do:

1. Stop being an annoying bitch.
2. No more fussy whining.
3. Steer away from biasness.
4. Be more mature; yet not dull.
5. Confident about the current physical and continue working my way towards a healthier me. Progress doesn't count. Only end result is KEY.
6. Maintain calm composure and be nonchalant. Anger is my enemy.
7. Smile and be happy; even if I have to fake it. It's worth it.
8. Stop dreaming.
9. Be humble. Be modest. Be compassionate.
10. Strangle myself the moment I start all that annoying, fussy, immature, angry, ignorant, daft whining.
11. Meditate.

Vintage New York

If you like wine and New York, Vintage New York is the perfect place for good wine tastings. With initiative to share good wines from all over New York to public, this wine tasting bar/shop is offering 5-for-$15 wine tastings! Though I have to thank L. for opening me up to this place, I am starting to worry about overindulging my taste buds with some of their terrific wines and friendly staff.

L. and her 5 desert wines at Soho's.

It was pathetically sad that they terminated business at their Soho location (figured rent was eroding away the profits?), but was unimaginably relieved to know that they had another store on the upper west side. That being said, I took A. with me the moment she reached the city from Buffalo to celebrate my belated birthday. I could not find a more perfect excuse to steal a chance for wine tasting! With a wine bible and LiBella Pinot Grigio (was actually contemplating of a Riesling) wrapped under my arm, A. and I walked out of Vintage NY with blissful taste buds!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Eileen!

The first time to celebrate my birthday at a new city! For my birthday request, I picked Le Bateau Irve, a stunning French wine bar restaurant for an evening dinner. Tempted by their scroll-like list of French wines available for tastings in cute little desert glasses, it would be a shame to resist. Plus, service was impeccable as our sweet French waitress took care of us with great detail.

For fruits de mer, we had a set of fresh oyster with red wine vinaigrette. As I rarely prepare lamb dishes at home, I selected grilled lamb chops accompanied with au gratin and goat cheese stuffed tomatoes for main entree. Quite surprisingly, I found my serving too huge. Nevertheless, I could hardly complain with perfectly grilled, medium rare lamb chops. Ultra-splendid. D. had Gascony's speciality - duck confit, which she later complained was too salty. To end with a sweet note, our server recommended Strawberry Mille-feuille (aka Napoleon) with vanilla bean sauce, which I found to be average.

L. caught up with us shortly, and we headed to Whiskey Bar at W Hotel for a few rounds of cocktails. We were all surprised with a huge comfy bed in the middle of the bar! The night ended with us a little tipsy, but we were looking forward to Saturday to continue my birthday marathon. Plus, A. is coming the following week to celebrate. I have to thank for the good fortune!

Legally Blonde on Broadway

I was talking to my friend A., over Gmail's chat feature a few weeks ago. By chance, she mentioned that the musical version of "Legally Blonde" would be last performing on Broadway on October 19, 2008. There are no explanations to why the musical shall be taken off Broadway; given the fact that it is launched recently (my definition of recently is less than 2 years).

Still, without hesitation, I booked L. 's and D's schedule to watch the musical on a Friday evening. It was not the best musical I had watched. Yes. The props, costumes, and lightings were stunningly impressive. Particularly awed by certain scenes when the cast members changed their costumes within the audience's blink of an eye, I seriously thought I was hallucinated by some magic illusions. Quite sadly, the vocals did not leave me with a deep impression as I walked out of Palace Theater. It probably did injustice to compare Legally Blonde with other musicals I had watched, but I did not feel connected like I was part of the musical; unlike Rent or Les Miserables. In a nutshell, the musical was quite delightful for its sense of humor as we all left the theater with a good laugh. I laughed until my jaws soured especially with that "hot" UPS guy, and the irish dance. Here's some interesting clips on Legally Blonde The Musical:

Omigod You Guys!


Serious

This one is sooo funny. Warner is quite a jerk, but he's quite dashing honestly. Sorry!!

Jamaican Me Crazy

I totally dig that rapper. I can't stop laughing when he appeared on stage.

Bend and Snap (y'all HAVE TO WATCH THIS!)


Enjoy!