May 23, 2013
From one humid place to another...I am very much looking forward to the long weekend. I haven't been back since January. It is steaming hot down there. Luckily, rain is not in the forecast for the duration of my trip.
May 21, 2013
Get Num Pang's corn on the cob. I don't think I had it before. They add coconut flakes to it along with cheese and chili powder. Why do I enjoy the same food that cows eat? What does that say about our appetite? No wonder everyone's fat. We eat the same crap we feed our cows so they can fatten up before we kill them for consumption. Apparently, I need a new backpack. I like my Uniqlo backpack. It's functional, not too big, and not too small. We came home to a very nice gift from Zoe. Poor thing ate too much the night before because I fed her. It was the only time I fed her and apparently, it was a meal for two dogs. I took her for a walk to cool things down. Poor thing was punished and was confined to her bed. All she had for dinner was dried food. I think the two made up this morning because she was back in my spot when I left. I am not looking forward to the humid summer. Today is a nice preview of what's to come.
May 20, 2013
I finally made it to the frying pan. The $40 white sangria pitchers definitely hit the spot. Come early to grab your own table and chairs. If you arrive a bit later, there is a long line to get on the barge ...or pier. I know it is a floating something. Dinner followed at an Elle Decor home in Morningside Heights. It took me a good hour to return home. I did not want to get up the next morning. Like Chi Mai said, it was as if someone was getting married. We all scrambled to use the one bathroom to get ready. We arrived at Coney Island on time but were given wrong directions to the family meeting area. We made it to the meeting area a minute before Jacq arrived. It was absolutely perfect timing. We finished two bottles of sparkling. We walked over to Little Russia and definitely felt foreign in our own city. The food was surprisingly delicious. We made it back to the city with everyone going their own way. I finished laundry but didn't really get an afternoon nap in. We cleaned up the entrees at Pho Grand. It was then off to Verlaine for lychee martinis. Some lonely dancing ensued after and we zigzagged home. I didn't wake up until after 10AM the next morning. This was definitely a record for me. We didn't stay out too late, but my lack of sleep finally caught up to me. I came to Williamsburg bearing gifts from Little Russia. The biscuits place had a line and so did the bagels place. The wait at the bagels place was utterly ridiculous. Lounging around on a damp Sunday in your fat pants is the best. I managed to get a nap in with Zoe of course. I woke up to banh mi from An Nhau. For dinner, it was Italian gelato. Taylor Swift can get it.
May 17, 2013
Yesterday's meeting was held in the president's conference room. It was my first time in that room. I had no idea such a room exists. The big conference table and high back chairs were quite intimidating. This was the only conference room that was available for the time we wanted. Anyways, as we got off of the elevator, we ran into a colleague who we worked with last year. She told us that the sites appreciated the work we did. They were nervous before our visits but were happy with the results. She continued on with some comments made by certain individuals that made it all the more better. It is unfortunate that we no longer work with her. If she was still in the same position, we would have been done with the other sites by now. Due to the change in management, we have not completed our work for all of the sites. I found a solution to the summer schedule. Let's see if it will pan out in a couple weeks.
May 15, 2013
Don't invite your ex to your own wedding. You'll end up running off with your ex and leave your spouse to be at the altar. CeCe got played by Taylor Swift. I thought that was good, but the Mindy finale was a lot better. A colleague mentioned Dough's lemon poppy seed doughnut. One of my friends also mentioned Dough this past weekend. I think she mentioned the same poppy seed doughnut too. It sounds like Brooklyn does do it better than all the other boroughs. I found a solution to the 8:30 late start time to commence in a couple weeks. I will go to Coles because they open at 6:30AM. That will give me time to run back home, shower, and get ready for work. I will also buy unlimited metro cards for the summer months unless the building creates space for a bike storage room. The executives upstairs have access to private showers...I think. We need some on the third floor. David took the initiative to schedule a dinner to take place two weeks from now and brunch more than a month away. He was definitely one step ahead of me. I am not allergic to animals and I am not a gypsy. Heather said that distractions will not make you happy. When you are focused, you will be happy.
May 14, 2013
I couldn't pass up on an awesome promotional deal thanks to NYU's employee appreciation day. I bought myself a new MacBook Pro. The price tag was $450 off of retail pricing. I consulted with KNT beforehand and she agreed that the $300 I spent on fixing the old laptop would not go to waste because I am giving it to my nephew even if he already has a PC laptop. I think this will be his first Apple laptop. I don't know what happened to Di Chang's white laptop. My old one is fine because I replaced the hard drive. It's as if the computer is brand new. The only problem is that it is much heavier than the newer models and it does not have airplay. With airplay, I can use my TV as my computer monitor by way of Apple TV. My cable-less life just got a bit more interesting.
May 13, 2013
After work, we all crammed into the 6 train to head uptown. The 4/5 trains were way too packed for us. People literally had to wait for the next ones. The 6 was completely empty. We showed up at Ms. Lee's doorman building on the east side. It was literally in my old neighborhood. I really do not miss taking the train all the way to 77th St and having to walk over to the east side. However, it was a very nice evening. I do not like patron. I don't know why it's even expensive. I got home a bit early to get a good night's rest. It rained the following morning up until 30 minutes before start time. The run was the most difficult to date. After I crossed the finish line, I was a bit dizzy but got over it a few seconds later. The red apple was a nice treat to end the race. I ended up throwing away the bagel. I managed to get a 30 minute nap in after running errands. Cao Night turned into Game Night. Chi Mai was happy for a good 15 minutes. I have to get UNO for myself. I haven't played it in years. KNT, my favorite was the telephone drawing game. I will definitely recycle that game for another outing. I thought The Tudors ended with season 3, but there is another whole season to watch. The mimosas finally came on Sunday morning before brunch. I ate two pieces of a very rich chocolate cake in one day. That's one too many to consume. The hardware store was closed so we made it back down Metropolitan to the plant store. Zoe didn't do her business this morning. I had no idea why she couldn't perform. She normally goes to town right when we step out of the door. Perhaps she had stage fright.
May 10, 2013
So Ryan Gosling gained 40 pounds for his role in The Place Beyond the Pines. I want his guns! It must be nice to wear raggedy sleeveless shirts and rob banks all day. Apparently, this movie is responsible for Eva and Ryan getting it on. I think they are still together. I finally got a shout out from Jando in Queens. Here's right back at you, sir. #FF I have to be honest...I looked up that hashtag to understand what it means. I thought you wanted to say that we are friends forever, but I was wrong. Sao Mai does not serve banh mi after 5PM so I will definitely order lunch delivery from them since they are not too far from my office. The guys reminded me of the Pho Bang waiters. Salad consumption is not happening tomorrow after all. I am disappointed but the show must go on. My place has a revolving door beginning this weekend.
May 9, 2013
For yesterday's lunch, I ate leftover Chinese food. I thought it was enough but I was extremely hungry during yoga. I simply didn't have the energy to twist, turn, and stretch. I contemplated on whether to buy a good yoga mat because the one that KNT gave me is starting to lose its grip. I tried doing a second table the other day and kept slipping. I did some math and decided to rent the $2 mats because the mat will be "clean" every time I use it. The other option was to buy towels but they are also expensive and require laundering. There was no "is that spot taken? or, can you move over a bit" last night. We ate tacos after class on our way home. I was still hungry after three tacos and ate leftover fish balls from the night before. I was definitely a fat chick last night. The Chinese food at lunch time did nothing for my food crave.
May 7, 2013
We were right back at Pho Grand to get some canh chua. The place closed down recently because they failed NYC's Dept. of Health's inspection. It appears the place had way too many insects crawling around and other countless infractions. Restaurants normally don't close down because of an inspection. It must have been quite serious for the place to close its doors. Regardless of the whole fiasco, the canh chua tasted just as good as it was before the closing. Be and Khuyen tried it for the first time and agreed with me that it's pretty good.
May 6, 2013
I think I am shrinking. My work pants are getting a bit longer or I am wanting the pants to be shorter. Instead of staying for the cocktail hour and continuing through the night, we all decided to call it a day and night. All day of sitting around and hearing people talk was too draining. I managed to get a short nap in before the pizza arrived. The cookies only made me drowsy. Zoe and I said our goodbyes to Hayden. Heather was on vacation so a substitute teacher took her place. I actually liked her too. I forget her name. The next day, I woke up quite early to run the Williamsburg Bridge. We made it across the river around noon time. I caught the last couple episodes of the OC Housewives. It was nap time once again. The sunny sky is sort of misleading. Just when you think the weather is nice, you feel this strong breeze of cold air smacking against your face. The walk to Greenpoint was pleasant, but we took the train back because it was that cold air again. Bye, Miss Laura!
May 1, 2013
May is here, yet it is still somewhat cold. The days are cool with a slight breeze. When I get out of work, you can feel the temperature dropping. Like Queena said, it will be 95 degrees before you know it. I officially moved out of my space on West 4th Street. I turned in my key to the neighbor next to me. I am back at East 17th Street. The next audit will be a department in my building on the second floor so no need to work remotely for the next couple of months. Ali and Viet met Jacqueline and me for yoga. Heather kicked our butts once again. Although, Jacq insisted that Heather went easy on us. Viet got stuck sitting at the front of the class. After class, we hurried home for dinner across the street. Pho Bang finally hired a female server. I had the fried rice and Viet had the pho. Each person barely finished one glass of sparkling. I was beat. The sound machine phased out Viet's snores. I may pack the machine with me when I head out to Portland in the fall. Speaking of which, I should have bought the NOLA tickets for $200. The roundtrip airfare is now $300. It is super cheap to fly back to New York on 12/31 rather than the following weekend. I need those miles for this calendar year. I did not know Delta rolls over unused miles for a given calendar year and considers those miles eligible for elite status in the subsequent year. Something to consider...