twanwinn

October 31, 2013

The only morning I came in late in all of my years at NYU, the director had to get up from his office to go get coffee just as I walked through the front door. I was 20 minutes late. We have a pretty strict tardy policy. I greeted him good morning and headed straight to my office. Granted I could have allowed extra commuting time, but today was not one of those mornings. Chi Mai stopped by with lo mein and tofu. The take-out lady ran out of dumplings. I managed to kill some time with Chi Mai as she shopped for ox tail, greens, and sauces. I am to stick with the plan until I make it big five years from now.

October 30, 2013

October 29, 2013

I brought the cold weather to Dallas. When I left New York, it was quite warm. As I got off of the plane and walked through the jetway, I realized that it was a bit too cold for me. I was not dressed appropriately. Sitting towards the front of the plane did not help either. My feet were frozen. Towards the center and back of the plane, the air was extremely warm. Julie picked me up from DFW. We went straight to the hotel to check in. After freshening up, we met up with Anh Quan at the new downtown park. We ordered too much food from the food trucks. The tofu banh mi was by far the best choice. We got back to the hotel and napped for a good two hours. We got up to get ready for the wedding. Each of the wedding guests received a goodie bag from the bride and groom. It was a nice surprise. Sham was super beautiful as her parents walked her down the aisle. Brad was waiting for her. After the ceremony, we went upstairs to the sky lounge. Julie's David crashed the wedding towards the end. Emily and I cleaned up the suite before heading back to the wedding. We managed to all fit into the van and headed for the after party. I made our rounds. Julie was busy with David. I think I drank way too much because I paid for it the next day. The alcohol didn't wear off until the early afternoon. We picked up the kids and went to a food truck park in Fort Worth. I didn't eat much at that point. The next day, we ate crawfish for lunch. Cajun Corner was closed so we settled for Hong Kong Market. I ended up breaking out from the spicy seasoning. Julie dropped me off at Chi San's. After another two hour nap, we ordered homemade banh cuon from a lady in the neighborhood. I showed Chi San how to use her phone's map to navigate. I got up really early the next morning to catch the Houston flight. I love TSA's Pre! Stephen picked me up from the airport. Their home is extremely big for two people. I managed to get an afternoon nap in. Chang and I then drove around town in the crazy Houston traffic. I hung out with Loan the following day. It was good to see everyone after several years have gone by. The next time I am in Texas is when someone else marries.

October 28, 2013

What a week and weekend. I don't even know where to start.

October 17, 2013

The meeting was definitely an eye opener. Just when you think all is well because of the direct feedback we get, those same folks say the total opposite behind closed doors. I definitely needed a drink after that meeting. It was good because I want total honesty. It was bad because I was not expecting it. How can we ever be not intrusive? We try our very best to be respectful of other priorities. I am not asking you to drop everything to deal with me. It's a long drawn out situation that can never be improved. We like to think it can be improved but the perception will always be there. It's a no win win situation for all involved parties. I'm over it.

October 16, 2013

The twins are off to pumpkin picking today. It is their first field trip. I don't remember going on pumpkin picking excursions growing up. There was always an educational component. We did go see Schindler's List for one of my field trips. The ski trip weekend may not happen after all. There are too many moving parts and it is difficult to coordinate among the different personalities. Jacq and I ended up not watching the movie, but we managed to finished a bottle. Apparently, I was slurring rude remarks. This, I apologize! Ali and I caught up before class. She saved Jacq's spot in the process. Heather helped me with a full on hand stand last night. It felt great. I definitely want to practice more. I'm not sure if I still have KNT's old mat. So the event will include only female attendants and no males. Anh Quan and I figured out what to do with Saturday. The late night partying will be replaced with a casual lunch at the downtown park. I'm excited to see how Dallas has changed since my last visit. The weather should be nice until I get to Houston where the weather is in the low 80s. My 30 minute connection in Cleveland will be tight. Let's keep our fingers crossed. Today begins Kyle's 30th birthday extravaganza. More to follow in the coming days...

October 15, 2013

October 14, 2013

I walked out of Heather's class feeling pretty fresh and alive. Her opener was some crazy stuff about not trying to do something to address something. Basically she said not to put much effort into anything and to let it go. Then again, she asked us to do all these crazy postures and not put any effort into them? It was sort of contradictory. "Something New" will always be a classic. It takes me back to my school days with Ms. Jackson. I still remember the conversation she and I had in the student chapter office while studying for an exam. Instead of wining and dining at my place, we moved it to Chi Mai's in Astoria. After a night of singing Celine Dion ballads, we continued on 30th Ave. As the kids got off of the train, we adults sipped on our cocktails alongside Greek men. Sandrine is not a lesbian. The umbilical cord connecting my electronics to Chuck's toys has been removed. I am starting to like The Cleveland. It is reasonably priced and service is immaculate. It sucks I wasn't there all summer to take advantage of their courtyard. I had the same grilled chicken sandwich and french toast like last time. It was the same waiter who was okay taking the french toast back if it was not prepared to our liking. I think my colleagues and I are the only ones working today. Classes are not in session and the streets are very quiet. We should really suck it up because we get that 7 day break during the winter. Meet the Nguyens...ha!

October 11, 2013

October 10, 2013

Olivia Pope says "It's handled" to her warriors in suits and walks out of the conference room.

October 4, 2013

October 3, 2013

I am back. No thank you to the Northwest. Everyone in Portland wears their hiking gear all day long. They don't use umbrellas. I had the best banh cam in Portland. In Seattle, it was a bit nicer and more lively. Still, the rain persisted.