My X Files, My Life and Times

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

This New Year's Eve Marcus and I spent with friends who recently bought a place up in Harlem. I was tired from my day at work, so although I kinda wanted to be "out and about", it was much better this way. We had some dinner, talked, watched the ball drop on TV, and then headed home around 2AM. Then the next morning we had brunch at Wall and Water. THEN we did our all day "Alien" movie marathon. Good times. Today we bummed around, and we got my new obsession: an egg holder tray for the fridge. Random, but I've been scheming for a few weeks now. We just finished watching "Fright Night"...that teeny bopper vampire-comedy starring McLovin' from "Superbad" and Colin Farrell. Can I say that Colin Farrell was perfect in it. So funny, it was guilty pleasure perfection.

Winter Heat

2011-12-27T19:17:00.000-08:00

Oh MY GOSH. It's really hot in our apartment...the heat is cranking...we live in an older building, so we're on steam radiators. And someone tweaked them for the worse. It's like Philippines hot in here! Well Christmas just passed, and the holiday was a fun one. We went to my parents' place and celebrated there. Among the highlights of my gifts were the NYC restaurant grading system magnet, and the Sephora train case I got for my makeup! Christmas day Marcus and I checked out the remake of the Swedish flick "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"...and we really liked it! Then we headed home, saw Jennifer and her man Neil, and watched some movies on TV. The day after Christmas we headed to Lord and Taylor for some crazy sales on cashmere sweaters! Did you know that cashmere comes from goats and not sheep??? Today...back to work...grr...

October-November

2011-11-13T17:35:00.001-08:00

In recent weeks a lot has been going on. Marcus' university friend, Jonas, and his fiance Mirian, stayed with us for a week. They were visiting from Brazil, and taking in the sights here. We had a great time---ate a lot of good food, went shopping, and they got to see the good old Zuccotti Park protesters for themselves. (Augh). For Halloween, we also had a good time...we ended up at a loft party in SoHo...a very good time! Last night I met up with my vet school friends. We all live in the Tri-state area, yet it's close to impossible to meet up! We had dinner at Fatty Crab, then headed over to the Meatpacking District. I had come straight from work, meaning I was wearing my scrubs and carrying around a frumpy backpack. Here's where it gets good and shameful all at the same time: We ended up in the Boom Boom Room...yes, I hung out in the Boom Boom Room in my scrubs and a backpack. I demand a do-over when I'm prepared and looking fashionably hot!

Thursday

2011-10-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

It's kinda chilly in our apartment...the heat hasn't been turned on yet. So I am lounging in my One Piece! My in-laws gave it to me for my birthday. I just finished watching the documentary "Dark Days" about homeless people who lived in the Amtrak tunnels in Manhattan. Really good! But I never found out what happened to the pets at the end...and that bothers me. Last night was the premiere of the show "American Horror Story" on FX. And I loved it! I hope it keeps up. Meanwhile outside our apartment window the "Occupy Wall Street" protest goes on...and although I am all for expressing your right to voice your opinion, do it legally. I mean I am not condoning police violence, but I am tired of hearing about protesters breaking the law, then complaining when there are consequences. And I'm tired of hearing the beating drums and cheers from our window every night! Hmm what else, I watched the Sci-Fi flick "Equilibrium" and I really liked it!

Don't Mess with My Movie Watching Experiences!

2011-10-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Dammit, I just spent 36 minute on the phone (mostly on hold) with Restoration Hardware's customer service. And ended up hanging up when on hold...I couldn't take dealing with this guy anymore. All I wanted to know is when on Earth the table lamp I ordered back in July was finally going to arrive. It's been on perpetual backorder, and we've been patient. But the guy I got on the phone was completely not up to the job. I don't know if he was new or what, but he sucked, I have to say. He changed the story three times and when I asked to talk to a supervisor he couldn't do that. Anyway, I was in the midst of watching the movie "Permanent Midnight" with Ben Stiller. And even though it wasn't Oscar material, I was interested. But I had to stop because of the half hour phone call. I ended up calling back and talking with someone else who could actually help me. Augh. I just took two ibuprofens. But the lamp's cute, right?

The Flor Floor

2011-09-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I took our second bedroom one step closer to being presentable. So far it's been a storage facility with unfinished floors. I installed Flor tiles wall-to-wall. And it looks good! So easy to do; I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to change up their floors and do it easily, with the ability to change it up later on. Right now Marcus is in Sweden visiting family. So I've been flying solo with Gustaf at home. I called in sick today, and I still feel crappy. But at least I wasn't at work feeling crappy. I watched this movie called "The Fourth Kind"...a mockumentary about a woman who believes her daughter and people in her town in Alaska were abducted by aliens. Sorta creepy, and entertaining, even though the storyline wasn't as tight as it could have been. Also watched the season premiere of "The Martha Stewart Show" and the pastry chef from The Dutch was on, and she made her Devil's Foodcake with Black Pepper Meringue Frosting. I don't know about the black pepper---I mean, I am sure it's delicious, and I'm sure the foodies out there would love it, or at least appreciate the juxtaposition of the pepper with the chocolate...I may bake it sometime.

Win Win

2011-08-28T14:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the weekend of Hurricane Irene along the Eastern seaboard of the US. So thankfully my job closed early on Saturday, in time to catch the trains back to Manhattan before the whole system was shut down. The streets were pretty desolate as the heavy winds and rain kicked in. I was supposed to meet some friends at Fatty Crab, but we had to cancel and reschedule. Marcus, Gustaf, and I made it a movie and food weekend. We watched a couple of things, including "Win Win", about a low on funds lawyer who's also a high school wrestling coach. In order to continue supporting his family, he does something a little shady, which bites him in the #ss later on. Great movie!!! So glad I watched it. Today I chose a bad one--- "The Caller". Some indie movie that was supposed to be suspensful and scary. It was bad. You know when you're watching something and you just wonder..."well if the apartment is haunted, why the hell don't they just move out???" Ya, well that was the case...We also watched the mini series "Battlestar Gallactica" with Edward James Olmos...really good! We can't wait to get the rest of the DVD discs in the mail! In the quest to kill time under the spell of having cabin fever, I did make a batch of sangria, and tried to drink some. Well, I don't drink, don't like alcohol. So I had half a glass, and asked Marcus to drink the rest. Oh well, so much for my wild night of drinking during a storm. Tomorrow the train to NJ is up and running, and I have to say, I wish it wasn't, because I'm tired and I need a little break. Oh well.

The Dutch, Flor, the Department of Health...

2011-08-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Marcus and I went out to dinner and then out to a club to celebrate a friend's birthday, and it was a good time. I love staying out late, and I feel like I never do these days! Then on Sunday, my sisters and I headed over to Zarin's, an impressive upholstery fabric store in the LES. My sister found something for her apartment. We then headed over to SoHo and met up with Marcus to eat brunch at The Dutch. Marcus and I have been trying for a while to eat dinner there, but we haven't been able to get reservations. Well...the brunch was exceptional! YUMMY. That's all I have to say. On the topic of restaurants, I've been religiously cross referencing NYC's Department of Health restaurant review website...when it comes to ordering food online on Seamless, or going to a restaurant, I highly recommend it...it brings you peace, and sometimes, well...horror. Jennifer, my sister, also told me about Flor, this carpet tile design store. Before you cringe a little at the sound of carpet tile, give it a chance. We have a second bedroom that we need to sort out, and we're going to deal with the floor, well, with Flor! Check it out. It's a pretty cool concept. Today I watched "Of Gods and Men"...good flick, but very depressing. So you gotta be in the mood. I mean, who wants to hurt a monk???

It's the Best!

2011-08-07T15:17:00.001-07:00

So now that we've moved downtown (well even more downtown) I've developed a couple of local favorites. I'm really into Financier down here....friendly people, reliable food, good seating area, and only two blocks from home. Well, there's always Seamless.com (formerly known as Seamlessweb.com). And the latest favorite is the show "Wilfred". So wrong, right, perfect, crazy, funny. Highly recommended. So hard to explain, but you'll laugh your butt off! Some not so favorites---well, Time Warner Cable. It's archaic. I miss FiOs! Augh. Otherwise Marcus and I are trying to enjoy summer, which is almost done! We're going to the beach again next week. In the meantime, trying to fight off my constant craving for chocolate, and trying to get the next week of work...

Too Much Too Little

2011-07-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

So we moved into our new place just over a week ago! Very exciting. The place still has boxes everywhere, but it's functional. So now we are "home owners". We are now down in the Financial District. So our days off have been dedicated to trying to organize the place. Today I just spent way too much time changing the toilet seat (I'm grossed out by using the one that came with the apartment). It was a very frustrating experience. I also saw my trainer for the first time in almost three weeks, so it's good to be back in the swing of things. This week I'm meeting with Tinita and Chantima for dinner, and later this week, I'm brunching with the Cornell crew, so I'm looking forward to it!

Holy Crap Things are Hectic...

2011-06-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

So the past few weeks we have been planning our move to our new place. We bought an apartment downtown! And it was a long, drawn out process. So now it's countdown time, and we've started packing (which sucks) and planning. Very busy. Last night Marcus and I ate dinner with Terry-a and Steve. It's been a really long time, so it was good to catch up, and bask in the horror of the latest political scandals (a la Anthony Weiner and Arnold Schwarzenegger). Today we were packing up stuff. A Shake Shack has opened up two blocks from us, so we may check that out...and what's next? I'm going to a New Kids On the Block and Backstreet Boys concert tomorrow...oh ya! Ha ha.

Disturbing, Disturbing!

2011-05-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

Marcus and I recently went to my friend's wedding. What a great wedding! It was really done well. The ceremony, the bride's dress, the venue...the food! Holy crap what a spread! Anyway, it was a good time. I was just on gmail, and you know how Big Brother always generates those pop up ads at the top of your gmail? Well I just found this one. What's up with that!?!? Oh and today I got caught in a 15 minute torrential rainstorm while walking to catch the Path train to work...I was DRIPPING wet by the time I arrived to my job. Good times.

Good Day Out

2011-05-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

About a week ago I got back from Stockholm, visiting the in-laws with Marcus. It was a great trip. Stockholm is beautiful, clean, and Sweden has great food and coffee...and chocolate...don't get me started. Oh, and don't forget the Scandinavian design. We got to go to Svenskt Tenn, which was design heaven, Design House Stockholm, and Design Torget. Seeing the family was good, and since my trip was brief, most of the time was concentrated on hanging out with them, which was just fine. I got to see my sister in law Mimmi's new restaurant just outside of Stockholm. It was great food. We also went to SoFo, and ate at this great restaurant called Urban Deli...yummy. I also had the pleasure of having to drive in Stockholm and dealing with the roundabout...something foreign to me. I don't like those things! Yesterday Marcus and I went to enjoy the nice weather and hung out people and pet watching in Washington Square Park. From there we walked home and stopped in a few places. It was a good day...sigh...

Gotta Plug This Joint...

2011-04-19T19:30:00.001-07:00

This past week Marcus headed to Sweden, and I'm going to join him in a couple of days. Over the weekend was my friend Stefanie's birthday...a good time! A group of us went to Havana Alma de Cuba in the West Village for dinner, then we headed to Sutra Lounge in the East Village/Lower East Side...a lot of fun! So...like I mentioned, Marcus is out of town, and when that happens, I end up ordering off Seamless Web a LOT. My latest favorite: Toloache Taqueria's Suadero Tacos...Negra Modelo braised brisket with tomatillo salsa, with freshly made taco shells. SO SO SO good. I'm hooked! And what the hell is that sketch, you ask? It's an old sketch in a series of art that my sisters and I found at the Brimfield Antiques Show. I love it...long story short, we ended up wanting to purchase this sketch along with something else, and the seller completely flaked on us...you'd think paying a pretty penny would be enough temptation for a seller to follow through on a sale...augh.

Update

2011-04-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

This past week was a busy one. This past Saturday I went to my friend's bachelorette party. She's also my co-worker. In the photo with me are Rachel, the girl of the hour, and next to her is Stefanie, a great friend and also my co-worker. It was fun and funny...we first started out at Cienfuegos, an East Village/Alphabet City bar, (which I'd go back to, by the way) then headed over to Lucky Cheng's. So let's just say the focus is definitely NOT on food service. It's like a bachelorette/birthday/tourist factory/venue, if you will...but the girls (the drag queens) were definitely working it. It's funny how getting groped and insulted could be considered sexual harassment, but when it's done by a drag queen, it's all in good, clean fun! I got home late, meanwhile Marcus was up in Harlem that same night for a wedding. We got up early on Sunday morning to hit up breakfast at Locanda Verde and miss the brunch crowd. I had this great homemade granola with what tasted like a mix of yogurt, ricotta and lemon. Then we went on a TV movie rampage. We were home by about 10:30AM after breakfast, so we had the time! We first watched "Marmaduke", which was innocently entertaining. We also watched "The Other Man", which was a little weird, but okay. There was another movie we watched...but I don't remember at this point. Oh, well. Today was my day off, and I went to the gym and this evening I met up with my good friends and old college roommates, Tina and Chantima. We ate at Lotus of Siam in the village. Chantima is Thai, and her family used to run a thai restaurant on the Upper East Side...she heard that the Lotus of Siam in Las Vegas was supposedly the best thai food outside of Thailand, so she was curious. The food was good, but we all agreed we need to hit up the Thai joints in Queens and they would be more satisfying and more economical. Not to mention my green papaya salad was disappointingly too sweet. C'mon, now!

I'm So Tired!

2011-04-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

I woke up late today...at 8:45AM. That's late for me. It's my day off, so at least I have that going for me. This past weekend was a good one. Yesterday Marcus and I ate brunch at Elmo in Chelsea. The place is pretty laid back and even though it's in Chelsea, there's no attitude. Food-wise, it's above average and reliable, nothing absolutely spectacular, but good. Our waiter was the happiest, sweetest guy ever, too! I wish he was a friend of mine! I want to go back! Ha ha ha. Then we went to Lazzoni, a furniture store, because we're planning on buying a new couch with a chaise. We found the model we want...then we went up to Michael's, the arts and crafts store to frame a vintage poster we just got. I had a 70% coupon off and it was still really pricey! Damn, framing is no joke! We also watched "The Door in the Floor" on TV and I really liked it. It was the story of a very dysfunctional family, and a teenage boy who's hired to work for the dad in the family for the summer. Then we also watched the shameless and really amusing "Waiting...". It's the epitome of the behind the scenes at a T.G.I. Friday's type restaurant. Oh, and on Saturday night we watched "Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer". It's a documentary about Spitzer's escort service scandal and how it destroyed his political career. It was really good, I'd recommend it, and it may enlighten you on the shadiness of politics.

Show Time

2011-03-20T17:21:00.000-07:00

Today I got my butt kicked by my trainer. Then I met up with Stephen to go to the Architectural Digest Home Show. We saw a lot of nice stuff...high end kitchens, different interpretations of the dining room, art, and a pretty cool home theater demonstration. My favorites were the fixtures by Lefroy Brooks. After, I came home and Marcus and I watched "The Sandlot", which is a movie I really like. It's cute, and it's about a group of boys growing up in a small town. Marcus cooked this great dinner that he's made before: lox over squash cakes with carrots on the side. I tried to tame my persistent urge to eat chocolate today multiple times...I won the battle, but it is never easy...

Home Sick

2011-03-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

I called in sick today...I haven't been able to breathe reliably through my nose for the past 5 days, which is really uncomfortable. I'm starting to feel better. Well, I read something that made me a little sad...Hachiko, this dog that was alive in the 1930's in Tokyo, who met his owner at a train station every day when he came home from work. One day Hachiko showed up to the station and his owner never showed up. Apparently the dog continued to wait for his owner every day until he passed away! How heartbreaking! Augh. I can't believe what I saw on TV about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It's unbelievable how devastating the damage seems to be. On a much lighter note, see the photo? It's from Japan...I love the Japanese and I love Japan. The other day I helped my little sister Caroline move some stuff into her new Westchester apartment. It's a nice place. We were rocking out in the U-haul truck, of course.

St. Pattie's In Hoboken

2011-03-07T07:43:00.000-08:00

Marcus and I hung out with my friend from work Stefanie this past Saturday. She lives in Hoboken, and this past Saturday Hoboken held its annual St. Pattie's Day Parade and subsequent debauchery. It was good fun, and we haven't seen that many drunk people on the street in a while. We went to Maxwell's, then ended up at a good ol' diner. I tried the Montecristo sandwich, something I had wanted to do for a while. I'm glad I did, but it's not something I think I'm going to want to eat again anytime soon. It was good, but not my thing, you know? So yesterday Marcus and I watched "The Game" on TV...it was entertaining, kind of like a practical joke gone way too far that it's not even remotely even funny anymore...and like you'd need therapy after. Then we watched the first episode of the shameless, loosely plotted Starz series, "Spartacus". It was like a soap opera, but a bigger budget: with more graphic and more unnecessary sex scenes, and over the top special effects. It was kinda funny for that reason. Today I'm going to Norma's to eat brunch with Terry-a, and later today I'm going to see my friend Jennifer, who's almost done with medical school. My cousin Norrel's in town, but unfortunately because of schedule conflicts, we can't see each other which sucks! Oh ya, in the spirit of the unfortunate exposure Charlie Sheen has been getting lately, Jimmy Fallon made a really funny spoof commercial starring as Charlie Sheen.

Oh Whatta Week

2011-02-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

I feel like I didn't go to work much this past week...it was a pleasant change of pace. I had jury duty downtown, and I got out with no trials served after the two day minimum. So I'm glad it's over. But it was nice waking up a little later and getting home by 3:30 PM...in time for Oprah! Well, the past weekend I got my butt kicked by my trainer, and then I went to Stephen's place and met his new cat Cappuccino. A cutie and very high energy...he is going to get neutered so in the meantime I'm calling him the Arnold Schwarzenegger of cats because I can't believe this guy's reflexes and energy level! Then that night Marcus and I headed over to meet our newly born god child, Liam. It was great to see his parents, (our friends) and to meet him! Then the next day we headed to my parents' house to hang out and see my sister Caroline's new digs, a one bedroom apartment. It's a really nice, pre-war co-op. So that's exciting. Today I went to the gym and watched two really good flicks. First was "Transamerica". I liked it! And I saw a favorite of mine (I've seen it tons of times before), "The Mosquito Coast". Grr...don't want to go to work tomorrow...

Law And Order

2011-02-22T16:58:00.000-08:00

Geez today was exhausting...I was selected for jury duty and I sat around all day...the morning was a drag, then we took lunch, and then of course I had the post-prandial food coma...as did my other possible fellow jurors. It was painful! And I have to go back tomorrow! It was so funny how exhausted I was considering how little I did. We recently watched "The Queen". I enjoyed it a lot, even though I wasn't expecting to. Marcus and I also watched that old Tom Cruise movie "Cocktail" on TV this past Sunday. Holy cheesy. It was great...

Movies Galore

2011-02-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

The past few days things have been busy. Marcus came back from Switzerland and had a very good time skiing in Zermatt, specifically on the Matterhorn. He brought home obscenely incredible Swiss chocolate...it's so good, I've asked him to bring the majority to work and store them there and bring them home in stages so I don't devour all of it at once, since I already started. The past few days we've been watching a LOT of movies. We ended up getting someone else's Netflix movie...so I figured why not watch it before I put it back in the mail? (I didn't think it was really evil...) It was "Heist" starring Gene Hackman. We liked it, more or less. It's so funny, I can spot a David Mamet film anywhere! During the entire movie, I was saying "is this a Mamet movie?" because of the dialogue...and voila---finally at the credits, I saw it was! Then we also watched "Every Day" on Demand...it was entertaining enough. We also watched "Brooklyn's Finest" on TV...very disturbing, but a good flick. Then today I went to see my trainer and I had a great workout. Then I watched "Never Let Me Go" on Demand...a great, but seriously depressing movie. Damn.

For Better or Worse

2011-01-28T15:42:00.000-08:00

It's been busy lately, for better and worse... so I've neglected my beloved blog. Let's see...New Year's Eve Marcus I did something a little different for us. We participated in the Emerald Nuts Midnight Run at Central Park! It was a lot of fun, and made me feel healthy...since my knees no longer allow me to run, we walked as briskly as possible. And I appreciate Marcus taking it many notches down for me (he's a marathon runner). So it probably pained him just a little to have to be walking. The next morning, New Year's Day, we ended up at Norma's, the breakfast joint at Le Parker Meridien. Yummy! Hmm...Marcus and I have put in an offer to a two bedroom co-op downtown. The owner's accepted the offer, but now we still have to sign the contract (pending the lawyer checking out everything and giving us the okay), and get approved by the board. So there are still a lot of hurdles. I'm excited, but I'm also trying not to get too emotionally invested if things fall apart. That's hard, considering I'm already pretend decorating in my mind. Some of the many hurdles we're passed have been the apartment inspections. Our inspector was excellent, and we also got the place checked out by a bed beg detecting dog. That happened today and the place passed with flying colors. We used Simon, a petite, black, mixed breed dog from Bell Environmental. This is the same place that makes the ads of Roscoe the Bed Bug Sniffing Dog. FYI, Roscoe has his own Facebook page AND a game on the iPhone! Interestingly, one of my patients, Daysee the beagle, was just sent down to one of the bed bug sniffing academies in Florida to become a professional! So exciting. I have also discovered ways to watch movies that are in theaters online. I watched "Black Swan" on movies2k and I really enjoyed it. Kind of reminded me of a Polanski film I really love called "Repulsion". Anyway, Marcus just left Geneva on business and he says it's beautiful, and there's chocolate and bakeries everywhere. He also said I'd really like it there. He's now in the Swiss Alps to ski with his friends, so that should be fun. Today I saw Terry-a and we caught up over lunch. Tomorrow I'm going to see my family, and Sunday I'm going to MoMA with my vet school friend Amy. On a sad note, a few days ago our family pet parrot Periquito died...he had gout and kidney disease and finally succumbed to it. He's been part of our family for almost 30 years, and I can still remember the day he first arrived at our house...I'm glad he's no longer suffering, but he'll be missed.

Post Blizzard...Way Behind...

2010-12-29T12:25:00.000-08:00

I just realized I still haven't finished recounting my trip to Italy...yikes. I definitely will need to finish that up, just need all of my photos uploaded. In the meantime, a lot has happened since my last blog entry. Christmas just passed, which was fun. We went to my parents' house, and as usual, there was tons of food. On Christmas Day (we celebrate on Christmas Eve), Marcus and I had a movie marathon at home. First I cooked us some breakfast: scrambled eggs, pancakes (from scratch, of course), and ricotta with fruits and honey. It was pretty good. Then we started the movies. We watched all three "Lord of the Rings" movies...it was an all day, all night event, but well worth it! And Marcus is a Lord of the Rings guru, so any questions were promptly addressed. The next morning we headed to the University Club for brunch. Marcus was recently accepted for membership there. At first it was so nice because we were literally the only ones there. Unfortunately some other diners crept in during our meal...oh, well. I had a very good omelet. Then the blizzard hit, and I didn't make it to work (darn). I got to watch "The Unforgiven" with Clint Eastwood. What a great movie! I never had interest in Westerns, but this didn't seem to be your typical Western. Today Marcus took the day off and we checked out MoMA. We finally got to see the "Counter Space" exhibit, and of course the permanent collection (gotta get my dose of Matisse). We then ate lunch at Pret a Manger, then we ended up back home in our neck of the woods. We decided to try supposedly "Manhattan's Best Coffee" at Kaffe 1668. I always hesitated because of the attitude I got from the staff, but I was intrigued. We ordered (overpriced) drinks, and were met with hipster-ish attitude. When I commented on this to Marcus, he said "you can't have hipster attitude in Tribeca...you're in the wrong place for that." And it's true. Go back to LES or Williamsburg for that sh#t! You in Tribeca now, b#tch!

Intermezzo

2010-12-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today I've been slightly under the weather, so I wanted to take a brief break from recounting my trip, since I don't think I can appropriately give it the attention it needs to fully describe it just yet...so I'm going to digress and talk about a really good movie I finally watched: "Inception". Marcus and I ordered it On Demand yesterday. And we really liked it! I actually just watched it again this afternoon. Good stuff. Highly recommended. (Although I do think that Ellen Page was miscast in this movie...but loved her in "Hard Candy".) Yesterday Marcus and I hung out with Terry-a, Steve, and the crew. It was good seeing them. But what a yucky, rainy day!

Day Three

2010-12-08T16:07:00.001-08:00

After our long second day, we slept in and decided to take it easy. We grabbed some breakfast at our hotel (breakfast isn't big in Italy...bummer)and wandered over to the Colosseum. Now, as I said, I detest tours. But the line was long, so in order to cut the line we agreed to a 45 minute tour. It was again, led by an archeologist, and it was pretty interesting. It was unfortunately raining a little. But the real bummer was that none of the cats of the Colosseum were out and about! There's a colony of about 200 cats that live in the Colosseum...the last time I was there, I vividly remember all the cats around me. I was really looking forward to seeing them and feeding them! I had even brought some cat food in my luggage. I was also looking forward to seeing the "basement" where the slaves and animals were kept, but it had been closed off a week before we arrived. Oh well. We also checked out the Pantheon that day. It was under renovation of some sort from the outside. In spite of the fact some horrific things took place at the Colosseum, like the killing of animals and slaves, it's an amazing structure. And the tour guide reminded us that in reality, we are just seeing the skeleton of the Colosseum, and way back when it looked a lot different, and had marble and statues all over. So weird.

More On Rome

2010-12-08T15:01:00.001-08:00

Christina and I were on vacation for 6 days...so it's hard for me to stay true to the daily events, but I'm gonna try my best. There was so much walking, food, and coffee it tends to blur at times. But day two started with a pretty huge undertaking: The Vatican. Now if you go to Rome, you gotta go to the Vatican. But needless to say, it's huge, overwhelming, and a tourist trap extraordinaire. Prior to deciding to take the trip together, we talked about our opinions on sight-seeing...I am very much against the whole bus tour and running around all day trying to see as many sights as possible. I would rather see a couple of important sights and spend the majority of my time discovering the place I'm visiting. Christina was more evenly minded about it...she wasn't against organized tours, just in moderation. So I agreed to doing one guided tour that was a few hours in length (not on a bus!)...at the Vatican, which of all the guided tours, is the wisest, in my opinion since the Vatican is so vast. We went with Viator. And it was worth it. Our tour guide was an archeologist, and knew so much about the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. Plus we skipped the lines. There's no way you can see everything in the Vatican in a couple of hours or even days, but I was absolutely done by the end. It was fascinating and beautiful, but it was too much and it needed to just end! Having said that, I'm glad Christina convinced me to do that tour, because with so much to see, it's good to have someone showing you selected parts of the museum and giving you interesting factoids. Speaking of factoids, as you probably know, Vatican City is literally its own country, with its own citizens, currency, and ATM machines that function only in Latin! So after we headed over to Via Ottaviano, which is nearby. Back in the day (aka when I last went to Rome in college) it was a hot spot for me to go shopping for affordable clothing. We ended up checking out some shoe stores. At some point we made our way back home to the hotel and were zonked out. I think by the end of that day Christina may have secretly wanted to lose me somewhere...I can get a lil' cranky when I do four hour tours in the Vatican with annoying know-it-all tourists who keep interrupting the tour guide and when there are seemingly thousands of tourists in every room you go to! God bless Christina for her patience...and thank God for her map reading abilities! We made a great team...I served as the Italian translator and communicator, and she was our navigator.

Back Stateside...Roma: The Recap

2010-12-08T07:02:00.001-08:00

I just returned from Rome yesterday. What a fun trip! As I mentioned previously, I went with my good friend, Christina. So from the beginning: We arrived in the early A.M. and settled into our temporary home away from home, Hotel Columbia. The hotel is located just blocks away from Stazione Termini, the largest station in Rome. I'd highly recommend staying there if you're looking for a clean, simple, inexpensive, conveniently located hotel. Breakfast is included, which was a plus. Having said that, breakfast isn't a big meal for Italians (what a shame!), so it is a simple meal they serve. But again, it's included, so it's all good. Since I'm highly paranoid of vermin of many kind...I can verify that I did do extensive research on bed bug sightings in hotels around Rome, and did a thorough investigation of my own (you can ask Christina...I did actually rip off all the sheets and checked under our mattresses) and felt confident we were going to be safe. After acclimating, we cleaned up and headed out. We ate at a restaurant right by Termini first. Pretty good food (I had gnocchi)...and I was reminded about one of the Italy-isms over there. You pay for bottles of water in restaurants...not like here, where your glasses are perpetually overflowing. And you are offered plain water or carbonated. After we hopped on the metro and headed to the Fountain of Trevi. How beautiful. One of, if not my favorite monument in Rome. But it's so hard to pick because the architecture is stunning everywhere. Not to mention all the twisting, narrow cobblestone streets. Anyway, we ate some great pizza, had some caffe latte and cappuccino, and hung out at the fountain. Christina had some Nutella gelato (as you can see in one of the photos), which would turn out to be her dessert of choice during the trip. After we walked all over, we stumbled upon the Coccinelle store, a utopia of leather handbags. Steve, Terry-a's husband, reminded me of this gem before we left, so I was definitely planning on getting myself something! I got a gorgeous grey leather and suede bag, and a blue clutch. Christina got herself a bag, too. At some point during the day we stumbled upon a church that was undergoing some renovations. The contrast between the construction and the old, intricate church decor was pretty dramatic. We then headed home after a long first day out. Phew.

Mamma Mia!

2010-11-29T18:56:00.001-08:00

Woah I haven't blogged in a while. Well, Thanksgiving just passed us by, and my parents went out of town. So those of us who remained went out to lunch at Half Moon, a restaurant on the water in Westchester. It was a pretty good meal and a great way to celebrate: no clean up and no feeling the need to host guests! I'd definitely go this route again for the holidays. Well, in a day, I'm heading to Rome with my good friend Christina! It's a trip we've been planning for a while, and I'm so excited. Our plan is to bum around town, check out the different neighborhoods, eat great food and drink great coffee...shop...go out...all that good stuff. Marcus and Gustaf will be holding down the fort during this girls' only trip. Don't feel bad for Marcus, he'll be skiing in the Swiss Alps with his guy friends in a few months...

A Good Ol' Saturday Night

2010-11-14T15:57:00.000-08:00

Last night was Saturday night. After work, Marcus and I met up at Union Square and we ate at Vapiano. It's very reasonably priced Italian food, and it's pretty decent...all the pasta and pizza are freshly made on the premises. We then headed home for the event of the night: HBO Pay Per View! We were going to watch the greatly anticipated Manny Pacquiao Antonio Margarito boxing match. It was great! We don't follow boxing, but we heard about the match so we wanted to check it out. My father watched a lot of boxing when I was growing up, but I forgot how ridiculous the sport really is, and that's why it's so great. I love the trash talking, the controversies, the show, and the serious death stares and psych outs the boxers play off...but you truly have to be a little crazy and you have to buy into all the trash talk and self promotion to box, because there aren't many sports where you can REALLY get f$cked up, like in boxing...I mean, not many people would willingly sign up to get their faces jacked up with a chance of serious brain trauma. Anyway, Pacquiao won, but the other guy was a serious trooper...his face was butchered mid way through the fight, and he could barely see out of one eye...but he kept going. Damn. The match was not complete, of course, without a pre-match performance from the cheeser Nelly. Anyway, I'd like to follow more boxing. Today I went to the gym to work out. My trainer kicked the crap out of me...we were sparring...I need to work on my speed. Then I met up with Christina for brunch at Le Plein Sud down in Tribeca. We were catching up and planning our upcoming trip to Roma together!

Halloween and Good Days!

2010-11-02T18:45:00.001-07:00

This past weekend was Halloween, a personal favorite of mine. Specially because of the Greenwich Village Parade. Marcus and I dressed up and made our way to the parade. He reprised his role as Krusty the Clown, and I was finally Lara Croft Tomb Raider. Gustaf made it in the shot, as you can see. We were thinking of making him Pepe Le Pew...it would have been an easy costume, considering he's a black cat! Anyway, some favorites at the parade were timely costumes like the bed bug and Metrocard Man, who was going to save NYC from fare hikes. My dream is get a bunch of friends on a float for the parade...because anyone can march in it! Today I had a really good day at work. I did a really good job on surgery, if I can say so myself...I also saw a few patients of mine who were getting better, which always makes me happy, specially when I'm worrying about them. Phew.

My Abs Hurt!

2010-10-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been been a weekend of recovery. First, Marcus was gone for the weekend visiting with friends. This past Friday night, I went out with my co workers to a bar in Greenwich Village, and then had to be at work the next morning at 8AM. So needless to say, after work I just vegged out in front of the TV, ordered some dinner off Seamless Web, and hung out with Gustaf. I ended up watching two flicks that night: "City Island", a film produced by Andy Garcia, who also starred in it. Wasn't the greatest movie, but a lot of it took place on City Island (like the title indicates), which was pretty cool, because I have always had a little fascination with that place. My father originally wanted us to move there when we were young, so we could have a boat and live by the water. Then I watched "The Hurt Locker" for a second time. I love this movie. It's so intense and unnerving. I HIGHLY recommend this movie. Today I went to the gym and worked out with my trainer. She kicked the crap out of my abs today! I spent the rest of the day catching up on housework and I watched the film "The Pool". I liked it...it's a slow paced film about a teenage boy in India who spies on a wealthy family and is fascinated with the pool in their backyard. He ends up infiltrating their lives in the process. The funny thing about both these movies is the actual filmmaking processes for them were just as interesting as the final product! Apparently they were very challenging to make in terms of locations, departmental issues, and casting problems, if you read about them.

Falling From the Sky!

2010-10-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

I had a really bad day at work on Saturday...I mean REALLY bad day. Good thing the next day (yesterday) was the day I was supposed to go sky diving, because I needed it!

My sisters Jennifer and Caroline joined me on the jump, too! I've been sky diving before, but this was their first time. Marcus and my parents came to watch. My sisters had a good time, and maybe they'll consider doing it again...I don't think they're sure yet. But Jennifer has a fear of heights, so she really was brave to do this, I was surprised. As for me, I will DEFINITELY do it again. I love it, it's so much fun. And contrary to popular belief, jumping out of a plane isn't really scary, it's fun and relaxing. And by the time you're at the door of the plane about to jump, you just gotta do it. Of course, with a parachute and highly trained instructor on your back (we jumped tandem). This time was so much better (if that's possible) than the first time I jumped, back in college. Going tandem, you free fall out of the plane at about 13,000 feet at 125 miles per hour. You free fall for about a minute. In that minute we spun around, fell both belly down and belly up, so we go to look up to the sky and watch the plane fly away above us, which was pretty amusing. Then at 6,000 feet you pull the cord and navigate your parachute down to the ground. We got beautiful views of the fall foliage and landscape on the way up in the plane and on the way down. I've always wanted to get certified in sky diving (so I can jump by myself), but never had the time or funds to pursue it. I'm considering it...the only thing really making me hesitate is that the sky diving school is far from where we live, and I'd have to go there fairly regularly. But either way, I'm jumping out of a plane again---one way or the other! And who else plans to join me next time? My MOM...yes, my mother! She wanted to jump yesterday, but she recently had cataract surgery so we weren't sure if that would be ok just yet. And Marcus is considering going tandem with one of his best friends who's a professional sky diver in Sweden...he said he'd only go if he goes with him, so that's fair. And Mom: next season it's on!

Mid Week Report

2010-10-13T17:11:00.001-07:00

Grr...my day off is almost over and I have to go back to work tomorrow...bummer. I spent my day takin' care of business. I have to study for my New Jersey board exam so I can practice in New Jersey (that's where I work now!). Then I did some house work, and now I'm watching not so hot television. But on a positive note, I've been chillin' with Gustaf all day and he's so cute. This weekend Marcus and I may join some friends and eat at Fette Sau. Then Sunday, I'm skydiving with my sisters! So that'll be exciting. Oh and after work last night Marcus and I checked out a short film festival down here in Tribeca. My co worker's boyfriend produced one of the flicks, so we were showing support. There were some good films in there! And the photo is a still from one of the films...yes, that's two wooden figurines having tantric sex on sandpaper...what a metaphor.

A Week In Review

2010-10-10T12:13:00.001-07:00

I'm sick right now...which sucks. I'm congested, can't breathe, and I feel so crappy. Augh. But earlier this weekend I had a really good time. On Friday I met up with Stephen who recently got back from Italy. He also brought me a big jar of Nutella...and that's almost gone! I'm convinced it makes me feel instantly better when I feel sick. Then Friday night Marcus, Steve, Terry-a, and me went to this Greek restaurant on Park Avenue South. It was pretty good, and the deserts were killer. I was hoping we'd play ping pong after, but that was a no go. Then the next day Marcus and I brunched at Barmarche in SoHo, on a recommendation from Terry-a. It was pretty good. We then spent too much time at Century 21 picking out a suitcase. We were really into this Jeep luggage, but then we both admitted we really liked it because, well, it said Jeep on it! We ended up buying this Samsonite hard case with all-direction spinning wheels, in a dark red...which I'm not really into at all, but Marcus made the great point that the luggage, because of its size, would have to be checked in, so why not make it something that will stand out on the luggage belt at the airport, right? Last night I crashed because I felt yucky, and today I had to cancel on my trainer because I'm sick. Too bad I have to go to work tomorrow...

Ping Pong, Brunch, N' Stuff

2010-10-03T14:30:00.001-07:00

It's Sunday late afternoon and I just finished watching "Spider-Man" on TV. What a great movie. I love watching heroes become heroes! And Toby Maguire is the perfect guy to fit the bill. Today Marcus and I brunched down by the marina near World Trade Center. This morning I saw my trainer and now my shoulders and arms are burning. Yesterday after work I met up with Marcus and some friends and we played some ping pong at SPiN New York. It was so much fun! Then we ate dinner at L'Express. It was good! One of my friends is a pilot for Jet Blue so I was grilling him about the everyday ins and outs of his job. Seems like a cool career. Earlier this week I met up with Terry-a at Cafeteria and got some mid week brunch. Right now I'm in the midst of planning a trip to Italy with Christina, my internmate and good friend...but in the meantime I have to get through this next week to finally get to my long weekend....

Just Wrong!

2010-09-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

As I lament over the void left in my life left by the absence of chocolate, I reflect upon a heavenly piece of chocolate heaven. I went to visit Gina, my very good friend and veterinary oncology resident, in Norwalk, Connecticut. we ate lunch at this place called Chocopologie! The service was lacking, but not the dessert! This weekend was a good one. Marcus and I went to the movies and watched Ben Affleck's directorial (and starring) effort, "The Town". I was very happy with this movie. It was solid storytelling and everyone gave good performances. Ben Affleck, I've decided, just needs the right role...he's been plagued by horrible performances and parts in the past, but this was pretty good! Maybe he's found his forte---directing? I really liked this movie. Yesterday Terry-a, Saifra, and I went to Locanda Verde in Tribeca to brunch. It was good---I had oatmeal. I'd like to check it out for dinner. Last week Marcus and I ate dinner at Tribeca Grill, just a block or two away from Locanda Verde. It was pretty good, but Marcus was more impressed by it than me. So onto the title of this blog entry...last night we watched that Latifah and Common romantic movie called "Just Wright" On Demand...and let's just say we knew what we were getting ourselves into. Well, it was my fault. Marcus told me it was my choice, so I picked this movie. I knew it was going to be bad, but I'm a sucker for a romantic plot. Well, it was what it was! But I admit if it was on TV, I would watch it again....!

Kunjip

2010-09-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening Marcus and I ate dinner at this great Korean restaurant with Terry-a's family. It was food overload, but in a good way. The plates kept on arriving at the table, and we kept eating! Hubba hubba! This past weekend was a good one. Friday Marcus, Caroline, and I ate lunch at the University Club, then I hung out with Jennifer and Caroline for a bit at my apartment. That night Marcus and I met up with Terry-a and Steve for a delicious dinner at Commerce Restaurant in the West Village. Then Saturday Marcus and I rented a Mini Cooper and drove up to the Woodbury Commons to check out the shopping situation. We got some stuff including a Le Creuset pan I might test out for some brownie baking. We then visited my family in Westchester. It was September 11, and we were able to see the commemorative blue beams shining from Ground Zero. It still bugs me out that September 11 really happened. On a happier note, recently, I've been getting some positive feedback from my clients, who've told me and my boss how happy they are with how I've treated their pets, which makes me really happy! And I'm not too upset my boss has heard it, too...

Rainbows and Unicorns

2010-09-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

My boss showed us this really amusing video clip of a guy at Yosemite Park. Check it out---it's hallucinogenic. Today I went to the gym and worked out with my trainer. It was rough, but good. Then I did some housework and paid some bills. This evening I'm meeting up with Hillary for dinner. We may go to Vapiano. At least we're meeting up there to start. I have three more days of work this week, then it's Labor Day weekend! Don't know what our plans are of yet, but it's nice that Marcus and I will have a full weekend together. I heard that Mario Batali just opened up this Italian food megastore on Fifth Ave and 23rd St. Apparently it also has a bunch of restaurants in it...it's called Eataly. Oh, I also read how man-boob reduction surgery is on the rise due to the obesity epidemic in the US.

The Ulitmate Drop Zone

2010-08-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

Wow I've been MIA for a lil' bit. Work, working out, all that stuff. Marcus recently went to Montreal to visit a friend and he had a good time. This past Sunday, my sisters and I headed to Times Square to check out the King Tut exhibit. Apparently, once the run is over, the exhibit is heading back to Egypt forever. It's pretty interesting...a CT scan and bone biopsy were performed on the mummy to determine the cause of his death and to determine who King Tut's father was. I especially loved these gorgeous jars that contained mummified internal organs...I kinda like that idea of mummifying individual organs...but I do want to be cremated...Before the exhibit, we met up at Pershing Square Restaurant. Jennifer had an eclair, Caroline had a crab cake and a margarita, and I had lapsang souchong tea...I love that stuff...it's this really smokey black tea. Anyway, Marcus recently found this skydiving opportunity that he thought I'd love...and I do! One day, I'd love to do it...you skydive off of Mt. Everest! That's incredible...now only if I could afford it...

Why I'm Sayin' No

2010-08-25T17:32:00.001-07:00

So I'm on this campaign against high fructose corn syrup...and the reason for myself, at least, is because I recently found out from my doctor that I am technically considered a "pre-diabetic" based on bloodwork results. This scared the hell outta me, because diabetes runs in my family, and because as many of you know, I'm a chocoholic and inhaling a jar on Nutella on a daily basis isn't something I put past myself. So in the past few weeks I've drastically reduced my chocolate intake (very sadly so, by the way) and I've cut down on carb intake. I'm also working on reducing my orange juice consumption. I will say---recently I've noticed a difference in myself and I've lost some weight. My trainer even commented on it, and I've been training with her for 8 months and this is the first time she's said this to me. She has always told me that I have to watch what I eat to really see results, and I believe it. Speaking of eating, Marcus and I went to dinner at Maze, the restaurant in the London Hotel. It's a Gordon Ramsey joint. I thought the food was good, and we agreed we'd go back again. P.S.: Marcus and friends' new product line has launched! Check it out and spread the word!

Again, Say NO to Fructose and Sucrose (which is partially made of fructose)

2010-08-23T13:57:00.000-07:00

Marcus sent me a link to a lecture given by an MD out of UC San Francisco. If you have any interest in why Americans are facing an obesity epidemic, why high fructose corn syrup is really bad, and why little kids---even infants are having problems with obesity...then check out this lecture. It was pretty interesting. It broke down the reason why the US is having this problem now---it all started with Nixon, the Japanese scientist who invented high fructose corn syrup, and the early 80's movement to cut down on fat to prevent cardiovascular disease. Then the guy breaks down exactly why fructose is bad. I highly recommend this lecture. It's over an hour, but very interesting and very important. Check it out, it was a lecture presented to the public, as part of the UC school system's Lifelong Learning Program. Just FYI, here's a list of foods highest in fructose content...I need to cut down on my fruit juice intake. On a happier note, this weekend was fun. Marcus and I brunched in SoHo yesterday, and then last night I went to Film Forum with Stephen and we watched the original "House of Wax" starring Vincent Price in 3-D. It was GREAT FUN! I'm really happy we watched it. Today is a rainy, lazy day...I worked out, did some housework, and chilled with Gustaf. P.S...quick fructose factoids: it doesn’t suppress ghrelin (the hunger hormone), fructose ingestion doesn’t trigger insulin, therefore doesn’t trigger leptin (the satiety hormone), therefore your brain doesn’t know you ate anything and tells you you're still hungry! Fructose contributes to Metabolic Syndrome (obesity, type II diabetes, lipid problems, hypertension, cardiovascular disease)...therefore fructose, high fructose corn syrup, and sucrose are the roots of all dietary evil! AAAHHHH!

A Long Weekend

2010-08-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

This week I have a long weekend (my schedule changes week by week), so I was thrilled! Yesterday Marcus took the day off and we went to Long Beach. It was a good, quick getaway. The waves were fairly strong, and the water wasn't the warmest (but still refreshing), so we were in and out of the water. Then we went to Lord and Taylor because there was a crazy sale, and I needed more work clothes. So that got taken care of. At home we watched an excellent movie: "The Ghost Writer". At first the dialogue reminded me of David Mamet, but I was surprised to find out Roman Polanski actually directed it. Today I worked out and was happily reminded of what's on my iPod...well the iPod is on my iPhone. I listened to some Findley Quaye, James Brown, Glasvegas (a new love of mine), hip hop, and other good stuff. But I want to upload some more music. Tonight we're heading to Alphabet City to eat dinner with Terry-a and Steve at Back Forty.

Catching Up...Back in the Workforce

2010-07-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

So the past week has been a little busy. I've been on hiatus since May...and that was a beautiful time in my life. So beautiful...alas, I eventually had to get back to work, and so I am. Now I work in Jersey City. I've been there a week, and so far, so good. I like all my co-workers, and my boss is a really good, patient, reasonable one. He's so far carried out on everything we talked about during my negotiations with him, and he's a really good teacher. Maybe this time I'll be lucky. I'm still trying to juggle meeting with my trainer and working out, too. So I'm in the midst of figuring that all out. I recently went to my friend Liz' art show. Marcus and I really like one particular painting she did, so hopefully we can find a spot for it in our apartment. Not sure if we have the space, but I think it could work. I also have been making a big effort to be healthy. For real, say no to corn syrup! And I'm cutting down on white rice, pasta, potatoes, and...sadly, chocolate. Marcus is back from Sweden. He had a great time there, so that's good. My little brother in law just graduated from high school and we got a photo from his yearbook (see photo). Yes, the captain's hat is part of the "official" photo for the school. Not really into the whole earring thing, but you know how these young kids are. And who knows what the trends are in Europe! He's grown up...I remember when he was just a little guy!

Jack and the Usual Suspects...Oh Ya!

2010-07-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Terry-a, Seren (her daughter), and I headed off to see Lauren and her newborn Jack. We first stopped at Terry'a's parents' house so Seren could frolic and take a nap. We were in the back yard and this beautiful butterfly was all over the flowers and seemed pretty comfortable with us around. We drove up to Lauren's place and got to meet Jack. Beautiful blue eyes and a pretty chill personality. Which makes sense, since Lauren and her hubbie Nick are pretty chill themselves! He's a pretty happy guy. And we got to hang with Frank the Tank, their cute cat (and cousin to Gustaf...? Cuz he's a black cat). He was purring up a storm when I pet him. So yesterday was fun. And I haven't seen Lauren in forever. So today my sisters and I headed up to Brimfield, Massachusetts to check out the big antiques show. We went last year, too. It's a bit of a haul for one day, and it gets painful, but it's fun, and there is usually a fair share of mid century stuff, which is what I like the most. This year there seemed to be less people and less vendors...don't know if the economy took its toll? But we'll be back next year. Although at some point I don't know if my waking up at five in the morning to meet my sisters in Westchester did it, or the extreme heat did (I didn't have a hat on), but I became slightly delirious and thought I was going to pass out. I don't think I was making sense when I spoke (well, let's be honest...I rarely do), and my sisters kept asking me if I wanted to leave. But then Jennifer spotted this great late 1800's framed study of this middle aged man with a mustache posing in his skivvies. It sounds really bad, but it's honestly a really beautiful sketch. So she snatched that, and it woke me up from my stooper. But then I passed out in the car on the way back to Westchester. I caught the train back to NYC, but stopped by the house to see my parents first; in classic style we were greeted by my father who had just finished gardening. He was rocking an all white outfit with a green bandana to keep the sweat out of his eyes. He then drank a beer from the veranda to marvel in his works. Good for him. I've been meaning to share this glorious quote I read in one of those free AM papers they hand out by the subway stations. I love this, in all its ignorance...and Marcus loves it because someone took the time to remember it and print it: "The smartest people I know love on Staten Island. (Pointing to Brooklyn) That's Jersey. The dumbest people I know live there" -Guy on State Island Ferry taking to visitors. Oh, I forgot to mention the preview of the Matisse exhibit at MoMa was great. A lot of stuff I didn't expect to see from Matisse. Highly recommended!

Glee!

2010-07-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

So today Marcus headed off to Sweden to visit his family and friends. Since I'm starting a new job soon (augh), I couldn't go this time. And every time he goes away, my food situation becomes a frantic point of stressing. Because he's the cook in our house...it's so interesting how dependent you can become...I mean, shoot, I'm a grown woman who lived on my own and was capable of feeding myself! But I am not a cook, have never feigned to be one. So whenever he leaves, I end up pseudo starving, or running to the store and figuring out some ghetto solution. So my latest thing to do is to go to Whole Foods and to buy one of those whole roasted chickens...and then I eat that for the next 3 days and then figure something else out. Marcus has been making himself these health smoothies lately; they have non fat yogurt, fruits, and skim milk in them. I hopped on board, and they're great! I sometimes add honey to make them sweeter. So my new thing is to have one of those and cereal (without corn syrup, of course) in the mornings. Although it's nice to have time to myself (Gustaf and I are holding down the fort), I do miss him a lot when he's gone, and I'm going to be starting a new job and it would be great to have him physically here when that happens. Anyway, I am watching that Fox show "Glee". Gotta love it. As crazy and over the top as it is, it's great, I must admit. I mean, damn, if there was a glee club at my high school and it was like that when I was a senior (...I had gained some confidence by then...I was a late bloomer), I would have loved to wear semi too-risque-for-teens costumes, all while belting out cheesy tunes! P.S.: I secretly wished I would have been a cheerleader because of the uniforms and the pom poms...haha. This afternoon I watched Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July". I really like that movie; it's beautifully shot (Robert Richardson), and it's such a painful journey to watch. Tom Cruise was pretty good...and I really don't like him because I feel like I can't separate his performance from his real life persona usually.

No To Corn Syrup

2010-07-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor today for an annual checkup. It went fine, although there was a mini fiasco when I tried to get blood work done to check my rabies titers. Since I'm a veterinarian, I had to be vaccinated against rabies. Well, no one, including the doctor, was familiar with the test that had to be run, and it became a problem. I ended up talking to the lab myself to try to sort it out. Anyway, the doctor and I were discussing diet and he reminded me that I should be avoiding corn syrup---an evil that is an ingredient in almost all foods in the US! Why is it evil? It's a simple carbohydrate, it has been linked to multiple conditions, and when you read food labels, if there's an ingredient that you have never heard of, it's probably made from corn syrup. So that's my new kick---to really try to avoid corn syrup. And to try to eat more quinoa, which contains the highest amount of protein of all grains, when cooked. Martha Stewart has a recipe for breakfast that seems pretty good. I have also been meaning to mention the Plastiki. It's a boat that has been constructed entirely of recycled plastic bottles and sustainable materials (glue made of cashews!). David de Rothschild, the heir to the de Rothschild banking fortune, is in charge of this project and apparently he's a big time environmentalist (I didn't know that). I was also enlightened that there's this disgusting, enormous island of used plastic bottles and chemical waste floating in the Pacific Ocean. It's estimated to be twice the size of Texas...disgusting. There's a pretty interesting video about the mission of Plastiki and exactly how the boat was built (when you click on the link, scroll down to see the video).

Lemons, South Beach, and Yummy Beach Time

2010-07-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

As I sit here in front of our TV watching Judge Mathis, I am sipping on my delectable lemonade, homemade, of course (nothing less!). And I recall that I recently discovered that lemons are not created equal. I bought lemons from Food Emporium and made my lemonade, and it was sub par. So I am back to my Whole Foods lemons. Anyway, Marcus and I just returned from a weekend excursion to South Beach. My sisters held down the fort and watched our beloved cat Gustaf. we stayed at the Grand Beach Hotel, on the "doorstep" of South Beach. This place was nice; it has its own beach. The room was pretty pimped out: two flatscreen TV's, white and cream colored furniture, balcony, two bathrooms with showers...the food in the hotel's restaurant was decent. I did love their crab salad. It was REAL crab meat over a bed of mixed greens, grapefruit, watermelon, and orange, with a citrus dressing. We did spot a silverfish (aka carpet shark, apparently) in our bathroom, which was really NOT cool considering our history with vermin in our former apartment. I had never dealt with silverfish before, so we googled it and found out more. So just in case, we kept our stuff on lockdown. Speaking of the bathroom, I was so intrigued by the petite sink we had in one of the bathrooms (see photo). I loved it, although there wasn't much room in the sink. We spent most of our time there on the beach. Marcus was doing laps in the ocean, while I floated around aimlessly in a blow up inner tube (the best!). We also bummed around in the water, and the water was clear and warm. While we were at the beach we watched a bunch of pelicans patrolling the area and dive-bombing into the water for a meal. All so, so wonderful. I wouldn't mind having a vacation apartment down there, but beachfront of course! Next time I need to invest in the proper floating raft. I saw an old guy with a really nice one. Marcus saw a grandmother aged woman in a cut-out monokini---and said it wasn't pretty. I can imagine. We also strolled down Ocean Drive, that strip on South Beach with all the Art Deco buildings. I did miss out on real Cuban food, since we weren't in the right part of town. AND we watched the last game of the World Cup. Before it went into overtime we were watching it in the hotel restaurant, but since we had to get to the airport, once it unfortunately went into overtime, we hopped in a cab and watched the rest on a dinky screen in an airport hallway, along with thirty other people. We were really routing for the Netherlands. It's too bad, but Spain was a hard one to beat throughout the entire tournament. I did disagree with the decision to give Casillas, the Spaniard goalie, the goalie of the tournament award...I didn't think he was the overall best. PS: the next time you travel and you are staying at a hotel, check out the Bed Bug Registry...although not every single hotel and not every single bed bug sighting would be listed, it's still a good resource. And it checks on apartments, too.

It's All About Sustainable Energy!

2010-07-06T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well I'm returning to work...augh, ya, work...sooner than later. And I was reflecting on how I can be healthier, and not eat bad things at work. I also want to avoid major sugar highs, then horrible energy crashes. Conveniently I saw a segment on the Today Show about certain snacks for maintaining energy without crashing, and snacks to curb your appetite without the horrible sugar crashes. One is called Flavor & Fiber, by Gnu. It's one of those energy type bars. I'm really not into these things, but I did try it and it seemed to curb my appetite without making me have a sugar rush. But I am skeptical. Let's see if I can pull this off at work. The other thing I was interested in was E Boost. It's one of those powders you add to water. It provides energy via vitamins, minerals, and green tea extract, aka caffeine. Even though there's caffeine, the energy you get from E Boost will supposedly not cause a bad crash after. So we'll see. Because with my coffee at work, I find that I don't get that much of a boost and I'm exhausted later. Speaking of all these energy drinks, Stephen enlightened me when we were walking around the other day and we were talking about how we get heat/dehydration headaches...he said that the one thing that works for him is drinking Vitamin Water, in "Energy" flavor...so that's my go-to now!

Pies N' Thighs, Baby, Pies N' Thighs

2010-07-03T09:07:00.001-07:00

The other day Koh-chan and I ventured into Williamsburg to eat lunch at Pies N' Thighs. Good old Southern food! Jennifer decided to make a funny when I told here where we were eating...she said "I hope that's a chicken wings place"...ha ha. Well the food was pretty good. Then we chilled at this park on the water just a few blocks away. Later that day I went out with Stephen. We ate at a Japanese joint on St. Mark's Place, then bummed around the East Village. We ended up walking all the way to Chambers Street, where we parted ways. Well, this week has been the week of World Cup upsets! First Italy last week, then Brazil, now Argentina! Well, first of all, the Netherlands played really, really well against Brazil...and when things fell apart, oh did it get ugly. The own goal by a Brazilian, then later in frustration he picked up a red card for kicking a Dutch player with the spikes on his cleats. Not a way to go out---like a sore loser. And today---Argentina...with all the crap Maradona, their coach talks, there was nothing to show for because Germany shut them down. Oh and yesterday's painful game: Ghana vs. Uruguay. It ended in painful penalty kicks, and Ghana was out. It was crazy when in the very last minute (before the game went to penalty kicks) Ghana had a kick that could have given them the game, and the ball hit the cross bar on the goal! Augh. So crazy. Now we're waiting for the next game on in a couple of hours. This past week I've really jacked up my knees somehow. I went on a spinning class rampage and as a result, my knees haven't had time to recover. So I decided not to work out today, which sucks. Oh and the other day I went to work with my good friend, and fellow veterinarian, Christina. I like it because I kinda get to hang out with her and see how things are done at her hospital. I got to do some surgery, which was cool, too. Well, let's see how the game goes this afternoon...and I recently found Redline Princess in CVS. As my fellow intern-mates know, my last weeks as an intern were spent on overnights. That year was so exhausting, I ended up drinking this nasty energy drink, Redline, to get me (hyper) through those last few horrible weeks. Apparently, now they have the girly version: Redline "Princess".

Oh My God

2010-06-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

Today I went to another spinning class, and the instructor was someone that was recommended to me. I know I've previously said I'd met the mother of all instructors, in terms of who kicks my @ss the most, but hot damn, today's was an absolute killer. I went to the NYHRC's Astor Place location for Rosa's spinning class. I've never seen anyone pedal as fast as she was (with resistance on the bike) and move so fast. I couldn't keep up. And honestly, when I take spin classes I usually don't keep up 100% of the time. But I really did not keep up! And not to mention this instructor's antics...she was a cross between super in shape instructor, hip hop DJ, dancer, and militant motivator. When she wasn't on the bike, she was literally rapping, dancing, and forcefully screaming at us to go faster. She pumped so much energy into this class, it wasn't funny. It was pain and party time all rolled into one. I left drenched and exhausted. But there was no time to take it slow because I had to make it back home to watch the Brazil-Chile game. On my way home I stopped at Baba Ghanouge, which is this Middle Eastern take out joint in Tribeca that's great. I'm obsessed with it now. Marcus and I get delivery from them all the time, and I'm personally really into their Hi-C lemonade drink: freshly juiced orange, lemon, and honey. And that's exactly what I ordered on my way home today. We've been ordering chicken manoushi a lot...it's spicy chicken with bread that's drenched in oregano. It's overload, but it's good. But when I googled manoushi, it seems as though the bread is usually seasoned with thyme...hmm...weird. But it tastes good anyway! PS: Brazil won 3-0, but Chile was giving 100% till the end, and not for nothing, so was Brazil...and that was cool to see both teams not giving up or taking it easy, even though towards the end it was apparent who was the winner. Also, speaking of Chile, I read about this former Chilean goalie who back in the '90's feigned injury in a game (in hopes of keeping Chile in the World Cup qualifiers) by cutting his head with a razor blade he hid in his glove! Crazy and so not cool.

Out: The U.S., England, and the Parade

2010-06-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was rooting for the U.S. soccer team, but they got the boot, which sucked. But they didn't play as well as they did in prior games. Last night we went to the movies and watched "Get Him to the Greek"...which was lukewarm, at best. Oh well. Then this morning the Germans creamed England, so England's out. Right after the game, Marcus and I headed over to the West Village to watch some of the Pride Parade. It was a good turn out. But one question remains: why is it that whenever a woman at this parade is topless, it's a severely overweight, middle-aged woman with a gut and horrible, drooping boobs? Seriously--why can't it be a young, attractive, toned woman? Well, that question may never be answered. In the vendor area, there were tons of things to buy, including 3-D gay porn, which come on, is awesome...ha ha. We then rushed home to watch the Argentina-Mexico game, which is currently in progress...

The Bionic Cat, Euthanasia, and The Obscenities Online

2010-06-25T10:40:00.000-07:00

Marcus just sent me a link to an article about a young cat that lost both his hind limbs in an accident, and the British veterinary surgeon who implanted prosthetic limbs. It's pretty fascinating, and very exciting. The prosthetics have been so far successful. (What could go wrong? Sores, pain, INFECTION, the implants move, bone fractures, the list continues...) I'm always excited with these types of strides not only for veterinary medicine, but for human medicine, since a lot of veterinary based research and techniques are then used to enhance human medicine. My concern with these types of things is quality of life. Since in my opinion animals live in the "here and now" it's hard for me to justify doing extensive procedures IF animals will be in pain or stressed for long periods of time. And of course vets NEVER want that, and I'm sure that the cat was made to be comfortable and pain free. I'm just saying that since animals can't talk, I'm always scared that people will go above and beyond not for the well being of their pet, but for them. And that's not what it's about. But this whole prosthetic procedure is really exciting...the reason why is because this surgeon has successfully gotten the cat's skin to bind to the metal prosthetic, and of course because now this cat has bought more time to live (comfortably). F#ckin' cool. Apparently he's done this before with a canine patient. Speaking of medicine, in Germany it's been decided that unassisted euthanasia is legal, meaning if a patient wants it, life support can be removed. Now although this is a step forward for humane euthanasia, I argue that this example is not truly one of euthanasia. Because euthanasia literally translates to "good death"...meaning pain free. And if someone requires life support to live, taking it away, sure will lead to death, but it may not be pain free. If someone needs a ventilator to breathe---and you take it away, they technically can suffocate to death. And that's horrible. Anyway. Onto something much more light hearted: have you heard of chatroulette.com? Well, it was supposed to be this free chatting website where you log on and you and some random person somewhere in the world can start chatting. And if you're not feelin' them, you can move onto the next. Great, fun idea, right? Well, the complaint is that most of the people on the site are masturbating men! And Christina and I checked it out, and yup...it's true. We did chat with a normal person, but ya encountered, well, you know...ha ha. But it was super easy to get on the site, you don't need to register or make complicated adjustments to your computer settings to get the video cam on and running.

Virgos Unite, The Go -To's, and the tale of the Spinning Monster

2010-06-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

Last night I met up with my NYU friends Tina, Matt, and Chantima. We ended up at a Thai restaurant called Rin. It was good, but even better was seeing my friends. Firstly, I hadn't seen Matt in years! And he's my fellow Virgo, and it's so comforting to have another Virgo around...someone who understands and shares my anal-retentiveness and all that good stuff. Tina had just come back from Roma, and had a great time. On her way back she stopped in London and hooked me up with chocolate, biscuits, and tea from Harrods. Yummy. And Chantima had been most recently working with the princess of Thailand (she works at the Thai Mission). We all had a good time. Recently something has urked me...or maybe "urked" isn't the right word. Just an observation. U2 has apparently contributed their songs or a new song for the World Cup because every game seems to start off with a a montage including them. Why is U2 the "go-to" band for everything? Need a fund-raiser? Need a theme song? Go to U2! Not that I'm knocking them, I love (old) U2. But still. I mean, they really couldn't tap into some maybe newer talent? And you know, I really liked Ricky Martin's song for the World Cup back in the day...I'm not afraid to say it! You know you heard it and wanted to shake...just a little... (the Spanish version is better)...the official song is by Shakira, which really isn't the greatest, no offense to her, she's cool. And speaking of my thoughts on music, if you want to ever hear my theory on the evolution of the R&B group Jodeci, lemme know...well, I just got back from spinning class. And there was a substitute instructor. Now whenever I walk into my class and find out there's a sub, I internally cringe, because you never know what you're gonna get. But what a wonderful surprise! This instructor was a spinning monster! It was a great class, and he was doing the entire workout with us. Love it. Well, I'm going to check out the next soccer game, and head out to Queens to meet up with my sister Jennifer. We're going to wander through Little Manila in search of good Filipino food.

Another All Nighter

2010-06-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

Once again, it's been World Cup mania. This past Friday, Marcus and I went to watch a local soccer team- we watched the New York Red Bulls play a Brazilian team, Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. It was a fun match, and a really nice soccer stadium. We had incredible seats---the first row. It was pretty easy to get to...we just hopped on the Path train near us. Then Saturday night my former intern-mates and friends Christina, Vivian, and Gina came over for a sleepover. Marcus was going out with a friend of his, so it worked out. We ate some dinner, then bar hopped. My friends seemed to like the drinks the most at Ward III. By 2AM we ended up at Duet 48, a box karaoke bar. Although Christina kept saying she was scared to sing, she seemed to have on problem when we got there! We ended up coming home later on, and finally got a little shut eye at 6AM. The next morning we ate some brunch at Plein Sud, a local restaurant, and the food was really good! I gave in and had some pancakes with a mascarpone butter, which was scrumptious...the rest of the day Marcus and I hung out and took a short walk along the Hudson River. On a "yucky" side note, last week I developed some kind of weird allergic reaction that has manifested itself as some disease looking patched on my neck...so needless to say, I'm not thrilled. I went to the dermatologist who gave me some medication, but this s#it better go away! Because I don't want to walk around with pink patches on my neck! And I don't even know what I had a reaction to!

Summer!

2010-06-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

So now that Marcus finished with studying for the CFA exam, which had consumed most of his free time, we have been able to start to spend more time together, which I love. We started watching the HBO series "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency", produced by the late Anthony Minghella (think "The English Patient" director) and starring Jill Scott. The story line is good, but more impressive is Jill Scott's wardrobe! It takes place in Botswana, and I have a major soft spot for African cotton prints. She's rockin' these beautiful traditional African dresses all the time. Yesterday Marcus and I busted out the field hockey sticks and the soccer ball and played for a while. We were on one of the lawns in back of our apartment. It was great, but there are people all around, so everything has to be pretty tame. The past few years he's been teaching me how to play soccer (apparently I'm a lefty kicker) and I have been teaching him field hockey and lacrosse. And I just saw that the baseball field two blocks from us is open to the public, so that's another place we could play, and I could bring along the lacrosse sticks, too. Oh! I failed to mention that in the past couple of weeks I got Japanese hair straightening. My longtime hair stylist Yasuko did it, and I am so happy with the results. In the past 6 months I've noticed slightly more wave in my hair, and I was not happy about it. So even though the results in my hair (since my hair was more on the straight side) aren't dramatic, the maintenance is! Now I can wash my hair and when it air dries there's no frizz, and no fear of waviness happening. Before I was straight ironing it when it got bad. Life is good!

Recap

2010-06-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

Wow. I've been absent on this blog for a while. So what's been going on lately? Well, most recently Caroline (my sister), my father, and myself headed down to Miami to visit our relatives. It was good to see them, since I hadn't seen them for a REALLY long time. All my father's siblings live there. Interestingly my aunt and uncle told me they used to go out and see members of the Buena Vista Social Club play and sing back in the day, which is pretty damn cool. We also got to overdose on Cuban food and Cuban coffee, and that was great. I mean, damn, they even had excellent Cuban food in the airport! We stayed at the Sofitel, which I was pretty happy with. It was a great deal, and a nice place to stay. It wasn't beachfront, but since our stay was so short, we had to prioritize to be near the airport. There was a pool, so we took advantage of that. Although we did share an elevator with people we seriously thought were two under age prostitutes and a john. It brought repeated entertainment for us three when we brought it up. Anyway, I got home last night, and finally got to watch some of the World Cup. I couldn't watch it (it started when I was going to Miami) for the past few days, so I was so excited to finally watch. Today I watched Japan unexpectedly beat Camaroon, and I just finished watching Italy and Paraguay draw. Hmm...so I'm trying to plan my life for the next few weeks around the World Cup...

Animals Dying Everywhere.

2010-06-04T17:18:00.000-07:00

I've been a little MIA from this blog lately. What has been happening lately? Well, I've been watching movies, of course, like "The Motorcycle Diaries", which I enjoyed to my surprise. In the past few days I've become sick and really not feeling well. The BP oil spill is out of control. I can't believe they didn't have emergency equipment ready, on site, in case something like say, an oil spill happens. How is that allowed?! And seeing all those photos of the oiled animals really, really kills me. It's so f$ckin' depressing. It's amazing how messed up things are. And then I just finished watching the classic "Apocalype Now", which I thought was a great film until towards the end, when a cow is killed on camera...and it's for real. I mean, a huge sword type tool is flung down onto its back, the animal falls, and you can recognize anatomy---muscles, ligaments, and all. There's no way I can ever watch this movie again. It really horrifies me that someone can actually justify staging something like this for the sake of cinema. Slaughter is horrible as is it, but unless it was seriously happening anyway, and it was in no way happening because of the film, then fine. In which case, most likely, I'd be watching the slaughter in a documentary type film, which this one wasn't. And apparently the filmmakers and lawmakers deemed this slaughter okay because the Filipino tribe performing the slaughter (the movie was shot in the Philippines) usually did this kind of thing as a religious sacrifice. Which really doesn't matter, because the whole thing was staged on a set built there for the sake of the film. This really made me sick. It's so depressing what we humans do to animals, isn't it? Makes me wonder about us humans.

Do You...Mukti?

2010-05-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

It has been a few day since my last entry into my little blog. Since then, I went to Jersey to visit a clinic I'm considering working at. I liked what I saw, so let's see. Otherwise, I've been trying to work out as much as possible, since I have the time. I've been back to my spinning class, which is great because it kicks my ass. A couple of days ago I met up with an old friend of mine, Karen. It was so wonderful to see her! She was actually around (she was a co worker back in the day) when me and Marcus got together! We reminisced and grabbed some food. Yesterday I met up with my friend Christina, a fellow veterinarian. She's about to start acting classes in her free time, and I'm happy for her that she can take that on. We went back to a restaurant around the neighborhood and had some good old brunch. Recently I took on the task of wardrobe for a photo shoot. Let me explain...Marcus and his friends Steven (Terry-a's husband), Magnus, and Rasmus started a company. They are going to be launching the sales of the Mukti Mat. What the @#$% is that, you ask? Well think bed of nails, pressure points, stress relief, and relaxation. It's a mat you can just lie on at the end your day, or even do yoga on if you wanna get hardcore. It's for everyone! There is a Mukti Mat website, still under construction. Today they had a photo shoot for the product. Stephen, a great friend and incredibly talented photographer was in charge, and the Mukti crew was there, as well (Rasmus was there in spirit, as he is in Sweden). It was good to finally see all their hard work coming together, and that launching the product was in the soon future! Click on the video below to see a few moments from the shoot...

All Nighter!

2010-05-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took a spinning class with my favorite instructor and I figured out why I like spinning so much. It's because it's a mind f$ck! I don't like riding bikes, but what I love is that you're on this stationary bike and this instructor is helping you to envision mountains, climbs, and jumps. And based on that, you have to push yourself. And it's so hard! And you want to stop ,but then you don't want to stop, even though it hurts. And it's almost like a dance club in there...tons of people in very close quarters, sweating, with some bumping music (and I'm no longer ashamed to admit that I'm rockin' with myself when Britney or some cheesy pop club-esque music is blasting during class). In the afternoon I went to the cooking wonderland we call William Sonoma. I was in search of the perfect lemon press! I have lusted after a free standing one for a year, but we just don't have counter space. And I'm a lemonade snob and I love to make homemade lemonade, the real way. So I read some reviews online and there were many people raving about the stainless steel lemon press from William Sonoma. So that's how I ended up there. I also got a beautiful stainless steel cupcake pan (I prefer to bake with glass-but I don't know if there's such a thing as glass cupcake baking pans) and cake racks for cooking baked goods! I've wanted those forever! I am so excited. Anyway later in the day Gina, my fellow internmate and vet school friend, came over and we had a sleepover! It was a lot of fun. We ate dinner, then went out in the East Village for a little while. We came back to the apartment and watched what other than..."Forgetting Sarah Marshall". At that point when that was done, it was 4AM. We then proceeded to watched crappy middle of the night shows like "Cheaters". Finally at 6AM I called it quits (even though Gina wanted me to stay up). Later that morning when we woke up I made us pancakes and we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a pretty busy day on the bridge! Marcus also came home from Bermuda so we got to hear about his trip. Then Gina headed back home...and I hit the grocery store to buy some baking supplies. I love baking, and I'm pretty good at it, but because I'm always afraid I'm going to eat what I bake, I never bake. Well, I thought to myself: baking makes me happy. So I will have to somehow deal with the baking and not shoving my face too much. Tomorrow I'm making vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, from scratch of course! Oh and I just tried the lemon press I bought and it's amazing! It juiced the hell outta those lemons!

The Vampiric Germ?

2010-05-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

If you watch "The Office" then you may remember that episode when Dwight refers to the "vampiric germ" after a bat flies into the office. So the other day I woke up and when I finally looked in the mirror, I discovered two small wounds on my neck! It's pretty freaky because sh$t like this always happens to me. I wake up and find scratches on my face or what not. So the question is what happened...well, Gustaf sleeps cheek-to-cheek with me sometimes, and he tends to touch my face with his little claws...so I don't know if he gripped a little too hard, or if he bit me at night?? Well, maybe in some freaky-deaky type scenario Marcus decided to bite me vampire style...or a spider (but it would have had to be have been a BIG one) bit me, or maybe a friendly vampire flew in through the window and bit me! Hoo-hoo-hoo-ha-ha!!!

Brunch, More Brunch, The Strawberry Beret, Movies, and Tea

2010-05-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

So let me summarize my last week...I've been back on working out, which is wonderful because my arthritic knee decided to throw a tantrum, and I've been sans cardio for a month. Yikes. Well, the day before Mother's Day, my family took my mom to Bedford Post, owned by Richard Gere. Haha. It was good, but not something I'd go out of my way to get to. In true Southern Westchester style, it was Anglo-Waspy-mania up in there! But that's okay. The following day, I met up with Terry-a, Steven, and Seren. When I went to Seattle, I found this super cute kid's hat that looks like a strawberry. I bought it and planned to give it to Seren. I've received two photos of Seren with it on, so it's safe to say she likes it! Marcus and I watched "You Don't Know Jack", an HBO movie starring Al Pacino that chronicles the life and career of the controversial Dr. Kevorkian. It was pretty good, and I've always wanted to know more about him and what inspired him to really lead the human euthanasia movement. And who knew he was also an artist and musician?! Apparently he's had his stuff in galleries, and he released an album once. Then I watched "Flashdance" on TV which I was excited about because I've never seen it in its entirety. I watched part of "Heaven and Earth" again yesterday, and once again, it's such a great, but seriously depressing film. Today I met up with my friend Liz again. We grabbed some lunch and tea at The Adore. We both ordered lapsang souchong, a black tea. She described it perfectly...she said it tastes like ashes from a fireplace! It's this good smokey, black tea. Before meeting up with Liz I went to a couple of places in search of something simple...plain black socks with no polyester. Who knew that would be so hard! I went to a couple of places before I found them at DSW! I thought I was going to have to buy horrific socks with cartoons of animals and teeny bopper phrases on them...

Reunions, Bruises, and Disasters

2010-05-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have not been on Facebook or really been interested. I found out I actually have an account, and recently, I wanted to contact some friends that I lost touch with. And this Facebook thing really came through! The other night I met up with Julie and Jindallrae, my old friends from my Access Hollywood days. I have kept in touch with Jindallrae, but I had not seen Julie in about 8 years! Well it was great to see her, and to hang out all together. She's now a news reporter in Philly. Impressive! Then I met up with Liz, an old high school friend who I lost touch with and had not spoken to in maybe 12 years! She's an artist and living in NYC now! It was like we barely missed a beat. Hanging out was just as easy and natural as it was back in the day. I also saw my trainer and we did some kickboxing and as usual, when I work with kicking and knee-ing punching bags, I get bruised (thus the ugly photo). Love 'em! Then yesterday I worked as a per diem veterinarian in NYC. Hmm...I don't know if I want to do that again. Things were a bit hectic, stressful...I didn't like walking into a situation where I had no idea how to use the computer system, didn't know anyone's names, and didn't know how things went at that hospital...augh!!!

Sleepover Time

2010-05-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my good friend Christina, who I met during my internship, came over and we had a sleepover! It was a lot of fun. She's also a veterinarian, and one of the few people I trust to deal with Gustaf, our cat, on a medical basis. She's helped me draw blood on him in the past and has been my go-to girl for a sure-shot blood draw or urine sample! Well, yesterday we bummed around the West and East Village and ate dinner at Caracas Arepa Bar. It was good stuff. I love arepas! We then went home, and had plans of going out again, but we were beat! We watched a movie on TV with Marcus, then went to bed. This morning we went to the Smyth Hotel's new restaurant, Plein Sud, to have breakfast. What a cute place! And the food was pretty good. Then we went to MoMA and checked out the much talked about "The Artist Is Present" performance art installation, complete with live nude artists. It was pretty cool; I'm not a big performance art fanatic, but I can definitely respect the intensity and devotion it takes to do this kind of this. My favorite parts were film reels of male performers humping green grass on a hill, the artist Marina Abramovic aggressively fondling her own breasts, and women dressed in traditional Baltic dresses in the rain lifting their skirts and getting their nether regions wet...and why? Apparently, this was an expression addressing the old Baltic myths that if men masturbate to the Earth it will become fertile, and that the rain would stop if women expose themselves to it...and there was something to do with the breast fondling, but I forgot! I think fondling them would bring rain. Then there was another short film where Marina and her long time performing partner where locked lipped for minutes, breathing in and out from each other, which eventually became basically carbon dioxide, until they almost passed out. Intense! We then headed to my favorite---the permanent collection, where I got to see my beloved Matisse masterpieces. But there were way too many people there, and we were getting annoyed (well mostly I was) so we left, and went back downtown. We grabbed some lunch and hung out at home.

Fish, Flowers, And More Coffee

2010-04-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

So on my last day in the Pacific Northwest, Stacy and I grabbed some breakfast at a cafe near the water. Then we headed down to Pike Place Market. It was pretty interesting. Tons of beautiful fresh flowers, mostly tulips, and crazy, crazy fresh seafood. Geez, if I lived in Seattle, all I would do is buy fresh caught fish and drink coffee! There were some vendors selling crafts, pasta, local cheese, and jams. But by far, the fish situation was impressive. Of course I grabbed a couple of cups of coffee, and then before going to the airport we went to an internet cafe where you got a great deal: buy a drink, get a half hour of internet! And what did I eat at the airport? Halibut, of course! So in summary, it was wonderful to see Stacy. We saw each other all the time in vet school, and now we live on opposite sides of the country. But it is good to know that I'd want to visit Seattle and the surrounding area even if I didn't know someone there. The coffee is gorgeous, the food, especially the seafood was spectacular, and the weather was entertaining. Seattle is a very clean city, with friendly people. I'd definitely recommend Seattle as a great place for a long weekend. Oh and I saw that Space Needle building from the beginning of the show "Frasier", but we didn't go in it and do the whole tour (Stacy offered, I declined). Again, if you like coffee and seafood, this is the place for you!

Coffee, Weather, and More Coffee

2010-04-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday Stacy and I headed to Seattle for an overnight stay. One thing I instantly noticed about this part of the country were the curious weather patterns. I figured because it was always raining, people would be walking around with umbrellas. But my entire trip I only saw two people with them...the reason? I think it's because in one day, it'll be sunny, then rain a little, then hail a little, and then be sunny again! And this happened while I was there. And coffee joints, I mean GOOD coffee joints were everywhere! It was heavenly. And I have always loathed Starbucks, so I avoided those. But there were plenty of excellent coffee shops. And my theory on that? Well, since Seattle is kinda a sleepy city, in that it's always sort of cloudy with a little rain, you get a little snoozy... and need some coffee! The only place I've been this impressed with the coffee has been Bogota in Colombia. Anyway, we went to this pizza place called Serious Pie. And this was no joke---gourmet pizza all the way. This pizza was so good, I would have to say it's the best pizza I've had here in the U.S. Apparently this place was boasted about on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate", a Food Network show, if that validates if for you...ha ha. God that was good food. The rest of the day we walked around and checked out some shopping. We briefly checked out the shops by Pike Place Market, and passed the original Starbucks. Did you know the original Starbucks lady on their logo is topless? I guess they had to clean it up to go mainstream.

The Pacific Northwest!

2010-04-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a short trip to the state of Washington. I went to spend some time with my very close friend Stacy. So as I have done with previous trips, I'll try to best chronicle the day-to-day with a couple of posts! Well, I got there this past Sunday, and Stacy picked me up from the Seattle airport and we headed for Olympia, a suburban town about one hour outside Seattle. There, I got to see Stacy and her husband Casey's home. And I got to meet their two dogs, Charlie and Doji (see the photo)! We headed down to the farmer's market and ate some pretty good food, and got my first taste of the wonderful coffee over there in the Seattle area! It was at Dancing Goats Coffee Bar...yummy! We went to the in-laws house and met a bunch of friends, and took part in a carrot cake tasting event. Nine people baked carrot cakes and we all judged them, prizes and all. The next day we bummed around Olympia, ate some Thai food and of course I got some coffee! That night Stacy, Casey, and I went to this great seafood restaurant called Anthony's and I had some pretty decadent local salmon. After dinner we watched "Breach" at home, and it was a pretty good movie.

Across the River

2010-04-22T13:19:00.001-07:00

Today I went to an interview at a hospital in Jersey City. The trek was unexpectedly long! I can see Jersey City from my apartment, so I figured all in all it would take me maybe 45 minutes door to door. Well, it took an hour and a half! Because of the hospital's location in Jersey City, I had to take two New Jersey Transit trains, one of which only runs every 20 minutes when I was heading over there. But I liked what I heard at the interview, so we'll see. A plus: I was in the heart of a Filipino neighborhood, so I grabbed some yummy baked products on my way back to New York. Then, a somewhat surreal and disturbing event unfolded before my eyes: I was back in my hood, and passing the Whole Foods we shop at, down in Tribeca. Then a whorl of flashing cameras was crossing my path into Whole Foods. I took a closer look and it was Jessica Alba trying to act as normal as possible while 6 men with flashing cameras were hounding her. It was really appalling. I guess the price of fame, but really crazy.

Runnin' For the Hills and Chocolate Fun

2010-04-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

The other day I went to interview at a veterinary clinic in Brooklyn that will remain unnamed...I had a bad feeling about it even over the phone with the owner, but I wanted to not make any judgments and I didn't want to flake out. So I went in with an open mind, and needless to say multiple incidents and details left me running for cover. I jumped on the L train as fast as possible. Then I met up with Teri, a friend who's moving to Northern California to start up her own veterinary oncology deal. Although I'm sad that she's not going to be around, I'm also excited for her. Our hang outs usually involve walking all over downtown Manhattan and eating. This time we ended up in a pizza joint in Gramercy. Then we seeked chocolate and tried out that Max Brenner restaurant in Union Square. It had a cheesy chain-restaurant vibe, but the thick hot chocolate I had (which was literally like melted milk chocolate) was ridiculously wonderful...and our waiter was excellent. Then we headed home. I hopped on the train and found myself alone in the subway car, which is a rarity!

Copycat

2010-04-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

Saturday night Marcus and I headed to the local movie theater to watch the Chris Rock comedy "Death at a Funeral"...it was okay, there were funny moments, but nothing I'd say you have to go out of your way to watch...especially when we found out that this movie is a remake of the British flick by the same name...and when we watched clips of the original on the Internet, we found that tons of lines were ripped off line for line! I'm for remakes when the new version can add something of value to the original story...in this case, I'm not so sure. We're going to rent the original and see. Yesterday Marcus and I headed down to the Wall Street area to eat brunch at a Scandinavian restaurant. It was good, but even better was discovering this little gem of a street (Stone Street): cobblestone, with back to back restaurants. And outdoor tables covered the entire street. It seems like a good spot to find something to eat. I just hope it's not flooded with tourists. But we plan to go back. Then we headed home and I watched "A Clockwork Orange", which I haven't seen in YEARS! I forgot how crazy this flick was!

Boats N' Laboratories

2010-04-15T14:54:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday Marcus and I took the Water Taxi to Brooklyn to check out IKEA. Marcus likes to go there every once in a while to stock up on Swedish groceries. It was a scenic ride, and it was free! I also made some homemade French toast, which was pretty good, although I felt like I need to improve it a little next time. Like maybe soak the toast slices shorter than what's suggested in the recipe. Monday I met up with Tina for lunch at Tiffin Wallah. Good, cheap, vegetarian Indian food. Then I met up with Seren and Terry-a. We ended up at Shake Shack. Yesterday was a jam packed day: first I met up with my friend Amy, who's a laboratory animal medicine resident. She took me on a tour of the couple of facilities she works in. So we checked out buildings in Cornell Medical School and in Sloan Kettering. It was really impressive! Huge facilities with all the bells and whistles. I saw tons of mice, and some zebrafish, monkeys, and a dog. Apparently there are some pigs there usually, too. It was great to see Amy and to get a tour since I honestly don't have that much background in terms of laboratory animal medicine. Then I headed to Brooklyn to meet up with Stephen. We hit up Target, then into Victoria's Secret because I was in desperate need of some cotton underwear. And the ones I usually bought elsewhere were no longer available. So I tried to find some in Target, which didn't work out. So I went to Victoria's Secret because I recently found some decent underwear there. Then we went to this cute little tea place off Union Square called The Adore. I'd recommend it. Click below to see "Marcus Goes to IKEA"!

Early Start

2010-04-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening I was part of a panel discussion at NYU for pre-med/vet/dentistry students. So there was me, a veterinarian, a dentist, some medical students, and a doctor. We had to talk about our experiences in school and as a practicing doctor. We all gave them a dose of reality...that we like our professions, but sometimes the stress, long hours, and other stuff can make you feel as though you wish you weren't doing what you're doing. A fellow panelist even said that sometimes he wished he wasn't in medicine, but it's too late because he's hundreds of thousands in debt, and he's invested so much time in becoming a doctor. Anyway, we also answered run of the mill "what should I expect in school" questions...and at the end, in classic NYU style, each panelist was given a Tiffany's porcelain box, of course adorned with NYU graphics...ha ha. This morning, bright and super early, I headed to Westchester to spend some time at my friend Christina's practice. She was doing surgery, and I wanted to have some surgery time myself, so I ended up shadowing her. She works in apparently the oldest small animal veterinary animal hospital in New York State! I enjoyed myself a lot! And it was so nice to breathe in that clean Westchester air!

Pineapple Scraps and Feelings of Summer!

2010-04-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

So the weather has been delightful the past few days! I almost forgot it's just April. Last night I met up with my friend Jindallrae. We ate at a Korean restaurant on 18th Street then we sat in Union Square and drank some coffee. It was good seeing her.Well I have been kinda naughty in terms of eating...I've been seeing my trainer religiously and lately I fell off the wagon...into a delicious pool of Nutella and other chocolaty temptations...I want to keep going in terms of weight loss and all that, so I have to buckle down. It's really fascinating that NOT eating chocolate is that hard for me. Damn it's a daily struggle, no joke. I watched Martha Stewart today and she is always raving about this kitchen tool called the Japanese mandoline. It helps you slice things like potatoes at lightening speed. I told Marcus about it; we may purchase one. But apparently you have to be really careful because you can easily cut your hand or fingers using it! Then she talked about making pineappleade from those pieces of pineapple skin that you end up wasting when you cut up pineapple. I think I'm going to try to make that soon...but sans the clover maybe? Not sure about that. But I LOVE pineapple! In my attempt to be healthy, I bought some Brussels sprouts and garlic spinach for lunch. But that's not the problem---I like that stuff. It's just that I want to finish off the meal with half a jar of Nutella...God help me...And yesterday I watched this Brittany Murphy movie called "Love and Other Disasters". It was a light hearted romatic comedy, and I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed watching it!

Time Has Flown By!

2010-04-01T06:25:00.001-07:00

Wow. Already April 1st. And so much has happened in the past couple of weeks! The big news: I put my notice at my job. So I will have to start seriously looking for another job. Recently there was a coyote sighting in Tribeca, so of course that was all over the local news. Stephen and I watched "Hot Tub Time Machine" and it was great, raunchy, shameless fun. Then Marcus and I watched "Shutter Island", which we enjoyed, but it was a really long movie. I also watched it when I was tired, so I really want to give it another try when I'm more awake. But I really loved it visually, and I really liked the dramatic music. Yesterday I met up with a friend of mine and we ate at Savoy in Noho---and I ate a really good burger! Then we ended up in a very strange tea house in the East Village called Podunk. This weekend Marcus and I are heading to my parents' house for Easter. Oh, and we're probably going to buy a Mac computer, which we are both excited about...upgrade! Ya! And do you like the old school photo I took of my living room with my handy dandy iPhone app called Hipstamatic?

Onto the Next

2010-03-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the NYC Photogroup Salon, a monthly gathering in a Soho gallery, which features invited photographers to present their work to an audience. My beloved friend Stephen was one of the photographers featured. His photos were great, and were well received by the audience. Very exciting! Today the weather was gorgeous, but I was feeling under the weather, so I kept it low key and stayed in with Gustaf. So as you know I've been lamenting over the end of my arguably favorite show of all time, "Queer As Folk". Showtime has some really good series! Well, I decided to give "The L Word" a chance. I'm looking for something relevant, and stories about gays and lesbians are definitely relevant, yet underrepresented, in my humble opinion. Sadly, my past favorites like "Californication" and even "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" have gone south. So far, so good with "The L Word"...I'll see what the other episodes have to bring...

The Great Sperm Race

2010-03-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Marcus and I went to the theater district and watched Mamet's "Race". We really liked it. In classic Mamet style, it was sharp, sarcastic, and very layered. I'd recommend it. And the seats were pretty good, and fairly comfortable considering it was a theater. Last night we watched a couple of good programs on the National Geographic Channel. First there was one on the history of LSD and its possible medicinal uses. Then we watched "Sizing Up Sperm". It was pretty cool; it described a sperm's journey to fertilizing an egg with a human point of view...meaning they scaled the journey and its challenges in terms we could relate to. It makes you realize sperm are like the mega triathalon athletes of reproduction! And P.S. to my vet school friends---remember Dr. Travis the repro specialist/research guy?? Well, he's in it. Ha ha. I just finished watching "Azucar Amarga"...a Cuban film about present day Cuba, and how the Revolution has adversely affected all walks of life there. Very depressing. But I like watching these kinds of movies because since I don't know when I'll be able to go to Cuba (aka when it's no longer a socialist society) it's as close as I can get to seeing what it's like, and seeing how my relatives there may be living like. What else? Well it's the Ides of March...and my sisters' birthday!

Look What Came in the Mail...

2010-03-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

Check out this ridiculous photo. Yes, it's the postcard my sister Jennifer mailed us from Scotland. She went there with her boyfriend Neil to visit his parents (he's from Scotland). You see this type of postcard is very typical of my family's type of humor. It's great. Anyway, I just finished watching a sweet horror flick that Stephen (a.k.a. Film King) told me about. It's called "The House of the Devil". I love the way it looked, and how it flowed. It was recently made, but takes place in the 80's. It kinda gave me the "Rosemary's Baby" feel...sorta. Speaking of Roman Polanski, I really want to watch his new movie "The Ghost Writer". This morning I went to MoMA and checked out Monet's Water Lillies. So impressive. And I don't consider myself a big Impressionist fan. But it was beautiful. Then of course I briefly went back to the permanent collection to take a quick glimpse at my favorite stuff--Matisse.

A Last Thought: Everybody's Fine

2010-03-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention Marcus and I watched "Everybody's Fine" on Demand...it's that most recent De Niro flick. It got bad reviews from what I recalled, but we really liked it. It was really, REALLY depressing, like you start crying...augh. I'd recommend watching it, but not if you're already bummed out! It's about the complex relationships between parents and their kids, their expectations, their mistakes, and regrets.

A Mis-Casting Disaster

2010-03-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my friends Gina and Christina met up with me here in the city. We ate brunch at Odeon, then walked along the Hudson River down in the World Trade Area. We ended up at our apartment just hanging out and catching up. It was so good to see them! I had not seen Gina in seven months...so sad. Last night Marcus and I watched "Falling For Grace"...this indie movie that I took some form of interest in since my beloved "Queer As Folk" series is done! Augh. Makes me heart sink. Anyway, one of the stars from the show was in the movie---Brian! So I rented it. Talk about MIS-CASTING. The storyline basically goes like this: successful Asian American woman has always dreamt of being part of the elite socialite crowd in New York. Somehow gets mistaken for being a member of a prominent, wealthy family, and gets introduced to successful lawyer who also happens to be part of a super upper crust rich New York family. She fails to tell him the truth. Not to mention the actress looks significantly older than the guy, and isn't too attractive, making the premise that he would fall for her not so believable. It wasn't a very good movie, but Marcus and I both agreed that had the lead actress been more age and visually appropriate, the movie would have worked better. I was boggled how she was cast for this movie, since I recognized the casting director, Billy Hopkins. I remember working with him back in the day when I was in film production and he's the creme-de-la-creme of casting on the East Coast. Turns out the lead actress co-wrote and directed the movie...no wonder. So I guess no one had the heart to tell her she was completely wrong for the part...or she didn't listen. I do give it kudos for being a romantic comedy about an interracial couple. We need more movies like that. P.S.: go "Hurt Locker"! Excellent film, first female director to ever win!

Overwhelming

2010-03-04T14:28:00.000-08:00

It was somewhat temperate when I walked outside today to meet up with Teri, a friend of mine, to check out the Tim Burton Exhibit at MoMA. I'm not a big Tim Burton freak, but I can definitely agree he's a very creative artist with a whimsical, slightly "off" sense of humor. Anyway, we went up to the permanent collection and I was completely overwhelmed...it's been SO long since I've seen some of these beautiful paintings...as images in a book, even. So we walk in and BAM: Pollack, Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Warhol, Cezanne...just to name a few, EVERYWHERE...Teri made a great point---it's crazy that every piece of art in MoMa's permanent collection is a masterpiece! And to see Matisse's stuff, without any preparation, was kinda crazy because way back when, as a kid, it was his paintings that had really inspired me to draw and paint...to pursue art. So I wasn't really prepared to see those images live in person...but it was great. After that, we left the museum and got some coffee...and it was freezing! I was under dressed for that weather!

So...

2010-03-01T09:28:00.001-08:00

Okay, so last night there was nothing really to watch on TV. I started watching the old flick "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", but I stopped. I need to watch the rest of it. So I ended up watching that tweeny-teeny bopper pop vampire movie "Twilight"...yup. All I have to say is what happened to tight story lines and character motivation??? I know, I know...it's about a mortal teenage girl and a vampire falling in love...and I guess I could excuse a lot of the unwarranted emotional intensity to being hormonal teenagers falling hard for each other. We've all been there, right? But there were too many things that didn't add up! And not for nothing, when you see a guy with cherry red lips and porcelain white skin, how does the entire population not think something's up with that?! Entertaining nevertheless! Then something slightly concerning happened today: I was flipping though the TV channels and stumbled upon a Johnny Depp red carpet interview and he seemed to have a slight British accent?! Does he have the same illness that Madonna now has??? He was pronouncing his "a's" like "ah's". Damn, I really like him as an actor---I hope he's not going act like he's European just because he lives there now!

Late Night Cravings

2010-02-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

Last night, at 12:30AM, I was watching SNL and it hit me, as I sat there somewhat sleepy eyed in my robe...it's Saturday night in New York! So I texted my Chantima, in the small chance she'd be up for a late night of karaoke. And luckily, she was! We met up in midtown, and after trying two places that were packed with people and a long waitlist, we got to a place on 32nd Street! It was great...she sang some ABBA, Cyndi Lauper, some country tunes, and Roberta Flack...and me, my usual karaoke cheese I love so much: Madonna, Whitesnake, Berlin, Celine Dion, and even Julio Iglesias. But the air quality was really bad in there! It was like all the cigarette smoke in the place was being diverted into our room! It really took a hit on our abilities! We need to go to another place next time. I got home around 5AM. Good stuff! Then today I headed into Bed-Stuy to hang out with Stephen. He had been raving about this new Italian restaurant that opened up in his neighborhood called Saraghina. It was incredible! And what an incredible space, too-- I wanna live there! Very cool. Definitely have to go back. So now I'm back home, gonna watch a movie, clean up a bit, and wait for my husband to arrive this evening!

My Final Blog Thought For Today...

2010-02-25T16:44:00.000-08:00

I just watched a few episodes of "Queer As Folk" (The Final Season). And I'm almost done watching the entire series...I only have a few episodes left. And suddenly a sense of impending loss and sadness came over me...I mean, I LOVE this show. And arguably even more than X-Files, meaning it may be my all time favorite TV series. If you've never seen this series, you definitely should. It's the American version of the series. My favorite character: Justin. Favorite couple: of course, Brian and Justin...hello?! It's available for rental. God...what am I going to do...sh*t. Maybe start all over again with it?

Winter Storm...What?

2010-02-25T10:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went home to Westchester to celebrate my father's birthday. We has his choice dinner: take out Chinese food. And then he had a cheesecake birthday cake. I also rummaged through the last remaining boxes of stuff in my old room and discovered clothes that I thought were long gone! I was so excited. I woke up today and saw white stuff blowing outside my window. I had no idea that it was supposed to be a winter snowstorm today! Oops...So Marcus has been gone almost a week, and when he's gone, I don't cook, therefore I don't know what to do most of the time...I either eat yogurt for dinner, buy pre made food, make pancakes, or don't eat on occasion. So I've been eating Whole Foods pre made food. Which adds up and seems unnecessary. So today I walked into Whole Foods and it dawned on me...I could buy a pre made rotisserie chicken and some sweet potatoes. This will last me for a few days. So I can eat it for dinner for a couple of nights, and bring it to work tomorrow! So problem solved for a couple of days. Phew.

P.S.: I'm Trying to Not be Bummed

2010-02-22T16:43:00.001-08:00

So an addition to my latest entry...I really AM bummed about this tiny bug I found today, so much so that it distracted me enough to be late for the gym this morning. Augh. And to make things worst, Marcus is out of town. And I just watched that depressing-ass movie. So on a positive note, I added a photo of my beautiful cat child, Gustaf. How handsome, right? And I went and bought Devil Dogs. That great old school combo of artificial creme and a dry chocolate cake like substance...much like the similar, but unique Yankee Doodle. Hubba hubba. And don't forget my favorite commercial of the moment: the Kia Sorento Spot...love the mechanical bull and the tattoo...

Candy

2010-02-22T16:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big candy person---I'm more of a chocolate person. But that's not what the title of this blog is really about. It's about that Aussie film "Candy" with Heath Ledger. It's about a young couple who fall in love fast; then develop a horrible heroin addiction, and it gets more depressing from there. Good stuff. It's been a bit of a bummer today because I killed a seriously tiny, tiny bug and when I looked close up at it, I couldn't tell if it was a roach or not. GOD I hope not because we all know our history with that. I found it on the wall of our living room, and it didn't exactly look like one. This place has been immaculate, so I'd like to think it wasn't, but I don't know what other bug it could be. Augh. I'm praying, please pray for me!

Six Degrees of Separation to the Twilight Movie?

2010-02-21T18:54:00.000-08:00

Today I met up with Terry-a in an attempt to eat brunch at Prune. Well, we arrived and found out there was a one and a half hour wait. So we conveniently walked across the street to another brunch joint called Joe Doe. It was a little unorganized in there, but the food was good. It seemed like this place probably got a lot of spillover from the people who couldn't get into Prune! Before meeting up for brunch I was walking along the Bowery and went into Patricia Field. I used to frequent this place so much as a college student...back when it was on 8th Street, just off of University Place. I have many a club outfits from that place, as well as the iconic clear plastic backpack, AND my many memories of the cross dressing staff giving me tips on what to wear. And this was back in the day, before all the Sex in the City Hype, back when you'd regularly see Patricia working in the store...Anyway, now I'm watching the Comedy Central special with Sinbad called "Where You Been". Hope it's good! Oh, back to the title of this blog entry. So I've been scheming to get black wool mittens, and went to a favorite site of mine, Etsy, and encountered these cute mittens...that apparently become the craze after they were worn by one of the characters in that vampire teeny-bopper movie Twilight. Everyone's been knitting and knocking those babies off. I just bought a pair myself...

I Miss Marcus

2010-02-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

Today Marcus embarked on his 9 day hardcore ski trip with a bunch of his friends. They're headed to the Calgary/Vancouver area to do some heli skiing and to check out some of the Winter Olympic fun. It's a bunch of very experienced guys, so they're going to go crazy with the skiing. I had no idea what heli skiing was, and Marcus explained it's when you take a helicopter up to the top of a slope where untouched snow it, and go downhill from there. And as much as I love when he gets to go have fun with his friends, and as much as I enjoy having time to myself, as well, when it's a trip that's more than a few days, my heart sinks a little because I miss him. So it's me and Gustaf holdin' down the fort! So yesterday I met up with Chantima, my lawyer friend. We caught up at Lyric Diner and she informed me of some crazy all day karaoke deal you can get at Duet on 48th. So we're gonna have to do that! It was good to see her. And we randomly saw Terry-a and Seren, her baby, outside the window. Small world! Today I went to the gym to work out with my trainer and it was a good workout. I was hurtin'! I was reading the paper and stumbled upon this disturbing "reality vacation" you can take in Latvia. It involves a former prison and a sketchy scene. Woah. Check out the link for yourself. Then I watched the movie "Shortbus". I was expecting something slightly different, although I knew the movie was about couples in New York City and their sex lives. But I wasn't expecting the UN-simulated sex scenes! And not that seeing people having sex is scandalous...but I always get caught up in the logistics of making a movie and people actually having sex...like do these people know each other in real life? If not, are they being safe? On another topic, when I was on the train today I saw a beautiful floral arrangement that a delivery man was carrying, so I took down the florist information. It's called Designs by Ahn. Very nice...

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T13:01:00.001-08:00

Hey I don't care what everyone says about this "holiday" being just a marketing ploy to get people to spend money. I like it. Today Marcus and I had planned to check out some dim sum in Chinatown, then head to the movie theater down in Battery Park City to watch, yes, "Valentine's Day" the movie. So we went down to Jing Fong, the huge dim sum restaurant, and were put on a waiting list that didn't budge...with like 40 other people waiting, we then realized that today was also Chinese New Year's. So we weren't going to eat anytime soon. So we left and ended up in our neighborhood and ate at Odeon. And what a good meal! We shared an omelet and devil food cake pancakes with hazelnut chocolate butter. Holy sh$t that was good! I need to get that recipe! Then we watched the movie, and it was entertaining enough. One of the characters is a florist. I've been telling Marcus the last few months that I've seriously considered working in a florist shop and learning the ropes of flower arranging, and flower selection. So who knows...but back to the movie, Taylor Swift was in the movie and she was so, so irritating. I don't know that much about her, but she really has no business acting at all. So later today Marcus is going to cook us filet mignon for dinner!

Random Addendum

2010-02-11T12:36:00.000-08:00

So we all remember and love Evite...the online invitation site. But I discovered a new one called Pingg. It's a company that does online invitations, as well as traditional in-the-mail invitations. And I must say that sometimes isn't the invite in the mail nice...the old school way? Anyway, thought I'd share. Another random thought: I really have been wanting to buy this frame for months. May not be for everyone...but I really love it. And which color? White? Blue?! Well, that's it for now...Gustaf has now chosen to lie across my lap and rest his head on the laptop!

Shamelessness

2010-02-11T09:15:00.000-08:00

The past couple of days I've been feeling like crap. I even left work early the other day. Tryin' to kick this viral bug. And yesterday New York was sorta pounded with snow! But it ended up not as bad as predicted, I think. Last night, in the midst of the storm, I braved the elements to meet up for dinner with a friend. I was quite comfortable because I was rocking my winter gear: my North face ski jacket, my wool Cornell hat, my Pajar knee high water proof boots, and some crazy waterproof ski mittens. We ended up at this Afghan joint that was pretty good. This morning I finally got to see Marcus' new office and I ate breakfast at Pershing Square (across from Grand Central) with him and an a business associate of his. It was pretty good! I'd eat there again. Today I'm resting up. We just secured some storage space in our building, which will be a relief. Because as we all know, in the city, storage space is a commodity! I am, unfortunately, watching Extra on TV right now...and what disturbs me is that even scumbags get their fifteen minutes of fame and end up benefiting from it. For example: Rachel Uchitel was co hosting today. She's one of the supposed mistresses of Tiger Woods. How disgusting!

Friends, Food, and Fashion

2010-02-08T12:47:00.000-08:00

So this past weekend Marcus and I started the weekend by hanging out with Terry-a and Steve. We went out to 'Inoteca Saturday night and ate GREAT FOOD! It was so busy there, and we had to wait, but it was worth it. It's an Italian joint in the Gramercy area. Then Sunday I saw Koh-chan! I had not seen him in a long time so it was really, really wonderful to see him and catch up! We ate brunch at Delicatessen, a food spot in Nolita. Then I met up with Terry-a again for a little shopping and to pick up some N'espresso pods at Bloomies Soho. Last night Marcus watched the Superbowl (go Saints!...I really don't know what I'm talking about!) so I kinda watched, too. Interestingly I saw a Caucasian player on the Saints with the name "Fujita" on his jersey, which is a Japanese surname. So of course I was intrigued, and googled my way to some answers. Apparently this guy is Caucasian, but was adopted by his Japanese step dad, and was raised with a very strong Japanese background, and therefore considers himself to be Japanese. Very interesting...and good for you, my Asian brother! Today I felt like crap, but went to workout with my trainer anyway. I felt better after. I've been scheming to purchase a beautiful handbag, courtesy of my friends' newly launched handbag company. They're really beautiful and really well made...so that'll be in the works sometime soon...

A Week In Brief

2010-02-04T15:00:00.001-08:00

This past week a lot has happened. My in-laws came to visit for a few days before they move back to Sweden. They have been living in Trinidad for the past year. It was good to see them. We walked around and got to check out some good restaurants. We also took advantage of On Demand movies like "Paranormal Activity" and "Public Enemies". "Paranormal Activity" wasn't so scary...the Johnny Depp flick was okay, in that as usual, his acting was great. But I wouldn't necessarily watch that again. Yesterday I met up with my vet school friends Mindy and Diana for lunch. We ate at Megu Midtown and took advantage of Restaurant Week here in Manhattan. And apparently there's a year round "ladies' lunch special" where the ladies only get two desserts. It was a lot of food! Today I went to the gym and worked out with my trainer, and then got home to do some house work. I then gave in and watched "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" (On Demand). It's a Tyler Perry movie, and although it's not Oscar worthy, you know what you're going to get with his movies, and it was entertaining. My sisters were in the Martha Stewart Show audience today for a special twins show. So if you happen to see that episode, look for them (they're twins).

Intimate Moments for A Sensual Evening

2010-01-25T16:30:00.000-08:00

So I saw this poster for Aziz Ansari, a comedian...and I thought it was classic, hysterical, and perfect. It's wonderful. I haven't seen his comedy act, but now I have it on our Netflix queue. So this past weekend was fun. Stephen came over for dinner Saturday night and Marcus cooked up a great meal: salmon wrapped in bacon, mashed potato with cauliflower and lemon rind, with sauce. Then we ended up at the bar at the Smyth Hotel. Yesterday Marcus and I brunched in Tribeca...and today I was back to my usual Monday activities. But I did get to meet up with Tinita for lunch. She booked us reservations to Dos Caminos and it was really good! What's next? Tonight is the season premiere of "Secret Diary of a Call Girl"...YES! And we're finally getting our new flat screen TV mounted on the wall.

Soreness and Bureaucracy

2010-01-20T14:24:00.000-08:00

So it's been a few days...I just finished watching "Oprah" and Wyclef Jean was on discussing the relief efforts in Haiti. And he was frustrated that the proper supplies and services weren't being brought to the people in need, and that instead there's all these photo ops being taken. He also said that if someone would just give him a task force, he could lead the coordination of providing relief to the people, with the Port-Au-Prince Airport as the base. Good for him---motivated, and he said it's also helpful that he's from Haiti---damn, it sounds like a good idea...Anyway, this past Sunday Marcus and I went to a Rangers game at MSG. The game turned out to be a good one, aside from the unnecessary violence. And I'm talking players taking their helmets and gloves off to punch each other in the face. Well I'm still seeing my trainer and coming home sore. Sometimes it's arms, sometimes it's abs and legs, and the usual bruise on the arm or leg. I finally received my long awaited Mountain Rise Chocolate Granola in the mail! I first discovered this brand upstate in Ithaca. I had tried a bunch of granola, and disliked the textures. Sometimes too chewy, sometimes way too crunchy. But this is perfection! If you're into granola and yogurt or milk for breakfast, I highly recommend this brand! I haven't found it in any stores down here, thus the mail ordering. Or if you're ever at our place, feel free to try some!

Thursday

2010-01-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

So today I was at home...I worked out, then watched some episodes of "Queer As Folk", and did some cleaning and organizing. Yesterday I went to Terry-a's and we caught up. We ordered food for lunch while Seren took her afternoon nap. It was good to see her. Over email later yesterday Terry-a then informed me and Lauren that our wonderful Limelight is most recently being converted into some sort of sick shopping mall. It makes me nauseous! I mean I know that the infamous nightclub has been out of commission since the 90's and that there is some sort of flea market type thing going on in there...but now this???Depressing. Onto much more serious issues...In the most recent events, as you know, Haiti's earthquake struck just a few days ago...unbelievable that a country already dealing with so much was dealt this card. Stephen compiled a list of ways to contribute to helping those in need in Haiti. Check it out...

Monday and It's Freezin'

2010-01-11T10:10:00.001-08:00

This weekend was a cold one! Yesterday I hung out with my friend Christina, who I got to know during my internship. It had been about seven (!) months since I had seen her! So I was so happy to spend some time with her. We ate brunch in the East Village, then headed over to our apartment. It was a good day. This morning, I woke up and looked out our window to find ice floating in the Hudson River! It's that cold...then I headed to the gym to meet up with my trainer. Then I went to the Container Store and bought some Bigso boxes...a stylish choice for storage. And we're strapped for storage space. Now I'm home, phew...because it's cold out there. Tonight Marcus and I are eating again at Aquavit, but at their cafe for more casual food. Yummy.

Addendum: Bacon Pancakes, Not as Expected

2010-01-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

So after I blogged about the bacon and maple scone, I remembered that somewhere I brunched they were serving bacon pancakes! I didn't order them, but always wished I did.So I went to the deli, bought some bacon, and made some pancakes (from scratch, of course) with bits of bacon in them. Well, for one thing, I guess the animal fat in the bacon really helped to make these pancakes cook fast and evenly...but I think the bacon altered the normal texture of the pancakes, because they weren't as yummy as usual. So I need to work on that...I'm not giving up on bacon! Marcus' family sent us this photo from the past summer...my brother-in-law Jesper and my mother-in-law Jeanette are in the photo with me, posing in front of the hospital where I work! I had just started and was excited to have my name on the sign outside! It's kind of a funny photo, too, since Jesper doesn't look to thrilled...

Yesterday's Fun

2010-01-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

On my day off yesterday I started off with another session with my trainer. More bruises, more soreness. But good. Then I headed home to get ready to meet up with Stephen at the Met to check out an exhibit about Samurai swords and armor and the history behind their craftsmanship. It was cool. They had some crazy bad-ass helmets, too...like ones with bunny ears, built in ponytails and mustaches...Then we headed to the East Village to eat ramen at Rai Rai Ken. Yummy. It was bitterly cold though...ouch. We stopped into the City Bakery's satellite storefront on the way to the train and I encountered this scone with maple syrup and bacon bits....it sounded so good! Augh, I should have bought one. I'm fascinated with the combo of bacon and maple syrup. It all started with the McGriddle. Apparently if you arrive at that place by bicycle, you get a 25% discount...Today I started off with some housecleaning, and now I need to figure out my lunch situation...

Nausea

2010-01-04T10:05:00.000-08:00

So I had a session with my personal trainer. Halfway through I felt nauseous...damn my trainer kicks my ass. I knew I had weak upper body strength, but it's always laughable to see and experience it when Iris (the trainer) is telling me to do push ups, pulls ups, and all that good stuff. We also went into the boxing ring for some jabs, crosses, and round house kicks. Burn them calories, burn! Then I went home and in the shower I discovered my leg is bruised up from kicking the bag. Ha ha. Yesterday "Cinema Paradiso" was on TV...I really love that movie. But I told Marcus I couldn't really watch it because it somewhat depresses me...because the movie is essentially about the love of film and filmmaking...and sometimes I get really sad that I'm not longer in film production. And this is one of the movies that really got me interested in studying film to begin with way back when. Speaking of film, we watched "Up in the Air" which was great, but also depressing. We watched "The Hangover" again On Demand. That's a pretty damn funny movie if you haven't seen it...