This city is like one giant postcard.

it's really encouraging to hear from those of you who have read through this blog! just knowing that there is someone out there who may have bookmarked this page, and will perhaps have the urge to check up on it on a random saturday afternoon helps to feed my narcissism and will keep me blogging away; so thank you!

i know people like to see pictures, so i feel a little bit guilty about this post. here's my warning: there's no need to scroll down. there are no photos in this post, only verbose, hokey, life-reflecting crap, so feel free to check back another day ;)

-----------

i went running at the east river park yesterday - one of the few parks in the city that has a track. it's about one mile from my place, and the track sits along the river, overlooking part of brooklyn and the brooklyn bridge. the view isn't particularly spectacular, but as i was taking a break on the grass, looking at the water and the bridge, i just couldn't help but feel the beauty in this city. yes, i just called new york city beautiful.

i have heard from many people that the novelty of this city eventually wears of and people "get over it" after some time, but hey, i'm going to soak up as much of it as i can while i'm still swimming in it. if i can capture every frame of what my eyes can see, i think that each snapshot can, literally, be on a postcard. of course, there are plenty of other cities with beautiful scenery and interesting architecture, but beyond that, this city captures history, diversity and culture in such an inexplicable way. from the tourist spots at central park, time square, and the statue of liberty to the dive bars of the east village to the people giving free hugs at union square park, there is just so much LIFE in this city that i wish i can capture it all, file away in my memory bank and hold onto it for years to come.

i hope this feeling will continue to last for quite some time. i also wish that i have a dslr camera with me at all times so i didn't have to spend $0.99 on each of those damn postcards.

Gross.

i found a dead cockroach in my closet today. it was the size of half of my palm.

enough said.

La vida es como una caja de chocolates...

someone wise once said, "life is like a box of chocolates. you never know what you're gonna get." someone (debatably) even wiser used to translate that phrase into spanish because, hell, things are always funnier when said with a spanish accent (hi james!).

"La vida es como una caja de chocolates...." we stopped translating there because 1) our american spanish education was limited and 2) we figured we've already butchered the language enough for our amusement.

this unpredictable nyc adventure really took an unexpected turn yesterday. i got to be an extra in an upcoming john cameron mitchell film! totally random - but really goes to show, in this business, it is completely about who you know.

the woman on the left is grace kahng, an old boss of mine. she's an emmy-winning producer who runs her own production company out of sf in investigative journalism and documentary segments for networks like msnbc, nbc and abc. grace is a great mentor and is the reason i was able to get this gig. BUT let's focus on the man on the phone here, mr. john cameron mitchell. for those of you who have seen hedwig and the angry inch (the movie), he's the director AND hedwig him/herself!

i knew he was the director of hedwig, but i didn't realize that he was also the star of the movie until i got home and imdb-ed him (shame on me, i know).

see the resemblance? yeah i didn't either. after banging my head on the wall a few times for being too slow to realize this fact on set, i re-watched the movie and downloaded the album, and was reminded of how brilliant of an actor and director john cameron mitchell is. in person, he's so sweet, friendly and soft-spoken with immense wit and a dash of twinkle in his eye. then, when the cameras are rolling, he is completely focused and sharp, but always making sure that the actors are comfortable with what they are doing and with exploring their characters. it was totally amazing to see him work as a director, and even more mind-blowing to watch hedwig again and see the actor behind the character.

needless to say, i have origin of love and wig in a box on repeat, and have youtubed every possible live performance of john singing these songs. goodness, such incredible talent and humble personality. what an honor to have met him. if you haven't seen the movie, go go go watch!

It's not official until it's on Facebook

it's funny (and silly) how our generation, and possibly generations above us too, has defined the parameters of social networking. do we even still remember how life was like before facebook, twitter, myspace, friendster (who still uses that anyway?), blogs, etc. entered the picture? our social interactions and, to some degree, our experiences are validated only when it is officially published on the web.

on that note:










i didn't know that you can only associate yourself with one region at a time on facebook. i find it hilarious that i had to exit the silicon valley, ca network before i can enter the new york, ny network. well, after one month here, i figured it's time to make it official.

The Fourth

this year's fourth was everything i had hoped it would be: beautiful, relaxing and on a rooftop. the day started off with a million uncertainties - what to do, who to meet up with, where to go, fireworks or no, etc. the thought of pushing our way through 8 million people on the piers was just not appealing, yet, floria, veyom and i have never seen fireworks in nyc, so secretly, i think we all wanted to go. and, let's be honest, it's just not in our nature to go stake out a spot 4 hrs beforehand.

good news came around 8:30pm when emily, a friend from college, told us about her friend who has a rooftop on the west side. we jumped on that invitation right away and below is the awesomeness that we witnessed:








































































i love that there's something about fireworks that just get people excited and giddy - young and old. as soon as the booming sounds go off, the ooooh's and ahhh's start. it brings people together in the simple enjoyment of beautiful colors and wonderment. in my opinion, they really should have fireworks more often :)

That fountain in Central Park

"oh yeaaah that one! the one that's in all the movies!" - nate.

i don't care how touristy or cliche or whatever it is you want to call that excitement i feel every time i'm in central park, i still have that stupid smile on my face whenever i'm there, rain or shine. perhaps it's just human nature to enjoy wide open spaces or maybe it really is because of the movies, the lure of central park still gets to me.

nate and i spent the afternoon walking through the park from the 5th ave. entrance by the 24 hr apple store (the mapple store, anyone?) to sheep meadow (a favorite thanks to veyom) to the fountain. an afternoon filled with strolls, naps, picture-taking and silly laughs with 75 degree sunny weather is more than perfect.

the last time i was at the fountain was in january earlier this year:














i remember looking at this at the time and promising to myself that i will live in this city at some point in my life - not thinking at all when that will ever happen.

now, fast-forward to today:














it's funny how much things can change in just six months. to be honest, i kind of prefer the winter photo over the summer one ;-) here's to new adventures!

Summer Visitors

not going to lie, it's pretty awesome to live in a place where people love to visit. my roommate and i are pretty much running a bed & breakfast for the next few weeks. we have a friend staying with us this week, and then three more are coming in a week and a half.

the perks of visitors:

1) i get to eat and play along with them without guilt.
2) relive all the tourist spots over and over again.
3) gives me a false illusion that i'm a new yorker.

NICE.

pictures will be posted soon!