i was twenty-two years when i wrote this blog
i'm twenty-four now but i won't be for long
time hurries on
and the leaves that are green turn to brown
and they wither with the wind
and they crumble in your hand
today is my birthday. this simon and garfunkel song ALWAYS goes through my head on my birthday. i remember being young and listening to the sounds of silence, and whenever this song came on i would think "whoa, one day i'm going to be twenty-one." it's really strange that i'm even older than twenty-one now. i'm hoping that next year when i hit twenty-five the birthdays will just stop, because that's the age i want to remain forever.
i'm sitting at the computer enjoying a mimosa right now, made with some really good champagne. the twilight zone marathon is on in the living room... feels good to be home. it's hilarious to think at this time last year i was probably making drunken phone calls and being fed tangerines by creepy cameramen. NOTHING will ever top last year's birthday.
i celebrated my birthday last night with my parents. we went to yono's in albany for dinner. it was IN-CRE-DI-BLE. yono is pretty much the top chef in the capital district area, so i was really excited about going. the fun part of the restaurant is that yono is indonesian, so one page of the (huge) menu is all indonesian food, while the other page is continental cuisine (featuring game such as alligator and ostrich...) my parents and i went for the indonesian food, it was REALLY good. i'd never had it before, but it kind of reminded me of vietnamese food with a bit of a chinese influence. for appetizers we got started with a complimentary slice of cucumber with a chicken and chick pea hummous on top. then we ordered the ikan tongul surabaya- an appetizer that featured "sesame encrusted big eye tuna atop a bed of asian slaw with a wasabi and ginger emulsion"- this was probably the best part of the meal. i ordered the nasi rames for dinner, which was an "indonesian tasting featuring sate, kepiting goreng, bakmi goreng, babi kecap, daging rendang, ayam panggang, and served with krupuk, acar, sambal, and peanut sauce." what does that even mean? deliciousness for my body. my parents each ordered different kinds of noodle dishes, my mom's came with shrimp and my dad's came with chicken.
and for dessert i had a disarrono on the rocks, my mom had a chambord on the rocks, and we all shared a slice of the chocolate rendezvous- "lady fingers surrounding a chocolate truffle layer topped with a layer of raspberry and chocolate mousse." that even came with a birthday candle, and when the waitress was bringing it out the live band changed to a rendition of happy birthday. it was a good birthday, indeed. and i got a new pair of earrings and an old navy gift card, to boot!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Thursday, December 28, 2006
things that irk me
i'm talking about you, white haired man who comes in every day with THE SAME COUPON for a free dessert. i know technically we're not supposed to honor it day in and day out, but if we're gonna toss the food at the end of the night, there's no point in NOT honoring it. this guy drives me nuts. he had a coupon that expired on december 15th. the next day i thought "ahh i don't have to see him anymore." WRONG. turns out the old coupon was for his wife's birthday, and his birthday is right after, so the new one expires in ANOTHER fifteen days. luckily tomorrow is the last day i'll see him. i'm gonna draw the line if he brings in a daughter's birthday coupon. go away. don't TRY to be nice just to cover up the fact that you're a cheapskate. you're nothing short of a major annoyance. i will be glad i don't have to force a fake smile at you anymore.
i also hate sick days. i UNDERSTAND if you're truly sick. if you're puking or completely miserable or about to faint i understand. i think it's coming more from the viewpoint of a person who never gets sick and therefore never has a legit reason to do so. i just don't have it in me to take a day off (aside from that bout of tonsillitis, and that's because staying home sick was a compromise so i didn't have to spend a few nights terrified in a korean hospital.) all in all i suppose it's a blessing that i'm always (knock on wood) healthy.
in other news, i think i have a borders job lined up in minneapolis... two of the three requested stores got back to us, and one sounds very interested. keep those fingers crossed.
i also hate sick days. i UNDERSTAND if you're truly sick. if you're puking or completely miserable or about to faint i understand. i think it's coming more from the viewpoint of a person who never gets sick and therefore never has a legit reason to do so. i just don't have it in me to take a day off (aside from that bout of tonsillitis, and that's because staying home sick was a compromise so i didn't have to spend a few nights terrified in a korean hospital.) all in all i suppose it's a blessing that i'm always (knock on wood) healthy.
in other news, i think i have a borders job lined up in minneapolis... two of the three requested stores got back to us, and one sounds very interested. keep those fingers crossed.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
what else is new
i've been trying to keep myself busy over the past few weeks. dc was a lot of fun, although i wasn't feeling well through a majority of my time there. i just know you want to know how i spent every waking moment there, so here you go:
thursday night i flew in and stayed at arthur's, who lives right near the capital. on friday i got up and met kate at chipotle for lunch (heaven on earth) and then hung out at her place, where we caught up on the latest episode of the office. yes, the second kate and i reunited, we watched tv. it was just like being roommates again. later on i met katherine at the air and space museum, and then we met arthur, steph, and her boyfriend at mandu, a new korean restaurant in dupont. this was my first time eating at a korean place since being home, and it was quite strange. the restaurant was definitely more trendy than i was expecting, and not in a cool "fusion-asian decor" kind of way... more like an up and coming normal restaurant. and it was BUSY.
dinner was good, although i nearly choked on my rice when i saw that bottles of soju, which cost a mere 1,000 won in korea, were priced at $18. but that didn't stop us from ordering a bottle for shots. my friends rather enjoyed it and thought it was "smooth," though i tried convincing them that after a few too many 7-11 stops on a night out the stuff gets toxic and leaves you with a nasty hangover.
i ordered kimchi jjigae, and i must say that it tasted EXACTLY like the batch i made here a few months ago. apparently the owner got all of his recipes from his grandmother, so all of the food tastes homemade. i was actually a little sad that it didn't taste like the stuff i got at kimbap nara day in and day out.
after dinner we stopped at a few bars and then headed home to katherine's (who lives in the columbia heights area). saturday i woke up feeling hungover at first, then i realized that it was more than a hangover, thanks to the ear infection i was battling all week, and i couldn't get up without feeling sick. that meant the entire day was spent on the couch watching season seven of friends. fun!
sunday morning i was feeling better and katherine and i met kate and the clarks at mimi's in dupont for brunch. it was nice seeing the clarks again, even if for just an hour... see you guys in another nineteen months. after that katherine and i shopped around and then went to WHOLE FOODS to get stuff for dinner. oh whole foods, i missed you so.
my final night was spent at kate's, who lives in the dupont/foggy bottom area now, and then i flew out monday afternoon. all in all a pleasant weekend, but it would have been a thousand times better if steph was there. then it would have felt like a true trailer thirteen reunion.
i had an interesting night last saturday. some people from my high school class ended up meeting at ryan's wake for a reunion of sorts. i saw a lot of people i haven't seen since graduation, so there was a lot of catching up to do. the problem with this for me is it's a bunch of people i never really had too much in common with, so after that "catch up" conversation, there isn't much else left to say. the night was definitely amusing- i drove myself and stayed sober, so as people got more drunk i had even more fun watching everyone. oh and i think i'm one of just a handful of girls left in my class who isn't engaged or anywhere near it. and i mean no disrespect to anyone who's engaged, but GAG ME WITH A SPOON. good for you if you're ready for that step, but when did we get old enough for marriages and babies and mortgages? i felt like an entirely different species there, a person living and loving her quarter-life crisis. i still enjoy that sense of adventure and not knowing EXACTLY what i'll be doing a year or two down the road.
finally, i requested a transfer to a couple of borders in minneapolis for the end of january/beginning of february so keep your fingers crossed that at least one of those places will add me on. i should be hearing about that in a few days. i'm getting mega excited about the move, partially because i'm SO BORED here in new york and really need some city life and partially because i can't wait to have my OWN PLACE (even if i am sharing it.)
thursday night i flew in and stayed at arthur's, who lives right near the capital. on friday i got up and met kate at chipotle for lunch (heaven on earth) and then hung out at her place, where we caught up on the latest episode of the office. yes, the second kate and i reunited, we watched tv. it was just like being roommates again. later on i met katherine at the air and space museum, and then we met arthur, steph, and her boyfriend at mandu, a new korean restaurant in dupont. this was my first time eating at a korean place since being home, and it was quite strange. the restaurant was definitely more trendy than i was expecting, and not in a cool "fusion-asian decor" kind of way... more like an up and coming normal restaurant. and it was BUSY.
dinner was good, although i nearly choked on my rice when i saw that bottles of soju, which cost a mere 1,000 won in korea, were priced at $18. but that didn't stop us from ordering a bottle for shots. my friends rather enjoyed it and thought it was "smooth," though i tried convincing them that after a few too many 7-11 stops on a night out the stuff gets toxic and leaves you with a nasty hangover.
i ordered kimchi jjigae, and i must say that it tasted EXACTLY like the batch i made here a few months ago. apparently the owner got all of his recipes from his grandmother, so all of the food tastes homemade. i was actually a little sad that it didn't taste like the stuff i got at kimbap nara day in and day out.
after dinner we stopped at a few bars and then headed home to katherine's (who lives in the columbia heights area). saturday i woke up feeling hungover at first, then i realized that it was more than a hangover, thanks to the ear infection i was battling all week, and i couldn't get up without feeling sick. that meant the entire day was spent on the couch watching season seven of friends. fun!
sunday morning i was feeling better and katherine and i met kate and the clarks at mimi's in dupont for brunch. it was nice seeing the clarks again, even if for just an hour... see you guys in another nineteen months. after that katherine and i shopped around and then went to WHOLE FOODS to get stuff for dinner. oh whole foods, i missed you so.
my final night was spent at kate's, who lives in the dupont/foggy bottom area now, and then i flew out monday afternoon. all in all a pleasant weekend, but it would have been a thousand times better if steph was there. then it would have felt like a true trailer thirteen reunion.
i had an interesting night last saturday. some people from my high school class ended up meeting at ryan's wake for a reunion of sorts. i saw a lot of people i haven't seen since graduation, so there was a lot of catching up to do. the problem with this for me is it's a bunch of people i never really had too much in common with, so after that "catch up" conversation, there isn't much else left to say. the night was definitely amusing- i drove myself and stayed sober, so as people got more drunk i had even more fun watching everyone. oh and i think i'm one of just a handful of girls left in my class who isn't engaged or anywhere near it. and i mean no disrespect to anyone who's engaged, but GAG ME WITH A SPOON. good for you if you're ready for that step, but when did we get old enough for marriages and babies and mortgages? i felt like an entirely different species there, a person living and loving her quarter-life crisis. i still enjoy that sense of adventure and not knowing EXACTLY what i'll be doing a year or two down the road.
finally, i requested a transfer to a couple of borders in minneapolis for the end of january/beginning of february so keep your fingers crossed that at least one of those places will add me on. i should be hearing about that in a few days. i'm getting mega excited about the move, partially because i'm SO BORED here in new york and really need some city life and partially because i can't wait to have my OWN PLACE (even if i am sharing it.)
Monday, December 25, 2006
joyeux noel
merry christmas. merry christmas. merry christmas. merry christmas. kiss my ass. kiss his ass. kiss your ass. happy channukah.
the stockings are no longer hung by the chimney with care... because i tore through them in a feverish holiday-induced frenzy. so far it's been a very merry christmas indeed. i was both surprised and delighted with my presents, and i'm sure my parents and grandma felt the same way. after playing the christmas vigil mass last night, we came home where my mom gave me, my grandma, and herself the first of the presents- red pajamas. very stylish.
they even came with eye masks!
after that, we ate some INCREDIBLE spinach lasagna that my mom made all by her little lonesome, which was followed by a viewing of it's a wonderful life. i was the first to get tired so i headed to bed...
which meant i was the first one up! this year i had to shout up to my parents bedroom that they were missing christmas and had to wake up... a little after 7 am. we made some irish coffee, complete with whiskey and irish cream, and gathered around the tree. notable presents this year:
for my mother i got "i know this much is true," by wally lamb. that was the book we all read and passed on in korea and i think my mom's going to like it. i also got her an awesome coffee mug from persnickety's... if it's missing when i move out to minnesota, i have no idea where it went...
for my dad i got "santa's favorite piping tunes" for his (you guessed it) bagpipes and some hemp pipe resin.
and for my grandma i got a tea caboodle, a box filled with different types of holiday tea.
kimchi got a warm coat, which he wanted nothing to do with.
my father got my mom the first season of the dog whisperer on dvd, a pair of ed levin earrings, and a wine making kit. apparently she hasn't figured out how to use it yet.
my mother got my father things scotland- and bagpipe-related, most noteworthy the "bagpipes are dead sexy" t-shirt.
i got a gift card for gap, where i can finally get some things from the red collection (the card was signed "from oprah and bono"), an ed levin bracelet, and a bose ipod player- completely awesome and totally unexpected.
here, my bracelet, my grandma's bracelet, and my mom's earrings, all compliments of ed levin... and dad.
still on today's agenda: eat and drink until we all explode... i even made a fudge torte, which i'm muy excited about.
oh, and hey. if any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, i have one. i'd like frank shirley, my boss, right here tonight. i want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on melody lane with all the other rich people and i want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and i want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is. hallelujah. holy shit. where's the tylenol?
the stockings are no longer hung by the chimney with care... because i tore through them in a feverish holiday-induced frenzy. so far it's been a very merry christmas indeed. i was both surprised and delighted with my presents, and i'm sure my parents and grandma felt the same way. after playing the christmas vigil mass last night, we came home where my mom gave me, my grandma, and herself the first of the presents- red pajamas. very stylish.
they even came with eye masks!
after that, we ate some INCREDIBLE spinach lasagna that my mom made all by her little lonesome, which was followed by a viewing of it's a wonderful life. i was the first to get tired so i headed to bed...
which meant i was the first one up! this year i had to shout up to my parents bedroom that they were missing christmas and had to wake up... a little after 7 am. we made some irish coffee, complete with whiskey and irish cream, and gathered around the tree. notable presents this year:
for my mother i got "i know this much is true," by wally lamb. that was the book we all read and passed on in korea and i think my mom's going to like it. i also got her an awesome coffee mug from persnickety's... if it's missing when i move out to minnesota, i have no idea where it went...
for my dad i got "santa's favorite piping tunes" for his (you guessed it) bagpipes and some hemp pipe resin.
and for my grandma i got a tea caboodle, a box filled with different types of holiday tea.
kimchi got a warm coat, which he wanted nothing to do with.
my father got my mom the first season of the dog whisperer on dvd, a pair of ed levin earrings, and a wine making kit. apparently she hasn't figured out how to use it yet.
my mother got my father things scotland- and bagpipe-related, most noteworthy the "bagpipes are dead sexy" t-shirt.
i got a gift card for gap, where i can finally get some things from the red collection (the card was signed "from oprah and bono"), an ed levin bracelet, and a bose ipod player- completely awesome and totally unexpected.
here, my bracelet, my grandma's bracelet, and my mom's earrings, all compliments of ed levin... and dad.
still on today's agenda: eat and drink until we all explode... i even made a fudge torte, which i'm muy excited about.
oh, and hey. if any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, i have one. i'd like frank shirley, my boss, right here tonight. i want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on melody lane with all the other rich people and i want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and i want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is. hallelujah. holy shit. where's the tylenol?
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
what's with that?
so somehow my blog must've gotten out to the general public (aside from the korean blog list that it's on) because as you may have noticed i've been getting a lot of strange comments.
but if you want viagra, apparently you need look no further than right here.
two days until dc. i'm so excited.
but if you want viagra, apparently you need look no further than right here.
two days until dc. i'm so excited.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
thanksgiving, santa baby, and washington dc
before i get started on yesterday's trip, i just have to say that thanksgiving was fabulous. it was so nice to get a lazy day to do nothing but eat, work on a puzzle, and spend time with family. i saw some family members that i haven't seen since before korea, which was great. i also brought the puzzle we got for last year's korean thanksgiving but were too inebriated to work on (puzzles are a thanksgiving tradition in my family). what i didn't realize was that we usually do a 500 piece puzzle and i brought a 1000 piece puzzle. my family started complaining that it was too big, so i was completely focused on finishing it that day. i did not stray from the puzzle table until it was complete. and somehow we managed to finish it before dinner. bummer: there were two pieces missing. i'm figuring someone dropped them and a dog snatched them up or something.
yesterday i took an unexpected trip to nyc. my mom's office was going down there for their christmas party, someone dropped out at the last minute, and i was invited to come along. compliments of dr. gleason, the entire staff (and one guest each) took a charter bus down, saw the radio city christmas show, ate lunch at carmine's, did some shopping, and took a bus back. it was an amazing day, although i don't think i'll ever be able to handle the touristy parts of the city during the christmas season again. i've realized my asian attitude can come in handy when i want to weave through a crowd- i have absolutely no shame anymore in just bumping people out of the way.
the show itself was great, but a word of caution: if you're planning on catching said show and you're female and have to go to the bathroom make sure to get there early enough so you're not standing around the block in line only to get inside and stand in a ridiculously long line for the ladies room. as a result, i missed the very first rockettes number. but that didn't bother me to much because the rest of the show made up for it... especially the toy soldiers number where i was just waiting to see some rockettes bump into each other, which never happened.
carmine's was loud and fun, and i got to talk to a coworker of my mom's and her husband about their two years spent in korea when they were in the army. it was nice talking to people again about foods and places and culture and soju (of course). the food was great- we had two appetizer courses (first course salad and calamari, second two types of penne pasta), the main course (veal marsala and chicken parmigiana), a huge dessert platter, and plenty of beer and wine for all.
after we stuffed ourselves, i went shopping with my parents at macy's and then bryant park. i got an awesome skirt from a kiosk at bryant park . after that we took our bus home, but not before dr. gleason gave us all snack money at a rest stop. how thoughtful.
all in all, a very nice day. thanks, dr. gleason.
one more thing, i'm finally going to dc in two weekends to visit good friends, get good eats, and have a good time. obviously i'm quite excited.
yesterday i took an unexpected trip to nyc. my mom's office was going down there for their christmas party, someone dropped out at the last minute, and i was invited to come along. compliments of dr. gleason, the entire staff (and one guest each) took a charter bus down, saw the radio city christmas show, ate lunch at carmine's, did some shopping, and took a bus back. it was an amazing day, although i don't think i'll ever be able to handle the touristy parts of the city during the christmas season again. i've realized my asian attitude can come in handy when i want to weave through a crowd- i have absolutely no shame anymore in just bumping people out of the way.
the show itself was great, but a word of caution: if you're planning on catching said show and you're female and have to go to the bathroom make sure to get there early enough so you're not standing around the block in line only to get inside and stand in a ridiculously long line for the ladies room. as a result, i missed the very first rockettes number. but that didn't bother me to much because the rest of the show made up for it... especially the toy soldiers number where i was just waiting to see some rockettes bump into each other, which never happened.
carmine's was loud and fun, and i got to talk to a coworker of my mom's and her husband about their two years spent in korea when they were in the army. it was nice talking to people again about foods and places and culture and soju (of course). the food was great- we had two appetizer courses (first course salad and calamari, second two types of penne pasta), the main course (veal marsala and chicken parmigiana), a huge dessert platter, and plenty of beer and wine for all.
after we stuffed ourselves, i went shopping with my parents at macy's and then bryant park. i got an awesome skirt from a kiosk at bryant park . after that we took our bus home, but not before dr. gleason gave us all snack money at a rest stop. how thoughtful.
all in all, a very nice day. thanks, dr. gleason.
one more thing, i'm finally going to dc in two weekends to visit good friends, get good eats, and have a good time. obviously i'm quite excited.
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