February 2012
1 post
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Click to Be Enlightened →
January 2012
1 post
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1 Year Anniversary Reflections: Explanation of The...
January 5th, 2012 - a year since I moved to New York! I think its appropriate to do one of those sappy, and ridiculously stupid, trying-too-hard to be deep posts I know I’ll regret reading again in a few years, or a few hours, or a few minutes. Okay - why am I writing this again…?
Despite the strangest empty feeling I felt when my mom and two big brothers left me in my 11x14 room, I...
December 2011
3 posts
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One of the Best Parts About Coming Home
Every time I’ve come home from New York, I’ve dug up an old treasure - old photos, an article of clothing I’ve been looking for, etc. This time around, while cleaning my closet, I found something very awesome. My personal constitution from March 20, 2000.
In junior high, Mr. Jamie Richards - one of the best teachers I’ve ever had, gave us the task of writing personal...
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The Birthday...So I'm 26...
So I’m 26 now and the whole quarter life crisis thing is so 25 (*FM). During my year of crisis, I moved to New York, went on some blog worthy dates, began to re-focus my professional career, and grew and learned a LOT through some funny [bad, sad, awesome, embarrassing] experiences. I know people always use the metaphor of a book and chapters in your life yaddiyaddiyadda, but with this...
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Early Birthday Surprise & Balloons
Steph organized an early, intimate birthday dinner for me since I’ll be heading back to Cali for the real deal. I wanted to check out and have what I thought was going to be a a date night at Miss Lily’s (which is very much my steez - Jamaican food, reggae music, colorful decor etc.) and was surprised to see some of my closets NYC buds sitting at the table waiting for me! They got me...
November 2011
4 posts
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Upright Citizens Brigade - ASSSSCAT 3000
I loveeee me some comedy! I like laughing, hearing people laugh. It makes me happy. I do what I can to keep myself light and fresh by watching the best comedies (Thursday night NBC lineup) on TV, sketch, stand-up, improv. ALLADAT.
Luckily, up the street and a few avenues over from me is Upright Citizens Brigade. UCB started as a comedy group in Chicago. Anyone notable on TV have their roots at...
Thursday, Come Sooner...
because I am missing this:
and this:
and this:
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My Hopes and Dreams
As you can tell from my past blogs, I had some really lofty goals as a kid. I mean, success meant:
Eating Chinese take out directly from the take out box
Going to Philly and hanging out where Boyz II Men used to hang out
I mean, really high right? Last week’s adventures followed suit when my friend Phil visited. What I did takes high to a new level. I’m talking lofty. I’m...
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n00b Chronicles: TAXI!
Before moving to NY, I imagined myself standing on a street corner, whistling for a taxi and being approached by several, begging for my patronage. While this isn’t exactly what happens at all, it is still relatively easy to procure a taxi. There are, however, a few things you should look out for if you don’t want to waste your time trying to hail taxis that could care less that...
October 2011
3 posts
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A Half Marathon and dem Apples
A week back, my friend Becca - who I always manage to have a thought-provoking conversation with - mentioned the Inaugural Fall Foliage Half-Marathon in Rhinebeck - a small village in upstate New York. Despite not training, and being quite the slob for the weeks up until that point, I agreed with her that we should do the run anyways - even if we have to end up walking. So to prepare, I did...
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The 49th New York Film Festival: The Royal...
A few months back, Brenda told me about an event for the 10th anniversary of the first screening of The Royal Tenenbaums at the New York Film Festival. I locked it away as a must-do-when-the-time-comes event. You see, my brother got me hooked on all the Wes Anderson digs early on. It’s like I grew up with Mr. Wes. I needed to go – even if it meant I fly solo.
I met up with Alex at the...
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Super Spartan in Staten Island and Al Harrington!
A few weekends back, I had the most exhilarating workout ever! No exaggeration. A group of friends and I rented Zip Cars and headed up to Staten Island for the Super Spartan.
I basically went into the run only knowing that I was going to 1. get dirty and 2. do 15-20 burpees if I couldn’t complete an obstacle (I had to youtube burpee before the event). The mystery made the event that...
September 2011
9 posts
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You Can't Give What You Don't Have
Sheryl Sandberg has been my muse these days. I’ve been all over every article, TED talk and most recently, the Sheryl Sandberg/Oprah Facebook interview. I hadn’t heard anything about the interview but the thought of putting Sheryl Sandberg and OPRAH together is just ridiculous. I think Sheryl Sandberg did an amazing job of facilitating the interview and her quick witted side commentary...
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Mindy Kaling (aka Kelly Kapoor) Retweeted Me!
The other day, I met some folks and I was hilarious. I mean, I was ON. The perfect idioms were rolling off my tongue, timing of jokes were just right. I discussed this with my girlfriend Lydia and wondered - girls usually want a guy who makes them laugh but who likes a funny girl? I thought I’d ask someone who I thought was a funny girl and posed the question via Twitter to Mindy Kaling aka...
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New York Fashion Week
Fashion and New York are like…synonymous. I was pretty excited to experience the extent of this, starting with Fashion’s Night Out and topping the week off with my first fashion show!
Fashion’s Night Out
Fashion’s Night Out is essentially a night where stores will open until late, offer you cocktails, food, some places even karaoke, and celebs. Its their attempt at...
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My Boss is Better Than Your Boss
My boss sent this to me in a Powerpoint slide during a client meeting…I’ll be sure to post the results.
UPDATED:
I mean, did you really have doubts?
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We met P.Diddy in the Hamptons...
Montauk Beach
Before moving to New York, I developed an expectation of the Hamptons. Through credible sources - like rap videos, and especially the movie White Chicks - I learned that the Hamptons is where you rock the hardest Ralph Lauren, all white, huge straw hats, Sperrys and you go to the Hamptons just to say…”I’m going to the Hamptons.” Steph and I started planning...
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Note To Self
The highest function of love is that it makes the loved one a unique and irreplaceable being. The difference between love and logic is that in the eyes of a lover, a toad can be a prince, whereas in the analysis of a logistician, the lover would have to prove that the toad was a prince, an enterprise destined to dull the shine of many a passion. Logic limits love, which may be why Descartes...
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RANDOMONIUM!
Random things really get me excited and the below is no exception. When I first moved to NY, the gang and I went to MoMA PS1 and on our way back, I found this little gem just hanging out on the door handles of a bank. I stared and laughed for a good 5 minutes, took pictures, and moved on thinking that seeing a baby shoe so strategically placed in a location such as a handle bar was too unique of...
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Favorite (food) Things: August
For Favorite Things: August - I will be highlighting all the food I haven’t been able to write about but definitely deserves to be mentioned.
Mikey’s Burger - 134 Ludlow Street
Best late night food in the LES. I came here with my buddies Becca and James after a few Pickle Backs and got the Mikey’s - hot dog with corned beef hash, onion and mustard. I was so excited at the...
August 2011
5 posts
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n00b Chronicles: Laundry
I went downstairs the other week to do laundry to find that the coin slot on the laundry machine was jammed. Not sure why, but the other machine had white paint in it and I didn’t want to risk ruining all the running shorts (that I practically live in) and my extremely expensive, one of a kind, sleep shirts, of course, so I had to think of another way. I’ve always heard about this but...
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Blog-CYCLE: Chicago
Bunch of bikes parked outside the Arthur E. Anderson building in Evanston. Fate much?
My gals from work in SF and I took advantage of a weekend before training to enjoy Chicago. I fell in love with this city a few years ago when I first visited, and returning was like falling in love all over again. I must say though - that I had major separation anxiety issues and missed my baby NYC.
DAY 1:...
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Favorite Things: July
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Seems as if I’m a wee bit behind on updating this bad boy. To my 6 faithful readers - thank you. You are my inspiration.
July was actually quite the tame month and it was filled with a bit of introspection and personal growth. Fantastic!
For July’s Play - I’m going to plug Philanthro NY. Philanthro hosted Engage - a collaborative multi-city volunteer day....
n00b Chronicles: New York is the Dog's Toilet
You see this little guy? You think he’s cute don’t you? He looks fluffy and has those innocent “puppy dog” eyes. You might have one yourself and you call him your best friend? Well to your best friend, the streets that I scale on the daily are his toilet…leaving the streets consistently reeking of urine (not necessarily feces because owners are pretty good at...
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“New York…Can’t live with[in] it, can’t live without it.”
July 2011
7 posts
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BLOG-CYCLE: New Paltz
Motorcycle with pink deco and box for chihuahua - no joke.
One of the best Thursdays/Fridays I’ve had to-date in New York is my latest trip to a small village in upstate New York called New Paltz. My boss invited the entire team over to his place for some team bonding, and r&r from city life. Nature, and the small town gave me the solace I needed from the latest NYC wear and tear.
...
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Get Jazzy
Michael and I went the Provincetown Playhouse on MacDougal St. to watch some live yazz. A few NYU grad students performed a few of their own jams, and topped off with some pretty sweet improvisation. The pros - John Hart Trio - played originals along with a great rendition of Michelle by the Beatles. Provincetown Playhouse is a warm and intimate venue that made the experience of watching some...
What I've been CHOO ing On: Am I Growing Up?
I neither think I can effectively articulate/communicate my deep fillins’ through writing nor do I think this blog post is the best place for this but here’s my inspiration as a of late.
A once, very close friend of mine shared with me stories about the various things he learned one day by watching people on and around a bus that he rode everyday to go to class. He entitled...
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n00b Chronicles: Air Conditioning
I’ve lived in Cali all my life so I’ve been pretty spoiled with perfect weather. Its been realllll toasty in NYC these days so I wanted to see what I’d be getting if I was still back in my hometown - Fremont, CA compared to the sauna I’m living in here. On average, New York for this week was 20.8 degrees hotter than Fremont. If you know me, you will know that this is NOT...
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Mustache Man No More
You may remember my past post about visual clutter. Billboard vandalism is one of the little things that made my subway rides a bit brighter - unibrows, missing teeth… all of that always make me chuckle. One of my favorites is the mustache mustache that grazed the faces of our favorite celebs! Turns out - Joseph Patrick Waldo single handedly changed my grim subway rides to glad and now he is...
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Stacks
The city from the Lower East Side
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Favorite Things: June
Eat
Westville Restaurant - 210 West 10th Street
I usually do a good amount of research on a restaurant before dining there. When my friend Christina came into town and Steph and I were choosing where to take her, we chose Westville knowing friends had recommended it, but without doing a ton of review reading. What we knew about this place though, was that the star of the menu are the different...
June 2011
7 posts
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How to know a date is going well...
I guess having good chemistry is undeniably evident. So if you’re curious how a date is going, and its going well…someone will let you know. I’ve had a few spectators on some dates that have confirmed good chemistry but also created a few good awkward date moments.
Example 1 - You know each other long time? :
Group and dude and I are sitting in a circle chatting. The...
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Governor's Ball!
The gang and I had a great time at Governor’s Ball this past weekend where we came, we saw, and we got conquered. The day started at 11 AM and was spent relaxing on the grass on Governor’s Island, eating the Whole Foods sandwiches we snuck in, christening our flasks, and of course listening to the sounds of the ridiculously legit line up that included Passion Pit, Miami Horror, Mac...
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Re-living Childhood through U2
Picture this: 7 year old Liz - permed hair, and silver teeth, in a blue and white striped 1 piece swimsuit (that gave me quite the interesting striped tan line). I jump out of the pool, adjust my swimsuit and wipe off the excess water from my hair. I look around, notice I am being filmed, look into the camera dead on, give a passionate full-body shimmy, turn right around and cannon ball back into...
The Verdict
So if you’ve been reading, you know that I was feeling a bit jittery about going back home to Cali for vacation. I didn’t think I could choose between my first love - Cali and this new, sexy little number trying to weasel its way into my life. 7 days in Cali later and I’ve actually chosen one. I choose….
New York.
Now, Cali, before you get angry, let me explain…...
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Favorite Things: May
I’m lazy and at home so I’ll bucket Eat and Play together for this month. I went to Governor’s Island on Memorial Day Weekend for Brewers’ PicNyc, which is the “ultimate city picnic” featuring local breweries and street food. For $25, I got 2 beers and 1 food taste. When you are lucky like me, though, you bump into someone who is leaving the event and graciously...
Heading to the Real "Home"
I’m going home to Cali for the first time since I’ve moved to New York 5 months ago! I’m feeling excited for a jam packed 7 days of seeing my family, eating mama’s home cooking, playing with Ethan, dining and hanging with my favorite friends and seeing U2 live for family day o’ fun. Before all this excitement though, I was feeling very anxious about the trip back because I didn’t want...
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BLOG-CYCLE: Motownphilly
Bicycle in front of Boyz II Men’s alma mater
Boyz II Men was my favorite music growing up. I bought all their albums and the first thing I did once I bought them was sit down, flip through the CD booklets and start memorizing the order of the songs, and the lyrics. In the 4th grade, I wrote a young author book about a rooster or some other poultry and in the “About the Author”...
May 2011
8 posts
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J'etudie Francais!
I’ve been taking a French Class through Fluent Brooklyn in Midtown every Tuesday for 3 hours…7-10PM. I love learning languages and I’ve always wanted to learn French so its been a really great experience. In a language 1 class, the trick is to practice speaking/writing despite knowing you’ll make mistakes along the way, and make use of every possible vocab word you learn...
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Futbol Can be Fun
A couple weekends back, I was fortunate to join Michael for a NY Red Bulls vs. Chivas USA soccer match. I was a bit anxious about looking and feeling gross because right before we entered the arena, it started pouring down rain and I only had a non water-resistant military jacket. Luckily mother nature held out for us and our seats were covered anyhow. Seats were awesome, and watching Thierry...
Meet Bruce
I actually quite like work these days. I like the client as a whole, my boss, my team, the work…But sometimes, and by the time Thursday rolls around, I just want the weekend and I need a good break in the day. There are a few things that have helped me to survive those days. 1. Funny text messages and 2. Bruce.
Bruce is a mother goose that built her nest on our green roof at work. Her...
I love My Fam
Huge shout out to my cudi Alice and her baby boy Ethan for sending me this awesome care package that included Haribo and SF ONLY goods - Blue Bottle, Adapt gear. I can’t wait to go back home in June so I can take a nap with Ethan who is already spoiling ME. Miss you guys!
My little man
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n00b Chronicles: Guests
February 7-17: Brenda*
March 5-6: Han*
March 13-16: Sarah*
March 18-19: Phil and Will*
April 1-3: Jen and Jason*
April 7-11: Maggie*
April 14: Janet*
April 27-28: Barbara
April 29-May 3: Kat and Randy*
May 7-11: Vivian*
*Guests that stayed with me at my apartment - all were the perfect guests of course - I have the best friends
The list above is the marathon of consecutive guests...
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Thomas Keller's Per Se
French Laundry, Per Se - these are restaurants that I always thought were like urban legends. Do they exist? If so, I probably would never be able to dine there. My friends Randy, Kat, Brian and May were in town and May (Mary - according to the reservation) made it happen.
Randy summed it up very well, by saying the meal was a bit of a roller coaster. The 4.5 hour meal started on an extremely...
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Favorite Things: April
Time goes by way too quickly. I am fast approaching the crux of May and nearly forgot my April Favorite things post! I was contemplating dedicating a post JUST go to my “EAT” choice because it was that good but just in case I don’t have material for future posts…I present to you…
Eat
Shopsins - 120 Essex Street
If you are a person with some fully functioning taste...
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The Spotted Pig
There are a few outfits Anthony Bourdain rotates on his show, No Reservations. Tops include: white linen button up, green sweater with weird patch on his shoulder and his Spotted Pig t-shirt. This piqued my curiosity because you must really like a restaurant to be rocking the restaurant t-shirt on the daily. I also remember hearing about The Spotted Pig before - when I was plotting to be bff...
April 2011
12 posts
Slave Day - Follow Up
As predicted in the post I wrote last month about #winning, having a slave for a day is simply the best. Kudos to my slave who was exceptionally cooperative. My slave picked up Diet Coke, carried my bags, installed my curtains and made - from this recipe - the most delicious fried chicken sandwiches that satiated my Bakesale Betty’s craving. Back to devising a plan to trick my slave into...
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n00b Chronicles: Take Out
Don’t ask me why - but I always glamorized eating Chinese take out straight from those white wire handle take out boxes like the folks above. I had always seen on tv and movies - girl friends getting together for a night in and suggesting “Chinese?” having girl talk in their pajamas (my favorite outfit) on the couch in front of the tv (my favorite pass out location). Back home,...