Last words..

Am changing the song to mark the christmas season that i was here.

Here's some math that involves why i chose this song

Home Alone + Manhattan + Christmas= Song

What's a better time than the christmas season to visit the Big Apple??

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

In a New York Minute, Pal!

My last post of NYC, oh boy, i'm gonna miss this place!

I got up and tried to cram what ever i could into the last moments that i had.

i was surprised at how fast i managed to shower & get dressed. Must have been like 10 mins! Headed out and caught the train to Bloomingdale's to return some lotion that i deceided i didn't need. Then i looked around for money clips. The only one that i liked came with an unneccessary card case. And the price was gagging. So i headed down to the financial district allllllllll the way downtown. Whoa..there were plenty of people alright, being a Sunday. Tourist were all over taking pictures and looking at the sights. I made my way to Century 21 and i was sorely dissappointed there. There was only ONE miserable design that looked terrible. What a waste of time!

Then again, i remembered always wanting to head over to Brooklyn again to take a picture of NYC's skyline. And without further ado, i crossed over and walked towards the water in the bitter cold weather. There, i saw this tiny little dog chasing after a rather big black cat. While the cat looked like it was running, the dog seemed to be tottering instead. I found that hilarious that it was also yelping at the cat. Yelping, mind you, not Barking.

It was a clear day for pictures and Manhattan never looked better. Kinda wished it was night just so i could have a night view as well. But this was better than nothing.

Made it back to midtown for a last look around Times Sq & Rockafella. I remember saying to myself, one day, i WILL own something from Tiffany & Co....maybe even more than just one item!

1:32pm. I rushed back to the apt just in time to see my bro off to work. Passed the keys to him and said our goodbyes.

1:55pm. Made my way out and into the greek cafe across the road. Got a beef/lamb gyro to-go.

2:10pm. What in the world took them SO LONG to make my gyro!! I was seriously half-fuming, cranky and ready to beat someone down.

2:12pm. Hopped into a lady driven cab to the airport.

2:20pm. Hopped into a human crowd ingested airport...only to find out that the system has no reservation for my flight.

Yep...here is the highlight of my day...

NO RESERVATION!!! I waited in line for about 20 mins, tapping my foot constantly and when i finally got to an agent, i burst out my controlled anger at her and she did all she could and searched everything and finally told me: I'm sorry but there is no record of your flight today but rather, it is on the 18th of Jan. Oooo....i then remembered that i might not have made the change in the dates!!! *red-faced*

Still, i put on a yankee face and continued arguing with her and finally, i threw my hands up in exsasperation and said:" Fine, just tell me how much it is and i will pay the difference."

Yeah, a hundred bucks.

It kinda hurt to shell that George Washington bill out.....

So i got onto the 4:55pm flight on stand by and made it to dallas after a torturous flight! No in flight movies and i got a window seat. Snaps.

Upon landing, we were kept cooped inside the plane for another good 30 mins because the gate was NOT READY. I was pissed. I mean, come on!!! There should have been coordination and communication. It was my first & worst AA flight ever.

Luckily there was no one clustraphobic in the plane or else it would have been worst.

When i finally got out and picked up my bag, i was treated to a good meal of HK BBQ meats and great stir fry vegetables. YUM! Guess that somewhat made up for it.

And that, my friend, is my Big Apple Story.

What's yours?

*grins*

Since i had fun blogging, i might just keep on blogging....check on my profile page! Am still trying to deceide what is the best address for it.

Dinner at Upper East Side

When your mom's friend becomes yours, what do you call them? By their title or simply by their name? Or better yet, what would you call them if they are not really too old, but yet significantly older than you? Auntie? Or Sister?

That's who i'll be having dinner with tonight. 敏慧姐姐's family. I remember back in the days when she came over from Shanghai to Singapore, joined the TV station to become an emcee and an actress. My mother met her in ballet school and took her under her wing. She had bigger sights for herself and took off to New York. In the years to come she was so busy, looking for jobs and tried to make ends meet. She found a job in the chinese TV station in Manhattan and she finally made a name for herself. Somewhere down the line, she met Ted, who is now her husband and they have 2 kids. Haven't seen them yet, but from the pictures she sent, they look cute.

Now, i have to find something relatively respectable to wear..hmm

//edit

Ah...the goodness of pasta...ohh, i'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take it from the top!

I headed over to Bloomingdale's to look at the fabulous mall. It has been in a lot of hollywood movies and i am so thrilled to see it! It is such a nice building.

I got my makeup done at the Clinique Counter and i must say, it sure was interesting. Got quite abit of tips from there. =) Now if only i can remember it.... Hmm...

Got a couple of stuff from there as well. I needed them anyways. I browsed around there for a while more and then i went out where the streets were jam packed with the holiday crowd. Got a lamb gyro. Yummy!

Walking around, looking and admiring the sights and sounds of NYC for the last time... at least for a while.

I walked my way uptown, and the transformation was obvious. The human traffic lessened, the neighborhood got more posh and the cars don't honk anymore. I was sure nervous meeting 敏慧姐姐's family. My heartbeat quickened and i was very much in shaking in my knees.

They stay on the top floor of their apartment building and it is such a quaint place. The black & white tiled floor brought a wave nostalgic memories of my younger days in my grandmother's shophouse. ...only our was green & white.

Upon entering the front door, i was greeted by light and a whole lot of plants. Polished wood floors, lovely ceiling patterns and a very very very nice slim HDTV that hung from the wall. 敏慧姐姐 is was youthful as before, but she sure is skinny! Almost stick & bones! My goodness!!! But she eats a whole lot! Hah! Kinda like my mom. We headed out to dinner at a really nice italian restaurant near the apartment. Caffe Grazie. Kinda like a hole-in-the-wall place, but it was a double storey. The ambience was elegant. We sat near the fireplace. We each got a mini bottle of champange. Brut. Fruity. Excellent.

I skipped out on the appetizer and got Linguine with N.Z Mussels & Sea Scallops. The word "Delicious" does not do it justice. The scallops was just nice and the mussels was fat, full and fresh. The linguine was al dante and the sauce was one of it's kind. The ingredients was very generous. I loved it. It's such a great meal to end my NY trip. This meal shall be my benchmark in all my italian meals in the future. Oooh...the pairing with my champange was perfect as well.

I throughly enjoyed my chat with 敏慧姐姐 & 王大哥. They are jovial people and we shared food stories and memories. I got complimented for getting prettier! =) I guess i do look better than when i was 14 when i first met her. Hah! I probed into their love lives since i missed the whole story. They were candid abt it and we joked.

Like many people, they mentioned about how different i was from my brother. 潇洒 is the word that 王大哥 used to describe me. 潇洒 = sauve/savvy. 敏慧姐姐 told him that i have always been that way since the first day that i met her. My brother is the more introverted one while i was the one that is extroverted. That made me smile.

As the champange entered into our bloodstream, we most definately warmed up to each other even more. They laughed at my childhood stories of my pet chickens & ducks, night safari trips with my mom and we discussed about ballet (敏慧姐姐 is a pro ballerina!), other world news and of course, like any true blooded chinese, food! We exchanged food tales and i peppered them with questions about the foods that the chinese pple still eat in China. From monkey brains to raw drunken river shrimps to dog meat to farmed rats meat to fried silkworms and many others. Yummmmmmmm...no? =)

They promised that if they visit Singapore, they would look up my family.

It was been so long since i met 敏慧姐姐....it was in 1998 that i last saw her! Wow...7 years! I am so glad that i made this trip to have dinner with them.

As my trip to NYC draws to an end, i will always have this journal to look back on and smile again.

Pity i didn't get a chance to take pictures and show you how 敏慧姐姐 & 王大哥 looks like! By the way, 王大哥 is 敏慧姐姐's husband.

And for the brave hearted and curious, here's the recepie for raw drunken river shrimp:-

Ingredients:-

Live river shrimp (as many as you want to eat) (MUST BE RIVER SHRIMP!)
Really strong wine/brandy/or whatever is the strong alcohol you have
Chopped chives
Shreded ginger
Sugar (optional)
(i think that's about it...)

Steps:-

1) Take live river shrimps from tank & put them in a deep bowl

2) Pour in alcohol

3) Swirl the shrimps & alcohol togther and leave it (You WANT the shrimp to get DEAD DRUNK. plus, the alcohol disinfects them)

4) When the shrimp is no longer moving and conked out from drinking the alcohol, lay them in a nice shallow dish & garnish with the chives & ginger.

5) Peel the shell off & enjoy!

PS: If the shrimp happen to jump or wriggle when you pick it up, go ahead and dunk it into the alcohol again. AND make sure that you chew it well, if not it may wake up in your belly and tickle you like crazy! =) nah!

The Sun, The Snow and I got lost in Central Park

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the snow was gleaming and the public transportation strike was called off. What can be better??

Yes, a strike. There was even a countdown to the strike last night on the news. It was scheduled to occur at 12:01am today, but somehow, negotiations ran til 4:30am and the managed to come to an agreement...for now.

i hopped, skipped and jumped my way to the South Ferry Terminal where i boarded the Staten Island Ferry again, admist the tons of other tourist to view Lady Liberty as well as the Manhattan skyline. There was such clear blue skies, everything looked pretty. But, the wind was blowing...and onboard a moving ferry, it was even worse. I carefully wrapped my hand around my camera, in fear that my numb hands would drop them into the water.

Pictures from the ferry:-




On the way back from Staten Island, there were some seagulls that kept following the ferry and one flew quite close. I was half afraid that it would poo-poo on my coat...but they didn't. (^__^) Good birdies! I tried to get them to perch on my arm but i guess i had no fishes to entice them..oh well!

Something that i must confess...I was somewhat shaky as i approached the railings of the ferry. The waters were choppy from the strong winds and being on the hurricane deck, i was perched relatively high from the water. I felt myself grip the bars tightly. I am not afraid of heights, but i do feel my legs going a little soft when i look down from great heights....though i go to all lengths to not show it. But i would still love to work onboard a ship, like a cruise ship and travel the world. That's my dream! Well, one of it.

I took the train up to 72nd St. On the way there, i realised that i had not eaten anything the whole day and i was STARVED! My nose followed the scent in the air and i found myself in front of a very New York-ish eatery. It's called the Gray Papaya. ?!?!?!?!?! Yeah...that's what i thought too! But the food is really cheap and good. In fact, they have many juices (all natural). Their specialty is hot dogs, and judging from the line, they must be good. I got the "Recession Special". It was 2 franks and a drink for a grand total of $2.75!!!! Oh boy!! i was excited..and hungry. So i wolfed my franks, with plenty of saukraut (yeah, i'm becoming a yankee!) and washed it all down with the house special concoction...Papaya juice. It took them years to perfect the drink and i could really taste the papaya in it! Yum! I wonder if that was the cause of my going to the loo...Hmmm... Not very funny...

Random:- So why are the pigeons in NYC fatter than the rest? Because they get fed all the time by the pple, especially old pple....



Made my way to Central Park. I started off at the west side and cut through to get to the east side. I came by a huge lake and it was frozen over. In fact, all the bodies of water in the park were frozen. I cannot believe that Central Park is actually a man-made landscape. It does look very very natural though. However, the city did let some parts of the park go untended for a while to give it a more "natural" look.

As i ventured deeper into the park, the sky got darker and i realized that i was pretty much all alone, minus the occassional jogger. I went around in circles for a while before i realized that i have seen the same squirrel eating his nuts and it was staring at me for the upteenth time as i passed it. Now if only it talks, like in a movie. But if that happened, knowing me, i would probably still be in the park talking to the squirrel and it's family and maybe the whole squirrel clan! Squeek, squeek, squeekity squeek.

Well, i humored myself and made the best of the beautiful park surroundings and took pictures...


This was taken while there was still some light...b4 i got lost...



And...i finally found myself at the Central Park Skating Rink. Nice..It's the one flimed in Serendipity. =)


Hung around at the rink, laughed at the pple who fall and when i deceided that i was nicely frozen as night fell, i made my way to the train station, which apparently, is quite a distance away. *sigh*

The wind picked up as i walked and once again, my body was shivering and shaking. Now, my muscles are sore from all that violent shivering. Dang!

Oh please, please DON'T let the fever come back....

PS: Hope the song on the blog gets your feet tapping to the beat! =) It's Frankie Valli & the 4 Seasons! But this is the broadway version, since it has a better sound quality. Lemme know what you think of the 60s!

International Territory

Woke up to a cloudy sky and someone ringing the doorbell like nobody's business. I silently wished that Jack Frost would give that person a sudden frostbite and that the finger would fall off.....no such luck.

It was 10+ when i rolled out of bed. Fever still lingered around but on the whole, i think i am well. =) Washed up and headed out to visit the United Nations Building with my bro.

On our way there, guess who showed up? Dou Dou Xian Sheng!! (^__^)


When we got there, there were no flags flying on any of the 191 flag posts surrounding the perimeter. I asked my bro and this is his smart reply: "'Cos there is no one important here today." Yeah, bro...yeah.. =) UN Flag protocol states that when the temperature falls below 25 degrees F, all flags will not be flown as the pulleys might break from the cold. However, the only flag that flies 24/7 is the UN Flag.

So we proceeded into the visitor's entrance and had to go through security. 2 of the armed guards laughed at me as i raced with my bro to the front. I simply jumped across the roped off section...and started to strip for the check. Ok, not a full strip. You get my point.

UN is ...well, nice. technically, if you have watched "The Interpreter", you would have also seen the inside of the UN. It was nice and big, with lots of abstract art given from artists all over the world. Guess what's the theme? Peace.

That's the main room where the World Summit Meeting is held. "Interpreter" was flimed in this room!

I thought that the best gift was from China...a magnificent ivory sculpture carved from 8 elephant tusks that took 2 years to finish. It showed the railway project that connects Sichuan to Yunnan. It was very very beautiful, right down to the last detail.


Once you step into the UN grounds, you are no longer in America but on international territory that belongs to all of the UN member countries. Cool! They even have their own fire,police & postal department.

And...guess where the diplomats go to have their pearly whites brightened?

I didn't really understand a lof of the abstract art, but i guess everyone around me looked like they did, so i pretended that i was very impressed by it & gave my fair share of the "oohs" & "aahs". Inside, i was thinking..."what is this?!"

But i do like abstract photography though.

Other random pictures that i took:-

Here's MY abstract art..shoes on color. Geddit?



The fat international squirrel...


Went for lunch/dinner at an Italian place. It was not too bad. Mine was a little salty...hmm..When the bill came though, my eyes almost popped out. So you can pretty much guess the price range.

When onboard the train to Times Sq, i stood up for an elderly lady to sit but she declined and thanked me. Just at that moment, the train jerked and moved forward. That lady lost her balance and moved backwards, almost falling. It's a good thing there were many pple around to catch her, including me. She then smiled and still declined. I think a) she didn't think she was that old, b) she is even more embarressed to take my seat now.

The Staten Island Ferry Station is nice and big. The Ferry itself is huge. It was starting to rain but it fell as ice. Standing on the observation deck, my face was attacked by the rain of ice. Ouch! The view of Manhattan as the ferry pulled away was beautiful, with the Brooklyn bridge all lit up, Manhattan never looked better!

We got off at Staten Island and boarded the Ferry for the ride home. While at the observation deck, i met 2 gentlemen who kindly offered to halp take a picture of me. his camera was really great! It sure looked liked a professional's! We exchanged pleasantries and they gave me their card. One of them was the president of Launch 5, which is a project group that does Search & Rescue(Sea), Environmental Cleanup(Sea), Historic Preservation(Boats) & Education. The other gentleman was also in the same project, except that he is the attorny for the group. Very nice. They are going to send pictures from his camera to me. Chatted with his daughter as well, who is currently a sophmore in UPenn. She thought i looked too young to have already graduated from college. *grins*

The ice-rain was really starting to get to me when we docked and the temperature was getting lower. My bro and I deceided to head home so that i can rest and get the last of my fever away from me and have an early start tomorrow to visit Lady Liberty.

I'm thinking of falling asleep to a movie tonight...but which?

Top 10

So just as i was about to drift off to Slumber Land, somebody just called and apparently it was the wrong number.

Since my heart is sitll pumping from the adrenaline from the very hyper ringtone that i have, might as well blog to calm down.

Yesterday, my sole itinerary was to watch Jersey Boys again. And, this time round, my 60s music history has been revised and revived. Guess who was grooving along with the grandfathers and grandmothers?? You got it! (^__^) C'est moi!

Stopped at Columbus Mkt at the bottom of Central Park as i finished sending some important mail to my travel agent...It was cold. Actually cold is not defining enough. It was more than cold. It is the kind of cold that leaves your exposed body parts(eg, hands) hurting and numb. I had to keep looking to check if my hands were still attached. But, i bought a box of not-cheap-german-imported-crunchy-cookies. I bit into the sample and for a moment, i was brought back to my childhood where my grandmother fed me cookies like that. I have been looking for this taste for a long time now. Apparently, the traditional cookie vendor has seemed to vanished into thin air. But now, i have a box of something similar tasting. And i am smiling.

On a second thought, the cookies are not really helping my cough very much either. I was starving as i walked towards the metro and i started to wolf the cookies.

Cold, dry air + Action of wolfing down dry cookies + slow production of saliva glands = Majorly embaressing choking and coughing in the middle of the road.

On top of that, my nose started to run. Oh boy was i a sight. With no scarf in the 18 degree weather, i am so glad i made it home.

Fever's still hanging around but it went down to abt 100. Maybe it will be gone tomorrow. I've been drinking fresh grated ginger tea....

On the subway ride, my mind compiled a top 10 list of what i have learned in NYC (so far!):-

10) NEVER saunter across the road. You better be quick or you're asking for it.

9) NEVER saunter on the pavement. Move to the side or get ready to be peppered with angry words in italian, jewish,greek or just by any near object.

8) DO help other poor tourist who do not have their sense of bearings in order. EVEN if you are not a New Yorker(but know the place well), HELP THEM! I mean, pity them, man!

7) MOVE to the middle of the train car during rush hours or you're seriously asking for trouble, especially from angry old ladies whose their bling-bling rings will leave permanent scars and render you scar-faced...

6) NEVER stop to read your map right after you exit the subway. You'll get trampled over and get hospitalized, if not dead.

5) POP into every Starbucks on the block and get a cuppa "kuo-fee".
4) KEEP your hands to yourself, especially rgd. Old Ladies. I almost got pummeled by a granny with this huge umbrella for trying to help with her bags. I think she though i was robbing her.

3) DON'T breathe loudly, talk, move or even think about clearing your throat in a ballet concert...you're gonna get shushed by everyone around. Including from the baby behind you.

2) "TWALK" fast! If you stutter, better write it down and tell pple what you want. If not, you've guessed it...! You'll be asking for it.

1) EAT gum and chew it in such a way that your saliva is spitting out of your mouth and onto the faces of pple walking towards you. It's even better if you can add some italian accent plus a swagger...and go: " How you doin'? "

Have a nice night.

Bring it on, Wind!

I think i should blog anyways...if not i will forget.

A whopping 19 Degrees. I think i was brave to venture out to the city. As expected, my fever came back again. But i'm not yet bed-ridden, so that is a good thing, right?

Was planning to catch Jersey Boys tonight but the seat was crappy. Will try again tmw. Now that i have the broadway CD, you can be sure that i will be grooving to the beats! Maybe i should just jump onstage, eh? Oh wait...i would probably fall into the pit...

Am not really in the mood to talk abt my day...but i will post pictures for you guys. You can pretty much tell from there.

*gloomy*


Trip to the Hershey's Candy Store....

The United American of Fat Birds...



then again, maybe they are just trying to keep warm...but then again, they sure look FAT.



Feeling naughty, anybody? :p

The famed Peninsular Hotel



At the Disney Store...i saw a cute version of my favs...



The Paramount Building's top...


On a happier note, my bro and i just spent the last hour talking to my cute baby cousin in Singapore. She is hilarious! She cracks me up! Apparently, she is easily tickled. Plus, my brother was really humoring her.

I feel a little better.