"present for you, my heart..."

Ahhh today was a long day. My feet are so sore but I think it was mildly worth it. A friend and her little sister came to the city to see a Versailles concert at the Knitting Factory. They are self-professed otakus so I took them to a few Japanese stores including Kunokuniya, JAS Mart, Tokyo Toys, and got a quick lunch at Men Kui Tei and an avocado shake from T-Kettle (mmm). I explained a few things about the neighborhoods we came through and the basics of the MTA. I spend a bunch of dough yesterday already so I decided not to buy anything unneccessary today (a bunch of Kera, lolita, fruits, and hairstyle mags at Kuno, and a bunch of blind boxes at tokyo toys). The strange thing about Toy Tokyo is that it seems like you have to enter through someone's apartment. The only thing that distinguished its storefront was a sign on the sidewalk. We also tried looking for J1 Pan toys but apparently it doesn't exist anymore. We went to the exact address listed on Yelp but it was just an apartment building. period.

So we arrived at the Knitting Factory at 6:00 and were let in at 7:30 (I picked up Subway for the other two and a Clif bar for me because we were hungry while waiting in line). We had to wait another hour and a half inside however, because the opening band cancelled. The band members were gorgeous in their Victorian-esque costumes, especially Hizaki (who is the most feminine man I have ever seen in VK and that's saying a lot). I also figured that Jasmine You, the only other member who cross-dresses, was also a man by his facial features. The band played around 8 songs and then came out for TWO encores, performing 2 songs and 1 song respectively. The posters at the band merch stand were huge (and would probably take up 1/4 of my wall) and so I purchased a sticker of the band for a couple dollars instead. The above post title is just one of the many lines of Engrish the lead singer tried on the crowd, in which each time there was an somewhat awkward silence while people tried to decode what he had just said before wild cheers from the crowd. At the very end of the 2-hour concert the members flaunted their stuff (especially Jasmine You) and let the front-row fanatics touch their hands. I found it really nice of them for interacting with the crowd and throwing freebies into the crowd (like Hizaki's guitar picks). Oh, and last but not least, their American spokesperson said "see you in February" which could mean they they're coming back to NYC!

I love the word "brunch".

We went to Wild Ginger on Broome today and I finally satisfied my pumpkin craving with one of their delicious vegan soups. It consisted of a light peppery broth with chunks of pumpkin and white beans. Mmmmm I can't wait to get it again.

My sister gave me a bunch of hand-me-downs and I selected a few really good pieces including a cute black shirt-dress with large blue buttons and a really soft yellow tee. Almost made me as happy as the sale items I got last weekend at UO and Uniqlo, jeans and shirts for $10 each. (^_^)

reality check: I am so pumped up for the Versailles concert tomorrow!

"the chic-est person you know is from kansas"

Finally a post about my move to NYC. It's been a long, excruciating process that I am still in the middle of. The above quote is one of the many truths I've realized about living in the city. I was never a stranger to NYC having been to Chinatown often in my childhood. I finally "ventured" out to the rest of the diverse neighborhoods (I found myself drawn to the East Village in particular, I guess it's my inner "hipster" though I don't want to be stereotyped...), when I was a freshman in high school. Luckily, I lived next to a station on the Metro-North so it only took 45 minutes to get to Grand Central (which is probably one of my most favorite buildings in the world, next to the JFK airport*). When I was depressed, I would play hooky and go off to the city where I found comfort in absorbing the masses of people bustling on the streets in total disregard of everything around them. It matched my mood.

So I began searching for a place in July solely using Craigslist (where I also got my loft bed for cheap). It took 20+ e-mails, 8 actual replies, and 5 viewings before someone finally chose me to room with her. I decided that with the job I had, $700-$1000 was my budget. Then I got wiser and took it down to $900-. I wanted a place close to transportation (particularly the 6 so I could commute from G.C.). I found places right on St. Mark's, Upper East Side but I finally realized that Spanish Harlem could do as well.

Memorable things about my apartment search:

1. asking for a virtually silent room mate
2. asking for a person with interest in S&M
3. pot-smokers
4. literally a door, closet and an old sketchy English guy with a fetish for Japanese girls
5. dark&dreary, "furnished", two big mutts, Park Ave., $1000 not including utilities
6. rude people who obviously made a decision about you as soon as the door was opened
7. 6-floor walk-up

I finally found the perfect place and the perfect roommate. It's a beautiful building with cheap rent, and super convenient to the LES, next to dozens of restaurants and groceries. My roommate is very similar to me in terms of personality and tastes, though my mother still scares her (but then again, she scares everyone).
I'm torn when it comes to furnishing the place, since it seems like my stay is only to last for a year but oh, do I love the freedom.

* I have always been fascinated by buildings that house systems of mass transportation. I find it fun just watching people hurrying towards unknown destinations and the wild aggregation of all kinds of different people ranging from fashionistas to hippies to business people.

Reality check #1: my mom's boyfriend's daughter finally figured out that our parents were dating (...they've been together for 5+ years). She's angry and I'm trying to sympathize with her but it's hard even though I am in her exact same position when I first found out. Arghhh!!!

the true me #1: I am passive-aggressive.
the true me #2: Though I liken my writing style to that of Virginia Wolff (albeit not as polished) I cannot stand her stories.

Well at least now I can get a credit card....

It's my birthday today.
But it doesn't seem like it.
I woke up at the usual time and ate the same cereal I've been eating every morning for the past month.
Now I'm at work doing exactly what I did yesterday, and the day before, and the day before....

I do realize that you're not supposed to take a day off from work or school just because it's your birthday but...

I decided to go to Taco Bell tonight for my "birthday dinner". Honestly today couldn't be any more normal so I don't want to do anything special. If you don't have high expectations, it's hard to be disappointed. That's my philosophy.

oh the wonders of RIM

I just DLed the google mobile app onto my new Blackberry curve and I am impressed. Hopefully now that I can blog anywhere, I'll be able to post more often :). I've seen a lot of people with BB's now that RIM released the everyday consumer-friendly curve. I personally use it for both business and pleasure. Not only do I have an SD card full of movies and custom ringtones/wallpapers, I also researched some of the most popular and useful applications.

Must-have BB apps:
1. BBweather 0.76 - simple interface, instant weather updates, a little buggy with trackball models
2. Pac-man from benny chow - fun classic
3. Google mobile app - access to your gmail account(s), maps/driving directions, news, RSS feeds
4.Circle pop and 5udoku - games available from the BB mobile site.
5. Facebook - came with the phone but is useful if you use it - the curve is definitely marketed towards the younger generations
6. Piconews - fanatastic news feed manager - search through hundreds of subscriptions and you're bound to find something of interest (i.e. NYT arts, asian entertainment, movie reviews, joystiq, BBC world news,etc) - definitely one of my favorite applications so far.
7. Ramble IM - useful AIM only client

I also have a bunch more miscellaneous ones including a wikipedia search engine but it's they're not as noteworthy. Most of these apps are available OTA so go ahead and start taking full advantage of your Blackberry!

Random

I find the Korean entertainment blog, Popseoul, to be incredibly biased. I like my news objective, not subjective.

Asian Club

I just remembered some things just now and since I didn't want to mash everything together into one horribly incoherent mess, here it is in short and simple lines.

I was president for 2.3 years.
I organized parties, cooking classes, language lessons, even a trip to DC.
The year had been fantastic.
I was up for re-election as a senior.
A certain candidate had told me in the past on multiple occasions that she was getting tired of attending meetings because they bored her.
She won.
One person voted for me.
I lost.
Was I that bad?
Was it because it was necessary for me to be harsh and strict to get things done?
Because I couldn't stay for 4 more hours after the meetings to just fool around?
I was crushed.
I felt betrayed since a BF (new and not very familiar with the other candidates) had voted against me.
I got over it.

I couldn't make meetings this year but not out of bitterness.
I heard that meetings were all over that place and that eventually "she" gave up.
No trips but a lot of failed candy/bake sales.
Felt bad but couldn't go anything as a [mock] co-VP.
The irony.

to-may-to soup

Apologies for entries in non-chronological order. I write only when I feel like it so of course I might reference things that I haven't blogged about yet. Oh and I always seem to write in "stream of consciousness" style which I always thought was just a writer's excuse for being disorganized.

So it's finally happening. I've read forum threads complaining about those insatiable cravings that dieters get eventually from denying themselves certain foods but I wasn't worried about it until now. I guess it's just been a combination of stress/boredom from work and the fact that I my apartment in NYC is vacant 90% of the time and I'm still working my hands bloody to pay the rent. Arghhhhh.

My diet has been pretty successful these past seven or so months. I started at the end of March. I'm embarrassed to say that my motivation was some of my celebrity crushes. It was like: Christine, either you get slim and average now or you blow up like a balloon and you will regret it for the REST of your life. I had more time to manage my diet then and I had just started to hang out with friends again. My therapy was going well and I knew I was going to have to start changing my lifestyle in the time between graduation and college (I can't afford to be a victim of the dreaded "freshmen 15").
I realized that it was getting so incredibly hard to fit into anything: shirts, pants, shorts, even rings and bracelets. It was getting to the point where I always wore a sweatshirt to hide my curves. I was approaching 220+ and was just getting out of a bout of depression which had affected my heavy involvement in sports and academics. Yes, I was once an A-student and active swimmer. Then I started to refuse to attend class/music lessons and even skipping Asian club- the one place I could just be completely myself. I used to either sit for hours reflecting on how dire the situation had become or immersing myself in the internet doing shopping, reading, and watching Asian dramas.

But those are things of the past - I am proud to say that I have lost 50+ pounds and have gone from a size 16+ to a size 10. I have been calorie-counting (simply using calorie-count.com) and keeping a detailed daily diet log. I limit my sugar/fat intake and take multi-vitamins and I abstain from junk food like chips and candy. My average caloric intake used to be 2800+, but now it's 1500. I just didn't realize that I was eating so much at the time since I thought I was eating pretty healthy natural, low-sodium foods (rice, chicken, no red meats/candy/cookies) and I didn't eat massive portions either but I guess it still added up. I figured that I would have to start exercising so I signed up at a local gym. I started with basic machine work for 45+ minutes every other day and occasional weightlifting for some toning. I can't manage to go that often anymore now but I have still kept a steady rate of 2 pounds a week. Until now.

So I'm resorting tomato soup - good thing I still have some low-fat taco cheese and bowtie pasta left 'cause I can never have plain tomato soup.

A new leaf?

It's been months since I last updated this blog but only now have I realized how much I needed it. My therapist (who shall remain un-named) has been on maternity leave and won't be back until November. During her absence a lot of things, both good and bad, have happened.

Off the top of my head:
1. I failed my driving test.
I'm not a whiner. The guy was truly out to get me. Sighing impatiently every 5 seconds, he told me to proceed into an intersection and turn left on a red light. Obviously a no-no. Oh well, another month and a half until I get my license. I just have to remember to pretty myself up that day so a bad picture doesn't haunt me for the next n amount of years.
I got an apartment in NYC.
I got a job.
I started college classes.
I got a Blackberry.
I still don't have a new camera.

Some random memories:
- Airplanes flying overhead remind of my grandma's. Her house is a mile away from San Jose International.
- I have a splinter in my left knee that I got from a friend's jungle gym. It's been there for 10 years.