Currently Listening Late Registration By Kanye West see related

30 HOURS AND...

Touchdown!

My ass is aching...

Goodbye Sandwiches, Hello Nasi Lemak! 

There is something about it being the last day of any holiday that instils that little bit of extra urgency into one's actions and steps for the day. The irony was not lost on us, this being our 15th day living in the Big Apple proper, and also the first time that we set our eyes on that androgynous statue that looks abit fatter in real life than reel life. Anyway, that multi-tonned green piece of oxidised copper was nonetheless, quite a sight to behold up close. Though it was way smaller than I had imagined, the rays of light shining and reflecting of a golden sheen that somehow conspires with the green to remind one of Kedah's football team colors. Well, reminds me somewhat of home.

Speaking of home, it's approximately an unearthly 5 am now. I'm all packed, well, almost, and dearest cheryl and mun and dan are all up and about, getting ready to send me off. It is surreal almost. No, I was referring to seeing Bronx in the day, a sight that as the holiday went by, we saw less and less of. Ok, leaving for home to see the family and the chicken rice and nasi lemak is quite a plus too, but I'm praying, really hard at that, I don't fall wayward of the law of the day, which is 64 kg. No overweight, no overweight....

Ok. time to leave. Farewell, Bronx. Farewell, America. I'll be back. Soon.

Love you mun and Dan. Without you guys, we would have had a radically different escapade....

XOXO

Currently Listening Don't Forget About Us By Mariah Carey see related

The dad's been complaining about the relative lack of activity on this blog. Well, I must admit that procrastination is indeed all consuming, especially uptown in the Bronx, where I am currently residing. The thought of returning to school elicits virtual groans that, if you keep really still and not make any noise, you can actually hear them. (I swear they are audible. I keep hearing them it's not even funny.) Anyway, I really need to record down, at least chronologically in little detail, my exploits in the lil' isle they call Manhattan. My receding memory prowess does not help matters, and the longer I procrastinate, , the more vague and hazy my recollection gets.

I just got back from the Majestic Theatre, where I watched Phantom of the Opera with Mun-riah Cally and Dan-"I'm how Jet Li"-iel. And let me say this unequivocally: This was, by very very very far, the best production I've ever seen in my life. Period.

Ok, admittedly, the plot was rather thin, and I was pinching myself to keep awake as I was still reeling from the heady effects of a Red wine we had accompanying Pizza and Calamari at John's Pizzeria, apparently the best pizza in NYC (I'm sure the folks at Lombardi's will have something to say about that, but apparently, Mun saw this restaurant on Discovery Channel whilst waiting to watch the elephants mating and she was so happy to be there we just had to dine there. Photos galore was pursuant, naturally); The Set Design was AMAZING. Abso-FXXking-lutely FABULOUS. I know I know. Phantom is how 1995. I'm passe and slow but it blew me away... BIG TIME. The scene transitions were immaculate, the pyrotechnics breathtaking. Really, I involuntarily exclaimed "WOW" several times, often due to the almost magic like quality of disappearing acts and set introduction that had me spell bound. On hindsight, how I could sleep through certain parts of the action baffles me. It was really good. But I wasn't alone. Mun and Dan both slept in patches as well. I think together, we watched the full show proper. Oh well.

This was the second day in a row that I've paid TKTS on Times Square a visit. Naturally, it was also the second day in a row that I'm watching a musical on Broadway. Yesterday's fodder was The Producers, a cleverly scripted show that lived up to it's musical comedy billing. The movie was apparently not great, but the musical live was way better. Altogether now! "Spring time for Hitler and Germany! Deutschland is happy and gay....................!

Broadway aside, we tried to cover, albeit at a really relaxed pace the sights, sounds and smells of the Big Apple. Well, the pace is really really really relaxed. Ha. Anyway, yesterday, the other highlight aside from The Producers was making Cheryl's and Mun's pilgrimage to Magnolia Bakery, more famous for it's vague cameo appearance on Sex and the City. Or so they say. Bleeker street way downtown. The cupcakes are over rated and way too sweet though. But mine mine. The banana pudding was heavenly. I really should've have ordered the small cup. I can eat it everyday. No, twice everyday. At least.

My 14th day in NYC is coming to a close. I really should pen down what I did over the last 2 weeks. But my eyelids are getting heavy again. So maybe tomorrow lah.

Anyway, procrastination is not as bad as we make it out to be. It's like Hairspray, Pascal Cygan, or Magnolia Bakery - really overrated. Dad, here are 10 reasons why we should procrastinate:

1) 

PS Vince Young made a crazy clutch play that led Texas to a dramatic Rose Bowl win over Reggie Bush and Matt "I'm Nick Lachey's Buddy" Leinart led USC. WOW. And for those from UVa, yes, we won our bowl game. Ha. And I can't get the damn Mun-riah Carey song out of my head... "Late Night, playing with my dog......"

Currently Watching Memoirs of a Geisha see related

NYE in NYC

31st Dec, 2357 Hrs.

Gold and Silver confetti was interspersed with rainbow colored ones floating almost gracefully through the air on throngs of people who either were camped out here since 2 pm in the afternoon, or fought and bumped their way into. Oh, some of them were really rich or famous or both and for that, you get to beat the crowds and get escorted by NYPD into the middle where the action was. But you really needed to be rich or famous or both, all of which I'm not.... yet. Anyway, you also quickly realise that aside from the NYPD, and a handful of the aforementioned rich and famous, no one else around were New Yorkers. Smart Asses. The cold was blistering, though the weather forecast, for once, was wrong. We were expecting light snow, but the sky was clear.  The confetti was a resplendent multicolored substitute though. Honestly, I have no idea what is the deal with parties and confetti, but it somehow felt right. Poor workers. (I went back to Times' Square today and it's ALL cleared up. They really worked fast!)Nevertheless, for this fleeting ephemeral moment, everyone is pumped up. Mariah's voice and the Emacipation of Mimi was still running through my head. I found myself moving to her song, and suddenly realised that Mariah Carey has more fans than I previously thought. People were actually singing along! The ball, from my vantage viewpoint, looked more like a underwhelming basketball rather than a Waterman Crystal. Not that a Waterman Crystal Ball was very exciting. I thought the ball was the one atop some anonymous building. As I found out, the "ball" I thought would be unleashed on us unsuspecting folks cramped in a Square they call Times is but a permanent fixture of the aforesaid building. Looking back, it was really common sense. Had that ball been allowed to drop on us, we would have seen a major massacre ushering the new year.

Anyway, I was alone. Yes, in a crowd of thousands, yet alone all at the same time. But more on that later. Being smack in the middle of Times Square on New Years' Eve is exactly what Loy Snr said not to do. Well, you only live once. (Dad, the security was damn tight. And the very fact that I'm blogging now means that there were no bombs going off randomly in Times Square. And like you said, it is quite impossible to find a place in NYC that wasn't crowded. Well, maybe except the streets of Bronx, but we wouldn't want to usher in the New Year in such squalid conditions would we?) I went trigger happy, taking pictures upon pictures and videos upon... ok. One video. One video before the camera's battery gave way on me. So, as murphy's Law would have it, I took 537 useless insignificant shots and when my camera goes kaput on me, Michael Bloomberg has to walk pass within 1 yard of me. And of course, when the countdown came, I could only look on helplessly as EVERYONE around me took pictures and videos of the countdown cum fireworks whilst I strain my very small eyes on the even smaller ball that I have heard so much about. Yes, I was overwhelmed by a wonderfully ironic sense of bathos.

However, I must admit the atmosphere was quite electric. Though alone, the many people around me did create a sort of festive mood that I have not felt since I stopped believing in Santa Claus. And Mariah Carey and Mary J Blige gave rather powerful performances. Ok, they were loud to say the least. The speakers were in my ears and I'm kinda getting influenced by teeny bopper Mun-laysian who is a not so closet Mariah Carey fan. Well, yea...

Now, I can check off celebrating New Year's in times Square off the "Things to Do Before I Die" list. Utterly overrated, but utterly enjoyable all at the same time. Yes, it's an oxymoron I know, but it's exactly how I feel. And I'm glad I did it. Really really glad.

And now, an ode to Daniel, our very kind and kindred NYC host, is due. Dan, without whom none of this would happen. For this ode though, I need to go back to a time earlier in the night.

31st Dec, 2203 Hrs

We were a party of 6. Daniel, Mun, Cheryl and myself were joined by Daniel's friends from Aussieland, Stacey and Elsie. Elsie is a Singaporean who happens to teach at RMIT  in (surprise, surprise) Melbourne and Stacey is her half-Scottish half aussie ward/ex-student. We had a most wonderful dinner at Olive Garden, which I must admit surprised me with it's quality of food and very romantic ambience. That's another story for another day though. The weather was ridiculously cold, the coldest yet since I've been to NYC and we were all having second thoughts about going to Times Square to usher in the New Year. But the weather took a slight turn for the better and the decision was made to follow through on our plan. So we left the car on 29th street and took the sub to Times Square. Dan warned us that there was a slight chance that we would not be allowed into Times Square as we were really late. Coming out of the station, our worst fears were confirmed, or so it seems. It took us 10 minutes to cross a road, and about 5 minutes to bump and roll our way down a block. The Police Barricades were up in full force, and we were refused entry into Times Square via the more conventional route. Roads were closed and even though we were at 42nd St already (which is where the party's at), we had to walk like 5 streets down and back and literally around Time's Square before we even caught a glimpse of the square. At this juncture, our waning optimism plummeted to new lows as we see hordes of people turning back and telling us all that there wasn't a chance that any of us would get in. to "clear" the crowds, the policemen got in on the act and said we wouldn't see anything cos we won't be allowed in. We were stuck at that junction (or should I say, intersection) for 10 minutes and we were pushed and shoved and bumped around without making any progress, all of which was highly frustrating. We turned and were walking away when suddenly, the barricades were lifted for this intersection and we were allowed to cross the street. We did. And boy did we run. Moving ahead of the crowds, we crossed a few streets, totally surprised at the sudden ease of movement and progress made. We finally reached the 'entrance' to Times Square and this was where most people were turned away. This was, in many ways, the final frontier. Unless you had a dinner reservation at a restaurant in Times Square, or were living at a hotel in times Square, or had a ridiculously overpriced apartment on Times Square, you were refused entry. And just as I was thinking about the feasibility of buying the officer out and wondering how much exactly that was going to cost me, Daniel moved swiftly into action. He told the Police officer that we were all tourists (which honestly got us no where cos EVERYONE else there were tourists too. He even showed our IDs, which was quite an ecletic bunch, what with Aussie and Singaporean and Malaysians amongst us).  But here was the clincher: We have dinner reservations at some restaurant at the corner of Times Square. The police man bought it, hook line and well, sinker. We were in Times Square!

Well, not quite really. We were in the Times Square area, but because it was so late, (we were in at about 2315) we were stuck at some obscure corner that only gave us a view of the square, but not the ball or the stage. Tough. But considering we came at sucha fashionably late hour, it was a fantastic achievement already. The atmosphere was electric nonetheless. The year was looking up as it approaches its final climax...

After a flurry of pictures, I decided I needed a better view of the ball and the stage. It was then that I realised that many people were having conversations with police officers, trying to charm their way into the Square proper, or listing just about every important friends they have that would somehow scare the officers into submission and allow them past the barricades. I figured since being absolutely shameless worked for us a few times (seriously folks, if you are in NY and are Asian, please leave all the face culture back in your home country. You got to be firm and uncompromising. Don't take no shit), there was no harm being shameless once more. I told the others I was gonna recce and try to get to a better place to take pictures. Oh the things I try to do for the sake of others. HA. Then the opportunity came. A group of seemingly important caucasians were allowed through the barricades by the policemen into the main area. They were standing just next to me and I decided that since like them, I was wearing a black coat, I could pass of as being a part of their entourage. And I was right. Before I knew it, I found myself smack in the middle of Times Square, in an area that I suspect is for VIPs or something. Ha. Those who take chances shall be greatly rewarded. The downside was that I was sans my friends, and more importantly, Cheryl. I had to hatch a plan to get them in too.

Well. The long and short of it was that I failed. The phone was a rather useless mode of communications then cos I could barely hear myself. I decided to take on the role of Times Square photojournalist for the group, taking as many pictures as I could. Then the fateful battery died on me....

Damn Murphy.

I made it back to my party moments after midnight. Big hugs ensued. I did a Times Square New Year's Countdown. Won't say I'll do it again, but glad I did it.

And HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU too!

Currently Listening The Emancipation of Mimi By Mariah Carey see related

BIG APPLE CHRISTMAS

Christmas was ushered in with much aplomb, in an impressive sounding hostel called the Big Apple located just off Times Square. We were squeezed, all 16 of us into a room no bigger than Clara's bathroom. It was, I might add, my coziest Christmas... ever. Then, it began. We weren't a part of it, but we shared in the free snacks and mineral water.

The angel and mortal game the SMUBSM-ers played was heartwarming. No, seriously. Some quick takeaways. Everyone was stressed. (This part baffles me. It's shopping. Why stressed?) Everyone loved their present. (Right.) And everyone loved everyone (Right again.) Nevertheless, it was a great experience, sharing Christmas with our friends from home in a mangle of faux love, Zal's fingers and unabashed, 60miles/hour Singlish. How at home did we feel. Blissimo. Oh, and Bath and Bodyworks Galore too...  Singapore got no nice shampoo and soap meh?

We left our tired sojourners who must've been shagged pretending to be in love with everyone else and their brother and kitchen sink to boot to meet my Malaysian friends. (Ok Ok. I'm kidding. The trip really brought everyone closer and they were all in love with one another. In fact, I saw Zal and Keith... Hmm. Nevermind....) Anyway, how ironic that all my life, I've not have had any Malaysian friends and coming here, Mun-laysian and her host, Tricia and Nigel (Tricia's underaged and shy brother who I suspect is cold blooded) are my chilling out and hanging out and shopping (In Mun's case) kakis. Suddenly, KL and Singapore are almost synonymous and foreign relations north and south of the Causeway had never seen better days. It takes a neutral place like the Bronx to bring star crossed estranged bedfellows together eh?

Anyway, Daniel drove us to the West Village, where we were refused entry into an ok joint before stumbling upon a Blues Pub that played R&B.... way too loud! It was horrendous. We took a swift escape after one drink. After more futile pub search, we settled on going back to Tricia's swanky Manhattan apartment to get some liquor and headed back 'home' to the Bronx for a night of intended, drunken revelry.

Of course things were never gonna be so simple. Like us, Tricia is/is gonna graduate and is facing the daunting and unenviable task of the job search. Well, we spent the rest of the morning talking about jobs and jobs and more jobs.

It was fun though. Deep conversations with Malaysians have always been a rare commodity in my life and this was probably a milestone of sorts.

The next day, we all woke up too late, and almost missed the 3pm Christmas service at Times Square Church. We didn't miss it, and what a sight. More on that later. I gotta go to Jersey, the land of the "no sales tax". God Bless us and our parents for supplementary cards...

And I had the best Korean food I've ever eaten... In lil' Korea on 32nd Street. AMAZING!

More soon. Promise.