I don't know why, but I suddenly feel very much like crying. There isn't any specific reason, but I feel that horrible wrenching pain in my chest and the tingling in my nose...
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Grilled Cheese Goodness
Yesterday, Rachel and I went shopping. We went to Target to get random things that we needed, and we went to Giant Eagle to buy food. We bought $85 worth of food - impressive, no? Now, to many people, $85 worth of food may seem excessive, but in our eyes, it's pretty great and it'll last us a good while - I'd say a couple weeks at least. Rachel did a little calculating and told me that $85 would be equivalent to 4 days of food on the school meal plan, and since we split the costs, I think two weeks worth of food is much better than two days. I'm very glad I'm not on the meal plan.
I also discovered how to not starve this year. My other room mate, Christi, has graciously provided the apartment with a George Forman Grill, and yesterday, I made myself several perfectly delectable grilled cheese sandwiches, complete with slices of tomato and lettuce. I liked it so much that when my friend came over last night for a visit, I made him a sandwich too. I think he enjoyed it, I know I enjoyed mine. I also had the yummiest yogurt ever yesterday - Yoplait Orange Creme - I could eat those forever. We only bought one of those though, so I'll have to be contented in dreaming about it until it's on sale again.
I also discovered how to not starve this year. My other room mate, Christi, has graciously provided the apartment with a George Forman Grill, and yesterday, I made myself several perfectly delectable grilled cheese sandwiches, complete with slices of tomato and lettuce. I liked it so much that when my friend came over last night for a visit, I made him a sandwich too. I think he enjoyed it, I know I enjoyed mine. I also had the yummiest yogurt ever yesterday - Yoplait Orange Creme - I could eat those forever. We only bought one of those though, so I'll have to be contented in dreaming about it until it's on sale again.
Friday, August 27, 2004
crunchy taters
Well, today was officially my first day on my own, cooking alone, living...alone. Can you tell I'm a bit lonely? It was fine for a bit when Rachel came by and dropped off her stuff, it was nice seeing her again. We chatted about lots of things, I showed her the awesome bowls and such I bought at the little Japanese town just outside of Manhattan. Right now she's off celebrating her boyfriend's birthday. I felt very much like a mom when they were leaving - I turned around and said to them, "Have fun," while I was busy chopping vegetables. The only thing I'm missing is an apron - speaking of aprons, I did, in fact forget an apron. Oh well, I'll just be a super careful cooker. I also forgot an umbrella, hopefully it won't rain too much, or maybe I can beg Rachel to give me a ride to Kohls (or some umbrella selling place) .
So as part of my settling in experience, I tried to make potato salad. Usually my potato salads come out well. For some reason the potatos tricked me though. I boiled them for around 20 minutes, did a "stick the fork in and see if it's done" test, and it came out well. They were all well-done like when I was dicing them, but now? They seemed to have crisped up. Poo. I wonder what I'm going to do with them now...Maybe I can try to resurrect them, but I can't think of anything that would render them cooked and tasty...well, maybe I could try adding tomatoes....maybe...though I don't actually own any tomatoes at the moment. That's something I need to go out and buy. And vinegar - I didn't have vinegar - that might be a reason why the potatos are causing me such culinary anguish. I doubt it though...ah well...at least the boiled eggs came out just as perfectly as they always do when I cook them.
I also washed the dishes many many times today out of sheer boredom. My parents would be ecstatic to hear I've washed all the dishes. Then they'll ask me, "How come you never wash the dishes when you're at home?"
Strangely, I don't feel like ever eating another potato again. Except I think I ought to give them another chance. Perhaps I'll experiment with my medium rare potato salad tomorrow, or try frying some potatoes and onions like my mom does - for that though, I really need an apron...Maybe I'll go bother Rachel...
So as part of my settling in experience, I tried to make potato salad. Usually my potato salads come out well. For some reason the potatos tricked me though. I boiled them for around 20 minutes, did a "stick the fork in and see if it's done" test, and it came out well. They were all well-done like when I was dicing them, but now? They seemed to have crisped up. Poo. I wonder what I'm going to do with them now...Maybe I can try to resurrect them, but I can't think of anything that would render them cooked and tasty...well, maybe I could try adding tomatoes....maybe...though I don't actually own any tomatoes at the moment. That's something I need to go out and buy. And vinegar - I didn't have vinegar - that might be a reason why the potatos are causing me such culinary anguish. I doubt it though...ah well...at least the boiled eggs came out just as perfectly as they always do when I cook them.
I also washed the dishes many many times today out of sheer boredom. My parents would be ecstatic to hear I've washed all the dishes. Then they'll ask me, "How come you never wash the dishes when you're at home?"
Strangely, I don't feel like ever eating another potato again. Except I think I ought to give them another chance. Perhaps I'll experiment with my medium rare potato salad tomorrow, or try frying some potatoes and onions like my mom does - for that though, I really need an apron...Maybe I'll go bother Rachel...
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Bye Bye
It seems that nowadays, summer vacation always rushes by in a blink of an eye. I get out of school, I go to my summer job a couple of times, and then my bags are all packed and I'm leaving for school in less than 24 hours. I do look forward to the work that's awaiting me and seeing all my friends there, a little nervous about cooking for myself though. I know I would have had to start doing that eventually, but still, it's a bit strange once actually confronted by the situation.
I think I'll miss Danbury - there's something nice about being at home. I feel comfortable, and there isn't some constant force in the back of my mind pressing me to get around to some chore that I've left for far too long. I don't feel quite so lonely too in that sometimes I'm constantly checking my email and wishing for someone to talk to, but when I'm at home, that seldom ever happens. I'll definitely miss Marlen and Matt and all my other Danbury friends. My parents took Marlen and me to Todai in White Plains today for a farewell sushi lunch. We all enjoyed it quite thoroughly, and I doubt I'm going to want to eat dinner tonight, I'm that full. And then we fixed up Marlen's new laptop with Microsoft Office and some various other needed pieces of software. I thought it'd be a nice going away present of sorts, except that we mixed the installation processes up a bit and had to re-image the whole thing. Dad said that on the bright side, she'll know what to do when her computer completely dies on her. I suppose that makes sense - I think it still would have been better if the whole experience was trauma free. I also feel a bit sad that I'm leaving behind certain things yet again...like Brendan Irving...it'll be sad, especially now that he knows I exist and he didn't seem repulsed by my presence, and it's silly that I feel that way since I've only seen him this once since he graduated high school, and I'll probably never see him again...Ah well, he's like a modern-day Adonis, he probably has a crowd of women after him. I'll just leave him to that.
Anyhow, I now have to unplug my computer and stuff it into a box. Good bye, Danbury. It was nice seeing you again.
I think I'll miss Danbury - there's something nice about being at home. I feel comfortable, and there isn't some constant force in the back of my mind pressing me to get around to some chore that I've left for far too long. I don't feel quite so lonely too in that sometimes I'm constantly checking my email and wishing for someone to talk to, but when I'm at home, that seldom ever happens. I'll definitely miss Marlen and Matt and all my other Danbury friends. My parents took Marlen and me to Todai in White Plains today for a farewell sushi lunch. We all enjoyed it quite thoroughly, and I doubt I'm going to want to eat dinner tonight, I'm that full. And then we fixed up Marlen's new laptop with Microsoft Office and some various other needed pieces of software. I thought it'd be a nice going away present of sorts, except that we mixed the installation processes up a bit and had to re-image the whole thing. Dad said that on the bright side, she'll know what to do when her computer completely dies on her. I suppose that makes sense - I think it still would have been better if the whole experience was trauma free. I also feel a bit sad that I'm leaving behind certain things yet again...like Brendan Irving...it'll be sad, especially now that he knows I exist and he didn't seem repulsed by my presence, and it's silly that I feel that way since I've only seen him this once since he graduated high school, and I'll probably never see him again...Ah well, he's like a modern-day Adonis, he probably has a crowd of women after him. I'll just leave him to that.
Anyhow, I now have to unplug my computer and stuff it into a box. Good bye, Danbury. It was nice seeing you again.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
I love Triple 5 Soul
Ahh! Back from the great and wondrous island of Manhattan! This time around, I went pretty much knowing that I'd look like a country bumpkin so I went out of my way to just be as comfy as possible, hence the wearing of my trustee old cut-off jeans and my nice and baggy red capris. O yes, and the nice worn in sandals I've had since the seventh grade. May thought it'd be a great opportunity to wear her new sandals and now she has blisters all over her feet. I'll be a mean and horrible sister and cackle at her misfortune. O and this time around, we went exploring with cousin Louise. Being that I know that I'll never be able to look pretty next to cousin Louise, I decided that I'd just chop off my hair and be comfortable, hence the hairstyle that I had when I was 10, just a big wispier and thus more "stylish." Whatever, I still looked in the mirror and thought, "I'm ten again..."
I think that every trip to Manhattan has it's own highlight. The first trip was the awesome bowls and tea cups and a nice model-looking fellow winking at me in Dean & Deluca. This time, my highlight was finding Lafayette Ave. and the stores "G-Star" and "Triple 5 Soul." Even though they're extremely expensive and most of their things cater to the rich and famous hip hop stars of today, I found that a few of their wares were less gaudy and very cool looking. My new fashion revolution is to become a trendy Manhattanite - though I don't know about this whole losing 10 pounds ordeal...Anyway, I bought myself a very cool khaki winter jacket that's very warm with several layers of lining and lovely brass buttons at T5S (it's their flagship store, I think they have a website too), and then I bought a little cordoruy workers cap at G-Star. Put it together with my recently bought Aeropostale cargo pants and we get a Commi straight out of '50s China sans little red star on the hat and little red book in hand. It makes me tempted to go out and trick-or-treat on Halloween yelling Communist slogans. And maybe someone should dress as Senator McCarthy, that would be fun too. I also find it ironic that the way that I got to look so Communist was by catering to the capitalistic society of Manhattan. Ironic, sort of.
O, another note (this paragraph is not as happy as the others, so feel free to stop reading), when we got home, my mom got a phone call from a sort of acquaintance/friend/client of hers and apparently they are having a bit of trouble right now. The trouble? Their three year old son was playing in the kitchen and managed to get his own left hand chopped off. Very sad, it is. Though, if we looked at it from a better angle - at least he didn't have too much time to become attached to that hand...
I think that every trip to Manhattan has it's own highlight. The first trip was the awesome bowls and tea cups and a nice model-looking fellow winking at me in Dean & Deluca. This time, my highlight was finding Lafayette Ave. and the stores "G-Star" and "Triple 5 Soul." Even though they're extremely expensive and most of their things cater to the rich and famous hip hop stars of today, I found that a few of their wares were less gaudy and very cool looking. My new fashion revolution is to become a trendy Manhattanite - though I don't know about this whole losing 10 pounds ordeal...Anyway, I bought myself a very cool khaki winter jacket that's very warm with several layers of lining and lovely brass buttons at T5S (it's their flagship store, I think they have a website too), and then I bought a little cordoruy workers cap at G-Star. Put it together with my recently bought Aeropostale cargo pants and we get a Commi straight out of '50s China sans little red star on the hat and little red book in hand. It makes me tempted to go out and trick-or-treat on Halloween yelling Communist slogans. And maybe someone should dress as Senator McCarthy, that would be fun too. I also find it ironic that the way that I got to look so Communist was by catering to the capitalistic society of Manhattan. Ironic, sort of.
O, another note (this paragraph is not as happy as the others, so feel free to stop reading), when we got home, my mom got a phone call from a sort of acquaintance/friend/client of hers and apparently they are having a bit of trouble right now. The trouble? Their three year old son was playing in the kitchen and managed to get his own left hand chopped off. Very sad, it is. Though, if we looked at it from a better angle - at least he didn't have too much time to become attached to that hand...
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Tempus Fugit
Hmmm...Summer's coming to a close already and it seems to have barely started. I've made a couple thousand dollars, lazed a few weeks, and now, moving into the apartment is only a week away. I'm not really sure how I feel about that. On one hand, it'll be nice to use my brain again, on the other, I rather like sitting around my house doing absolutely nothing. Though depression of late has hit me slightly. Not really feeling inadequacy or paranoia, just a bit of sad regret that I had a wonderful opportunity and I let it go. Ah well, I guess I'll just have to pretend that I took it in my dreams and be happy with that.
Anyhoo, I spent yesterday with Marlen and Brett and Brett's friends at his place. Really pretty house, and great conversation. O, and there were castles filled with recovering drug addicts just down the street and around the corner! And I trespassed on private property, even though there wasn't anyone or anythign around that could even catch us trespassing. And I saw my first not-in-a-glass-case-at-a-zoo snake. A teeny tiny one that Marlen decided to poke with a snake - I don't care how tiny it was, it still has fangs...And that was followed by eating blueberry pancakes and listening to someone talk about the current state of her bowels - most fascinating - makes me wish I had bowel problems to be bold enough to talk about. It was a good day.
Anyhoo, I spent yesterday with Marlen and Brett and Brett's friends at his place. Really pretty house, and great conversation. O, and there were castles filled with recovering drug addicts just down the street and around the corner! And I trespassed on private property, even though there wasn't anyone or anythign around that could even catch us trespassing. And I saw my first not-in-a-glass-case-at-a-zoo snake. A teeny tiny one that Marlen decided to poke with a snake - I don't care how tiny it was, it still has fangs...And that was followed by eating blueberry pancakes and listening to someone talk about the current state of her bowels - most fascinating - makes me wish I had bowel problems to be bold enough to talk about. It was a good day.
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Joy
Yesterday was the best day ever! I almost don't want to quit Williams Sonoma now, except I still live in mortal terror of the manager.
Thursday, August 12, 2004
The Holocaust of the Carrots
Today, I found out that the clothing store, Abercrombie & Fitch, is a front for the antichrist (http://www.bju.edu/prospective/expect/dress) and wearing it makes me a bad Christian. I also found out that all Witches have a great fear of "our Lord of Darkness," and that only the armor of God and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ can save us from the demons they raise (http://www.bju.edu/resources/faith/1977/issue9/occult.html). I found out that women and men shall never be equal, and that ladies wearing pants are immodest, and New Age music is the work of the devil (http://www.bju.edu/prospective/expect/rhall). O Lord, thank you for enlightening me, thank you for the creation of such wondrous institutions that aren't recognized by satanic organizations such as the college board. Thank you, dear God, for creating a place called Bob Jones University! I'm awash in religious fervor, can you tell? I'd shout aloud in joy and dance for you, o great and beauteous Lord, but for the fact that the Prayer Captain would hear me and punish me for such a grievous sin!
(Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is the present day. This is the age in which men and women have equal opportunities in education and labor. I have found here a time warp, where you, yes you, can step into the 50s. Let us all go and glory in the light of god, and hear the reverend preach the good word in our segragated pews.)
Let us pray now, my flock, let us pray and remember the (forbidden) words of "Reverend" Maynard James Keenan, "...and the angel of the lord came unto me, snatching me up from my place of slumber, and took me on high, and higher still until we moved through the spaces betwixt the earth itself, and he brought me unto a vast farmland of our own midwest, and as we descended, cries of impending doom rose from the soil. One thousand, nay a million voices full of fear, and terror possessed me then; and I begged, 'Angel of the Lord, what are these tortured screams?' And the angel said unto me, 'These are the cries... of the carrots! The cries of the carrots! You see, Reverand Maynard, tomorrow is harvest day, and to them, it is ...the holocaust." And I sprang from my slumber drenched in sweat like the tears of one million terrified brothers, and roared, 'Hear me now! I've seen the light! They have a consciousness! They have a life! They have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers!' Can I get an amen..Can I get a hallelujah..Thank you, Jesus!"
(Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is the present day. This is the age in which men and women have equal opportunities in education and labor. I have found here a time warp, where you, yes you, can step into the 50s. Let us all go and glory in the light of god, and hear the reverend preach the good word in our segragated pews.)
Let us pray now, my flock, let us pray and remember the (forbidden) words of "Reverend" Maynard James Keenan, "...and the angel of the lord came unto me, snatching me up from my place of slumber, and took me on high, and higher still until we moved through the spaces betwixt the earth itself, and he brought me unto a vast farmland of our own midwest, and as we descended, cries of impending doom rose from the soil. One thousand, nay a million voices full of fear, and terror possessed me then; and I begged, 'Angel of the Lord, what are these tortured screams?' And the angel said unto me, 'These are the cries... of the carrots! The cries of the carrots! You see, Reverand Maynard, tomorrow is harvest day, and to them, it is ...the holocaust." And I sprang from my slumber drenched in sweat like the tears of one million terrified brothers, and roared, 'Hear me now! I've seen the light! They have a consciousness! They have a life! They have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers!' Can I get an amen..Can I get a hallelujah..Thank you, Jesus!"
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
The Monsters We Create
I was talking to Marlen about recent happenings when I started to think about how we, as children, unwittingly create the monsters of tomorrow.
First example, her coworker - Tanya - was a classmate of mine in elementary and middle school. Most recently, she called my best friend - a sophisticated, practical and pretty girl - a nasty and ugly person. This made me think - always, children made fun of Tanya because she was overweight, un-hygenic and had a very large and ugly mole on her neck. They furthered it by accusing her of picking her nose and eating what she found. Basically, she's spent most of her life as the butt of jokes, hated and ridiculed. And now, she's a nasty girl, still dirty, who offers sexual favors for what she believes is respect, makes horribly mean comments to undeserving people and tells lies in order to make herself seem more popular. She dropped out of high school apparently, and spends her time selling shoes at the mall. Now, I still think badly of her, worse than I used to, in fact, but who can blame her for what she is? I feel it's partially my fault that she's the horrible person that she is because I stopped trying to defend her in middle school. Yes, in elementary school I was the defender of the nose-pickers (geez, what a horrible sounding title) - I used to chase away the kids making fun of Tanya and Trisha and yell things like, "No they don't!" So sure, I feel a bit bad that I didn't try to keep being her friend - if I did she might not be so nasty and might have actually graduated high school. On the other hand, I feel angry at her because she let herself become this monster, a self-degrading, mindless, pathetic sort of being whose Arab coworker calls "sharmuta."
Another recent event was a foreign exchange student mistaking my best friend for a prostitute. Now, it was, yet again, totally undeserved, as I saw her attire for the day was much more conservative than what I was wearing, and she wasn't loitering in any suggestive manner, unless waiting for the bus is suggestive... It did remind me of the movie, "Monster," where the main character was treated as a whore. Boys would ask her for sexual favors or even something as simple as lifting up her shirt, and they would thank her by throwing a few dollars in her face. And thus, she grew up expecting these sort of things and became a prostitute. Yet again, another girl was mistreated and grew up to be a whore.
When I think of it, do we grow up to be what people expect us to be? If anyone were to be mistreated for long enough, do they begin to degrade themselves in their own minds? Yet another reason for me to never have children - I don't want anyone under my responsibility to ever warp the life of another, nor do I want a child who will only ever be able to aspire to be a monster.
First example, her coworker - Tanya - was a classmate of mine in elementary and middle school. Most recently, she called my best friend - a sophisticated, practical and pretty girl - a nasty and ugly person. This made me think - always, children made fun of Tanya because she was overweight, un-hygenic and had a very large and ugly mole on her neck. They furthered it by accusing her of picking her nose and eating what she found. Basically, she's spent most of her life as the butt of jokes, hated and ridiculed. And now, she's a nasty girl, still dirty, who offers sexual favors for what she believes is respect, makes horribly mean comments to undeserving people and tells lies in order to make herself seem more popular. She dropped out of high school apparently, and spends her time selling shoes at the mall. Now, I still think badly of her, worse than I used to, in fact, but who can blame her for what she is? I feel it's partially my fault that she's the horrible person that she is because I stopped trying to defend her in middle school. Yes, in elementary school I was the defender of the nose-pickers (geez, what a horrible sounding title) - I used to chase away the kids making fun of Tanya and Trisha and yell things like, "No they don't!" So sure, I feel a bit bad that I didn't try to keep being her friend - if I did she might not be so nasty and might have actually graduated high school. On the other hand, I feel angry at her because she let herself become this monster, a self-degrading, mindless, pathetic sort of being whose Arab coworker calls "sharmuta."
Another recent event was a foreign exchange student mistaking my best friend for a prostitute. Now, it was, yet again, totally undeserved, as I saw her attire for the day was much more conservative than what I was wearing, and she wasn't loitering in any suggestive manner, unless waiting for the bus is suggestive... It did remind me of the movie, "Monster," where the main character was treated as a whore. Boys would ask her for sexual favors or even something as simple as lifting up her shirt, and they would thank her by throwing a few dollars in her face. And thus, she grew up expecting these sort of things and became a prostitute. Yet again, another girl was mistreated and grew up to be a whore.
When I think of it, do we grow up to be what people expect us to be? If anyone were to be mistreated for long enough, do they begin to degrade themselves in their own minds? Yet another reason for me to never have children - I don't want anyone under my responsibility to ever warp the life of another, nor do I want a child who will only ever be able to aspire to be a monster.
Monday, August 09, 2004
Just Missed
I just realized that I haven't seen my sister all day. No, she's not missing. It's just that she gets up at 5 A.M. and gets home at 6, and then goes to bed at 10. I get up whenever, go to work an hour before she gets home and I get home after she goes to bed. Funny, no?
Mean Manager
I must say, I'm very glad I'm going to be leaving Williams Sonoma in a week. It's not that I don't like it there - though the days are much slower than they are in Filene's. I think it's more that there's one particular person I don't like - more like I'm quite terrified of her. One of my managers is very good at yelling at me, yelling at me loudly. Maybe it's not that she's actually angry, but she has a permanent wrinkle in her brow, a mouth that defaults to a frown, and that loud piercing voice that carries across the room. Maybe she doesn't mean to yell at me so negatively, but it sure as heck feels like I'm constantly being scolded. I also have to resist the temptation to talk trash about her because she turns up where I don't expect her. It just seems she speaks much more nicely to others than she does to me. For one, she always jokes around with Nolan - who, immediately after leaving the stockroom today, made an obscene comment about the manager in relation to his genitalea. Funny, no? And it almost made me wonder if she was jealous that Nolan always talks to me...nah... Still, wouldn't that be funny? I think I'll just pretend that's why she seems to hate me so much. And then I can forget she exists until winter break.
Friday, August 06, 2004
You Speakee English?
Ah, home sweet home. I had a ravishing dinner tonight where I literally stuffed mom's cooking down my throat like a starving person - not that I was starved. I just have come to realize that certain foods are more easily tolerated than others. I can eat tons of mom's cooking, or say..Arby's fries without getting full, but just a few bites of that fancy lobster salad or fusion cuisine and I'm stuffed, no matter how great it tastes.
Observations on Manhattan: For one, that city will eat you alive if you don't keep up with it. My cousin actually told me not to hold the door for people, no matter how polite it would be. Everything's very fast paced and non stop, too. If you're out on the street and stop for just a few moments, you'll get pushed aside, stepped on, yelled at, or just plain mugged. Another thing is everywhere you look, it's like a fashion vortex - I felt very out of place in my tank top and cut-off jeans. I did notice I got some very odd glances from people because of my "strange" attire. Perhaps I should've gone with all black or something, as lots of people wear that.
Observations on the history of my family: From what my aunts tell me, my mom was a very popular flower girl in her time - meaning when she was 10 and under. She was cute and happy looking and thus perfect for the role, and got to eat at all the banquets, sit in sedans (she said that was very boring) and hold up the bride's train - o yes, and she would always get a "red envelope" which is basically a monetary gift. My mother was a professional flower girl! Isn't that funny though? It's funny that she did all that, since my sister and I have been to the grand total of one wedding in our entire lives.
Observations on the amount of illegal immigrants there are in the US: I was in Flushing with my aunts and cousins buying groceries, and as we were going through the check-out line, a lady walked up to me and asked if I knew how to read English...I should hope so...
Observations on the state of my inspiration: I am very very eager to get back to school. I'm more motivated than ever to be a good student and learn as much about architecture than ever - something I have to do if I ever hope to get at least an internship in beautiful, beautiful Manhattan.
Observations on Manhattan: For one, that city will eat you alive if you don't keep up with it. My cousin actually told me not to hold the door for people, no matter how polite it would be. Everything's very fast paced and non stop, too. If you're out on the street and stop for just a few moments, you'll get pushed aside, stepped on, yelled at, or just plain mugged. Another thing is everywhere you look, it's like a fashion vortex - I felt very out of place in my tank top and cut-off jeans. I did notice I got some very odd glances from people because of my "strange" attire. Perhaps I should've gone with all black or something, as lots of people wear that.
Observations on the history of my family: From what my aunts tell me, my mom was a very popular flower girl in her time - meaning when she was 10 and under. She was cute and happy looking and thus perfect for the role, and got to eat at all the banquets, sit in sedans (she said that was very boring) and hold up the bride's train - o yes, and she would always get a "red envelope" which is basically a monetary gift. My mother was a professional flower girl! Isn't that funny though? It's funny that she did all that, since my sister and I have been to the grand total of one wedding in our entire lives.
Observations on the amount of illegal immigrants there are in the US: I was in Flushing with my aunts and cousins buying groceries, and as we were going through the check-out line, a lady walked up to me and asked if I knew how to read English...I should hope so...
Observations on the state of my inspiration: I am very very eager to get back to school. I'm more motivated than ever to be a good student and learn as much about architecture than ever - something I have to do if I ever hope to get at least an internship in beautiful, beautiful Manhattan.
Thursday, August 05, 2004
I Love Manhattan
As I type this entry, I realize how utterly spoiled I have been in past years concerning the internet. Dial up is so..so tedious! You have to sign on over and over again instead of just closing and opening internet explorer over and over - maybe that's not a good thing to do anyway, but it's a habit of mine. Being connected night and day with no worries of the phone ringing and kicking me off, pages loading instantly, I really took it all for granted!
Right now, I'm sitting in my cousins' Lily and Nicole's apartment in Queens. Wait, wait, I should start from the beginning. My trip started off with mom dropping me off at Brewster train station and me going to Grand Central. When I got there, my cousin Stephanie wasn't there waiting for me as I expected. I wandered around for ten minutes thinking they might've forgotten and I was in deep trouble when I walked into the main terminal and saw someone who I thought might be my aunt - an aunt who I hadn't seen in years and years. She recognized me, fortunately. Apparently my mom neglected to tell them which train I was on, so they were trying to figure out where I was. After that, we went to a restaurant called California Pizza Kitchen on 60th and 3rd. We had some very yummy fusion cuisine that we couldn't finish, of course. Then we went wandering around the city - Bloomingdales, Zara, Diesel, Williams Sonoma, A/X, all sorts of designer stores. For some reason they all looked just about the same to me and cost lots more than a shirt at Filene's would, so I stayed my hand and kept my purse shut. Then we went to La Cera - a fashion company that specializes in plus sizes - it's office is on Madison and 34th - I climbed onto the porch thingy they had and realized I could look out and see both the Empire State and the Chrysler buildings. My aunt's friend and her husband are the owners and they had just finished up a very important party the night before, so they had some very expensive and fancy leftovers that we had for dinner - paan bread with lobster salad on top, top of the line gourmet spring rolls, fruit salad with the ever exotic yellow watermelon. And then we went to the friends house to sleep over - they own a multi-million dollar home in a housing complex sort of thing right on the shores of Jersey. One reason why it cost several million dollars: from their porch, you can see the entire island of Manhattan, including the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings. See a theme going on? O and another really interesting tidbit - their neighbor is a fellow called Fabulous - some hip hop star or other. Steph and I walked by his house on the way to another neighbor's house to return a food processor. He has some very impressive cars. O, and here's something funny: Fabulous's house doesn't have the view that Steph's friend does.
I woke up this morning at the bright and early hour of 10:30. We decided to skip breakfast and head on out. Our first stop was the Japanese town at Edgewater. That's where my shopping spree happened - $70 at Shiseido, I wanted to try their cleanser things. Then $30 in total for four rice bowls, four soup bowls, four soup spoons and four tea cups! The savings were ...orgasmic almost. I'm happily all set for college, though, that's for sure. Then we went and picked up my other aunt, Lily's mom, from her painting class in Flushing, and we all drove into Manhattan and had lunch at Spice in Soho. It was sort of kind of an asian fusion place. It used to be super duper popular because all the waiters were models, and then it became less so when they started hiring "normal good looking men." Whatever. They have interesting bathrooms, sliding fogged glass doors, so you can see a silhouette of a person doing their private business...Then we walked further into Soho and went to the Prada Store - I explored and drooled over the glory that is Rem Koolhaas. It wasn't quite what I imagined it to be - the rest of it, that is. The main entrance was extremely interesting though. I asked an employee, just to make sure, who designed the store and he replied "Ram Koolhaas, ma'am." Ram? Maybe it was just his accent. Then we went accross the street and had expensive coffee and pastries at Dean & Delucca. When we were leaving, I turned around and saw a gorgeous man who actually winked at me! (Melting in the memory...*sigh) O yes, I should mention that because of the sheer volume of people in Manhattan and the fact that many are there for the express purpose of being fashionable and advancing their careers, the perfect looking men are just all over the place. Ahem, well, anyway, Lily, out of class, joined us as we continued our shopping journey. We went to other design related places like Moss and MoMA. Very very fun. Then we went to a lot of shoe stores (I still think shoes are all ugly), Banana Republic, J. Crew, etc. and looked around. Stephanie bought herself a lovely little black dress, half price at Banana Republic. Then we ended our day at Utrecht where I helped myself to art supplies that are much cheaper than they are at the CMU art store. O, and then we drove to Flushing and got groceries and now, here I am, at my cousins' place, stuffed on Arby's and getting sleepy. My uncle will be picking me up tomorrow, so I should go to bed. Good night, everybody, and I Love Manhattan!
Right now, I'm sitting in my cousins' Lily and Nicole's apartment in Queens. Wait, wait, I should start from the beginning. My trip started off with mom dropping me off at Brewster train station and me going to Grand Central. When I got there, my cousin Stephanie wasn't there waiting for me as I expected. I wandered around for ten minutes thinking they might've forgotten and I was in deep trouble when I walked into the main terminal and saw someone who I thought might be my aunt - an aunt who I hadn't seen in years and years. She recognized me, fortunately. Apparently my mom neglected to tell them which train I was on, so they were trying to figure out where I was. After that, we went to a restaurant called California Pizza Kitchen on 60th and 3rd. We had some very yummy fusion cuisine that we couldn't finish, of course. Then we went wandering around the city - Bloomingdales, Zara, Diesel, Williams Sonoma, A/X, all sorts of designer stores. For some reason they all looked just about the same to me and cost lots more than a shirt at Filene's would, so I stayed my hand and kept my purse shut. Then we went to La Cera - a fashion company that specializes in plus sizes - it's office is on Madison and 34th - I climbed onto the porch thingy they had and realized I could look out and see both the Empire State and the Chrysler buildings. My aunt's friend and her husband are the owners and they had just finished up a very important party the night before, so they had some very expensive and fancy leftovers that we had for dinner - paan bread with lobster salad on top, top of the line gourmet spring rolls, fruit salad with the ever exotic yellow watermelon. And then we went to the friends house to sleep over - they own a multi-million dollar home in a housing complex sort of thing right on the shores of Jersey. One reason why it cost several million dollars: from their porch, you can see the entire island of Manhattan, including the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings. See a theme going on? O and another really interesting tidbit - their neighbor is a fellow called Fabulous - some hip hop star or other. Steph and I walked by his house on the way to another neighbor's house to return a food processor. He has some very impressive cars. O, and here's something funny: Fabulous's house doesn't have the view that Steph's friend does.
I woke up this morning at the bright and early hour of 10:30. We decided to skip breakfast and head on out. Our first stop was the Japanese town at Edgewater. That's where my shopping spree happened - $70 at Shiseido, I wanted to try their cleanser things. Then $30 in total for four rice bowls, four soup bowls, four soup spoons and four tea cups! The savings were ...orgasmic almost. I'm happily all set for college, though, that's for sure. Then we went and picked up my other aunt, Lily's mom, from her painting class in Flushing, and we all drove into Manhattan and had lunch at Spice in Soho. It was sort of kind of an asian fusion place. It used to be super duper popular because all the waiters were models, and then it became less so when they started hiring "normal good looking men." Whatever. They have interesting bathrooms, sliding fogged glass doors, so you can see a silhouette of a person doing their private business...Then we walked further into Soho and went to the Prada Store - I explored and drooled over the glory that is Rem Koolhaas. It wasn't quite what I imagined it to be - the rest of it, that is. The main entrance was extremely interesting though. I asked an employee, just to make sure, who designed the store and he replied "Ram Koolhaas, ma'am." Ram? Maybe it was just his accent. Then we went accross the street and had expensive coffee and pastries at Dean & Delucca. When we were leaving, I turned around and saw a gorgeous man who actually winked at me! (Melting in the memory...*sigh) O yes, I should mention that because of the sheer volume of people in Manhattan and the fact that many are there for the express purpose of being fashionable and advancing their careers, the perfect looking men are just all over the place. Ahem, well, anyway, Lily, out of class, joined us as we continued our shopping journey. We went to other design related places like Moss and MoMA. Very very fun. Then we went to a lot of shoe stores (I still think shoes are all ugly), Banana Republic, J. Crew, etc. and looked around. Stephanie bought herself a lovely little black dress, half price at Banana Republic. Then we ended our day at Utrecht where I helped myself to art supplies that are much cheaper than they are at the CMU art store. O, and then we drove to Flushing and got groceries and now, here I am, at my cousins' place, stuffed on Arby's and getting sleepy. My uncle will be picking me up tomorrow, so I should go to bed. Good night, everybody, and I Love Manhattan!
Monday, August 02, 2004
Les Cloches de Mariage Sonnent
Guess who's getting married?! Guess guess! No, silly, not me. Why on earth would I do something silly like that? No, not me. Just two people I know. One is my sister's friend, Liz - she's engaged and ready to get hitched in a couple years. I saw her at Williams Sonoma today and advertised our wedding registry, except I didn't know where the information packets were located and it took us a while to find them for her. Sorry, Liz! How embarrassing.
Guess who else is getting married?! Guess guess! OK, I'll just tell you this time. My aunt is getting married, and she's at the ripe old age of 57. How odd, no? She's even marrying a foreigner, a Vietnamese or Thai or whatever person. Very very odd, no? Mom asked her what she would do in the future and she said she wasn't thinking about that. Mom thinks that's not a great idea, but eh...
O and I made my first big sale today - $200 worth of All-Clad pots - meaning I sold two pots. I'm pretty proud of myself about that, still very amazed at myself. O, o, and there was a customer today who only spoke French, and I got to speak a bit to her. I'm afraid my grammar wasn't too good, but I was just so excited about getting to use something I've been learning for years that everything just jumbled about in my mind. Anyhoo, I'm tired..
Guess who else is getting married?! Guess guess! OK, I'll just tell you this time. My aunt is getting married, and she's at the ripe old age of 57. How odd, no? She's even marrying a foreigner, a Vietnamese or Thai or whatever person. Very very odd, no? Mom asked her what she would do in the future and she said she wasn't thinking about that. Mom thinks that's not a great idea, but eh...
O and I made my first big sale today - $200 worth of All-Clad pots - meaning I sold two pots. I'm pretty proud of myself about that, still very amazed at myself. O, o, and there was a customer today who only spoke French, and I got to speak a bit to her. I'm afraid my grammar wasn't too good, but I was just so excited about getting to use something I've been learning for years that everything just jumbled about in my mind. Anyhoo, I'm tired..
Sunday, August 01, 2004
A Day for Learning
Yay, more conversation today with good looking homosexual male! Again, I implore, Why God, Why?! Ah well. He showed me how to use the cash register and talked a bit about his apartment at Johnson and Wales U. where he's training to be a chef. While he was teaching me the wonders of technology, Nolan was pointing out a couple of ladies, one of whom had a wet skirt. He called them lesbians and said, "I wonder what they were doing to get that skirt wet." I definitely felt sort of uncomfortable about those comments for several reasons - 1) There's absolutely no proof that they are actually lesbians, I go shopping with my best friend all the time and no one assumes we're lovers, 2) I don't think any sexual action can get a skirt That wet in That way, only sitting in a puddle of something or peeing in your pants can do that and 3) I don't think Nolan realizes that the guy standing right next to me is gay, because he really doesn't seem it on first glance, so being so, how do you know that lesbianic looking women aren't just very friendly straight women? I was a bit disappointed in him about that, but eh, he's a nice enough person otherwise. And he basically confirmed for me that in high school, we were in totally opposite crowds.
O another thing I learned today - how to use a mop. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have never used a mop before this evening. It's true, I'm sorry. I told them, "My family does it the traditional Chinese way, we get down on our knees and scrub." Wahaha. I don't know which is better though, on one hand, my heels and back can hurt, on the other, my knees and back can hurt. I guess it's just whatever one prefers.
O another thing I learned today - how to use a mop. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have never used a mop before this evening. It's true, I'm sorry. I told them, "My family does it the traditional Chinese way, we get down on our knees and scrub." Wahaha. I don't know which is better though, on one hand, my heels and back can hurt, on the other, my knees and back can hurt. I guess it's just whatever one prefers.
