Winter is almost over!

I Don’t Care What the Groundhog Says

These last few days, the weather in New York has been mild and spring-like. The feeling of not having to wear waterproof boots or a heavy coat when venturing outdoors is a liberating feeling  only second to breathing in fresh unpolluted air. In New York, fresh air does not exist. Still, I’ll take what I can get.

 

The New York Philharmonic

A few days ago my boss was given tickets by the Trace Foundation to hear the New York Philharmonic play selected works of the German composer Felix Mendelssohn at Avery Fischer concert hall at the Lincoln Center. But because he had a previous engagement and also being someone who frequents first class classical performances regularly anyways, Orville offloaded the tickets onto me and my co-worker Leah. “Have yourselves a night on the town!” he enthusiastically encouraged waving the tickets in the air.

So we went.

And it was so glorious.

I especially appreciated when they brought out the full chorus for the second half of the show and the stellar performances of the opera singers (in the roles of Bavarian Pagans/Druids) who sang triumphantly about crushing stupid Christians and igniting the forests so that they could frighten the Jesus worshippers away. The second set, which was called Die erste Walpurgiznacht (The First Walpugis Night) lasted forty five minutes but it felt like fifteen. I guess what impressed me most was how the music was so big. Big, like epic. Big, like dramatic.

Blue Smoke Brunch with Babies

Chester’s friends, Betty and Forest were visiting New York last weekend and they decided to meet up with Elliott, his wife Stephanie and their son Henry for brunch. They were nice enough to invite me and we ended up going to a restaurant that is a barbecue eatery by day and a jazz performance venue by night.

 

You can’t see, but Betty is very pregnant. So weird…. For the record, I am not baby crazy but I can appreciate a cutie once in a while. Especially if the little one is Henry. I think Elliott said something about how Henry is having a tough time applying to preschool (apparently the good ones in New York are uber-competitive). 

Blue Donkey Bar, Peruvian Chinese Food, Karaoke

I hardly ever go out in the Upper West Side because it’s not too convenient to travel there given the way subway routes are configured. However, with Mohan finishing his LSATs and getting a new job, we all went to celebrate at a place of his choosing.

 Flor de Mayo may sound like an exotic Spanish name for a restaurant but it is, as it turns out, just the generic Spanish version of about 10 million other Chinese restaurants. I can probably name you off the top of my head 4 locations in the Bay Area myself. I’m talking about the name Mayflower. Anyhow, the line waiting in line to grab Peruvian-Chinese food were insane and we were told we’d probably get seated in an hour. 

So we went across the street to Blue Donkey Bar instead where Naomi and I dominated foosball, crushing everyone to the death.

Left to Right: Krizia, Mark, Miguel, Mohan

Fact: Krizia, who also graduated from UC Berkeley the same year I did competed in the official preliminaries to the Miss America Scholarship/Beauty Pageant and was named Miss San Francisco for the California Delegation 2007. 

 

                   Naomi and Karen 

Fact: Karen works part time as figure model for SVA (New York School of Visual Arts) where she poses nude for hours on end for art students.\

Opinion: Peruvian Chinese food is a little odd to me. It’s like you 

took fried rice and dumped Tapatio on it. The fried chicken was great and came with sweet fried plantains, the llomo was excellent, but overall it was a weird fusion that I enjoyed but probably wouldn’t consciously choose to have again. All the waiters were fluent in Spanish and the gigantic book of a menu featured items in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

 Afterwards, we headed to Union Square for some karaoke. I wasn’t an active participant (except on the dance floor). However Mark, as you can tell, was really into it.

 

Other miscellany

• My roommate came down with shingles recently and I was horrified when I was informed. I know I can’t catch it (I’ve had chicken pox before) and it’s not that contagious but still.
• I am in California as I write this!
• The last 3 nights in a row I had popcorn and coffee for dinner.
• I need to start stimulating my brain intellectually. I can feel my critical thinking skills atrophying without school to hone them.