Perhaps one of the negatives about living in New York is the fact that night comes in really early during winter. As I look out the window at 3 pm, I notice that streetlights and some car lights have already started to do its job, and the sky is blanketed by only the thickest of clouds. Indeed, the sun looked like it was setting at noon earlier today (seeing the sun today though, was a rare site).
Having said that, the earlier night of December 20, 2007 is definitely not a negative. Seeing the sun set at 3 pm is an earlier personal reminder that the next time I see the sun, I will be relaxing on a plane going home to start a new chapter in my life.
Happy Holidays. Don't forget to be grateful this holiday season. Cheers.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Au Bon Pain: Bread and Mush
It really was a struggle for me, but at the end of it all, it became quite a fulfilling victory, one which, in the greater scheme of things, is minute compared to other challenges we face every day...even if it's the same challenge on a different day. In particular, I am talking about choosing the right food to eat, and even more specifically, what I chose to eat yesterday during lunch on a cold winter Manhattan day.
My good friend and officemate and I decided to eat at popular bakery/we-have-everything-nice chain Au Bon Pain. The place was just a madhouse in terms of people traffic during lunch, but it was also a lunch equivalent to Willy Wonka's Chocoloate Factory. Well, maybe not, but it's much healthier than McDonald's but also not a vegan joint. After a long long morning drafting court papers for a couple of cases (and one morning of pure oatmeal, water, vitamins and a banana later), I found myself hungry yet again, and the view upon entry into Au Bon Pain did not help by encouraging indecisiveness and distraction from what I perceived to be a good healthy lunch: several cookies, brownies, croissants, tarts, cakes...big batches of rosemary, onion, garlic and cheddar breads...hot roast beef melt, cheesesteak sandwiches and so on and so forth...and of course, an offensive corner stand of KRISPY KREME donuts. I just wanted a small piece of everything hoping that there was something like an "ABP sampler."
Well, I ended up veering towards the soup and filled a small bowl with what turned out to be a yummy tomato basil soup. I wanted a huge piece of rosemary focaccia but decided against it. Instead, I got a half sandwich of turkey, tomato, lettuce and cheddar on a roll. The most difficult part was staving off dessert I must say. There were just way too many sweets from which to choose, but I used my will power and concentrated and focused, until my hands had voluntary movement again, resulting in the pickup of a banana on my way to the cashier. I ended up loving my lunch, and it felt good.
So, the question is, am I dieting? Perhaps. To a certain extent, yes. I think most importantly, this is just the result of having an uber healthy girlfriend. She isn't a hardcore health freak, which at the end of the day makes me believe that she is healthier than others, because she still retains beef, chicken (and KFC once in a blue moon for god's sake) and other good stuff in her diet, but she's gotten rid of a lot of bad things. I guess I have never really consciously said to myself, "eat healthy damnit." Her influence just sort of rubbed off and I'm just going along for the ride.
My good friend and officemate and I decided to eat at popular bakery/we-have-everything-nice chain Au Bon Pain. The place was just a madhouse in terms of people traffic during lunch, but it was also a lunch equivalent to Willy Wonka's Chocoloate Factory. Well, maybe not, but it's much healthier than McDonald's but also not a vegan joint. After a long long morning drafting court papers for a couple of cases (and one morning of pure oatmeal, water, vitamins and a banana later), I found myself hungry yet again, and the view upon entry into Au Bon Pain did not help by encouraging indecisiveness and distraction from what I perceived to be a good healthy lunch: several cookies, brownies, croissants, tarts, cakes...big batches of rosemary, onion, garlic and cheddar breads...hot roast beef melt, cheesesteak sandwiches and so on and so forth...and of course, an offensive corner stand of KRISPY KREME donuts. I just wanted a small piece of everything hoping that there was something like an "ABP sampler."
Well, I ended up veering towards the soup and filled a small bowl with what turned out to be a yummy tomato basil soup. I wanted a huge piece of rosemary focaccia but decided against it. Instead, I got a half sandwich of turkey, tomato, lettuce and cheddar on a roll. The most difficult part was staving off dessert I must say. There were just way too many sweets from which to choose, but I used my will power and concentrated and focused, until my hands had voluntary movement again, resulting in the pickup of a banana on my way to the cashier. I ended up loving my lunch, and it felt good.
So, the question is, am I dieting? Perhaps. To a certain extent, yes. I think most importantly, this is just the result of having an uber healthy girlfriend. She isn't a hardcore health freak, which at the end of the day makes me believe that she is healthier than others, because she still retains beef, chicken (and KFC once in a blue moon for god's sake) and other good stuff in her diet, but she's gotten rid of a lot of bad things. I guess I have never really consciously said to myself, "eat healthy damnit." Her influence just sort of rubbed off and I'm just going along for the ride.
On a side note (an important one at that), I believe I've come a long way from the beginnings of this blog and have since transcended from what was then the underlying premise of my writings. Things have a way of coming full circle, and I am starting to find a clearer way through this thing called life. My girlfriend now is a huge part of that, and I would never have guessed that a close friend for 15 years would end up being that one special person.
Cheers to you friends and readers. It's been a long ride, but we have reached the beginning of something new, real and exciting. *End of Mush*
Have a nice day.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Celebrity Sighting Again
In the spirit of this unplanned transition in theme from "Confessions of Sensitive Man" to "Confessions of a Starstruck Man," I had experienced yet another celebrity sighting. Last week, I attended a charity event for victims of domestic violence, and it was pretty fancy to say the least. I was wearing a tux for the first time ever (a partner at my firm pretended to order food with me), and the venue in one of the Chelsea Piers off the West side of Manhattan was absolutely gorgeous.
While I was chowing down free wasabi chips, risotto balls, tuna skewers and other lovely hors d'oeuvres (and numerous glasses of cheap pinot grigio), a tall man and a stunning woman entered the room. I had no idea who the man was, but he was escorted by no one other than Emmy awarding Mariska Hargitay (http://www.mariska.com/), best actress from surviving NBC spinoff, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. I tried to get her autograph on my hors d'oeuvre napkin, but I was too late, because I didn't swallow my food in time and couldn't whip out a pen quickly enough. Plus, the ink of the pen would not have found space on that poor napkin due to an overabundance of food oil smeared all over it.
I also feared she might give me her champagne glass thinking I am collecting empty dishes.
This comes a few weeks after my good friend appears in the opening scene of an SVU episode, as she discovers the body of a dead student under an elevator (see previous post of Friend on SVU).
Good times.
While I was chowing down free wasabi chips, risotto balls, tuna skewers and other lovely hors d'oeuvres (and numerous glasses of cheap pinot grigio), a tall man and a stunning woman entered the room. I had no idea who the man was, but he was escorted by no one other than Emmy awarding Mariska Hargitay (http://www.mariska.com/), best actress from surviving NBC spinoff, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. I tried to get her autograph on my hors d'oeuvre napkin, but I was too late, because I didn't swallow my food in time and couldn't whip out a pen quickly enough. Plus, the ink of the pen would not have found space on that poor napkin due to an overabundance of food oil smeared all over it.
I also feared she might give me her champagne glass thinking I am collecting empty dishes.
This comes a few weeks after my good friend appears in the opening scene of an SVU episode, as she discovers the body of a dead student under an elevator (see previous post of Friend on SVU).
Good times.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Interesting Aspects of Japanese Culture
I believe it is common knowledge that the Japanese people are relatively deferential, respectful and accomodating in nature. Many are aware of Japanese customs, which reflect this nature, such as bowing and their perpetually friendly greetings. Sure, during my trip to Tokyo a few weeks back, the crazy television shows, funky futuristic aura of the city, and ridiculously fashionable (almost to a fault) people all caught my attention, and dealing with the "Lost in Translation" part of the trip brought about an opportunity to practice my language skills (e.g. sumi ma sen, ohashi o kudasai - excuse me, could I please have chopsticks; shashing tote kudasai - could you please take our picture; hoteru ginza washington wa doko desu ka; where's Hotel Ginza Washington?) was quite the trip... but it really was the occurrence of two smaller, insignificant incidences that really caught my attention for reasons beyond me.
(1) Immigration officers. Was it me, or were they nicest people in all of Japan? Upon entry, my immigration officer must have apologized to me a hundred times for taking forever in processing my passport and thanked me just as many times for visiting Japan. He appeared to be around 24 years old (I'm a bad judge of age at times) and was nervous as hell as I towered over the tiny immigration desk thinking that someone a few meters away would accidentally take my generically black Samsonite off the baggage carousel. Wow. A really nice immigration officer.
(2) ATMs. My first attempt to withdraw from a local bank ended in failure, mostly because I entered an amount of Yen that was not divisible in accordance to the bill denominations of the country. Lo and behold, I could not understand the several Japanese characters appearing on the ATM screen that presumably rejected my withdrawal transaction...however, other than the fact that no money was dispensed by the machine, two cartoon characters appeared on the screen with sad faces...and then bowed...and then remained in a bowing position. I almost wish there was a button to tell the animation to stop bowing and stop apologizing (I mean that with utmost respect even if I know it's their custom -- I thought the cartoon didn't need to apologize).
"It's all good," I said to the lonely ATM screen turned animation reel.
(1) Immigration officers. Was it me, or were they nicest people in all of Japan? Upon entry, my immigration officer must have apologized to me a hundred times for taking forever in processing my passport and thanked me just as many times for visiting Japan. He appeared to be around 24 years old (I'm a bad judge of age at times) and was nervous as hell as I towered over the tiny immigration desk thinking that someone a few meters away would accidentally take my generically black Samsonite off the baggage carousel. Wow. A really nice immigration officer.
(2) ATMs. My first attempt to withdraw from a local bank ended in failure, mostly because I entered an amount of Yen that was not divisible in accordance to the bill denominations of the country. Lo and behold, I could not understand the several Japanese characters appearing on the ATM screen that presumably rejected my withdrawal transaction...however, other than the fact that no money was dispensed by the machine, two cartoon characters appeared on the screen with sad faces...and then bowed...and then remained in a bowing position. I almost wish there was a button to tell the animation to stop bowing and stop apologizing (I mean that with utmost respect even if I know it's their custom -- I thought the cartoon didn't need to apologize).
"It's all good," I said to the lonely ATM screen turned animation reel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
