THE ZENITH OF ZION

Why I love 1-800-Contacts

2009-12-30T11:10:00.002-05:00

After my eye exam this past summer, my optometrist gave me a free
trial of Acuvue Oasys contact lenses.

Most comfortable lenses even when I slept with them in. No dry eyes
and much better than my old acuvue 2 lenses from high school.

Found a good deal on 1-800-Contacts for both brands but decided to go with AV2 since it was $100 compared to $271 of AVO.

After wearing AV2 for past month, I couldn't stand the dryness any
longer. I called them up and they easily accommodated a price match
from lens.com + instant $30 instant savings (as opposed to mail-in
rebate),+ free shipping + a refund of any unused AV2 lenses that I
shipped back to them in their prepaid envelope. What a sweet deal.

Highly recommend them for your next contact lens purchase. Great
customer service and painless price match. All you have to do is ask
for it.

Update of past few months

2009-11-09T15:41:00.001-05:00

Part 1 (Boring entry-but it will let me reflect on what I have been doing the past few months.)

-Got a 23 inch samsung monitor for my mac. Hulu never looked so good.

-went to Duke for Defmo Showcase in April. Had a dance-off with Sungho and won with the crowd-favorite "String Dance"

-filmed my first "real" short (good cameras, lighting, boom mic, actual script,etc) called "Infernal Charades" with GraceWTF, a film group I met through my brother. It was one of those timed film contests so the result was a bit rushed but I had a great time exploring my hobby: acting.

-got promoted at job in early May 2009. Really doing a good job and getting noticed by the principals of the firm.

-May birthdays: Jon and Sharon's birthday dinner at Madangsui for some Korean BBQ. Jon got this sweet percolator from Wei and uses it every morning to make some bold coffee. Also attended Miho's bday party on May 9th with Bob. We flashed Spock's hand signs in multiple pictures as Star Trek just premiered. May 19th was Audrey's birthday and we surprised her with a brunch at Phillip Marie with church friends and coworkers. Grace did a great job in planning and I had a sip of a drink called me-mosa or something.

-hired a maid/cleaning lady. Best money I have spent. She is Ukrainian and is a lifesaver. How did I live without her?

-starting frequenting underground poker games to scratch the poker itch. Expanded poker network and won 8 out of 10 sessions. Yes, there are still fish out there.

-In early June, I helped get my mom's website www.nu-interiors.com off the ground for her new interior design firm. Shoutout to Kevin Su for the clean web design.

-In mid June-cooked for about 20 people at Don Choi's surprise housewarming party. Menu items included homemade hamburgers (rosemary, worcestershire sauce, garlic, and
ground sirloin), corn on the cob, jon's secret ribs, audrey's deviled eggs, mushrooms with truffle oil, and S'morssaints. Passed by Mitsuwa on the way back to the city....made a mental note to check it out later. Watched the Hangover with Skaggs afterwards. Inappropriately funny esp during end credits.

-late june-I co-wrote script with Jon titled "Just A Burger". Made it with GraceWTF and it won 4th place out of 50 at Asian Film Festival in NY. Tight deadline but props to brad and sammy on directing, editing and special fx. Learned about my face's insane elasticity. Most fun i had in a while. Further cemented the fact that I want to take acting classes and explore this hobby further.

-read "Act Like a Lady and Think Like a Man" by Steve Harvey. Funny but true gems in there. Thanks Sung.

Airport Security-Finale

2009-08-03T09:23:00.001-04:00

While I was ruminating on this life lesson, I breezed by Sinclair and gave him a nod which he reciprocated before going back to flirting with some Amy Adams doppelganger wearing magenta-colored American Apparel tights under a denim skirt, edges frayed.

A new security guard came out of nowhere and literally stopped me in my tracks. He looked like the bald, goateed security guard in Ocean’s Eleven who pretended to beat up Clooney in the interrogation room.

“It’s ok sir,” I replied with confidence. “Sinclair waved me through.”

“Rules are rules, you have to go to the back of the line and wait like everyone else,” gruffed Mr. Goatee.

At this point, I was on tilt. It was now 7:15pm and I was not going to miss this flight after everything I had already accomplished.

“Let’s just ask Sinclair,” I seethed as we both made our way over.

Sinclair saw me and nodded and told Goatee that I was cool and that arrangements were made beforehand.

I took a deep breath and made my way through the metal detector without delay and gave a thumbs up to Mike who thumbed me back as I galloped to Gate C3.

Empty.

My heart began to play Connect Four with my crotch as I sauntered to the empty seats. Resigned. Defeated. I had missed my flight by a pube. Turning my head, I lazily glanced at the plasma display and saw that my flight was moved from C3 to C 36…conveniently located on the OTHER side of the airport.

I jogged, ran, flew, nay, teleported my way to C36.

Lactic acid rapidly filled every pore of my being (I made a mental note to play more tennis) as I turned the corner to see a line of about 10 people. Mentally, I fell to my knees in glorious victory. Physically, I couldn’t feel my knees. But that’s ok! I made it baby, I made it.

“Running late, sir?” quizzed the flight attendant the gate as she scanned my ticket.

Still catching my breath, I nodded and gave her a goofy grin while a little drool/sweat/blood escaped down the side of my mouth.

Tampa. Here I come.

Airport Security- Part 2

2009-07-31T09:50:00.003-04:00

“Excuuuuuse me sir, where do youuuu think you’re going?”

“It’s ok,” I blurted with a monotone voice, “Mike from TSA said I could go and check my bag in.”

“Mike from TSA?” he bellowed extra loud for the 2 ravishing brunettes wearing Juicy Couture sweatpants. “He is in TSA. You’re in my section now. Step back and wait your turn.”

He turned to the 2 brunettes, his lustful eyes wandering where they shouldn’t and muttered, “I have to take care of my customers first who have been waiting.”

Their eyes widened in agreement and smiled. I clenched my cheeks and barely stifled a fart from frustration.

I was 3 seconds away from losing my cool and telling him that there is no way those strippers were going to sleep with some French megalomaniac.

Instead, I bit my lip and waited until Frenchie walked away.

“Next in line,” said Patricia, a comely African-American who looked nothing like Tyler Perry. More like an older Aisha Tyler.

I smoothly Defmo’ed my way to the counter before the people behind me in line even noticed.

“Patricia, my plane is boarding now and I have less than 20 min to get that flight. I will need your help in checking in this bag. I’ve been told that it is too late to check in but am hoping you can find a way to help me out. The item in question is a face cleanser that I got for my mom for $162. If you could just help---"

“$162 dollars?!? You kiddin’ me right?”

“Err…um…no?”

“Let me see the receipt, hon.”

I fumbled through my pockets, relieved that I didn't throw it away as usual.

As she scanned my receipt her eyebrows were knit in excitement.

“You weren’t BSing me ‘eh? Why it $162? I get my noxema face wash for $4.99 at the CVS.”

I took a deep breath. This was it. I needed to sell her now or else it was going into the trash. I began to speak with my most seductive voice reserved for emergencies only.

“Well, upon application, you’re supposed to rub in a small counterclockwise circle. As you begin rubbing, dead skin cells begin to clump and fall off. After a minute or two, your skin feels much better and cleaner. As if the outermost layer of skin was replaced by a smoother second layer. It’s really quite something. I’m surprising my mom with it so hopefully there is a way for us to work something out.”

“I wish my son was as nice as you.”

She lowered her voice and leaned in.

“Give me $15.”
“$15 or $50?”
“$15. Credit Card only.”

A bribe was being committed in broad daylight in front of the eyes in the sky but I didn’t care. The plan was already set in motion and there was no stopping it.

As she swiped my card she muttered. “Oooh child, I hope I don’t get fired for this. You know how hard it is to get a job now in this economy? You’re a good son. Tell your mom I said hello.”

I nodded in agreement. Hoping that this would end on a good note.

“Ok, you’re all set. Put the bottle back in your bag and take it to that door all the way down the hall. Knock on the door and when they open, tell them Priority Rush".

Flashing a smile and thanking her profusely, I grabbed my bag and ran to the door. AS instructed, I knocked and there was no answer. Crap-It was like a scene out of a movie-too good to be true. I wasn’t about to give up. I was too close.

I rapped harder, my knuckles stinging with determination and sheer will. No answer.

Ignoring the “Private Personnel Only” sign posted conspicuously above the door, I opened the door to see about 4 baggage handlers from 2 different airlines. The room was extremely loud with the droning of the conveyor belts and pattering of footsteps. One of them, obviously flustered at my sudden appearance came over. I handed the bag and with my most serious voice I dictated above the machinery, “High Priority. Extreme Rush for Delta flight 1452.” He nodded in compliance and took my bag.

As quickly as I entered, I left and sprinted down the hall towards the TSA security area. I passed by Patricia and gave her a thumbs up and she smiled.

My god-what just happened? Did I just do what I did? Why did nobody stop me? If I was a terrorist, I could have easily snuck in a bomb. But I digress, the valuable lesson was to not give up and take what people say for face value. Anything can be negotiated and manipulated. No does not mean no.

---Part 3 next week---

Airport Security-Part One

2009-07-29T18:23:00.005-04:00

“What airline?” asked the taxi driver.

“Delta,” I replied while looking at my watch.

The time was 6:45pm and my flight at 7:30-plenty of time since I only had one carry-on and my boarding ticket printed at the office.

After getting dropped off at the terminal, I made my way to check in my bag at the outside kiosk for convenience sake.

Paola at the service counter looked at me, my license, and my ticket.

“No, no sir. No more.”
“What do you mean no more?”
“No bag check-in now. Too late.”
“Really? Are you kidding me?”
“Yes, cutoff is 1 hr before flight. You will have to carry-on.”

I grabbed my bag while rolling my eyes (not safe. Don’t recommend it) and made my way to security. Shoes went separately on the conveyor belt. Metal watch and spare coins in the cylinder bowl. Belt, laptop, and blackberry followed suit and I walked through the metal detector without a beep.

“Bag check!” bellowed the large African-American lady. She looked like a pissed off Tyler Perry on a mission to screw people over. I had a bad feeling about this one.

A young Spaniard named Mike with a shiny TSA badge on his chest pointed to my carry-on bag. “Is this yours?”

Throughout the bag check process, Mike was careful with my stuff and wasn’t a jerk like other TSA agents. The liquid in question was a super-concentrated $162 face cleanser I bought for my mom at a Korean beauty shop just 30 minutes prior to arriving at the airport. Unfortunately, it was in a bottle that violated the 3 oz rule and had to either be discarded (goodbye $162) or checked in. (obvious choice)

Mike escorted me and my bag past a security checkpoint and waved at Sinclair, an olive-skinned Desi Arnaz who was flirting with a passenger. Sinclair waved back and went back to checking the callipygous blonde’s passport for the 4th time. As we approached the first-class check-in station, he told to just walk up and cut everyone, check in my bag, and bypass the checkpoint to breeze through the metal detector.

I barely took 3 steps towards the check-in station when a older security attendant stopped me. His crisp white shirt was neatly tucked into his pressed navy slacks. This told me he was a straight arrow who played by the rules and had an eye for detail in which nothing escaped his attention. Could be trouble.

---To be continued---

I <3 T-Mobile

2009-05-01T13:30:00.002-04:00

My 2 brothers and I share a MyFaves family plan for 1000 minutes, unlimited text, and blackberry internet for $79 before taxes. Last month’s paper bill was in an open envelope on the dining table and it read $210. Apparently, Jon is in the midst of two projects and has been making a few calls to London and the face that we went over the allotted minutes by a few hundred didn’t help either.

On a whim, I decided to log into my t-mobile account to see how many minutes we had left for this current month.

“1000 whenever minutes used. 584 additional minutes used”

I blinked and rubbed my eyes.

Relogged in-same message. This isn’t possible. There was still 2 wks left in the billing cycle and we were already 600 minutes over…

Darren had a cheerful voice as he asked how my day was. It helped assuage the anger I felt. He confirmed that of the 3 lines, I had used 60 minutes, Josh used like 40 minutes and Jon used like 1484 minutes…in fact, he told me that Jon was actually making calls as we spoke and that we were going over by 642 minutes and rising.

I was beginning to tilt, but luckily, playing poker had raised my tilt threshold. I kept a clear head and asked what could be done. Could I upgrade my plan? Darren said yes but the next plan would offer only 1800 minutes (Which Jon was going to break in a few hours) and the largest family plan they had was 3500 minutes for like $139 plus tax (which even if I got…wouldn’t be enough for Jon). All in all, Darren estimated that on top of the usual $163 bill, overage charges would be $600 minimum (assuming jon used another 1500 minutes).

The solution was clear. I had to break Jon’s fingers so he wouldn’t be able to call anyone. Or rip out his esophagus.

Darren paused for a second and said that perhaps there was something that can help. It’s called Unlimited Loyalty plan available to long-term subscribers in good standing. No more myfaves, nights and weekend, mobile to mobile……unlimited. Infinite minutes. No additional contracts to sign. No catch- individual plan for $45 or $89 for 2 lines. He could backdate it to take effect immediately since I called before the end of the billing cycle.

Let’s see….do I pay $10 more for infinite minutes or $600 more to stay on the same plan?

God bless you t-mobile. Although, I’m still going to break Jon’s fingers. For fun.

Vday Recap

2009-04-10T16:43:00.004-04:00

So in my last post, I was whiny. I didn’t have any plans or anyone to spend it with. As usual, Miho came to the rescue and we decided to spend Vday weekend in Boston. Don’t get me wrong…NY is great but getting out of the city always provides that much needed breath of fresh air.

Our weekend excursion got off to a bumpy start. I was running late because of subway traffic and was about to miss our ride to Boston aboard the Bolt Bus. By the time I exited the subway, I had 3 missed calls and 4 txt msgs from Miho. She had convinced the driver to stay just for me as everyone else was already aboard. I flagged a taxi and weaved down 3 avenues and 13 blocks in about 8 min. All traffic lights were green for some divine reason and I huffed and puffed my way onto the bus. Cold glares met my sweaty face and I limped to my seat to a very flustered Miho. Yay Vday!

We watched Ping Pong Playa on my Macbook for 30 minutes before Miho started to snore/purr like a kitten and I fast-forwarded to the very predicable end. Oh well, at least Asians are trying to break down Hollywood’s door. A bad movie is still a movie nonetheless. My aunt picked us up at Boston and the first thing we did was debate on where to eat for dinner. In contention were a decent American steakhouse, sushi place, and an Italian place. We arrived at the Hsu compound without deciding on dinner and promptly began eating Chinese sponge cake with kiwi and strawberry slices. Washed it down with Japanese green tea and Miho and I made our way to the basement.

I could seriously live here….there is a kitchen, pingpong table, pool table, and a basketball/racquetball court. Being ultra-competitive, Miho decided to do a decathalon. First up was pingpong which was surprisingly close. She held her own and owned me with a few backhand passing shots. Unfortunately, due to her lack of height, I lobbed my way to victory. Next up was pool. We both sucked and one game was taking 45 minutes. Excruciating. So painful, we decided it was a draw and went to the bball court. After a few warm up shots, a competitive game of HORSE was afoot. She found her rhythm and began draining free throws and 3 pointers. She could not miss. I failed to secure a win 3 games in a row. Defeated, I suggested racquetball: a game we both knew very little about.

Most amazing sport ever. Yes our face met the wall a few times and yes a sprained ankle occurred every few minutes but the adrenaline and feeling from a perfectly placed shot proved to be enough to make us fans for life. Great cardio too which made room for dinner.

We drove out to the steakhouse only to find out about the 2 hour wait. Our backup was a cozy Italian joint with crisp table linen and a rose for the ladies. Many couples were drowning in each others eyes and it was sweet to see a few 60-70 year olds whisper sweet nothings in each others’ ears. That or their hearing aids ran out of batteries. My aunt ordered a delicious linguine dish with fresh chunks of lobster and clams in a white wine sauce. Miho had a lasagna the size of her face and I had some chicken carbonara. Dessert consisted of chocolate fondue- Savoring the crispy graham crackers and luscious strawberries dipped in dark chocolate gave me a frisson that rocked every fiber of my being. There were also some starfish fruit for dipping-Miho was fascinated as it was her first time seeing starfish fruit so she played with it instead of dooming it to a slow, chocolate death.

After the food coma set in, we rolled our way back to the car and began our journey home where a tenacious game of racquetball awaited us. How we didn’t spray the plexiglass with lasagna covered, chocolate starfish is beyond me. Oh, yeah. I won the game.

Then we met up with Bob....Part 2 to follow

God Bless this Crap Economy

2009-02-12T16:38:00.002-05:00

From urbandaddy-

From the goodness of his beef-loving heart, Tom Colicchio is transforming the front room of Craftsteak into "Halfsteak," serving the same gorgeous steak at half the price. As sweeteners, they've got Fried Oysters (the best things ever-right john park?) and a $15 ceiling for the menu.

YUM

quick update

2009-02-07T22:07:00.000-05:00

Life has been stable. The new year has gone off smoothly so far.

Work-moved on from my old job and started working at a boutique bank in soho. The other analysts are around my age so it's as if I'm back in college. Everyone works hard and play hard. I enjoy having a daily routine and schedule.

Poker-not as much time to play but I try to play a few sngs and mtts on the weekend. Being staked means I can focus on playing my best and making the best decisions without worrying about losing my buyin. My staker has been patient and helpful with improving my thought process. I recently got a 23inch monitor so I can fit more tables. My game is getting better every time I play and my score is coming soon.

Lof life-still looking for some female companionship. Yes, there are lots of physically attractive girls walking around with black boots, fur parkas, and those cute furry Russian hats but... Looks are only 35% of the total package.

I still haven't found my type yet: positive, optimistic attitude, clean and organized, one whose humor makes me laugh, who loves to eat, who is a decent cook or at least has the desire to learn, loves god and loves family, and one who loves to dance.

Is that asking too much? Sigh, the guys at work last week were booking valentine dinners at Nobu, Per Se, Masa, Joel Robuchon, Daniel Boulud, Del Posto, Craft, French Laundry, and David Burke.

They were so excited and I couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy. They had someone to share Vday with. My problem is that I don't really put myself out there. Need to get over my fear of being too shy.

I guess there is always next year.

Hobbies-I'm taking a hip hop dance class 3 times a week. I'm on the subway now and I'm running 15 min late. Besides losing 4 lbs in 2 weeks, there are lots of cute girls too. Oh wait, I forgot-I'm shy.
The best feeling is hitting the moves with intensity in front of the mirror and getting a shoutout from the instructor.

"hey boy, where you learn to body roll like that?"

Although it hurts when the week after, she calls you out for not pelvic thrusting with enough gusto.

"hey boy, give me more! (she gives the air a few vulgar thrusts) C'mon, you a virgin or something?"

That's when I started blushing and that's when the cute girls looked at me. Damn it.

I then proceeded to over compensate by violating the 3 inches of air space around me for the duration of the dance. In hindsight, that probably didn't help my chances.

Ok-gotta run, almost at my stop.

no more chinatown bus!

2009-01-23T15:14:00.002-05:00

From UrbanDaddy-

Aces Up
The New Express Train to AC

For years it has been a dream.

A way to get to the promised land of AC quickly without car, bus, caravan or covered wagon—and without sacrificing your ability to mix a martini.

It's here. It's now. It's the ACES Train, the new luxury express train from New York to Atlantic City, now accepting reservations for its February 6 debut.

For those moments when you know that pocket aces are coming your way, the brand-new trains are your new go-to, trafficless option for getting to the tables quickly. All the seats are leather, there's only one stop between you and the craps table (unfortunately in Newark), and the train only runs Friday to Sunday, perfectly limiting the time you should be spending in AC.

But you'll probably want to focus most of your attention on the upper deck, where first-class tickets (more leg room, more waitresses) and a BYOB-friendly reserve lounge with flat screens and a dedicated waitress await. So rather than taking your chances on the Garden State Parkway, reserve the lounge, pick up a case of champagne, and before you know it you'll be at the Borgatta refreshed and ready to make some bad decisions.

At least you got the travel part right...

ACES Train, service starts Feb 6, reserve online at Amtrak.com or call 800-872-7245

Fatty Fatty 2x4, can't get through the kitchen door!

2009-01-14T16:49:00.004-05:00

2 interesting lists for those looking out for their calorie intake:

The 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America

and

The 20 Worst Foods in America 2009

I didn't really try any of the items on the food list....but when I looked at the drink list, I was mortified as I love my sweet drinks!

Liquid calories are so easy to pack on. Definitely going to make a more conscious effort to stick with water and green tea.

I'm guilty of imbibing the following drinks on a fairly consistent schedule:

#19: Vitamin Water (I like lemon tea, revive, and essential)
#18: Sunkist Soda (52 g of sugar. That's why I'm always so hyper.)
#13: Lipton Iced Brisk Lemon Iced Tea (It's brisk baby! yeah, it's also death)
-Starbucks coffee...sigh.

Anyone guilty of trying anything on these lists?

2009-01-07T17:02:00.005-05:00

-From Urbandaddy.com

January 07, 2009

Cash Is King
Trading Gifts for Cold Hard Cash

Cash is always king. But when times are tough, you can always use a bit more green in your pocket. And while dividends from your investment off of the career of the next supermodel or earning royalties every time "Dream On" plays on the radio are certainly noble ways to achieve a little more liquidity, we think perhaps unloading some of your more stocking-born assets may be the way to go.

So as the last of your holiday gifts have finally trickled in, take stock of the gift cards, headphones and Yanni DVDs that you really don't need, and turn to the services below. (Note: You may be stuck with the Yanni DVDs...)

Gift Card Rescue
$50 of glory at Applebee's? $100 worth of decorative soaps at Bath & Body Works? Think of Gift Card Rescue as a pawnshop, just without Sal behind the counter and mountains of useless "antiques." Instead, they'll buy your gift card for cold hard cash (at about a 30 percent discount), or let you trade up to a more coveted card (think iTunes).

Gazelle
There's a decent chance that after the holiday gifting binge that you're sitting on a mountain of electronics that you can't possibly use (at least not without incurring a traumatic repetitive-stress injury). Keep the Wii, ditch everything else. Take your unneeded gear and type in the specs on Gazelle's site—they'll come up with a price, send you a box to mail in your gear and cut you a check once they have it in hand. And you can get back to more important things. Like Guitar Hero.

Rosemary Lambchops

2009-01-04T19:33:00.005-05:00

After eating mom/home-cooked meals all winter break, it was time to cook something myself.

The menu was simple but flavorful. Lambchops with sauteed rosemary and slices of garlic with a side of caramelized green beans (dash of soy sauce and sugar). Also on the menu was some stuffed scallops that my friend, Publix, made.

My sous chef, Angela, came prepared and focused. Unlike my prior helpers, she completed all tasks with quick efficiency. Washing and prepping the green beans, rubbing salt and pepper on the lambchops, and mincing the garlic like a machine. As a result, the meal was cooked in short time and we were able to enjoy the fruits of our labor as you can see by the pictures of sheer bliss below.

Dessert was going to be a blueberry/peach crisp. It was the first dessert I helped make and I look forward to adding it to my repertoire.

Warm blueberries, juicy peaches, crunchy pecans, brown sugar, and some toasted oats as a topping. Add a scoop of delicious Haagen- Daaz "Caramelized Pear w/ toasted pecans" and you my friend have a complete meal.

2008 mashup

2009-01-01T13:26:00.001-05:00

DJ Earworm's mashup of Billboard's top 25 tunes of 2008—called The United State of Pop 2008—will catch you up on the biggest pop hits of this past year in under five minutes

Songs in the mashup include:

Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain - Low
Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love
Alicia Keys - No One
Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major - Lollipop
Timbaland Featuring OneRepublic - Apologize
Jordin Sparks Duet With Chris Brown - No Air
Sara Bareilles - Love Song
Usher Featuring Young Jeezy - Love in This Club
Chris Brown - With You
Chris Brown - Forever
Ray J & Yung Berg - Sexy Can I
Rihanna - Take a Bow
Coldplay - Viva La Vida
Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl
T.I. - Whatever You Like
Rihanna - Disturbia
Rihanna - Don’t Stop the Music
Natasha Bedingfield - Pocketful of Sunshine
Chris Brown Featuring T-Pain - Kiss Kiss
Ne-Yo - Closer
Colbie Caillat - Bubbly
Mariah Carey - Touch My Body
Madonna Featuring Justin Timberlake - 4 Minutes
Pink - So What
Finger Eleven - Paralyzer

Xmas Pwnage

2008-12-19T01:00:00.001-05:00

Another NY Weekend- das Ende

2008-12-18T10:34:00.006-05:00

I woke up feeling satiated and energized.

Was it a dream? Did I really eat all that food?

You know how sometimes late at night you get hungry but you know you shouldn't eat because it's bad for you but you do it anyway since you're just THAT hungry?

But then in the morning, you wake up even hungrier? That was me. Right now.

A sudden craving for Red Mango washed over me like a bucket of cold water. I was very alert and awake but David and Wei were still asleep. It was time for a morning wake up call.

I started to moan "Red Mangoooooo" and my brother joined in with the chorus of "PinkBerry!"

"Red Mango!"

"PINKberry!"

"Red..Berry!"

"Pink Mango!"

"Red Pink"

"Berry Mango"

"Mango Pink!"

"Berry Red!"

We were running out of combinations fast but luckily the wake up call worked. Wei and David woke up and told us to shut the %$@# up.

Here we are waiting for the subway.

When we finally left the apt, it was too late to hit up Shake Shack (mmm…shackburger) so we went to our second stop, Chinese Mirch.-an Indo-Chinese fusion restaurant. According to their menu, (I love reading the bios on menus) the word "Mirch" meant spicy a.k.a Niagara Falls on Jesse's forehead.

After ordering some appetizers (fried okra with sweet chili sauce and fried cauliflower), our cousin Sharon, her hubby Chris, and her roomie Carol joined us.

We proceeded to order pretty much every dish on the menu: Szechwan lamb, chicken lollipops, fried rice, rice noodles, and a few more spicy chicken dishes. I almost died but the food was so flavorful that it wouldn't have been a bad way to go out. We bid our adieu and separated after lunch. I took David and Wei to Red Mango to cool off our tongues. They enjoyed their first experience and the pomegranate flavored yogurt is probably my new favorite.

Their flight was in a few hours so we just took some time to chill at the Borders near Penn station. The downtime gave us a chance to digest the whirlwind of food and fun over the past 2 days. After perusing some tantalizing photographs by Eric Ripert, my sense of hunger returned. I led Wei and David to their last meal in NY-Grey's Papaya where they happily scarfed down a NY hot dog with sauerkraut and a warm toasted bun.

After they left, I made my way to evening service at MSNY in a zombie trance. The past two days of staying out past 5am (plus the minute quantities of alcohol) was uncharacteristic of me and caught up in the form of a lethargic coma. After the sermon, I was about to collapse and sleep in the pews. But the gang decided to go to Amy Ruth's, a Harlem restaurant known for award-winning soul food. Sigh….go home and catch up on sleep or eat soul food at a place I have always wanted to try? After pulling up curbside, we saw that Amy Ruth's was closed. NO! All was not lost as we went to Brother Jimmy's, a BBQ joint known for ribs. After eating a bucket of fried onion strings, really good Mac N cheese, and mesquite ribs that were falling off the bone, my weekend of gastrobauchery was finally over.

Well…until the next time I have out-of-town visitors Sulubulu?

2008-12-16T22:19:00.000-05:00

I feel great!

I chuckled a little bit inside

2008-12-15T22:19:00.003-05:00

Another NY Weekend-Part 3

2008-12-14T16:34:00.002-05:00

It was 11:32am when I rolled over. It was 11:37 when I stretched. I finally got out of bed around noon. Still groggy from the SoCo, I shuffled my feet and knocked on their door to wake them up. I wanted to start off the day with some dimsum down the block but the wait was 30 minutes. We made an executive decision to proceed to Canal street in Manhattan.

First, we got our dumpling fix at Tasty Dumpling by wolfing down 10 dumplings for $2. Next was Ping's Seafood for some dimsum. In addition, we had Oysters in black bean sauce that were bigger than our fist. We also had snails in XO sauce-mmm! The aphrodisiac effect would set in 6 hours later at the club.

With our bellies full, we needed a break. I took them to my masseuse and paid for some well needed foot rubs. For 23 minutes, we were in heaven. After the massage, they put our feet in a bowl of hot water infused with Chinese herbs. Needless to say, it re-energized us for the rest of our journey.

Our goal was to walk all the way from Chinatown to St. Marks in order to make room in our belly. On the way, we stopped by some art galleries. One gallery showcased pieces by an artist I can't remember. His works of art were huge canvases filled with sediment, dirt, twigs, sludge, and latex gloves. Think Central Park after a rainy day except it was on a canvas. One work of art took 15 years-he basically took a white canvas, put it outside, and let the elements have at it. We also stopped by the Peter Lik gallery where there was a decent sale going on. His photographs never cease to amaze me. He uses a traditional camera with special film that produces very saturated colors-without the use of Photoshop.

We continued walking when a men's clothing store called Ari caught my eye. David and I went inside and looked at some of their offerings. We saw a nice hoodie on the mannequin. He guessed $140. I guessed $270. The salesperson said that the handmade 100& cashmere was handmade in Italy and retailed for $850 but there was a 50% sale going on. Still….half a grand for a hoodie? I had to try it on. The luxurious cashmere felt like cotton candy on my skin. I wanted to eat it. The style was unique and the slate and cappuccino color complemented my eyes. Sigh…I was sad to see it go. On our way out, we saw a Black Leather Jacket that was buttery smooth for $3495 and crocodile leather boots for $800. No wonder the store was empty…

The wind picked up as we neared our next destination. 'Taisho' was a popular Japanese restaurant specializing in grilled meat on skewers. We got the chicken meat ball, chicken chunks, garlic, salmon cream yakisoba, and fried soft shell crab. Delish. Next stop was 'Pommes Frites' a hole in the wall that served Belgian waffle fries…with a selection of 50 different sauces. We chose Vietnamese pineapple mayo, pesto mayo, and curry ketchup. Pesto was good but too salty, curry ketchup tasted like regular ketchup with a hint of curry aftertaste, and the pineapple mayo was our favorite-very light with a fruity oomph.

We needed something to help us counter the fried, greasy foods we consumed that day. What better way than some delicious hot tea? Off we went to Cha-an, a tea house that served an assortment of teas from Oolong to Jasmine. We started off with a nice pot of Jasmine Pearl which really hit the spot. I could feel the greasiness evaporating my body. We then tried a dessert that was 3 chewy mochi balls containing rich chocolate infused with Earl Grey extract. Let me just stop for a second while I reminisce…….. Dear readers, please remind me to take you to this place if you are in the NY area.

With our palate cleansed, we boarded the subway to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. The area was crowded for 5 or 6 block radius. It was as if everyone in NY decided to come with us to see the tree. I mean honestly. We could barely move and luckily moved through the crowd to see the tree and some insane people ice skating, when it happened. The moment the first snowflakes hit my hand, I was elated. All of a sudden, there was a dandruff outbreak on everyone around us. Kids were screaming, parents were shouting, and I was blinded by all the camera flashes going off so I decided to ruin a picture. There was a African American in his late 20's and his beautiful white girlfriend in front of the tree. Just as he was about to snap the picture, I quietly positioned myself behind them so my face would be in the middle.

"1…2…3…say cheese honey," he cooed.

I thought he was talking to me so I obliged with the cheesiest grin. Think Forrest Gump having an seizure mixed with the innocence of Simple Jack with a twinge of Happy Boy. After the flash went off, I stealthily slinked to the right and went with the ebb of the crowd. As I looked back, I saw the man and his girl reviewing the picture with a "WTF?" face. He then started scanning the crowd to find me but I was already far away. Merry Xmas-Happy Boy strikes again.

After perusing the nearby BR where everything was pretty much 40% off, we hailed a cab in the snow. Our destination was Slate, one of my favorite clubs. No cover, 2 stories with plush leather couches, dance floor, beautiful cocktail waitresses from Eastern Europe, an delicious pig in the blanket appetizers.

We made our way into the club and went downstairs where we heard the familiar clink-clink of a ping pong ball. That's right. This lower floor was filled with 8 ping pong tables, 10 pool tables, foosball, and a silver xmas tree. David and Wei were ecstatic and were eager for a few rematches. But first things first. We all took a shot of pineapple Malibu just to whet our appetite.

"Cheers guys. Welcome to NY," I screamed above the thumping bass.

"I'm going to get you drunk for the first time!" screamed back Wei in a spicy red dress from Bebe.

"I'm going to beat you in ping pong," said David as he raced off to find paddles.

I'm going to skip through the 4 games I lost cause I don't like to dwell on losses. Basically, the cheap paddles wouldn't allow me to spin the ball so I was helpless. Wei cleaned up in pool as David and I were just no match for the black widow.

While playing pool, the plasma was showing reruns of "America's Best Dance Crew" where one group breakdanced in full red ninja garb. Watching the show gave me an itch that only dance could scratch. Bolstered by the absolute vanilla and ginger ale and rum coupled with the aphrodisiac effect from the oysters, I was ready to take what was mine on the floor. My head was throbbing from the music and the alcohol and my body moved to the beat of the 2 callipygous black ladies in front of me. They swayed left and I swayed right. They raised the roof, I mowed the lawn. David and I decided to engage them while their boyfriends looked on from the couch. Yes, they could have beaten me to a pulp but when they saw the moves, they gave a thumbs up and said, "Play on playa!" So I played on. Until I was exhausted.

At 2am, we exited the club for a little nightcap at my cousin's apt near Shake Shack. We had some drinks and just talked about the day and how we efficiently crammed everything within a 12 hour window. We then planned on meeting for lunch the next day at Chinese Mirch and dessert at Red Mango. We bid adieu and climbed into a cab. The driver was Senegalese and Wei happened to visit Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, located on the Cape Verde Peninsula, on the country's Atlantic coast. They had a discourse on the cuisine, the markets, and the weather.

David, drunk and dancing on the streets earlier with no music, was in genuine awe that the driver was listening to a Senegalese radio station.

"Only in NY my friend. Only here can you experience access to all types of cultures and people," explained the cab driver.

"That is amazing! I love New York!" slobbered David as he looked out the window at nothing in particular.

We stumbled back to the apartment and crashed around 5am for the second night in a row in a blissful stupor.

Only in NY, indeed.

www.sweemo.com

2008-12-12T16:14:00.006-05:00

Trading Places
A Virtual Marketplace for Experiences

(From UrbanDaddy)

Whether it's a 5am dance party or the occasional Bill Murray sighting, there are a lot of great moments in the city. Before now, there wasn't much to do with them besides a little well-deserved boasting...but a marketplace can do incredible things.

Introducing Sweemo (short for "sweet moments"), the first online market for experiences, just out of beta in the U.S.

The site works just like eBay, but instead of auctioning off your autographed Eddie Money LP, you'll be offering up an invite to your high-stakes underground poker club the cops haven't heard about yet, or whatever else you might be able to arrange that money can't usually buy. If you want to cash in on your BFF-hood with the discriminating doormen at the city's nightclubs, this is definitely the place.

You may even want to buy back a few moments for yourself. The site is still starting up in the U.S., but the Brit version already boasts tickets to the Playboy Christmas party, quad-biking through Ireland, and water zorbing (tumbling down a hill in an inflatable ball with supermodels, naturally). In a few months' time, you may be buying your way into a few nights at Gracie Mansion or a stint ringing the opening bell at the stock exchange.

Or even a Senate seat or two.

Another NY Weekend -partie deux

2008-12-12T10:11:00.001-05:00

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With the noodle soup warming our bellies, we decided to get some bubble tea for dessert. I led them to one of my favorite hangouts. The building didn’t look like much on the outside but inside contained a bubble tea bar, DDR, 8 pool tables, 2 ping pong tables, arcade basketball, and a little bar with really cheap drinks.

We started the competition with ping pong. Let me rephrase that. There was no competition for ping pong because I am the ping pong master. Well, my protégé Ken Lin is catching up to my level but that is neither here nor there. After a few games of pwnage, we decided to switch it up to David’s forte. Wei and I couldn’t find our rhythm and David kept sinking shots in every pocket. I would always get it heads up and lose. Finally I won one game to David’s 3 and Wei’s 0.

After pool, we tried out some basketball, Wei’s strong suit. She kept banking in the shots and killed both of the guys. David set the high score at like 50+ and I kept cramping due to my lack of gym. Next, we continued to my weakness. Drinking. We started out with a pitcher of Blue Moon which was delicious! It’s light beer marinated with some orange slices for a fruity kick. After 3 sips, my face got hot and my neck got bothered. Hands, arms, and belly erupted in red splotches. But I felt great. Real loose and relaxed. I believe people refer to this feeling as “tipsy”.

David decided to challenge me to ping pong again in my inebriated state. I utilized my drunken master stance and handily beat him. I then spotted him 10 points and repeated my reign. David brought out the big guns.

“Have a shot with me.”

“Ok…what is it?”

“SoCo….Southern Comfort”

Cheer. I gulp it down.

“It tastes like bubble gum!!” I squealed like a 9 year old redhead going to a Hannah Montana concert.

My legs were wobbly, eyes were crossing without warning, and words were slurring. He finally won a game when I gave him a 15 point lead. The final score was 21 – 14 which was still pretty close.

The time was around 3:30am and we were jonesing for food after all that exercise. I brought them to Lucky Zhang’s for some beef fried rice and fried dumplings. After decompressing for a bit at the apartment, we went to sleep around 5am dreaming of what possibilities lie in wait for us on Saturday…

Chain Letter

2008-12-12T00:39:00.002-05:00

THE GEOGRAPHY OF A WOMAN

Between 18 and 22, a woman is like Africa , half discovered, half wild, fertile and naturally beautiful!

Between 23 and 30, a woman is like Europe, well developed and open to trade, especially for someone with cash.

Between 31 and 35, a woman is like Spain, very hot, relaxed and convinced of her own beauty.

Between 36 and 40, a woman is like Greece, gently aging but still a warm and desirable place to visit.

Between 41 and 50, a woman is like Great Britain, with a glorious and all conquering past.

Between 51 and 60, a woman is like Israel, has been through war and doesn't make the same mistakes twice, takes care of business.

Between 61 and 70, a woman is like Canada, self-preserving, but open to meeting new people.

After 70, she becomes Tibet , wildly beautiful, with a mysterious past and the wisdom of the ages...only those with an adventurous spirit and a thirst for spiritual knowledge visit there.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF A MAN

Between 1 and 70, a man is like Iran ,

Ruled by Nuts.

Another NY Weekend- Parte Una

2008-12-11T12:30:00.002-05:00

I was in the bathroom when it happened.

It was a late Wednesday afternoon when my phone alerted me to a text message.

“Drop your plans for the weekend. I’m coming!!” blinked the text.

It was from my good friend Wei who has been saying she was coming to NY about 5 times now only to cancel at the last minute due to a business emergency.

Ignoring the text, I began to prepare a plate of steaming bulgogi with sauteed onions, grilled mushrooms, and the juice from a very caramelized pear. As the razor thin slices of marbled beef hit the hot pan with a sizzle, the phone rang.

Wei again. The girl who cried wolf. I let the call go straight to voicemail. It’s hard to cook and talk with a phone in your ear anyway.

After enjoying the greasy bulgogi with some hot white silver needle tea, I listened to the voicemail which basically reiterated the fact that she was coming. In 2 days. As I was about to call her, I got another text. What is her problem?

Oh wait, it was David, my Honduran high school friend, bum, and violin maestro. We both had the same birthday and I had just wished him a happy birthday a few days ago.

“What are you up to this weekend? Let’s chill.”

Weird. It’s been about a year and a half since I saw David and now he was randomly visiting this weekend? THIS weekend? This must have been premeditated with Wei-the coincidence was too overwhelming.

I’ll play their game. Besides, the more the merrier. I replied to both of them to come experience pre-xmas in NY. The Rockefeller tree would be lit, chestnuts would be roasting, tourists ice-skating, and with a little luck….snow would be flurrying.

-------

“Running a little late….had to take care of some business in Manhattan,” apologized Wei. “I’m starving. Where are we going to eat?”

“On a chilly day like this, there is only one place to eat. It’ll be a surprise,” I replied.

Hm….I definitely think she would have mentioned David by now. She was not one to keep a secret very well. As a poker player, you are trained to pick up on “tells” to help determine if your opponent is bluffing or telling the truth. In this case, I think the truth was…..that she and David didn’t plan anything. It was all one big coincidence!

Determined to get some “tells” from David, I gave him a call. I expected it to go straight to voicemail as he was supposed to be on the subway with no reception. Imagine my surprise when he picked up after the second ring.

“David? Why are you talking to me now. You shouldn’t be talking me now. This means you are not on the subway which means you will be late.” I seethed.

Wong Wong Noodle Shop (not joking about the name) just opened up a week ago and I was dying to try it out. Except they were going to close in an hour.

“Oh… I’m at the Atlantic-Pacific station. I had to go upstairs to check the map. That’s when you called. I’ll be there in 30 minutes,” he replied.

Hmm….something sounded fishy. Was he bluffing me? Was he slowplaying a monster? Was he already with Wei in a taxi? Nobody pulls a prank on Jesse. I decided to just smooth call the turn and see a river.

That’s when I got a call from Wei.

“I’m outside walking on your street. I’m lost…can you come outside?”

I expected David to pop out of the bushes at any second but he didn’t. I helped Wei bring the luggage upstairs and she started to get ready for dinner. I then realized that neither party knew of each other. The look on their faces will be priceless due to the fact that they had a fling years ago.

“Hopefully it wouldn’t be an awkward weekend,” I muttered to myself when the phone rang.

“I’m downstairs. Open up-it’s freezing!” begged David.

“Hey Wei, my brother hasn’t seen you in ages…he’s joining us for dinner,” I fibbed. “Can you go….get the door?”

My heart pounded as she made her way down the creaky stairs and veered left out of sight. Below is a transcript of what I heard:

-Wei: Coming! (opens door and SCREAMS)

-David: What the hell are you doing here?

-Wei: Continues screaming

-David: Wait….what the HELL are you doing here?!?

-Wei: laughs awkwardly

-Jesse: on the floor because he is laughing so hard.

They manage a half-hug and the waves of shock continued to resonate in the small hallway. I guess they weren’t in cahoots after all.

After dropping off David’s stuff, we power-walked to Wong Wong’s to find that they were putting up chairs and mopping up the floors.

“NO! No wong wong, No!” my stomach pleaded.

We ran inside and I begged in Chinese for them to serve us. They acquiesced and before we knew it, there were 3 big bowls of steaming beef noodle soup. The noodles were hand-pulled by a noodle master in the back which explained the unique texture and doughy flavor. The thin slices of gelatinous meat meshed well with the bok choy and the flavorful broth tinged with star anise. Wei and David also devoured the plate of steamed dumplings in record time.

Unfortunately our dinner was interrupted by the delivery guy on his motorcycle. He had just finished delivering the last of his orders and was parking his bike. I was in the middle of a very funny anecdote when we haerd a loud roar. The delivery guy proceeded to ride his motorcycle INTO the restaurant and parked it at a table behind us. The three of us just sat in silence, too affected by the food coma to consider darting out of the way. Then we started laughing hysterically. Like honestly, who does that? Who rides his motorcycle inside the restaurant with 2 tables of patrons still eating?

I’ll tell you who. The Wong Wong delivery boy, that’s who.

Quiet Time Recipe

2008-12-09T10:49:00.001-05:00

Dear Readers,

I went to small group 2 weeks ago and Audrey shared a great way to do quiet time. I wanted to share the “recipe” with you as it takes about 20 minutes a day and is very easy to do. The key to this exercise is to write your thoughts on paper as opposed to just thinking/reflecting in your mind. You’d be surprised on how certain verses will stick with you and pop up at random times when you need it the most.

For example, we went over Psalm 27: 1-6 which basically talks about God being our stronghold. It goes on to say that we shouldn’t fear anything and that God will keep us safe from trouble.
Very encouraging and I meditate on that His protection whenever things take a turn for the worse in my life. It’s reassuring to know that He is in my corner and that I’m not going through the game of Life alone. The quiet time recipe is below after the jump.

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“Like most people, my devotional time consisted of a) Bible reading and then b) prayer. My prayer life changed, however, when I learned of and added a ‘middle discipline’ – meditation – between plain Bible reading and full out prayer.

Meditation is prayer – full reflection on what God has just told you in His word. It is neither study nor prayer, exactly, but a combination.

Psalm 1, which is not a prayer, but a meditation, indicates that meditation is the doorway into deeper prayer. Learn to do meditative prayer, and you will enrich your prayer life in untold ways.”

-Tim Keller

Four Steps:
1. Quieting yourself (Focusing)
-This can be done in silence, simple prayer, or just quiet music. Deep breathing also helps you get in the zone. Try to shut out the world and get in touch with God

2. Bible reading (Listening)
-Slowly read a paragraph of scripture 2-3 times. Read to get understanding. Then write down answers to the following questions

A) What does this passage tell me about God? What does it tell me about me or mankind?
B) What is the truth that is the most compelling in this passage?

3. Meditation (Reflecting)
Think about the meaning of the verse and try to answer the following
A) How would I be different if this truth was alive in me today?
B) Why is God showing me this today?

It really helps to not only think about it but to write these thoughts down on paper.

4. Prayer (Speaking)
Adore: Praise God
Confess: Repent for wrong behavior
Thank: Give thanks for his grace to forgive us and cleanse us
Ask: Ask God for aid, counsel, comfort, and how to apply this today
Intercede: Ask on behalf of friends, family, and non-believers
Kingdom Prayer: Focus on the bigger picture. Pray for God’s will to be done in your city and other countries around the world.

Hope this encourages you guys this week.

KOTA

2008-12-02T22:15:00.002-05:00

Is it me or is KOTA freaking SCARY?

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-02T21:30:00.009-05:00

11/27/2008 11:12am EST

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello readers. 2009 is almost upon us. In a few hours we will all be gorging ourselves into oblivion. All the time on the elliptical will be negated by the gobs of stuffing, caramelized yams, juicy turkey, cups of gravy, biscuits, and pecan pie. I’m looking forward to the food coma.

I woke up this morning to get to Penn Station early but my plans were met with resistance. Because of the recent Al Qaeda subway bombing threats, police were out in full force. Barking dogs were everywhere and the congestion was unbearable.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade was in full swing which meant more congestion and I was hopelessly stuck in the midst of a crowd.

I’m writing to you aboard Bolt Bus and abusing their free wi-fi. Spotty yes, but free. My companion next to me is a brunette who was reading People Magazine and their article on Hugh Jackman, The Sexiest Man Alive. I sat down, played a few sngs on stars, burned a dvd of Possum Hill, and drifted in and out of consciousness.

At a pit stop, I stopped by Popeye’s for their 2 piece spicy meal with Cajun mashed potatoes. After inhaling my lunch, I boarded the bus again to find my seat partner munching on some Popeye strips. We started talking and I find out she also went to Duke, c/o 2008. Her name is Lindsey and she also happens to be born in Houston TX. She was on her way to meet her man. I inquired about her man’s name and she nonchalantly replied...Calen Jahan, another Dukie we both knew.

What a small world.

---------------

Thanksgiving weekend was a blur. Definitely gained 5 lbs from the turkey, sweet potatoes, apple pie, stuffing, hot pot, dumplings, oyster pancakes, etc. If the Hsu's know how to do something right....it's the ability to eat whether we are hungry or not.

My cousins had a pool table, ping pong table, and a basketball court in the basement. We also played some volleyball so hopefully some of the turkey was burned off through dutiful exercise.

Black Friday came and went...JCrew had a good sale: an additional 30% off their reduced price and an additional 15% off of that if you had a student ID.

My cousins went to get 2 iphones. They bought them, paid for activation, and then had an acute swell of buyer's remorse. After returning the phones and paying the $40 restocking fee, they settled for a shiny red Pantech. Time will tell if they made the right choice...

On Sunday, I went to church in Boston with my cousin Dan. The service was held in a hotel conference room and the audience was predominantly Asians 25-30 years old. After the offering, I felt a tap on my shoulder. OMG it was David Chen c/o 2004. He had just flew back from Duke and introduced me to his girlfriend Diane. After service, we walked together towards the Prudential Center where I met Bob Pan for lunch.

We caught up over some delicious clam chowder at a restaurant called Legal Seafood. He had lost some weight from the elliptical and was doing well. We bounced some ideas for a short film that will hopefully get in production soon.

The ride home to NY on Lucky Star bus was horrible. After arriving at the station at 7pm for my 8pm departure, the line was already 100 deep. Turns out that due to the rain delay, all buses were 2 hrs behind. After finishing up a magazine in my backpack, I was finally at the front of the line where the Lucky Star lady told me that I needed a paper ticket-something I didn't have. I told her my confirmation # but she told me to go to the Lucky Star ticket counter and check in....which happened to be at the other end of the terminal. I was about to give her a piece of my mind but instead, I ran as fast as I could and cursed to the heavens on why I ate all that stuffing and mashed potatoes. Every second was crucial.

The fob at the ticket counter had been there since 9am and was irritated.

"No room on 8pm bus. Next bus 2am."

"But ma'am, I bought this 8pm ticket a week ago. I have the confirmation # right here."

"No, you hafata go on 2am bus."

"I have the ticket printed right here, let me get it," I pleaded as I rummaged through my backpack.

4 people in the same situation as me were waiting impatiently behind me. I could feel the weight of their stares on my nape.

"You hafata check in here at desk. Even if you have printed ticket."

I finally "checked in" and believed that if my chubby legs cooperated enough, I could still make the 8pm bus.

As I galloped down the corridor teeming with passengers, I felt the dumplings, oyster pancake, and mapo tofu sloshing around my intestines...why did I eat so much at dinner?

The people behind me saved my spot and let me cut back in line.

After boarding the bus, I made a beeline to my favorite seat....the one in the very very last row.

As I pulled out my Fortune magazine, I heard a velvety voice.

"Is this seat taken?" asked a busty vixen with dirty blond hair.

"I uh...um...well...no. I was saving it for you of course..." I squeaked.

It was hard to breathe. Yes the bus smelled like dim sum and baby formula, but the main reason for my shortness of breath was the southern drawl and hazel-green eyes of my new companion for the next 4 hours and 15 minutes.

Her name was Loralee and she had just finished a dinner with her stepfather at a posh Italian restaurant located in the North End region of Boston. She was a psychology major at some college in Delaware and laughed at all my jokes. We watched Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's "Baby Mama" until the battery died out 15 minutes before the ending.

Throughout the ride, she kept making fun of me and insulting me in a flirtatious way. I truly believe she read Neil Strauss's masterpiece entitled "The Game"- a bible for the art of seduction. Whatever she did, it was working.

Finally at 1:30am, I arrived in Chinatown and the rain was misting the overcast sky. I hailed a taxi and finally made my way home to embrace a sweet slumber.

Boston-I will be back.

The Price is....Wrong. Part 1

2008-11-21T00:04:00.003-05:00

“How much do you think that sculpture costs?” asked Gavile.

We had just finished the most delectable lasagna at Wynn’s italian joint, Stratta, and needed to walk off our meal. It appeared that we were about to play “The Price is Right”, a game where 2 people pick an item (i.e. painting). One participant “sets the line” and the other person chooses “over” or “under”. The one closes to the actual MSRP wins. Simple yet satisfying.

On a related note, I tried playing this game with KA at Central Park Zoo, but she didn’t find any satisfaction in predicting the price of stuffed penguins.

“How much are we playing for?” I inquired.

Our destination was the Venetian. We chose to set up our office there for the night as most of the convention/conference attendees would be drunk and giving away their money. Since it was a Friday night, tourists and residents from CA would also be pouring in. Timing was everything.

“Let’s just keep it at $5 an item….I’ll set the line at 22.” said Gavile.

His line of $22,000 was a decent one. My gut told me it was more expensive as I got a closer look at it. The object in question was a cross section of dark slate rock exposing the glistening amethyst inside. The rock was about 3-4 ft tall and weighed 150 lbs. The object looked expensive…plus this was at the Wynn and not at the Discovery science store at your local mall. All these factors made me pick the “over”.

As we sauntered up to the counter, the salesperson delivered the verdict: $1799.

“Ship it!” exclaimed Gavile with glee.

“Oh….you meant $2200, not $22,000” I countered.

“Either way, you picked over…so you lose anyway,” he said matter-of-factly.

The cold air nipped at us as we ascended on the escalator toward the Palazzo.

“Let’s bet on when the doorman gets off his shift,” said Gavile.

The current time was around 9pm.

“Ok, the line will be midnight,” I said.

He replied without hesitation, “Over.”

Luckily there was no doorman so that bet was scratched.

The next item of interest was a diamond-encrusted watch at the Piaget store. I lost again when I set the line at 22k and Gavile took the over. When we walked inside to confirm the price, the salesperson put on black satin gloves, unlocked the case, and carefully took out the Piaget with utmost care.

“The price is only $98,000, sir. Would you like to try it on?” inquired the German saleslady.

I politely declined as I am known to be a clumsy klutz. My credit card’s puny limit wouldn’t have been able to cover the watch if I had dropped it.

We walked by a wine store where Gavile said, “Price of the most expensive bottle of wine they have regardless of size. I’ll set the line at $6500.”

“Under,” I confidently replied. Let’s go inside.

The shop itself was small and quaint with a few racks of wine in the back.

“Good evening gentlemen, how may I be of assistance this evening?” asked the proprietor.

“Ma’am, what is the most expensive bottle of wine you have?” I cockily asked.

“$2800, would you like me to wrap it up for you?” she replied without missing a beat.

Gavile and I were dressed only in t-shirts and blue jeans. Then again, wealthy people these days dress like bums with sandals. You never know if you’re standing next to a multi-millionaire.

“No thanks, we’ll be back,” I said as I pumped my fists in my head. Finally, a win against Gavile.

We made our way past the gondolas with the singing Italians in red and white striped shirts. A bet was discussed to ask one of them what was the biggest tip they ever received. That bet was quickly discarded as we didn’t want to get kicked in the nuts and then sung to in Italian.

The next few bets took place in a field we were both inexperienced in. Art...

Destiny

2008-11-16T13:16:00.000-05:00

love the slow mo

Zoolander

2008-11-12T13:50:00.006-05:00

I'm always up for new experiences in the Big Apple. I saw an ad on the internet for a casting call for overweight asians over 25 years old.

Bingo.

Unfortunately, the ad was mum about the company or the product. Nevertheless, I embarked on this adventure after being approved by an agent.

The studio was midtown in a nondescript building flanked by wrought-iron gates. I buzzed suite 1200 and was let into the lobby. The guard was probably out for lunch so I walked down the marble hallway and entered a massive elevator gilded in gold. I almost didn't want to push the elevator button, in fear of leaving a dirty fingerprint. In a few seconds, the door whooshed open and a minimalistic sign said Click Model Management. Scandinavian blondes with legs as high as the Empire State Building walked past me. Brunettes with cheekbones of Athena and complexion like the sun strode past in smooth strides.

I hobbled up to the front desk where a Naomi Campbell clone stood and looked at my watch. 4 minutes ahead of schedule. After mini-Naomi left in a huff (something to do with her hours), I approached the receptionist who looked like a mix of Turtle from Entourage and Donnie Wahlberg of NKOTB.

"What can I do for you my man?"

"Hi I'm here for the um....photo shoot."

"Which one bro?"

"Um, the one about the Asians."

"The what?"

"The Asians."

"Be more specific."

"The overweight Asians over 25 years old?"

(Pause)

"Let me check on that for you."

My palms were sweaty, knees weak, arms were heavy and it didn't help that 2 brunettes were standing behind me looking like Alessandra Ambrosia from Victoria Secret.

What the hell was I doing here? This is not the way most of my adventures turned out. I was about to turn around and leave when Turtle came back. He asked to see the printout of the Mapquest directions in my hand. We both looked at it together when I realized I was on 27th street. Not 26th street. My original destination.

Without saying a word, I sorta backtracked, slinked, moonwalked/glided my overweight Asian ass out of there trying to salvage what dignity I had left. Luckily, there was no carpet.

26th street. Smaller building. Dirtier lobby. And a dilapidated elevator that slowly creaked its way to the 12th floor. I was finally deposited in a beige colored hallway with bad lighting that flickered every 4 seconds. In front of me was a maze of doors. Remember that scene near the end of the first Matrix where Neo is running in the hallway maze full of doors trying to answer a ringing phone? I was in the maze trying to find Suite 1200 where the didn't have any labeled numbers.

As I tiptoed down the hallways like a ninja, the door up ahead creaked open and an Asian sumo wrestler in uniform, stepped out to take a call on his mobile. I slowed down my walk as I approached the door and peeked in out of curiosity.

4 massive guys around 220 lbs were putting on fake sumo wigs and those....banana hammock/man-thong cloths.

"Overweight Asian photo shoot?" chirped the Amanda Bynes PA.

I meekly nodded and closed the door behind me. I didn't come all the way into the city to run around now. Besides, wearing a banana hammock might be the start of an adventure.

The wig itself was very itchy and a little bit wet from the previous Indian guy. He wasn't as big..maybe 190 lbs but he had a good angry face.

"Number 30, please come forward," shrilled Bynes.

The hammock was definitely hugging the banana a little too tight and the 50 degree weather from the cracked window gave me goosebumps on my pale thighs. All eyes were on me and I was ready.

"Bloody good to meet you. Let's start with a smile," drolled the photographer. He's obviously had his fill of half naked overweight asians for the day.

"Sushiiiiiiiiii...." I mumbled to myself.

"Great, great....now take off your socks and your wifebeater," instructed the photographer.

I did as I was told and felt completely vulnerable. The only living thing that has seen me in this state of undress is my dog, Riceball. And for that, I'm very sorry 'Ball.

"Great lad, now bend over and spread those legs...

"Wait...whaaa..."

in a sumo wrestler stance," explained the photographer.

"Oh."

My lack of gym activity as of late meant the stance was creating lactic acid buildup in my legs. My brother could have easily done with stance as he takes kung-fu.

As my legs started to wobble ever so gingerly, I was instructed to give a mean, angry face.

"Mahvelous...laaaavely....goood!" gushed the photographer.

I gave him 3 shades of angry and one mixed with perplexion and spite.

"Good....we got the angry down....let's go for relief," said the photographer.

I thought for half a second and instinctively gave him....the Happy Boy.

"My god man, what was that? I said relief, not spaastic" said the photographer while suppressing a snort.

I took a deep breath and exhaled in the most relaxed face I could manage.

"That's great lad, exactly what Amitiza is looking for. And that's a wrap."

When I went home, I googled Amitiza and my stomach flipped when I read:

"Amitiza (lubiprostone) is used to treat chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C)."

OMG. I just participated in a constipation ad dressed as a sumo wrestler. Clever concept...I suppose they were going to show side by shots of before and after.

Luckily, I just got rejected via email. They said I wasn't fat enough. Self-esteem up for the day so I can't complain.

Join me on my next adventure as I take you to the Palazzo for "The Price is Wrong"

VIRGIN

2008-11-10T21:47:00.019-05:00

Out of all the virgins in the world, my favorite would have to be Virgin America.

Definitely, the best airline experience I have ever had. Seamless check-in, on-time departure, and mood lighting that adjusts itself based on the amount of light in the cabin.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the top.

The first thing that is different about Virgin America is the stand they have set up before you walk in the connecting tunnel. A splashy red and white banner draped over a desk filled with pamphlets and flyers for Planet Hollywood.

As you walk down the tunnel, you hear the faint sound of bass thumping. The vibrations get stronger and louder as you turn the corner and face the entrance of the plane. After your eyes adjust to the neon blue and psychedelic purple lights running throughout the overhead cabins, you feel like you are literally entering Tao nightclub. Well, without the hot girls.

After locating my seat in 18C, I stuffed my duffel bag in the overhead compartment and took my seat by the window. Although it was coach, the seats were soft quality leather with plush ergonomic headrests. Another plus was the ample leg space for my throbbing cankles.

What have we here? Individual TV's? Sweet! After fiddling around with the console, one realizes there are tv channels, movies, games, google maps with real-time tracking, and a system where you can order food and beverages without hitting the overhead call button.

Upon further inspection, the console actually comes apart and doubles as a video game controller reminiscent of Super NES.

Which came in handy when I played Doom, a popular game when I was in 6th grade. I remember spending the summer at University of Tampa slugging it out multiplayer with Matt Ruben and Jorge Segarra after eating lunch at the Ratskellar. Waves of nostalgia washed over me as I loaded up the game on the tv before me.

After getting owned in Doom, evaporating all traces of nostalgia, I played some mahjong and some anagram game where they give you 5 or 6 jumbled letters and you try to make as many words as you can.

When I woke up, the stewardness already passed by my seat with the drink cart. I clicked on the "Drinks" tab on the console and ordered a Ginger Ale and a Minute Maid apple juice. The fizz of Canada Dry ginger ale blended with smooth apple juice soothed my dry throat as I continued to explore the touch screen console. I pushed a button labeled "Talk" and a submenu appeared. The seat-to-seat button looked like the perfect weapon to use on the cute half-asian behind me in 19A. After IMing her with a generic pickup,
"Hi....my chubby fingers can barely type on this controller made for 3 month old toddlers....doesn't Virgin rock?!?" there was a brief moment of silence.

Drats, I should have considered using Flmodesq21's tried and true pick up line, "Yo wuddup?" Blunt yes, but very effective in its simplicity.

The cursor blinked for what seemed like forever in the chat room and I was about to close my eyes and embrace my second siesta when the following words blinked its way on my screen, "Hi, I'm Aisha...what kind of name is Zion? Is that your real name?"

And the game was afoot. (Darryl Hammond's SNL Sean Connery's voice)

She was a half Japanese half Euro lady in town for business. She was an Aries and was going on 24. Her accent (danish? swedish?) was intoxicating and her face was a la Kristin Kreuk from Smallville fame. Our conversation made the flight seem much shorter and numbers were exchanged...in the chat room form our seats. I cannot stress how this feature is so cool....other airlines need to get in on this. Satisfied patrons around me were watching Top Chef reruns, playing Tetris, watching Hancock, or ordering drinks.

After deplaning, I almost died in Brooklyn. Rather than pay the $55 cabfare for a 30 min ride, I chose $2 public transportation. Arriving on the bus, with my 2 carryons, it was obvious I was the only asian. Everyone on the bus had 2 things in common: they were all going to Brooklyn, and they all had Obama paraphenelia. Apparently the bus was indeed going to the BK, more specifically the Bedford-Stuyvesant area which sounded vaguely familiar. I later found out that it was definitely the opposite way of where I needed to go. Son of a-----not only was i standing up sandwiched between 2 bums with pronounced halitosis, my duffel bag was crammed between my knees and causing 2 separate cramps in my cankles. Just when I thought the bus couldn't physically accept new passengers, the bus stopped and 4 more people came on. Repeat 6 times.

I cursed myself silently for not taking a taxi as sweat dripped on my brow from the fetid, steamy air. After getting a tip from a nice old lady, I found the L train station at New Lots Avenue and went all the way to Union Square, then down to Brooklyn. By the grace of God, I made it home safely, for only $2! as well as 2 hours of my life I'll never get back.

The night ended with me enjoying a nice bowl of Cheerios and Frosted Mini Wheats while watching the latest episode of Office. I really feel bad for Jim as he knows deep down that Pam belongs in NY for her artistic pursuits. Can't wait for the Bernard wedding on Shrute Beet Farms.

Violated

2008-10-30T17:48:00.003-04:00

A few months ago I saw Wayne Brady live at the Venetian. He put on a good show (with some killer pop-and-lock moves) and had me cracking up. Did you know he has a cd coming out? He sang us a generic-sounding single at the end of the show which is available on itunes i think.

Anyway, watch Wayne get pwned here:

florida!

2008-10-29T14:58:00.002-04:00

Been at home and enjoying every minute.

I realized there are so many things i took for granted....the great water pressure of my shower, the comfort of my queen-size bed, the soothing sound of the backyard lake, the echo off the wood floor from the grand piano, the barking of my dog Riceball, the blue skies and fresh air absent from Manhattan, and the love of parents.

Went fishing for the first time a few days ago with my parents, grandparents, and some friends. We collectively caught 53 fish and 1 stingray in 5 hours. I was impatient at first, but once you get the hang of it, you feel sorry for the fish. The frozen squid we used for bait worked flawlessly. The most important thing was that my grandparents were extremely happy! They are retired and are usually bored but the fishing trip gave them new energy. I never heard my grandpa yell so much before. Like kids in a candy store....

Will update with pictures later.

Ramen-mania

2008-10-29T14:56:00.001-04:00

Finally, someone who agrees with my own ramen rankings.

Long live Momofuku!

Eminem!

2008-10-16T01:00:00.002-04:00

I'm obsessed with Eminem. Although I don't agree with his subject matter, I enjoy his creativity, rhythm, and syncopation. The man is a genius with words.

Here is a freestyle that just came out:

12 bug bites!

2008-10-13T13:24:00.000-04:00

One step forward for Asiankind.

PSA Announcement

2008-10-02T11:16:00.001-04:00

Make a Choice

Everyday I'm Hu$tlin'

2008-09-30T01:50:00.001-04:00

My new favorite comedian: Kat Williams
My new favorite song: Everyday I'm Hustlin' by Rick Ross

Cooking

2008-09-27T11:21:00.002-04:00

There are phases of when I feel like cooking and when I don't.

I'm currently in the phase of cooking.

Pros: Cheaper long run, sense of self-fulfillment when eating one's culinary creation, meeting cool people while shopping for ingredients, the smile on my guests' faces when they taste (your "serrano chili panko shrimp is amazing!"), and mental process for planning a dish conceptually and then executing.

Cons: Takes an average of an hour from conception to creation (ordering takeout around the corner is a temptation i'm still struggling with), cleaning the kitchen, pots, pans, when finished (i'm just lazy).

The pros for sure outweigh the cons.

I always turn to my cousin's blog for needed inspiration-he's a real Hsu chef....and a witty writer too.

Have a great weekend!

David Blaine

2008-09-24T10:36:00.002-04:00

So David Blaine is up to his usual antics. His endurance stunt this time is to hang upside down for 60 hours (non-consecutive) in Central Park. I'd go and check it out except....it sounds boring. I miss his magic. Screw these stunts.

Anyway, gotta wake up now and get ready to go to the Bronx Zoo, one of the largest zoos in the US. AND it's free on Wednesdays-score!

Str8 or Jovial?

2008-09-22T00:45:00.000-04:00

How is your hair whorl looking?

Turn off the Video Camera

2008-09-15T11:56:00.003-04:00

interesting post i found on the information superhighway pasted below.

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TURN OFF THE VIDEO CAMERA

Ever wonder what people are thinking about you?

Have you ever seen a group of people chattering and laughing and maybe looking at you, and wonder if they’re talking about you? Then, do you wonder whether they’re saying good or bad things about you?

Are you ever talking to a woman, and you say something that could be interpreted the wrong way, and suddenly you feel really awkward and feel the need to explain yourself?

Well, here’s the deal…

It’s called self-consciousness, and it’s a really bad habit.

I was really self-conscious when I started out in the game. I think smart, analytical types fall into self-consciousness a lot easier than others, and as a really analytical guy, I was constantly trying to guess what people thought of me.

It was like I had a mental video camera (or a mirror) pointed at myself, playing back everything I did, so I could make sure I was coming off right. Sometimes, at night, I would sit and play my “tapes” of that day, wondering what I could have done better, or beating myself up over things I said.

Then I turned the camera off, and my life got way better.

As it turns out, that video camera wasn’t doing what I wanted it to do. I used it to try and improve myself, to make people like me, but it didn’t work. It didn’t make me an attractive person, and it didn’t give me good feedback on what others thought of me. In fact, it just messed me up, and getting rid of it was one of the best things I’ve ever done.

At first, though, it seems like the video camera would be a good idea. Self-consciousness is, basically, being concerned about what others think of you, and of how you “come across.” I’ll be the first to agree that how you come across is really, really important. Why wouldn’t having a little mental video camera help you come across better? There are several reasons.

First, people don’t judge you nearly as harshly as you judge yourself. The fact is, 90% of the time when two people meet, each person is thinking “I wonder what [the other] thinks of me, I hope [the other] likes me.” They’re so worried about themselves that they’re not passing judgment.

Think about how often you pass judgment on others; now think of how often you’re worried about others passing judgment on you. Personally, unless someone is being a total idiot or is really awesome, I rarely think much of someone I just met. 95% of people fall into the “yeah, they’re okay” category, and the other 5% is split between “ugh, this person sucks” and “this person is really cool.”

Basically, if you’re concerned about what people think of you, 95% of the time you’re wasting your time.

Second, people actually like others better when they’re showing their flaws and not apologizing for them. You’re better off being “yourself,” saying a few things here or there that are moderately dumb, and handling those mess-ups with grace, than you are trying to be flawless.

Self-conscious people are boring and sterile. They don’t say anything funny or interesting because they’re afraid of saying something wrong. Interesting people are willing to say something wrong here or there, as long as the overall interaction is fun.

Third, that little video camera uses a lot of brain power! I actually used to stutter and run out of things to say when I was self-conscious because I was constantly multi-tasking. Once I took all that brain power I was using to analyze myself and applied it to my conversations, my conversational IQ went up by 20 points in one night. My wit and reaction times went up dramatically once I didn’t have to filter my actions through my self-consciousness filter.

So, how do you deal with self-consciousness? There are a bunch of different strategies, some of which work better for different people. I recommend that anyone who has issues with self-consciousness should try all of these, and find out which works best for you.

The first thing you have to do is realize, logically, that self-consciousness is counterproductive and wrong, and be able to recognize when you’re being self-conscious.

But, convincing your logical brain that self-consciousness doesn’t work is pretty easy compared to teaching and training your subconscious and emotional mind to stop a destructive thought pattern.

The best way to get over self-conscious thoughts is to put yourself in uncomfortable situations and blast your way through. Public speaking is a great way to do this. And of course, meeting women, either during the day or at a bar, is the best way to get over this.

Also, I highly recommend improv classes for eliminating self-consciousness. Next to going out and pushing yourself into meeting women, this is the best thing you can do. Improv classes are pretty much designed to break down self-consciousness. Basically, they involve making a fool of yourself in front of a small group of people who are also making fools of themselves. Oh, and you have to be clever at the same time – it’s pretty tough.

Finally, one thing that worked really well for me was shifting my attention. I took that part of my brain that was trying to guess what people thought of me, and I devoted it to observing how people were reacting. I started focusing on watching a woman’s face, and not speculating about what might be going on in her mind. So if I said, for example, a joke that was a bit rude, and I was worried that I had offended her, I would look into her eyes. If she looked like she was getting offended I would say “aww, Sarah’s so nice, she’s totally offended” to diffuse the situation. If she laughed at the joke, though, I’d just keep going.

This is important because you still need to be conscious of how people perceive you if you want to be socially calibrated, but self-consciousness is not the way to do it. Watching body language and reaction is objective and reliable, whereas self-consciousness is subjective and unreliable. By watching how a person reacts, instead of trying to guess what she’s thinking, you can do a much better job of knowing what is going through her mind.

And most of the time, she’s just enjoying the ride.

New Beginning

2008-09-13T11:12:00.000-04:00

Today, I take a leap of faith. Time for a new chapter. Let's see what happens.

Pure Entertainment

2008-09-13T00:52:00.002-04:00

Someone should film this at Duke's Bostock library.

I leave you with 4 words.

Old...Man....Bites.....Tenderly.....

Mmm....Guinness

2008-09-11T17:28:00.002-04:00

Interesting ad.

Japanese Game Show

2008-09-08T00:36:00.001-04:00

We need more game shows like this in America.

I dedicate this post to my favorite Japanese friend, Miho Susanna Kubagawa.

Labor Day Vacay Part 2

2008-09-04T13:34:00.012-04:00

After winning the first two hands I was dealt, I set the tone at the table. I was in the zone and was feeling good about my game. I wanted to establish my image early on and wanted to control the table. About 20 minutes in, my control was temporarily interrupted.

An elderly gentleman came in through the front door and introduced himself as Ben. His salt and pepper hair and mustache reminded me of Tom Selleck from the "Friends" era. He was swathed in a khaki Tommy Bahamas shirt with emblazoned palm trees logos and matching khaki shorts. He was semi-retired from the construction industry and spent most of his time riding around his Harley.

Bahama Ben seemed to be in a jovial mood as he greeted the other players and sat down. He was the type of player who loved to make small talk in between hands and during hands which wasn't too distracting. After winning some big pots with strong hands, his reply was always, "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then" or "I'd rather be lucky then good." For some reason, I had a subconscious desire to wipe that smug smile off his face.... with his own Benjamins. Besides, I wanted my control of the table back.

With KhQh in MP, I raised it $7 and got a few callers including Bahama Ben. Up until this point, Bahama Ben played strong hands so I knew I had to flop a monster in order to acquire his whole stack.

The flop was decent-A, J, x. I fired a bet to get information to see whether anyone had an Ace. Everyone folded to Bahama Ben who called. Information acquired.

Magically, a 10 peeled off on the turn giving me the nuts, aka "sweet juicy justice". I lazily rapped my knuckles on the table feigning weakness.

The trap was cocked, locked and ready to rock.

He took 2 green chips totaling $50 and tossed them into the $37 pot. An overbet?!? I then reminded myself that this was an amateur who didn't know about bet sizing and pot odds. He had overbet the pot 3 hands ago with pocket kings. At this point, I put him on a strong hand like AA or JJ....but then why didn't he re-raise me preflop?

I was still trying to answer this question when my hands automatically tossed 2 green chips into the pot, matching his bet.

"Jesse calls with a draw" chirped Rishi, a pediatrician who loved calling out opponents' hands with eerie accuracy. This was one of the rare times his radar was off. I even had him fooled.

The river was a meaningless low card. I checked again sensing that Bahama Ben was going to fire another barrel-and fire he did, betting his whole stack in one forceful motion.

"I'm all-in" he announced as he shoved his $163 worth of chips in the middle of the table. This all in bet represented the majority of my stack. The remnants of his jovial smile had long disappeared, leaving only the wrinkles etched on his jowls.

I double-checked my hand to see if I indeed possessed the unbeatable hand as there were no flush draws out there. Cards didn't change. My mind didn't change. I thought about it for a good 7 seconds and muttered, "I call. You have KQ too? I guess we're splitting the pot."

He shook his head and let out a deep sigh.

"The one time I decide to bluff....the one time I decided to buy the pot, I happen to run into a real hand..." said Bahama Ben as he scratched his head. I never did see his hand since I was busily creating the Twin Towers with my newfound stack of chips. Good effort by him though, as he applied maximum pressure.

The last memorable hand for me was picking up the bullets, AA. Someone had put in a straddle of $2 and there were 4 or 5 callers. It got to me and I had to thin the field so I can go up against one person. Aces never fare well against 6 people.

I nonchalantly slid 2 green chips in the middle making it $50 to go.

"Jesse, you know those are 2 green chips....you meant to put in 2 blue chips right?" asked Rishi in a sarcastic tone.

Action folded to the host of the game. His name was Don and he was a professional painter (not dali, but for houses/offices). At this point, he had amassed an ample stack from his loose play.

"I raise....$100 more," said Don with confidence. "What do you think about that, Jesse?"

Action folded to me and I had a decision to make. After playing with Painter Don over the past few years, I knew his game was loose and he loved playing weak hands like QJ or 44. His range was very wide and he could be reraising me with squadoosh.

Our history extended beyond the poker felt. It just so happened that I used to teach him and his son the violin when I was in Tampa. They were pretty good-getting through half of Suzuki Volume 1 when I heeded the call to move to NY.

Back to the hand. I wanted to see where I was at.....it was time to acquire information.

"Donny boy, how much you got left in your stack? $150 more?" I asked in a serious voice.

At that point, he had gone in for multiple rebuys.....he was definitely down $700, slightly tilted, and probably wanted to make it back before I left.

"Let's see here, I got $20....$34....$75....look, I got enough," he replied coolly and a bit defensively.

"Then I'm all-in," I muttered, with enough gravitas to make Clint Eastwood blush.

It didn't surprise me that Painter Don didn't call immediately. His hand was caught in the cookie jar.

"Donny.....you know me...what else would I be moving all-in with?" I asked.

We simultaneously exclaimed, "Pocket 2's?"

Nervous laughter cracked the tense silence in the air.

He hemmed and hawed and was probably going to fold. I decided to make his decision even easier by exposing one card, the Ace of Spades. I also did this to discourage him from seeing a flop with his 10J or KQ and hitting a miracle two pair.

He finally folded and flashed 7 and 8 of clubs.

Rishi dealt the flop for fun to see what would have come and it was 5,6,7. The turn was an 8, and the river was like a K.

Had I not gotten him to fold, he would have caught a lucky 2 pair. Whew, disaster avoided.

It was getting to be around 1am and we took off. My compatriots and I made off with most of the money.... about $500 profit each which made us giddy like schoolgirls at a Jonas Brothers concert.

Can't wait for the Thanksgiving Game.

Gobble, gobble indeed.

Stoked for Kevin Smith's New Flick

2008-09-03T16:51:00.007-04:00

Thanks for the link Jon.

I love all the actors in this upcoming film.

Big fan of Kevin Smith movies and a new fan of Craig Robinson (the actor who plays Darryl the warehouse worker from "The Office").

Craig was super hilarious in the role of the bouncer in Apatow's "Knocked Up".

Glengarry Glen Ross....

Labor Day Vacay Part 1

2008-09-02T17:19:00.003-04:00

So far, the vacation has been very relaxing. Came back to Tampa for labor day weekend+ dad's 59th birthday.

Goodbye to the crowds of people, dirty subways, and rude New Yorkers.

Hello green palm trees, blue skies, and serene isolation.

I've been getting up around 11am, making a cup of coffee, and heading out to my screened backyard to read a magazine. The backyard overlooks a 5 acre lake with egrets and swans strolling about on the grassy shore.

Riceball, my bichon frise of 9 years, curls up in my lap and yawns. The morning is not so humid yet and the natural sunlight and fresh air energizes me.

In terms of poker, things have been going well. There is a juicy neighborhood game of pediatricians, corporate lawyers, and retired businessmen that gathers bi-monthly.
Nice guys with great kids (I used to teach piano to the majority of them) that just love the game of poker. Losing $500-$1000 for them is just a night out with the boys.

Someone usually won the majority of the money sitting on the table. That someone, was me.

After getting an invite to The Game, I invited my 2 friends as well. I knew the game would be lucrative so I wanted to share the spoils.

After arriving on time, we found that the game was already in full swing. A few Bud Lights were opened (a good sign), and the familiar clink-clink of chips were splashed about in reckless abandon (an even better sign).

We took our seats and made introductions with the people that would be indirectly paying for my plane ticket, my dad's birthday dinner, and my mom's manicure the next day.

After buying in for the the usual $100, I made a quick glance at the bank and quickly estimated that there was already $2000 already in the case. Not a bad start.

Uncle Ben, a wealthy VP from Coca-Cola, was happy to see me and to try to take my money. He was retired and has traveled the world for business and pleasure. The shiny reflection of his 24kt gold Rolex never ceases to catch my eye even after all these months. We had become good friends as he was my neighbor that lived next door. In the past, we have played some high-stakes table tennis while downing shots of Johnny Walker Blue. Usually after coaxing me to take 3 shots of Blue, I was at a severe disadvantage. One ping-pong ball multiplied into two.

"Ready to play?" winked Uncle Ben. He shuffled his ample chipstack and gave me a wry smile.

"I'm always ready Benny," I responded sarcastically.

The game was about to get very interesting...

Dorm-Life

2008-08-30T09:57:00.002-04:00

This mockumentary is one of my all time favorite things to watch. Never fails to crack me up. Makes me wax nostalgia about Duke as I definitely was the Danny B of my class.

It's like "The Office" but with college kids.

Can't wait until Season 2.

PING-PONG

2008-08-29T14:19:00.003-04:00

Just when I thought Asians were making strides in the film industry
....something like this sets us back a few years.

Sigh.

Anyone want to write a script with me about Asians?

The rules: No pingpong, martial arts, gambling and other stereotypes.

Travel Smart.

2008-08-29T13:13:00.002-04:00

The following is a list of things to pack when traveling according to this website:

For more tips and tricks for traveling light, check out the website.

Delicious Restaurants in NY

2008-08-29T09:52:00.001-04:00

I've always been on a quest to find great restaurants in NY.

Now with this TV show, I'll know EXACTLY where to go.

World-renowned chef Daniel Boulud hosts these informal dinners after hours at restaurants owned by his buddies. Not only do you get to see the delicious entrees offered by the restaurant, you get to see Daniel in action as he usually cooks one dish per episode.

The only negative about this show is the immediate inclination to consume food upon completion of the show. I'm only on the 5th episode and I have gained 3 lbs.

Curse you Red Mango and your close proximity to my office.

movies101.org

2008-08-27T19:09:00.002-04:00

A friend fwded me info about this class. The class consists of advance screenings before they premiere in US theaters. After the screening, there is an interview with the lead actors/directors as well as discussion.

Definitely something I'd like to check out.....just look at this upcoming schedule and stars to appear. Really looking forward to Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro of course, as well as Choke's Sam Rockwell.

Trying to get the Tech to go with me. Who else is free on Thursday nights?

The Fall.

2008-08-23T18:07:00.001-04:00

It was a battle I was winning.

No surprise there as I have been preparing meticulously for this moment-mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Every move was calculated.
Every action had a purpose.
Every mistake was intentional.

This was David versus Goliath except I didn’t have any polished stones and slings.
I had grenades.

Not to say I wasn’t nervous. I was alone and had no backup. Left to my own defenses, if you will. If I failed, I had nobody to blame but myself. Yet, there was no time for failure. I was too busy collecting purple and yellow chips in haphazard stacks.

“Mr. Chun, would you like to double down?” inquired the dealer. His name was Sam and got his start at the Sahara a few years back. He had 2 daughters and a son who became a famous professor at Rice University.

I had an 8 of spades and a 3 of diamonds with about $600 on the table. The dealer had a 4 showing. In a nonchalant manner, I pushed forward a chip stack of $600 to doubling my original bet. The crowd of college students wearing Baylor sweatshirts and one middle aged Saudi Arabian businessman in a khaki suit held their breath. They were ecstatic to witness the massacre that had been going on for the past 45 minutes.

“Good luck,” whispered Sam. He actually meant it as I had been flicking him $25 green chips for tips. Of course I knew the 10 ball was coming making my hand a beautiful 21.

I couldn’t lose. High fives were given around the table even after my 5th blackjack 20 min ago. To them, I was the luckiest person in the world even though luck had nothing to do with it. Everything was calculated and I was in control of every variable.

The only factor I failed to calculate were the three men in black suits making their way past the slot machines behind my back...

Wercome everybody!

2008-08-18T23:18:00.000-04:00

After living in NY for about a year, I think I have finally found the key to happiness.

Balance.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All play and no work makes Jack lose touch with reality.

With my current schedule, monday blends into Wednesday. Morning fades to evening and before I know it, the day is wasted.

I believe it's necessary to find a routine that will give structure to one's day. A routine will also increase efficiency as it's very easy to waste time with no purpose/goal. I hope that blogging regularly will be part of my daily routine.

No matter how insignificant or lame the post, it will be important to me when I read it later in my 50's. Hopefully I will have progressed and not regressed in terms of emotional maturity, spirituality, and wealth.

I've been perfecting some recipes and am going to try to learn how to make a dish I had the other night.

I was with a bunch of friends on Saturday night watching Michael Phelps chase history for 8 gold medals. But I was distracted.....by this dish I never had before.

It's called Baked Brie and consists of brie cheese, phyllo crust brushed with butter, and apricot preserves.

It was love at first bite.

Ok-this wraps up my wercome post for all my 4 faithful readers. More to come later.

Be easy,
Zion