Happy Valentine's to Me

Happy Valentine's to Me
Originally uploaded by misocrazy

This may have been the best Valentine's Day I've ever had.

I didn't even intend to celebrate the holiday, but by the end of the day, it felt like I did.

I planned to leave the house early, but then my roommate woke up, announcing that I had to stay for waffles she was going to make, because her sister and sister's boyfriend were visiting.

I couldn't say no to that, so while I waited for brunch, I found some crochet supplies to bring with me on the subway. We enjoyed some delicious waffles with fresh berries and syrup on top. In exchange, I offered them my Netflix of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist to watch as they digested their yummy brunch.

Finally I got out of the house. While I attempted to crochet on the subway, two very fluffy-haired, young men in skinny jeans and scarves hopped on the N and were continuing a very enthusiastic conversation over whether something was Apollonian vs. Dionysian. One of them spoke in a British accent, but I thought the other dark-haired fellow was cuter. But I also suspected he wasn't straight, possibly too hipstery, and either not interested in a girl who had no idea what they were talking about, or too caught up in his own brilliant studies to know what to do with a girl, so I continued crocheting my little pink heart. Also I didn't want to interrupt their fascinating conversation.

Finally found the New York Public Library, which is as beautiful and majestic as my art history teacher described. There are old sculptures and frescoes all over the building, so I had to stop and take photos like a tourist, even though I live in Manhattan.



I got an access card and started to research games from India (for my art history class and games class). Of course, the friendly old librarian chatted with me about types of games I could look at, maybe a little too long, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

But time was running out for me to make it to the Whitney Museum. I got there just in time, about an hour before it closed. It was Alexander Calder's early works, in Paris, which involved a lot of mechanical wire sculpture. There were even scraps of art from when Calder was a child and created Valentines and wrote the sweetest letters to his mother.



A big portion of the exhibit included his mechanized wire and fabric circus, which he performed like a puppet show. It was all very charming and related so well to toy design. Some of the wire sculptures were really funny and referenced other art. He even made wire facial portraits of people. And I learned that he started as a newspaper illustrator, which I once did myself. It was so inspiring! I loved it and was so happy to see it before it closed.

Then I tried to rush over to FAO Schwartz before it closed, to get a thank-you token gift to a friend. But on the way there, I ran into Dylan's Candy Bar, a fancy candy shop I had never been to. So I stopped in to look, partly because I had to design a candy-based toy anyway. And I decided I would just get candy instead as the thank-you gift, since it was much easier to share. Plus I could get candy for myself and my friends.



I left with almost $60 in candy, chocolate, fudge, Jelly Bellies, and a pair of gummy-bear-shaped earrings.

On the way home, I passed a McDonald's, where I picked up 3 Happy Meal Sanrio watches! Woo!



Exhausted from the fun, I enjoyed some delicious local Chinese takeout, from "Excellent Dumpling House" at home. Then my roommate came home with some friends who just saw a horrible play about love stories, so I shared some candy with them.

Also, in that same weekend, I bought a pink Domokun plush, pretty underwear, and Hello Kitty MAC makeup for myself.



So I feel like I had a very romantic "quirkyalone"-style date with New York City, with all the traditional gifts that come with Valentine's Day (except for boring roses). Surely it was better than all the Valentine's Days I've ever spent with a boy! Boys were always disappointing on Valentine's Day. ...And I suppose in general. I keep hoping one will surprise me, but I guess I'll be doing okay if it never happens!

Hmm. This is going to make it harder for me to want to date again.

Why?

Why did my relatives choose to live in one of the coldest big cities of America? Of course I arrived just in time for the coldest day of the year! It is minus four degrees.

I suppose I should be thankful that my flight was relatively uneventful and only had a slight delay.

On the upside, I am rather proud that on the morning of my flight, I was able to make time to grab a Vietnamese sandwich, shop at the Opening Ceremony sample sale, and stop by the Muji store to pick up last-minute gifts.

Also, for the first time in my life, I changed tops in public at a sample sale. I saw both men and women changing in public! I remember being a little mortified seeing women change in public at a Barney's sample sale last year, but somehow it didn't look as psycho to me this time.

Maybe this sale was a lot calmer than the other one, so it didn't feel as desperate of a situation. Maybe seeing both genders exposing themselves this way, with such shopping determination, made it seem like less of a free show. Maybe I didn't see any saggy old butts at this one, so it was less scary.

So I just faced a corner and changed tops. It wasn't so bad. But I couldn't get myself to change back out of it, (especially because a hetero couple was chatting and discussing what to buy behind me and wouldn't go away). Luckily I did want to buy the top, so I just left it on.

A girl in the checkout line ahead of me said, "That's a really nice top, I didn't see that one!" so that made it all the worthwhile. (This happens a lot when I shop – female strangers telling me something looks great on me. It's to the point that I almost wonder if they're planted by Marketing people, to convince me of buying things.)

I have yet to change bottoms in public, but I have considered it in crowded stores. I saw a woman at this particular sale wore a long sweater, specifically so she could try on jeans, which was rather smart for cold-weather-sample-sale-shopping.

But I think the best wardrobe strategy for attending sample sales is wearing leggings with a tank top or tube top and skirt. And maybe even swimwear, or at least very flattering underwear with good coverage. I'll have to remember that in the future.

Is public clothes-changing one of the rites of passage toward New-Yorker-hood? Or is that just a statement about not caring as much what people think now that I'm older? Or is it a statement about having nicer underclothes? Meh, I'm just glad I have a cute new top... that I can't wear until the weather gets warm again, in at least 3 months.

Anyhoo, my nephew in Chicago is still redonkulously cute, even if he does prefer playing with boys over playing with girls and asks me to draw the one type of toy I'm not good at drawing (construction vehicles). I'm sure that will change eventually.

For now, I will enjoy his toddler antics, such as screaming at the top of his lungs arbitrarily to see how we'll react, obsessing about "bee-doo"s (his word for bulldozer), taking my hand to show me things, not being able to pronounce "s" sounds, and smiling adorably at everyone with a twinkle of mischief in his eye when he wakes up, like it's always time for fun.

Oh no, it's finals week!

Oh yes, our final projects are due for a presentation this Wednesday. This means we'll be presenting our carefully labored, constructed hard toys and storybook progress, all recorded on video.

This means our class is cracking a bit under pressure.

The day started out alright, with people sanding plastic toy parts, testing paints and advising each other on paint methods and color choices. But a lot of us have way too much to finish before Wednesday, so panic was slowly setting in.

So a few classmates started trying to sweet-talk our workshop lab teacher to let us come in on SUNDAY, which is normally our only day off from the school week.

As if it weren't bad enough that we have to spend every full Saturday at school, toiling away on workshop toys like Santa's worker elves, we actually were pleading to have another workshop day on Sunday!

Then the Chair of the Toy Design department stopped by in the afternoon, with surprise cookie treats. She asked how we were doing and whether we'd be in tomorrow too. But we pitifully mentioned that we didn't have additional workshop hours tomorrow.

She gave us a look of shock and then had a quick talk with the lab teacher. Then she told us that we would be able to have lab class on Sunday after all.

To this, we responded with yelps of joy!

Later, I grabbed a quick dinner at McDonald's, where I realized that My Little Ponies were available with Happy Meals. So I brought My beautiful rainbow-haired, baby-blue Little Pony back, which of course was met with envy by Jan. She called another classmate, Carlito, who was still at Mickey D's to tell him to buy her a My Little Pony too, but without the Happy Meal.

Carlito came back, to tell us that the lady at McDonald's wouldn't let him buy a pony without buying a Happy Meal.

...to which, Jan responded, "What!? I'm gonna kick her in the face!"

I was equally dismayed by this news. And as we started bitching about how effed up it was that McD's wouldn't let her buy a pony, Carlito tossed the pouch of beautiful rainbow-haired party-themed pony at Jan, at which she cooed with glee. Oh that crazy Carlito.

Half the class stayed after lab hours, (as usual during finals) until 2am, when security guards kick us out. We generally manage to get along and laugh and listen to music while we work, but today it got to the point where someone left the room to cry, and later, another classmate sliced his finger with an exacto knife at his desk, dripping blood, causing him to nearly faint. Another student had to help him take a cab to the emergency room for stitches.

So tonight, I'm going to get a good night's rest, so I'm alert enough to not injure myself while working. And maybe I'll pick up some extra Vietnamese sandwiches to keep everyone's blood sugar up. And somehow I will finish this plastic baby "Girlilla," and it will be beautiful!

Another Day in the Life

Haven't done one of these in awhile.

This is for all my ol' colleagues who once worked at Yahoo! Sorry I couldn't be there for the UED reunion. Hope you kids are doing great! If you're wondering what I'm up to, this is a sample day of my school-centered life that keeps me from seeing anyone outside of class until I graduate in May:

9:45am Wake up late, with stiff finger muscles from sanding plastic toy parts for several hours over the last few days for model-making class.

10:30 Sick of the dreary winter weather, I book a flight to L.A. for January.

11:30 Take the 1 subway uptown to class, for which I am about an hour late.

noon Glance over my 106% grade on test (yay for open book & extra credit on math tests at a trade-focused school!) and then listen to the bucktoothed but almost-cute teacher review how to calculate the distance of a star based on its parallax & how to calculate sizes of spirals as they grow. Pleased to hear him say he'll be bringing chocolate Dunkin' Donuts to our final exam.

1pm Go out to get lunch, pass by outdoor vendors with cute accessories on the way. FIT somehow arranges this on most Wednesdays during the school year. Fashion schools in NYC are neat!

1:30 Pick up painting supplies, like spraycan gloss coating, tiny paintbrushes, tape, and face mask at the art supply store.

2:00 Browse 20 different feathered headbands at the weekly vendors near school and finally pick a pretty brown one to buy.

2:30 Return to classroom, open up laptop, and revise color studies of my baby gorilla hard toy.

3:30 Pull hard toy project & supplies out of my locker and spread out them out all over desk. Play iPod on my new lego-speaker so my classmates have some holiday tunes to work to.

3:45 Sketch concepts for candy toy assignment.

4:00 Research online for candy-based toys. Sketch a few more concepts.

5:00 While my classmates are sanding and refining their hard toys, (toys that we should have started painting by now but haven't,) I talk to the hard toy teacher about colors. We agree on purple fur, beige skin pink hair, pink dress, orange flower, and brown eyes.

5:30 Refine Illustrator file of final color choice, help Lilo brainstorm how to execute a Sushi-chef cat who prepares sushi candy into a toy concept.

6:30 After all the sushi talk, we get hungry and order Japanese takeout with classmates for dinner. Agree to split some sushi and a Katsu-don with Lilo, was we are in the mood for the same kind of food 90% of the time.

7:00 Start trimming off rough edges of my baby Girlilla's plastic body with an exacto knife and sandpaper.

7:30 Eat takeout food in the hall, with classmates. Lilo and I agree that the Katsu-don is disappointingly dry.

8pm Review candy toy concepts with teacher. We agree on a train that mines gem-shaped candies from a candy mountain.

8:30 Load up "Pushing Daisies" to watch on my laptop, as I continue sanding and filling gaps with superglue and some toxic spackle-like material on the baby Girlilla.

9:30 Cut holes in the top the Girlilla's plastic head to insert hot pink hair and a resin-cast hibiscus flower, as Jee, the girl next to me, slowly fades into zombie mode from sleep deprivation.

10:30 Berate Jee to stop sanding unimportant details that nobody will look at. I finally steal a part of her toy and tell her to go home and sleep.

11pm Align and cut holes out of my Girlilla's remote control to make room for buttons.

11:30 Photograph progress of hard toy, clear off desk, and put hard toy & supplies back in lockers.

midnight Take subway 1 downtown and walk home in pouring rain.

12:30 midnight snack, shower, late night tv, email, and review my schedule of tasks to complete final projects for the next week.

Tomorrow, I hope I start painting that Girlilla! If not, I will have all of Saturday to do it too. If I'm lucky, I'll have time to solder a circuit board, not that I really know how to do that yet.

Sunday's my only day off from class time, but that just means a whole day of work this time, since it's the finals crunch week. Wish me luck!

Yes we can! Yes we did!

For once in a long time, I was excited to vote today. And for once I was optimistic, and I felt happy to be an American.

I voted for the first time as a New York resident, and even though the volunteer at the voting station was a bit rude, distracted, and could barely figure out the alphabet to look up addresses properly, I was happy to get in that voting booth.



As an extra treat, they had this crazy contraption with switches and a giant red lever, unlike the quiet little computerized voting booth I used back in Palo Alto.

Sadly, after voting, I was cooped up at school all day until after 9pm. And sadly, our storybook teacher got upset with us. She even spoke to our computer rendering teacher about it, and he said he had never seen our storybook teacher so upset before. It appears she is suddenly upset that we are behind on our big storybook project.

We are confused by it, because we all work hard all day on schoolwork until late at night, every day, (except for maybe Sundays when we finally get to clean our clothes, homes, and ourselves. Even on Sundays, half my class still goes to school). Maybe we worked too much on our other toy design projects, but really, we have too much to do, in a realistic sense.

It feels wrong that she would be so upset at us over this. So, sadly, I couldn't go out to the election parties or bars to share the joy of this historic day with the rest of New York. I couldn't even join my cousins uptown to just watch it on tv. Instead, I went home to catch up on schoolwork. With the tv on, of course!

But this is such a historic day. This is bigger than a cranky teacher or my grades in a storybook class. I can't let that ruin this happy, historic moment. We are part of a country that can not only accept, but even choose, with enthusiasm, an interracial president! We will have a president that we can be proud of. Even in a sinking economy, have hope and enthusiasm! Obama has a big job ahead of him, but for once we have someone we believe in.

And an extra shout-out to Jennifer Lau, who isn't even an American citizen yet, who left all her loving friends in San Francisco to work on the Obama/Biden campaign as a field organizer in battleground states. Yay! Thanks to everyone who voted! You are the best!

Is that a Full Moon Out?

Cuz all kinds of craziness is happening!

1. I impulsively ran out to buy a Playstation 3 last Saturday for some emergency karaoke. Yes, in my world, there is such a thing as emergency karaoke. At least this time I didn't break my tooth doing it. Phew!

Like I told Lilo, you laugh at me now, but you will thank me later.

2. Not only does Dubbledubs know all the lyrics to Corrine Bailey Rae's "Put your Records On," but he sings it like a champ.



Like a real pre-teen girl scout champ.

3. My friends and I consumed 80 pounds of amazingly delicious food at Fatty Crab, and we were still hungry for dessert (at Chickalicious –so much more satisfying than Magnolia Cupcakes).

4. The Emotion Eric and my other friend Kawabunga came over and helped to get the Internet working on my new PS3. (It only took two days for them to figure it out, even though they supposedly work in "tech-no-logy.")

And WELL WORTH it, as I was then able to download Singstar karaoke videos of Spandau Ballet's magic hit wonders, "True" and "Gold," as well as "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips for our eternal singing pleasure.



Jealous, no?

5. A sleazy weirdo from my long-ago past commented on my recent entry about sleazy men! Funny, disturbing, or ironic? Maybe all of the above. (Sorry Nick, just bein' honest there. You're not gonna change my mind on that one.)

6. My 2 classmates, Jee & Lilo cannot get that stupid "Beep-Beep" song by PCD out of our heads. Thanks, KP. Bum-bum, BUM-BUM, bum-bum-BUM!

(BTW, karaoke-ing to this is so much better if you replace the beeps with "crotch," "boobs," "butt," and the like, as demonstrated by Lilo.)

7. I passed on drinking cider and playing speed-Scrabble at home with my roommate and out-of-town friends just so I could study 3 problems for an open-book math test. WTF is wrong with me.

8. I took that math test, in which I calculated the number of Parsecs away an object is in outer space from earth, based on its positioned angle between the earth and the sun, also known as a stellar parallax. Oh yes, say it with me: SOH CAH TOA!

9. Two couples I know got engaged. I think Princess Tater & Prince Dodger started a trend! Congrats to Amy & Mark and Kevin & Coley!

10. Oh, one more thing: dogs can walk like people.

Big Trouble in Little Chi-beca

I had a bit too much last night. A bit too much, being glasses of Prosecco, Malbec, chocolate beer, a Tom Collins, and a Bud. My mistake was that when I started on the beer with new Tribecans (mostly folks also imported from San Francisco), I forgot that I had wine earlier with some ladyfriends. I also forgot that the chocolate beer came in a large bottle (as the bartender had warned me).



Anyway, I noticed that the room was spinning after I got home, so I knew I was in for a rough morning. The other ridiculous thing was that I had just finished my laundry before going out, but I hadn't made my bed. So I had to make my bed in a drunken stupor.

So today, after trying to sleep the day away to cure my hangover, I walked to Chinatown for some sustenance. On the way there, I saw policemen escorting a woman in cuffs to a car. Then I saw a Rastafarian in sunglasses, passed out, half-in-the-gutter, with an open-&-scattered dufflebag, alongside a parked car. All the Chinatown New Yorkers walked by like this was nothing new. Should I feel bad that I found this amusing?



Finally, I got to "Tea-riffic" and had a hearty pork & rice dish and a mango smoothie. As I finished up, a Taiwanese parade started outside, complete with dragon dancers, marching bands and such. I was happy to see all the Taiwanese flags but I didn't know what it was about. Is there some kind of Taiwanese holiday?



I was still worn out from the hangover, and I still had to tidy up for my Californian guests, so I just went home. But I appreciate that New York can still entertain me when I've mostly tried to hole myself up at home and head out for a quick bite of food. I think I quite like this neighborhood on the edge of Chinatown & Tribeca, or as my new roommate has called it, "Chi-beca."

Welcome back to New York!

Congrats to Princess Tatertot and Prince Big Bird!



They threw one of the most fun and touching weddings I've ever been to, and I'm not just saying that because I was a bridesmaid. Also kudos to the Maid of Honor who designed the beautiful invitations, programs, etc. And kudos to the Best Man who did a nice job in his first time as a wedding officiant.

Aside from the hairdresser burning my head, I had a fantastic weekend in surprisingly warm and sunny San Francisco, playing tourist with my L.A. friends.



Then I took a red-eye flight back to NYC (complete with a free Great Lash mascara sample from Jet Blue!?), only to be welcomed back with a day of fiascoes:

1. The building super informed me that he had to tear HOLES in the walls of my apartment to fix a plumbing leak. Later this was determined to be the result of our faulty laundry machine which I told my landlord to replace ages ago.

2. My cable bill which should have been transferred to my name was still emailed to my old roommate, but with my name spelled as a completely crazy and unfathomable name.

3. My Canadian bank account (from my summer job) sent me a money order to close my account, but they printed my last name as "Smith." FYI, that's not my last name. It's not even CHINESE.

4. Due to the economic crisis, one of my accounts was frozen without warning, right when my advisor placed some investment purchases, resulting in a crazy-negative balance on my bank account!!

5. I still have a pile of homework to catch up on, plus unpacking to do. And I didn't really sleep well on my red-eye flight, even with the nice sleeping mask and earbuds that Jetblue gave us.

So I started to take care of some of this, but by the afternoon, I started to fade. My landlord came over to supervise the Super, because she doesn't trust him. So I just went to sleep and figured maybe when I wake up, things will be much better.

After I woke up:

1. The holes in the wall were filled, and the leak was fixed. (but they still have to paint and clean it up.) But hey, this means the landlord will finally get us that new dishwasher she promised us! (Or we will be living w/ a big gaping hole in our kitchen)



2. Ehhh I'll deal w/ the cable retards later. It's just tv. Oh, and internet. Hmm.

3. I sent the money order back to the Canucks, who promise me they'll get it right this time. (I also picked up a delicious Mocha at the Le Colombe on the way to the post office. And I discovered that I live across from an awesome photography supply shop called K&M Tribeca. And the new shoe store beneath my apartment is nearly ready to be open.)



4. My financial guy had me fill out some forms and said it'll get resolved very soon... I trust him! It'll all be good!

5. I checked the mail and got a brand new digital camera in a pretty brown color, from my brother!

And today, I got an adorable pink camera case to go with it.



Then I got my credit card bill, which was surprisingly tiny. I checked the details and realized that a chunk of my tuition got refunded! That means my application for New York residency went THROUGH!

Yep, it's true. I have a New York driver's license, I'm registered to vote here, and now I'm a true New York resident. YAY!

Oh, about that homework... Um, after some compulsive Facebooking with all the adorable wedding photo updates, I need some more sleep now. I'll deal with school in the morning. I needed my recovery time after my flight anyway. It all works out somehow.

But I'm in line.

"Next on line?"
"No, you don't have to wait on line for that."

I have heard this for like, the 100th-plus time, when I'm waiting in line for a counter. I don't get it. My initial reaction is, "Um are you talking about the 'Internets?' Because no, I'm not online, on the Internets; I'm actually here, in person, in a physical line."

I don't even own an iPhone or a Blackberry, so I'm not even online there... I'm not ON a line, unless maybe you drew one on the floor? But I don't see a line drawn on the floor. I'm in the line. Am I crazy? Who uses "on line" in this context?

Apparently all of New York.

These are New Yorkers working at the DMV, at boutiques, delis, hot dog joints, at the airport, or getting interviewed for New York Magazine...

Is it a New York thing? Or a generational thing where people are misconstruing their prepositions due to all the confusing web jargon? Is it a language fad, where mixing prepositions is cool? Are there New Yorkers who don't even know that "online" is in reference to internet status? Am I just being a total web Nerd? Am I just officially old and not understanding what the kids are saying? Did some celebrity use it this way in a popular movie that I haven't seen, like "High School Musical 2"? I am so confused.

Another Day in the Life

9am: arrive at my Soft Toy class - lay out my Princess Monster color drawings, sketches, early prototypes of my monster, and sewing supplies.

9:30: transfer pattern shapes of my princess monster to muslin fabric

10am: Start cutting out patterns. Begin to ask classmates where we should eat for lunch, as we have a larger break today before the next class, and the weather is beautiful. They all mumble something indecisive, (as usual)

10:30: Act jovial, as visitors from the Toy Industry Association bring their kids to see our class for "Bring Your Kids to Work Day"

10:40: One boy looks at my princess monster drawing. I say, "Do you have any questions?" And he asks, "Why is one tooth is larger than the other?" I say, "Well, she's imperfect. Like people are imperfect. And I thought it would be funny." Later, he says, "Good luck!" He seems nice, but I can't tell if he's being sincere or facetious.

11:00: Help my classmate figure out how to adjust her plush monster shape, so that it has more of a old-man beer belly

11:15: Start sewing my third prototype for my princess monster. Hear my Plush Toy teacher announce that she's five months pregnant with her fourth child!

noon: Start to freak out as hunger rage sets in

12:20: Frantically find cookies in my emergency snack box to eat, knowing that my classmates take forever to pack up and agree on lunch

12:30: pack up and head out the door to lunch, hoping the rest will hurry up

12:45: Run across the street to get "Parksberry" (a Pinkberry knockoff), only to find that their yogurt machine is broken!

1pm: Get exasperated waiting for the last student to join us for lunch, promptly grabbing two of my classmates to finally go find a new place for lunch

1:15: subway uptown to 42nd Street, then delight in the beautiful, sunny weather while wandering around Times Square

1:30: Finally decide to eat at Junior's, which I had never been to. They bring out free pickles and beets!! I have a chocolate egg cream drink, egg salad, and a delicious matzo ball soup. I decide that I love this place, for its retro decor & music and yummy homestyle food.

2:30: walk briskly to the MoMA, where we are meeting our History of Industrial Design teacher for a tour. We check out the 3rd floor exhibit of Industrial Design, and then the Elastic Mind exhibit, where I spot one of my ex-coworkers' new media art (and also co-alumni of UCLA). Especially amused by the interactive shadow monster art, the Jonathan Harris piece on internet dating, and the products for a "lonely man." Decide that I'll have to go back later, since it's crowded and I'm too tired to look at everything.

4:45: Check out the bookstore, since our teacher offered his staff discount to us. Note a couple book titles to mark on my wishlist.

5:15: Join two classmates to hunt for doll accessories for our plush toys. They need shoes and I need a tiara. We walk over to American Girl, which I've never been to. It's a madhouse of girls and doting parents, and I am unimpressed by the aesthetics of these dolls. They have maybe 30 variations of the doll faces to choose from. But I am surprised to see that the one doll option with the Asian face appears to be the cutest! (Seriously! Go see for yourself!)

5:30: walk over toward Build-a-Bear, where we also find "Friends 2B Made," (–which is like Build-a-Bear, but with plush girls and boys instead of plush bears and animals.) My classmates find a couple shoe possibilities, so they buy them as backup. I buy a princess outfit at Build-a-Bear that has a decent tiara, as a backup for my princess monster.

6pm: head toward the subway, then spot a 99-cent store. I stop in to see if they have tiaras. They have some, that aren't so pretty, but I buy one just in case (only 99 cents!). I also spot red, star-shaped child sunglasses that are party favors. I buy them for my classmate who has designed his plush monkey with star-shaped glasses.

6:20: subway downtown to Canal Street. I peek in a couple cheap Chinatown junky jewelry/accessories stores to browse rhinestone supplies. Nothing looks good.

6:40 stop in a fabric shop, where I find gold lamé fabric, thread, and pink rhinestones, with which I hope to create the perfect tiara.

7pm: get home, exhausted, have a snack, check my email, IM with a friend, and blog.

Now I'm going to watch 30 Rock with some leftover cheesecake from my roommate who spoils me, then hit the hay.

(Tomorrow I go intern with those cute little 4 and 5-year old kids again. And for Marketing class, we're meeting at the Times Square Toys R Us for another tour! I'll have to remember to go pick up an 80s Edition of Singstar and Karaoke Revolution's American Idol Encore while I'm there.)

Saturday Happy Fun Times

I didn't get to meet the animator last Saturday, but I think it was for the best.

He emailed me recently to say hello. His email address looked related to a website, and being the resourceful ex-tech-professional nerd that I am, I had to check it out. It turned out to be a web page that pointed to some of his animated shorts...

Aaand, unfortunately, I didn't like them. They were not aesthetically pleasing, not very clever, and not very funny.

That's the tricky thing about being a creative professional, when you date other creative professionals. You have to respect the quality of their work. And if it's no good, then it's especially awkward.

Oh well. ANYhoo, I did end up having a lot of fun Saturday with my class BFF. We started with the Michel Gondry "Be Kind Rewind" exhibit, which was small, but still amusing. We wished we had seen the movie first. Maybe we'll go back after seeing the movie.

Then we filled the rest of the day with more fun, including:

• wine-tasting at Vintage, a Soho shop that sells local NY wines. The BFF found a strawberry wine that featured a unicorn on its label. She was pretty ecstatic about that.


• browsing the madhouse of Kid Robot's apparel sale (didn't buy anything)


• delicious chocolate espressos at Aroma Espresso Bar


• browsing the madness of the Marc Jacobs sale (didn't buy anything there either, but we did get a free photo w/ a giant skunk)


• red velvet cupcakes and banana pudding at Magnolia Bakery


• book-shopping across the street from Magnolia (to do some research for our storybook project)

Well that was all the fun I'll have for a little while, because next weekend we have class all day, both Saturday and Sunday. And I have a midterm and a paper due next week, along with a crapload of design projects that need to be completed before spring break. Ack! Good thing it's still fun (except for maybe drafting in Cobalt)!

Speaking of which, I have to run to my Motor-Learning class now!

Yay for Snow Days!

Last weekend, I had my first snow day! –meaning, school gets cancelled because it's too snowy and cold outside! That was a novel thing for a Californian like me. I got to stay in my PJs all day and watch the pretty snow fall outside. And I even enjoyed the snow on my windowsill, even if it only really lasted for a few hours.

Of course I also had to take advantage of the snow days for some much-needed rest and play time. Friday night, I went to dinner and an avant garde John Zorn concert with my cousins. The show started with a quartet, including a harpist, vibraphone player, electric guitar, and double bass. It was a little reminiscent of Combustible Edison's lounge music, or a sort of retro tropicalia sound with a touch of surf rock, which I quite liked. The vibraphone player was very animated and had hair like The Muppets' Beaker, which made him especially entertaining.

The second part involved Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson (credited in the show as "The Lovers," which apparently they are in real life) reciting romantic Jewish poetry with a chorus of four women as accompanied music. That was really unusual and interesting, but for some reason, I hate to admit: I got super sleepy. Maybe it was the low, soothing quality of their voices. At the end of the show, I saw Lou Reed standing about three feet away from me as we left the theater lobby! Afterwards, we went to Good World, (a Swedish bar/restaurant) where I enjoyed an Elderberry cocktail and way too much dessert.

When I thought the night was over, I went home, only to find that my roommate was hanging out with three of our friends, watching cable tv. (BTW, I told them I saw Lou Reed, and one of them said that he didn't know who that was. Sigh.)

So of course with my arrival, that turned into an impromptu Karaoke Revolution & red-wine party, even though my throat was still healing from a cold. That probably wasn't wise, but it was definitely fun! (BTW, my roommate and I highly recommend the Merlot by "Independent Producers".)

Saturday night, I found it very peculiar to be wearing a mini-dress and boots, under a big puffy coat, walking around snow! I joined some classmates and friends for drinks, dancing and late-night diner food. One of my classmates met up with a cute boy, who kindly paid for all of our diner food, supposedly because we were all students. I think it was more to impress my super-cute classmate, and I think it kind of worked. (Except, that super-cute classmate is spending spring break in Paris with another boy.)

I wasn't thrilled with the house music at Cielo, so I almost pushed to go dance some more at Sway, where they have poppier tunes. But my younger classmates wussed out! But then I also realized it just got way too cold when we left the diner, so I went home around 3am.

Sunday night, I attended a tiny Oscar-watching dinner party. It dawned on me that I had never been to an Oscars party, which is strange, given that I'm from L.A. –Even more ironic: this may well be the year I was least aware of the movies (having been trapped at school for the last six months). I hadn't even heard of any of the foreign film nominees! The only Oscar nominees I had seen were "Juno" and "Persepolis." But now I can say I have friends who worked on an Oscar-winning film!

Kudos to Grace, Geenie, and Erich, who prepared the most delightful dinner, involving: blood orange martinis, blood orange sangria, some-kind-of-artichoke soup, blood orange salad, polenta, pork w/ caramelized onions, and ice cream with home-made chocolate truffles (made from Green & Black's organic dark chocolate)! Amazing.

Also at this dinner party, I met a guy who sometimes DJs at Cielo. I also met an Interactive Designer who briefly worked for the same manager I once worked for at Yahoo! Plus, she graduated from and taught at NYU's ITP program, where some of my other tech friends went. (She said they were instructors when she was in the program.) Also one of the party hosts works for IDEO, and of course he knows the few people I know from their Palo Alto office. Small world.

***

This weekend, we won't get a snow day, but my usual Saturday class got bumped to Sunday. So... I might actually work in time for a date with an animator, who seems to have a lot in common with me. That might be great and all, but I am concerned about developing a habit of meeting great guys three months before I move to another city. (—And in this case, another country.)

But my voice is still hoarse (from a cold that started over 2 weeks ago!), so I don't know if I should go on a date in this condition. Actually, I sound a lot like my roommate's normal voice now, which is kind of sexier, so I guess it's kind of fun. Except if I go on a first date like this, will he be disappointed later when my voice returns to its normal, squirrely, 7-year-old, self?

(Side note: my roommate and I are slowly turning into each other. I got her sucked into tv shows, like "Weeds" and "Make me a Supermodel", and I am growing out my hair to her length and now my voice sounds like hers.)

Either way, I'm making a point of going to see Michel Gondry's "Be Kind, Rewind" art exhibit tomorrow. Now I'm just debating between seeing DJ Jazzy Jeff perform tonight at the Museum of Natural History, or catching up on homework. Hmm.

I told my classmates about the DJ Jazzy Jeff night, and one of them responded with, "Isn't that guy old? He looked old when he was on 'Fresh Prince.' Like thirty-five or something."

Somebody, please shoot this kid.

A Day in the Life

Thought some of you'd like to hear how a typical day of a Toy Design student is, so here is a detailed account of how today went for me:

8:30 bundle up in puffy jacket, leather gloves, pom-pom hat, and furry boots for 11-degree weather

8:40 run out the door to catch the uptown R train

8:45 get on train, start reading The History of Industrial Design for a quiz, struggle to turn pages with gloves on

9:05 look up to discover I just missed my street stop and am already late for class

9:10 get back on the downtown W train

9:15 run into class late, apologetically

9:20 set up my sewing machine and open up my MacBook Pro to show my teacher color studies of my plush squirrel

9:30 watch the teacher demonstrate how to revise a plush toy body to fit the desired shape, as my hunger grows and boredom increases, as I think she's going over what I already know how to do

9:45 sneak out of the class to feed my hunger rage; run to McDonald's to grab a sausage burrito meal deal, plus their tasty premium Hazelnut iced coffee

10am donate extra burrito to starving classmates (as I only ever really need one burrito and maybe one hash brown), start to sew a revised squirrel body in muslin (fabric), as I explain to my class BFF that I only eat breakfast, fish filets, and minty milkshakes at McDonald's

10:15 stop sewing, to show my teacher my color studies and decide on plush fabric colors and textures; we agree on blue-green-yellow striped accent patches, possibly a cuddly soft turquoise furry fabric, and a chartreuse fleece fabric

10:30 alternate bites of food and sips of orange juice and coffee with sewing, while asking classmates questions about the significance of the Singer sewing machine in 1876

11am grab stuffing to fill the new squirrel body, while listening in on classmates quiz each other on the significance of Wedgwood Queen's Ware pottery in 1790, the .36 Colt revolver in 1851, Thonet's bentwood chairs in 1836, Pugin's armoire in 1851, and James Whistler's Peacock room in 1876

11:30 Laugh at my classmates, as they start getting goofier and punchier by the minute, while studying for the quiz and deciding on lunch options

11:45 Adjust version 2 of my plush squirrel body with pins; cut up new sewing pattern shapes while laughing at the absurdity and gall of my sewing teacher as she shares some ridiculously judgemental anecdote about "Mexicans on the train"

noon Pack up sewing machines and supplies, choose the Szechuan bean curd over rice from a Chinese takeout menu

12:10 check email while listening to classmates quiz each other, gameshow style

12:30 write email replies, then notice when one of the dorm guys bizarrely brings up a pornographic term ("Babuke?"), to which we all respond with a resounding "EEWWWWWWW!"

12:32 get even more disturbed, when this same guy explains that "the girl usually throws up afterward," at which I say, "Usually??? What do you mean by usually? How do you even KNOW? Wait. I don't want to hear about it anymore, we're about to eat LUNCH."

1pm start to eat lunch, then realize it's not that tasty, and that I'm not very hungry

1:15 Get all excited telling my classmates how my internship interview went

1:30 Check email again, watch an awesome clip of Improv Everywhere, performed at Grand Central Station then post it to Facebook

1:45 Look over class notes to review last details for quiz

2pm Take History of Industrial Design quiz, delighted to find that it's about Wedgwood Pottery, which I remember the most about

2:15 Type notes on my MacBook Pro while enjoying a colorful and funny lecture, in which the teacher explains how two 19th century designers enjoyed the menage-a-trois, even in the staid context of Victorian England

3:45 class break, in which I check my Flickr and find updated photos from my favorite designers at Meomi, realizing that they were just in NYC

3:50 Suddenly remember that Vicki Wong of Meomi is Canadian and designed the 2010 Vancouver Olympic mascots; then realize I could probably stock up on mascot toys when I go to Toronto this summer, then show how insanely adorable they are to my classmates who all start to coo at them (–even the guy who knows too much about pornographic terms)

4:00 Agree with my class BFF that Christopher Dresser looks kind of like Edward Norton and was a way hotter 19th-century designer than William Morris; marvel at how Japanese influences were as big back then as they are now in product design, but for different reasons

5:00 hop on the 1 train downtown and delight in the combination of wierdos and fancy business folk I pass on the way home

5:20 check email, Facebook, Scrabulous, start blogging

5:45 catch up with my roommate who gets home from work, finish blog entry

7pm ponder whether I should nap or have a quick dinner and go to bed.

Missing out, yet again

If I were doing anything but Toy Design school right now, I would just quit, because I keep missing out on things in New York that are kind of driving me mad:

• I live right on the edge of the biggest Chinatown in the country, and I did nothing to celebrate Chinese New Year, except maybe I picked up red velvet cupcakes for my roommate and me on the way home from school. Even the lobby of my building was decorated for Chinese New Year. Oh, also I had Chinese takeout for dinner. But that's the same as every other night of my week.

• Fashion Week? Was that last week? Wait, don't I go to a fashion school? My roommate went to a fashion show, but I spent my days and evenings either in class or recovering from lack of sleep.

• Oh what's this, one of my friends covered Fashion Week for New York Magazine? And she's releasing a book about celebrity fashion, but I probably won't make her book party, because I will be in CLASS that evening??

• Knitting? Crocheting? Oh was that a hobby of mine? Oh yes, I remember those days. Hey, whaddaya know! My apartment is surrounded by fabric stores, some filled with yarn, but I don't have time for such things. But I did go shopping today for fabrics today for my soft-toy class though, and they don't carry fuzzy fabrics, really, because apparently fabric stores in Manhattan focus on clothing fabrics, not "craft" fabrics.

• Going out Saturday night? Hey, my cousins are inviting me to dinner and a movie! And my roommate is inviting me to the clubs! Oh wait, I had class all-day SATURDAY, and now I'm too tired to get my ass out the door.

• Broken camera? Too bad, I have to put off buying a new one, because I have to buy a $300+ wacom tablet, sculpting/masonry tools, and hundred-dollar textbooks. Luckily I have a fairly decent camera on my cellphone to get me by for now.

• Cute, straight boys who love karaoke? Oh wait, I left those in California. And my roommate is meeting the New York ones for me while I'm out hanging out with gay boys and teenage girls at Spice Girls shows.

At least I have the internets, so I can read and see pictures about all the fun I'm missing. It's like I'm there! But really, I'm not. And I can live vicariously with my roommate, who is apparently now hanging out with our neighbors and spotting the cast of "Make Me a Supermodel" at the local Whole Foods.

BTW, after the Toy Fair ends, in addition to my EIGHT classes, we start volunteering at a headstart program every week.

Well. I can't bitch that much. I did have an amusing adventure last Wednesday, taking the train from Manhattan out to Long Island for the Spice Girls concert. I am rather unfamiliar with the local geography, but I was tickled to pass through Hollis, which reminded me of the Run DMC Christmas song ("Christmas in Hollis").

We got to Nassau Coliseum early, so we stopped a nearby Marriott lobby to grab dinner at a sports bar... where they were playing nothing but Spice Girl songs! And we also got drinks without being carded, while I saw businessmen looking very confused among tables of too-young girls wearing very revealing clothing.

Of course the audience was heavy on the estrogen, with several girls dressed as Posh or Baby Spice, but we did spot the occasional boy who went by themselves!! The show was filled with spectacular stage theatrics, super-girly-fun choreography and the gayest backup dancers ever (who could breakdance and flamenco). Several costume changes and props were involved (including feathers and boas, of course). Costumes were by Roberto Cavalli, and my class BFF and I favored Posh's outfits the most.

We opted out on on the overpriced concert shirts ($45!), but I did buy a tote bag and buttons. To get home (on a school night!) I shared a cab with 5 half-drunk strangers.

After Marketing class on Friday, I went to see Juno with the bff, the only other person I knew who hadn't seen it. After that, we went to the Times Square Sanrio store, Toys R Us, and Sephora–you know, for research!!

So basically, I spend my free time like a Tween.

Tomorrow I think I find out who I'm interviewing with for an internship. I hope it's something good! I better go pick out a nice interview outfit... and oh yeah, finish some drafting and marker homework.

(Spice Girls photo by thewindytree, from the San Jose show. My seats were not quite as awesome.)

Steppin' Out

Yay, I finally have time to be out and about in New York! Of course, it's the one weekend my super-fun roommate wasn't feeling well and decided to go to sleep early. But I managed to fit in a nice spread of activities in one night:

• I watched Persepolis (a wonderful and funny but somewhat somber animated film, in French, about growing up in war-torn Iran) at the Angelika theater with my cousin


• I went dancing to 80s/90s music at a really crowded bar called Hugs in Williamsburg for a birthday, with classmates (The birthday girl nearly had to throw down over a tambourine. And unbeknownst to us, it was lesbian night, and one of our friends got asked for her number by a lesbian, after the lesbian denied being a lesbian.)


• I stopped for delicious hotdogs and a mango shake at Papaya Dog (–which, in my opinion, is better than Gray's Papaya, where there isn't even a mango shake option)


• I bizarrely bumped into two FIT classmates on the street, on the way to karaoke in the East Village


• I karaoked at Sing Sing until 5am, with a very unlikely small mix of friends (where we performed some amazing gems, including songs by Whitney Houston, Blue Oyster Cult, Blondie, Lil Mama, Judy Garland, and Matisyahu)

I had a great time, but I have to say, I think I've had enough of the gay scene. I luuurve my gay friends, but I miss my hetero boys. Well, at least the cute ones. We'll have to straighten that out next week.

This afternoon, my roommate and I headed out for dim sum. As we rode our elevator down, I was griping to her about how I wasn't able to meet any cute guys last night. Just as I was explaining this, the elevator door opened, and three attractive guys stepped in, which pretty much shut me up. Of course this was the one time I decided to leave the house looking dumpy. –Not that I would really want to date someone who lives in my building.

Well, maybe if he were super cute.

Dodging bullets Part II, Wonder Woman style

This year, I dressed up as Wonder Woman for my first Halloween in New York. I even grew my hair out specifically to pull the costume off, with boots, cuffs, tiara, lasso, and all. I even rode the subway to class like that.

People would call out to me, "Hey Wonder Woman!" or "Hey Linda Carter!" Strangely, several people called me "Super Girl." I think the red cape threw them off. Some stopped me to take pictures! It was pretty funny.

My Psych teacher reacted with, "I'm narcissistic enough to think she dressed up for me." And of course, Henry the doorman was really stoked about it. I even went to sewing class this way. But I had to take off the tiara and cuffs, when it started to get a little warm.

Some of my classmates dressed up too, including such characters as Jem, Indiana Jones, and the scary Asian kid from "The Grudge." Two guys dressed as nerds, another girl dressed as a ladybug (borrowed from me), and one dressed as a panda (also borrowed from me).

After sewing class, my classmates and I failed to get a good view of the Halloween parade. So eventually I ended up at Union Square, trying to catch a 3-d showing of "Nightmare Before Christmas." But we got there too late, cuz it was so hard to get through the crowds! So finally I ended up going to a bar in Tribeca before finally heading home.

The next morning, I found out that there was a shooting in Union Square, right after we left the area. I thought I was escaping the Halloween violence of San Francisco, but apparently this stuff just follows me around!

***
Yesterday, at lunch break from sewing class, we had Korean takeout together:

Classmate 1: Man, this is so much better than all the Hot Pockets I've been eating!
Me: Ahh, Hot Pockets. I remember when I used to live on those.
Classmate 2: What's all this "used to" stuff? Why y'always saying "used to"?
Me: Well. I'm old.
Classmate 2: What? You're not old. How old are you?
Me: Uhh, haha. Old.
Classmate 3: (my class bff, who knows my actual age) You don't ask a girl that question!
Classmate 2: Come on, you're not that old. How old are you? 23?
Me: Uhh, haha. No.
Classmate 2: 24?
Me: Hah. Wow. I'm not saying anything anymore!!

Well I need to get back to school and partying with classmates who are turning 21. (hah!)

But in the meantime, you should catch up on episodes (free online!) of my favorite new tv show, "Pushing Daisies." It is a wonderful combination of so many of my favorite things: romance, a sweet boyish lead, murder mystery, magic powers, funny names, Amelie-esque narration, singing, smart dogs, and adorable 50s-styled fashion.

Being Bad and Good

I was bad today. I didn't spend any time on school, and I have SO much to do for the next week.

I went on that third date at the Top of the Rock (where I also checked out the Target Breezeway that one of my college friends designed), and somehow it led to seeing some really good comedy improv at UCB, dinner at Izakaya Ten in Chelsea, and then hanging out backstage at the SNL season premiere live taping!!!

I got to meet Will Arnett (who I loved on Arrested Development and Conan episodes) and Jason Sudeikis (who I've also enjoyed on 30 Rock). And in the halls, I passed by Andy Sandberg, Darrell Hammond, Molly Sims, Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher, Bob Costas, Chris Rock, and Kanye West!! --Just walkin' around before and after the show. How wacky is that!?

I never realized that Kanye West wasn't that tall. I heard Jay Z and Beyoncé were there too, but I didn't get to see them. It was all very surreal.

When we exited the building, we came out where fans were waiting to see celebs. That was very amusing. I felt a little awkward walking out there, like I was disappointing the fans. Like I wanted to say, "No, I'm not Cameron Diaz or Beyoncé, sorry folks."

But I was good, cuz I could have gone to the after party. But I went HOME so I could study on Sunday. So... I'm sort of responsible? Maybe?

I will definitely have to tag along to the after party another time, especially if Cameron D is hanging out again. I hear she likes to karaoke.

Sunday in the Park with Misocrazy

The weather in New York was perfect today! Sunny, warm, with just a little breeze. And I was able to enjoy it in the name of Toy Design research and running errands.

After meeting my cousins and their little daughter for noodles in Chinatown, a block away from my place, we walked to the Columbus Park playground (bizarrely located across from several funeral Shops and one block from the Detention Center), where little Devon got really excited to get on the swings.

Then I went to check out Chelsea Waterside Park (as shown here, with its oddly phallic structures), to research my next homework assignment: designing an outdoor activity toy.

But before I got started on drawing my homework, I had to go shop for much-needed curtains (the windows are so bright in my room, that I can't get myself to sleep in past 8am) and a desk chair, but of course everywhere you go in New York, there are store windows full of cute and stylish items, beckoning you to come in and own them.

I passed a Brooklyn Industries boutique, and there was SO much good cuteness for Fall, I couldn't resist. I bought a dress, a jacket, and a sweater. I figure will need it for the upcoming cold weather!!

I may have to go back and get a bag and a coat later.





I did find some curtains later, plus I scored an $80 discount on my desk chair at The Container Store! It was the last display model of a discontinued chair, and I wanted a newer one, which they didn't have. Also, the sales clerk gave me the huge discount for being "pretty and for being so patient." Hah.

We'll see if the curtains are effective in the morning. I kind of doubt it. Darn. I guess I won't be late to class, but I might start nodding off at my desk again.

Quickie "I <3 NY" Tidbits

Before I get into my tales of Toy Design school, here are some fun NY moments of the last week:

• Getting asked by Rob Corddry (of "The Daily Show" fame) to watch his laptop at the local Starbucks


• Meeting a tv writer for "30 Rock", a writer of a new book about art & knitting, and a film curator who works for Martin Scorsese, at my cousin's party (The film curator told us about how he sometimes gets mistaken for some kind of celebrity food critic, and it dawned on me that he was, indeed, the doppleganger of Jeffrey Steingarten, who I've often enjoyed watching on "Iron Chef.")


• Getting days off from school for Rosh Hashanah!?


• Karaoke-ing at Winnie's, a funny little dive bar in Chinatown, right around the corner from my apartment. I went with four of my friends, and we realized that we were the only Asians in the whole bar.


• After a late night of drinking and singing at Winnie's, the Crasians wanted to get some food, and somehow we ended up at a "Chinese" restaurant called "69." This was the most Americanized Chinese food I had ever seen, because I could hardly recognize the food choices. One of the Crasians just gave in wholeheartedly and ordered Egg Foo Young & Egg rolls.


• Going to book-signing at a Chelsea Art Gallery, for a book about the new wave of knitting art, where I met a sculptor/part-time E.R. physician who turned out to know my brother from when they worked at the same hospital in Chicago (!?!?)


• My doorman greeting me by saying things like, "If I had a red carpet, I'd lay one out just for you," "It's like a dream come true," and "Did you notice how the lobby got a little brighter when you arrived?"


• Catching up with Dubbledubs and my original ex-boss from the old days of Yahoo!, over food and drink in the East Village. We ate at Momofuku and then drank some more at a hidden little bar called Angel's Share, where I enjoyed a delicious peach-flavored sake, and my ex-boss randomly broke a stem glass (either because he doesn't know his own strength or because he had one drink too many)


• Stumbling upon the Kid Robot store and picking up a "Smery" (stinky tofu) doll.

And as a side note: It turns out that the missing box and magazine rack from my move --they weren't missing at all. I thought the wardrobe box in the hall was my roommate's, but in fact it's mine. Yay!

Happy Rosh Hashanah to me.

Crunch Time!

It seems I may be revamping my summer plan a bit. It looks like I won't be taking that grand trip to another country before school starts. I know, it's sad.

But I promise to make up for it when I graduate. Right now it seems too over-priced (and humid) to go to Western Europe like I hoped, and I wasn't able to find someone to go to Costa Rica with me, because most of my friends just went there within the last year. And the rest just don't have vacation time or can't leave town in late July.

(--Unless someone out there offers to be my Costa Rica travel buddy. Airfares look good for it right now! Anyone? Someone?)

But this may be just as well, because I haven't yet pinned down an apartment in New York. So I may decide to leave San Francisco sooner, like end of July or August 1 to stay with my NY cousin temporarily while I find an apartment!

Well, this way, I can spend the remainder of July, enjoying more of being in San Francisco, refining my home-karaoke system, finishing my homework, and gradually preparing for my move (selling most of my furniture, car, and a third of my clothes & junk). And like KT said, going to NY is kind of like one giant vacation away (unless I end up staying there).

I've been apartment-hunting in NYC for about 3 days. I have 6 more appointments tomorrow. There are interesting prospects, but nothing so far seems like the perfect combination of features/ location/ safety/ quiet/ neighborhood-feel/cost. It seems there are near-good places, but each one has its one random thing that's just a little off... so hopefully I'll find something that feels more fully-well-rounded tomorrow.

Anyhow, I don't think I'll realistically lock down an apartment this week. I've been targeting Chelsea, Upper West, Midtown, and I looked at one Greenwich apartment. I was amazed by a brand-new high-rise luxury building in Midtown, a block from Madison Square Garden, but the neighborhood is a bit manic, and I don't think there's a lot of affordable restaurants nearby. It's a bit pricier than what I hoped to pay, but the amenities are fantastic (in-unit-laundry, gym, glorious city views, eco-friendly design, valet/concierge services, 24/7 doorman, etc.). Also I still have to sort out if my roommate and I will even financially qualify! And then someone else pointed out that there's a PAROLE office right near it. Hrmm.

If anything, it's been interesting to see the variety of apartments available. It doesn't seem quite as hopeless and scary as I thought, but maybe I'm just a bizarre optimist that way. My friend Dubbledubs just moved here last week, in temporary housing, for work. When I told him what I had seen so far, it kind of made him worried about how he would find a good place.

Well, I better go get some rest now, before my last day of manic apartment-hunting in 90+ degree weather! Wish me luck!