On The Other Side ....

Oh lookie here, travel guy #2 finally go this act together and uploaded photos from his camera. Here are some of my faves of what he look of me (most of the time when i'm not looking).









Left : having a conversation on my mobile in the apartment
Right : At Serendipity3 deciding how much calories to consume in one go










Left : Hmm, would i ever wear Scrubs™ scrubs??
Right : Travelling down the escalator at Trump Tower

Some Favourite Moments

It's may be near time to say farewell to this recap of the wonderful adventures of new york city, but i won't say goodbye just yet. I'm sure i can dig up a new story or two. Till then, here are some of my fave moments in new york on digital film :








Left : Me kissing ass at some mall. Totally cute.
Right : My fave kinda dogs ... the long sausage ones. Taken outside St. Mark's Square.








Left : Lighting candles in St. Patrick's Cathedral along 5th Ave
Right : Travel Guys looking out into Ground Zero.

I Just Don't Get It

Remember i spoke about that blue painting? Well, here it is ....













Tell me, would you rather see my doodles up there, or this?

My Education in Manhattan

I have to admit, i get nervous around museums. It's either love it or hate it, there's just no grey area in between. Sometimes i just don't get stuff that gets put in there. How can a 4x4 canvas of blue paint be considered important piece of art? Even my history class doodles in college looked a hell lot more exciting than that.















However, i'm happy to say that the museums i went to in new york were pretty darn fascinating. I felt like i was cramming my 4 years of science education in one visit to the American Museum of Natural History and felt absolutely insignificant watching the tom hanks 3D "Passport To The Universe" show at the Hayden Planetarium.










MOMA was huuuggggeeee. Floors and floors of endless painting, sculptures, designs, art. If only i could just tuned everyone else out and not have to nudge my way to the front just to have a short peek at the Salvador Dali before my prime position time was up and had to move on. *Shove shove*








Imagine living in a place where these priceless sightings are only a subway ride away. Imagine being in school and talking about that great painting of Picasso ... oh hang on kids, why don't we just go and see it for ourselves???

Lucky bastards.

Retail Inventory Part Deux

Okay ladies, the card has been paid up, and this is part two of what caused the damage :

Urban Outfitters cap - been look'in for these locally for AGES!

H&M cherry red tights - so cheap i had to get 'em, and hey they don't look too freaky!

Badges made from my new badge-maker - love it, love it, luuurrrrrvvvvveeee eeeet!










H&M gigantic bling - the biggest rock i've seen, how can i say no?

The oh-so-trendy silver slouch bag - i couldn't leave new york without getting sucked into buying one. They were everywhere!

American magazines galore - mission accomplished. I got ma literature fix.











And finally, how could i not get the greatest souvenir of all time, i present to you my supercool I *Heart* NY tshirt for US$2.99. Bargain!

It's Safe, Yet Scary

I always wondered what Wall Street will be like at peak hour. When i was working on the terrace in the city, every morning with my takeaway Cinos in hand, i would dream if Wall Street is kinda like this. Well, i was kinda wrong.

Wall Street can be broken down to this pie chart : 30% suits, 30% tourists and the last 30% is made up of the boys in uniform. You name it, they are there : cops, firemen, snipers, security guards, ambulance officers. And its just a regular day in September.

The stockbrokers must love their smoke breaks. They come out, all lined up in front of the NYSE sign and subtlely strike a pose and enjoy the flash snaps. (Don't deny it boys, i know behind the stone-face, you are lapp'in it up inside). They even look straight at you when you line up a for shot. Work it baby, work it.









This has to be the safest street in Mahanttan but getting so close to so many men with firearms can get a little daunting. Who knows, with a little accidental bump might cause an unnecessary reaction and i don't wanna be stuck in the crossfire, especially not when i have my favorite tsubi jeans on.

My Night With Tin Tin

Even though we only got to see Tribeca after dark, i could tell it was a very cool Triangle. The streets were quiet, restaurants filled up and busy, the kids were alternative and trendy. Deciding where to eat for the night, we stumbled across a wicked little Belgian eatery (my eyes watering after spotting the mussels) called Petite Abeille. How happy were we to spot Tin Tin books (alas! all in french) and plenty of recognisable belgian beer on the shelf. Not to mention the hot-looking manager with a killer french accent. Oui oui!

It had to be a popular local haunt 'cos the minute out butts touched base, the line outside started to snake around. Aren't we a lucky trio. The mussels were delightful, the beer tasty and eye candy definitely A-grade.

Bon Appétit!

It Rawks (Phew)

Can i just say how much my miss sixty jeans rawks?!

Honestly, there was a short couple of days where i was even afraid to put it on, just in case they couldn't live up to its exorbitant price tag, i mean expectations. But now that i have them on, i can safely say, my butt is in love with them too.

Eating Our Way Around The Meatpackers

I should've written about this gorgeous food tour earlier but i am having troubles remembering the exact names of the food we tasted so eh, i'm just gonna wing it now. But let me tell ya, this was one of the best days we had in new york. An extensive insight into the seedy history of the Meatpacking District (aka Samantha's neighborhood), a nice stroll along the Chelsea Food Markets (best indoor airconditioned market i've ever seen!), and all while woofing down the delicious food produce of the shops we pass-by (hmmm, hmmm!). So from the time we started with brekkie foods, to when its time to sit down for desserts, we always had room for more.









It really helps to have a funny and entertaining tour guide. Though i can't for the life of me remember his name now, so let's just call him Larry - just becos he told us if he spotted a transvestite during our walk, he would yell out "there's Larry!". You see, the Meatpacking District was once ridden with transvestite and prostitutes on the streets before the upperclassmen decided to take it from them and make it into the 'new hang for the rich'. Poor Larrys (the real ones, not our tour guide) they have been driven out of their turf into the streets in the Bronx.

Anyway back to what really matters ... the food. In chronological order, this is what i ate that morning.








Left : Breekie was chocolate twists from the bakery
Right : Amazingly fresh chocolate milk








Left : A surprise gelato freebie from the ice creamery
Right : Fresh scones with jam and butter








Left : Awesome lobster chowder from the seafood place
Right : A spread of italian produce for lunch

Left : Finally for dessert, chocolate croissant

PS: Pardon the unsightly chipped nail polish!

People and Dog Watching

When it was time to venture outside the glaring walls that is Times Square, we decided to hang with the cool peeps in a place called Greenwich Village. This was the start of our celeb spotting extravaganza. After our delightful Chelsea food tour, we walked ourselves aimlessly into the Village without intention and by late afternoon, our tired legs brought us to the center of Washington Square (water at last!) and once our bums touched ground, it never left it for the next 3 hours. It was great to sit around the fountain and take in the greenwich air. Watch dogs play in the water, baskers singing, kids making out next to you ...










Walking past NYU made me think of my dear friend back home who packed her bags and left me for 3 whole years to go to america to learn how to make good indie movies. I was so jealous of her then so while in close proximity to NYU again on one of my solo days, i decided to road test the life of an NYU student and headed straight for a starbucks and spent a good hour just sitting back and watch everyone with their boy friends, girl friends, dogs, cigarettes, laptops and green tea chai lattes soaking in a great summer's day and thinking, damn girl, life must've been swweeeeet back then!