Daily // March 2008

 

"Rainy" Day

March 31, 2008

Today was gloomy and wet. It's also a "rainy" day but not a rainy day because it did not drizzle or pour, but instead most of the time it was sprinkling, or misting. It's the kind of weather that renders all umbrellas useless, because you get wet regardless.

Meanwhile, the next few days will be tough, as I have Macro Theory midterm on thursday. Wish me luck.

Update The (fire) alarm went off a few minutes after I wrote this, around 2am. We stood outside for a while and headed back. Hopefully it wasn't an April fools prank..

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Proposal Daisakusen SP

March 30, 2008

On Friday nite I watched Proposal Daisakusen's SP, which is basically a short, 2-hr epilogue of the original drama, aired last summer in Japan. The SP was in par with the drama, and it was romantic and fun and youthful.

Watching the SP also levitated memeries from last summer. It was a daily highlight whenever I watched drama on my computer after work. My life was so structured and so monotonous that every bit of joy squeezed from such entertainment was an indulgence. I valued it immensely. Looking back, I can't believe that I was able to adapt myself to that work life, however unwilling I was at first. Now, watching dramas simply becomes a past-time activity. Its meaning and value has been diluted.

Sorry for this meaningless rant.. I've been thinking and thinking and thinking alot lately..

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Long week

March 29, 2008

This week has been strangely long.. But thankfully it's over~

Hmm. Hmm. Hmmm.

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Regulating myself

March 26, 2008

I really need to regulate myself more.. which means I should do less of what I want to do at the moment I want to do it, and do what I should do instead. And it seems that a drive returned. I need to make this drive continue.

Meanwhile, on a different note, I finished two j-dramas today: Honey and Clover, and Itazura na Kiss. Of course, they are quite different dramas. The first one was just aired, while the second one aired in 1996. Nonetheless, they are both quite good. Kotoko in InK actually reminded me of Nodame. Though Nodame is definitely more lovable and less annoying.

I also watched a short piece called Gotaisetsu yesterday. It was very touching.

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Easter Sunday

March 23, 2008

On this easter sunday, Derek and I left for the airport around 6am to pick up Lili. The sun was not even out then, and we actually got lost, but eventually found I-295 S. After picking up Lili, we grabbed breakfast at mcdonald's, which we finished back at home. I then went back to sleep until 1.

Classes start tmr. Boo. Bai bai for now.

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Spring break is almost over..

March 22, 2008

I treated today like the last day of spring break, as I know I need to work hard tmr. The nice thing is that I actually cooked with Derek for dinner, and we made 瑞士汁雞翼, which tasted quite yummy.

Meanwhile Lili is arriving in a few hours (6:30am), and we're planning to pick him up at the airport. Will he be surprised?

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Honey and Clover

March 21, 2008

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Back at Hopkins

March 20, 2008

After a long and tiring day of traveling, I arrived at my lovely but empty apartment around 6:30pm. I had so much to carry, but it was worth the trouble since all of the extra items are palatable snacks. We also visiting UniOne 604 to drop off egg tarts and see Joe late at nite. Happy birthday Joe!

Tired and.. tired. Good nite.

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Rainy day

March 19, 2008

The weather dropped at night and it got so cold that I kept pulling my blanket towards my neck as I was sleeping. And it basically rained all day.

Well, one good thing is that Derek and I finally found Peter Luger steakhouse, and we tried their prime rib. It was quite good. A bit odd that such a good restaurant is located in such a lousy neighborhood, but I guess thats the quintessential 'diamond in the rough'. There's something about an undiscovered gem that attracts people. But when it becomes too well-known and popular, the magic is diluted. Just like Starbucks, just like every chain store we see.

We then visited Guggenheim Museum. It was smaller than I thought, and the exhibitions are so-so. The architecture there is amazing though. The exterior wall is currently under renovation; the spiral interior looks stunning. But of course, all of the Guggenheim Museums around the world look amazing - especially the one in Bilbao, Spain, designed by (drumroll please) Frank Gehry. I hope I can visit it someday.

For dinner Derek and I joined his cousin and his wife for dinner at a chinese restaurant, where we tried their delicious 糯米蟹.

Thats about it - my NYC trip/holiday. It's been a lot of fun. Pray for me for a safe return trip. Bai bai~

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A different Sunny day

March 18, 2008

Yesterday we met up with Sunny; today we met up with another Sunny. Together we tried to look for Peter Luger steakhouse but failed, so we had lunch in Friday's instead. Then we metro-ed to Rockfeller and visited Nintendo world, as well as the cube-like Apple store. The latter was truly overwhelming. The entire store was packed with people. Whenever a slot to use a device e.g. MBA or iPhone appears, it gets taken in a few seconds.

For dinner, Derek and I and his cousin and his wife and his friends dined at a Thai restaurant. The food was delicious, especially the spicy raw shrimp and red & green curry.

As for our last day tmr, we plan on trying our luck in finding the steakhouse, then visit Guggenheim museum. Hopefully it gets a bit warmer and less windy too.

Lastly, you may view photos taken today (very few) here.

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Staten Island & MoMA on a Sunny day

March 17, 2008

Quite expectedly, I snoozed for an hour. The reason behind this is that we planned on waking up too early (9:30am). Around noon, we left for South Ferry Station. We got there around 1:30, and was lucky to board immediately on the free ferry to Staten Island. During the ride, Derek and I basically stood in the wind on the outer deck of the ferry and took many many many pictures of the Statute of Liberty. As we had no interest in Staten Island, we re-boarded the same ferry and ferry-ed back to Manhattan.

Our next stop is lunch. Yes, it was very late then, like 3:30. We quickly metro-ed and ate something at Starbucks, then walked to MoMA. MoMA is much smaller than MET, but it was equally intriguing. As the Museum of Modern Art, most of the exhibitions are modern and even futuristic. Some galleries, like the media gallery, was quite creepy as well.. Have a look at the various photos taken in MoMA in you'd like.

MoMA closes at 5:30, so we didn't have time to walk through all galleries. We did visit the MoMA Design Store afterwards, and I got a picture hanger that I think had appeared many times in front of me in some store. I finally bought it.

For dinner, Derek and I met up with Sunny (Mai), and ate at Joe's something in Canal Street chinatown. It's 上海菜, and the food was okay. Unhappy with our early conclusion to dinner, we walked to Brooklyn Bridge. It was a long walk, but it was worth it. The night view there is spectacular. Of course, BB is also one of the few bridges that serves as a pedestrian walk + bike route.

So, it was a long day. I'd say we walked a lot today, but not as much as yesterday. As for tmr, we're planning on visitng the Apple cube and perhaps Nintendo World. Bai bai for now~

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SOHO

March 16, 2008

Quite unexpectedly, I snoozed for 1 1/2 hr hours this morning, so I eneded up waking up at noon. After quickly dressing up, Derek and I went to Flushing Meadows' chinatown for lunch and then headed to shop at SOHO. Among all the stores, we particularly enjoyed shopping in Uni Qlo and Muji, since we stayed there the longest. I was estatic to see a Muji store, although the items were extremely limited - there weren't even the normal, binded B5 size notebooks. But I did get something for my apartment next year. What is it? I can give you the initials of the item: TC. (Hint: I got 4 of those). We also saw the MoMA design store, and we actually plan on visiting MoMA tmr. All in all, it was a very rewarding day.

Btw, for photos, go to my picasaweb album instead. Flickr looks nice, but the quota is too small. Enjoy.

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MET

March 15, 2008

Woke up around 1, and after a bit of lunch, Derek and I left for the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET). It took about 45 mins for us to get there. As for MET, well, it was a huge museum. It's impossible to walk through all the galleries (unless you skim alot) in a day. The most interesting part of the museum is the Temple of Dendur. Yet I didn't visit there until after sunset, so it was quite dark then. I also enjoyed the galleries of Greek sculptures and Modern Art. Overall it's a worthy trip and I can check the first item on my museums-worth-visiting list.

One of the reasons we decided to visit MET today is that, unlike many other museums, it closes at 9pm. We were there for more than 3 hrs, and left around 8:30pm. For dinner, we went to Astor Place and had dinner at a very 地道 japanaese restaurant called Oh Toisho. We ate alot. Derek and I shared fried squid, 12 串燒, 6 takoyaki, and each of us had 拉麵. It was very scrumptious.

Tmr (or later) we're planning on going to SOHO. Meanwhile you can view photos taken starting today at my new flickr account. Enjoy.

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A day of traveling

March 14, 2008

After fours hours of bus ride and more car ride, I've arrived at Queens, NY. Derek and I share a bedroom, where two 'delicate' beds sit. Mm, I guess I need to sleep on an airbed for a few days..

Meanwhile, when Derek and I were waiting for the bus to come (it came 1 1/2 hrs late), I finished the last two episodes of Hanazakari no Kimitachi e. It was good. Overall I thought it's a good drama. It was funny when it needs to be and sad and moving at times. And the ending quite touching too~

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Spring Break at last

March 13, 2008

It's been really tiring.. I had two midterms in the past three days. I think they were okay, perhaps micro e was only acceptable.. But regardless, spring break has come~

As I mentioned here before, Derek and I will be visiting NYC. We'll leave tmr afternoon and come back on thursday. I really hope to visit a lot of museums during this trip. And if I have time and energy I'll post some pictures here..

Lili, have a happy trip back home.

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Imagine

March 7, 2008

I heard David Archuleta singing Imagine on American Idol about a week ago, and it grew on me. It's probably the best rendition I've heard. The only negative thing is that it's too short! Enjoy this clip.

[video is removed since many complain that it crashes their browswer. (you should all switch to Safari -_-)]

You may also dl the file [18.8MB] and repeat it over and over again yourself..

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Time Machine to the rescue

March 5, 2008

I worked till very late last nite. For what? My math modeling hwk. Never have I realized that I am so inadequate in using Excel. I always knew there were many functions in Excel, but I didn't know they would be so tricky.. So anyway, when I finished my problem set and saved it, then attached the file and submitted it, I closed Excel (naturally). A few minutes later I decided to edit it, and realized that I could not open the file! All excel said was "the content of this file may have been changed or modified", which tells me nothing as to why.

I panicked a bit - this is also the file I submitted, which means I submitted a corrupted file for grading. I wanted to rip my hair off then. Thankfully I did not. My first instinct is to look for an autorecovery file Excel might have left behind, but of course all cache was removed when I quit Excel. Then I thought of Time Machine, and very dependably, I searched for the recovery files in TM mode and I found it! But wait a second, I could not restore it! The file was a hidden file, which is hidden under regular circumstances. Well, a quick search made me install TinkerTools (which gives the option to display hidden files in Finder) and soon enough I recovered the file. Thank god TM made a backup as I was working.

Oh well, that was TMTH. Got to sleep now, bye.

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I posted this awhile ago, but I saw it again and felt that it carries a great message.

I've been watching a lot of j-dorama lately. Here's what I've watched/'m watching the past few weeks:
Nodame Cantabile
14 Sai no Hana
Yama Onna Kabe Onna
Swan no Baka

All of them are very good. NC is funny and a joy to watch, 14SnH talks about a 14 year old mother so it's a bit more serious and solemn, YOKO is about the adventures of two saleswomen who have different breast/cup sizes, Swan no Baka has Hiroki in it. I also watched Koizora, which is a rather tragic story about a girl who experienced sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy, miscarriage and more. It captured me and the acting was also very good.

Okay, much to do tmr, oyasuminasai, and bai bai~

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Sometimes..

March 2, 2008

Sometimes things get me. I hate it when it happens - it makes me feel isolated and disliked. It makes me feel angry and disgusted. I must learn to suppress this. If you know what I'm talking about, please accept my apologies..

Well, today was a rather mundane day then. But it was very vivid.

Derek and I have decided to go to NYC for spring break. It should be fun, right..?

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Enchanted

March 1, 2008

I've become quite negligent to my blog these days. But it's not intentional really.. Sometimes I simply struggle to put something down. I've never liked writing, but writing here is different. I can write anything at all - I am only limited by my imagination and restricted by my personal boundaries. Of course I won't write about the pretty people I see when I walk down the street.. That'll be kept to myself. Instead I share my daily ventures, which is essentially what I have been doing for almost five years.

Anyway, I decided to spice things up a bit. How about a title for each post? Perhaps a title that unifies the entry's purpose.

I watched Enchanted today. (Like finally.) Hmm. I actually like these kinds of movies - a bit lighthearted, humorous, childish, and fun. Movies should be relaxing. They shouldn't make you frightened every few minutes. So, I enjoyed it. It reminded me that we should all have a bit of innocence and express love directly.

February visits: 20665-21130 = 465/29 = 16.03 per day.

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