couch etiquette

I never thought too much about the visitor etiquette of couch sitting until a friend of mine visited me in college and wouldn't sit at the edge because it was, apparently, the most confortable spot on it relative to where it was in relation to the television.

So, since then, I alway make a conscious effort to be polite when visiting friends by sitting where it would continue to make the visitee comfortable in their own home (aka they get to sit in "their spot").

Well, I guess I should have figured out where that placement was before deciding to switch it up in Unit 3, where I totally moved from one end off Adam's couch to the other end for this week's episode of 24.

As he provided us drinks and took a seat, I heard,

Is this yours?

as he produced a glass of water from the floor by his side of the couch. Yes, it was indeed mine as I recalled placing it there during the last episode of 24 (last week) and told myself not to forget about it. Before we all could recover from our laughter, I heard,

Is THIS yours?

and I looked up to see him holding up a bottle of Poland Spring on his other hand. There was no question about it, as we usually have cases of the commodity in stock, and when he followed that a few minutes later asking

Are these your socks?

I believed him and his canard for a split second.

kramer crash-in

Yesterday I joined Ivan in gathering our goods to bring upstairs to Adam's - we were going to watch 24. As Ivan looked like he was in a rush, I grabbed the bottle of Lindemans and the box of ice cream and we ran anxiously out the door.

As Ivan ran up the first flight, he said

I forgot my shoes!

and he did a rewind as he ran backwards and back into the apartment. I waited a little until he came back into the hall and proceeded to opened Adam's door and stumble into his apartment and into his living room, where he wasn't sitting.

When I turned around to see Ivan standing in Adam's doorway, he asked me

Did you knock?!?

as Adam came our of one of the bedrooms in the back and started laughing at us.

Our building is becoming more and more Seinfeld-ish and this is my public appology: Sorry for pulling a Kramer!

Best Ice Cream Bar EVAR!

We bought a box of these, Weight Watchers Giant Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream Bars, and let me tell you, these are the best ice cream bars EVAR!

Every bite is an epiphany of redefined Mmmmm's !

Earth Day

Despite the cold wet weather, we were able to get out during the weekend. On Saturday we accompanied Adam for brunch at Le Singe Vert in Chelsea, where I had one of the best French Toast EVAR! His friends were lots of fun and the place was loud and packed with customers.



Afterwards, we wandered with them uptown to check out the Earth Day festivities, where we ran into Vinny, a soggy soggy walrus.



The festival didn't span more than a block or so and there were a few different things to try - organic coffee, clif bars, etc... Too bad it was raining though, I'm sure people would have stuck around longer for the festivities.

On our way back downtown, we happen to get into a subway car where Adam sat next to someone with the exact same brown corduroy jacket, which by the way, is very similar to Ivan's light brown corduroy jacket, which he was also wearing. The man who was wearing the identical jacket, took off his headphones to say:

Guy in Identical Fustian Jacket: (taking off his headphones) You're not suppose to be here.
Adam: (quickly responding) This is not suppose to happen.

Other than that, it was a successful day.

On Sunday we got up early to get air filters from Home Depot and bought some energy efficient light bulbs at IKEA. We must have changed about 11 60W light bulbs with 11 11W light bulbs. We'll see if it makes a dent in our electricity bill. The spot lights it replaced in out living room were definitely a little dimmer but it was easier on the eyes - before it was a constant battle to keep looking as out eyes dilated from the extreme brightness.

We also went to get some Philly Cheesesteaks in Hoboken. I had the pizza cheesesteak and Ivan had the BBQ. Actually, mine was pretty good but I think I like the plain cheesesteak better, closely followed by the BBQ one Ivan ordered. If this place was open while I was still in school, I would have definitely frequent the place.

Dome Home

I know we've discussed buying an island and setting up our own government and, if that happens, I propose we get the EGW crew and build a dome home.



Another possibility is to make one at another "location of interest" - how about Pa or some other place driveable and near things to do. Who's in!?!?! =)

hey, aren't you from...

Usually when one sees a famous person, one is never quick to assume that it's who they think it is. I once saw Mr. Big on 8th street in the Village and these 2 Asian girls froze before asking, "Aren't you [fill in the blank] ?"

He graciously approved as they began the picture-taking.

So I always wondered what it would be like to be famous and get "spotted" until it happened one day and I'll tell you where: it was in a Vampire Store in San Francisco. It may have been the head of Philippe peaking out of my sweater, but I was recognized for having been one of the top runner-ups from an Achewood photo contest.

The girl was even able to recite what Chris captioned under my picture. I also must mention that I walked all over Halifax looking for this place called "The Snug" because I thought that was the neatest name evar and I wanted a picture of us standing in front of it. It is 110% something Philippe would do and I was actually turned-on to the comic because someone in college (who read it at the time) said the otter reminded him of me.

Don't you just love pointless adventures!

Hookah in da Hood

Again cars are just a wasted expense. On Friday I stopped by a dealer a few towns over that said they do roof repairs (the 2 places near my work don't do it) and they wanted to replace the whole top for $1,000. I declined. Watch me replace it just to have someone poke more holes in it. Such a catch 22. I am going to try a different place that one of the dealerships near work recommended and see if they can just patch it. At one

point I was considering putting waterproof bandaids on it for the novelty of the idea, but I'm sure many would think I'm nuts if I did that. I would consider replacing it if they had crazy colors or patterned roofs. That would be awesome.

Other than that, it was a very fun weekend. I visited my parents on Friday night for dinner. On Saturday I spent the whole morning cleaning and I finally went to get my car washed! Loren and Don came over and got to see my place too! =) I think they may be my first college friends to see my place, besides Juan. It was fun to chat with friends! They even left a note down stairs next to our on-going game of hangman.

Elvia came over too and we went to La Isla to eat. I finally got to try their Cuban Sandwich and it was excellent! It may have possibly been the best Cuban Sandwich EVAR! Elvia had the Arroz con Pollo and she said the rice tasted like paella rice...and it really did! They also have the best Cafe con Leche, it is so good that you don't want to put any sweeteners in it.

We walked around, went into a few shops, and got some wine before heading back. When we got back Adam came down and all 4 of us cabbed our way to the Abbey Pub in the hood.

I don't know what was up with the cab driver but the cab kept jerking as if he was accelerating and braking. After the first block, I was thinking that if it continued then he was probably drunk and I was going to request for him to let us out. Then he couldn't' find the place and insisted it was this funeral home - I thought he wanted us to get out there! That was definitely not going to happen as there was some shady characters hanging on the corners. Luckily Adam was sitting in the front and is very good at being demanding.

anyway, when we finally got there the place was pretty empty but it was really cool! We had drinks and appetizers and vanilla raspberry mixed in our hookah. I had a French Kiss Martini and it tasted like fruit juice, a very dangerous trait for an alcoholic beverage to have. Then we came home and drank the rest of the wine and made some cinnamon rolls.




Sunday we got bagels at the Bagel Smashery and sat down in the park by the water by Frank Sinatra Drive to eat them and enjoy the weather and the New York City view. It was such a nice day!

Later Sof came by and we all went to visit Ivan's parents before they left for Florida. We ate Easter dinner at his sister's new place. I can't believe how these past 3 years have flown by so fast and how much has changed! It was so sad when we were saying our farewells and we were all teary-eyed and trying not to cry.

They really have helped all of us out a lot, from emotional support and monetary support to delicious nutricious food, family events such as family BBQs and his dad spending time with Ivan and going to play golf together, his mom keeping such a role-model home and giving me tips from cleaning to girly things, his parents visiting us and sharing dinner with my parents when they would visit. It was really refreshing how openly the communicated with their kids and it inspired me to be more open with my family. Not having them nearby anymore makes me feel lonely in this state again (it reminds me of when I moved out of NY to central Jersey and didn't really have complete mobile access to see my own parents). I can't imagine what a transition that must be for the rest of the family. We are all really happy that they have reached their goal and that they are doing something for themselves finally after raising all their kids and ensuring they were on their feet before they left. I really hope that one day if I ever have kids that I can be as good as a parents as our own parents!

We are going to visit them in a few weeks while we are in Orlando, so I'm hoping that seeing them in their house will cheer my hunny up.

Groggy Bloggy

When I first came back from the Philippines in the early 90's it took me over 2 weeks to adjust to the time difference back in the US of A. It most likely was attributed to my clockwork sleep cycles that, only as kids, do we ever get to really have (not that it's much of a choice).

Now that the clock has moved forward an hour, I feel so groggy when I wake up. Is it just a coincidence that I'm feeling so beat when I wake up or are other people out there sensitive to these small time differences?

who will you marry?

OMG! This is SO creepy!


http://www.crushcalculator.com/content/love/353943439

three dollar desideratum

Saturday morning started with a walk to the Bagel Smashery. It was such a nice day too! We walked over to Hoboken, bought our bagels and sat on a bench near Washington St. to eat them.

I drove into NY to go to my class and stopped by my house to visit my parents. The basement is almost finished and it looks really nice. They put a lot of insulation in the walls so it made the room look a little smaller than before, but the windows looked huge and it made the room, with its new walls, ceilings, closet, and lights look really bright and feel more like a regular room as oppose to a musty basement feel.

We went to Central Jersey to take a friend out for his birthday and saw V for Vendetta , which I really liked. We arrived at the theater early and were playing games until the birthday friend arrived. Their game selection was weak and I could not play my beloved crane-grab-the-toy game because I did not have any three-dollar-bills on my person.

Afterwards, we went to Thai Kitchen II where we feasted on the house special duck, satae, and pad thai.

Sunday we went to NY and walked from the West Village to Chelsea to go to a museum. We had some NY pizza by the Empire State before taking the PATH back. Then we walk home from there. We probably walk at least 7 miles this weekend. It feels good to be in a place that has sidewalks again.

Our neighbor came back from his vacation and we spent a bunch of time just talking and laughing. At some point we were making paper hats. I don't know how it got to that. It looked like an origami competition.

Then we ended up watching some movie at his place. We totally missed a good half of it and fell asleep on his couch. It started off pretty good but there were so many characters and I was so tired I couldn't keep up with who was who.


Note: Desideratum - Something desired or considered necessary, as in fun and crane games that give you toys you don't really need and/or want.