This week was possibly the best week ever (even though I write that every week, this time I really mean it). I only went to New Jersey on Monday (and worked in NY the rest of the week), I went out to dinner with Jen and Leena in K-town (and had kimchi chigae every other day the entire week), my company hosted our annual holiday party, AND my office is closed until January 2nd, so I’m home in North Carolina.

Since I worked from NY during the week, I was able to keep better hours and I met up with Jen and Leena for dinner on Tuesday night. (Did I mention that I had dinner by myself for the first time…EVER? I felt so…grownup). I’m going to start making my own food because I recently acquired a rice cooker and Jen (who’s Korean) taught me how to make kimchi chigae, the dish I usually order when I go to K-town. (It used to be bibimbop, but Angie, my ex-roommate, brought kimchi chigae back one time and I’ve been in love ever since). The recipe seems pretty easy and the most important thing is the kimchi (which you can buy in any Korean store), then the red sauce is what adds the spice/taste, and then you add pork and that’s about it. Not too bad! Once I move out in February, I’ll make it (or so I say, now).

On Thursday, a bunch of the new hires and seniors met up with our partners for a meeting about our overall strategy for the year/happy hour. Our meeting started at 3PM (when we started drinking) and continued until around 2AM, when our holiday party ended. This year, our holiday party was held at Cipriani’s:

The place is amazing! It has 65-ft ceilings and it was decorated really beautifully for our event. Also, when you walked in, servers greeted you with bellinis (the most amazing drink ever - peach puree with Prosecco and champagne) and directed you to the huge assortment of sushi, appetizers, meat, jumbo shrimp, etc. There were five bars (at least) set up around Cipriani’s and lots of areas for food - my favorite was definitely the sushi rolls (although the Cipriani roll, which is a roll that’s deep-fried, was extremely heavy and not good). David lent me his sister’s camera for the night because I REALLY wanted to take pictures of the event (but…when don’t I want to take pictures?) She has a Sony cybershot and the initial pictures turned out like this:

umm…SLOW SHUTTER SPEED, anyone? I am still looking for a new camera, but I think I’m going to stick with Canon. Once you get a Canon, you really can’t go with anything else (I tried Nikon, Lumix, and Sony…and they all don’t even COMPARE to Canon’s quality). A lot of the pictures turned out the same way (SAD!) BUT, I did get some good pictures from the night:

A little better, but the background is still really fuzzy,

The best picture from the night (my favorite, at least).

Dinner was buffet style and the penne pasta wasn’t cooked, but if it had been, it would’ve been really good (the marinara sauce was delish). They also made veal ravioli (there wasn’t any taste) and steak (which was the best choice from the buffet). The dessert table was AMAZING - tiramisu, dark chocolate cake, cheesecake, fruit tarts, gingerbread cookies, sorbet with fresh fruit, ice cream, and SO many other options! I wish I took pictures of the food, but the camera had a low battery, so I only took pictures of people (mostly me).

I’m not sure what the theme for the night was, but there were appearances by Austin Powers, Madonna, and one other look-a-like. They announced the winners of the raffles (which included at $250 gift certificate to a nice restaurant in NYC, 2 tickets to any Broadway show, and other food certificates). The party was really fun and it was really great seeing everyone at the event (especially since so many people travel all the time and never have the opportunity to go to the office). John Kim, my peer buddy, flew in for the event and I haven’t seen him since I started, so it was really nice running into him:

After our holiday party, almost everyone headed to Bogarts (39th and Park) for an after party. Audrey, David, and I decided to take funny pictures:

1. Disgruntled Youth:

2. A normal picture:

3. Fresh off the boat:

4. We’re scared…of David the…hamster?

5. We’re thinking…but David already had his lightbulb moment:

6. Me and my girlfriend, Audrey (Sorry Nai, she’s MINE!):

The night was amazingly fun and I had a great time - what a great way to end the year! Now I’m back in North Carolina spending time with my mom and brother - and I’m not heading back to New York until NEXT YEAR! When I get back to New York, I have to start looking for a new apartment (if you have any suggestions, please let me know). Happy holidays, everyone!

Last Thursday, Audrey and I went to a “diversity holiday party” at Libation, a place downtown. The point of the event was to network with other professionals, but Audrey and I quickly got bored and decided to start playing games. (In our defense, we did try…and had someone explain to us how her hair was once burnt…) Since the event was open bar, Audrey and I decided to start ordering drinks we’ve never had to see if they were good or not. We first tried a blueberry martini and a dirty martini:

The blueberry martini wasn’t that interesting, but the dirty martini was pretty good (although a little salty). Audrey and I tasted the olives afterwards and she REALLY hated it, but I thought it wasn’t too bad (but I don’t think I’d ever order it again). Next, we ordered a seabreeze (grapefruit, cranberry, and vodka) and a sex on the beach (peach schnapps, orange juice, vodka, and cranberry):

The seabreeze was our favorite drink of the night (I liked it because it wasn’t too sweet - Audrey liked it for the massive amounts of vodka the waitress dumped into the drink :)). We were going to continue ordering drinks and sampling them, but we decided to go to dinner in chinatown instead. Here’s a picture of us from the party:

Last Saturday my senior celebrated his 25th birthday at Kevin St. James. Vikkie, Audrey, Eric, and I went to celebrate with him and his friends - it was FREEZING cold and Vikkie and I WALKED there because we couldn’t get a cab (it was only a couple of blocks, but we didn’t wear jackets!):

Vikkie and I with the happy birthday boy,

The three girls, and

Another gangster shot of the three security and controls guys.

After we wished Ray a happy birthday, Vikkie, Audrey, Eric, and I headed to Down the Hatch in the village because Eric’s high school friend was celebrating his birthday there. We caught a cab RIGHT AWAY (thank goodness) and proceeded to take about…100 pictures in the cab. Here’s my favorite:

And a picture of the cab driver that REFUSED to smile in our picture:

I’ve been to Down the Hatch a couple of times while I was interning, but I don’t remember it smelling as foul as it did on Saturday. We only stayed for ten minutes because the air was so stale and smelled like urine + cheap beer + smelly college students. We were walking around searching for a taxi (and it was FREEZING at this point) and we ended up getting a ride in a limo (ask me the story if you want to hear it…it’s a little too crazy for the family members that read this post).

Anyway, we get to our last bar, Park, and somehow, the camera I BORROWED from a friend, BROKE. I sent it in to be fixed, but it’s not under the warranty anymore, so hopefully it won’t cost too much to fix. That also means no more pictures for a while :(:( - but I plan on getting a camera for Christmas, so once I figure out which camera I want, I’ll buy it.

Work has been going well - I’ll be finished with my client in NJ THIS THURSDAY! This Thursday, coincidentally, is also our CHRISTMAS PARTY! And on FRIDAY, I’m GOING HOME!! YIPPEEE!! The only thing I’m not excited about is coming back in the new year because I’ll be looking for a new apartment (but there are a lot of other things to look forward to - Tim’s visit, Angie, John, and Steve’s visit, a new client, etc). If anyone hears of anything - please let me know!

So onto this weekend…

Actually, I’d have to say that this weekend was one of the best weekend’s I’ve had since I’ve moved here. On Friday, I met up with Leena and Jen (her roommate) for dinner in K-town and then we had fro-yo at Pinkberry, an AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME place in K-town. It actually tastes like real yogurt mixed with ice, but then there are a lot of fruit toppings you can add (the toppings cost $0.95 cents each though). On Saturday, I met up with one of my cousin’s friends, David, for brunch at Mustang’s, a tex-mex restaurant on the UES. Afterwards, I went to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) BY MYSELF (yes, how independent) and walked through the museum, trying to figure out some of the “art.” One piece I saw was more gross than anything else - it was about 12 pictures of a woman that was naked (upper half) and had a bunch of CHEWED UP GUM on her chest. It was so disgusting - one of the pictures even had her with her arms up (with unshaven pits…like, a year’s worth of arm hair - noooo joke). Afterwards, I came back to my apartment and got ready to go out - I met up with John and his friends at a place called “Home” in the meatpacking district. I REALLY wish I had a camera, but when I get back, hopefully I’ll have something to work with. Today (Sunday), I ran some errands, did some work, and went to dinner - BY MYSELF. I’m trying to become more independent by doing more things on my own.

FRIDAY = HOME until JANUARY.

I can’t believe last week I was in North Carolina spending Thanksgiving with my family. This week was kind of long (but aren’t they all) and after work, I met up with my dinner buddy, Leena, at Spice for a late night dinner. ALSO, I got my new boots which are so incredibly cute but my calves are so big that they didn’t zip up the entire way! hahahahaha they fit now (after I had to stretch out the leather with magazines) but I haven’t worn them out because I can’t decide whether or not they’re comfortable for walking in New York. The highlight of my day was the letter I got from Angie and John - THEY’RE COMING TO VISIT!

On Saturday, our office had their annual Family and Friends Day at the office. Everyone was saying that it was kind of corny, but I RSVP-ed for it earlier in November, so Audrey and I headed to the office to check it out. I wish I had gone there earlier because it was SO MUCH FUN! They really went all out for the event; they had a build-a-bear workshop (AND I DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO DO IT!!!), dance floors, vendors, giant games, DJ’s, and dance floor everywhere. They also had a bunch of photo booths around the cafeteria AND video games EVERYWHERE. It was a huge arcade and kids were running EVERYWHERE. Audrey and I rode in a jeep:

If you look closely, we couldn’t even fit our legs inside so I have one leg in and Audrey didn’t even bother trying so she’s driving on her SIDE! Also, in the background is all the stuffing from the build-a-bears (they ran out of bodies or something so it’s just a bunch of stuffing everywhere). I *almost* slipped on the stuffing because it was REALLY slippery!

They also turned one of the conference rooms on 22 into a party room (Audrey and I will never be able to go into that room without wanting to boogie). They even hired this break dancer that’s been in the iPod videos and he’s a backup dancer for Fergie and Madonna:

It was really cute because a lot of kids were watching him dance and afterwards, all these little girls started talking to him and hugging him. Okay, so, one weird thing about the dance floor was that the DJ was playing all these top 40 hits for these kids that were no more than 13. Isn’t it odd that kids are listening to songs like Smack That and Candy Shop? SERIOUSLY - I barely know what the songs mean, and when I find out, I’m like, totally grossed out! Also, the DJ played this song, Chicken Noodle Soup, and EVERYONE started screaming in excitement. I have never heard this song before, but it is so AWESOMELY bad. There’s also a dance that goes with the music! I am thoroughly impressed and you will see me on 116th and Lex doing the chicken noodle soup dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFethWlS0eU&mode=related&search=.

Audrey and I stood in line for THIRTY minutes to get our pictures made into stickers, but all these people in front of us kept making pages and pages of stickers so by the time it was our turn, the guy working the station UNPLUGGED the machine. ANGRY! So Audrey and I ran to the cafeteria and ended up taking this poloroid:

I think someone pulled out the cord during our third picture (stupid), but our first picture is a normal picture (cute), our second picture is our fobby picture (cuter), and our last picture is our SCARED picture (CUTEST…or scariest!). I had to take a picture of the picture so I could post it online because I think it’s so cute.

After family and friend’s day, Audrey and I headed to Soho for the day and went shopping and ended up in Chinatown for dinner. We went to our usual spot and I ordered the chicken with ginger, scallions, and garlic with rice. Man, I love rice (did I mention my mom bought me a rice cooker?!). Afterwards, Audrey, Eric, Eric’s friend, Benson, Athin, Jason, Leena, Leo, Jen, and I went to the Triumph Room/Providence on 57th between 8th and 9th. The music was ALL trance, which was a good opportunity for Audrey and I to continue our photo shoot that we started earlier in the afternoon:

Normal picture (MAN that’s close).

Fobby picture (Audrey is cheesin it like none other)

Our third picture is our “deep in thought” picture, which was deleted from the poloroid from earlier in the morning. I’m kinda glad it didn’t turn out in our poloroid because we both look kind of mad.

Our shocked face (with gum in my mouth). I love Audrey’s expression of total and utter SHOCK.

Leo, my new best friend, was also in the mood to partake in our photo shoot and he added a new pose:

MODEL POSE! OMG Leo is so fun AND he saved all the girls from the creepos that were trying to dance with us. Man, there were seriously so many creeps out last night AND a Christmas party, which means there were a ton of old people there.

And finally, my favorite picture from the night:

Leo’s expression is priceless.

On Friday, a bunch of us decided to head to Atlantic City for a late night of gambling. We headed to David’s place to pick up his car and then drove to AC for the night. Audrey and I went to Atlantic City last year for the 4th of July and neither of us have been back since, but there has been a lot of development since:

A picture of the five of us in the ghetto entrace of the Taj Mahal, where we spent the night:

Eric, Jason, me, David, and Audrey

Last year, I didn’t really gamble so this year I brought some money and decided to try my luck around the casino. I watched a bunch of games and decided that I should just play something really easy, so I settled on…craps. Initially, I put down $60 and I was doing really well. At one point, I was up like $75! People around me were helping me and telling me where to put my money, but eventually, I started losing…really badly. I lost all the money I at one point won, and then I lost all the money I brought to the table…in a span of about…30 minutes. After realizing how fast I lost all of my money, I decided not to play anymore and to watch the other guys instead. They were all sitting at one table playing blackjack and I decided to piggyback off David, Eric, and Jason (meaning I would just put $5 down for every bet they had) and eventually, I left the casino only losing $35, which is like a night out.

On Saturday, I went to Leena’s housewarming party and then to a 30th birthday party for a friend from work. Leena lives in the Trump Towers on the west side and it’s so nice! She converted a one bedroom into a three bedroom and all of their rooms are bigger than mine AND they have a doorman! Audrey and I are looking into the apartments for when my sublease is over.

Audrey, me, and Leena:

Leena and Audrey are like the only two girls I know in the city…good thing they both like going out!

Me and Jason (with Eric in the background ruining our picture:

On a side note, I’ve become really interested in jewelry making and I made part of my necklace! It takes a while since I’m new to it, but I love picking out the beads and making the designs.

I never mentioned this before, but while I was washing my face one night, my pearl earring somehow fell down the sink (I guess it was already loose from when I took off my sweater or I was messing with it beforehand). Anyway, the pearl earring was a birthday/graduation gift from my dad with a matching necklace, so I was pretty heartbroken when I lost it. I mentioned it to some people a couple of weeks ago when I went on a booze cruise with people from work and a manager from a different group mentioned that there’s something that catches random stuff like that in my pipes. Also, he said that he would come over to fix it for me and hopefully find my earring, so I was pretty excited. Ryan, the manager, came over tihs past Monday and FOUND MY EARRING! He also found my roommate’s earring from a year ago (which was pretty nasty since it was just gold plated), but my pearl earring is perfectly intact:

Thanks, Ryan! People in the lab at work were making fun of him for being a part-time plumber (jk) but he seriously saved me lots of heartbreak AND money (I was about to drop the money to buy another pair so I wouldn’t have to tell my dad).

On Thursday, our office had our monthly happy hour, a prenight for Friday’s Superday, AND a comedy night at the Gotham comedy club. I also had my own plans to go out with a family friend, so it was definitely a really long (but fun) night. The comedy show was HILARIOUS and we even saw the guy from Best Week Ever:

He was the closing act and was pretty funny (I thought the hostess was funnier).

After the comedy club, I met up with Audrey, Eric, and Leena to go out with a family friend, John. John’s parents and my parents grew up together in Taiwan and I contacted him when I first moved to the city. We never had a chance to meet up since I was in Florida for the first month of work and after comin back, things were so hectic for both of us, so I had no idea what he looked like until we met up at the club. We went to Stereo for the 1-year anniversary and had a great time. DJ AM performed:

AND there was a surprise performance by:

LIL KIM! She is SO TINY in person (no taller than 5 feet WITH heels on, it seemed like) and her hair is pretty outta control. She was being escorted by bodyguards and jumped up on the stage to rap/sing/whatever.

One funny thing from the night - this guy comes up to me and is like, I own this club. Of course I don’t believe him and he’s telling me how it’s the one year anniversay (umm…duh). Anyway, I walked away and later I see him trying to make out with another guy’s blazer:

Also, this guy at the table next to us thought it would be funny if he sprayed his champagne everywhere, which was NOT cool because it ruined my BRAND NEW SHOES AND it got me, Leena, and Audrey all wet. Since he was right next to me, I thought it would only be fair to take the orange juice from our table and dump it all over him.

Finally, Leena and Audrey are the best to go out with because I called Leena at 10PM to tell her we were going out at midnight and she was all for it. Audrey, on the other hand, was already out partying so it wasn’t difficult convincing her to go out. A picture from the night: