a thanksgiving like no other

*** hover on each photo for a better description ***

for my first thanksgiving, i say i did pretty damn well.

checked in at the Intercon in Times Square on the 21st and then went to Central Park for the inflating of the balloons to be used for the Macy's Thanksgiving parade on the 22nd.

partied til the wee hours with my fab NYC friends...met an Argentinian gay guy who wanted to make out with me! twice. so i did. twice! ehem ehem. (bucketlist item checked! hahahha!)

got drunk...sat on the sidewalk in freezing weather...didn't make it to my bed and slept on the carpet instead. woke up at 12noon only to realize i'm missing one contact lens.

OH! which meant i missed the parade the next day, had a hangover while having lunch at Dallas BBQ in Timesquare but i had the best ribs ever! by the time lunch was done, i was up and about but was not up enough for the ice skating challenge over at the Pond in Bryant Park.

by dinnertime, i was almost back to my usual self so we went out for drinks at Heartland Brewery on 41st and 8th followed by a night of pure karaoke fun in Koreatown with dear college friends.

i spent the day in my hotel room on Friday (23rd) and then went out with another friend for a different kind of night in town. we had way too much fun at the Museum of Sex and learned that bonobo monkeys trade sugar canes for sex favors!

for dinner, in order to satisfy my earlier craving of paella, we headed to La Nacional, one of NYC's best kept secret to have our paella fix. mike could not have chosen a better authentic Spanish place in that side of New York. the place was cozy, the food was great and the service was excellent! a must try for food connoisseurs...even the snooty ones!

after downing 2 kinds of paella, a pitcher of sangria and a plate of octopus, we decided to walk a few blocks. my friend wanted to show me the Washington Arch and the Flatiron Bldg. so we did. they both sounded fairly familiar. and they were!

the Flatiron Bldg was constantly used in Friends and was the headquarters of Peter Parker in Spiderman. now the Washington Arch in Washington Square Park was featured in Ugly Betty, August Rush and I Am Legend. i managed to get a few shots before my iPhone died whew!

and since it was my last night in New York, going home early was not an option. we took a cab and went all the way to 3rd street to see a live band perform at Cafe Wha?. the club's vibe was different from what i expected. the band played a mixture of jazz, soul, r&b, rock and pop! turned out, the band has been playing there since forever! it. was. fun!

i checked out on saturday (24) to get ready for yet another post thanksgiving party in New Jersey with my colleagues from work which started at 12nn and ended at 12mn. if that doesn't spell wonderful time, i don't know how else to call it. we had our traditional turkey plus loads of other pinoy food and a heaping array of alcohol. it was thanksgiving pinoy style.

so there, that's how my thanksgiving week went. so much to be thankful for.
i am really blessed and i can't ask for anything more (well except for a boyfriend!!!)