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!!!)

jack frost nipping at your nose

and so the snow fell a week after Hurricane Sandy visited the east coast.

guess who went out and played :)

*** see other snow pics when i went to Seoul, South Korea in 2009

they don't call it fall for nothing

and i am loving every bit of it.

hurray for the falling leaves. hurray for the wonderful colors around. hurray for the cold weather.

winter is just around the corner and i'm savoring every minute of fall before the really really cold cold nights begin.

ready for the cold

it's not even winter yet but the weather has been really really cold since i got here. the weather channel even predicts that winter may come sooner than expected. which means, there might be snow this fall. yey!

and i am so ready for it.

brrrrrr!!!

autumn in new jersey

the last time i was in the US was at the peak of summer. IT WAS HOT. really really hot. like wet armpits feels like in an oven hot. seriously.

my trip this time around happens to be in the fall. they say it's the best season of the year and i can't wait to get it started. 

the leaves are changing colors, the weather is cold and i can start wearing my boots! remember the hello kitty uggs i bought in tokyo? well this weather is just purrfect for that.

Happy Columbus Day America!

it's good to be back.

1 week to say adieu

has it been 2 months??? 

i feel like i just got here! there's still so much shopping to do! (panic much?)

in 1 week, i shall go back to Manila

until then,  i have 2 months to be with my family and friends back home while keeping my fingers crossed for the next trip here come October.

i love my job. i do. i really really do.

4th of July

as the saying goes, when in Rome do what the Romans do. so we did.

since most of the people i know went on a weeklong vacation (one which i can't afford to do), my officemates and i celebrated our version of the 4th of July...

cooked a feast for 3

  

domestic diva indeed!

capped the night watching Macy's fireworks display from the hotel's parking lot

and somewhere between lunch and the fireworks, we went shopping. a lot. 

so there, our 4th of July was a happy day both for our tummy and our luggages. the wallet will just have to deal with it.

Happy Birthday America! You are one kickass country.

ps. i love all your holiday sales!

a city called Atlantic



The Boardwalk @4am

 where people are always happy, full and drunk!

now i know why a friend of mine calls casinos "disney" as it is indeed the happiest place on earth! at least for those who like to gamble.

i, for one, am a newbie. i've only set foot in a casino twice in my life. once i played the slots, where i won and the other was just to watch some friends play.



Atlantic City is New Jersey's version of Las Vegas. a very small version of Vegas the size of which has nothing to do with the quality of fun and entertainment one can experience.

to cut the story short, i played. not the slots but on the tables, a far cry from what i intended to do which was to party and dance the night away.  i was hoping i still had beginners luck since i have yet to play on the tables. turned out, that luck expired. i blew $100 on black jack at the Showboat. but all is good. it was the best loss ever (i'm a glass half full kinda girl) because i had the best time! i was with my good friends from college, i had a couple of cocktails and corona, the band and the dj played awesome songs and the people around are all oh so pleasant. it was indeed an experience.

so yes, i may have lost, but in the end, i had fun. and it's all that matters. best part is, we're doin it again before i go back to Manila. woot woot!!!!

musings from New Jersey

The Hotel
IT.IS.FIERCE! in fact, it can kick all of my previous hotels' butt 10 times over. i'm staying at the Hyatt House Morristown which is a good 15mins drive to where our office is located.

there's free wifi everywhere, 24hr laundry and gym use, free breakfast and best of all, they serve cocktails and light dinner/snacks mon-thurs night! told you, fierce!

The Office
as i've mentioned earlier, the office is very near. we rented a car for the entire trip as going around NJ is quite tasking. very small price we had to pay for choosing to stay in the suburbs.

unlike my previous trips, there won't be as much pressure with this one. i hope. work is very easy. the covergirl kind...easy breezy.

The Food and Weather
there's nothing much to be excited about i guess. i mean, at least i know there is something to eat here, unlike in KL or Johannesburg where it was difficult to find "familiar food".  From the office, there's a wide selection of diners, fastfood, restaurants and cafes to choose from. For my first lunch, we opted to go to Taco Bell.

as for the weather, i experienced and survived my first heat wave. lesson learned, when the forecast says extreme weather condition, it's best to believe. never doubt/question. hahahhaa! it.was.hot! uh, maybe that's why they call it heat wave? good thing this lasts only for a few days.

The Shopping

retail therapy at it's finest. seriously. i've just been here 6days and have already gone to Walmart, Costco and Macys. can't wait to visit the other shops this weekend.

This coming Saturday, we're going to NYC and visit the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. cultured much?

Of course a separate trip is also in order as i want to paint new york red! but that will have to wait. one at a time. for now, it's the museums and Central Park. next is to walk the streets where Carrie Bradshaw walked on and have cosmopolitan. oh how cliche. yes, i'm a fan, don't judge.

Oh Jersey, how i love thee. i told you we're gonna have a blast!

Cheers!

time to catch up on my writing...again

i've been lazy to write. since i got back from Tokyo last December, i only wrote 2 entries. yaiks! this coming from someone who wrote about wanting to write more.  i wasn't even able to complete the 30 day photo challenge! (i'm sorry ate bing for failing you and andrei!) what's up with that????

to think, 2012 has been a friggin blast! i have no excuse, i just was to lazy. plain and simple. so imma try HARDER this time.

now, what's new with me you ask?

to start off, i applied for a US Visa and was given 10yrs multiple B1/B2 visa. that being said, i'm now in New Jersey. For two months, home is the Hyatt House @ Morristown where the room is mighty fine. The best room i've had since i started travelling abroad.

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i was able to tick/check one item in my bucketlist - to see the NKOTB in concert! they came and conquered manila last month together with the Backstreet Boys. And boy oh boy oh boy, the throngs of screaming fans in their 30s proved they still got it. Jordan and his falsetto, Donnie and his abs. damn those abs! i found myself swooning and screaming with the rest of the crowd. i screamed like a friggin teenager but I DID NOT CARE. it's NKOTB and Donnie Wahlberg's abs for crying out loud!!! Did i mention Donnie Wahlberg's abs? yes, for days i dreamt of just that.

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i got hooked on Instagram and when i say hooked i meant addicted. the kind that needs/requires rehab. that kind. i simply love it. super love it. can't let a day pass without using it. seriously, i need help! here are some of my fave shots so far...

    

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and lastly, as all best things are saved for, i lost 20lbs. woot woot! working on losing 20lbs more! wish me luck!

so there, those are the highlights of my 2012 so far. oh in case you're wondering, i'm still working on the love front. real harder this time.

cheers from Jersey!