New York, New York

I miss New York.  In New York,  I felt like a little kid that’s dwarfed by a magnificent city.  The bustling streets, the high rises that blot out the sky, corner delis, caged churches, street vendors selling imitation Rolex’s that they keep warm in their coats, the cursing cab drivers, and the crazy pedestrians stepping fearlessly into the streets with their hand stretched out in front of them like they could stop a vehicle driven by God.  And, of course, I can never forget the sea of people in black leather jackets and dark jeans that walk with unwavering will and purpose through the city…

It’s been almost 10 years since I’ve spent any real time in New York (the quick pit stop to Queens during G and I’s trip to Maryland a few years ago doesn’t count), and I can’t wait to go back and visit.  I already have a few items on my “to do” list:

1.  Visit the wife (if she’s still in school finishing up her Ph.D )
2.  Take a walk through Central Park
3.  Ice skate at the Rockefeller Center (If I’ll be there for Christmas)
4.  Visit the American Museum of Natural History
5.  Go to the Empire State Building and re-enact the ending of Sleepless in Seattle (I’m kidding)
6.  Read the first 4 chapters of The Great Gatsby at the New York Public Library
7.  Get roaring drunk at the Flatiron Lounge in NYC
8.  Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
9.  Spend an afternoon at Hamilton Heights in Harlem and stop by St. Nick’s Pub
10. See a show on Broadway

For now, I’ll listen to Norah Jones, enjoy my memories, and look forward to the day I get to visit again.

Norah Jones – New York City

I can’t remember what I planned tomorrow
I can’t remember when it’s time to go
When I look in the mirror
Tracing lines with a pencil
I remember what came before

I wanted to think there was endless love
Until I saw the light dim in your eyes
In the dead of the night I found out
Sometimes there’s love that won’t survive

New York City
Such a beautiful disease
New York City
Such a beautiful
Such a beautiful disease

Laura kept all his disappointments
Locked up in a box behind her closet door
She pulled the blinds and listened to the thunder
With no way out from the family store

We all told her things could get better
When you just say goodbye
I’ll lay awake one more night
Caught in a vision I want to deny

And did I mention the note that I found
Taped to my locked front door
It talked about no regrets
As it slipped from my hand to the scuffed tile floor

I rode the train for hours on end
And watched the people pass me by
It could be that it has no end
Just an action junkie’s lullaby

New York City

We were full of the stuff that every dream rested
As if floating on a lumpy pillow sky
Caught up in the whole illusion
That dreams never pass us by
Came to a tattooed conclusion
That the big one was knocking on the door
What started as a mass delusion
Would take me far from the place I adore

New York City 

Norah Jones – New York City

Saturday’s Misadventure

Dawn, Lorna, and I couldn’t figure out what to do last night, so we ended up walking to Von’s, picking up wine and cheese, and after a few hours, we were feeling nice and fuzzy.  We watched the pilot episode of Dexter, played music, and at 2:00am, we decided to walk to the beach.

The lights make the beach beautiful at night.  Lorna tried to jump in the water.  Thank God Dawn and I managed to talk her drunk ass out of it.  After we walked around on the sand for a bit, we decided to head back to the apartment because it was too cold.  Before we left, Dawn and Lorna decided to play a little game.

Result:  Dawn hurting her ankle, Lorna cutting her lip and chipping her tooth, and Amber documenting their little accident and part of our Saturday Evening / Sunday Morning misadventure.

With Love

해바라기 -  사랑으로

내가 살아가는 동안에 할일이 또 하나 있지
바람부는 벌판에 서 있어도 나는 외롭지 않아
그러나 솔잎하나 떨어지면 눈물따라 흐르고
우리 타는 가슴 가슴마다 햇살은 다시 떠오르네

아 영원히 변치않을 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀 주리라
아아 영원히 변치 않을 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀주리라
아 라 라 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀 주리라 

내가 살아가는 동안에 할일이 또 하나 있지
바람부는 벌판에 서 있어도 나는 외롭지 않아
그러나 솔잎하나 떨어지면 눈물따라 흐르고
우리 타는 가슴 가슴마다 햇살은 다시 떠오르네

아 영원히 변치않을 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀 주리라
아아 영원히 변치 않을 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀주리라
아 라 라 우리들의 사랑으로
어두운 곳에 손을 내밀어 밝혀 주리라

“We reach out with our hands to the dark side of the world and brighten them with our love which will never change” – 해바라기

There’s No Place Like Home

I love living in Long Beach.  I’ve been here a little over a year now, and I’m really starting to understand the culture of the city.  People are starting to look familiar and I finally feel like a local in this neighborhood.

I woke up this morning to eat dim sum with Dawn, Lorna, and Summer at Ten Ten’s.  Afterward, we headed to IKEA to pick up a few decorative items, then we went back to home sweet home in Long Beach to fly kites at the beach.  Dawn is lucky enough to only be a stone’s throw away from the beach, so we parked, made a quick stop to her apartment, then walked towards the sand.  Felicia and Katie met us there.

There wasn’t much of a wind, so none of us were able to get our kites in the air for more than a few minutes (that’s a little generous… it was actually seconds) at a time.

After we all gave up, we left the beach and went to 2nd Street.  The Romance Store was still displaying flowers and Valentine’s Day items on their storefront.

Leah and Neil joined us for dinner at Open Sesame.  As always, the food was fabulous. We were lucky enough to get seated in the back booth with cushy seats and pillows everywhere.  I was very very comfy.

La douceur de vivre!

Borrego Palm Canyon

I love being out in nature.  Today really felt like a vacation.  Dawn, Neil, Lorna, and I drove to Palm Springs to hike the Borrego Palm Canyon Trail this afternoon.  The trail leading through the clusters of palm trees and through the oasis was pretty easy.  Elevation gain was only around 350 ft.

The palm trees provided a very nice shade during the hike.

The more I hike, the more desire I have to identify things; plant life, rocks, etc.  I really should have paid more attention in school because now as an adult, I realize I have very little knowledge of nature.  If I was a contestant in the show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, I would undoubtedly fail miserably at answering any questions in the science category; 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade.

There were a lot of hikers on the trail that were taking advantage of the good weather, just like us.  The temperature was perfect and the sky was completely clear.

The dirt path was easy, but hiking on the rocks through the streams was challenging… and  little bit painful.  On the way back, I totally ate it at this stream.  Dawn tried to warn me and I tried to be careful, but I ended up slipping on a rock, landing on and scraping my right knee.  And the best part… ending up waist deep in water.

Earlier, Dawn was almost completely submerged in water when she slipped on a rock by the 3rd waterfall.  Lorna twisted her ankle, and Neil ended up falling twice on the way back.

After 3 1/2 hours of hiking, we left and drove out to Rite Aid to pick up flip flops for Dawn, Neil, and Lorna, a first aid kit for future hiking trips, and pants for me since my shorts were still drenched.  The only pants they had available were these weird capri-style sweatpants for women.  Since I didn’t want to freeze, I bought the damn thing.  I put it on and ended up looking like I stepped out of a yoga class.  Blech.

We had dinner at Dawn’s favorite Italian restaurant on the strip.  Afterward, we went to the casino to have  drinks and gamble a bit before heading back home.

I have a feeling that as soon as my head touches the pillow tonight, I’ll be fast asleep.

San Pedro – Sunken City, Korean Friendship Bell

Today was exceptional!  It was nice and sunny for our afternoon hike through Sunken City in San Pedro.  We found a way around scaling the scary metal fence that surrounds the area and did some illegal exploring.  There’s concrete slabs with colorful graffiti along the path, and the most incredible views of the Pacific Ocean.  Getting on the path was a little harrowing, but it was worth every slip and fall.  Well, except Felicia’s fall.  She ended up rolling on her ankle when she was halfway down the path. 

We were walking through the disintegrating city.  But even with that in mind, it didn’t taint the amazing beauty of this place.  I just couldn’t believe it’s always been there, just a few miles away from home.

Dawn and Neil spent some time feeding Chex Mix to a very friendly squirrel.

I’m a poor hiker.  Katie seemed pretty comfortable and she helped me through the more difficult parts of the trail.  I’m paranoid when it comes to putting one foot in front of the other when there isn’t a paved road or walkway.  I couldn’t believe how Ajumma just hopped from one place to the next without any sense of fear.  Lorna, Dawn, and Neil have been going on hiking trips weekly, so I ended up being the weakest link.

It’s nice to have friends that offer a helping hand and don’t seem to mind.

After we finished hiking, we drove down the street to park with the Korean Friendship Bell.  This sign was posted near the front.

I thought it was kinda funny that residents can still act like visiting foreigners in their own city.  There were a few dorky Americans posing in between the statues.

After we left the park, we drove to Ports O Call for an early dinner, then to the Bingo Club in Hawaiian Gardens where we stayed and played for a few hours before going home.  It was a perfect Sunday and I’m really looking forward to a repeat!

Demotivation

Visit www.despair.com and click on “Posters”.  Especially employees of Corporate America.  It’s probably most humorous to those that have become a cynical shell of the person since the “machine” has sucked the life out of you.  Just kidding… sort of.

I’d love to share the humor with some of my work colleagues, but they would probably think I was playing some sort of HR mind trick.  Either that, or that I’ve completely lost my mind.

Here are a few that I thought were pretty funny and post-worthy:

Bitterness:  Never be afraid to share your dreams with the world, because there’s nothing the world loves more than the taste of really sweet dreams.

Planning:  Much work remains to be done before we can announce our total failure to make any progress.

Change:  When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles.

Challenges:  I expected times like this but I never thought they’d be so bad, so long, and so frequent.

Creativity:  Helps artists die young, miserable, and penniless so their art can have meaning to the old, satisfied, and obscenely rich.

Fear:  Until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore, you will not know the terror of being forever lost at sea.