I touched him.. and then I touched him.

Today was jam-packed from the moment we woke up.

First, I must say that NYU dorm beds are quite comfy. I slept so soundly, it made me wonder why I couldn't sleep this well at home. We got up around 11 a.m. and headed to Sophie's office at the NYU hospital where she had to spend a few minutes working, while I tooled around on the eMac (my first time on one! I'm glad the Macs are faster now).

We grabbed lunch at Cosi's (grilled chicken TBM on flatbread, yum), then took the subway over to Grand Central station where we walked straight down 42nd to the UN building. The Interpreter is one of my favorite movies, so it was a highlight for me. We went in to see if we could catch a tour, but they were full, so we didn't get to see the main council hall. Boo.

We hiked back up to the train and took the 6 to SoHo where a friend from L.A. was staying. It was quite a walk, but we eventually found it. He was staying at the Hampton with, it turns out, another friend I had met in L.A. They were both in town going on interviews during their spring break; one even scored with an EA position at GQ! Congrats!

We eventually headed back out to go to Tea Sympathy, which is some kind of tea room. But when we found it, the tiny place was already packed. So we just turned around and headed to some diner on the corner of 7th and another street, called The Village Den. It was kind of awkward b/c all we got were two hot cocoas and an apple juice, haha. I think we just wanted a place to sit and chat.

Afterwards, me and Sophie headed to Artichoke on E. 14th for dinner. We waited in this line spilling out of the tiny pizza store that had nowhere to sit and we had to get the Cokes out of the fridge ourselves. But it was still so worth it because their signature spinach and artichoke pizza were freaking incredible.. OMG. It was a gooey bit of heaven on a thick, crispy crust. Drool..

As if we couldn't be foodie enough, we headed over to Max Brenner's by Union Square and gorged on the Tutti Frutti, which is their waffle dessert piled high with berries, chocolate wafer crumbs and chocolate sauce. As you can see, this resto is all about the choco. Normally, I'm not much of a chocolate person, but with fruit, I'll take anything that sweetens it up even more.

Then we essentially rolled ourselves to the subway back to the dorm so we could rest before heading back out to Circle, this Korean club where Se7en was to perform. We started getting ready around 10 and headed out at 11. We took the cab to W. 41st and Broadway, right around the corner from Times Square.

The club was nice, but a little small for such a popular spot. I realize it's normal for dance floors to be built smaller than capacity, but it still could have been a bigger. Within 30 minutes, the place was PACKED, no less with an even ratio of boys and girls (according to the Sophie, who claim this is not a usual occurance.)

And as if to make up for the lack of cover charge, we ended up paying nearly $50 for three drinks. THREE. They weren't even shots.. it was a Sex On The Beach, Apple Martini and a Cosmo. $50?? Yeah, I guess that's what we get for being girls and missing the cover. Boo. Not to mention the cab rides that ate through my cash stash as well. NY is definitely not a cheap city in the least...

Then, Se7en came out! He said a brief intro before the host informed us that he won't be performing until 2. GAHHH my feet were already killing me. But we still had fun, and it got super crazy when Se7en came out! Honestly, b/c I'd seen him so much in his videos and the KoreAm mag spread, I wasn't all that starstruck. But Sophie was going ballistic, trying to grab his hand which she did numerous time, hence the title) while taking pictures at the same time, hahah. We were super close to him, though.. it's like we were standing RIGHT in front of him.

He didn't really PERFORM, but rather sang to his latest single "Girls" and did a remix of "La La La" where part of the lyrics were translated into English. He's got charisma, though, and had the entire club jammin' to his tunes. I was getting into it until some girl totally STOMPED on my left toe with her heel and I almost teared from the sting that reverberated from the extra-sensitive blister that was forming there. After that, it was hard to concentrate on his music when the only thing my head could think was "PAIN. F*CK!"

Now it's time to sleep. I hope you are satisfied, blog. I keep sacrificing sleep to blog/catalog instead. Pictures to be up soon. Laterrrr!

deNYal

You walk outside and end up standing in a puddle of something that looks like gray water, despite the eery sheen. You breathe in fumes from countless taxis and steaming manholes, which combine and bring on a minor headache. Then you get a whiff of salty sausage somewhere nearby and it hits you -- you're in New York City.

It's not my first time in the Big City, but this time, I come with a new perspective. Before, i was a just a kid tagging along with my parents while we perused MoMA and argued over who got us lost in Brooklyn when we were supposed to go to the Statue of Liberty.

Those are not the places I want to see in New York this time. What is it that I want to do and see? I don't quite know yet actually, and I'm already here, sitting in my sister's dorm in the Financial District, stuffed from a late dinner in Koreatown. I'm borrowing the wireless next door to search for a nice place to lunch tomorrow. Can you see how well I envisioned this trip?

Judge how you will the following statement, but I can already see myself living here. I felt the energy as soon as I got in the cab at La Guardia and the Brooklyn Bridge was speeding past me. It felt like I'd never left "home", meaning this place has got to someplace special.

So I'm going to explore all I can for the next few days and try to see where I can fit in this city. I'll attempt to live as much like a local as possible for simulation. Above all, I just want to experience MY New York City. I'll let you know what goes on!

manges tous!

Pretty much the only thing we've been doing in New Orleans for the past 3 days is eat, eat, and eat. Relying on Yelp reviews and a Frommer's guidebook, we've been to a litany of restaurants around here and I think I can say with confidence that I understand New Orleans cuisine.

It's a lot of spice, paired with pork sausages (which are also spiced) and liquid stew of either gumbo, etouffée, or both. Asians would fit in perfectly, since rice comes on top of nearly everything, if not, the main dish. Jambalaya is a perfect example - spicy rice with shrimp, sausage, and veggies mixed in. It's basically kimchi fried rice, Bayou-style.

Amazingly, I haven't gotten anywhere near to having a heart attack or gluing myself to the john. Everything has been well-proportioned, since there are 4 of us and we just order a bunch of stuff and share. Plus, I think being Korean has been a bonus, esp. with the spicier stuff. Walking the 6 blocks or so back to our hotel isn't a bad way to work off the extra poundage either.

But aside from giving our mouths the workout of their lives, there's is
n't much else to do in NOLA. Riverwalk promenade? Check. Ferry to Algiers Point? Check. Shopping on Royal Street? Check, check and check. I've come to realize this is one of few towns in the world where the experience is really ONLY about the food. No joke. Yeah, if you're into jazz & blues or drinking till you're puking, there's definitely space for you here. I think I'll settle for the crawfish etouffée or heated muffuletta at Napoleon House.

les bons temps

Still trying to figure out the kinks of working with Blogger. It seems as though there is a hazing of sorts, as my first two attempts in posting an entry with photos have both deleted on me.

Whatever. All I wanted to say was 1) I never thought my first entry in this blog, which I created specifically for my travels, would be about a trip to New Orleans (hence the Paris banner), and 2) This town is a pure gem. We skimmed the surface today with the French Quarter, beignets and Magazine Street, but tomorrow and the next few days will surely be better. Spicy creole cuisine and gorgeous cemeteries, anyone? 

So, Blogger, this entry had better be here tomorrow, as I will be needing plenty more space to add content and not enough time to deal with your technical whims. Ta-ta!