New York, New York, Nevada

Things I Miss about NY:

1) convenience - bodegas. 24 hour delis.

2) places staying open until 4am (altho have discovered that a couple places out here are open that late or later).

3) not having to drive when you go out - have to look for parking, pay for parking / parking ticket / cover - and then leave at 1:30am. and get there by 10pm. ew.

4) shopping - I'm pining for you, East Village shops!

5) food - Momofuku!

6) walking around.

7) riding my bike around. I hope that thief is enjoying my bike!

8) seeing shows - and ohmyrockness.com.

And so we went to New York this weekend!



The hotel in Vegas, that is. (yuck yuck) Walking around the miniature version of New York felt a bit monster-from-Cloverfield-like.

It was underwhelming because the shops were not real NY shops/bars (ie Magnolia Bakery, Serendipity, CBGBs - that would have been awesome!) and the building models felt too small.



However, the rollercoaster was suprisingly scary!



I scream like a girl. Simon belts out a were-dog-coy-ote combo. The footage was also reminescent of Cloverfield.

We went there for Simon's birthday, and were very conservative. Might even say we had the Frommers experience of Las Vegas (whose demographic seems to be upscale yuppies in their mid- late forties - based on our China experience).



We had lunch buffett at the Bellagio:





Overall, the brunch was just ok, but that duck leg was Ammaazzing. Thank you fleeting vegetarianism to allow me to sample that.

We saw the Bellagio water show:



They played God Bless the USA. Is this a July 4th celebration in the Midwest accompanied by an all you can eat Ribfest? I was disappointed that it was all white instead of different colors, but the parts where it shot up like a geyser were pretty cool.

We walked down the strip and passed all the opulent hotels. It felt like Rodeo Drive - as opposed to Las Vegas. My favorite was the Venentian - by far.




Pretty stunning!

Simon made us walk all the way down the strip to Treasure Island because he thought they had $1 craps. 7 hotels (all with $10 minimum tables) and 2 hours later - he pulls open the doors to Treasure Island and says - "Oh, I think the $1 craps was in Belluxi, Mississippi." Meanwhile, Justina's and I's feet are throbbing. We ended up playing $15 craps minimum table and my lucky rolling won us about $100 each! Thank you beginners luck.



That night we ended up making a video that may possibly be beyond our editing capabilities - but that video will be up soon. We shot it in our hotel room, which was Piimmp. It was a one bedroom suite at the Signature at MGM.







I got the craps bug - and that's all Simon and I could think about doing the second day. - we tried to re-summon my craps luck - but we lost $60 each. Then I won $40 back in blackjack. Tim met a guy in the bathroom who was down $100,000 for the day. Is it more shocking that he was meeting people in the bathroom or that someone lost $100,000 and wasn't phased?

The glassed-eyed people at the slots, the lack of windows and no immediately discernable way out of the casinos added a dash of sadness to the environment. In addition to that was an element of cheese, such as the show, "Thunder Down Under," which featured PG 13 gyrating Australian gigolos.



But the most disturbing thing out there were posters of a diesel Carrot Top.



Which led to the debate - do stars come to Vegas to peak - like Hannah Montana is doing - or to die - like Carrot Top. I guess both? For Carrot Top - his future looks bleak:



* via mishmash.com.

All in all, an unsinful visit to Sin City.

Little Tokyo

Spent a lot of time in Little Tokyo last week. Apparently there are only 3 official Japantowns left in the nation. San Jose, LA and San Fransisco. So I feel lucky to be close to one.

Dan, Tim, Simon and I had Boba and Ramen at a famous noodle shop - apparently The Original (it was not as good as Momofuku tho!). Dan made a good point - was it really before the noodles in Asia?



Little Tokyo has a cute village plaza that has a consortium of little shops - vintage clothes stores, sneakers, octopus balls, mochi and bakeries, toys etc.



Thankfully, the anime figurine comes with "alternative soft brest parts in which you can put gel inside." Wonderful.

These Nikes cost $4500.



(There were only 50 made in collaboration with Stash - a graffiti artist from NYC)

The inaptly named Family Mart doubles as a Spencers Gift Shop.



I was the only one immature enough to find it entertaining. Dan, Tim and Simon were not amused. However, Simon and I let out a nostalgic sigh upon seeing Pocari Sweat and Oolong Tea in the fridge (as seen in China).

We went back again with my cousins Jennifer, Christina, my Uncle Randy. We had Japanese Curry for lunch.



They had their first pinkberry. I paparazzi her azz.



We went to the Murakami exhibit at the MOCA.

Murakami mocks Manga.



That is his spunk.

Murakami animates Kanye West's music video, "Good Morning."



Meh. Right? (the track here is the intro version, which is not the same version used in the mv)

There was also a really cute short by Murakami, which my uncle aptly referred to as, "The poop story." Unfortunately I do not have it.

I bought this t-shirt - designed by Japantown's own Jared Leto.



Also got green tea as big as your head.



Definitely going to go back to Little Tokyo and take time to shop.

I love exploring the area. There's random cool pockets. Areas I want to check out: Downtown Silver Lake, Eagle Rock (just heard about this last night from Dyana - it is supposed to be like the East Village in NYC), Runyun Canyon, Chinatown, Pasadena and Malibu. LA is a lot different than the douchebaggery I imagined. Of course, once in a while, it's apparent.



There's no rhyme or reason to why I find a koochy comb amusing, but not pick-up truck balls.

Day 11323

of Simon's life (plus or minus 4 days according to Justy). Here is how he spent it.

Latest Video

Was debating whether or not to put this on here. It's a remix of a scene from Bourne Identity which reminded me of another movie when I saw it in theaters.

QT

It's rare that all 5 housemates hang out together - be it due to work, travel, friends, family etc. However last night was a rare occasion where watching adults in spandex yelling things like, "I'm going to eat you alive," brought us together.



American Gladiators - 2008 edition!

6206 Karaoke

It has been raining all weekend. Joe brought us out of our doldrums by bringing home his parents' karaoke machine. Suddenly, we Became his parents / ourselves in 30 years. I remember feeling very Asian.




*Justina came home 1 day after this session.

Back due to unemployment

Random things I have learned out here:

1) The term "cholo." It refers to Mexican males/gangsters who "dress in chinos, a wifebeater, sleeveless teeshirt or a flannel shirt with only the top buttoned, a hairnet, or with a bandana around the forehead, usually halfway down over the eyes. Cholos often have black ink tattoos, commonly involving Catholic imagery, or calligraphy messages or family names." According to my boss, they also wear tube socks up to their knees and ride around on low rider bikes or drive low rider cars.

There's even a music video about how to Lean Like A Cholo:



2) How to drive stick. Joe let me borrow his car after my work car got returned. Simon gave me a 20 minute crash course in the Target parking lot at 1:30am. There were definite growing pains: stalling on the 101 in stop-and-go traffic, stalling while trying to make a left while on a hill and having to wait 5 light cycles before finally getting it, trying to creep up to red lights hoping they'll change to green before I get there so I don't have to stop and change gears, rolling through stop signs, developing a fear of people stopping too close behind me because I may roll back into them, developing a fear of hills and getting anxious about the drive home after work, wondering if I'll stall in the middle of high speed traffic on the highway and therefore die. However, after a couple emails consulting Joe (how should I turn off the car? should I downshift while approaching a stop light?) and getting used to his car - I've finally gotten the hang of it.

3) I love Pinkberry. Hooked after the 2nd time. I drove 40 mins out of the way to get one once.



4) Shopping blows. Or I have not found good spots yet. So far I've been to malls (blah - your typical Bloomies, Macy's, Banana Republic, J.Crew fare - although Justina took me to Mango, where I ended up buying a couple tops) or you have Melrose - which is split into the high fashion end (Fred Segal, D&G, Miss Sixty - meh) and the Vintage/thrift/Wet Seal-type stores end (need to sift to find good items). However, they go all out for their storefonts.





5) Climate out here is DRY. I feel dehydrated a lot, and my skin is freaking out. I have had a zit on my forehead for 6 weeks! After 2 more broke out right next to the OG one, I finally broke down and got a facial. They proceeded to stab them all, making them all the more visible because there is now 1 huge black dot and 2 bright red dots, making an Orion's Belt of zittery on my face. Lord.



As far as the rest of the house - Simon tried the Master Cleanse - which is a diet consisting of drinking 1 quart of salt water every morning, followed by a lemonade concoction every time you get hungry. No solid food allowed. You are supposed to do this for 10 days, losing 2 lbs a day and cleansing out your colon.



I was supposed to join him on day 2, but after diluting myself into thinking that I could do it for a couple hours, I realized I did not want to nor did I think I had the willpower to do it.

Justina is still in HK. She's bringing back a Wii for the house as well as acquiring games in the way that Asians do best - wink nudge.

Joe is back from making a cheerleader into a master debater, but just for the holiday break.



Tim had a friend over for the holidays. He went to the Rose Bowl game, but our team - Illini - lost.

I leave with footage of the writers' strike outside NBC: (music is from the radio)