MssAnne's Xanga

The End of the New York Chronicles: Life of an OC Girl in NY

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:20:58 GMT

As most of you know, I'm now back in California although I'm leaving at 4pm to embark on a brand new adventure with my hubby.

We're starting out in India. From there, we'll be heading to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. In Vietnam, we'll have the opportunity to do some volunteering in an orphanage, which we're really excited for.

I'm doing this post at 3 in the morning because I didn't want to leave without an entry. We've only been back for a week and half and it has been an intense time, jam packed with activities and good times. I won't have time to catch up tonight, but I'll try to when I get back from my trip before Christmas.

For now, I'll leave you with one of our Halloween photos.

Me the Panda and my Hubby the Zoo Keeper!

See you when we get back!

The New York Chronicles: Life of an OC Girl in NY - Entry 54

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:04:10 GMT

I'm horrible! Why have I neglected to blog for so long! This post is going to be a MONDO post with lots of updates and photos!

I shouldn't be making excuses, but I'll make some anyway. The office is in the middle of a move and so I've been helping a great deal with that. And on top of that, Dan and I are officially moving back to OC on October 21st so we've been doing as much as we can and hanging out with all of our NYC friends as often as we can. That means we try to do something almost every day!

You read it right. Dan and I will be moving back to OC on October 21st! The time in NYC has seriously gone by so fast. It's been an amazing ride and the experience of living in this city has been beyond rewarding.

For an NY update, the summer weather has come and gone and fall is here, my favorite season. It's not too cold and it's not too hot. The outfits are cooler and people don't smell as bad. I love crispy fall weather. You can just tell from breathing in the air that it's fall.

An old friend of mine, Chris, was in town this past weekend. I met up with him and Sophia, his gf, for some dinner. As you can tell, I'm not in my summer attire anymore. I'll be catching up on updates still so you'll see summer outfits in this post. My husband plays a mean paparazzi.

I'm going to go straight to the updates now. More Here...

The New York Chronicles: Life of an OC Girl in NY - Entry 53

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:22:15 GMT

Goodness, I feel like I've been away forever! Time to update because as I think I'm catching up, I fall behind more than ever as the days and activities and events in my life fly by like rapid fire.

We've been enjoying New York's summer sooo much! Here's a photo of Bryant Park before the movie screening of Harold and Maude... Yes... p-p-packed!

Check out this pic I captured of hubby coming home from work. He picked up dry cleaning beforehand. Isn't he such a handsome feller? I think so sometimes, at least.

He got me back later on in the night when we headed for dinner at Curry Ya. Yuuum...

We're still eating of course!

Sometimes on our fire escape too...

I'll be updating what I can remember and for the beginning of this post, I'm going to start off with what we did this past weekend actually. We went back to California for the weekend to celebrate my father-in-law's 60th birthday. That sounds like a lot of years, but he can play a mean tennis match (he plays everyday). He's more fit than I am. Lookin' good for 60, Daddy-o-in-law.

I've also got to catch up on posting about our July visitors and we had quite a few all in one weekend too!

It was nice to see all of our family and friends. Just as the last time we visited for my cousin's wedding, I became a little homesick, Dan was homesick this time because we'd spent so much time with his family.

Of course, friends always make us want to come home. We also got to say good bye to Allen who is leaving to Chicago for pharmacy school. Don't mind my Asian glow.

Okay! On to July visitors. More Here...

The New York Chronicles: Life of an OC Girl in NY - Entry 52

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 22:00:07 GMT

My hubby is out of town in Las Vegas this weekend. I decided that I'd wear his shirt today since he isn't here with me. Haha. When he called to see how I was doing I told him I was wearing his shirt and he said, "I love it when you wear my shirts!" He really does.

It was very sweet. His mommy called me today to check on her daughter-in-law. She was afraid I'd be lonely so she called to chat for a little bit.

K, Ladies and Gents... I'm back in hopes of trying to catch up on my blogging. A friend asked how far I was behind and all I have to say is I'm pretty far behind... lol.

In this blog, I'll try to catch up with our 4th of July trip to Orlando with our buds, Adam and Sonya. Dan and I had a great short weekend with Adam, Sonya, as well as our Floridian friends who live there.

Dan and I have been doing lots in NYC. As some of you know, we're heading home... back to California this fall so we're in a squeeze to do the things we haven't yet done yet.

We're definitely still eating a lot! Dan and I try to meet up every day for lunch. Sometimes we'll head out to Times Square to people watch. It might be a tourist spot, but where else can you meet people from all over the world. I've met some interesting people out there and have had great conversations.

A lot of times we try to bring our own lunch to save money for weekend eats and treats... More Here...

The New York Chronicles: Life of an OC Girl in NY - Entry 51

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:23:53 GMT

~~EDIT! I added some videos I forgot I had. Haha.

Oh boy oh boy oh boyee!!!!! I have been such a slacker. My husband has been pointing out everyday that I need to update so I'm going to do it now. Our last four guests left this past week and I can tell you it was tiring going out until morning for 7 days in a row, but of course. But now we're getting our much needed rest.

On to the updates! We're still eating a lot of food! Love this place called... The Hummus Place by our apartment.

I recently bought a fanny pack I got from the Marc Jacobs accessories store, which gets laughs out of Dan and Laura every time I wear it around. HAHA. I like it. Keeps me hands free. I feel a little awkward when I walk around touristy places like Times Square (I work there) and see tourists wearing them. At least I don't have those horrid velcro rubber sandals on.

I'm going to begin with finally updating on Dan's birthday, which was on June 2nd. LOL. I'm so behind, yes I am. I took my husband to Gotham Bar for dinner for his birthday. Nothing, but the best for my Dark Knight.

More Here...

The New York Chronicles: Life of an OC Girl in NY - Entry 50

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:43:25 GMT

DING DING DING! It's the 50th entry... My 50th entry living in New York City. Time sure flies.

***mondo post alert***

Hey all! We're getting quite comfortable in our apartment and we love the area we live in. We are definitely East Village folk... like I've read before... "The village isn't a neighborhood, it's a way of life."

They film a lot of movies on our street. Last month they were filming Step Up 3d and last week they were filming Date Night, a movie starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell. James Franco is also in it.... Mmm... Yummy yummy James. Today we got another notice on our door from another indie film company notifying us that they're filming a movie this week.

Here is a pic of a film crew right in front of our door. The dark red building in the middle is our apartment building. We're located on the 4th floor. Yep! That's mah home!

Something that I love about NYC is that people here really appreciate good weather (and weather in Cali trumps NY any day). People are always out and so are we. We love eating outdoors. If there's any restaurant that has a front patio or a garden you'll catch me eating there.

Also, Michael Jackson has sadly left us. Fortunately, he's also left behind his legacy and I am forever grateful. The news really shocked us and didn't really hit me until the next day when I was completely devastated for a long time. The weekend after his death, we visited the Apollo Theater where he got his big break performing with his big brothers in the Jackson 5.

Dan set up a video you can watch here:

The whole event was memorable and just listening to the crowd singing all of MJ's songs brought back my childhood. We'll miss you, MJ! RIP

Okay, on to happier things. This episode (my Cousin Peter said my blog is like the Anne show taking place outside of it's normal setting. haha.) will be about our trip to Ireland. Going back in time now to the end of MAY....

I've always wanted to go to Ireland, but not so much until I saw the movie, PS I Love You. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking! And we went to that exact spot too! Luckily, my hubby is always down for whatever so off to Dublin we went!

This ladies and gentlemen.... THIS... is what made me want to visit Ireland. It's travel porn for your eyes.

The first thing we did when we got to Dublin was to get settled in our hostel. More Here...

The New York Chronicles: Life of an OC Girl in NY - Entry 49

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:41:55 GMT

Dan and I had a great 4th of July in Orlando with our good friends Sonya and Adam and with our other friends who live in Orlando. Hopefully, I'll get to post those soon!

Before I get going, I just wanted to announce that the whopper jr. has shrunk. LOL. I ordered a whopper jr. today and Dan ordered a regular one. I was surprised to see that the jr. was only $1. Usually it's more. Then, when I saw it, I realized why. It's super tiny now, fits in the palm of my hand. haha.

Okay, beginning from where the last blog left off, we get back to NYC in time to celebrate Cousin Thuy's 36th Birthday at the Elizabeth in the Lower East Side (LES).

Toward the end of the night, she was super drunk. Here she is telling me that I'm her favorite cousin (later on she tells Nam the same thing. Traitor!). She's smokin' hot for a 36 year old.

This is Thuy's best friend, Gina

On May 16th, we attended the NYC Dance Parade for the 2nd time. It's a parade packed with all types of music and participants from every type of genre. Since House is one of my fave genres I signed up to participate in the parade with the Pacha float. We grooved through the streets of NY and had a grand ol' time.

That's my friend Megu. She's a big house cat and knows everything about House events in NY. More Here...

The New York Chronicles: Life of an OC Girl in NY - Entry 48

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:29:29 GMT

I am still way behind on blogging. Ack! Must. Catch. Up.

Okay! The weather has been great lately, but when the sun is scorching and humidity in the highs, I'm reminded of how sweaty I can get in the summer in NYC. Check out this photo of a beautiful day in Central Park.

If there's one thing about California that I can take to NYC with me, it'd be a trunk of a car so that I can carry more groceries home from Trader Joe's. Haha.

Another thing I miss is having my own washer/dryer readily available with me. Carrying laundry down three flights of stairs and walking to the laundromat can be such a drag at times. Luckily, I have the bestest husband in the world who has volunteered to start doing the laundry himself now a days. Yipee!! I also make him clean the toilet.

I got to see Thu Hong in New York when she came for a short vacation. She brought along a nice and sweet digital photo frame for me filled with our many memories throughout the years. And when I say many memories, I'm talking about we've known each other for over 20 years! Pretty hardcore, isn't it?

Right when Thu Hong arrived, Dan and I have to catch our plane to California for Cousin Charlie's wedding. The moment we arrived in California we rush to Huntington Beach to hang out with Charlie for his somewhat Bachelor party at BJ's. This is me and Cousin Charlie!

More Here...

The New York Chronicles: Life of an OC Girl in NY - Entry 47

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:11:41 GMT

I just realized something. Back in those days during my rare moments at the gym, I'd notice people working out on the stair machines. Now, I've been taking the stairs, up and down the subway stations for over a year now and I STILL get tired. How can those people possibly do those stair machines for 30 minutes to an hour? I salute you stair people!

What can I say? It has been raining in New York for over 2 weeks now. What's going on here folks? Gimme some dry weather already! I'm soaked by the time I get to work. It'd be nice if rain didn't feel the need to fly in sideways under my umbrella to drench the heck out of me.
edit 6/19: ladies and gentlemen, we have a dry day!

I don't know why, but every time I pass Times Square on my walk to work, I'm still in slight awe of the fact that I live in one of the most remarkable cities in the world. (My opinion of course, but not mine alone. )

Quick announcement: Everyone should watch UP in 3D. Here's Laura and me sitting in the theater waiting for the movie to start.

Moving on, moving on. Let's get caught up. I'm still catching up with April. Adam's birthday is a week after mine. He turned 27 this year. He's Sonya's boyfriend and someone I consider a great friend. He's definitely a unique individual. Forget the crazy hair, his personality is something to discuss as well. Never the less, Dan and I both love him.

More Here...

The New York Chronicles: Life of an OC Girl in NY - Entry 46

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:51:21 GMT

MY LATE BIRTHDAY POST

I can't believe I've let myself get this far behind! I haven't even updated on my birthday yet and that was back in mid April! A bunch of major things have happened since then.

Celebrated my birthday
Celebrated Adam's birthday
Thu Hong comes to town
Made a visit to California for Cousin Charlie's wedding
New York Dance parade 2009
Trip to Dublin Ireland
Visit from Quang and Nancy
Moved from our first real NYC apt to a new apartment
Attended Lykke Li concert
Celebrated Dan's bitrthday

Those are just some of the things I can think of from the top of my head. I like to keep my life busy, but man are things REALLY busy sometimes. I love it!

This post will be be quick and easy and not as thoughtful as some of my past posts, but once I catch up I'll be able to go into more depth again.

Here's a photo of me leaving our apt from Hubby's flickr. Notice how I'm wearing a short sleeved shirt. Lovin' the weather lately.

Out on a nice night in NYC

Mommy and Daddy -in-law sent me these flowers for my birthday. They loves me.

I'm going to get right to it and let you know how my birthday was.

Mike was my first visitor.
Birthday Celebration at Xanga Office
Eli and Son come to town
Birthday week visitors: Cuzzie, Dennis, Lil Anh, Heather, Jason, and Crystal

First off, let's start with Mike since he got here first to celebrate with me. Mike lives in Las Vegas and always had for the past 10 years we've been good friends. Out of those 10 years, he's only missed one of my birthdays. More Here...