Joannie^21.0

[Mood | Full]

Been on hiatus for awhile. A lot of fun things going on... returned from my trip to Europe (read explore.joannie.net for details). In a little more than 2 weeks I'll be going to Puerto Rico. In about a month and a half I'll be going to Taiwan. Then in about 3 months I'll be off to Savannah again. I guess I'll be on the road a lot, but I welcome the travel. If I don't do this traveling now, who knows when I'll ever get the chance again? Who knows when I'll get tied down and unable to travel.

New job role has started, working hard just to keep things under control. Trying to clean my apartment and clean up my finances (mainly because... as you can see... with all the traveling, I'm going broke...). Also, I'm maid of honour for Stacy's wedding.

Things are great. I'll write more once I come up with some inspiration. Explore will probably be my main blog for now.

~Joannie~
[Weather | Chilly]
[Listening | Nothing]

Labels: new york

[Mood | Exhausted]

It's been weeks since I last wrote. June has come and gone and so has July 4th! June was an exhausting month. SE (September Estimate - our budgeting season) was a little overwhelming, as my boss and I had to do the same amount of work that about 8-10 people used to do with only 2 people on staff. Only a tiny bit frustrating. The good thing is I didn't have to pull full weeks of 12 hour + shifts until the last week of estimate. Now I just have to get all the numbers into our computer system and I'll be done.

What else? Well I haven't been doing much these past few weeks except read, prepare for my Europe trip, eat... surf the internet. You know how it is when you want to get away from work but you don't really have anything planned. Oh! I've also held a few happy hours, which reminds me that it's time for another one soon.

Anyway, it seems that these days my to-do list is getting longer and longer. I guess I'll put some of the things down here for me to remember...

Things that I'm trying to work on:
-Moo's Wedding Look-Book
-Europe Trip

Things that I should be working on that I haven't gotten to:
-Book 1
-Scrapbook
-Recipe Book
-Sincerely Skwerl (w/ WuKat)
-De-Smarmify (w/ Joanlie)

Bleh.

More updates to come. Since I pay for this domain, I need to use it!

~Joannie~
[Weather | Sunny]
[Listening | Nothing]

Labels: life, new york

[Mood | Excellent]

It's already a lazy Sunday. Laying in bed uploading pictures, blogging about my adventures and listening to music.

The last time I wrote was the middle of May... well my birthday came and went. Thanks to everyone that came to the dinner, you guys totally rock. Some other stuff happened, but it's done and I'm over it, so I won't mention it here. I'm just glad that, for me, I have a strange ability to move-on from things that seem to cause me a lot of problems!

Now I've met a whole new group of friends - we have those that I've met at Five Points Variety Hour. Joanlie has been doing performances all over the city, and one of them includes this variety hour. It's in Chinatown and it's run by some really cool people. The show itself has its high points and low points, but overall it's not too shabby. Joanlie was the featured artist a little while back, and we had a pretty packed room.

Albert, the host, invited us out to a game night which we decided to show up to after serenading Ian through webcam. We met a lot of really cool people through that, and now the rest is history!

My parents showed up randomly during Memorial Day Weekend (I forgot about that). I got a new mattress. I bought a white noise machine to help me sleep (which is AMAZING btw).

I've held impromptu parties, threw my first happy hour (which was VERY successful when 15+ people showed up)... We went to Loreley Biergarten. At first it was Kent, Ivan and myself, then slowly others showed up. First Greg, then Will & Wini, then Joanlie, then Mike and so on. It was a great time because we left VERY late.

I'm throwing my next happy hour this week on Wednesday. Thursday Joanlie is performing. I don't know what I have Friday. Saturday is Tom's surprise party (which he knows about) and Sunday is a puppy shower. OH NO! I have to get a puppy gift :)

This week was relatively packed. I had a lot of work to do, and I got my intern. I watched Yo-Yo Ma on PBS since it was too wet to go see it live. Also checked ou the LeSportSac sample sale, which was awful (because I couldn't find the bag I wanted!). Then there was Tova's happy hour, game night. Friday was quiet, played with Ellie, had dinner with Lisa, Ning, and Christine. Then out to the rooftop with Joanlie, Will and Albert.

So much name dropping... I should make a chart.

230 Fifth was REALLY nice!!! I had a good time just chatting with people, chilling and chatting. The music was nice and quiet. I don't know if I'd go there to meet people, but in small groups it's ok. Last night I went to Pranna. It was much too loud for my taste. The downstairs area was much more quiet and much better to hang out and just chat.

Oh I forgot, I went to the Big Apple BBQ! I've been waiting for it all year and it's finally here! YAY! Had a delicious time and I hope to go back for dinner. :)

Looks like I've had a busy month.

~Joannie~
[Weather | Rainy]
[Listening | "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse]

Labels: new york

[Mood | Tired]

This month has been pretty crazy. A lot of things have happened. Things I don't want to bring up or remember, things I do want to discuss and remember forever. It's been a crazy rollercoaster and thank you for joining me for the ride.

Anyway, thanks to everyone that came out for my party at PS450. Despite the less than expected turn-out, everyone that I wanted to be there (that were in town) showed up. Thanks guys! I had an awesome time. Thanks Ran and Reva for the champagne in my fridge. Thanks Cat for the Strawberry Fields. Thanks Christine for the fondue! It was awesome! Thanks John for showing up early and letting me have tons of your mojito. Thanks Joanlie for being my rock and keeping me sane throughout the whole event (hahaha, outside of PS450... especially). Thanks Eugene and Derek for their antics with the whiskey bottle.

As for karaoke, I always love Eugene belting his heart out, but Joanlie and Ran are divas. They know what they want to sing and they know how to sing it!!! Great job guys, sorry for cutting off one of your songs Ran!! Next time we'll know how to work the machine.

Overall, awesome night. Sad that it's over, but glad that I still have my actual birthday to look forward to!!!

~Joannie~

Labels: new york

[Mood | Happy]

To Dearest Roo,

I have crammed in more things with you in the past 7 days than I have done in the past 2 years in NYC. We walked the Brooklyn Bridge, ate pupa, stayed out until dawn, rowed boats in Central Park, went to the top of the Empire State Building, met random people and had dinner with them and also I spent some time with the floor last night.

It's been an amazing week. I have been happy, sad, hyper, (slightly) drunk, thrilled, horrified, full (very full), and just all around thankful for awesome friends!!

Let's see, we'll start with our first day. Our lovely meal at Clinton St. Baking Company where we had pancake and various other delicious foods. We even had room for a cupcake from Sugar Sweet Sunshine! Then we went shopping in SoHo. Our night ended with me buying a ton of stuff from Trader Joe's and then we came back and made food in my apartment to prep for my housewarming. The night ended going across the street to Metro Cafe (which happens to be owned by Asians...) and then back to my apartment.

Day 2 was my housewarming party. You can refer to my previous entry. The night ended with you [Roo] passing out on the couch, only to wake up hours later. We ended up going to Times Square and walked around 5th Avenue. Then we decided to go to Pegu Club with Kelly and Co. I ended up accidentally locking myself out of my apartment, but thank goodness for Thomas and his ability to get into the office and get my spares. That saved the day! We went to Pegu Club and basically closed down the place -- when we left, we were basically the last people there. We decided to go to ktown to eat, but Bonchon (Mad for Chicken) was actually already closed. So we ended up at some hole in the wall Korean restaurant that had fishing nets all over the place. We ended up ordering... PUPA... See the picture on the right for a truly disgusting image of the food we ate. I mean seriously, they were little bugs and I ate a few. Now, if they were good, I would say they're good, but no, they were not good. We also had fish cakes and mussels... it wasn't fresh at all and not very tasty. I am never going back there...

Day 3 we went to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was my first time and it was a gorgeous (but slightly chilly day). We ended up waiting in line at Grimaldi's. Afterwards we went to the park between the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge then took the train back. We were pretty exhausted, so we just crashed on my couch and relaxed.

On Day 4 I took a half day and we went to Shake Shack for lunch and then off to Central Park where we ended up renting a row boat! I hadn't rowed a boat in a really long time, so it took a little bit to get used to it, but after awhile it was super fun. The pond is actually quite large. so you can get far in the rowboat. We saw some turtles and decided to take a few pictures next to them. There was also a really strange bird that just stood there with it's wings spread straight out. Maybe trying to attract a mate? Who knows. Afterwards we went to Bloomingdales and walked around that area. I was still pretty full from dinner, and I really can't remember what we did afterwards.

Day 5 we went to eat at Cafe Habana and then shopped around SoHo again. Then we made our way up to the Empire State Building. We were lucky that there was no line. The view from the top is really nice, but really pricey actually. $18 for just floor 86 and then another $15 for floor 102. You [Roo] kept hearing random German everywhere. Apparently there were a lot of Germans at the Empire State Building that day... discussing cream... and whipped cream... random.

After that we went to the Yelp party for the month. Met some really cool people, including some new friends we went to dinner with. Seemed really chill and interesting. We ended up at Jeollado, which I had never heard of until that day. It was pretty good, and very empty. We were the only patrons.

I had a full day on Wednesday, but after work we went to Almond to meet up with Lisa, Tom, Ning and Lisa's co-worker. I will never take a Patron shot without eating ever again. I went back to my apartment to get my phone and I ended up laying on my floor because I just couldn't pick myself up. I love spending time on my floor... I swear. Never Patron. Never again.

Thursday was your [Roo's] last day. We didn't get to do much. We ate at Roberto and then went to Magnolia. I'm glad you got to do almost everything you wanted to do and I hope that you come back soon!!!

Miss you and your crazy antics!

~Joannie~
[Weather | Chilly]
[Listening | "I Don't Wanna Know" by Mario]

Labels: new york

[Mood | Happy]

On Saturday I had an excellent housewarming. Everyone (except Drew -- boo on you Drew!) showed up and saw my new apartment!

Roo and I started making all the food on Friday night -- Baked French Toast -- Ham and Cheese Casserole -- Triple Berry Trifle -- Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies. Going to share some of the recipes here.

The Baked French Toast (recipe) looked really good, but I actually didn't try any at all! I have no idea how it tasted. There was a lot left, so I'm really sorry if it didn't taste as good as it looked. The berries were my idea, it was supposed to have a praline topping, but unfortunately I decided not to make it (particularly because pralines are kind of expensive and not good up in the north -- gotta get those southern pralines from Georgia).

The next thing I made was the Ham and Cheese Casserole (recipe). Essentially I used pancetta instead of ham and the cheese was just mixed Italian cheese. I wanted to use gruyere, but in the end, gruyere was a little too expensive so I stucked with packaged shredded cheese. There was a little too much thyme, I would cut out a few teaspoons next time.

Roo helped me make the Triple Berry Trifle. Now this is a secret Martha Cook Building recipe so I can't release it to the public (jk, just email me if you want it). It turned out great despite some of the problems we had along the way (not enough milk in the pudding - which we corrected - and really syrupy fruit - which we drained). Anything with pound cake, pudding, fruit and whipped cream is always delicious. I should make miniature versions the next time so that we'll have individual portions. Although, my trifle dish is coming in handy more often than I thought it would. (Woo! A solid investment!)

The last thing I made on Friday night was the Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies (recipe). The recipe itself called for toffee chips as well, but we decided to forgo the toffee chips because Roo and I both don't like toffee. These cookies were AMAZING! Roo can attest to how yummy they were because she practically ate a dozen of them.

Overall everything was really easy to make. The next day just called for stuffing it all in the oven and by the time people arrived all the food was ready. I also had bagels and lox, and Christine helped by making me a lovely strawberry feta and spinach salad (THANK YOU SO MUCH CHRISTINE!!!) Jon brought me two pineapples and Thomas brought two canteloupes. Lisa and Tom brought a bottle of red wine and Ning a bottle of white wine. Kelly bought me some lovely lilac/hydrangea hybrid flower. (I could almost swear these are lilacs, but Kelly told me they were hydrangeas, I have no idea anymore). Joanlie brought me some really pretty spider mums (chrysanthemums). At this point we had ran out of vases, so we were on our way to using wine bottles as vases. I think I need to buy a few more vases because of how much I love fresh cut flowers in the apartment. They just make me so happy...!!! I had a potted set of lilies in the apartment, but they had peaked awhile back and were already losing their petals so they weren't looking so great. I was glad to get some fresher flowers into the apartment. Greg brought me some more lilies which I had to empty out even more wine bottles (yeah... we were drinking a lot.. I mean...) to hold all the flowers. I love really do love lilies, but I just wish they'd last longer before they peak. I think I'll have to get a window box.

Now I have tons of flowers in my window enjoying the sun and so that people in the street can... enjoy them as well! I think I'm going to buy cut flowers every week just to "beautify" my apartment (and for my general happiness).

Overall it was an awesome day. It completely pooped Lindsay out (she passed out on my couch holding my hippo for 2 hours), but even after that we managed to go out (in which we did not return home until 6am...) Yes, after the housewarming I went out and didn't return home until the sun was up. I haven't done that in ages.

Anyway, THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR AN AWESOME HOUSEWARMING! My new home is very very "warm" now and I love it! Thanks and please visit any time!!

~Joannie~
[Weather | Nice]
[Listening | "Every Breath You Take" by The Police]

Labels: new york

[Mood | Calm]

Do you ever get fixated on something and you just can't get that thing out of your head? I think this definitely happens to women more than men, but it's just bothering you and dragging you down during the day? (Oh and maybe even night?)

I think lately I've been more easily fixated on things than I would like. Moving is my #1 thing I'm fixated on. I'm obsessed with thinking about floorplans, decor, details. I keep mulling over everything in my head and it's driving me over the edge.

The second thing is figuring out if I'm ever going to finish my first novel. It comes and goes, but I'm always thinking about it on a sidebar. Lately more-so. I have about 4 projects in the works. I'm hoping to get a netbook soon so that it'll be easier to type up over writing in a notebook.

Finally, it's the whole New York single life scene. In the past few months I have gone from being in a sea of single friends to one of the only few left in the boat. Ian says he would take the crazy single NYers on any time because there aren't many quirky people in Detroit... but seriously? I'd rather take the consistency of Detroit over the madness that is NY any day (at least dating wise). There are no rules here, everything and anything goes, and no matter how much I try to make sure that my emotional quotient stays constant, it seems like something new is happening or is ok or is endured.

It's probably not very clear what I mean, but it's not really meant to be very clear. New York is filled with madness and it takes a lot of strength and willpower to ensure that the madness doesn't enter your own life or change who you are (for the worse at least).

If you plan on moving to NY, you better be an emotionally strongwilled person, or else, it may be the end of your former self.

~Joannie~
[Weather | Rainy]
[Listening | Nothing]

Labels: new york

[Mood | Happy]

I always get excited for Spring because it's FLOWER SEASON! May is the best because of the tulips. In Michigan, we head out to the tulip festival in Holland, Michigan (I know... cliche that Holland, Michigan has tulips just like Holland, Netherlands).

Besides the absurd number of tulips they have at this farm every year, they also have... buffalo!? This year, I won't be able to make the trip out there, but at least my bestie back home, Stacy, will be able to go! It's really a fun trip... if you like flowers.

My favorite flower experience by far has always been to go see plum blossoms. Although it seems that the beloved national flower of Japan, cherry blossoms, are much more well known in popular culture, I much prefer the national flower of Taiwan! I have to say though, I have a love-hate relationship with the plum blossom because of how it was chosen as the national flower. Although it's a beautiful flower and should be revered more because of it's significance (beauty and longevity), it's roots like with the KMT. I'm not going to get into that, because it all boils down to, it is a flower despite it's history with Taiwan.

I love the smell of magnolias. The ???(Yulan Flower) is often found being sold on roadsides to cars in Taiwan. This is probably my favorite smell in all of Taiwan (besides food, of course). One of my favorite stories from the Taipei Times is about an elderly couple that sells these flowers. Despite the story being sad, it always reminds me to shell out the small amount of money to buy some of these flowers if I ever see them selling them on the side of the road.

This year I'm excited because I'm moving close to the Union Square Green Market which sells a lot of fresh flowers. Despite allergies, I love to have plants and fresh flowers (oh and animals) around. So I'll be suffering through, but enjoying the spring and summer months.

~Joannie~
[Weather | Nice]
[Listening | Nothing]

Labels: new york

[Mood | Happy]

So as almost everyone knows by now, I've been trying to move. Yes, I know, I've been trying to move since 2008, but it just never happened (think: money issues, hassle of breaking my lease, etc). Now the time has come. In less than a month, I should be whisked away to a new apartment. Only problem is: I need to find the perfect place.

In my mind, I'm not asking for much, 1BR in Greenwich Village or the West Village. Walk-up is ok as long as I'm not above the 3rd floor (I currently live on the 4th, which isn't bad, but carrying furniture or anything large upstairs is a hassle). I want a nice big kitchen with modern appliances (meaning - not a fridge you need to defrost) and nice clean walls and big windows.

Then there's the broker conundrum. Should I pay a broker? Should I hope that I'll get a no-fee or a landlord-paid fee apartment? I do have a broker right now, but since it's a little "early," I don't have any leads yet.

Then after I move in, there's the whole "I need adult furniture" bit. In my studio I still feel like I'm living in college. Futon, college decor, small space. It's like my college dorm room all over again (except back then, Martha Cook was a little classier). I've been looking at furniture and saving images for about 2 years now. I can't wait to paint, refurbish, decorate, etc.

My mother offered to pay for my mattress and couch. So those are the 2 big purchases that I don't need to worry about. Anyway, buy me the bed below.

kthxbai.

~Joannie~
[Weather | Sunny]
[Listening | Nothing]

Labels: new york

[Mood | Tired & Sick]

I told myself that I would start blogging again and discussing my life here in New York... but it really has failed how I have lacked the dedication to this blog and to this domain. Especially since this domain is up for renewal this May. I don't know if I'll continue on with this blog, or maybe just use blogspot space with the ad. Who knows what the path holds for me. What I do know is that... I really love having my own webspace... I guess I could spare a few extra bucks to keep a domain and the webspace. As long as I continue to update -- right?

Well, it's been about 30 minutes since I tried to upload a video onto YouTube, but it is being so incredibly slow. All I want is for the world to see how cool of a dog Yuki is by way of a video of him howling along to Alan's piano playing. I guess if it doesn't work in the next 10-15 minutes, I'm going to pass out.

It's so weird that I live alone in New York now. A city with so many people, yet I feel so freaking alone sometimes. I wonder how many of the thousands of other people feel this way too.

A few years ago, many people I know were in loving and caring relationships and this year it seems like a lot of that has changed/fallen apart. Ok, so a few couples are still together surprisingly, but the ones I thought would last are not. It's strange to see how the world is changing and what people are doing.

What's even weirder is the fact that I've grown up and moved on. As much as I loved college, it's hard to keep up with everyone back there (especially if they don't answer your emails! *shakes fist). But it's also the problem that I rarely ever get really close to anyone. Right now I'm really glad to have my close-knit set of friends back at home, but I'm really glad to be able to have friends at work. Kelly, Christine, Lisa, Jon, and Thomas have definitely kept me afloat these past few months. Now I have Laurie here and several other people are moving here soon too. It'll be nice to branch out and make new friends.

This week I have been feeling under the weather, and today it caught up with me as I basically lost my voice this morning (hoarse whisper... gross). Right now I have a runny nose and a throat that is dry and always in need of water. I know I have a relatively strong immune system, but I hate being in pain like this. Well, everyone hates being in pain like this unless they're a sadist.

Lately I've been watching a lot of Japanese tv shows. My favorites have been ???????????!! (Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!) It's a variety show featuring some owarai comedy duos (Downtown and Cocorico) and other various guests. Frankly, the shows are HILARIOUS... Japanese humour is so funny.

I've also been watching Taiwan drama, one that I've been completely obsessed with is ?????? (Bull Fighting). The drama itself is pretty awful, but the actor, Mike He is freaking ADORABLE. So now I'm addicted.

I also finished Hana Kimi in one weekend. It was pretty good! I love Oguri Shun so it made the experience really great. There is this half Spanish half Japanese guy in the series too... such light skin with blue eyes -- very rare!

Ok, I don't think this video is ever going to upload onto YouTube, so I'm going to sleep. Nitenite.

~Joannie~
[Weather | Rainy]
[Listening | Nothing]

Labels: life, new york