One of NYC’s best-hidden secrets

We all have secrets and behind the alluring lights of The Greatest City in the world, behind those famous tourist-y spots are a hundreds of secrets that only few, mostly locals, people knows about.

And one of them can be found underground.

My birthday was long overdue and I and my friend, beforehand, planned a birthday dinner to celebrate my 22^nd. Our plan got delayed for two weeks because of schedule conflicts and long distance friendship.

For two weeks I keep searching and searching for restaurants. I don’t want to eat in those cliché restaurants like Olive Garden, The River Café and whatever restaurant comes up first when you type ‘Best restaurants in NYC’ in Google.

I was looking for something new, something that is not heavily commercialized and free of tourists until I stumbled upon a simple website with black background, a simple picture and a Japanese logo. The website was under construction and it’s one of those kinds where you just want close the tab as soon as you open it and search for something else but when I clicked the menu, I died.

It was love at first sight. The minute I ate that ramen in TOKI Underground more than a month ago I know my tongue will always look for that kind of Japanese cuisine. And guess what? It’s affordable! You don’t need to break your piggybank to eat in this restaurant.

I get my hands on the search bar and immediately typed how to get there and it turns out that it was convenient for our plans. I sent my friend the link of the website and voila! she loved it too and she can’t wait to eat there.

On the day itself, we wore the dress that she bought for us, sexy stockings, boots and leather jackets to add accent. We’re going to live a Gossip Girl life in a day – our little inside joke.

We watched movies in AMC Times Square while eating a burger and fries that we bought in Five Guys. After the movie, we took the Shuttle to Grand Central station and walked to 43^rd Street where Sakagura restaurant is.

The weather was on our side, it was either cold or hot, just enough for a short fashion show to turn heads and, occasionally, a whistle. Reaching the end of our ‘catwalk,’ on the middle of 43^rd street, we saw a mid rise building that will surely not get your attention at first glance. We entered the lobby and took selfies.

After the ‘selfies,’ we took the stairs towards the underground basement and a dim lighted entrance and a very welcoming receptionist greet us. We arrived fifteen minute earlier prior to our reservation. They ready our table while we fixed ourselves in the women’s room. Even the bathrooms are old Japanese Style.

After the vanity time our server lead us towards at the end past the tables through the curtain and after the curtain another set of, mostly, two-seater tables. We sat and ordered what we were craving for in the menu.

And because we’re not Japanese, most of the dishes were very hard to pronounce let alone remember. And while skimming the menu, our server offered us hot towels to clean our hands and a bottle of Sparkling water.

For starters, we had this kind of sushi with caviar.

And something that looks like diced salmon.

I’m not a big fan of raw foods but this time I actually liked the taste. Maybe because I had gruesome experience last time I ate something raw.

For the main course, we had a bowl of rice, Chicken Karaage (If I remembered it correctly) and a steak.

The Chicken was crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside. It was cooked to the right amount of tenderness and spices for the taste. I’m no cook but all I know is combine it with rice and it will make your mouth water.

Same goes with the steak, it was cut to equal sizes and covered with chunks of sauce. The sauce is what made it delicious with the rice.

And of course we had the famous Japanese wine: Sake.

It was my first time to drink Sake and, compared to the regular alcohol that we drink, it’s not that strong and the taste lies somewhere between sweet and sour. It’s best if you’re that kind of person who wants to drink and not get drunk.

And what is the best combination while drinking alcohol? Stories, especially stories that haven’t been said in a long time and needs to be said again but, this time, to a new person. Our evening was full of revelations that neither of us knew about each other before.

Of course, a sumptuous meal is not complete without dessert. After finishing our main course, our server came back with the dessert menu. Because it was my birthday celebration, we had three desserts.

This one is a sorbet (I forgot what flavor)

Chocolate with sesame

Green tea ice cream

We were so full. Thanks to our jackets they did a good job in hiding our screaming tummies.

The ice creams were served with two mugs of hot jasmine tea to warm our bodies after.

If you’re planning to visit Sakagura they are located at: 211 E 43^rd St, New York, NY 10017 (a couple of blocks from Grand Central)

From Brooklyn with Love

Another day, another place, another adventure, another borough explored.

It was a hot Saturday afternoon and it would be a waste not to take advantage of the summer while it lasts. I decided to take the train to Brooklyn. I haven’t been to Brooklyn all my life so I figured it would be great to step foot there and see the Manhattan skyline from the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a 30-minute train ride to York St. station.

And from there I walked to the Brooklyn Bridge Park. I usually don’t bring a map with me when I travel because I like the feeling of being lost and really “travel” I mean, I like asking people questions and directions. I enjoy interacting with strangers though sometimes when it’s late GPS becomes my best friend.

When I was walking to my destination the first thing that I noticed was the roads. They were so ancient just like the ones in Wall Street and not only that, embedded in those roads are old and rusty train tracks that we no longer use. It’s so different from Queens where I currently live; it’s also full of art galleries and stores that sell musical instruments.

For an artist like me it was difficult not to fall in love. It was the perfect neighborhood.

After a couple of minutes, I reached my destination. The first thing I saw was the playground and Jane’s Carousel from afar. I’m saving that for later. I went to the park where the playground is but I didn’t go inside and play, instead, I went further towards the bank where my feet touch the shallow ends of the East River and enjoy the view of Brooklyn Bridge from where I’m standing.

I even took a picture of my shadow.

It was early in the afternoon and I have lots of time to explore around while waiting for everything to be silhouette and golden yellow.

To begin with there are lots of people, tourists and locals, but not crowded. There’s a couple of photographers armed with their tripods and expensive DSLR’s I bet they are also waiting to capture the beauty of Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn. There are also professional photographers doing photo-shoots of a wedding.

Maybe this is a good place to have my own photo-shoot one day.

I walked and walked and explored whatever there is to explore until I reached the other side of the park where the famous Brooklyn Ice Cream is. I wanted to taste the ice cream but the line was longer than that of a blockbuster movie. It’s crazy how some people wanted to buy the ice cream just to take a picture of it with the Manhattan skyline as the background and post it on Instagram. It’s even extra funny to just walk and observe all the people you’ll be surprised by your own observations.

On the deck where BIC is there’s an overlooking too. Lot’s of kids are playing and running and some are taking turns to take a picture of each other. The view is great over there. It makes you appreciate the Freedom Tower on the other side.

You can also rent bikes and there’s a charging station if your iPhone or Smartphone is desperately in need of a battery.

The most magnificent view is on the other side of the park. It has a long walkway with barricades overlooking the East River and benches that you can sit on.

I walked through the end of the walkway observing and taking pictures of the great view before me. As I reach the end, I saw a massive staircase that leads somewhere up there. By the stairwell, covered by leaves and plants, is a smaller stairs that connects the two.

I went up the small stairs and it opens to a lawn where lots of people are laid on their backs under the scorching heat of the sun. The left side leads to the upper opening of the massive stairwell…and the view up there is extra beautiful. It’s more leveled up and you can see the tiny silhouette figure of the Statue of Liberty.

I explored further and further and discovered more hidden stairs and explored each of them. One stair leads to a road with another set of benches overlooking a ramp that joins the river. Lumps of woods are sticking out of the river which, I assume, are used for the yachts to stay in place. I sat on the benches because I thought it would be nice to photograph that view wherein the camera shutter opens for 30 seconds focuses on the lumps of wood with the skyline as the background and the smooth still water. But I have a crappy camera so I wasn’t able to capture it like I imagined it.

I went back and forth to kill time. I have to say that the park is much bigger than I expected. There’s a lot of hidden pathways, small and large lawns and different re-creational activities.

I went back to the big stairwell and sat on the top most step against the railing. I watched the sunset until it transitions to a muted shade of orange and yellow.

I continue to sit there and wait for the night. I wanna see the Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn. As I wait, looking at the sunset, different thoughts entered my mind. This is a good time to reflect and think about things and plans and life and everything in between. It’s just impossible not to think of any with that kind of view.

Moments later, the glass windows of the buildings in Manhattan light up one by one until it illuminates the river. Private yachts passing by playing up beat music people in there are partying and enjoying the weekend. Wow! I would love to experience that one day.

I sat up and went down back to the walkway through the benches by the railings and took a picture of the famous skyline. I took a couple of shots until I’m satisfied.

Until next time Brooklyn!

Profound: Manhattanhenge 2014

We all have a thing for sunsets. Whether it’s a beach kind of sunset, mountain sunset, side-mirror-in-your-car sunset, bus or subway sunset or just a simple sunset by the rooftop of your house. We love to take a picture of it and post it in our social media accounts, specifically, Instagram. Yeah, who wouldn’t love to get many likes on Instagram?

I, myself, have already lost count of how many golden hours I posted on my personal IG account. I just love the feeling of posting something profound other than, #foodporn, #throwbackthursday and #selfie (not that I hadn’t done any of those). But the thing is I feel like I always post the same kind of sunsets. Not literally the same. The photos were taken in different places but it’s monotonous.

I’ve been waiting to post something more special. One that my eyes wouldn’t see everyday. Something like Valentines Day, Christmas, Halloween, New Year. We wait all year round for those events because they only happen once a year, which makes it special. There’s something about waiting that makes something different and extraordinary.

In New York, a “thing” called Manhattanhenge is an annual event that happens twice a year during spring and summer. It’s when the setting sun is perfectly aligned with the East and West streets in the borough of Manhattan. As per my research, West 34^th and East 42^nd render the most beautiful view of Manhantanhenge. I chose to go to West 34^th because that’s where my favorite building in the City is, The Empire State. I always imagined it would look magnificent silhouette against the sunset.

I arrived an hour early and the first thing that I observed was there’s a lot of locals and photographers setting up their camera’s on their tripod to capture the sunset. Clearly, I was not the only one excited for this. It feels alive to be part of something. And as the time closes to 8:30 in the evening, West 34^th street was swamped by New Yorkers and tourists.

They were everywhere, in the sidewalks, in the middle of the road and wherever they can get a perfect angle. They don’t care about the traffic at all. Yeah, who cares right? I felt like I was witnessing something that could go down in history.

And there it is.

The sunset that I’ve been waiting for.

(I’m right. Empire State looks stunning in silhouette.)

It’s only a half sun but it’s enough to amaze me. It really is aligned perfectly with the street. And suddenly, the click of the cameras and smartphones around me was such a beautiful sound. The oohs and ahhs of the people around me confirming that I was not the only one experiencing this for the first time makes me relax. The experience was worth it…except that I’m alone (okay, cue dramatics).

I always wanted to share a sunset like this with someone. That would be extra lovelier. Hopefully, next time I have someone with me to take a picture with.

 

New York. It never fails to amaze me in every turn.

I got DC’ed

They say if you’re waking up in your own bed for far too long it’s time to go and wake up somewhere else. I don’t mind sleeping in someone else’s couch for days and see a different view each time I wake up in the morning.

To cut the long story short, I have a high school batch mate in Washington, DC and after 5 or so years I decided to have a little high school reunion with him and meet the rest of his group. Since I have a friend who also works there, Angela, a place to stay is not a problem.

I arrived an hour early in the Megabus station in West 34^th West Side Manhattan. I thought I would be the earliest bird but some people were already in line. The station was near the Hudson River and most of the people in line were shivering. I felt relieved when they finally checked our tickets and gave us a red card for boarding. The bus was a double decker bus. I thought I was only going to see these kinds of buses in London and since it’s my first time riding a double decker bus I chose to ride in the top bunk.

(that’s the double decker!)

The bus left at exactly 9am. This is it! I’m leaving The Concrete Jungle for four days and three nights!

As the bus picked up its speed at Interstate 495 I put my earphones on and concentrate on the beautiful views outside. Majority of the passengers were sleeping. They didn’t know that one of the best parts of travelling is the ride. The joy of leaving one place and getting to another.

Manhattan from New Jersey was spectacular. I’ve never seen it from afar before. The buildings were small but still visible rendered black and white by the fog. Then we crossed Newark; still part of NJ, and the first major thing I noticed was the Newark Airport. Our bus was close enough to the airport runway I saw a plane in taxi getting ready for take off. It’s different when you’re inside the plane experiencing it all but when you’re outside and you see the whole process of a plane in taxi until it took off and in close up it’s amazing.  

We were in Interstate 95 and outside the window was a blur of green. I never thought that I would see vast greenery, tall grasses, crops and really big trees in the continental US especially not too far from the omnipresent noise of New York. I always thought that US was all about tall buildings and all that stuff. It almost felt like home.

We stopped at Baltimore. Some of the passengers got off the bus. I’m an hour away to Washington and I’m feeling the excitement building up. We’re still at I95 speeding up and they announced that we’re a couple of minutes away from Union Station in DC.

We were driving in H Street now and the houses and establishments were small and looked like a mini castle it’s like a piece on a chessboard. It’s more quiet and li-low. I missed this kind of quietness. We reached Union Station and the bus went up to the parking lot. I retrieved my bag from the rear of the bus and followed the instructions that Angela gave me.

I have a habit of not panicking when I get lost so it’s not a problem with me I just go and go and I reached the Metro. Next thing was how to use the ticket machines? it’s not the same as the New York ones. I was standing there like a kid pressing buttons figuring out how to make it work and I did it! But the fucking machine was asking for a fucking 20 bucks for a fucking one-way ticket. It’s crazy. Finally the next guy in line noticed that I dunno what to do and offered his help. “Can I help?” this British guy said I could tell by his accent, “Yes, please” I automatically replied. Then he asked where will I go down and pressed the down switch? Button? to reduce the amount to 3 bucks. Whoever that is Thank you!

I went down to the platform and wait for a Red Line Metro train that will take me to Gallery Place. The train stations here are very different from the Subways. It has a Hogwarts vibe; it’s cleaner and more pleasing to ride.

(@ Eisenhower Ave.)

(My travel bag on the platform)

At Gallery place I waited for a Yellow Line to Pentagon City. Little did I know that there are two Pentagons. As soon as I saw Pentagon Station I got off right away and realized that Pentagon Station is different from Pentagon City. When I went out at Pentagon Station I found myself in a place called Pentagon Memorial in a bay of buses. I texted Angela that I was there. She was on her way to pick me up in a car with her officemate Moses but they got pulled by the Police because of using GPS while driving. And Moses’ license was suspended and he’s not allowed to drive in Virginia. So if his friend will not be there in 20 minutes to drive for him the police will have to tow his truck and Angela has to walk to find me. We were on the phone giving each other directions. I told her I was wearing all black and she was wearing her hotel uniform. And in a snap of a second I saw a white figure in a hotel uniform! I called my mom and told her I was already with Angela and Angela called her dad to say she’s already with me.

We have to get back to Moses who was still stranded with the police. Moses was a black American and he told us it was okay and we should probably go because it will take time. I insisted on staying because I was feeling guilty but he said it’s okay. Angela checks on him every now and then though.

We took the Yellow Line to Pentagon City. Finally. And took the free Hilton Hotel shuttle bus to Hilton Hotel. It was a long shuttle ride and we talked like we haven’t spoken for 5 years.

At Hilton Hotel we walked to her apartment. It was also a long walk. We talked still. And I finally had the chance to observe around. There’s a lot of trees and greenery around. There are not so much people. I felt like it was a province but not completely a province.

Both of us were hungry so we ordered a to-go 20 pieces chicken nuggets at McDonalds and walked a couple of blocks more to Angela’s apartment.

Our stomachs were screaming for food when we arrived so we immediately re-heat the brown rice in the microwave and ate our stomachs out. I finished most of the nuggets, surprised how hungry I was, and Angela wolfed down her spicy chicken from Jollibee. We had dessert afterwards and watched TV.

We got ready by 7:00pm because Ishmael, Sancho’s friend which is my high school batch mate now friend, is going to pick us up to have dinner with the rest of the group at a Japanese resto called Kenji Fusion.

Ishmael arrived at exactly 7:30. We hopped on his car and Angela introduced me to him.

“So you’re the famous girl huh?” he said.

“Famous? I’m not famous.”

“Everyone’s waiting for you.”

I don’t know what to expect. Just go with the flow is my thing. And I’m really happy to meet new/old friends and Filipinos too.

We arrived in Kenji Fusion moments later and joined the rest of the group inside. I met Sancho for, probably the first time in five years, we graduated high school 2008 but were never classmates. He was part of the honors section and I, well, non-honors section. I met the rest, Brandon and Josh; they’re both Filipinos who grew up in US. Ishmael is Bolivian but with his looks he could pass for a Filipino or Asian. He’s quiet most of the time.

They’re very cool though. Josh could understand a little bit of tagalog but, probably, if one would speak tagalog very fast he wouldn’t understand it. When he speaks in Filipino it sounds different. And it’s because, he told me, he’s been living here since he was nine and he hasn’t been back since.

Brandon had a hard time understanding tagalog. He knows some words and maybe basic sentence. I think he was born and raised here.

We ordered from the menu. I forgot what I ordered but it’s like a sweet and sour chicken.

They’re very happy people and fun too! We spend the time debating who’s the best team between Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Angela and I favor Miami while they are all Spurs fans. Gahh. I don’t understand why they hate the Heat so much. Okay I will agree I hate Lebron too but LeBron doesn’t represent the whole Miami.

Most of the time Brandon would ask questions like which do you prefer this or that? He has his own way analyzing your answer psychologically. He asked Angela what songs she listened to and when Angela went out for a smoke with Josh he asked me the same question. I told him my favorite bands like Guns n Roses, Coldplay etc. etc. Ishmael suggested that I listen to this guy called Led Zeppellin. According to him, their music is like of those in Guns n Roses but it’s better.

After that we joined Angela and Josh outside. Sancho had to go home because of his curfew and the rest of us went to Breeze, a Korean café.

(sweets in Breeze)

Ishmael, Angela and I arrived first and we wait for the others before ordering. And to prevent the awkwardness I asked Ishmael questions about his college.

He was still quite quiet. He told me he was not actually that quiet he was just tired from work. Soon enough the others arrived. I had iced green tea, which tasted like water by the way. And Brandon continued asking his psychological questions.

(Us in Breeze)

It was drizzling when we left. I bid Josh and Brandon goodbye and Ishmael dropped us off in Angela’s apartment.

I really enjoyed this day. Travelling and meeting new people is like bread and Nutella: A good combination. 

En route

It was a hot spring afternoon in New York City we were eating lunch at a local store just right under the 7^th train constantly hearing the sound of the train tracks when the train passed by. 

“Where do you want to go?” My mom asked me. And since the weather cooperates on what I have in mind I said I want to go to central park.

F train was still derailed and under repair so we have to take the 7^th train to 42^nd street Times Square and from there we ride the E train to 5^th avenue. Trains are a little bit confusing when you’re new in the Big City but, eventually, you’ll get used to it. There’s no such thing as “confusing” for a wanderlust.

We walked down Fifth Avenue and incidentally saw the tourist landmark that I was planning to see. Another “serendipity” and “eureka” combined moment for me.

The new apple store in front of Fao Schwartz (left side).

And since we’re already there it’ll be a waste of time if we will not visit Fao Schwartz. For all of you who have watched Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (the one with Macaulay Culkins) this is the exact same store where Kevin got hold of the bandits.

Fao Schwartz is still the same as I remember it, the sweets section is still there, only the second floor undergone a major change. The Harry Potter section wasn’t there anymore and was replaced by monkey stuffed toys. There are glass displays of famous movies like Avatar. Alphabet key chains and puppets. I can say that it was a lot better when I first visited but it was still a cool place to go to especially for the kids.

(sweets section)

Central Park is just across Fao Schwartz and it’s not far a walk. A lot of people were lying on the grass under the scorching sun. There are loners, lovers who needs to get a room, friends and family. As for me my skin doesn’t need an extra tanning or should I say sunburn. I’m already too brown for that. But I don’t mind sitting under a shade of a tree with a book in hand and possibly earphones on. Maybe some other time.

Central Park is lovely.

 

(Central Park 5th avenue) 

There are squirrels climbing up and down the huge tree trunks. Tourists are everywhere, different breed of dogs and their owners or walkers, and of course those who work nearby having a quick break and a little chat with their friends.

We didn’t stay there long because it’s getting dark. They say nobody wants to be in Central Park when it’s dark. Let’s see.

I wasn’t able to see half of it and I definitely will come back some other time hopefully with some newfound friends. 

***

A friend came to our apartment one night and announced that she has three tickets to the Statue of Liberty since she can’t go she gave us the tickets. I’ve been there before but since she doesn’t want to waste the ticket it will be nice to go back there again. For free.

We decided to visit Lady Liberty the next day. We took the 7^th train to the Grand Central station and from there we took the 4^th train to Bowling Green where a ferry waits to take us and the other tourists to the Liberty Island.

I was very pissed because upon boarding the ferry our tickets were invalid. Thanks to that friend. We just wasted our time. But I’m not gonna let this day pass without visiting some place new.

We walked and explored Lower Manhattan it was decorated with old buildings and museums. Most of the building I saw gave me a nostalgic feeling and also sanctioned me to take a look in the past.

 

(Downtown Manhattan) 

I stumbled upon an Indian Museum and decided to go in because admission is free. There’s not a lot to see inside just a glimpse of Indian history in New York and some overpriced souvenirs. We left after a couple of minutes.

Across the museum a pool of red catches my eye. It was as red as blood and shines so bright under the sun. I went near it and saw a small circular park with a fountain in the middle. Red roses encircle it. Beautiful.

 

(The red roses at the park across Indian Museum) 

 

Near the park is the New York Film Academy.

 

(NYFA in 26th Broadway) 

It was my dream to go to this school. I’ve always loved film but making a film doesn’t appeal to me like it did before. I’ve always loved dancing and it was, in the deepest corner of my brain, my dream to perform in a play and in a broadway. Perhaps the latter could still happen.

We walked further and found the very famous Wall Street: The financial district.

 

(Wall Street sign)

It was a very historical place. Even the old fashioned roads can tell you that. The first building that I saw is the Federal Hall.

 

(Federal Hall) 

This is where the late president George Washington took his oath as the first president of United States. It is crowded with camera carrying tourists and there were a lot of high school students in I assume to be an educational fieldtrip. There were also tourists guide for these students. And they were doing it for free.

(tourists in front of Federal Hall)

Aside from the Federal Hall, Wall Street is also the home for the New York Stock Exchange building, The Trump Building and lot of companies.

Wall Street has a rich history. It is a place, and it’s still is, where major trades happen and in the Old New York it is where the rich buy their slaves.

 (Notice the old fashioned road?)

Just right before the entrance to Wall Street is the Trinity Church. It is as old as Wall Street and it has a cemetery yard that attracts tourists. Where some of the famous people during their times were buried.

(see the graves)

The cemetery is what makes it peaceful. After hours of discovering Wall Street we sat in the benches in the Trinity Church cemetery near the graves.

(cherry blossoms in the cemetery)

It’s always a remarkable experience being able to walk down in a street that you know holds so much history. That you know trillions of people dead and alive have walked this path and there you are standing in the middle among the crowd wondering and feeling surreal because you can’t quite believe that you’re really there.

 

 

Easter Sunday in Rockefeller

The Big Apple

It was five years ago when I first went to New York, I was 16, and now five years later it’s time to go back to the concrete jungle where dreams are made of (for good? I don’t know. I still have to figure that out in the coming days or months).

 

24 hours later I arrived in JFK airport with my mom. A lot had changed in five years. The procedure is now done by technology instead of people. A machine scans your passport and gets all the information needed and you’re good to go. It’s easier that way, I guess, less exertion.

 

Upon exiting JFK the cool air welcomed me back. It was spring and the temperature dropped to a chilling 9 degrees Celsius. The pink sweater I was wearing was not enough to protect me from the cold. Thank god I just came from a summer hot country and the cold never quite bothered me.

 

We fell in line to the taxi station. And there goes the first yellow cab ride of my life. I only rode the black taxi’s before. I was hoping that the ride will be more of a relaxing one instead it turned out to be the opposite. The cab driver was a black American I have nothing against them but that driver was just so rude. He never followed our instructions on which road we want to take going home and keeps saying things in a rude tone while driving. He thought that we’re new here so we just sat quietly at the back seat. He didn’t even help us unload our extra heavy luggage when we reached home. What a gentleman.

 

The apartment was a bungalow type and each of us has her own room. I share a room with my mom obviously.

 

I am now living in a country that has a 12-hour difference time zone from the original place that I came from. I wasn’t able to sleep peacefully at the plane so I hurled myself on the bed and slept. It was dinnertime when I woke up to the sound of my stomach pleading for food. My mom and another housemate ate a Filipino store just a couple of blocks away from our apartment. I noticed the neighborhood for the first time. It is really Spring, a time for longer days and shorter nights. 

(Can you believe this was like 8pm in the evening?)

 

A lot of houses line up each side of the street most of it were built by bricks, has a stair and a doorway. It looks like tiny dollhouses that I had when I was a kid. I was told that most of these neighborhoods inhabitants were of Filipino, Muslim and Irish descent. I still have to explore though.

 

My sleeping schedule was fucked up I haven’t slept until three in the morning and woke up three hours after. This adjusting thing is going to take some time.

 

I wolfed down my bowl of cereals and since it was Good Friday we didn’t go out that much just bought all the grocery items we needed and all that stuff.

 

We took the subway and a bus to Ozone Park the next day to visit some of my mom’s old friends. There I met Salina, the granddaughter of the owner of the house. She’s pretty. At first I thought she was a snob but she turned out to be really friendly. Salina is a nineteen-year-old Fil-American taking up biology and is in freshman in college.

 

The weather is good so we drove to green acres mall to look for items on sale and buy some clothes. We lingered around in Victoria’s Secret and Forever 21. Found some cheap items and bought it. We went to Department Store next and take a look at the purses then Salina asked me if I wanted to go to the clothes section and so we did. We scanned the clothes but didn’t find anything that we want. And after quite some time we ate ice cream and pretzels and they dropped us in our apartment. I hope I can make more good friends like that. I was looking forward to.

 

We went to Manhattan for the Easter Sunday egg parade last Monday. Lot’s of eggs were displayed around the Rockefeller square. Not just ordinary eggs. Each Easter egg comes with different design and concept.

 

(the colorful egg)

(Butterfly egg)

(Smiley egg)

(The royal egg)

(Panda egg)

Lot’s of tourists were taking turns to have their picture taken by their chosen egg (including me).

I lingered around for a while and watched people ice-skating down the square. It was the same Rockefeller that I had been to five years ago. The different flags of the world were still there, hanging pole after pole just right behind where the eggs are, surrounding the square. It felt nostalgic.

 

And oh! There was this store where they sell Legos and there I saw a gigantic Lego replica of Rockefeller itself. It’s amazing.

 

The next day I went to 82^nd street just around our area. 82^nd street Woodside is where you can find cheap clothes, shoes, accessories etc. I didn’t find anything I want though instead I saw this beautiful tree and I named it White Blossom.

(NYC’s version of Cherry Blossom) 

***

And after almost a week I already had a phone number. My phone is officially not useless anymore. I wanna send a message to my friends then I realized they were all thousand miles away from me so I texted new ones instead. It’s too bad I didn’t get Salina’s number.

 

There were kids (well, not kids but yeah you get the point) my age in the apartment we’re in so I figured I’d get their number as well so I did. We hang out but there’s something off about them. I dunno. I’m still figuring them out.

 

The next day I accompanied my mom to a hospital in Elmhurst Avenue to get some papers done. I walked around the place and ended up in a playground and lingered there for a while. I sat in a bench and watched a basketball game in the netted basketball court in front of me.

 

And oh did I mention that when we’re in the City I kinda got lost (did it on purpose) and my mom alarmed the NYPD. Can you imagine that? It was indeed the cherry on top of this week.