Seoul 10 hr layover

So I just realized that I am leaving for Thailand tomorrow and I have yet to plan my 10 hours in Korea. I think I'm going to stay late at work tonight and print a bunch of info on Seoul so I can read and plan on the plane. But it should be really fun as I have no clue about any history of Korea other then that the South and North don't get along, I do not know ANY Korean, I am as white as they get, and I have 10 hours to go to town, site see, eat, and make it back for my flight to Thailand. I have a feeling this will be an interesting adventure... I wouldn't say I am scared about this idea I am merely amused with myself and wish I had a camera following me so I can watch it later and laugh at my reactions to all of the unknown that will be presented during these 10 hours...

Now what are the chances that a very cute, tall and funny man will have the same layover and be as adventurous and we will have a 10 hour romance in a completely foreign world? Damn I should have gone to church this Sunday and prayed for this! Tonight you can find me kneeling bedside saying 100 Hail Mary’s and praying to God for a cute, tall and funny man to wonder around Seoul, Korea with on Wednesday!

Plane Crash in the Hudson River

A US Airway plane just crashed into the Hudson RIver in New York!! It is FREEZING outside!!!

New Year

I would like to reflect back on how I welcomed this new year of 2009! I was fortunate enough to be able to stay in California for 2 whole weeks! Spending the first week with my family in Southern Cali and spending the second in South Lake Tahoe. It was great to be able to eat wigilia with my mom, dad, brother and cousins and to be able to stuff our faces all over again Christmas day! I don't think there was a moment where I actually felt hungry as I would be shoving something in my mouth making sure that feeling would never come. I am very grateful to be able to indulge like this and know that not many people are as lucky as I am to have a polish mama around to cook and bake these delicious treats! Its also funny how I feel my mama is most satisfied when everyone is sitting around the table, eating platefuls of the food she took such care in preparing!

South Lake Tahoe was a blast! There were over 30 of us in 4 different locations! Some where staying in kirkwood, some in the casinos, some in a huge cabin/house, and my group was in a condo appx. a mile from the strip! We had a new place to party every night and new years eve was spent at a local pub just off the strip to avoid the massive crowds of drunken youth! I was able to get in 3 AMAZING days on the slopes. The weather was unreal and I was riding down the mountain grinning from ear to ear taking in the breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe from atop Heavenly Mountain. I don't think there is any place like this in the world and if there is I hope I get to ride it one day!

Now I am about a week and a half into reality and still each night go home to check my facebook to see if anyone has posted new pictures or new comments from Lake Tahoe. My room is a mess and I have yet to start to pack for my Thailand trip which is in exactly a week!

Very Touching Blog

This Saturday Phil's oldest brother, Marcin, and two friends from grad school stopped by and shared an amazing story about an extraordinary young woman, Erica, whom they attended grad school with. Erica was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) three years ago and until December 4th, 2008 was battling through it with a smile on her face. Her sister, Jaci, documented her story through a blog which includes posts created by Jaci, her mother and Erica herself. it is an amazing story and very interesting to read. I thought I would share: Erica's Blog

Mommy in New York

This past weekend my mama came to visit me in New York. It was her first time ever in the big apple and I greatly enjoyed the opportunity of being able to be her tour guide and show her around the city I have fallen in love with! We covered everything! I think I truly exhausted her with all the walking and excitement! But I think she went away with loving the city and realizing why I am still here!

I had enough points on my credit card to get a free ticket for her to fly out here. I booked this ticket back in July and it was her birthday present. So this trip has been long awaited! It was so nice to have my mama to myself all weekend especially since I haven't seen her in months! I really did miss her and what is nice is that while saying goodbye to her at the airport I was able to say "I love you! See you in a week!" because I will get to see her this Tuesday night when I go to California for the holidays! I can't wait!

Tree Lighting

Went to the Rockefeller Tree Lighting on Wednsday with a VIP pass. Not much different from when I went last year just better view of the tree. The crowds are chaotic and half the people are just crowded on a street staring away at a building right in front of them that is 2 blocks from the tree... wierd! I wanted to ask each of them "so what exactly are you looking at here?" We lasted about an hour and a half before our toes almost got frost bitten and then decided that we would get a much better experiance if we took this show to a bar and watched it on TV. Most of the performances are pre taped and the ones that are live happen down in the ice skating rink which only a select few can see but seriously who wants to see harry connick junior perform???? Britney Spears backed out last minute and did a one minute pre recorded christmas message :( poop!

on the lighter note: CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!!!!!!!!!!! woo hoo!

Britney

The city has Britney fever! She is everywhere and tomorrow we (Chrissy, Anna, and I) get to see her light up the Rockefeller Tree! AWESOME!

Happy Birthday Britney!

leftovers

This thanksgiving I decided since all my roommates are leaving (Phil to CT and M&M to Omaha) that i would host a Thanksgiving dinner for all the stranglers left behind in the city. I made the turkey and provided the setting and everyone else brought the wino and fixings. It worked out very well and I had an amazing time hosting and bringing everyone together. We all had a lot to be thankful for and after cheersing to everyone's mini speech the dinner was filled with great conversations and LOTS of laughter! We finished off the night with a sing along to Moulin Rouge which I'm pretty positive after all those bottles of wine we sounded like whining cats!

I am very thankful to have an amazing family on the west coast that understands why I cannot spend this holiday with them and the fact that we are all counting down the days until we will see each other again! 

I am thankful for my amazing friends; old and new. They are the ones that blow air on the fire inside me helping it stay aflame and keeping me happy while creating great new memories along the way yet still reminding me of the old ones so they always stay fresh!

I am thankful for my personal economic state in these rocky times and that I am still able to live out my dream of living in New York!

And I am MOST thankful to God who has protected me and helped me so much this year by surrounding me with amazing people and helping me maintain my positive outlook on life.

leather bound books

saw this in a store front window right outside my work building a couple weeks ago. Something tells me I should watch Anchorman again soon...

Brian Fontana

I tried to take Paul Rudd's cab last night! haha!

the "count back"

Funny thing happened at lunch today... half way thru eating our sashimi and spicy tuna roll OG and I were discussing babies and I mentioned that I wanted one before 30, but before doing so would want to be married for a couple years and travel... then we did the "count back" and realized that at this very moment I should be starting a relationship with the future father of my unborn children... funny how this discussion occurs the day after somebody tells me they don't want to be in a committed relationship and want to be "just friends." Now I'm not one that does the whole "planning" and "age deadline" thing but it was a little bit of a reality check. Now of course living in New York is also a whole different culture. People that are 40 still put up ads for roommates on craigslist and 30 year olds party as if they were still 21! 

I'm really interested to see where I will be in 5 to 6 years... but I do believe in living in the NOW and letting things fall into place as they happen. But I also believe that the actions and decisions one makes in the NOW do set the pace and tone of the future. So, for now I think I will try to be more open to taking a risks and going out of my comfort zone and see what happens.

Halloween

Halloween was awesome! Held a pre party at my apartment, went to the parade, and then partied in Brooklyn! Good fun!  

Boozy Brunch

My favorite Sunday activity in the city has definitely got to be the boozy brunch! I got this in an email once and thought I would share... I will do my best to try all and report back on the experiance! now, which one to hit up first...

Scottadito
788 UNION ST, NY 11215, USA
$14.95 brunch with unlimited champagne or mimosas

The Sunburnt Cow
137 NEW YORK AVE, NY 11213, USA
$15 brunch with unlimited "moo-mosas" or "moo-marys"

Bondi Road
153 RIVINGTON ST, NEW YORK, NY 10002
$15 for brunch with unlimited mimosas or bloody marys

Essex
120 ESSEX ST, NEW YORK, NY 10002
$16 for an entree with 3 bloody marys, screwdrivers or mimosas. After that, each drink is $3.

Maria's Mexican Bistro
669 UNION ST, NY 11215, USA
$9.95 for brunch with unlimited bloody marys, mimosas, or bellinis

Calle Ocho

446 COLUMBUS AVE NEW YORK, NY 10024
Unlimited jugs of white or red sangria.

HK
523 9TH AVE, NEW YORK, NY 10018
Unlimited bloody marys, mimosas, screwdrivers, bellinis, or champagne for a "low, set price" with an entree.

Sotto Voce
225 7TH AVE, NY 11215, USA
$12 gets unlimited mimosas and pound cake.

Waterstone Grill
79 PEARL ST, NEW YORK, NY 10004
$10 + entree gets unlimited bloody marys, mimosas, and champagne.

Maracas
33 GREENWICH AVE, NEW YORK, NY 10014
$14.95 for unlimited bloody marys, mimosas, and margaritas

Arte Cafe
106 W 73RD ST, NEW YORK, NY 10023
$10 + entree gets unlimited champagne, mimosa, screwdriver, bloody mary, peach bellini, or strawberry sangria.

Umbrella Bat

So its one day away from Halloween and I have NO CLUE of what I am going to dress up as! I have in my closet "emergency" costumes (sex kitten and naughty school girl) but I really don't want to resort to using them... so I found the umbrella bat idea online... I'm strongly considering it... though I am a little skeptical... i need to figure out how to make it work first...

Sunny Cold Days

It is FREEZING outside... and I decided to wear a skirt to work... go figure! But when walking from Park Ave over to my office after my morning meeting, between trying to battle the crispness of the wind blowing up my skirt and making sure my scarf is positioned correctly and covering all exposed skin on my neck, I looked up and smiled! :) Today is one of those amazing days in the city where the low temperatures and winds are full force yet the sun is shining brightly and there is no cloud in the sky! It’s a beautiful day!

Yay me!

Don't mean to brag or anything but: I kind of kick ass!

I have been working 10 to 12 hour days for the past few days and I led a very successful meeting today! Yay me! All were impressed: Client (the one that I swear hates me!), Architects, and my boss! woo hoo! I had to coordinate and work around 15 people's schedules to get them to deliver the final product... Still have 2 more people I need to track down and "professionally beg" to do stuff and it will be a complete success. Things learned during this process:

PEOPLE ARE UNREASONABLE AND DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH!!!

side note: I should have become an dolphin trainer at least I can convince them to do stuff by dangling food in front of them!

After jumping through all the hoops and dodging the wrenches thrown all the hard work did show in the end, now... how do I do what I did within 8 hour work days not 12 and also with a lunch break... hmmm....

A Szajda of a Weekend

This past weekend I was invited to go up to Connecticutt to hang with Filip's Familia and attend the 50-cie Lecie Harcerstwa w New Britan, CT zabawa. It was such a great weekend! I drove up with Pawela and Marina I have never been to CT so the drive was really interesting and fun! It is full on Fall here so all the tree leaves have turned colors and it is so beautiful especially when driving on roads lined with trees!

Filip's whole family got together for this event so we had a full house and you could see how ridiculously happy Mama and Tata were to have all of their kids + 1 grandkid under one roof!

We had a great time at the zabawa and even got to sing a few of my favorite Harcerskie songs at the "kominek" before hand. Kind of made me miss my mundur and LA harcerki! I saw Druhna Backiel who was komendantka of my Kurs in Wisconsin back in 2001! At the end of our 2 week lesbo-fest (the camp was girls only and we got to see boys only one weekend) she gave us these tiny wrapped gifts with a bow and a little note attached to it. I forget what the note says but it was somewhere along the lines of how these memories and friendships we formed during our time together were worth more then any materialistic item that could be wrapped and put in a box. I told her I still had my "gift" and that I really appreciated those 2 weeks!



Sunday we all went to church, hung out at dziadek's house and then went out to lunch for Chinese. It was such a nice weekend and being around Filip's family made me miss mine so much! I can't wait for Christmas!!



Also Adam's and Jenny's little man Tyler is so precious! He just gets cuter each time I see him!!

Wierd Nuggets

Friday Night I met up with some co-workers at Zum Schneider Renatka, Kasia and Wes came too! Its a really fun German beer hall on the lower east side with ginormous steins of yummy beer and lots of greasy sausage! mmmmm....

We then packed into a eric's car and went to Fiddlesticks. After escaping the College Crowd (I am positive I saw high schoolers as well!!) we past by a store window with this moving chicken nuggets... they were dipping themselves into BBQ sauce! DISTURBING!!!

Thailand!

Just bought my plane ticket to Thailand!! I will be flying out of JFK January 21st and Flying back February 8th! woo hoo!

Fuck Shoes!

Last night Anna and I got to witness something truely amazing! note: we are totally going to hell!

We were walking on 23rd and Lex yesterday and saw a woman get hit HARD by a bicyclist... and then noticed that her SHOE FELL OFF!

"Has any one seen my shoes? I kicked them off in a fit of joy! I'm going to go over here and puke shards of my own pelvis out!"

For the record we did try to help! I stood in the middle of the street and stopped the oncoming traffic until they moved to the sidewalk. So maybe we aren't going to hell so soon!