Grocery shopping in NYC

A little over a year ago I wrote an email home about my brand-new New York City experiences which included grocery shopping.

“This week we went to Trader Joe’s to pick up some groceries and it was like shopping for the apocalypse. It’s a two story Trader Joe’s and it was shoulder to shoulder. And about 70% of the shelves were empty. Apparently this is very common if you try to go grocery shopping after work. It was a madhouse.”

I went grocery shopping today at around 2pm on a Saturday and the Whole Foods was overrun.

Whole Foods isn’t even reasonably priced but it was still packed. I don’t think this is something I’m ever going to get used to. Grocery shopping here is like a sport. That requires a teammate and a game plan and strategy.

New York City may have the best of a lot of things but suburbia totally kicks this city’s butt when it comes to ease and convenience for grocery shopping. San Francisco has fog, Los Angeles has traffic, New York has grocery store pandaemonium.

Now you might be thinking, this picture is clearly staged because why doesn’t she have a shopping cart? Well, I had TWO giant re-usable grocery bags that were already full. And to give you an idea, one of those bags was an IKEA bag. IKEA sells furniture...

And the reason my bags are full is because this craziness makes me never want to go grocery shopping ever again. As I wander the aisles with bags weighing me down, sweating up a storm, I wrack my mind for ways to never come back. “Maybe I’ll just suffice on pasta and sauce or maybe I’ll just eat out all the time, or maybe I just won’t eat that often, or ever, or maybe I  should just buy everything I could possibly carry to last me as long as I can before I eventually have to come back…” I always land back at this idea of stocking up and thus the hoarding and overflowing bags.

BUT, I do have to admit that it’s nice to get home and cook something delicious.

On the menu for tonight is Spanish Beef Stew.

It better be the best effing stew after all the trouble I’ve been through.

What are you up to this weekend?
I’m looking forward to watching some trash television–I just got cable!

Tet!

On Friday I battled the madness that is Penn station at 5:30pm to get on the train and wrestle through security at JFK to run to my gate to find out that my flight had been delayed.

Tangent: I have always been critical of airport security because they never glance at me twice. Except for the time I brought a two pound gummy bear in my carry-on and TSA called the special teams unit because apparently none of them had ever seen such an abominable confection of sugar. Because who would suspect a little Asian girl to do anything diabolical…but that’s exactly the point right? I have every right to be considered a potential threat. I’m not actually a threat at all.  It’s just the principle of the thing. I bet this tangent has set off all sorts of red flags in the government database by now–please don’t take me in the night.

Anyway, after the most nauseous flight that I’ve endured in a long while (Question: Why do people buy window seats if they’re not going to utilize either the window or the wall that comes with the window seat? I, on the other hand, nearly broke my neck trying to catch a couple of z’s without touching those two smug completely upright sleepers to my right and left.) I arrived home to begin a weekend of Lunar New Year festivities.

I’m glad I came home.

Look at all the delicious food I got to eat.

Too…

much…

food.

I missed Vietnamese food. And my family–the latter more than the former.

After eating, we played cards and then headed to the temple to check out the festivities and fireworks.

My family  was appropriately bundled for the bone-chilling sixty degree weather–of course.  It has never been more evident than in this picture that they are natives to  Southern CA.

Lunar New Year or Tet as it’s called in Vietnamese is generally associated with traditions that relate to good luck, wealth and health. And eating well, spending time with family and friends, setting off fireworks, and giving money all ties back to those ideas of celebration and anticipation for the coming year.

The main beneficiaries this year were my niece and nephew. Who else?

With their red envelopes!

“Ecstatic” hardly does this picture justice.

Which was quickly replaced with a sugar high. This photo was snapped when my nephew discovered the jelly bean he ate was not fruit punch flavored but vomit flavored instead. They’re Bernie Bott’s Beans!

It was a hectic, busy, and quick trip but I’m glad I was able to come home for a bit. It was also really nice to wake up, put on a dress, sandals, and leave the jacket at home. And I’m really happy it’s Friday. It’s been a long weekend.

Have a lovely weekend friends! I have a date with a crockpot and some fighting robots and Hank Moody shenanigans this weekend. I couldn’t be more excited.

Getting dirty and moving my body.

So, if you know me at all, you might have gotten the inkling that I am not the most exercise friendly person.

I like playing sports and rock climbing and kickboxing and playing frisbee but I am not one to run on a treadmill or go on a jog. I don’t think I am inherently built for running. I feel like my hips and my knees and my feet aren’t joined correctly and can’t communicate with one another properly which leaves me feeling like I’m flailing as I imagine drowning would look on dry land.

In other neurosis news, I also don’t think I look like I exercise. I’m not overweight and I don’t bear any resemblance to Jabba the Hut BUT I feel like people look at me and just know. Whenever I strap on a pair of running shoes, throw on sweats, and stick my headphones in and walk outside, I feel overwhelmingly self-conscious. Like people can tell I’m just posing and are judging me for faking my way into their super secret exercise circle. It’s a little crazy, I know.

I just bought these new suckers to motivate me to get out there and get my body moving and I want to dirty them as quickly as possible to remedy my “theseshoesaretoowhiteandnewtolooklikeireallyexercise” syndrome.

Too white! Too new looking.

I’ve been sitting and bending them in half and staring at my coffee cup contemplating what a nice shade of brown they might turn if I were to have a spill. I imagine they look like well-worn in dirt…

MAYBE…I’ll put on my new kicks and bust a move. To my guilty pleasure dance/workout (if I had a workout playlist) song.

Cue Beyonce.

Run/dance/move with me?

Gearing up.

Ok guys and dolls, here’s the thing.

I am feeling inspired by how uninspired I’ve been.

“What, pray tell, do you mean by that Duyen?”

Well, I mean that upon reflecting and realizing what I do and what I would like to change, I’ve decided to make a new start of things. Now don’t get me wrong, I am aware that this coincides with all the other reformative, goal setting revelations that come during this time of year BUT because I’m self-aware and stubborn I’m not going to let this fall by the wayside come busier times. (fingers crossed)

I also read a helpful article–that I can’t seem to find for the life of me–about goal setting. Here’s the gist:

Step 1: Pick an objective, a goal, a change you’d like to make. It doesn’t have to be life-altering.

Step 2: Define what obstacles prevent you from achieving said objective.

Step 3: Think through how you can work around those deterrents to your goal and write down some proactive steps.

Step 4: Set “check in” dates for yourself. It’s like setting a due date for smaller steps, put them in your calendar, planner, or whatnot; then if by that date you have or have not reached your expected trajectory, re-evaluate and keep moving forward.

For example, here is one of my goals…

1.  Write more, particular in this blog.

2. I don’t do this because…I’m lazy, it’s been a long day, I feel like I don’t have anything interesting to write about, it feels too much like work, I haven’t written in a long time (I know this mentality is only adding to the vicious cycle)

3. To overcome aforementioned difficulties…

-Make writing regular. I’m going to start out with a goal for once a week.

-Incorporate anything and everything.

-Start telling people that it’s up and running again. It makes me more motivated to write if I know that at least it’s not just me reading.

-Make it fun. Maybe, if there’s more traffic, we can start having an interactive blog…or maybe I’ll start a series or pick a theme. Who knows!?

4. Well, since I’ve proclaimed a once a week goal…it’ll be fairly easy to check in a month if I have four blog posts. But I also have a personal goal for site traffic. I’d like to beat my busiest day in the next three months. I think those are pretty good check in points to start.

Other goals of mine include:

Breaking in a pair of running shoes.

Cooking more meals.

Taking a class–I’m thinking of either writing, improv, art or cooking.

Being a better friend and keeping in touch.

All of which, should hopefully be mentioned in future blog posts. Stick around, it’ll get good. Promise.

Anyhoo, what have you been meaning to do and putting off? I’d love to hear if you’ve found your own way of finding small successes.

drafts

I haven’t written in eons. I had initially intended to write a letter per week while in NYC and that plan quickly went to pieces. Sometimes, it’s important to take in the moment and enjoy it, or wallow in it, and reflect later.

I have wanted to share but I just haven’t [insert any number of excuses about time, laziness, lack of a laptop]. And for that I apologize.

In the meantime, I’ve been writing in my gmail and saving them as drafts. These are some thoughts from the last few months that never got finished or sent. These are for the people who have welcomed me back to CA, and for the East coast people who are being missed. Thank you.

Regarding Mother’s Day
“Growing up I always felt it a bit silly to have a day like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day because it seemed to pale in comparison to days like Presidents’ Day or Martin Luther King Jr. Day but now, having made that mental switch from thinking of my parents just as parents to thinking of them as people–with their own histories, with small tragedies and happy moments, long before I came along–I realize the gratitude that should be shown each day to those who help you grow. I mean, history changing, mountain moving people all had parents to help get them there right?”

Regarding Bi-Coastal Living:
“I hope you are all doing well. Today is my last Friday in the New York office and I’m a bit emotional. It feels like summer camp has ended and now I have to go back home–which is a great thing and a sad thing. I fell head over heels for this city and the people in it. I just realized how hard bi-coastal living can and is going to be.

I feel like this last month in NYC is going to be one big exhale. The sun is out, the breeze is picking up, girls are in dresses and kids are out of school. I am having the most glorious days here. I sleep in for a bit and spend the day reading and walking in the park. I spend nights cooking dinner with friends and tonight, we’re going to go star watching at the Brooklyn Bridge. What more could I ask for?”

Regarding NYC:

“Today I’m in Virginia and tomorrow I’ll be back in CA but I think for a long while my head and my heart will be longing for New York City.

To be honest, I was a bit hesitant to come and live in New York City. Obviously, I wanted to come. It’s been a lifelong endeavor that I wanted to take on but it didn’t make picking up and leaving CA any easier.

And then I found myself in this whirlwind of a city; in a stark apartment, in a great area, with new friends, and wonderful adventures.

I fell head over feet, long story short.

And before I make my way back to the west coast I just wanted to say “Thank you.”

Thank you being a part of these glorious months of growth.

Thank you for inviting me into your homes, introducing me to your friends, your favorite haunts and your least favorite spots.

Thank you for eating with me, watching movies with me, and walking with me–even if just for a little while.

I could not have asked for more.”

I really couldn’t have.

NYC 1/8-1/17

 

Happenings between January 8 and January 17 of 2011.

“So things have been busy and buzzing in NYC. Lots has happened since
last Saturday, some good, some bad. I feel like it’s going to be
constantly an emotional rollercoaster while I’m here. There are some
days where I am really happy to be here and be in the moment and then
there are other days where I just want to close my eyes and open them
back up and be in California with all you lovely folk.

So…on Saturday I ended up going to the Strand Bookstore which was
pretty amazing. It’s three stories tall and is literally floor to
ceiling books. It was overwhelming but a good kind of overwhelming. I
actually didn’t even make it to the top two floors but I’m sure I’ll
be back to visit. I got two books–Kavalier and Clay which won the
Pulitzer Prize some years ago and is about two friends in NYC during
WWII–WWII, NYC, and friends–could I ask for anything more? And then
I got this book called “I Hate to Cook Book” which is my life in a
cookbook. You see, I don’t actually  hate cooking but I dislike
cookbooks. I always want to go out and get one and cook through it but
it’s always very specific–Mediterranean, Italian, Vegan, Gluten Free,
Organic–or very complicated (meaning more than 5 ingredients with
spices I’ll never use outside that one recipe) so when I saw this book
I immediately picked it up and fell in love. It’s written by a 50′s
housewife whose first choice would not be cooking for her family but
rather drinking cocktails and shopping. That’s my kind of lady. It’s
funny and has snarky comments and the recipes are simple, practical
and easy to do. I have cooked one meal out of it so far because I’ve
been eating out so much.

Note: If/When you come to New York budget for eating out because
that’s all you’ll do. People don’t tell you that, so I’m telling you
now.

I also bought a tote…because it’s cute and I like it. Seen here:
http://www.strandbooks.com/app/www/p/profile/?isbn=1599011042

Um…and then I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art otherwise known
as the Met seen in Gossip Girl–it’s where they sit and eat lunch. It
was fun. Little known fact, the Met is ALWAYS pay what you like. So I
gave them a dollar. But on the admissions it says $20 for adults with
“recommended” in small print. So most people pay that amount, but
people in the know like you and I can pay a dollar. Muahaha. I love
exploiting the system.

And then on Sunday, I went to lunch with Omid at Caracas which is a
Venezuelan restaurant that serves Arepas which are kind of like a
sandwich tamale fusion. It was delicious and featured on Bobby Flay’s
Throwdown–it seems like I’m eating my way through the Food Network.
I’m ok with that. After that I headed back to Brooklyn to see his
apartment and meet his apartment mates. They are all really nice and
fun and a nice dose of testosterone. My office is mostly women and gays
so I need some masculine time in my life.

Then on Monday, I went to work…which is work. Still transitioning
and getting into a routine. I feel like that’s the way it’ll be for
the first few …months? haha. After work I ventured over to Grand
Central which I had a major touristy moment and was walking around
with a giant grin on my face. I took a picture with both Grand Central
and the Chrysler building in it–I uploaded it to FB. Then I met up
with Omid and his friends at The Wharf to watch the football game and
10 for $3 buffalo wings! I may become an institution there on Mondays
for buffalo wings.

Then at work on Tuesday we went to the Shake Shack down the street and
got cheeseburgers and cheese fries as an office which was fun. They
have a Veggie Burger there that is a portabello mushroom stuffed with
cheese and fried and it’s great. That night I braved the blizzard–9
and a half inches overnight!!!–and went and saw my co-worker’s Stand
Up Night in Brooklyn. Wednesday night I went and saw Omid’s Stand Up
show called Five Dolla Holla and there was this one guy named Andrew
Schultz who was on MTV who literally made me cry with laughter. He was
brilliant and really inappropriate–it was great.

Thursday night I met up with Sara, who is Connor’s sister’s best
friend, who I’ve met on several occasions for Happy Hour at
McFadden’s. It’s half off drinks and they have the greatest music mix.
I was there for four hours and if I was a good DJ and actually updated
my music library, it would have been this music. AHHH so many good
throwback songs.

Then Friday was the longest day in work history and really stressful.
So I went and did a little retail therapy at J.Crew. All their sale
stuff was an extra 40% off! How could I say no? I couldn’t. I’ve
recently started getting into jewelry over the past year and when I
packed up my stuff for NYC I decided to leave all but my CrissCross
ring and my one Tiffany’s necklace behind. I didn’t want to deal with
having any of it lost or stolen because of sentimental and fiscal
reasons so I just thought it would be easier to leave it safe at home.
But upon arriving and getting dressed each morning, it makes me a
little sad not to be able to dress up or down an outfit. So I went to
J.Crew and bought some pretty sparkly earrings and a sweater and a
shirt–that I have been dying for, for a while–and now I feel
happier.

Um…and then on Saturday I went to Times Square for a birthday brunch
for Paul, one of Omid’s roommates, and we went to Olive Garden!
Hahaha, it was the biggest, swankiest Olive Gardens I’ve ever seen.
Two stories, fanciness. I also had a Times Square touristy moment but
alas, no picture. After that I went back to Brooklyn with them and
proceeded to watch 7 hours of football. Too much testosterone. Good
thing I met their new roomie, Marion who is a girl and is Australian
and we made flourless chocolate cake for Paul’s birthday. There is
nothing I like more than chocolate and birthdays. Yum.

Sunday, I met up with a few of my co-workers and had brunch at Barney
Greengrass where I had a Sturgeon King Breakfast Sandwich–eggs, white
fish, onions, cream cheese on a bagel–and drank way too much coffee.
They kept refilling it without me noticing and I swear to  you I had
at least seven cups unwittingly. Afterwards Sally, Brett and I went to
Urban Outfitters where I bought a necklace–to add to the feeling
pretty quota–and then Sally and I went on an epic walk through
Central Park. It was so beautiful. The entire park was covered in snow
and people were  jogging and walking their dogs and sledding with
their babies. My heart was happy.”

More to follow.

Holla from NYC

This is taken from the first epically long email I wrote home after having spent my first week in New York…enjoy!

“Work has been slow and boring. I’m being trained in my new position
but between the time change, jet lag and the burning desire to be
anywhere but an office it has been a hard week at work. It’s my first
week here and I was just itching to walk around and explore.

This week we went to Trader Joe’s to pick up some groceries and it was
like shopping for the apocalypse. It’s a two story Trader Joe’s and it
was shoulder to shoulder. And about 70% of the shelves were empty.
Apparently this is very common if you try to go grocery shopping after
work. It was a madhouse. There is also a Whole Foods on the same
corner as my work so I drop by there during my lunch and pick up some
odds and ends and soup when it’s cold outside.

Thursday we all went out as an office to the bar down the street
called XES and Yoni, who was in town for a med school interview, met
up with us! It was so nice to see a familiar face–even though this
would be the first time Yoni and I would hang out without Jackie or
Afarin around. Yoni met all my co-workers and we hung out there for a
bit and then Sally, Jesse, Yoni and I went and got falafels at Taim’s
Falafel. Yoni wanted to go because he had heard of it on Bobby Flay’s
Throwdown. It was D-licious. After that Sally and Jesse went to see
her friend play at a bar called the Living Room and Yoni and I went to
find some dessert. We decided upon a food truck called Wafels and
Dinges, which is also featured on Bobby Flay’s Throwdown, and serves
up traditional Belgian and Liege Wafels. Yoni and I spent the good
part of the evening wandering around trying to find the truck. Our
journey took us through the Lower West Side, Greenwich Village and
Washington Square Park where we finally found the truck and got the
Throwdown Wafel and some hot chocolate. The waffle had this topping
called speckuloos which tastes like crushed up gingerbread cookies
mixed with frosting. It was uh-mazing and is now available online for
$7.95. It may or may not be my next purchase…

Yesterday, Friday,  I got my first New York snowfall!!! people
could tell that I was not from here. I was giddy and smiling like
someone who was seeing snow in NY for the first time. After work I
headed home and then to my co-workers apartment in Brooklyn for pizza
night. I left my apartment at 7:30 and literally had to force myself
out the door and to the Metro because I was so nervous to venture out
to Brooklyn alone. I also thought I was smarter than the Google map
and got off two stops early because I felt this stop was closer. BIG
MISTAKE. I got off about a mile or so from Julia’s apt and had to walk
the rest of the way because the next Metro coming through was 20
minutes away…I think that’s the most scared I have been so far.
There were times where I was running at a full sprint because I didn’t
want to be where I was. But everything turned out alright because I
finally got to Julia’s place and we made some great pizzas. We had a
four cheese pizza, a prosciutto, arugala, goat cheese pizza, and a
grape, pear, roasted onion, and chicken sausage pizza. Needless to say
I was a happy camper. We got home pretty late and I slept in this
morning until noon which is something that I really needed mentally
and physically.

And now I’m sitting in my living room by myself, Jackie and Sally are
on a run, and I have the whole day ahead of me. I’m thinking about
going grocery shopping for the rest of the week today but I was also
thinking about going to The Strand–the famous NYC bookstore–or the
Natural History Museum which is nearby. Sally and I are supposed to
meet up with some of our co-workers tonight to take advantage of the
pay what you like deal at the Guggenheim Museum after 5pm. And then
Jackie has invited me to her friend’s birthday party on the Lower East
Side and Omid has invited me to a friend’s party in Brooklyn. I want
to go but part of me just wants to be lazy and shell out the extra
money for a TV and cable. Alas, the dilemmas of being a homebody who
feels like she has to go explore.

So that’s my life so far in NYC. It’s been a lot of fun and I can
literally feel myself growing and changing when I do things that I
would not have considered at home. So that’s good. But it’s also hard
being away from everyone. When Yoni came to visit it made me miss home
more. I miss all of you guys. I miss the sun. I miss the comfort of
knowing where to go and when to go. I miss having a full pantry. Haha
but I’m sure when I get back I’ll miss the subway and the snow and the
fact that there was so many places to go and do things…So that’s
where I’m at right now friends.”

Week 2 shall be next and I’m in the middle of living Week 3. I’ll keep you posted.

coats, cockroaches and pizza.

So I completely fail at updating this. But what can I say? It’s been crazy. So I’m going to catch you up on what’s been happening via the emails I’ve been sending home. Although I did write this little ditty on my first night in New York.

“I’m here. After spending some time in the zoo that was LAX on Monday morning, I arrived at JFK, grabbed a cab, and got dropped off at my apartment. I climbed the three stories with my two suitcases in tow and arrived at my humble abode for the next five months. It’s much larger than I expected, it’s a very long walk from one end to the other and there’s even a walk in closet. With a few minor repairs and touch ups, I feel like it’s going to be a very cute a cozy apartment.

I unpacked my bags, built a shelf and grabbed some pizza last night. My apartment is surprisingly warm and fairly clean. Pictures will follow once I am more settled in. I have to retrieve the five boxes from the office that I had shipped earlier and pick up some groceries. It still doesn’t feel real yet though. I feel like I’m just passing through–as if I’m staying in a homestay for a few weeks instead of several months.

It’s also not as cold as I had expected. Today is a nice 35 degrees outside and I took a walk to deposit some moola down the street. All in all the first day here has  been a nice little welcome to New York.

Oh, and I just saw a cockroach scamper across the floor. Hello next five months of my life.”

happy christmas and traffic school.

happy christmas!

presents are sitting underneath the tree, a cake is baking and i am doing traffic school. if this isn’t christmas i don’t know what is.

i have until january 28, 2011 to complete my online traffic school but i figure i won’t want to sit and click through slides while in new york and i definitely don’t want to spend my last few days in CA doing that either but i’d rather the latter than the former. so here i am, waiting for my cake to bake and reading up on CA traffic laws.

it’s actually pretty interesting and now i have a multitude of driving factoids to bring up in future conversations. for example, did you know that drivers under the age of 18 are not allowed to operate a wireless phone or a hands free phone…at ALL? that’s right. according to the state of CA every driver under 18 using a cell while driving can be ticketed. cuh-razy.

i hate paying tickets like anyone else but could you imagine the money we would make if we ticketed everyone? $20 bucks a pop for every initial violation and then $50 for each consequent offense. do you know how many books and computers and teaching supplies that could be? do you know how many less accidents there could be? do you know how many less obnoxious and frivolous text messages you would receive? my god, the benefits could be endless.

on another note, traffic school is rather dramatic. exhibit a:

taken directly from the Santa Clara online traffic school slide…

“Imagine California without traffic laws. Road speeds would accelerate dangerously as unskilled and reckless drivers set their own rules, dodging and weaving through traffic like a personal pinball game. Unmarked and uncontrolled intersections would become killing fields.”

This reads like a movie trailer for the love child of Ronin, Fast & Furious, and that silly Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah Taxi movie. I have to admit the inner-nerd is kind of digging the hyperbolic, knowledge ad-nauseum nature of traffic school.

on a side note, Ronin is one of my parents’ favorite action movies.

pack…rats.

Now I don’t consider myself to be a pack rat. I clean out my closet at least once a year if not more often. I do not buy random knick knacks. I do not collect ceramic chickens. I do not hang onto old food for sentimental reasons. I do not eat green eggs and ham.

But I do have a packing problem. In two days I have to have all my boxes packed and ready to be shipped. I get a maximum of six 17″ x 13″ x 13″ boxes to fit my life’s belongings into.

So aside from bringing clothing and shoes I am also trying to bring household items to save myself the hassle and cost of re-buying things I already have here (i.e. toaster oven, comforter, dvd player). Luckily, my mother has already rolled my comforter into the size of a babies’ sleeping bag. But I still have a hair dryer, curling iron, boots, a Brita, plates, pots, pans and any number of quasi-essentials. So how am I doing? A little nervous.

Oh, and did I mention my goal is to bring only four boxes? Oh, yes. I am ambitious. I figure this two box excess will allow me some wiggle room to lug things back from NYC. Because purchases will be made…but hopefully the winter/spring trend will be that everything is super useful, multi-purpose, collapsible and can become microscopic with the press of a button. Oi.