Chicago is such a great city. I went last weekend with my friends Junho and Judy to celebrate her birthday. Visiting for a long weekend getaway was really a nice break away from home, but vegging out on the couch right now at my place is equally fun. 

Thank you also to Christine and Ray for the hospitality. And happy birthday to Judy!

Here are just a few random pictures from our trip.

Christine and Ray were just in from Chicago, and it was so great seeing them!

Friday night was a good ass time for us all.

Before this past weekend, the last time I had seen Christine and Ray was inside a grimy gay nightclub in Bangkok last year (HERE).

It was around 4am that night when we said our goodbyes on a second floor balcony overlooking the dance floor, with them leaving in order to prepare for a flight the next day, and myself opting to stay longer at the club alone. The three of us had just celebrated New Year's Eve together, and after ringing in 2012 at a classy lounge, we had made our way over to Silom for some questionable after-hours partying at one of Asia's largest and most popular gay clubs. 

And now they were just in NYC this weekend from Chicago to celebrate their engagement and upcoming wedding, so I took the NJ Transit into the city to meet them. 

Congrats to the happy couple! 

for new year's eve, two friends from chicago were in town, so i was BEYOND ecstatic to celebrate with them here in bangkok.

i took christine and ray to a bar called longtable, and i think it was quite possibly the best nye that i've ever had in my life. the venue was surprisingly not packed, and beautiful thai dancers in traditional garb elegantly strolled around the tables, adding a whole other element to the night.

here are some photos of the night that they just sent me, and thanks to the happy couple for making it such a memorable occasion.

i'm going to chicago for a much needed and appreciated break from nyc and am fucking elated. i'm leaving tonight and am coming back sunday night. it also happens to be st. patrick's day weekend as well and i'm still not sure if this is a really awesome or really bad thing---my friends have lined up some st. patty's day festivities to partake in so i guess i'll just have to see.

here's an update for the sake of updating.

these are some pics i took in chicago last week. the weather was beautiful.

so much to write, i don't even know where to start.

i got a promotion last week at work, after only being at the magazine for 2 weeks, yes- 2 weeks! a position opened up and i approached my bosses, telling them i wanted to pursue it as aggressively as possible. i explained that it didn't matter if i didn't get the job, because i just started and have so much to learn, but if i let the opportunity pass without being vocal about it, i knew i'd regret it forever. the job i started at was the entry-level position that required at least 6 months of work before you could be promoted within the magazine. the girl before me was at this job level for more than one year and decided to leave the magazine because she was never promoted. anyhoo, i approached my boss and she set up some interviews for me with the top publishers of the magazine and i prepared this presentation and everything. i found out the job was between myself and this girl from esquire, who had pretty much had the position until i threw my hat in the ring.

suffice it to say, i ended up getting the job and am really proud of myself. it's exciting because i'm going to be on the masthead and all that good stuff. i grabbed it and got it for myself. why would i spend a year at a position when i know i can try and get promoted to a job that i would eventually want to be at in a much shorter period of time?

i'm actually going to chicago this thurs morning for work and coming back to nyc on fri. i'm excited because i'm staying at the hard rock hotel in chicago and i'm really looking forward to taking a bath. i never get to take a bath at home because our bathroom is a shithole, so i always look forward to staying in hotels. i remember even when i was in thailand and japan, i took a bath every night in the hotel rooms. i loved it.

speaking of my shithole bathroom at home, i'm moving out! it's a long story, but i have to be out of my house by thanksgiving and i think i'll be staying at my friend's place in the upper east side for a little bit.

things are changing so fast that i feel like my head is going to spin sometimes.