having lived with an awesome dog before i came to korea, sometimes i really miss that dog-to-human interaction. there's nothing better than man's best friend and the unconditional love they show---whether you're feeling down or happy, it's always nice to have a buddy around.

i learned of a place called bau house, which is a well known dog cafe in seoul, soon after i arrived in korea. this is a cafe where you can go and have coffee and veg out while playing with a large number of dogs that just hop on the tables and roam around freely. some of the dogs are bau house residents, while others are dropped off by their owners for doggy day care. i've been looking forward to going to this place for some time now and finally did the other day with a good friend who is in town from nyc. it's always nice to see a familiar face from home, and getting some doggy-interaction made this day extra special.

i've been looking for work for a while now and haven't had any luck in seoul.

i've been applying to places here and there and then i get an email response this morning that stated they're looking for "CAUCASIAN CANDIDATES" only.

i was born in nyc, studied non-fiction writing in college and have extensive work experience in the field of editing and writing---yet, these places would rather hire "caucasians" that might possibly be professionally under-qualified with no work experience whatsoever but their korean clients will think "ohh, white people! this is where i want my child to study!"

isn't that a trip? i think it's pretty funny but i guess it's just the reality of how things work here.

it's interesting how being korean-american in the states, there's a lot of baggage that sometimes comes with being a minority and not feeling accepted in certain circumstances. then i come to korea and people tell me "you're korean! you should know how to speak and write better, you need to study more!" nyc is really the only place i will ever feel like i truly fit in and can be myself. the absurdity in the disparaging statements i've gotten in korea insinuating i'm not korean enough or am not up to par on culture makes me laugh so much in the inside, and i never take it to heart whenever it's directed towards me. trust me, i want to learn a lot more and i know there's room for vast improvement in my "korean-ness" (or whatever that means), but i think i've done pretty okay for myself in learning about korean stuff back in the states and if people don't understand why their statements are ridiculous, there's nothing i really want to do about it.

it's not my job or place to educate those who can't learn basic things about life and human-beings on their own.

i don't know anymore. the dream, the bubble, the fake reality i've made for myself is closing in and i can see my inevitable truth ahead. i've suddenly forgot how to walk and am not sure what to mobilize first in order to take the baby step back to how i want my life to be. is it my head? or my shoulders? or my fingers? no---it's my feet. the first step requires me moving one foot in front of the other, but i'm so fucking scared.

i'm so grateful to my true friends who accept me completely for who i am, major embarrassing life issues/problems and all.

from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Harlem/Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

who cares.

what is it with people who can't understand the concept that all human beings are different and that it's not necessarily a negative thing?

yes, it's a very simple notion, and that's why it's even more frustrating and annoying that ignorant/provincial folks just don't seem to get it.

think of life as an equation. in our own individual lives, aka math problems, we're trying to figure out the right numbers, factors and components that will lead us to that ultimate solution to the equation. whether we're adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing or whatever, we all use the same numbers and systems.

however, that doesn't mean that each equation is ever the same because all of our desired solutions are different. some seem more complicated and some are more simpler than others and then as individuals with our own personalities, we add our own elements that represent ourselves. some of us use oxford legal notepads, and some of use bar napkins to write on. some of us have impeccably legible handwriting, and some of us have really bad chicken-scratch handwriting. some of use an abacus (okay maybe only asian people a long time ago), and some of use an expensive texas instrument calculator. some of us like permanent sharpies, and some of us prefer pencils with erasers. some of us will only use the colors black or blue, and some of us will spray paint with bright colors. some of us cheat, and some of us are adamant on figuring it out on our own. some of us are good in math and enjoy it, while some of us (like myself) really hate it and would rather write an essay---i'll stop here but you get what i'm saying.

my point is, when the math problem is finally completed and you look at it in its entirety, no two will ever be alike and that's totally okay because that's fucking life. so why is it that certain people feel the need for themselves and the rest of their surrounding world to fall into their own version of the boring ass equation of 1 + 1 =2 written on white paper with a black pen?

even if they don't embrace the differences in people, i would hope that as a fellow human being that these idiots would acknowledge that they are no better or worse than them, just different.

being in korea, i get frustrated sometimes because i've heard people sometimes say stuff that is blatant ignorance and generalizing. it's so ridiculous that i have to laugh it off in my head and i don't let it upset me and just choose not to waste my time with people like that. i guess it just makes me sad that some people will never learn or grow by meeting someone who's completely different from what they're used to. i'm not saying they have to be best friends, but just opening up the door a little can let a smell, sound or light that they've never experienced before come through.

life is funny.

but then i'm never really laughing...

i've been going to han-gang, the large river that cuts through seoul, as much as possible to clear my head and get some air.

the other day i discovered that you can rent a bike there for $3 an hour---what a great deal. i've been wanting to buy a bike since i arrived in korea but this works out so much better since i don't have anywhere to store it and i hate owning stuff. the bike path along the river is so beautiful and there's a lot to see. whether it's people fishing or wild flowers or small streams or fields of dragonflies or families picnicking or people swimming in the large river-side infinity pools, it's easy to just keep biking along the path and lose track of time.

the concept of "double-dipping" and its negative connotation is such an american thing.

i generally don't trust people and that's got to change.

i need to keep busy.

i can't concentrate. insecurities + anxiety + insomnia + feeling like absolute shit is so fucking distracting. i think it's my loneliness that's possibly triggering everything. i think i have way too much fucking time on my hands to just think about stuff. i try to keep myself busy when i get like this but i can't do anything but sit by myself as my mind wanders into crazy places. isn't it funny how our brains are wired and we have no natural control over some things?

i just want to be happy. no, actually i don't even need to be happy, i just want not feel like this. i was feeling the same way last night as well so i decided to go for a run to hangang at 3am but i won't be doing that tonight.

i just want to fall asleep.

can't function.

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back in nyc, there's nothing worse than going out and having a few drinks and then riding the subway home and then you have the urge to take a piss. it's easy to hold it for a stop or two or five, but after a certain point you know you're going to piss your pants if you don't go RIGHT NOW. then you know it's time to get the hell off the subway and onto the street when you start to do the piss dance, where you contort your body in whatever way you can to prevent the leakage. the worst part is that public bathrooms in nyc are rare so even if you get off the subway at an unknown stop to take a leak, you still have find an actual bathroom. i've experienced this nightmare countless times and i can say that it is the absolute worst.

however, one of the great things about seoul is that public restrooms are almost everywhere. whether it's a subway station, cafe, bakery or random building, finding a bathroom usually isn't hard at all. and many of the bathrooms in seoul are pretty modern and clean from what i've seen---a large percentage even happen to have electronic bidets.

then there are days like today where i have to urgently use the bathroom (the sitting down kind), and i find a pretty clean and decent one. everything seems normal up until the point where i kick open the bathroom stall and stumble onto the gem pictured below---the history of these types of toilets is not something i'm really familiar with but i do know that they are old school style.

i already have weird issues about pooping in public toilets on top of the fact that i don't have the skills to use this sort of squatting toilet. suffice it to say, i squeezed with my life for long enough to take a quick photo and sprint on to a toilet where balancing skills are not required.

korea is making me feel old.

i think i was living in this insular little bubble in nyc where the natural cycle of life (at least for most of the world) didn't affect me and my close friends.

most of us lived carefree, single lives where thinking about things such as getting married, having a mortgage and starting a family was as foreign as discussing people who have pogonophobia: a fear of beards. and even for my close friends who are in relationships, the thought of finally settling down with eachother and walking down the aisle is something way down the line---it's nothing that they're anticipating for at least a few years. instead we enjoyed eachother's company, ate good food, met different types of people, partied, looked for fun cultural events to attend and basically took advantage of the fact that we could live this way in new york city and have an awesome time doing so.

my bubble in korea has been drastically different thus far. that's not to say that people aren't living that way in seoul, but even while doing so, korean culture is so different and family oriented that it affects so many different aspects of your life.

for starters, while i'm 27 years old in america, i'm 28 in korean age. i still don't understand the reasoning well enough to explain it here so we'll just say that it's a korean cultural thing. when people ask my age, i always just say i was born in 1983 and let them figure it out themselves. since i'm 28 in korea, it's the ripe old age to get married. many people are already married by this point with kids or are engaged or thinking about all that stuff and i've been told countless times here that i should be doing the same. i've also already met some people here who said they'd like to set me up with a nice girl so we can get married, which makes me laugh so hard on the inside but i just politely smile or say "sure, i'll meet this person." my cousin who is a few years older than me introduced me to some friends of hers who are both 30 and have been married for a while and have a 7 year old daughter. they're both very nice people and the wife insisted that she set me up with a friend of hers who is a nurse and also 30 years old. i nonchalantly said i would meet her, not actually thinking anything would come of it but they called me today and said that they had set up a double-dinner-date for the four of us this saturday. i naturally panicked on the phone (but still kept it cool) and said i'm not ready because i'm still unemployed and would like to focus on finding a job before i start any sort of serious relationship, but man that was a close one.

one thing i do appreciate about korean culture is its importance on family. it's nice to see parents out with their kids enjoying life and spending quality time together, whether it's going on outings or playing at the park or going out to eat. yeah, i know this happens everywhere around the world but seeing this firsthand in seoul is really refreshing because i'm not used to seeing korean families like this. i'm used to being in new york where most of the immigrant parents are working all the time and struggling to cope with all the anxieties that come along with american and new york culture. having leisurely family time where you actually bond with your children and spouse was sadly not something i witnessed firsthand very often in new york, creating a large disconnect amongst family members. so it makes my heart melt when i go to the park in seoul and it's teeming with happy parents and children who are smiling, laughing, playing and acting how families should act. sure there are plenty of dysfunctional and fucked up families here as well, but it's still just nice to see the korean families with some normalcy between them.

i can't sleep.

i'd like to write about something here, but all i can do is stare at the empty, blogger-box with the blinking cursor, void of anything except for a vast amount of white space that can be filled with an infinite combination of words and sentences... oh, i know---i'll write about something i saw today.

today, i saw a very brave man---a gentleman who can obviously list courage, spunk and fearlessness as character traits. i had my final appointment this morning with my doctor at the hospital to get my stitches removed from my surgery. after i left the hospital, i was crossing the large street directly outside the exit and there he was: a food delivery man on a moped without a helmet who had on an obvious toupee... how the hell did he keep that rug on his head with the wind blowing through his synthetic, sinewy and plastic-like hair??

i guess i'll never know, but what i do know is that a man with that sort of gumption will always be listed as a hero in my book.

i've had the same nightmare at least four times within the past two weeks. it's always the same where i'm flunking math or science in high school because i've been cutting classes and my eligibility to graduate is in serious jeopardy. i usually freak out in my dream and feel so helpless and scared to go back to class because i'm deathly afraid of getting in trouble.

i graduated high school in 2001 and i still wake up panicked from these nightmares---so odd.

i understand that i'm in a new country with societal and cultural norms that are different from what i'm used to. i always try to keep an open mind and try to embrace these differences as learning lessons that will help me overall through my time here, but there is one thing about korean culture that drives me absolutely bonkers: WHY DO PEOPLE WEAR CLOTHING WITH SO MUCH NONSENSICAL ENGLISH ON IT???

holy shit, sometimes i read text on people's clothes and want to violently shake them and ask, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE F* YOU'RE WEARING???"

i guess i just believe in sincerity and knowing/loving/understanding what i have and what i choose to represent myself with, whether it's clothing with some text on it, a tattoo on my body, etc. i've asked my native cousins about this issue and they say most koreans have no idea what their shirts say and wear them because they like the design and the way it looks. but don't people understand that all words have meaning that should be respected? when i see people walking around with all this bullshit on, it just makes me not take them seriously. but then i think, maybe i'm just too serious and need to pull the-big-nyc-stick out of my ass?

...nah, don't think so.

a good friend of mine ended up moving into my room at my former upper west side apartment. even though she's been there since i left, my other friends/roommates are throwing her her welcoming party tonight. i wish i could be there but i guess that would defeat the purpose of having the event.

here are some photos in honor of my old room, which i miss dearly. i'm sure it looks completely different now since she's moved in, but this is how i will always remember it---empty without any furniture and with clutter kept to a minimum, just how i like it.

i don't know where the past 5 days went... oh wait---yes, i do. i was in the hospital recovering from getting emergency surgery for appendicitis!

i got suddenly sick on tuesday afternoon while, comically, at the largest bookstore in korea. the kyobo bookstore is located in kangnam, i had just arrived and at that point was perusing through a magazine.

well just got out of the hospital today. i'm going to recover at my aunt's house for a day or two before i go back to my place.

since i arrived in seoul a little over a month ago, many great, annoying and uneventful things have happened. i don't know how to list this recent life adventure but all i know is that moving to a new country and trying to settle into some sort of life and routine is taking much longer than i expected. perhaps i'm lucky that my life isn't boring---which doesn't necessarily mean full of drama but interesting to say the least.

but i'm recovering and no longer in pain and have my health back. what more could i ask for?

i will not allow myself to get stressed about things that are out of my control.

life feels like such a soap opera sometimes.

it is so difficult for me to lie in bed with the lights off and just fall asleep.

it's just me, the darkness and my thoughts and my mind starts to wander and i get extreme anxiety. i have nothing to concentrate or think about other than the fact that i can't fall asleep, on top of other subjects of worry which i won't discuss. lately i can only put up with five minutes of doing that, and then i hop out of bed and decide to come online until i think i'm getting sleepy again. then i get tired after mindless web-surfing and go to bed and the same thing happens again. this happens at least a few times a night, with hour gaps between each cycle.

at times like this, i really fucking wish hulu.com worked in korea.

we all have our own paths, aka our own story.

"your profession is X and you hang out with X and you've been with X for X amount of years and the two of you met in this X way and you went to X school and do X stuff for fun and your family is X and your sibling does X and X years ago X happened to them and so on." that's your path/story for now and while it can change in so many ways within a moment's notice, as of now that's what it is and that's how people define your story.

i think when it comes to relationships, my path/story has always been the same: i think i want commitment but i haven't met anyone as of now where i've wanted to pursue anything serious, or at least i haven't met anyone where those feelings were mutual. my story is "i'm the chronically single guy, even though i am earnestly seeking someone to share and enjoy my life with." that can change on any given day, but it could also not.

i'm sort of not in a clear state of mind to write but my point is, i don't think i'm meant to be in a relationship. you know that person you describe as "oh he/she is always single and always has been..." that's me at this point in my life and i'm not sure if this path/story of mine will ever change. i'm not upset about it or anything because it's mostly me and i've had opportunities to be in relationships but it's just never felt like the right situation. i don't like being in anything where i'm not willing to give 100% and my whole heart and don't like to waste neither my time nor anyone else's for that matter.

i date pretty often and meets lots of people but meeting someone where i can foresee the two of us being together for a long time, that just rarely happens for me. and when i do meet someone where i think that's possible, those feelings fade soon after and i don't always know why. up until now i've thought of it as "well i just haven't met the right person yet and when i do it'll be great." but it's been 27 years now and i don't know if that person is ever even going to come. it could also be, maybe i'm just not a relationship person and i'm just learning to really accept it now.

i guess this is my path/story and role within society. it's not such a bad thing because there will always be people with my same story that exists in everywhere at any point in time, i fill that quota.

why do i feel like such an emotional wreck??

i'm so tired but i just can't fall asleep.

i also only slept two hours last night. i feel drunk off exhaustion when i get to this point and trying to focus is often difficult.

one day i know i'm going to end up doing something really stupid and crazy due to the fact that my mind is racing, i'm alone, it's the middle of night, i'm frustrated and in dire need of something to ease my lonely thoughts. i wish i could just tell my brain to chill out and take a break, but it doesn't want to listen. it just thinks and thinks and thinks and thinks some more.

reading helps until the point where i'm ready to put the book down and get some shut eye, but then i turn the lights off and just end up tossing and turning in bed, unable to ease into that unconscious state of happiness. sleeping pills is a definite no-no for me---been there, done that and my body is immune to them. i never know if working out in the day actually helps because it doesn't really seem to affect me when i'm trying to fall asleep later that night. watching tv is nice but i usually stay up longer when i do so. i try some creative writing sometimes but i can't ever express my thoughts on paper correctly and know when to close microsoft word and give it a rest.

hmm, i do think that some great conversation would help though.

do people even believe in sincerity anymore?

i really need a new look. i've had the same style for way too long and i'm so bored of everything.

it's never too late... right??

one of my favorite things about korean culture is the abundance of saunas everywhere. most are open twenty-four hours and for as little as five dollars, you can soak in a stone jacuzzi, sweat out some toxins in a dry/wet sauna, plunge yourself in ice cold water, watch television, get a message, eat, or even sleep in the communal napping area for as long as you please. men and women each have their own separate sections so the environment is pretty relaxed, and i've seen dads come with their young sons so it's family friendly as well. i prefer to go alone because i like to go and calm my mind a little. plus, i try to stay much longer but i'm usually in-and-out after thirty minutes since i usually sweat profusely and my tolerance for heat isn't as high as other people.

i just got back from the sauna and i feel so much better and relaxed about everything---i think i might take a nap.

i've got to stop self-medicating with food. i normally never talk about my food issues here because mine are fucking major and it's such a never-ending personal struggle for me, but i'm at a point in my life where i've come to understand it and learned how i can grow (not sideways) from it. while i've learned to control a large part of it, i've still got food issues and those tendencies surface if i'm stressed, lonely, or just not feeling great. food distracts me and always brought me great comfort in life. like any addict who deals with their issues in any unhealthy way, food can become a dangerous drug for me. i'll think and obsess about eating something and will not stop until i get my fix. that means whether i have to cancel plans with someone or ask for two sets of everything to make it seem like there's more than one person who will be eating the food order i'm picking up or go completely out of my way to acquire what it is that my brain thinks it needs in order to cope and feel better, i make it my number one priority and get it done. when i actually have the food and am eating it, that joyful and satisfied feeling i thought i'd get from it usually never comes, and i feel even more shittier than i did before because now i'm full and succumbed to my lack of self-control over food. isn't it bizarre that to some people like me, fast food joints, restaurants that deliver or any food establishment for that matter can become sort of like a drug dealer?? it's the absolute truth. i guess one of the good things now is that i know when i'm getting all crazy about it and ask myself, "am i physically hungry and is my body actually even in need of food, or is my brain just consumed with eating this certain thing because of a completely different purpose that is in NO WAY even related to food and what's actually going on in my life?" it's usually the latter. for right now, i'm going to go and try to focus my energy on another issue of mine. hopefully doing some cleaning will take my mind off a few things.

sometimes i have very long conversations with people in korean and don't have a clue as to what the hell we're discussing. i just nod my head and try not to look like a complete idiot most of the time.

i'm a firm believer in fate.

burberry prosum spring 2011.

i NEED this coat. yes, and i do mean NEED as in it's absolutely vital for my proper health and sanity to have this.

sometimes when i'm in the subways or walking down the street, people in seoul stare at me like i'm some bearded lady circus freak...

i'm not sure if it's because of my clothes, size, ink, face or whatever, but i don't take it personally. however, some people tend to stare a moment too long for my comfort and it does aggravate me at certain points and is borderline rude in my opinion.

but whatevs. thank you new york city for making me the person i am today. i'd rather stick out from the crowd than blend in any day. also thank you new york for the big stick up my ass that has been surgically implanted for life.

depression is a scary thing.

it's like you're walking along the railroad tracks, minding your own business and holding some rare wild flowers you've picked that miraculously sprouted from under the lifeless train tracks. then out of nowhere it comes and hits you like a freight train, and you're unable to get back up on your own two feet or function. i wish there a train horn or vibration from the tracks or any clear warning that it was coming but i think even if there was, there's still no way to stop the inevitable.

the good thing about any of this is for me it comes in waves, and those waves usually do end at some point.

i'm feeling much better and even managed to go for a run today.

moving or being in a new city isn't making me depressed in any way, but there are definitely things that can trigger it.

since i arrived two weeks ago, today feels like the first day in korea where it isn't oppressively humid outside.

there isn't a cloud in the sky and the absolutely perfect and beautiful weather leaves the options of activities to partake in limitless.. but why do i just want to sit here alone with the lights off and stare out the window?

i need to motivate and get some air.

i really don't see the point.

why even get out of bed?

sometimes in the pursuit of happiness (or pleasure), we make choices that inevitably leave us feeling just as empty and numb inside as we felt before we made those decisions.

i need to make smarter choices in life. the things i think will make me happy seem to be minor distractions that can be a waste of time. i usually would say that no bad experience is a waste of anything as long as you can walk away from it with a valuable lesson, but what if we make that same bad mistake over and over?

i need sleep, i feel delirious.

i really hate it when i misplace or lose something of mine---shit, drives me nuts. and has anyone else ever done this where you turn your place upside down and start searching in crazy ass places when you know that it will definitely not be there? i've looked everywhere for this hat of mine and out of desperation even went and opened the fridge door a few times---you know, just in case. i tell myself that material possessions do not matter in life but damn losing stuff is annoying as hell.

reading the news is so fucking depressing sometimes.

sometimes i just want to blast depressing music, turn off all the lights and lie on the floor alone for hours in complete darkness. i don't know why but it's the only thing that seems to help when i get like this sometimes...

but instead i made myself go for a run to hangang, the large river that goes through seoul, and sweat out some toxins. i do feel slightly better now but i'm not sure why i'm feeling like i'm in such a funk when everything seems to be going okay thus far. i guess you can run away to a different part of the world, but some demons follow you no matter where you go. like my best friend said, i will always be somewhat "perpetually miserable."

i think i just feel drained from spending constant time with some distant relatives here in seoul because i've always just got to be "on" and happy and talkative and smile and positive and act like i give a shit. don't get me wrong, i'm very grateful for the things they've done for me here and show my gratitude in many ways, but being this constantly positive and happy person is honestly just not how i am most of the time. i just need some alone time where i can be however the fuck i want to be.

i need to be social and make some friends here on my own, i think that will eventually help.

it's been fourteen years since i've been in korea during the summertime.

what's amazing is all the smells, sounds, colors, noises, food, buildings, weather and people make me feel like a kid all over again and everything is just as exciting and brand new as it was back then.

i'm so happy to be here.

korea is teaching me that in society, there will always be have the have's and the have-not's.

i want to fall in love. fuck seeing anyone else that i know that won't happen with.

i've been in seoul for exactly one week now.

besides from getting very ill from food poisoning to the point where i had to go to two hospitals in seoul by ambulance (i'll write more about that experience in detail next time), everything else has been fine. i've been trying to explore the city on my own as much as possible by walking around different neighborhoods and while the hot weather and my sweating/glandular problem doesn't allow me to walk around as much as i would like to, i'm still enjoying myself here. the world cup also starts tonight so the whole country is in a frenzy, especially seoul. i haven't started to seriously look for a job yet, i'm going to give myself one more week to relax, travel and explore and then i'll be on full job-search mode.

so now that it's been over a week since i left nyc, that also means i haven't smoked weed in a week.

the last time i went one week without smoking was when i came to asia three years ago after graduating from college and that trip lasted almost three months. i can say that i have been smoking on a regular basis since i started college almost ten years ago, and smoking on a daily basis for perhaps the past two years or so. i'm glad to not smoke for a while, it's a good change that my brain and body definitely needs. however, having it in my system is something that my brain and body has gotten used to the past few years and i think i might be going through withdrawal right now. i feel so irritable, moody, anxious and just annoyed by everything for absolutely no reason. the thing is i was doing totally fine until earlier today, and now i just want to punch something or go sleep forever in a dark cave. i googled "marijuana withdrawal" and it seems that i probably am suffering from it. don't get me wrong, i'm very happy for the sober change and to not be stoned 24/7 anymore. truthfully i know that if it's accessible, i will want to smoke because i have no self-control when it comes to weed and it's a huge vice of mine. but i am in no way expecting to smoke while i'm in asia so thankfully my addict-ridden brain isn't even thinking about it anymore.

i just can't wait until i get through this and i'm feeling better. it was fun while it lasted but it's time to move.

no one said it would be easy...

it feels so damn liberating to be in a new city.

i'm at the airport waiting to board my flight. i can't believe the day is finally here, it's surreal and so exciting.

goodbye nyc, my old friend---i'll be back someday but for now i'll see ya' around.

i'm moving to seoul in less than a week.

if anyone knows of any possible job opportunities or has friends in korea that i could meet, please let me know!

dear friends,

as someone who works in the service industry, i'm going to share a few helpful tips on restaurant decorum and eating-out, THIS IS ESPECIALLY PERTAINING TO FOLKS IN NYC.

1. your party/group-of-diners will not be seated until you're ALL complete and everyone has arrived in the restaurant, PERIOD. let's say you and your friends are going to be a total of five people, but one person is running late. unless all five of you are in the restaurant and the hostess can see everyone with their own eyes, YOU WILL NOT BE SEATED. this is done in restaurants because a) even though you claim they're a block away or parking the car or smoking a cigarette or getting money from the ATM, there is a possibility that they're not anywhere near the restaurant and if you're seated without everyone being present, you will take up a table when it can be used for a party that is complete and ready to start their meal b) people lie all the time about their friends arriving shortly. if you're seated at your table and start off with drinks while you wait for your friend who actually arrives 40 minutes later, that table space could have been better utilized during that time c) THIS IS JUST HOW NYC RESTAURANTS WORK

2. never stack your plates when you're done with your food---you are in no way helping your server by doing so. it's more annoying than anything and goes to show that you need to chill out and let us do our job.

3. after consuming oysters, take the empty shell and place it upside down on the plate that the oysters arrived on. i'm going to assume that your oysters were eaten in the beginning of your meal (since raw bar food mostly is) when your plate will mostly likely be clean and usable for another dish or course. placing the used oyster shells on your plate this early on in the meal doesn't utilize the plate to its full capacity and while switching it out for a new one is no problem for your server, it is a bit unnecessary.

4. do not lie about having allergies to ingredients that you don't like to eat, we see right through you.

5. no, you cannot try on my glasses.

6. refrain from keeping your cell phones and other electronic devices on the table. drinks and food do spill on occasion and we wouldn't want your precious livelihood to get wet or damaged.

7. there's no such thing as annoying kids, but instead annoying parents who allow their children to act out in restaurants.

8. don't ask me "what's YOUR favorite dish?" and then immediately dismiss my answer because it's not what you wanted to hear.

9. no, we really DO NOT HAVE diet coke, tea, or peach snapple.

10. if your server just responded to your question/remark with a smile, laugh and an "oh yeah totally" and then just walked away, then we have no idea what you just said.

i could go on forever but i'll leave it at this. please be kind to service industry employees if they're providing good service.

enjoy your holiday weekend!

nothing beats a day trip to montauk for lobster rolls and the ocean breeze.

i'm tired of meeting people in the context of new york.

since high school, i would say most of the close friends i have met and made were all from places other than new york. whether it's california, maine, canada or any other place in the world, i felt fortunate to be already living in a city where millions of people flock to on a regular basis and uproot and change their lives for. meeting all these new people is great because i hear their stories and learn about how different their lives were from mine while growing up---life outside nyc does exist. i especially always wonder how their streets and homes looked like (to this day i have no idea for almost all of my friends who i didn't grow up with in queens).

then i start thinking about other random shit like maybe how different their persona back at home was compared to their nyc persona now. and then i wonder about things like where they went out to on the weekends with their friends or how different their daily commute used to be with their cars---i could ponder about it forever, it's fascinating.

now they live in nyc and we go out to places like so and so and we eat at places like so and so and our favorite neighborhood is so and so. this is their life and who they are now in new york and it's all i know of them.

but now i want to explore my other personas in places other than new york. i want to travel and meet people in different places and context and take all the tools i've learned in the city and put them to use in other places. i'm tired of meeting people at the same parties and having that same inevitable conversation about where we grew up and why they're in new york now and blah blah. i want to feel liberated and be in a completely new environment, just like all the people who came to this city.

nyc is magical at every age and it always has and forever will be. whether i'm here or you're here or john and sally smith are in new york or not, it doesn't matter. the city will always be here still chugging away and knowing that comfortable thought makes the thought of leaving it so much easier.

nothing is the only thing that lasts forever.

the sun is coming up. i hate this feeling.

do you believe in the power of a pair of glasses?

i've had my glasses for a few years now. they were old sunglasses that i made into glasses and i honestly don't see them on people very often but when i do, i always find it interesting because we must have something similar within ourselves to take the exact same style of sunglasses to make them into glasses. so a few weekends ago i was coming from penn station and running really late so i hopped into a cab to get home in the uws. the cabbie was an older gentleman with a grey mustache, smaller in size and seemed pretty normal and nice. i was in the backseat just minding my business when i noticed through the rearview mirror that the both of us were wearing the same pair of glasses. not being able to pass up the moment, i leaned forward to talk into the already opened sliding window and mentioned what i had just noticed.

suffice it to say, vince and i spent the rest of the ride telling each other our personal stories on how we ended up with our glasses.

it's fun to visit people at work and get wasted by yourself.

thanks erika!