The weekend before a conference

As most of you know, I produce training conferences for the government and military. This requires me to be in the VA/DC area for 3 to 4 days at a time in order to actually meet the speakers I've invited, network with the delegates, and make sure that the conference itself is running smoothly.

I'm actually at one of my conferences right now, but before I tell you how it's been so far, let me start from Saturday.

Saturday is usually a lazy day for Javi and I. We stay in, sleep in, and watch whatever we haven't watched on the DVR. But the Saturday before a conference always has to be activity-filled. So this time, Javi and I began the day by venturing out to our favorite brunch place. We had toast and jam and other good stuff that felt like homemade cooking (only without me having to worry about the 'cooking' part).

After brunch, we decided to check out a futon place in the upper west side to see if it was wise to buy one for our guests who are to sleep over at our new apartment. Here's a tip for everyone: no matter how good it looks online, always, always check it out in person! The futon looked decent enough to me on the store's website, but when I saw it at the store, I was majorly disappointed!

It looks pretty decent here, right??? Ah well. It was also a little too small anyway. An airbed has more space than this one, too, so it obviously wasn't meant to be bought by Javi and I. (And believe, me, an airbed that costs about $30 is pretty darn comfortable!)

As we stepped out of the store, feeling a little relieved to not have to shell out another $300 for our new apartment, we came across a bicycle store. Uh-oh! So much for saving that futon money! Well, the truth is, one of the main reasons why I was so happy to be able to move to that new apartment is because I love biking. I'm not a pro, mind you, but I grew up with the freedom to ride my bike around our neighborhood and to and from my friend's house every day. And I've been longing for the opportunity to have that freedom again since I moved to Manila back in 1990!

So now that Javi and I can safely bike around town (especially since NYC has dedicated bike paths during the summer), we believe that bikes are a great investment. If you think about it - how much do you spend on gym membership every month? I'd rather cancel my gym membership, buy a reasonably-priced bike, and enjoy the real outside air instead of breathing stuffy gym air that, if you think about it, is actually everyone's evaporated sweat. Gross, right?

Anyway, onto the bikes!

Javi and I are considering foldable bikes for transportability. At first I was skeptical about it, but then I saw a guy on the getting off the train from NY to DC last Sunday, and was impressed by how he casually stepped off the train with his foldable bike in hand, popped everything into place, and started riding it off into the distance. Pretty cool.

Economically, though, I'd much rather go for the Schwinn Cruiser:
It was pretty warm that Saturday, so although we wanted to walk from the 90's to the Union Sq. area (we love walking around that much on a good day), we absolutely couldn't. So we decided to just take a bus in order to kill two birds with one stone: get to a train that would take us back home, and enjoy the rest of the city without passing out from dehydration.

Javs and I took the bus up to Bryant Park, where we decided to stop and enjoy an ice cream at the park. People were reading, men and women were sunbathing (this was when Javi and I pretended not to be married to each other. ;), kids were on the marry-go-round - it was just a nice, relaxing environment.

But before long, we felt way too warm again, so we decided to look around for an interesting shop to go into. Thankfully enough, we did! Kinokuniya is a Japanese bookstore that began reaching out to its client base in Rock Center. Recently, they opened this branch near Bryant Park, which includes art books ranging from Ancient Greek Art to Contemporary Fantasy Art.

I found a book that I thought my brother in law would be interested in (he does 3D Animation) and was so excited to show Javi, that I ended up dropping this 7lb. book on my foot! Normally, in these instances, I psychologically train myself from thinking that I'm hurt, but when the corner of a heavy book drops on the vein of your foot, there's no way you can tell your brain to think that you're fine! Nooooo way!

So that pretty much ended the day for me and Javs... my arm around him to support me, as we slowly limped off into the sunset ;)

Wow! That was just Saturday!
I definitely need to write some more SOON! :)

Why I Blog

Staying connected

I've had so many different profile pages in the past - from Friendster to Facebook, I've done them all. And the major reason why I joined these social networks was really to keep in touch with friends I never would have contacted otherwise. Because of these sites, I was able to find a good friend I had in high school who moved to San Francisco, and was even able to find my best friend from elementary school! (As it turns out, she lives in NY as well!)

Still, I found these certain websites to be a little too tedious to work through - it was hard to upload photos, people had to create user profiles before they could see my photos, I couldn't write a blog while showing photos and vice versa, so I longed for a more straightforward way of sharing my thoughts and photos via the internet.

I had heard of blogs and was definitely interested in making one, but was always intimidated at the thought of making it look nice and having to maintain it. And then a friend of mine, Holly, showed me her blog at http://gonnamakeachange.blogspot.com

Wow! In her blog, she shares so many things about herself to her readers... things that I would have never known about if not for this fantastic and new medium of communication.

This is not to say that blogging is a substitute for face to face communication and socialization. Blogging is a way to enhance one's ability to socialize and communicate with others. And was this not my reason for joining these social websites to begin with, anyway?

So having been inspired by Holly to write my own blog, I tinkered around with the blogger.com interface (which I find to be easier than expected!). I had just gotten back from Manila that time, so I excitedly uploaded my pictures from our trip to Manila. Success! I had a blog!

So now, what?

I post updates about myself and Javi to communicate to others, but there must be some sort of a structure to it, right? And why did I call it "K's Apartment"? Again, this is a way for me to let you, the reader, into my "apartment," as I share with you my extracurricular activities (usually having to do with food, btw), thoughts, and dreams.

This is also my way of sharing my experiences as someone who grew up in both the US and Manila, and is now independent of her parents (a big thing among Filipinos), married, and working in one of the greatest cities of the world.

This is why I write.

I write in the hopes that perhaps the things I share with all of you make you laugh, make you think, or inspire you to do something for yourselves that you never would have done before (even if it's something like parting your hair a different way!).

And this is certainly not a one-way conversation. Please leave me comments or send me your experiences that I can post here if you want to share them. OR, create a blog of your own so that we can create a dialogue!

-K

Anton's trip to the Wine Library

Sara's and Jim's reception brought about a reunion among the PAREF Southridge boys. Anton, being a resident of California, insisted that we visit NJ's Wine Library. So here he is, ecstatic to be in front of this store full of alcohol. To his right: Honey. To his left: his girlfriend, Pat.

Below: Look at how he cradles that bottle.
Javi bought desert wine ;)

John's trying to break Jack Daniels' neck. The new Mrs. Garcia! :)

Jim and Sara's Reception

Our friends Sara and Jim got married in Tuscany, but honored their friends with a reception at Churrascaria Plataforma, located in West Midtown. Here are a few pictures from their lunch, as well as a few pictures we took afterwards when we hung out at Tomkins Square Park in Alphabet City. Photos taken Sunday, May 25th.

The cute couple!

Half of the party

Poveda girls (Poveda = our high school) Julia, Krista, and I (R-L) went to the same school, but I think we're each a year apart from one another.

Southridge boys. They look like a boyband. Hehe.

Jim!

Javi!

L-R: Don, Jim, John

May 3 in Maryland / DC

I had conferences on Military Antennas and Military Radar to take care of last May, so Javi and I took the opportunity to spend time with Tita Em and Uncle Hamid in Maryland.
(Yes, I know, this entry should have come before Tita Em's trip to NYC. Oops!)

Javi and I usually arrive at their place right before lunch time, so Tita Em and I agreed that we would just have lunch and spend the rest of the day in their apartment so all three of us (Uncle Hamid was at work) could relax. Below, are some pictues of our *fancy* lunch ;)

Cutting up the lettuce for our sandwich!

The masterpiece! Salami, cheese, tomoatoes, green bell peppers.

Javi's share of the sub

My share of the sub. THANK YOU, Tita Em! It was delicious!

In the afternoon, Unkie came home from work, and took us to Ben's Chili (Javi had been requesting that we go there since it was featured on a Food Network show a few months ago).

Ben's Chili is a classic diner located on U and 14th, and is accessible by the Metro. Back in the 80's, this neighborhood was notorious for its crime rate.

Today, you actually still feel a little uneasy walking around this area as the sun sets. It's as if the area reminds its visitors and inhabitants that it once was a place that cabbies dared not drop off a passenger - it reminds people of what it once was.

But as the final rays of the sun hide behind newly built condominiums along such a diverse street, it allows people to realize what it is today - an area of potential and future gentrification.

Now...

Back to the Chili!

Everyone in line has to see the dogs on the fryer.

Everyone's waiting to get a bite out of their hotdogs!

Check-it-out!

Eating unhealthy has never felt this good!

The place at night.