New York has a lot to offer to individuals who live and work here (that is, if you care to take advantage of it!). I've been in New York for seven years and though some of those years, I was preoccupied with work (my investment banking days), I took advantage of the 24 hour partying that new york offers (yes, the 4 a.m. bar/club closing and then journeying over to k-town to enjoy the fine culinary korean dishes including kal bi, man doo (fried and steamed), and chigae! ... and this joy ends the night or should i say the morning as you notice the sun rising and your watch says its 5:30 a.m. Yes, 5:30 a.m.!) Though, those partying days are mostly over (yes, pretty much done with that), the latter years are now about taking advantage of the more nurturing activities in New York (ok, i'm not going geriatric on you - not yet!)...
Just yesterday, Richard, Gena and I took a cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education. We took "the Essentials of Tuscan Cooking" and learned everything from the history of food from Tuscanny to iron chef cooking techniques! We learned how to perfectly cut an onion, take out the germ in garlic so you don't burp up that yucky smell (yeah you know what i'm talking about)... but can someone tell me how to remove the garlic smell from my hand? ick... and then of course, we cooked some really great dishes! I helped prepare and cook the Mushroom Risotto (you can't even imagine how much strength you need to constantly stir the rice so it doesn't burn... phew, it was a workout!)... but, it was amazing! would i do it at home? No, I think i prefer to just order it at a restaurant and have someone else do the hard work... (ok, maybe one day i'll make it again).... and, my other favorite dish - the biscotti! i never knew it was so easy to make! i'm definitely going to remake those amazing treats!
ah, but the highlight was not just the cooking... the highlight was this one girl who was pretty, tall, and someone who you think - that ALL men would like - put together, can dress to the nines and very high class... but little did we know, there was definitely something underneathe the hood. while everyone was eating, she was preparing "take-home dishes". She filled cannisters of food as if she was about to feed a nation. she reminded me of a story i read in the wsj a few years ago where they were talking about pretty girls and how they'd spend all this money on trendy clothes and make-up to make themselves look amazing... and yet, when they're alone they're eating ramen cause they can barely afford food. This is what this girl reminded me of as she continued to pack food into the take home boxes and then conceal the ENORMOUS bag of food in her duffle/purse bag... and if you think that was not enough, a few minutes later after she'd rejoined the group as if nothing happened (yet 85% of the leftovers were gone), she found herself back to the leftover table to make just ONE more take-home plate.... it was HILARIOUS. she packed ANOTHER plate of food, only this time, it made it seem as if she was only taking ONE plate home, instead of 20 other plates she had already made and stowed away. Richard wanted to call her out on her injustices, as did i, but, we let it go...
The pretty girls always gets away with everything! haha... yes, it was pretty shocking... but it sometimes makes you wonder - and i continue to joke about this - but we all know some jokes have some truth to it... so the joke is - girls like this just need to continue to look good... you know -- buy all the expensive things, have little to zero savings and then... well, just hope that the "right" man will come along to support their habits. Yes, live large until you find someone else who can live large with you and can support you. i wish someone taught me that trick! i could have stopped working hard a long time ago!!! hahaha!
well, i suppose, NYC would not be NYC without the people in it. and the people in nyc never seizes to amaze me! you meet all kinds of people in this place. some of them, similar to that girl, and then others who are true - considerate and genuine individuals ... and then there's the truly motivated and eager individuals who want to get ahead in this world and who will "politely" run you over to get that promotion... and others who are idealistic and want to change the world... yup, all kinds of people... models, business professionals, teachers, lawyers, entertainment execs, and homeless people.
As i continue to publish on my experiences of "living and working in nyc" ... i hope it'll provide some insights to why I BELIEVE NYC is an amazing place to live and work... and the people only make up 80% of the reasons why nyc is such a diverse city....
I think i just found my next "muse" for future posts... it'll be fun to make my next photo exhibit to be about people in nyc ... until next time
