SxYFre3sTyLeR's Xanga

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Wed, 21 Dec 2005 02:43:14 GMT

So I just got back from Paris, France…and let me tell you…I’m in love! It’s my new favorite city in the world. It was one of those pretty spontaneous trips I’m notorious for. I won’t bore you with all the dirty details. But here are some highlights:

After a quick 6-hour overnight flight, I arrived at Charles de Gaulle ready to explore Paris. I hopped onto the train into town and promptly got lost trying to find my way to the street from the Chatelet Les Halles metro stop, which happens to be attached to a ginormous underground shopping center. I did finally find my hotel on a small charming little side street near the Palais Royale.

I met up with Tawal and we walked around a bit, by the Louvre, Opera, and made our way over to Marais, the “gay” area of Paris. We bar-hopped a bit and met some pretty friendly (and cute) locals. I did meet one nice French boy at the last bar we ended up at. I saw him dancing and he saw me looking at him and smiled. We started dancing and turns out he and Tawal knew each other back when Tawal was living in Paris years ago. Kevin barely spoke any English and I don’t speak French but we did manage to flirt a bit. He was such a sweetie; he even escorted me back to the hotel and showed me some true hospitality *wink*

Saturday I spent the afternoon wandering around…by the Opera, and up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. I strolled back down the Rue Saint Honore back to Marais. Tawal took me to the Quartier Latin up these little streets filled with shops, restaurants and food stands. We found a little restaurant Tawal used to frequent, but it was closed. The owner was still there and he opened up the place for us and cooked us a lovely meal. So generous of him! It’s these experiences that make traveling so wonderful.

My last full day was spent doing the real “touristy” things. How could a visit to Paris be complete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower? We strolled through the Jardin des Tuileries and crossed the Seine over to the Parc du Champ de Mars. Of course the Eiffel Tower took my breath away. An engineering marvel. After the requisite pictures, we hopped on the Metro and headed over to Montmarte, home to the Moulin Rouge.

I had to party it up my last night so we headed over to Queen on the Champs-Elysees. Queen is an institution in Paris, much like Studio 54. The party was called Overkitsch, the best of 80s and 90s. Love it! Those Euros…they do love their diva party anthems…lots of Madonna, Whitney, Kylie, Cher, Anastacia, and don’t forget Robin S…lol. Tawal and I danced our asses off! The perfect way to end a whirlwind trip.

Paris is one of those cities where you can just wander the small streets full of character and find many interesting and beautiful scenes. I love just exploring without an agenda. The architecture has so much character I literally felt I was on a movie set. And yes, Paris is best enjoyed as a couple. There were couples everywhere! LOL. No, it's true. It is a well-deserved reputation.

Thank you Tawal for being a great host. It made my trip so memorable. *big hugs*

Friday, September 16, 2005

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 02:26:55 GMT

i like nanette lepore's spring 2006 line. it's so cheery and bright and feminine. lots of vintage colors and prints. it makes you smile. the dresses just flow off the models' bodies, looks stylish and comfortable at the same time.

isn't it crazy what happened at diane von furstenburg's show? a section of track lighting fell during the show onto the first row crowd, injuring a handful of magazine editors. it was bloody. yikes!

oh yeah...it's fashion week in nyc

and

the U.N. world summit...170 heads of state are in town...traffic gridlock...and major police presence...i'm scared to blaze walking down the street...

HAHAHAHA...jk...

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 00:06:06 GMT

WASHINGTON, DC—In the wake of a recent drop in the sexual-interest rate, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao announced Tuesday that blowjoblessness in America has reached a record high.

According to Labor Department statistics, the overall blowjobless rate swelled to 37.4 percent in July, causing widespread deflation of egos.

"Cutbacks in oral services have left 55 million Americans unsatisfied," Chao said. "Although June saw a promising jump in the age 15-19 demographic, with many teenagers finding summer blowjobs, almost 82 percent of married men are completely blowjobless."

Amid growing concerns, Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) has proposed a stimulus package that he said will help create over 300,000 new blowjobs by the end of the year.

Said Peterson: "We can only hope that some compromise between the lip-service industry and the blowjob market can be achieved in House resolution H.R. 69."

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Tue, 23 Aug 2005 00:56:08 GMT

Take the quiz: "Which Laguna Beach Character are You?"

Kristin
You're Hot and like to party!!! Ms. Popular! Why have one boy when there are plenty to go around!? Plus you don't want anyone to tie you down when you're just trying to have fun.

* * * * *

Yes...I love Laguna Beach! So much drama. Brings me back to college days in OC. That's Orange County...not the Orange County! That makes no sense! "Hi! I live in the Orange County..." Umm...no. = )

Lots of fun times there. Cruising up and down PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), bondfires at Corona del Mar, killing time between classes at South Coast Plaza, midnight pho runs in Westminster, running from cops after jaywalking across Campus Drive, 2am runs to Alberto's...ahh...memories...

Friday, August 19, 2005

Fri, 19 Aug 2005 21:17:36 GMT

i'm moving back to manhattan! woohoo! my 2-month sojourn out to queens is quickly coming to a close as i'm moving to the upper east side on sept 1. just signed the lease today on a one bedroom rent-stabilized apartment on 89th and 3rd.

i wonder...i beat out dozens of folks who called about the listing...could it be that my being gay actually helped me get this apt? perhaps the management company thought i'd 'queer eye' the place and fix it up...haha...just a thought...

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Tue, 09 Aug 2005 17:17:50 GMT

quick fun fact for the day before i get on a plane back to the east coast...

the ubiquitous palm tree, a symbol, nee icon of california...is not a native plant/species to the region. it was brought over during the conquistador era by one of the "explorers" who "discovered" california.

why do i know this stuff??

Monday, August 08, 2005

Mon, 08 Aug 2005 06:40:07 GMT

okay, so i'm still in cali. just got back from a whirlwind trip to "el-lay". i don't know how i manage to time the drive perfectly..in that i left cupertino thursday at 7:40am and managed to arrive at our "el-lay" office at exactly 1:05pm for my lunch appointment with our deputy director of organizing & training (O&T). so my first afternoon in the land of palm trees is all work...meeting after meeting with staff.

that night i did make it out to third street promenade with garrett and promptly went to hooters. omg i was so craving their wings! really!

friday morning i got stuck on the 405 trying to make my way over to studio city to meet a colleague up until that point had only communicated via email, never in person. so it was nice to finally put a face to the name. afterwards i had to make my obligatory drive down laurel canyon to "mecca," aka the beverly center. let me just tell you straight out...i love the mall. yes i said it!

after hitting the beach for a bit and trekking over to silver lake for dinner with a friend...said friend and i bounced on over to west hollywood to do the abbey and rage. the abbey is huge! they took over the building next door and now have four (!) bars to ensure you're never without drink. of course while we're there we end up meeting and talking to the one "straight" guy there =P it's all good. at least he bought us drinks. lol.

rage...oh rage...and gameboi...young'ns galore. i of course had to make an appearance and hold court at my old stomping grounds (well what evolved out of my old stomping grounds 'tigerheat' ring a bell?). i was quite drunk and danced with many cute gams. yay. oh yeah..."d-list" celebrity sighting at rage: jamie from the real world san diego. yet another fag-hag! LOL

so yeah. good times good times. the rest of the weekend was spent with my sister and her 3 kids. all growing up so fast! and catching up with college friends in san gabriel and cheesecake factory in brentwood, where i had celebrity sighting #2: kerr smith from dawson's creek.

i had the bestest time and now i want to move back to cali! argh! this always happens. well who knows...i may be back soon. *dramatic music*

Monday, August 01, 2005

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 07:22:32 GMT

cali "vacation" day oh who knows...

this morning i woke up at like 3am to drive up to san francisco to run the marathon with 10,000 of my closest friends. i love the community and camaraderie amongst marathon runners. we support each other, we pee in front of each other. yes you heard me. we drink so much water to stay hydrated that we have to pee nearly a dozen times in the course of the marathon.

the race started off pretty well for me. the starting line was right in front of the ferry building. i was running with my friend edna and we were feeling good as we made our way up the embarcadero towards fishermans wharf and pier 39. we started playing the game where we'd count to 50 the guys we'd want to f*ck. that game only lasted 8 miles and ended on the golden gate bridge at a nailbiter finish.

no matter how romantic it seemed to include an out and back on the golden gate bridge on the course, it was no fun to run. it was cold, shrouded in fog, and slippery. we were so glad to get back on solid ground.

edna only ran the first half of the marathon, so we split at mile 13 in golden gate park. after she was done, it was all downhill for me. my legs started cramping bad. my hamstrings, calves, shins, everything! for the next 13 miles to the finish i could not run more than a quarter mile at a time because i was in so much pain. the worst was miles 14-16 where i not only hit "the wall" but climbed on it and rode it. that was the low point of the race.

i did feel a little better and had a little more energy after every gu pack. i personally like orange burst flavor gu. each one is 100 calories and oh my i feel a mini burst of energy after every one. it was nice to leave the park and start running down haight street then through the mission and potrero hill down to the dogpatch. by then the sun was out and i was feeling the heat.

at each mile marker i cursed the pain but gave thanks that i was that much closer. they seemed to be placed at longer and longer intervals. but once i saw sbc park and mccovey cove i could smell the finish. of course my legs pretty much gave up on me but my mind hadn't so there was this physiological disconnect. i could run no more than a few steps at a time before i had to walk.

the cruelest part of a marathon is seeing the mile 26 marker because you think you're done...but oh no...there's still nearly a quarter mile to go. and that is the longest quarter mile of your life! i started to get light-headed and my arms started to get numb and tingly. i thought i was going to pass out. so i quickly grabbed the last gu in my pack and gulped it down.

but the crowd is the best motivator. i mustered up every last bit of energy i had in me to run that last quarter mile as the crowd encouraged and cheered me on. i knew they could see the look of complete excruciating pain on my face but they did not let me defeat myself. that last step past the finish line was one of the most exhilirating experiences of my life. my legs were like rocks at that point i could not walk. the medics were right there to assist. but i just needed to walk it off and loosen up the muscles in my legs.

as i limped my way around the finish area and eventually back to the car, i knew i had accomplished something special. it's so addicting. i want to do more. crazy?

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Sat, 30 Jul 2005 05:20:25 GMT

cali vacation: day 2

not much of a vacation. spent yesterday and today working. blech! had lunch with my dad at a noodle shop next to 99ranch in cupertino. and of course, ran into a high school friend picking up lunch on her break.

so i drove up to san francisco and met up with bryant, a colleague from ucla. it was nice catching up on old friends, new jobs, future possibilities, etc. it's only been a couple years since our ucla days, but it just seems so far removed now.

afterwards, i walked from the api wellness center offices near the civic center down to justin herman plaza at the embarcadero to pick up my race packet for the marathon sunday. i'm so not ready for it, but, damnit, i'm going to run it if it kills me (which it might). i should be okay, really. i'm not going for time, i'm hoping to finish with a minimum of pain. then again, more than one friend has called me a masochist just for running a marathon. it's true in a sense. why would someone want to push their body to the limit? when i ran my first marathon in '03, i experienced what few people have ever experienced in their lives. i completely ran out of fuel. do you know what that feels like? to have expended every last bit of energy in your body. your mind is telling you to run but your body just cannot give anymore. every pretzel i ate, every goo i ate, every sip of energy drink i could feel the little mini-burst of power to go that much further. every last calorie working...but i digress...

i started carbo-loading tonight and will continue tomorrow until race day sunday. i'll let you know how i do...

Monday, July 25, 2005

Mon, 25 Jul 2005 20:33:06 GMT

i'm so sad. all these good folks are leaving nyc! so i went to another farewell party this weekend. at least it was fun. lots of food, drinks, friends, drinks, karaoke, drinks, and more drinks. as one final showstopper had to perform 'like a virgin' a la madonna at the '84 vma's. good times good times.