FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM (imagine mel gibson in braveheart)

warning: i get a little sentimental here so skip to the middle if you want the usual stuff. 


most days, i take the q train to work and back. it's a little further but i like the exercise and, with days like we've been having in new york, i want to spend the extra time outside. the q is only 5 stops to union square so it's very convenient to take if you work or play in the city. anyway, one of my favorite parts of my morning commute is that between dekalb and canal streets, we go over the manhattan bridge and if i happen to be facing south, which i often try to do, i can see the manhattan skyline and, most importantly, the statue of liberty. almost every time i see lady liberty, i get a little teary eyed. as most people know, i was born in the u.s. so i've always known the luxuries of living here. the rest of my family came from vietnam back in the 70s, right after the war, so they had a dose of living in a 3rd world country and living in the greatest country. i went to vietnam a few years ago and had a tiny glimpse of what it may have been like if my parents didn't have the american dream. anyway, not to get too gushy with you all but every time i see the statue, it reminds me just how lucky i am to be here, living this life and living this adventure. really, how many other people can say that?


ok, back to the nitty gritty. i joined my company's bowling team and guess what our team name is. ok, forget it. it's rollin' with the homies and yes, i always have to sing it and do the hand motion from clueless. we actually have 2 teams but my team is the one that matters. we bowl at leisure time in port authority right by times square. this place is huge and pretty crazy. the girls have to wear these little black dresses that i wouldn't even wear if i was going out to da club. it's always a centimeter away from seeing arse. part of the enticement is their beer towers. yes, i said TOWER. i'm not even sure how much these TOWERS hold (and forgot to ask) but it's pretty intimidating. when i saw it, i immediately wished l.l., r.c., r.c., s.h., k.h., b.m., c.m. and of course s.c. were there to partake in the TOWER. they're really the only ones i know that heart beer plus i know they could appreciate the novelty of it.

i actually bowled decently: 2 games and broke 100 each game even though my snowboarding injury from a few weeks ago hindered my 2nd game. not too bad for someone that hasn't bowled in a few years. 


i saw jamie cullum play at town hall.

i was a tiny bit disappointed. i saw jamie in austin and it was such an amazing show. i still talk about the length (close to 2.5 hours) and how energetic and entertaining he was so i expected the same with this tour. he only played for about 1.5 hours and didn't even do an encore. DIDN'T DO AN ENCORE. besides local shows or festivals, when does that ever happen? when i voiced this out loud, the girls in front of me said they saw him at carnegie hall and cheered for 30 minutes after the last song and he never came back out. weird but still super fun. he has a habit of jumping in the crowd too.

new york magazine came out with a best of issue a few months ago. in it, it had a best noodles section and they said that pho bang had the best pho in ny. so i finally found time to make it there and test it out. it was definitely better than the first bowl of pho i had here but still not as good as most of the ones in tx. the broth was just lacking. it was decent enough for me to go back but not to write home about. oh wait, what am i doing right now? anyway, you get the point. if i have a craving, i wouldn't mind eating here but i'm still on the lookout for others.


the weather here has been amazing and perfect the last few days. i made it out to prospect park and had a grand time. so many people and kids and dogs out, flying kites, playing soccer, throwing the frisbee, having picnics... you get the picture. it made me feel much more at home...almost as much as these punkins.

yes, that's a tiger print snuggie. what of it????


xoxo,
p.


p.s. take a look back at the post where i talk about utah johnny's. you can't see the bull but you longhorns will be proud.