From My Past Zoo Trip

I thought I would upload a video from my last trip to the zoo.

Enjoy!

The Joint WOs HOPping!

So, yesterday, Sunday, Julie and I decided we were going to venture into Chinatown! I had been down there twice before. Once when I went to visit the city in May, and a few weeks ago I went to find somewhere to eat with Laura. Needless to say, we got lost and never found a place to eat.

We left around 3 in the afternoon, becuase we had to recover from the night before, and headed down the yellow line to Canal Street. Luckily Julie had researched our route in the morning, so we got there very efficiently. It was only going to be a matter of time until people realized I really shouldn't be truted with directions. I don't have that great of a track record in that department.

Canal Street was our first target for the day. It was jam-packed with crowded souvenier shops, filled with knock-off purses, pashminas, creepy little dolls singing "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" with a heavy Chinese accent, and people yelling at me to buy their "sunglass". Julie did end up buying a pair of black "sunglass", after debating between the lime green and fire-engine red pair.

The problem with Canal Street, aside from being crowded, was that all the shops sold the same items- and you couldn't look at anything without someone trying to squeeze it in your hand while fishing your wallet out of your pocket. So, we decided to explore another street.



After turning off of Canal Street, the crowds suddenly dissipated and it was much quieter and calmer than before. After a quick stop inside a deli to refuel, we discovered two more upscale Chinese stores. The first one we went into had a very interesting assortment of goods. There was a table with various pens, notepads, staplers, holes punchers and the sort. It also had bedding, cd players, memory foam pillows and very androgynous clothing.

The store next door was rather exciting. It remnded me a lot of Ikea- minues the strange Swedish names gien to all the furniture. It was also a lot more colorful than most of the Ikeas I had been to. Their wares looked like they would fit in nicely into a tastfully modern Manhattan apartment.

Julie and I each had some luck in this store. I found a desk that I really liked and one of the saleswomen offered to give me a print out with its information. I'm afraid that the shipping cost to Michigan will be greater than the price of the desk! Julie bought a very colorful plate decorated with the word "Yum", and a glass reading "Drink it up!". Quite amusing.

We were rather pooped after our two hours of walking and decided that we wanted to find somewhere to eat. Speedy, who works with us at SNL, at recommended a Chinese retaurant on Mott Street called "Wo Hop". He told us that it was located in the basement of a building, it's been around since 1938- and that the floors probably haven't been cleaned since then! Sounds rather intriguing, doesn't it?

So, with Julie leading the way, we easily found our way to Wo Hop on 17 Mott Street (this is not to be confused with the Wo Hop at 15 Mott Street, because that one is not nearly as good as number 17). We go to the staircase leading undergorund to find a ten person line waiting to enter this hole-in-the-wall.

As we were waiting in line, I sent a text message to Speedy letting him know where we were. He called me almost immediately afterwards with recommendations of what to get.



Shortly after, we were lead into a small room covered with various headshots of people who have visited the restaurant. Julie and I both ordered wonton soup (one of Speedy's recommendations), Julie had Shrimp Chowfun (another Speedy favorite) and I had Sweet and Pungent Chicken.... I was really hoping that they meant Sweet and Sour Chicken- because, last time I check, "pungent" meant "smelly".

Luckily, it was Sweet and Sour- and it was delicious! Speedy was right. This was GREAT FOOD! (Yes, I do realize all my blogs mention food). The Wonton Soup was excellent too! Julie's Chowfun was great. I'd never had it before. It was a noodle dish, but what was interesting was that the noodles had a texture very similar to crepes! But seriously, Wo Hop was great! Definitely going back there soon!

On our way back to the subway, we stopped by a Chinese cnady shop. There were a ton of brightly colored candies wrapped in bright packaging with fun symbols on them. So we each bought a few to try... Apparently, the Chinese do not use sugar in their candy... and you can tell! We tried these mini-yogurt cups that were filled with what seemed to be jello.... let's just say if I ever had to imagine what pee tasted like.... I would think it would come close to that.....

So goes another day in New York City!

Check back soon!

Weekend with Molly

Molly came and visited me over Fall Break, and we did a whirlwind tour of (some of) Manhattan!

I picked her up a week ago Friday from Laguardia Airport, after quite some trouble getting there... We took a cab into the city and went out for sushi a few blocks away from the house.

Saturday we spent most of the day exploring Times Square and wandering up Fifth Avenue. I think we made it into almost every clothing store there was in Midtown!

We started our day in Macy's, the largest store in the world! Then wandered up to Times Square and along Fifth Avenue.

That night, we had tickets to see Spring Awakening. So we checked out zagat.com to find a restaurant near our show. We ended up at a very nice Italian place, which got high Zagat ratings for their food and service. As soon as we arrived, they asked us if we were trying to make a show and at what time it started. We got in and out with plenty of time to spare!
We go to the theatre, which was about three blocks from our restaurant and found our seats- which were at he very back of the theatre... Luckily, the theatre was not very deep so we still had a great view!

The show was rather different from what I expected. The stage had some seating around the sides and it was decorated in a very urban style. The time period was also somewhat mystical. "Stereos" were mentioned in the show... but in one of the scenes, students wrote on individual chalkboards they kept under their desks..... on top of that, for those who are not very familiar with the show, all of the music was of the rock genre. Though it all fit together superbly. I an definitely see why it won all its Tonys!
On Sunday we moved into the hotel, which was about 15 blocks south, in the heart of Chelsea. We then ventured down to the South Street Seaport. We paroozed a lot of the shops in the area and I was rather successful in the Express store in the shopping mall. I jokingly pointed out a black and white tracksuit, but Molly said she liked the blue and white one.... and so did I. It was a little different than most of the clothes I own- but I really like it.



That nigh, we met up with Laura and Julie and ventured to Pinkberry. Molly had the same creation I tried my first time- and she HATED it.... haha. So, we then tried Red Mango, which was two doors down. While this was better, it wasn't quite ice cream.

On Monday I took Molly to show her where I work. She got to meet Mel and Brian, who were the only ones in the office that morning. We then took a tour of the studio hoping Lenny would be in by the time we came back.

I showed her around our floor, then took her down and showed her the SNL studio. Unfortunately it was VERY empty on a monday, so there wasn't a whole lot to see.

After a quick stop at the NBC Store, we head back up to the office. Sadly, Lenny hasn't come in yet. So, we go down to the concourse with Brian and get some lunch at Cucina.

The rest of the afternoon we spend seeing more of Fifth Avenue and we take a carriage ride through central park. I thought it was kind of funny that our driver was on his cell phone while giving us the tour....

We then went into Saks Fifth Avenue and ended up in the very expensive clothing section... with sweaters for $400....

That night we ate at a great mediterranean restaurant. It was in Chelsea again. We got to sit outside along one of the side streets, which was really nice.

We then met Julie to get some Tasti-D-Lite, which, while not being ice cream, was still very good.

On our last day we walked around Chelsea. We found a great grocery store that was set up inside a great old building. It looked almost like an old bank building.

After a few more hours walking thourgh Chelsea, and a great sushi lunch, it was time to take molly back to the airport. :-( Even though it was only a short time, we still were able to see a lot and we both had a great time!

Who wants a souvenir from here?

I snapped this picture while on the bus on the way to the to airport to pick up Molly. I will post soon about our weekend... once I have all the photos on my computer!

Something funny I'd forgotten to mention....

Before I begin to tell you about this funny excerpt, I am going to have to tell you about one of the perks of interning for SNL. Since we do have quite a few late nights, for example- every Saturday, NBC wants to make sure that we get home safely (and not get mugged/murdered). So, we have access to a car service, Minute Men, which picks us up in Lincoln Towncars and drives us to where we need to go. I have taken this service home a few times when I have been a wok late, or dropping off/picking up instruments for repair. Anyway, to my story...

After the show this past Saturday, we were invited to an "intern after party" by Matt, one of he interns for the research department. So, after the show wrapped, Brian and I (Julie was still home sick) ventured off to find the Lower East side. We were supposed to take the F-train to... 14th street?- I don't remember. The point is that the train we got on did not stop where we needed it to. So, we ended up about 10 blocks too far south. So we go on the same train in the opposite direction... though this time it did stop at our stop (this still makes no sense to me).

From our stop we were supposed to take the L-train to the east. Conveniently, this station had signs that showed the time remaining until the next train is to arrive. The next L-train was not scheduled to arrive for another 20 minutes... it was already almost 3 in the morning by the time we had arrived at this station. For those of you who don't know, Saturdays we arrive to work at 11 am and don't leave until about 1:30 the next morning, we spend most of the time on our feet. That's over 14 hours of standing- which can be very tiring... So, we decided we would call it a day and just go home to sleep.

So, as we were leaving he platform to go home, Brian seems to be heading toward another train while I am going toward the exit to the street. I call down to Brian "Are you taking the subway home, or do you want to take the car service?". He replies "Yes, let's take the car service". As we make our exchange, another patron of the subway walks by and looks at us and, in quite a mocking tone, calls to us "Yes, of course! Take the car service, just like royalty"!

I could tell that the man was joking, but it was still extremely awkward. I hadn't thought about what I was saying... as much as I hate to admit it, having the car service had sort of become normal to me- I didn't realize what it must sound like to other people overhearing us talk about it..... I'm gonna have to think of some more tactful way of referencing Minute Men in public...

The Korean Food Diet

I have discovered a great diet that will guarantee anyone to lose weight! Whenever you get hungry, go to a Korean restaurant and order Bi Bim Bob! You will be guaranteed to be so grossed out that you will be turned off of food forever!

So, the Pinkberry nearest our house is in the Korean district. Aside from the Pinkberry (and a Red Mango) there are several "Korean Barbecues". Julie, Laura and I decided we would check out what these are.

The concept is similar to that of Fondue. You pay extra to have your waiter bring raw food to your table only to cook it yourself. However, this type of food is prepared at a table-side barbecue. We decided that it was a little too expensive and just ordered from the "Korean Entree" menu. Laura ordered dumplings (a very smart move), while Julie and I decided to be more adventurous and try the "Bi Bim Bob".

As a starter, the waiter brought us about ten small dishes with differently colored and shaped items. I believe it was some kind of mixture of meat and vegetables... but the strange thing was- all of it was served cold!... hmmm....



While the Bi Bim Bob looked good in the picture on the menu... in person it pretty much was a mess in a bowl. It consisted of various shredded vegetables and hamburger meat in a bowl... and surprise, surprise- it was cold too! On top of that, it was served with a small side dish of rice, which was the only edible part of dinner. Another waitress came by and, in her broken English, told us we were supposed to mix the rice with the rest of our meal....

... Clearly, we were not going to do that- we were not going to ruin the only edible part of the meal....

So, after what felt like an eternity, the waiter came and cleared our (full) plates. Just as we were making our escape, on of the other waiters dropped his tray and splattered some sort reddish-orange sauce all over her (favorite) pants. Clearly, we are not rushing to get back to that restaurant.



Anyway, on a brighter note, I wen to the Central Park Zoo this morning. While it was much smaller than I expected- the animals were very active. I managed to snap this great picture of two polar bears underwater. I also got some great video of them plaing around in the water... hopefully I'll get that on Youtube soon!

Asian Fusion Altoid Tins

Wednesdays have become our weekly pot-luck days, for us three music interns. We have decided that every week we'd each make a dish to bring in and share. September 24th was our first pot luck. We ended up with various assortments of dip and microwaved s'mores. It seemed that these dishes loosely fell under the category of hors d'oeuvres. So, we thought it would be fun to have themes for each of our potlucks. The nest week was to be Asian food.

On our way home from Pinkberry one night, Laura, Julie and I stumbled across a Korean Supermarket where I found "Sweet Korean Pancake" mix. That sounded like a good idea. So, on Tuesday night I set up a space in the kitchen. While the instructions on the box were in broken English... the labels for all the packages of mix were in Korean... so I had no idea which one was flour and which was yeast etc... There was also a mytery package which turned my dough green. (I later found out that I had purchased "Green Tea" pancake mix).

So, my batch was far from perfect:



I brought it down to the third floor kitchen, where Julie was cooking. The first thing she does when she sees my pancakes is laugh, uncontrolably. She does brave one and give it a taste. They taste half-way decent, just look like cinder. So, to make a long-story short, I headed out to Gristedes (grocery store) and bought cool whip, chocolate chips and cherries.



Surprisingly, Julie and Brian ate my concotion. Needless to say, Julie is home sick for the second day in a row. Is this because of my food? Or a strange coincidence? You decide!

The eve' of our potluck, the three of us went to see Ben Folds perform at Terminal 5. The concert was INCREDIBLE! He performed quite a few songs from his new CD, "Way To Normal". One of the highlights of the concert was his prepared piano piece, "Free Coffee". He placed Altoid tins in hs piano, creating a very unique sound. I thought that the guy playing synths was accompanying him.... but it was in fact the prepped piano!



Missy Higgins, an Australian singer/songwriter, opened for him. She did well... but I thought a lot of her music sounded the same to me. There were several parts in her songs that were incredibly beautiful- then she began to whine and moan into the microphone, completely killing the mood. Shame.

On another, completely random note (since it was a completely random encounter). I was walking through Times Square tthis morning and saw a Netflix promotional tent set up. I went to get a closer look, and saw this man....