A's engagement

One cloud

Dear L,

One lone cloud made its way across Manhattan this evening.  Here it is passing behind the Freedom Tower:

Love,
D

Showtime

Dear L,

B took a picture of A and me on the way to an 8:00 show at the Pershing Square Signature Center.  The play was hilarious and the theatre intimate, with a cast that included Tate Donovan and Heather Burns.

The weather cooperated.

Love,

D

The business of someone special coming to town

Dear L,

Someone knew about your upcoming visit:

I can't wait to see you soon.

Love,

D

Sunset over the Hudson

Dear L,

I am working late tonight to get ready for the weekend but am honestly not too upset about it:

Office view.

Love,

D

Up!

Dear L,

A hot-air balloon came very close to apartment this evening!

Love,
D

1 Penn

Dear L,

The office building was looking especially majestic today:

Empire State in the background.   My apartment is just on the other side of it!

View from the 36th floor.

Love,

D

At the movies

4 Park

February and March

Happy Easter

You + Me

Morning cup

Dear L,

My French Press and I are starting to get along.

Love,
D

What I Ate in Japan

Dear D,

What can I say, the food in Japan is oiiiiishiiiii~~~

I ate a lot of ramen and noodles in general.. this one's with a miso/fish-based broth.

Also ate a ton of raw fish. Welcome to your new home in my body, mercury! ..but worth it?

Soba.
Swanky McD burger with avocado!

I ate that eyeball.

I included my hand to show just how enormous these suckers were.

Udon and tempura!

More ramen!

Box dinner from convenient store.

Appetizers from the first night!

I'm game to go back whenever you want.

love,

L

Nashville

Dear L,

I returned last weekend from a conference in Nashville, Tennessee.  The hotel was... interesting.  I think the best way to describe it is as a mallosphere, sort of an ecosphere/dome for materialistic humans.  I took some pictures.

One of three large "ecosystems".  Everything was completely enclosed.

Restaurants in the enclosure.  You can see the hotel rooms in the background.

There was even a riverboat drifting through the place.

I'm not sure why, but the whole things was kind of depressing.  Reminded me a bit of Wall-E.


Love,
D

Off to bed

And then off to see you in the morning.  I can't wait!

Love,
D

Temple Fair at Ritan Park

Dear D,

Over Chinese new year, I decided to take part in a popular custom by attending one of Beijing's many temple fairs. During Spring Festival (aka Chinese new year) Beijing clears out, which turns the bustling city in to a surreal, ghost town that feels like D.C. So, I was a bit taken aback when a 20 minute bike ride dropped me in the biggest crowd I'd ever seen:

Tickets were 10 RMB per person. Someone was making a fortune.

Once inside I realized that all the flower/fruit/cartoon turd - topped sticks were selling well because friends and families didn't want to lose one another in the crowd.

Prizes begging to be released from their saran wrap prisons.

A happy prize winner.

Posing with a tiger. A bit disappointed, since it's the year of the dragon.

Tastes from the middle east (...?)

And crammed between stalls selling ancient Chinese weaponry and traditional handicrafts: PvZ is really big here.

"Fake paws, come and get your fake paws!"

Korean glutinous rice things.

CHURROS.

All in all a worthwhile experience, even if I left after an hour due to hyperventilation and anxiety. One can only push through so many crowds, be stepped on so many times and knock over so many grannies. Happy year of the dragon!

Love,

L

Sushi lunch

Dear L,

Happy two-year anniversary!  I had the most delicious sushi lunch today, coordinated all the way from China.

It came in a big, brown paper bag...

So much food!

Salad, sushi, sashimi, fruit, ice cream.  All of it delicious.  Thank you for making this a great anniversary!

Love,

D

Clementine juice

Dear L,

DG visited this weekend, which was a blast.  We had brunch at the Ritz Diner, where our food came with the smallest orange juice cups of all time.  Barely four fingers tall!

Love,
D

I'm back to the blogosphere!

Dear D - How's it looking on the protest front? It must be getting cold...those protestors can't stay out there on the sugar block much longer!! I just realized I meant to write <1% on that sign. I guess I use < too much for hearts and what not wiiink

It was a cold and clear day today, so I did a lot of walking. I also bought the first season of Mad Men, finally jumping on that trend a few years late.

I was trying to figure out why there were no new movies in the DVD shop ("someone's must've filmed this in a Russian theater by now...where's my DVD??"), and I realized it's because the Chinese people working in the black market movie market must be taking vacation for Spring Festival! Curses.

love,

L

Untitled

Dear L,

I miss you.

Love,
D