I just want to take a moment to blog about how much I love my friends. How lucky I am. How I love this New York life, despite the outrageous cost of mediocre-to-poor living conditions, the horrific commutes and city grit. Because out of the ruff of it all, I have great friends to fill it with all of the cliché moments that make you love life.
When I returned from England last Sunday and my cell phone reconnected with Verizon Wireless towers for the first time in a over a week, I had 11 voicemails and 77 text messages. Jessica and Kamata sang "Happy Birthday" together. Jamario and Stephanie left a joint birthday voicemail. Daphne left her trademark oration regarding the blessedness of my day. Those were the ones that definitely stood out.
Roughly half of the texts were from New York club promoters sending mass messages regarding nightly Manhattan hot spots. Various versions of: "Free entry and comp bottle service on my list at the door." A cellular salute to the aquisitively exclusive New York nightlife. But the other half were from friends who thought of me on my birthday or couldn't wait for me to get back to New York.
Some of my favorite text messages:
"Happy Birthday 2 u, happy birthday 2 u, happy birthday dear K8T, happy birthday 2 uuuuuu! If we aren't married by the time we turn 30-I'm asking u 2 marry me:-)"
"We're missin our girl! Hurry up and come back!"
"Happy Birthday girl! We're doing it up big when you get back to ny."
"Ur gay ass Giants earned themselves another ass kickin by the Patriots on Feb 4th! Go Randy Moss!>!:->"
And now I am leaving to join five girlfriends at Aspen on West 22nd Street for our Restaurant Week reservation. Good food, fine wine, great friends and a fabulous Manhattan.
"Things I Love" Thursdays are inspired by "I Love New York" (BNY, February 14, 2007).
Showing posts sorted by date for query "Jamario". Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query "Jamario". Sort by relevance Show all posts
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Phone Photo Ops - The View from Brooklyn
After a Saturday night out on the town with my girl Iris, I dragged myself out of bed and to a birthday brunch in Brooklyn for my friend Gina C. I was joined by my best friend Tokii and her fellow Juilliard alum Jamario, four fabulous people from Gina's job, including a gorgeous girl who looks exactly like Maggie Gyllenhaal and has legs for days, Gina's roommates and other new friends.
We ate waffles cooked by the Birthday Girl and topped with everything, drank Mimosas, played Taboo! (which gets funnier the more Mimosas you drink) and had a hilarious photo shoot in the kitchen. What started as a brunch turned into an all day affair. By the time Tokii and I were headed back west to Jersey and Harlem respectively, it was getting dark and I was lamenting the end of another weekend.
The most refreshing thing about Brooklyn was the space. Gina and her two roommates share an enormous three-bedroom apartment. It took me an hour to get there from Harlem on the A train, and the commute from midtown would be more than what I would desire, but the thing about living in New York City is that you have to be willing to sacrifice one or more of three things:
1) Low Cost
2) Large Space
3) Convenient Commute
When I looked out of Gina's window, the first thing I thought was: "It is such a beautiful day." And the second thing: "It took me an hour to get here from there?"
Zoom view
(The camera phone pic does it no justice, but the Empire State Building actually dominates the horizon from her window)
We ate waffles cooked by the Birthday Girl and topped with everything, drank Mimosas, played Taboo! (which gets funnier the more Mimosas you drink) and had a hilarious photo shoot in the kitchen. What started as a brunch turned into an all day affair. By the time Tokii and I were headed back west to Jersey and Harlem respectively, it was getting dark and I was lamenting the end of another weekend.
The most refreshing thing about Brooklyn was the space. Gina and her two roommates share an enormous three-bedroom apartment. It took me an hour to get there from Harlem on the A train, and the commute from midtown would be more than what I would desire, but the thing about living in New York City is that you have to be willing to sacrifice one or more of three things:
1) Low Cost
2) Large Space
3) Convenient Commute
When I looked out of Gina's window, the first thing I thought was: "It is such a beautiful day." And the second thing: "It took me an hour to get here from there?"
Zoom view
(The camera phone pic does it no justice, but the Empire State Building actually dominates the horizon from her window)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Phone Photo Ops - Psycho End to Summer Movies
Last night, Jamario and his girlfriend Stephanie joined me on the lawn for the original Psycho starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, the last show of the 2007 HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival.
Not as crowded as last week, probably due to the overcast skies
The infamous shower scene
Almost similar to my profile photo ...
... Yet slightly different from my uncropped original
It was a pretty psycho scene on the lawn ...
... But it was even crazier how clean the public restrooms
are in Bryant Park
Not as crowded as last week, probably due to the overcast skies
The infamous shower scene
Almost similar to my profile photo ...
... Yet slightly different from my uncropped original
It was a pretty psycho scene on the lawn ...
... But it was even crazier how clean the public restrooms
are in Bryant Park
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Juilliard, Juilliard, Juilliard is on Fire
So I set a fire in the Juilliard School tonight. It wasn't on purpose, of course, and nothing burned down.
Ya see, what had happened was ... at a party for Group 36 (the 2006-2007 fourth year drama students), Nate - formerly number 14 of the Duke University Men's Basketball Team and the fiance of my best friend and fourth-year Juilliard student, Tokii - had removed the chocolate on his chocolate-covered strawberries and had left the uneaten chocolate on a nearby table. He doesn't like chocolate, which I find to be absolutely absurd and an unacceptable quality in any human being. To be honest, that dislike for chocolate alone has me wondering what Tokii sees in him ... ok - aside from being attractive, charming, successful and witty. All the things that some women want.
In any case, upon realizing that he had cast the chocolate aside, I walked over to the table, moved the napkin placed atop his plate, and transferred the foolishly discarded chocolate to my own plate. A few minutes later, as I was gleefully consuming my own chocolate-covered strawberries and Nate's chocolate shells, one of Tokii classmates motioned to the table: "Fire!"
Sure enough, the napkin I had moved was on fire as I had inadvertently placed it too close to one of a few dozen tea candles in the middle of the table. As her classmate extinguished the fire with bottled water, I leaned over to Tokii and yelled over the music, "I think I did that."
"The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire," Jamario chanted with his beer held high in the air. The night continued without mishap. I sipped wine, snacked on finger foods and groved to hip hop music unaware that a longstanding Juilliard tradition was looming.
We heard shrieks as the members of Group 36 came running from the lobby wearing nothing or as little as they felt comfortable wearing. They raced around the party twice surrounded by laughter and screams at the sight. I sat there with my jaw dropped as I watched everything bounce and flap by. What better way to celebrate and honor the completion of four years of intense drama study and training? There is no purer form.
Now that I have seen most of Group 36 naked, I feel like my becoming-a-New-Yorker experience is nearly fulfilled. And it has become one of the reasons why I think the Juilliard School is the coolest school ever. I can think of 15 specific reasons, but things happen there that - while deemed illegal in most states - become magical.
Ya see, what had happened was ... at a party for Group 36 (the 2006-2007 fourth year drama students), Nate - formerly number 14 of the Duke University Men's Basketball Team and the fiance of my best friend and fourth-year Juilliard student, Tokii - had removed the chocolate on his chocolate-covered strawberries and had left the uneaten chocolate on a nearby table. He doesn't like chocolate, which I find to be absolutely absurd and an unacceptable quality in any human being. To be honest, that dislike for chocolate alone has me wondering what Tokii sees in him ... ok - aside from being attractive, charming, successful and witty. All the things that some women want.
In any case, upon realizing that he had cast the chocolate aside, I walked over to the table, moved the napkin placed atop his plate, and transferred the foolishly discarded chocolate to my own plate. A few minutes later, as I was gleefully consuming my own chocolate-covered strawberries and Nate's chocolate shells, one of Tokii classmates motioned to the table: "Fire!"
Sure enough, the napkin I had moved was on fire as I had inadvertently placed it too close to one of a few dozen tea candles in the middle of the table. As her classmate extinguished the fire with bottled water, I leaned over to Tokii and yelled over the music, "I think I did that."
"The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire," Jamario chanted with his beer held high in the air. The night continued without mishap. I sipped wine, snacked on finger foods and groved to hip hop music unaware that a longstanding Juilliard tradition was looming.
We heard shrieks as the members of Group 36 came running from the lobby wearing nothing or as little as they felt comfortable wearing. They raced around the party twice surrounded by laughter and screams at the sight. I sat there with my jaw dropped as I watched everything bounce and flap by. What better way to celebrate and honor the completion of four years of intense drama study and training? There is no purer form.
Now that I have seen most of Group 36 naked, I feel like my becoming-a-New-Yorker experience is nearly fulfilled. And it has become one of the reasons why I think the Juilliard School is the coolest school ever. I can think of 15 specific reasons, but things happen there that - while deemed illegal in most states - become magical.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Easter Brunch & Libations
"Shall we partake in libations?"
That was Jamario last night after an amazing dress rehearsal of Drama Group 36's showcase, in which every actor broke many, many legs. The Juilliard seniors will take their showcase from New York City to Los Angeles over the next few weeks, and I'm looking forward to following the careers of my (bias-based) favorite Juilliard class. But for that moment, it was Easter, it had been a long week for all, and the night was ours.
I had joined Tokii, Jamario and his girlfriend Stephanie for Easter brunch yesterday afternoon at Mobay Uptown, a Caribbean restaurant in the heart of Harlem. You know a restaurant is good when you're looking over the menu and already planning the next meal for your inevitable return. I love coming upon the hidden treasures of the city. The almost clandestine entrance - that one might easily overlook - conceals a dimly-lit, rich ambiance creating a trendy and comfortable chill spot suitable for a formal brunch or a casual evening with friends. I'm sure Mobay Uptown will be a favorite of mine for years to come.
"It's places like this that actually make me like New York," Tokii - the L.A.-bound, anti-most-things-NYC - said.
"I know. Places like this are such ..." I began to agree, searching for eloquent words to complete the thought.
In signature goofy-Tokii style, she interrupted me with eyes bulging: "A burst of fruit flavor!"
One probably wouldn't guess it from the above description of her guess-you-had-to-be-there hilarious intrusion, but she is one of the most beautiful women that many people might ever see in real life. In fact, when showing pictures of her (taken during a city outing) to my family in the Philippines, my tita would say, "And this is Katie's friend, the one who all the men kept taking second and third glances at on the street."
Beautiful, extremely funny and extraordinarily talented - even among the company she keeps at Juilliard. But my description is somewhat subject to a best-friend bias.
Following my afternoon city walk and their evening dress rehearsal, I went with Tokii and her classmates to Dallas BBQ on West 72nd Street, where I had the biggest, best wild berry pina colada ever. I think it will be my new favorite drink.
A lot of new favorites yesterday in my favorite city ... keeping in mind though that I have a lot of biases regarding the people and places that I love.
That was Jamario last night after an amazing dress rehearsal of Drama Group 36's showcase, in which every actor broke many, many legs. The Juilliard seniors will take their showcase from New York City to Los Angeles over the next few weeks, and I'm looking forward to following the careers of my (bias-based) favorite Juilliard class. But for that moment, it was Easter, it had been a long week for all, and the night was ours.
I had joined Tokii, Jamario and his girlfriend Stephanie for Easter brunch yesterday afternoon at Mobay Uptown, a Caribbean restaurant in the heart of Harlem. You know a restaurant is good when you're looking over the menu and already planning the next meal for your inevitable return. I love coming upon the hidden treasures of the city. The almost clandestine entrance - that one might easily overlook - conceals a dimly-lit, rich ambiance creating a trendy and comfortable chill spot suitable for a formal brunch or a casual evening with friends. I'm sure Mobay Uptown will be a favorite of mine for years to come.
"It's places like this that actually make me like New York," Tokii - the L.A.-bound, anti-most-things-NYC - said.
"I know. Places like this are such ..." I began to agree, searching for eloquent words to complete the thought.
In signature goofy-Tokii style, she interrupted me with eyes bulging: "A burst of fruit flavor!"
One probably wouldn't guess it from the above description of her guess-you-had-to-be-there hilarious intrusion, but she is one of the most beautiful women that many people might ever see in real life. In fact, when showing pictures of her (taken during a city outing) to my family in the Philippines, my tita would say, "And this is Katie's friend, the one who all the men kept taking second and third glances at on the street."
Beautiful, extremely funny and extraordinarily talented - even among the company she keeps at Juilliard. But my description is somewhat subject to a best-friend bias.
Following my afternoon city walk and their evening dress rehearsal, I went with Tokii and her classmates to Dallas BBQ on West 72nd Street, where I had the biggest, best wild berry pina colada ever. I think it will be my new favorite drink.
A lot of new favorites yesterday in my favorite city ... keeping in mind though that I have a lot of biases regarding the people and places that I love.
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