The Neighborhood

Saturday night got a little too out of hand which caused me to miss work the next day, but I am so glad I stayed home. The weather was perfect, I felt rested, and had the whole day free. So we went around and explored the new neighborhood.

A lot of the buildings around are pre-war. The architecture on the buildings around are really cool and interesting. A lot of vintage details.
It seems like New York always has something going on. Art exhibit in the sky.
Waiting for our laundry
Thrift stores are just a few minute walk, found a cheap grocery store, and lots of restaurants around. We even have an antique shop next door!
I cant say it enough, but I am really happy about our place.

OUR apartment

After a month bouncing around this new city, we've finally moved into a place we can finally call our own and man does that feel good. No more living off suitcases, microwaving left overs, sharing bathrooms, playing tetris with our luggage, etc.


Here are a few snaps of our place.





Although it would be nice to stay in something fancy, its not what I prefer. This place is just as I expected to be staying in, in New York. Old, with wear and tear. It's been here decades before me. Its got history, has character. Exactly how I like most of my things.

So if any of you are ever in the area. Come visit and take a look!

and I would like to thank the people that let us stay at their place to give us a chance to get on our feet. Really appreciate all of it.

Things I have learned in New York.

so far...

- act like you know where you're going. even if you're lost.
- you will get lost. but its pretty fun.
- then you'll learn that subways go in two directions. Uptown/Bronx and Downtown/Brooklyn. that's kind of all you really need to know.
- New Yorkers are actually pretty nice people once you start talking to them.
- to check if anyone is following you: do not look back, look at the cars on the street and check the reflection.
- always have cash on you. but not too much.
- in the later hours and you really need to pee. you can pretend like you're using the phone booth and pee at the same time. it works and no one can see you.
- it's not as expensive as everyone thinks. you just have to know where to go.
- $1 pizza are lifesavers.
- never take anything from anyone on the street. nothing here is free.
- never. ever. walk through and definitely not into the housing projects.
- you dont need GQ, Complex, Details, Esquire, or any other fashion magazine. just take a walk around town.
- Always check what the weathers gonna be like. If there is any chance of rain, bring an umbrella.
- Rain boots are a necessity. Bike locks are too.
- Jaywalking is highly acceptable. So are running red lights while you're on a bike.
- Bars/Clubs that play hip-hop are very hard to come by.
- Tap water here tastes pretty good.
- Express trains will save you lots of time.
- Express trains stop running later in the night. So if you don't take a cab home, expect to waste 2 hours of your life waiting for the train.
- Cabs are pretty cheap compared to the Bay Area.
- It's going to take a while to get used to the 3 hour time difference so in that case I should really go to sleep now. Ill add onto this later. Goodnight

One Month

We survived our first month in New York City!

Its been quite a ride since arriving to this city. From finding a place, being home sick, learning the subway, etc. has all put up a good challenge. But we're here sticking it out and things are starting to fall into place. We have a place of our own, jobs, and making new friends everyday. Things are going real good that our main concern at the moment is what were going to wear during the winter.

and sorry for the lack of updates cause this city really does not sleep. There are always something to do and see. Like these:

New York Photo Dump

Been really busy apartment hunting and exploring the city. Also had to move from one place to another. Thanks to Dee and Carlo for hosting us till we can find a place for the month of September since the place we're gonna be moving into wont be available till October.

So here are a bunch of pictures Ive taken the past week (which feels like its been 2 months already)

Empire State
53rd and 6th Halal. Best ever
My bike came in! Now I feel complete here. Except that the weather is shitty, too hot or raining. Im actually looking forward to the weather cooling down so I can be more comfortable on the bike. I still gotta go explore more too but looking for an apartment is taking up all of my time!
Stopped by Ippudo to visit my friend Christian. If youre ever in NY you gotta stop by here and grab a bowl of their ramen.
Prospect Park.
Exploring Brooklyn at night.
View from Brooklyn Bridge
Apartment hunting in the Upper East Side. This area is exactly like the New York you see in the movies. After looking through some other apartments in not the best areas of Brooklyn, right when we walked out of the subway this area automatically became was our #1 choice for a place. But we ended up going finding a place back in Brooklyn.
The storms out here are crazy! One minute it'll be okay and the next itll be storming out! So this dinner was caused by a major downpour and we just walked into the closest door open.
Brooklyn Beer
Neck Face sighting at some bar
Upper East Side
Fette Aus? I think thats how you spell it but the it was pretty much a steak house and it was awesome. Priced by weight so you can get a little bit of everything.
Clubs/Bars here done close till early morning (4-5 am) so weekends are very tiring. Trains dont come as often too so it can take a couple hours coming from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Taxi's are a lifesaver.
and my partner in crime.


Riding through the Williamsburg Bridge gives you an awesome view of the east river and the city skyline.
riding around my bike. stopped to check out Chari & Co.
On the way home one of those storms caught me right when I got on it. Ended up getting soaked. But with the hot weather it felt nice.
Chillin' at Central Park.
Here's the Alice in Wonderland memorial.
Being a fool. Sorry haha
The other day New York had a couple earthquakes. Happened while we were in a restaurant. Minutes later these firemen came by and saw this.
Thrift store finds
Pistachio Creme Brulee. So good.
Seaweed and Jellyfish
Soup Dumplings
Beer Pong on a wednesday night
and I ended up trolling. for the first time ever in my life! ahhh so disappointed in myself
Brooklyn rooftop views
result of the night.
Okay thats all for now. Til' next time!

Bay to LA: Day 3

Getting back to the LA bike trip.

Sleeping under the redwoods was pretty awesome BUT like the night before I was FREEZING! Slept with 4 jackets on and an emergency blanket, yea those foil ones people have after running a marathon or something. Had to take another nyquil to go to sleep and woke up multiple times throughout the night shivering. But oh well

Woke up early and had some canned pasta for breakfast. Started a fire to cook them on.
Nothing beats pasta with a hint of ash in the morning.


Then got greeted by this 2-3 mile uphill climb right at the very start of the ride. I was freezing with a bunch of layers on but by the time we hit the top I was drenched in sweat.
The views were worth it though.

A lot of construction along the way.
On the left is a garden. A garden in the middle of nowhere and that guy in the white t-shirt was there maintaining it. Complete with sprinklers are everything.
Ran into this group of riders from across the country doing the same exact route we were doing except they were supported and being followed by a van. Pretty cool, they let us use their pump.
Stopped at this restaurant in the middle of nowhere. Not trying to stereotype but I think they were a bit racist. They were pretty mean and when we wanted to eat at the restaurant they said they were going to be closed for lunch and on top of that the lady told us that while she was eating a damn burger AND then 2 people came out of the restaurant with burgers in hand! Then the lady told us the next closest restaurant was 15+ miles away!...
I think their cat was even racist. It tried to bite me.
It took us a very long time to get out of Big Sur's rolling hills. After going through all those hills everything seemed so much easier though.


Rest of the ride for the day was pretty much the ocean to our right and dry hills on the left. 109 miles of riding that day. At least we ended up in San Luis Obispo and finally had a bed to sleep in.