my moral standing is lying down

The last two days have been unexpectedly AWESOME! Let's see why:

FRIDAY NIGHT hockeysaurus was visiting NYC and WE GOT A SUPER SEKRIT TOUR OF THE NHL OFFICES! Basically it was just too awesome to describe in words.

( Here, have a few pics instead. )

SATURDAY AFTERNOON I bought a new laptop. Ahahaha. My old one is 5 years old and really should be lasting a bit longer than that but it's doing this thing where it's REALLY SLOW for like an hour and thereafter runs normally for 5 minutes broken up with 2 minutes of lag. It doesn't seem like a virus and it's actually not an overheating thing either; my mom thinks its the heads. Whatevs, time to get a new one before I can't even turn it on anymore. At least I had time to backup the new data/etc.

So this new laptop is TEENY TINY. Well, for a laptop. Toshiba Portege, 3 lbs, 13.3" widescreen. My old one was a 14" so I know I'm going to be adjusting to the reduction in screen size but I decided the super light weight was worth it. It's kind of the perfect middle ground between a laptop and a netbook. I'm sad it's a single core processor but I'm pretty sure I don't run many big memory-consuming programs simultaneously.


SATURDAY NIGHT was Choley's going away party; she's leaving NYC for medical school in DC. SAD. The only reason I'm not more heartbroken is because DC is relatively quick and easy to get to from here, so I plan to visit her as often as I possibly can.

I was unexpectedly plastered last night and also had an unexpectedly good time!

Things of note:

- Wingo (my new favorite ex-bartender from Whiskey Brooklyn) showed up for a brief moment and bought a couple of us a round of whiskey.
- Leaving Ace Bar, I TRIPPED OVER A HOMELESS PERSON. I HAVE NEVER DONE THAT BEFORE OKAY.
- Also, I felt pretty bad (read: horrified) about it.
- Drunk tweeting.
- OMG I don't even remember tweeting this.
- My drunken ranting about netspeak to Judy while waiting in line at Pommes Frittes at 3:45am. JSYK they close at 4!

Today's XKCD is absolutely fabulous. And so very true (see the hover text).

So in other news, Saturday was full of birthday parties that I only stayed at for a short time (unfortunately). dressdragn's ice-cream party was lovely -- I really enjoyed getting to hang and chat with the bunch of you! Also, Anna, your watermelon salsa was FUCKING AMAZING AND I NEED TO MAKE IT ASAP! I don't even like watermelon. AT ALL. But this was just delicious!! loudnbothered, your party was great -- I was especially happy to see people I haven't seen in forever, like bondagepenguin! John, I love your house, but please get a fan next time you have that many people over in the middle of the summer! Also, meeting athena_chan was great, especially having convinced her to ditch her own house party and come to the club with me! =D That was a great time, and definitely scheduled for a repeat next month!

Yep, two industrial clubs in two nights this weekend! IT WAS AWESOME. I used to go more often, but haven't been in the mood for the longest time. The second one had a more interesting crowd but I generally liked the music of the first better. Also, did I mention that I ran into tech friends at the end of the first? Unexpectedly awesome. =D Also, did I mention that I got to step on someone? Um, and I'd like to do it again please? I was pretty beat by the end of the second one, though, and had to just say screw it and take a cab home. Left at 3am to get food (delicious falafel) over near Rivington, I think, but I was already on my last legs.

Got up at 1pm on Sunday, which was really nice, considering I'd only had 3 hours of sleep from 5:30 to 8:30am on Saturday. And I didn't do much, though since I was spending the day with my parents, it wasn't as relaxing as it could have been.

And here I am now at work on Monday. Sigh.

Listen people, I'm looking forward to seeing TRON at the Rubin Museum this Friday. COME AND JOIN ME OR DIE!

Watched the Rangers vs. Chicago game. ! Even better because Cube and I chatted throughout! Entertaining. They won 4-2, and are now at 3-0 in the regular season. They haven't gone 3-0 since the 1989-90 season. SWEET CAROLINE! BAH BAH BAHHHH! =D Need to do that more!

Went dancing in Astoria industrial club. Music was pretty good early on, some parts were boring (as expected), but overall better music than Contempt. Fewer people, which was not so good and slightly lame/boring. =( But, SO CLOSE! Freaking 15-minute train ride from my house, which is OMG awesome!

Link joined me at around 1:30am, which made it not boring anymore. =D

I'd bought a bottle of water while waiting at a 24hr Dunkin' Donuts at the corner near the N train. Only drank half of it and on the way back to the club I put it down on a stack of construction materials.

Got some shots of tequila. Nice bartender. After dancing for an hour or so and then coming back toward the bar, the bartender lifted the tequila. When I said I didn't have enough to buy another shot, he poured one for me -- on him. <3 I found out his name is Percy. ^^;

Walked Link to the N train and we talked for like 45 minutes before finally saying goodnight. On my walk back over to the R train I passed by that stack of construction materials and picked up my water bottle. Hahahaha. Finished it up on my way home.

All in all, an UNwasted night. I always feel so accomplished when I get home at 5am. =D

Just got home.

The bus ride to Duff's was indeed 30 minutes each way, and is OH SO CONVENIENT! Williamsburg has never been so accessible~! Though there's never been so much a reason as this place. A dive bar with the best music, cheap drinks, and a cool bartender named Tracey -- with awesome tats -- that waves to Liz and Juliet for coming back, and kisses us all goodbye. ^_~

I'm definitely going again.

Also, not-bad Mexican food at San Loco is a good way to end the night.

Okay, sleep now.

Taylor Mali (of "The The Impotence of Proofreading" and Urbana Poetry Slam! fame) has several appearances scheduled at the Bowery Poetry Club in April, but the only one I'll definitely be able to make is on Tuesday, April 22nd at 7pm.

Anyone who's interested is more than welcome to join me.

There's a bar. ^_~

Oh, you should check this one ("The Miracle Workers") out!

Haha, and this one -- exerpt, "You're all going to die, unless Taylor has sex with Susie."

As for other scheduling conflicts -- I don't have any Japanese classes for the next two weeks. YAYE! However, from April 24th to May 20th, my Japanese classes will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of Mon/Wed's. After that, class will be only one day a week, though I don't know what the schedule will be yet, so I'm hoping that they won't be on Wednesdays or Thursdays so that there won't be any further conflicts with nerd_avengers.

Ycon Report, or What I Did In SF While I Was Supposed To Be At Ycon.

I didn't get a wink of sleep on Wednesday night. My flight was Thursday at 7am, so I was up for a full 24 hours before the plane actually took off. But once I was on the plane and actually sitting down, I passed out so hard that I slept through take-off. ^^;

I had a great time driving around San Francisco! I was actually quite happy to have Judy who needed to go back and forth to her aunt's (who lives in SF), so that it gave us an excuse to drive around the city. I certainly am becoming more familiar with certain parts of the city than I was last time, that's for sure. Also, driving is a completely different experience when you've got a bunch of friends in the car and are chatting and listening to good music, etc., as opposed to driving when you're alone and tired.

We did the standard going to Japan Town on Thursday and, not surprisingly, met up with Christine, Sharon, Artemis, et al. It was nice to hang out with them. And though it was for a pretty short time, I think it was the longest I'd actually get to see and talk to them. It was a big change from last year. I think it's partially due to that this new con hotel's lobby is not really conducive to lounging and talking in relative privacy. At the Westin, the lobby was recessed and slightly away from the front desk. In that respect, the new con hotel wasn't the best. However, other aspects made this hotel very enjoyable -- the rooms are HUGE! The beds are pretty darn big too; they weren't doubles -- they were queens! We also happened to get first-floor rooms, which was really convenient. Also, the con rate for the rooms were so amazingly well-priced. Less than $100/night!

So unfortunately, I think I did even less con stuff than I usually do. Previously, I had gone to a panel or two. This year I bypassed everything and went straight to the dealers' room/art show/fan market. I did not pass go; certainly I did not collect $200. On the bright side, I spent under $30 at the con itself.

On the other hand, I spent almost $100 on dinner/club with Nicky and her boyfriend Ryan on Saturday night. But OMG, it was SO WORTH IT! The Supper Club is an awesomely entertaining place. You sit on a bed. And eat at a small table on the bed. There's a DJ and some live entertainment. Our host(ess) was a (very good-looking!) drag queen. One part of the live entertainment was a woman who did acrobatics on a rope that hung from the ceiling. It was HOT, beautiful, and impressive as hell -- she must be insanely strong! I wish I had brought my camera! I didn't actually get to stay and see Grand Master Flash because I had to leave before I got too tired to drive myself back to the hotel. >_<;

Ryan brought two bottles of red wine to share, which were delicious, and considering I usually don't like red wine, they were pretty damn good. The food was also really amazing. They serve a 5-course meal (you don't get to choose what you get, you just tell them if you have any allergies, etc.). One of the courses was a very lightly cooked salmon that was just heavenly. And I don't like salmon. Or even most fish, in general. It was really amazing. Getting to catch up with and see Nicky, and getting to enjoy the Supper Club really made this trip worthwhile.

I got a little ahead of myself -- Friday was also slow. I enjoyed window shopping on Haight Street. There's a vintage and/or Halloween store every other block! Unfortunately, Amoeba Music, which is listed on the Warp11 site as carrying their albums, did not have anything, so I went away very disappointed at not having been able to purchase their newest release. Fortunately, I remembered to ask Nicky to bring me the 3rd album (which I also didn't have), which she'd gotten signed for me when it came out two years ago. Haha. Later that night was just fun and hijinks in the room. Lots of giggling on my part. ^^;

Sunday was basically getting ready to go back home. I had to return the car by noon even though my flight wasn't until 3:40. However! I'm a smart girl and got on standby for the 1:25 flight and got a spot! Sitting in a middle seat and being slightly uncomfortable was definitely worth getting home at 10pm instead of midnight. =D

All in all, a very enjoyable trip. Some pics are here. I think some of the more incriminating ones have been left out. ^_~

BTW, Capital G is an excellent song!

And Happy Halloween, people!

I caught it on the way back to NYC from Japan. I was fine that Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I had a sore throat, but since I had a screaming match with my mom on Wednesday night, I thought hoped it might be that. But no. Friday I woke up with a fever, runny nose, coughing: the works. Went in to work for an hour and a half until Fay showed up to relieve me, then went home and mostly slept. However, Liz's semiformal was that day, so (being a nice older sister with a driver's license) I drove back into the city with her dress and accessories. And my co-worker, Karen, was nice enough to meet up with her to help her put her hair into cornrows! Oh, they're so cute! I'm going to post a pic as soon as I can get them off the camera and onto the computer.

I was feeling a smidge better, but mostly wanted to see people. Maryann came over and we spent several hours looking at most of my pics from Japan (including Angelica's, Will's and Yoshi's), and talking about things that happened in Japan, and what it was like for her in Germany with her (apparently awesome) family. I'm glad that she and her family got along so well. I can only imagine being slightly uncomfortable around any family that I might have in Indonesia. I gave her her gifts and showed her some of what I picked up. Of course, I told her about the BT concert and the dramatic chase scene afterwards. We talked and talked and talked, and it was sooo good to see her again! And I drove her back to her house at around 1am (for she had work the next day, poor girl).

I stayed out from work again on Sunday (yes, bad me), but by then I was coughing up lungs and various other innards. Which, of course, means that I missed the prom-theme once-a-month goth-dance-club meet. I feel very cheated because I was really looking forward to going to the goth prom with louiex as my date! =(

Liz and I randomly decided to watch the Smallville Season 1 DVDs Lene lent to me. And goddamn it, Lex really pulled me in. Damnitdamnitdamnit! There really is a lot of pseudo-slashy canon stuff in there! It makes the heart swell. We saw 10 episodes and decided to call it quits around 3:30am -- so as to get a bit of sleep, you understand. Because yes, I went to work today. On 3 hours of sleep and much mucus. Lots of fun.

Feeling mostly better today, but it's been a long day for me and I think I have a slight fever again. Luckily Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my days off. So I can sleep late tomorrow and hopefully recover enough to work on Thursday and Friday without blowing my nose so much that my face gets red (and yes, it did).

Saturday is Raquel's birthday party which I really want to go to! Angelica's not going, which is again, not surprising. I'd invite Lene or Maryann, but Lene's going to Nebraska on Saturday, and besides which, the club is 21+ only, so neither of them would be able to get it. I need to find a few older friends who like to go dancing. Normally in cases like this, I'd ask Raquel. But she's the birthday girl. Or Leo. But he's in Florida.

::groan::

My computer is back, which is very nice. Unfortunately, they didn't do a clone like the guy I talked to over the phone said they would, so I lost lots and lots of files (the only ones I'm really mad over, though, are the scanlations that are gone). Do you know how long it took Liz and I to download those?! Not even that, but finding them! I don't know if we'll be able to get them again -- especially the licensed stuff. It's really painful when I think about it, so this is pretty much the extent to which I will comment on it. Best to pack up and move on since there's nothing much I can do about it.

Angelica showed me a few teasers to several anime on Monday -- Beck, Meine Leibe, Gankutsurou (or something like that), and a bit of Gundam SEED Destiny. They all looked pretty interesting, and I feel like I'm getting back into watching anime again -- after quite a hiatus. It feels quite nice, I must say. I saw 4 episodes of Beck (and actually have been a bit impatient to get the rest from her, so I've been downloading a few more episodes on my own, which is only because I had some unexpected free time that I don't expect to continue). I'm waiting to get episodes of the other anime from her, but I do look forward to seeing them! I've actually been finishing watching Hikaru no Go (I'd stopped at around episode 52 or so), and it's got me all excited again! Teehee.

It seems that Warp 11's third album has not yet been released (big surprise), but it should be out this year. Hopefully soon because I'm getting pretty desperate for it. I downloaded from their message board a few "bootlegs" of some of their live shows, so at least I'll be able to hear some of their new songs if the third album takes even longer to come out than I expect it to! Also! I bought a Creative Labs Zen Micro from ebay. It's "only" 5gb, but it has FM radio, so it is perfect for me. I can't imagine filling up the 5gb with music, although I do probably have over 5gb of music on my computer (which, thankfully, were not lost in the computer crash!).

I've also been catching more episodes of Teen Titans again -- Louie re-awakened my delight with the show recently by telling me about some really cute fics she's been reading. Oh yes! On Saturday night, Louie, Maryann, Lee & Zoila, and I went to a goth/dance club on the Upper East Side. At first there weren't too many people dancing, but eventually it filled up. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite Lee's scene, and she wanted to leave, but we stayed (mostly because I kind of ignored it 'cause I had just gotten started, and I felt a bit guilty about that, but) it turned out alright in the end. We were there for about 4.5 hours, and danced for most of that time, and boy it was fun! Too bad the place only is open? meets? once a month, but at least I know that I'll probably get some of them to come back with me next month (and I won't leave some of my stuff at Lee & Zoila's place, in case they want to go home early).

I took one pic of my new haircut (before I dyed it, though), so here it is. It isn't too good a pic -- you can't quite see the cut so clearly, but you get the idea. And I'll have to take another pic of it now that it's dyed 'cause it's really cute!