I'm really sorry, but It just didn't take...

© Joselito Briones

I don't know, I kept an open mind, ignored the weather and all, even ignored the guerilla behavior of Oxford street pedestrians, but somehow this city just hasn't endeared itself to me as New York did, or San Francisco, or even Hong Kong.

Maybe it's just time. Maybe I just haven't spent enough time here. Maybe loving it is something that slowsly grows in someone. I didn't have enough time to find a favorite cafe to spend sometime in on a lazy afternoon, not enough time to be in familiar terms with the fishmonger I've been to a few times, not enough time to see if my dry cleaner is consistent with its service. I also didn't have time to find where the best buys are, save the Paul Smith discount shop off New Bond street where the suit, pictured left, was purchased (excuse the Stephan Schneider messenger bag, nice as it is, I haven't got myself a man-purse yet).

© Joselito Briones

Above is mostly the thought response to what Wil said to me about how he loves the city even tho it hasn't exactly been kind to the renovation of his apartment. I had lunch with him in a Chinese restaurant in Queensway after we met up with this apartment building's appointed structural surveyor for his recommendations. As there's been so much delay, he decided to move in temporarily while waiting for the start of the project so as not to waste money paying for temporary accomodation. He had his bed delivered from his storage space, and some boxes containing basic stuff. I brought him some kitchen items. Eating off paper plates with plastic cutleries and drinking off plastic cups is just so wrong. How anyone can enjoy wine with the taste of plastic is something I'll never understand. I brought his curtains back with me for washing, he hasn't got a washing machine yet.

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Photo Finish

© Joselito Briones

I could've spent my last day in New York just relaxing and waiting for the time for me to go to the airport. Instead, I spent it literally running around in Manhattan with Eric, who decided to do a hooky today (I'm sure if he had known how today would turn out, he'd have gone to work instead).

I had two last things to take care of before leaving, to go to the bank to inquire about an erratic letter that I got from them, and to go to a notary public to get some documents sealed and faxed. An optional thing I was going to do was to take photos of 1 Astor Place, a project I worked on while working for Ismael Leyva Architects.

A friend, who shall remain anonymous due to his refusal to make public the fact that he's indulging my materialistic side, gave me a digital camera (WOO HOO!) last night for my forthcoming birthday, so I thought, what better way to break it in than to do the optional photo-taking in Astor Place. The memory card that came with the camera was too small though, so I decided to get a bigger one at J&R today. Before we left, I received an email from Mati with a couple of purchase requests for kids in Germany: a pair of trainers and a Knicks cap, with instructions as to where to get them. So a to-do list of 2 items within 2 blocks of where Eric lives became a 6-stop task all over the place. And we had a maximum of 2.5 hours to do everything.

First stop. The bank. Fast walk. Non-conclusive. I was advised to check the internet for answer. 10 minutes

Second stop. Fast walk. Notary public. Everything went fine. 15 minutes

Third stop. J&R. It took 40 minutes just to get there by subway, running to and from the station. Ended up buying a leather case and extra battery for the camera in addition to the memory card. 55 minutes

Fourth stop. Astor Place (Cooper Square). Subway. Missed the stop and ended up in Union Square because I was too busy installing the new card in the camera. Had to take another train back one stop. Running at this point. Click. Click. One photo above. 25 minutes

Fifth stop. Urban wear/shoe store in 34th Street, as specified in the email. Took the subway again. They don't have the shoes, nor the Knicks cap. The sales clerk looked at the photo of the trainers (I printed Mati's email) and looked at me incredulous, as if to say, "Why the hell would we sell such shoes?!?!?". I tried to defend myself by saying that the shoes are not for me, but he wouldn 't hear any of it. He spoke politely though and said they don't carry this brand. 15 minutes

Last stop. NBA store, 5th Avenue. Took the subway. Ran 3 blocks. Ran into Dermot Mulroney. Stared for about 5 seconds, but only because he was staring back, as if to say, "Well, either say you recognize me so just go ahead and ask for my autograph already, otherwise go on along and don't look at me all disappointed because I'm not shaven and my hair is not fixed and you can see all my gray hair and gray beard stubble". I did the latter. I looked back and saw him cover his head with a beanie. Store didn't have the shoes either, nor the Knicks cap. They had lots of Knicks cap, but not the one in the picture. "Must be exclusively an online product from our store", clerk said. 20 minutes

Grabbed a couple of sandwiches and drinks on the way to the subway to go back to Eric's. We were both running and panting and sweaty at this point. Subway took some time. When we got off the train we ate the sandwiches (either they were really good or we were really really hungry) while running to get back to his apartment. 25 minutes

Okay, so we weren't able to do everything in the alloted time, but I think it was still good. I had to hurry collecting all my stuff so I won't be late getting to the airport. I was in such a rush that I wasn't even able to thank Eric properly, or say goodbye properly. I expected him to just give up at this point and be glad to get rid of me, but, good friend that he is, he walked me to the train station.


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Farewell, Hell's Kitchen

© Joselito Briones

I spent most of the morning doing all the tedious things I'd really rather not do, but had to. Phoned a lot of people, and companies. Arranged for roll over of 401(k), cancelled fax account, photocopied documents, mailed Norie's pins, mailed documents for the rollover, mailed application for renewal of license, bought train tickets to South Norwalk, took train schedule booklets from Grand Central.

After all these, I walked around my old neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen and took pictures: the restaurants I frequented, the ones I frequently called to have food delivered to me, the cafe' I used to go to for breakfast on weekends, the heavenly cupcakes, the fish market, the video store, the grocery. I'd show you all the photos, but there's so much there's no space here, so let me just show you this one, from Cupcake Cafe.


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It's the (good) witch's birthday today

© Joselito Briones

72 years ago today, a girl with magical powers was born. Her parents christened her Lea. She grew up to be the prettiest (and coolest) girl in the land. She fell in love with a fervent admirer. They got married and brought into this world eight loving kids.

Had the first seven kids not known that Lea loved them all just as much, they would have been jealous of the youngest, a boy, as Lea seemed to have shown him so much love and attention. This was not lost in the youngest, who grew up very close to her.

He remembers all the times she performed magic, like those times when he was ill and all she had to do was give him the gentlest kiss on the forehead and everything was suddenly alright. He also remembers the time she made him realize that he was totally capable of doing something selfless. And how could he possibly forget the earliest childhood recollection he had (at age 3!), a moment of clarity, when she explained to him the meaning of being considerate and kind, and he completely understood?

For this child, she remains, the prettiest (and coolest) person in the world.


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P.S.
She now lives in California, but she's presently in Carmona to celebrate her birthday. I spoke with her on the phone and she said she's having her bingo pals over, and Toto is roasting a pig for her party. She sends her regards.


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Cowgirls' night out tonight

© Joselito Briones

Jane and I went out tonight. She picked me up from Eric's. First stop was Cowgirl. We found a parking space close enough. As i already had dinner, I just ordered dessert. Brownie a la mode. Warmed up. Very good. And latte. Jane had chicken quesadilla and strawberry flavored frozen martini. Their nachos and beans dip was really good too, considering it's a free starter.

After dinner, we grabbed a couple of magazines and sat on a sidewalk bench nearby to see where we can go. While browsing through them on a bench on the street, Natalie Portman passed by, with two gay boys and a girl in tow. I guess now that she has a movie out, she has to keep a high profile. Her hair is now longer than in her movie "V" and she wore a headband. Btw, why are people giving so much hoopla over her allegedly naked photos in Vanity Fair Magazine, when she's not really showing anything?



We decided to go to Henrietta Hudson's. Only, they wouldn't let us in, because they said they only allow a guy in if he's accompanied by at least 2 girls. WTF??? Jane and I decided to go somewhere else, only we couldn't decide where, and it was possible most of the other bars she wants to go to will have the same door policy. We decided to split up. I left her at Ruby Fruit's, and I walked around.

I just walked around West Village and Greenwich Village. When I got tired of it I walked around the Meat Packing District. Great night to go strolling. The area is full of clubs with long lines of impossibly beautiful people outside waiting to get in. After an hour I went back to Ruby Fruit's. Turns out they don't have the same door policy, they even let me in without the cover charge. The place is nice and cosy, the crowd was very mixed. Had a beer there. After a while we decided to go somewhere else, so we drove a little and ended up at Cubby Hole. The crowd here was more mixed. More relaxed. Another beer.

After this, Jane suggested we go to Grand Central to get the info on trains going to Connecticut. The place was closed. This was 3:45am. Then she suggested we get some hot noodle soup at Republic, in Union Square. It was already closed when we got there. We went to Chinatown instead. Where else but Hop Kee's. We had chicken and wonton soup, deep friend won ton, and steamed dumplings. They're all basically the same. The place was yet again full of Filipinos. The crowd this early in the morning was young though. It was already 4:30am when we left.

It was already 5am when Jane dropped me in front of Eric's building.


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I guess all the waiting is over.

© Joselito Briones

I had to book a hotel in Garden City last night, as I had to be there at 7am, and the earliest LIRR train that goes there before that time leaves Jamaica at 5am. It meant I'd have had to take the subway at 4am, which meant I'd have had to wake up 3am the latest. So no go.

It's a crappy hotel, "Wingate Inn" and the receptionist was rude. She was talking to me, telling me what I should know about staying in the hotel, but all the time looking at and working on her computer. I called her to it and she apologized, but she obviously didn't mean it. I checked in at about 3pm. I didn't feel like going out so I just ordered in and just waited until it was late enough to go to bed. Watched the finale of "Project Runway".

Today, I woke up before 6am, showered, had breakfast downstairs, went up again to get my things, then checked out after arranging for shuttle service to the train station. There was already a line formed outside the USNIS building when I got there. I waited for a bit, but the exam itself was very easy and went quite fast. There was a bit of chit chat which I'm not sure if part of the exam, but after that the examiner told me that I passed and that I'll have to attend the oath taking ceremony on Saturday. But first I had to wait for the appointment. I waited 3 hours.

I went back to the hotel to get the shuttle service. When I got to the train station I missed the train, so I had to wait for about an hour.

Tonight Eric and I went to Union Square, then the east village. While walking around we saw a film crew shooting a scene for the TV show "Rescue Me" with Denis Leary. He looked a lot shorter in real life. The scene had one guy being kicked out of a restaurant, then a lot of running, the same guy followed by a group, a lot of shouting, and all. There was a long pause between takes, and we didn't want to wait too much, so we left after two tries.

We had dinner at "Sapporo East" restaurant. Didn't have to wait long. Food was good. Enjoyed "uni" (sea urchin sushi) the most.

The photo on the left is a billboard in Times Square advertising Bill Paxton´s new show "Big Love", capitalizing on his allegedly enormous thingy (fingers).


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Chicas! Chicas?

© Joselito Briones

What drives a person to become a pimp?

Last time I was in this neighborhood, while walking along Roosevelt Avenue in the shadows of the overhead MTA rails, someone, invariably Latino, who seemed to just stand around doing nothing, suddenly shifts in his stand and says, partly to himself, partly to the air, and partly enough to a passer-by to know that he's being addressed, "Social! Social?"

It has since been explained to me by Eric that they're offering fake social security cards, presumably to illegal immigrants. Last time I was here, a big fake social security card gang was busted, their headquarter turned out to be a chinese restaurant along Roosevelt Avenue, 80's Street crossing.

This time around, for a split second, when the usual street stander-by flinched when I passed by, I thought, the bust was completely useless. They're back. Then a surprise. instead of offering social security cards, they now offer, "Chicas!, Chicas?"

In Manhattan, it's big business I guess. If you're desirable, there's plenty of people who has plenty enough money to give you want you want. I highly doubt if for the big city prostitue, it's a matter of survival. But here... I suspect it's a completely different dynamic. This is on the same street where, just a few blocks away, on a bridge, immigrants stand by offering themselves to day-to-day manual labor. A vehicle parks, the driver, say, needs someone to shovel the snow from his front yard, and engages one of the immigrants on the bridge. The chicas-offering pimps don't even cater to this drive-by customers, but to pedestrian passers-by. How much could the chicas possibly earn from this? How much could these pimps get from this?

Or maybe it is the same... It's all a matter of survival. Maybe it's just a different kind. For a moment I tried to picture a woman in a small dark room waiting for her pimp bringing in a customer. The image I had in my mind was just too ugly that I just walked along as fast as I could.


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Hello, gorgeous!

© Joselito Briones

I woke up late today. I decided I'll take it easy and not try to do a lot of things today. Raided Eric's fridge for some breakfast. Checked email. Walked to Rene's, a Filipino restaurant, for lunch. I had rice porridge with chicken and fried tofu side.

I thought it only natural that I should visit Times Square first, so I did. I took the 7 train and got off at Bryant park (pictured, above), where I often had my lunch when I worked nearby. Walked around there a bit. Gap still selling white shirts and blue jeans. Went to Duane Reade in Broadway to get toiletries that I didn't bring with me. I also went to Virgin Megastore. Right at the entrance, they were selling the very same t-shirts that I found at Liberty's of London for £40 and I bought from Barney's last year for $25 a pop - they're on sale for $11!!! I bought a few.

Later on Eric joined me in Virgin's. As I've bought everything I wanted to buy there, we decided to walk around. First stop was Sak's. There were a couple of jackets from D&G which were really really good. They're new items tho, so, full retail price. Big no-no. After scanning all the new arrivals at Sak's and checking if they have a sale on Incotex pants (they didn't), we went to Barney's. The only thing that appeared to me as a must-have was a white silk embroidered scarf by Dries Van Noten. Gorgeous.


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I'm back!!!

© Joselito Briones

Plane landed at 4pm in JFK. Other than minor turbulances and the shocked reaction from the girl sitted beside me when she saw me put my vanilla ice cream dessert in my coffee, the flight was pretty much uneventful. I even snuck in a few much-needed naps. Are you happy to see me?

The ever reliable Jane picked me up from the airport. In the car, she updated me on what she's been up to. She's really strong. She had more a resigned exasperation than anger or mad confusion, which is how what she's been through lately would've affected me. Or maybe she's just relieved that everything is over.

On the way to Jane's, we went to a Thai restaurant that she suggested. I guess she's now converted by deep-fried soft-shell crabs which before today she'd never touch no matter how much I tell her that they're yummy. And now that's the first thing she suggested we order. Either she really likes it now or she just likes this restaurant because of the good looking staff.

There was a moment in the restaurant when I was a bit disoriented as to where I was. Was I in Manila? the clothes of the people, and the people themselves, don't seem to fit in. Was I in New York? I looked outside and it didn't help much. Of course I was in Queens. Where else could I be. Maybe for a just a moment, when in my mind "I was home" because that's why I was flying today, that I was either expecting my neighborhood in Hell's Kitchen, or any of the places I know in the Philippines. And pretty soon I'll have a new home. New confusion.

Eric joined us in the restaurant. I'm extremely fortunate to have such good friends as Eric and Jane. We decided we were gonna watch Oscar's at Jane after dinner, then to Eric's, where I'll be staying.

I hope the weather lets up. I don't want my most recent experiences of New York to be cold and gloomy.


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