The Non-Nomadic Life

To follow Digs' and Emir's lead... My cities to settle in are:

1) Rio
2) San Francisco
3) Bogota
4) Sydney
5) Istanbul

I have yet to actually travel to the last two. I just have a feeling... :) I was right when I predicted I'd fall in love with Brasil!

Sick

Illness must haves:

1. Tea with lemon and honey
2. Soup - preferably chicken noodle or matzo ball (thanks for introducing me, Carly!)
3. A decent, but not over-whelmingly annoying, amount of self-pity
4. Soft tissues
5. Halls Vitamin C lozenges
6. iPod loaded up with new, recently purchased music
7. Feather pillows and fleece blanket
8. Track pants and a hoodie
9. Nomadlife
10. Roommate to cook and clean for me

I'm going home early to seek all of the above. :) Except the roommate part. Jen is in DC and Dave is also sick. :( Must get better before my 6am flight tomorrow!

Bye-Bye Health

It was a BIG weekend. BIG. Jen's brother was in town and I feel like we finally had the weekend we'd been saving up for the last month. Here's a bit of a run-down.

Wednesday Night - Keith (Jen's brother) and his friends Dave and Alex get to town around midnight. We have a nice quiet night, and retire early.

Thursday Night - EPIC. Had a fabulous BBQ Birthday Party for Sarah and Youssef in Jim's backyard. The CO3 Crew was in town so Clarali, Patrick, and Adam were here to help us celebrate. There was salsa dancing, Jim Burgers, and a massive Cake Fight in the backyard. My hair smelled like buttercream frosting all night, even after washing it! Can't wait to see Suzanne's pictures. After the party, we headed out to Automatic Slim's for drinks and dancing. I'm proud to say that the Colorado Body Shot has now reached NYC. Definitely disappointed that Tortilla Flats closed early, but Slim's treated us well. Aaron will have to experience the Flats another day. It was a trip to see Jen and Keith side-by-side since they are absolutely identical. Both HOT. They entertained me with their childhood songs and dances at the bar. Good times. Got home at 4am after a pleasant chat with Ali G.

Friday Night - Met up with Jen and Keith at home for Thai take-out in a box. I don't understand why Aussies are so fascinated by take-out in a box. Simple pleasures, I guess! Spent the evening at The Limerick in Chelsea with Keith's friends and friend's parents. Also met up with my old LCP and very good friend, Jon, who is visiting from New Orleans on his way to Geneva. Always good to catch up. Another big night.

Saturday - Started the day with a walk through the Village, Soho, and Lower East side after buying iPod minis in Chelsea. Suprised myself by not getting everyone lost, and walked all the way to Chinatown to meet Paul, Simi, Sarah, and Brock for Dim Sum at Ping. Mmmm...dim sum. The Aussies call it Yum Cha which apparently actually translates to the act of going to eat Dim Sum. Interesting, eh? After Dim Sum we called Chris W and Kristie to wish them a happy birthday. Then we went up the Park for a bit and then headed to see The Faint and Bright Eyes perform at Webster Hall. Amazing show. Dinner at Republic (very average) and drinks and dessert at The Russian Vodka Room. (Hanna, we were thinking of you!)

Sunday - All-you-can-eat Sushi Buffet. So good. Then we said our sad goodbyes to Keith, Dave, and Alex at the train station as they departed for JFK.

Jen's brother and friends are super cool, and now I'm finding myself thinking with an Irish/Australian accent. Got a load of good stories about Jen when she was a kid which was a major goal for the weekend. Overall, an INSANE weekend of eating, drinking, and walking. But today I am paying for it. Jen, Keith, Dave, or Alex got me sick (since they were all sick as well), so now I'm simply nursing my cold while uploading music to my new iPod. Got to get better for the Sex Toy Party tomorrow!

Team Days

Guess what's back... Back again...

Many of you young Aiesec bucks may have never even heard of the term Team Days before because AIESEC US was in the financial hole for about 4 consecutive years and couldn't afford it anymore, but we're BACK! Team Days will now happen again once a month, which is the gathering of the National Team into one location to bring all of our perspectives together and discuss the different things we see going on in the organization and our specific roles. Pretty cool, huh? More than anything, it feels so rewarding to know that we're finally financially stable enough to do this. No more redeployment!!!! Yipeeeee!!!

To pierce, or not to pierce...

So I want to get my nose-pierced, but I got into a pretty in-depth discussion with my friend, Phill, the other day about whether or not I'm destroying my body by doing so. By the time the argument was over, all of the piercing places in the Village were closed. I'm not one to care what other people think when it comes to that kind of thing, but I am a little afraid of whether my allergies will be a problem with a nose-piercing. Any advice from seasoned nose-piercers out there?

Dream Hostel

So when I was in Rio with Gabi and Niki, Gabi took us to this great hostel that I fell in LOVE with. It's truly amazing, and now it's one of my goals to own this particular or an equally cool hostel one day. It's called Mellow Yellow Hostel. You should definitely check out the website. The place has a hot tub, BBQ, open air bar on the top floor, chill room with hammocks and bean bag chairs, internet cafe, etc. And it's in Copacabana!!! If you're ever in Rio, you should definitely stay there. How cool would it be to live and work at a place where travelers are coming and going all the time? It'd be like one HUGE Aiesec party! So cool!

Brasil is definitely feeling like my next destination, but I don't know how soon... Everything is so up in the air right now with everyone's roles on the Team. It's weird not knowing much longer I'll be involved in AIESEC US. It could be another year or two... Or it could only be a few months. The uncertainty is both frustrating and exciting. But one thing is for certain... I need to start getting serious about learning Spanish and Portuguese!

Went to all-you-can-eat sushi today for lunch. I don't think I need to eat again for another WEEK! This is why we Americans are so damn fat! All-you-can-eat buffets. They're deadly! Especially to poor non-profiteers. We have to take advantage of buffets and open bars when we come across them. If I use that philosophy, then I also have an excuse for alcoholism! :) I'm just too good at finding open bar happy hours!

Next week is Team Days and CO3 Meetings. Very excited for everyone to be in town! Missy has claim to our couch again. Woohoo! And Jen's (hot) brother will be in town. Also good news!

It will be a good week!

A Summer of Visitors!

Check this out. In the next two months I have the following people visiting:

This weekend - My best girl, Kim, and her fiancee are coming out from D.C.
Sunday - Wednesday - Alessandro and Anis (my MasterCard trainees) are coming from St. Louis!
Wednesday - next Sunday - Jen's brother is coming from Ireland
Memorial Day weekend - I'll be in Colorado, so no visitors!
June 2nd - 6th - Riadh and Simone - MasterCard trainees from St. Louis
And I have two other people scoping out plane tickets to come visit as well!

I'm feeling very loved! But I think Dave (the 3rd roommate) will kill us soon! It's getting out of control! It's funny, I thought I'd be the one doing the traveling this summer!

UN Trip

Thank you, Asha, for recommending the World Press Photo exhibit in the UN. Jen and I went this weekend. It was amazing. Very thought-provoking especially when you compare all of the things that happened in the world in the past year to the memory that the US media leaves imprinted in an American's mind. It made me realize even more how US-focused the media is here when faced with the images of the world. Anyway, it was actually my first trip to the UN. We didn't do the guided tour, but did see the exhibit on the effects of the Atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ripped my heart out.

As many of you know, my Dad's side of the family has been in the US for generations. My dad is actually 3rd generation Japanese. Despite this, hearing stuff about Hiroshima and Nagasaki always strikes a very personal chord with me. Maybe it's because I read a lot of books about it as a kid, or maybe it's because I had a chance to visit Hiroshima when I was 17. Maybe it's my own guilt for not asking my grandma more questions on the topic before she passed away, or maybe it's just because I'm human. But I always get really emotional when reading/seeing stuff about the bombing and internment camps.

Going home!

Memorial Day Weekend...I'm going HOME!

Hapa sushi will be mine once again!

Can't wait to give Mom her Mother's Day gift in person (I'm bad with shipping...I actually have to FLY home to give it to her), and Dad his birthday gift! Crap, which means I have to find one for him. I'm bad at buying my dad gifts. He never wants anything.

Very excited to see old friends...you know who you are! :) Netto and Jill reunite! Phill, I'm sure we have an argument lined up for us. Yuri, hope you'll make it down from the mountains to hang out!

There's something about just finishing a good book. A few days pass and the taste of it still lingers on your lips... It's like ending a relationship (one of those mildly destructive, yet torrid ones), when no other man can measure up to the last. I'm afraid of picking up another book that won't compare. It's both sad and satisfying.