swimming, and more

i've started swimming twice a week. the pool is on the penthouse floor of the parker meridien, with views of central park. when i'm done swimming, i climb up to the roof and gaze over central park, or watch the sun set over the hudson river. but i'm too curious to really relax. i can't help checking out the fabulous parties on the rooftop terraces of central park south and peering into offices and imagining conversations between smart suits no.1 and 2.


with all the specks of life to observe, i spend way more time on the deck than i do in the water. but the real reason i've started swimming is to get back in shape -although i haven't really been in shape since i was 16 so i should really say to get in shape.

either way, it doesn't help that one of new york's best hamburger shops is on the ground floor. it's so hard to walk past that rather david lynchesque sign without being drawn in.

aimee mann and joseph o'neill

one of the best books i've read in the past few months is Netherland by Joseph O'Neill. and on my ipod, my latest "frequently repeated" item is Aimee Mann's new album, @#&%! Smilers. so when i heard the author and the singer-songwriter were doing a joint reading-and-concert, i called immediately to save a spot. how often do you get to meet two of your favorite artists/writers in the same room, even in new york?

joseph o'neill's book is about post-9/11 new york, and the subculture of cricket in the outer boroughs. he had some interesting things to say, referring to america's total lack of interest in cricket as a kind of metaphor for how little empathy it demonstrates on a different level.

aimee mann was witty and articulate and made for a good pairing. it's funny how she's always singing about quite sober, sad subjects, but is actually quite happy and well-adjusted in real life. she said people constantly ask her why she doesn't sing happier songs.
"as if any good songs are ever happy," she joked.

she's been calling for covers for her song, freeway, in a youtube contest. this compilation is @#&%! hilarious:

i love the grooving bee...

los angeles

i'd sometimes wondered if my memories of childhood and los angeles were a bit romanticized. swimming pools, ladybugs, palm trees and bougainvillea, big wide streets and bright sunny days... but a trip this past weekend proved i really did grow up in a bit of a magical place.

the city has such a different feel to new york. or anywhere else for that matter. i always thought that car dependency was a major downside to living in los angeles, but maybe it's not so bad if you can drive through palm trees instead of dodging bicycles and jay-walking new yorkers?

the highlight was meeting up with my friend jen from elementary school. she hadn't changed much, despite the 20 years and having two children. pam, another classmate who lived a block away, joined us and we all reminisced about our old school teachers and wondered what happened to the mean girls who ruled over the playground with their scary glances and shrugs of disapproval... ahh, so maybe growing up wasn't that easy. but they were still amazingly good times.

the flying sheesergirl

i thought they said TRAMPOLINE, not TRAPEZE!
now, this is what i get for hanging out with incredibly athletic and adventurous women...
all sorts of thoughts and regrets flashed through my mind as i climbed up the ladder and onto the trapeze jumping board, from where i could see --knees shaking, palms sweating-- the hudson river and downtown manhattan. but before i knew it, the instructor was yelling "ready, hup!" and off i was, hurtling into the sky!


now i wasn't as graceful as my friend here, but it was definitely an amazing, exhilarating experience. i've always been scared of heights (and grew up being told that if something scares you, avoid it!) so i wanted to turn and run when i realized what i was getting myself into. but i'm glad i caved into peer pressure and gave it a try.

the trapeze school of new york is on the roof of the pier 40 building on the westside highway, near houston street. one of our instructors was wearing a t-shirt saying "forget fear, worry about the addiction" -now, that is certainly not a worry for me, but i could see how some people get hooked on the adrenaline rush. my heart was pounding for hours. and the strangest thing was that afterwards, we all went to lupa for dinner and i felt like my taste buds were super sensitized. every sip of the Südtirol Weissburgunder and each bite of my duck ragu pappardelle tasted magnificent. thankful to be alive.

dumont burger

... in williamsburg, brooklyn, does a perfect medium-rare.

it's also the sort of place where you could see someone with a burger in one hand and the paris review in the other. annoyingly pretentious? well... that's actually me! seriously, i bought the latest issue at spoonbill & sugartown booksellers on bedford ave the other day. it had an interesting interview with the novelist kazuo ishiguro. i was totally intrigued by the story of a radio play he once sent to the bbc:

"It was about two young people who work in a fish-and-chips cafe. They are both severely cross-eyed, and they fall in love with each other, but they never acknowlege the fact that they're cross-eyed. It's the unspoken thing between them. At the end of the story they decide not to marry, after the narrator has a strange dream where he sees a family coming toward him on the seaside pier. The parents are cross-eyed, the children are cross-eyed, the dog is cross-eyed, and he says, All right, we're not going to marry."

i had a strange emotional reaction to this. i was delighted to find this emphasis on the unspoken, perhaps a seed of his later masterpiece, The Remains of the Day. on the other hand, i was totally disturbed by that ending, probably because i've always been a bit bothered by the idea that decisions about life and partnerships are determined biologically. i know, a bit much to be brooding about over hamburgers and fries.

remixes

i'm a big fan of cover songs and remixes. i feel sorry for people who get worked up about how the original is so much better. lighten up! here are two remixes that i found recently and really liked:

holy fuck's version of radiohead's nude, part of an online remix contest.

and akira the don adds some magic to chilly gonzales' working together. if this doesn't make you dance, or at least toe tap, i give up!

oops!

a few years ago my sister found a 1997 chateau musar in a corner of an astoria wine shop, collecting dust among cheap greek and bulgarian wines. quite pleased at finding this lebanese gem, which was priced way below market, she bought one right away. but because she had too much luggage, she left it in my apartment when she flew back to washington, making me promise to save it for her. soon afterwards, she became pregnant.


so i'd been saving this bottle for when she finishes breast-feeding, which should be in a few months' time. well, i should say i was, until the other night. not to self: don't try picking out wine in the dark, especially between taking off contact lenses and putting on glasses.

when i realized my mistake my immediate thought was, "well, with those hot summers it's probably gone bad..." i must regretfully inform my sister, it had not: beautiful aroma of berries and tobacco, slightly sour but in a mellow, natural sort of way, like fresh cherries. i had imagined something quite exotic and spicy but it's more of an old world beauty. ****four stars

i went back to the old wine store this morning. a new generation is now in control of management, making the place more organized. they've even installed an online tracking+ordering system. prices are generally a bit lower than in manhattan, but now you never find a totally random, over- or under-priced bottle. so the chateau musar red now costs around $45, same as elsewhere and nearly double what the old man thought it was worth. perhaps the unrest of the past few years added to the cost. a very knowledgeable salesman tried to console me, saying the 1999 vintage is "even better" than the 1997. i'm tempted to see for myself, but maybe i should keep this one in the deepest corner of my cupboard.

young talent

i'm looking forward to seeing lykke li play live in new york next week. so young... i really hope she doesn't turn out to be a one-hit wonder.


i've recently realized that most emerging bands and artists are much younger than i am. i remember being really surprised when i heard how young Beirut was, but lately everyone seems to be in their early-20s. of course it doesn't really bother me, but sometimes it does feel a bit strange, especially when i like them.

speaking of young artists, i can't help feeling a bit protective of vampire weekend, who are very cute. i want to tell them, "now now, boys, you should know that oxford commas are not entirely superfluous..."

spring, and in the mood for dreamy...

i've always had a weakness for lace and pastels. perhaps it's a reaction to having been forced to wear boyish clothes as a child. i remember looking longingly at the more girly outfits in the store while my mother steered me over to the children's jumpsuits and overalls corner. she once sewed my sister a gorgeous, pink grosgrain and lace dress for a piano recital, and i was so full of envy and longing that i felt a bit dizzy.

which is like the feeling i got when i saw this vintage lace dress in dulcinee on stanton st. in the lower east side.

of course, "compensating for childhood trauma" is just one excuse for my latest frivolous purchase. i admit i was also influenced by the suddenly warmer weather, and the cherry blossoms i saw earlier in the day at the brooklyn botanical garden. it looks like i caught the very tail end of the peak, so i'm glad i went this weekend. it was pure, pink loveliness, and made me a bit homesick. no one loves cherry blossoms like the japanese, who've made a culture out of appreciating the fragile and ephemeral.

catching up with friends

... over a drink is nice, but i quite enjoy the simple combination of friends+good food.

such as an early, friday morning breakfast at balthazar with a friend who's just finished her night shift (and deserves much better than a muffin and coffee). i ordered eggs normandy--poached eggs with smoked salmon on toast, covered with hollandaise. much better than it looks, believe me.

and a late saturday afternoon bite at cha-an with karen, who's planning to join me on my india trip. i love cha-an's desserts but their lunches are nice too... perfect when you're a tiny bit hungry and want something that isn't too heavy.

after cha-an, we went to see won kar-wai's latest, my blueberry nights. for those who've seen the movie, all i have to say is this:
i crossed the street a long time ago, but where is jude law?

caffe falai

hazelnut millefoglio and tarte au citron at caffe falai on lafayette street, soho.

falai on weekends can be a bit highly strung, too busy and frenetic for my taste.

but it was a perfect oasis on a monday afternoon, a treat after a few hours of window shopping in nolita with my friend hiroka. the shiny white tiles and chandeliers channel modern italian aesthetics and the feel of tokyo circa 1995. most importantly, the cakes taste as good as they look.

a friday night

a morgan pinot noir -santa lucia highlands twelve clones 2005.

fragrant and ripe, but not too jammy.
a pleasant but substantial wine, not to be taken lightly --basically, the kind of lady i'd like to be some day.
*** stars

(around $30 from the 9th avenue vintner in hell's kitchen.)

julian barnes, and feeling like a rolling stone

i've been re-reading julian barnes lately. 'arthur & george' and 'staring at the sun' have long been favorites but i've really enjoyed a second reading of 'talking it over' and 'love, etc.' they're both wry and humorous, but also somewhat painful, observations of relationships and adulthood. the first time i read the series, i disliked all three main characters. but now i find them likeable. even loveable. it's the insecurities and needs that make us human, right? and that realization on my part, i guess, comes from... age.

here's something else i was touched by recently that made me wonder if i was going through a mid-life crisis of sorts.

(cornelius+koichiro tsujikawa)

oh, and did i tell you i'm going to india?

williamsburg... and in trouble with the po po

after a few trips to astoria park, i decided to take my bike on a slightly more challenging trip, so i rode to williamsburg. the route, through queens plaza, the pulasky bridge and greenpoint, was surprisingly smooth and traffic-free. after a little rest at El-Beit, a new coffee shop serving proper french press coffee, i browsed a few boutiques and book stores, then headed home.

the problem started after i took a few random detours to make my trip a bit more exciting, and got lost. just as i got onto the sidewalk to park my bike and open up my map, i spotted a police officer, so i approached him, only to be told i was violating traffic laws by riding on the sidewalk. i wasn't actually on my bike, i said, but it wasn't any use arguing... so i have a pink slip demanding my appearance in court! i'm planning to plead not guilty. we'll see how that goes.

obviously, my trip back was slightly less fun. but i did get a nice view of the sun setting... this is a view from the pulasky bridge which connects greenpoint with long island city.

why i want to travel

it might be the cold weather, or the crazy hours i've been putting in at the office this past week, but i'm dying to travel. you'd think that in a cosmopolitan city like new york one would feel less of an urge to venture out, but that's not been the case for me. i do have business trips to washington d.c., las vegas, san francisco, and possibly san antonio lined up for the next few months,
but i want to go some place new, somewhere totally different to anywhere i've ever been...

i'm thinking india or iceland. i know that sounds a bit extreme... i have a few friends living in bombay and new delhi, and i'd love to visit them. and i've heard rajasthan is gorgeous. iceland, because of the amazing scenery i've heard so much about (and seen in photographs). i'm intrigued by the mix of volcanoes and ice. but what makes me want to travel so much anyway?

the other day i stumbled upon a blog written by dave greenwood, who was on stephen merchant's radio show last year during his walk from land's end to john o'groats:


"What do you do when you realise that you’re not the person you imagined you would become? We can be so immersed in the daily struggle to maintain and improve our lives that it’s possible to lose sight of who we wanted to be, until we look up one day and realise that years have passed and the chance may be gone. And the comfort and ease that we may have created for ourselves through the years of hard work compels us to accept our fate, rather than risk losing everything by stepping away from it all."

my new partner

my new dahon folding bike from bike stop, a great cycling shop in astoria.

isn't he a beauty?

a week in tokyo

my parents lived overseas for years, and didn't visit home for the first five. my grandparents came to see us several times, but other than that, my family didn't have much contact with japan. the main reason was probably cost, but they also had a strong sense of immersing themselves wherever they went, embracing life in a new country rather than dwelling on things they're missing.

while i admire that attitude, travel is so much easier these days, and i've discovered that going back to japan helps me stay emotionally healthy. there's something reassuring in knowing that i can see my parents whenever i want, and that a perfect bowl of soba is just a flight away, albeit a very long one.

that and 6 weeks of a graveyard shift are my excuses for going home to tokyo so soon after my september visit.

my parents like to spend weekends out of the city, and they took me to hatsushima, a tiny island off atami.
i wasn't really expecting much, but there were some amazing sights. the beaches were lined with japanese pine trees, and i enjoyed some early cherry blossom viewing. and we were blessed with gorgeous weather, as you can see.

and as usual, it was great to go out with friends. i even got to catch up with a classmate i hadn't seen in nearly 20 years! and how lucky am i that it was the perfect season for oden?
hanpen and other stewed goodies at konakara:

february finds...

1) not a find, exactly, but i'm into stephen merchant's radio show on BBC6.

i've been downloading the shows off beebs' website, listening to them on the way to work and before bed. it's been ages since i listened regularly to a radio show and now i'm really enjoying this medium. for a while i used the online services that tell you, based on what music you already listen to, what other artists you might like. but i got bored after a while. there's something more comforting and even occasionally inspiring in random music selections than a track list prescribed by a computer.

and to be honest, i really, really like stephen merchant. i confess i've always had a weakness for the lanky, dorky type. of course nothing beats the ricky gervais-stephen merchant-karl pilkington team for laughs, but the "smerch" is pretty funny on his own, too. and he has great taste in music.

2) ola podrida
i saw them live at union hall in park slope, brooklyn, last night. i think they've got some beautiful guitar sounds... their songs might lack a bit in variety, but i enjoyed the whole show. click on the arrow in the lower left corner to play the slightly creepy music video.


Ola Podrida - Eastbound (HD version) from David Lowery on Vimeo.

blonde redhead, and infused vodka

i went to see the blonde redhead show the other night. my friend sinead, who had seen them in concert about 3 times already, told me they're great live performers, and she was right. the vocalist and guitarist have an amazingly erotic chemistry. at the show, i bumped into a friend of a friend who had also seen them live before, and i was jealous. why hadn't i found them sooner?



afterwards, a bunch of us went to the russian vodka room. i ordered some pomegranate-infused vodka, and had a sip of someone else's horseradish vodka as well. the pomegranate flavor was subtle and smooth, and i really liked it. the horseradish... well, it's the sort of drink i might enjoy on The Long Walk?

obika is coming!

my discovery of the day, from another early-morning wander:
the italian mozzarella bar obika is finally opening in manhattan! it's not my favorite place in italy but i hope this will popularize the real stuff.
here's a picture of a platter some friends and i ordered at its milan outpost. if i can't return to italy this summer, at least i'll have some nice mozzarella di bufala and burrata. now if only someone could persuade anacleto bleve to open a bar in new york.