Empire State of Mind (New York Part 4)

Click on any image to take you to the Flickr page to see it bigger. Also, you might want to check out my tutorial on Curves for Photoshop. My most favorite tool ever.
I must confess, I don't really like Alicia Keys. I think "No One" from As I Am is her only song that has artistic merit and originality BUT that doesn't mean I don't kind of like one or two songs from each album for pop value. Empire State of Mind doesn't pick up until the bridge but there's a certain sense of hopefulness amidst the crazy/glamorous life of a New Yorker in the lyrics that I like. The sacrifices you have to make for the American Dream and all that. Above is a snap from what I believe is Union Station (14th Street) of a swing band complete with dancing couple. The couple was fun to watch but all of a sudden the saxophonist started losing it and I just had to take a pic!

For obvious reasons while I was in New York, I was obsessing about cheap eats and I'd heard about Hummus Place and since I'd never eaten hummus before (GASP!), I thought it would be a good place to start.

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Autumn in New York (New York Part 3)

Before anything else, if you're learning or want to brush up on Photoshop or Elements, I've put up my next "lesson" on Histograms, an important foundation to adjusting brightness and contrast.
When I went to New York last November, I only had a few days before I had to go to San Francisco (but very happily, I might add), so I soaked up every little bit of it I could. Thankfully, when I returned for the second wave of interviews last January, I was able to see a little bit more and now that I've clinched a residency position there, going over my pics makes me super-excited about returning! Above is, of course, Central Park. Nothing like an Asian man in a business suit snapping away at ducks in the early afternoon that screams, "TOURIST!!!"

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Perfect Strangers (Chicago Part 2)

As usual, if you want to look at the pictures and menus in finer detail, click on them to take you to the Flickr page, where the "All Sizes" button will show you larger versions.
Annoyingly, when I tried to book a hotel in Chicago for this year's interviews, this time in late November instead of late January, hotel rates were evened out at about $350 a night - about a 200% increase over last year's rates. Thank goodness for Kayak which suggested an extended-stay apartment for much less. However, I still only stayed for 3 nights, and because of wild goose chases (I'm looking at you, Red Hen Bakery, now an abandoned warehouse in the middle of nowhere) and some repetition of visited spots, it still felt like I saw much less. Oh well.

But, I still felt like I hit a jackpot here. I've been at a toss-up of best cheapest lunch between San Francisco's Shalimar and...

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Sweet November (San Francisco Part 6)

Now it just seems like my posts about San Francisco will just never end, doesn't it? To be honest I hope they don't, but of course I have a finite number of pictures from when I went last November to January. Basically what I'm doing is giving you a ton of reasons why you should go too - at least once (more) in your life. By the way, Sweet November was kind of a funny casting decision. Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron together again! To rekindle their scorching chemistry from... The Devil's Advocate. Yikes! Anyway. Above is a picture of my cousin Kyle being taught by Mr. (Sensei?) Valero at Hapkido class. I'll tell you more of my babysitting adventures another time.

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30 Days and 30 Nights (San Francisco Part 5)

Hi everyone, I know I made an appeal to your generosity not long ago for my own country, but if you have something to give for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti, please visit this page to find immediate ways to help, and visit these blogs who are helping too. Thanks so much.
I know, I know. I skip out for a week and a half and come back with a travel post!!! I just spent so much time filtering through hundreds of pictures from San Francisco and editing a fraction of that and still managed to end up with material for maybe three posts, so I thought I'd get a head start on writing about that before I forget. But how can I forget about San Francisco? It's not just about the sun and the culture, but also one of the places I consider home. I called this post 30 days and 30 nights because that's exactly how much time I spent in the United States when I landed last August. Part of the time was spent in Greenville, North Carolina. Above is a picture taken on Maiden Lane (and how), where all the high-end boutiques are.

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Southern Comfort (Greenville, North Carolina)

Already I have new pictures from San Francisco, but as many of my friends have just come from there, it seems pretty lame to post them so soon. For now, I'm going to be talking about the place I spent most of my time in during my last trip to the States- Greenville, North Carolina.

I have to be honest, before coming to Greenville I was readying myself to be sneered at, but all in all, I can say that the people I encountered- from my fellow doctors to the patients to random people on the street- were mostly quite nice. The picture above welcomes you to East Carolina University, the third largest university in the state. Go Pirates!

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Welcome to the Jungle (New York part 2)

Wow, what a crazy weekend to "decide" to go home from San Francisco. This weekend, a ton of friends are having fun in San Francisco, making me totally jealous (but, can you believe I have yet another post to write on San Francisco in the future? One of my favorite places, ever). As my plane approached Manila, the pilot said, "the weather is... not great," and no shit. A typhoon submerged part of my country's capital- the greatest flood to hit it in maybe 42 years. My family and my home are unscathed, thank God, but there'll be a lot of rescue/relief work going on.

Anyway, as promised, here is my post about my trip to New York from earlier this year (part 1 of my New York trip is here). Above is the tourist trap, Times Square. I didn't spend a lot of time here except for the now-closed Virgin megastore (I don't recall buying anything, either).

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Winter in New York (New York Part 1)

As usual, just click on any photo go to to the Flickr page, where you can view it full-size.
Welcome to the first of my 2-part feature on New York, the last stop of my "tour" of the US from last Winter (second part comes next month). Actually, I have a few pictures from New Jersey, but it's kind of pathetic because I only managed to take pictures of the food in one restaurant, and not much of anything else (though it's obviously not representative of the number of good places you can eat in New Jersey, as you'll find in Off The Broiler). Anyway, I found the sheer number of pictures I took in New York daunting to process, and that's even as I skillfully evaded places like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. Even Rockefeller Plaza, and I am a big fan of NBC programming and ice skating. BUT I did get to meet three bloggers, and up there is a picture of the park where Marc and I ate Australian ice cream while talking about the job market.

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Tales of the City (San Francisco Part 4)

"Is San Francisco still boring?" A friend of mine asked when I told him I was there, and it totally short-circuited my brain because I have no idea how anyone could think that. Granted our trips there were years apart, but in my opinion it's one of the liveliest places I've seen (not that there's anything wrong with peace and quiet-- they both have their benefits). Perhaps it's because there's been considerable growth of the food scene in the interim. I'm posting this slightly ahead of schedule to give Caitlin a better idea of what to expect or search when she goes there. As it turns out, it opened my eyes to even more things I still want to see/eat when (not if, hopefully) I return! (... and please don't badmouth my anonymous friend, I won't allow it.) Above is a photograph of the always-lively Sur La Table at the Ferry Market Building.

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San Francisco, Part 3 of Hopefully a Lot

Not long ago I was talking about how difficult it is to really get bored, no matter where you are. If you can't vary the places you go to, you can vary your interests, vary your company (in this case, it changed from last year to mostly just me, without my mom and my brother), or vary your activities. And always, always (unless you never plan on coming back) leave something for next time. When it comes to San Francisco, you'd have to be a dead fish to finally run out of things to see or do, or you're just one of those people who don't like what San Francisco stands for. Above is a pic I snapped of the Caltrain terminal between Mission Bay and SoMa. (There's no logic in the optics of this one-- the lens blur was applied in post because my camera can't achieve depth of field well.)

I mean, just look at the cheeky shops you can see on Castro! Even the restaurants seem to have joined in on the fun. (That, or I'm just that filthy.) Under One Roof is a great shop filled with little gadgets for the home and furniture, and their proceeds benefit AIDS research.

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All That Jazz

I have to confess, even though the thought of finally going to Chicago excited me, I had no idea what it was all about. Early Edition, Alinea, that musical-- fragmented impressions picked up from blogland, film, and television. When I got an invitation to interview there, I scheduled my flight so that I'd get a few more days to explore, and carefully searched for a hotel that would be priced reasonably enough to allow me that. Thankfully, there was Holiday Inn (you're great, Mariott, but too rich for my blood). I was lucky in a way to get my reservation, as it was fully booked just the night before because The Killers played nearby. Another good thing about Holiday Inn was that I only needed one ride on The El directly from O'Hare (thank you, 3-Day Pass), although I had to lug my 35-pound suitcase up 4 flights of stairs at the Clinton-Blue station.

I'm glad I got this chance, as it's just one of those cities that rewards those who really endeavor to scratch beneath the surface. I'm not quite sure if I'm one of those people, but I know what (and who) I wanted to see, and that's enough for me, at least till I get my first big paycheck and that will open a few more doors for me (ahemAlineaahem). But as a simple traveler, I still managed to enjoy myself a lot.

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Reading, Between the Lines

(or, Trains, Trains and Automobiles.) I think I have to make something clear about my travelogues: I don't write about a place where my itinerary isn't up yet. So, when I wrote about Akron, I'd already left. And I'm not going to write about New Jersey, New York, or San Francisco till a few weeks after I've gone back to the Philippines (which is April 4). Now, last January 26, I headed to Reading, Pennsylvania, which was my last stop in my interview tour. It would be self-contradictory to say that it exceeded my expectations, because I had none. Before I applied for the hospital there, all I knew about it was that it was one of the four railroads in classic Monopoly. Trips to Wikipedia and various other sites were needed. And now, I'm going to be one of those sites. I think.

I totally dropped the ball as a commuter, though. After my $45 Amtrak trip to the nearest Amtrak station, which was Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I had to spend $70 plus tip on the 30-minute taxi ride to Reading. And then another $45 and $70 for the trip back. Ouch. Greyhound ($45) would have taken me straight to Reading, though it would have been nearly a 6-hour trip from New Jersey. Although if I'd gone the extra mile and gotten a license valid in the States (and enough driving chutzpah), I could have driven from New Jersey or New York, which would have taken 2 hours. Grrr.

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Akronicity

Hi everyone and welcome (again)! Today's weather in beautiful Noo Joisey is probably a snowstorm. I'm not too sure because when you say storm/typhoon in the Philippines, it usually means extremely heavy rain and strong winds that sometimes howl. Snow is deceptively light and benign-looking, though I'm aware there's a lot of danger in it. And since it's not falling straight down, I guess that means it's a snowstorm. I took the opportunity of being stuck indoors to clean the bathroom, throw a robe over my pajamas so as not to titillate my neighbors too much, and struggle with the garden hose outside in the snow to blast the patina of germs on the trash can into oblivion. And now the time has come to post again, yay! And I begin with a tour of the first non-Joisey city I visited in the East coast: Akron, Ohio.

First thought: wow, it's kind of a winter wonderland. Only lake Erie is separating it from Canada. So cold that the skin of my legs threatened to progress into an ichthyosis-like state. My heels progressed as much, and I got two cracks on each foot, minute but enough to cause sharp pain with each step. I didn't let that deter me from getting my "tour" in, though. By now they are completely healed (and lint-from-socks-free, ugh) thanks to CVS Pharmacy's Heel Balm (for general and diabetic foot care) and a pumice stone (healed amazingly quickly-- 3 days). Rest of my skin managed with advanced therapy moisturizing lotion.

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El Segundo, Parte Segundo

We now return to our irregularly-scheduled tour of El Segundo. Anyone who's surprised that I'm able to write TWO posts about a city that's so under the radar obviously hasn't gotten the hang of my posts and comments (though I have a feeling that some bloggers might actually hate my smiley, upbeat comments). Well, that's just the kind of person I am. We're going to finish this series with downtown El Segundo, which consists of Main Street (above)...

... and Richmond Street, just one street parallel to Main. It's a 20-minute walk down Grand Avenue from Sepulveda Boulevard, but you can take the 124 Bus for only $1.25. I did so once, and the token thingy was broken so the driver just let me ride. I was confused when I disembarked (I didn't know you didn't have to pay if the thingy was broken) and I stupidly dumped $1.25 down Ms. Driver's lunch pack. Ms. Driver laughed and gave me my money back, saying she can't accept it. She must have thought it was a tip.

I wanted to get a closer look at these young skaters and maybe ask them to do a trick, but many couldn't even manage an Ollie. Plus, I didn't want to appear like the youngest pederast ever so I stole this shot from a distance. I actually saw a bunch of cute schoolchildren walking to school with their teacher, and it was such a perfect scene but I didn't want to alarm the teacher or anger the parents by taking a shot, so I let it go. How would the photographers/ travelers among you go about it? I am paranoid of other people's paranoia.

This is El Segundo High School on Main Street. The architecture is so well-done that I actually thought it was a University.

Gazebo opposite the school. There was a creepy shirtless guy walking around in circles a short distance from this. It still doesn't compare to the guy I saw tweaking (er, in a druggie way) in front of Westfield in San Francisco. Speaking of which, I saw a shirtless guy and his maybe 7 year-old shirtless daughter or sister enter a Carl's Jr. Am I being too much of a prude by being freaked out or am I right?

The still-active Old Town Music Hall. Did not get a chance to go in, unfortunately. :(

Beautiful house on Main Street, with an Arts and Crafts Influence-- my favorite style.

Halloween-ready house in Grand Avenue. We don't go all-out in celebrating Halloween in this country, so I was quite amused to find that someone went through the trouble of boarding up their windows. Four weeks in advance.

The day before I left, my friends who were awaiting their residency interviews discovered I was lurking and insisted that we meet up. Aren't they pretty? Aren't I chopped liver with a sprinkling of ugly powder? (Well, at least when you put me beside them-- they were my groupmates for almost all of medical school-- the ones I was with in story #5 here.)




If you spend maybe five seconds with me, you'd know that a nightclub is one of the last places you'd find me. But take note I said "last places"-- not "never". The five of us (the girls' male companions) went to The Shore at Hermosa Beach after a long day of shopping. I ate a $6 chicken katsu (half-off during happy hour) that was okay, but I was more surprised by how much I enjoyed the musical act. If you spend TWO seconds with me, you'd guess correctly that there is not a single rap song on my iPod. There have been several times in the past where I invoke the power of rap to make people laugh (you should hear me do BEP-- or not), because it's so dissonant with my personality. But I was very impressed with Mr. Douglas-- very passionate and angry-sounding.

I did say, "Oh my God! Edward Norton is our MC!" though.

Back to the food. This shuttered-up El Segundo bakery is a sad metaphor for the state of pastries in general in the area. A bit of a disappointment for a sweet tooth like me, but there's still plenty of highly-recommended restaurants in the area, in case you have a few hours' layover at LAX.


One such place is Big Mike's Cheesesteaks on Main Street. If actual Philadelphia does a better job at cheesesteaks than Big Mike, I'll be beyond impressed indeed. For $5.25 you can get a 6-inch pizza cheesesteak (basically a cheesesteak with a little tomato sauce and herbs), though it seemed like more than 6 inches at the time. I didn't finish it, even if it was so good. From now on, whenever I'm hungry, my mind will return to the few clumps of thinly-sliced steak that I didn't eat. Sigh.



After I'd been surrounded by Latinos and Latino music for a few days, I thought it would be a total shame not to eat authentic Mexican food while in Los Angeles. I chose the place that boasted being the "Best in the South Bay", El Tarasco. I had an Enchilada, of course, which came with a chile relleno (my first time), giant chips and salsa, refried beans, and a drink. Though the enchilada was verrry good-- moist and tender inside-- I still preferred the ones at Tia Maria's here in Manila. Because their sauce is slightly sweet, which I realize must be sacrilege to some, but that's my taste. The only disappointment was the relleno, which was sour, not that spicy, and greasy-- just not my thing.

I have another question. If the change is approximate to the amount that you should tip, is it customary for waiters not to bring you your change (or even a receipt) at all? I find this very strange, especially since I was willing to go over the usual percentage. I was supposed to leave a tip of $2 at El Tarasco, but after a long time waiting for my change of $1.89, I had to remind them and I got $1.50 instead, which is what I left as the tip (and they couldn't give me a receipt for some reason), since apparently the $0.39 disappeared into limbo.




Another highly-recommended place in Richmond Street is The Second City Bistro. I love bistros-- the relaxed atmosphere, and the good, fresh, and fast food. Since I came in at 5PM (opening time in the evening), I was the only person there and proceeded to freak out the kitchen by taking a picture. It was a rare opportunity for me so I couldn't let it pass (plus, there are no angry parents to chase me with torches).



I ordered the pasta with tomatoes, artichokes, spinach, and capers. It was very well-done (and very substantial, given it was only $8.50 and I'm just this wee person), though the tomatoes were very obviously about to go out of season, I think. I ordered the banana phyllo parcel with caramel, chocolate, cream cheese (!!) and peanuts, and it was a joy to eat. Definitely something I'll look into imitating in some way at home (probably very easy to make, too).

Eight in ten doctors recommend Canon cameras for icky mirror pictures.
Here's a tacky self-portrait of myself in full physician "regalia." I know I keep referring to myself as a wee person but Marvin reassured me that I was average-size height, which was quite a relief the day before my exam-- I was afraid of looking out of place, which would have affected my confidence. I think I did well enough, but we'll know for sure this December. Also helping my confidence was the fact that the weird tailors of the coat made the sleeves too short. I had to wear white inside so the difference wouldn't be so jarring. Originally I had planned to take a picture of what I was wearing each day, but I realized how douchey that sounds so I scrapped it. I received a compliment about my Rockman (Megaman to you Yanks) t-shirt. The cashier at Surfas said, "That shirt is tight!" At first I thought he meant the literal sense, which made me cringe a bit.

This picture might have worked out a beeeeet better if I had stepped back a little and gotten the top of the cross. Yeesh.
So, that's my summary of my five days in El Segundo. It may be a head-scratcher to some how I was able to stay that long while only occasionally moving to other parts of Los Angeles, but I can honestly say that I enjoyed myself and I was even able to score plenty of really good meals at that. Definitely not a bad place to make your home-base if in Los Angeles without a place to stay. Next time, I'd pay closer attention to the Bus Lines so I can move around a bit more freely. Alternatively I can just get a freaking international license and drive around.

El Bolsa Mezcla, Primera Parte

There was once a wise old priest who told me that part of being considerate means supplying all the details of a story. So, when someone asks you, "How was your trip?" you're not really being a friend by replying with non-answers like "It was okay." I carried that piece of advice with me ever since, which is probably why my posts go ON and ON. And now I'm excited to write about my experience in El Segundo, California-- what some Americans might consider a "sleepy town." But I wanted to be fair to it, since I spent five whole days there and I've come to like it, mostly. I think I've got it down, at least as best as a non-El Segundian (?) would be able to describe it (I'd dare say this will be the longest any nonresident would write about El Segundo).

I cracked myself up quite a bit thinking of alternative slogans the city council might be able to use. I publish the mock-up I created up there with nothing but affectionate joshing. El Segundo and I are like this (imagine I'm doing cutesy things with my fingers).


First off: the hotel. I stayed at the Hacienda Hotel, which was relatively inexpensive for the Los Angeles area and only a ten-minute walk north of my testing center. It has free wireless internet (which I wasn't able to use-- d'oh!) and the rooms are quite comfortable. I could've used some Bravo, The CW, or Comedy Central but I'll just get my PR, ANTM, TDS and TCR fix off the internet one of these days. I thought there might have been a problem with them double-charging my credit card (as I'd reserved off Hotels.com) but it turns out, the concierge was talking about the floating charge for incidentals. Yeesh.

El Segundo, in a nutshell, is Sepulveda Boulevard and Main Street, connected by a residential/industrial area. A huge part of it is the Chevron Oil Refinery Park, which you can see at the left side of the photo, and a golf course, The Lakes, at the right. Every day I made a 25-minute trek south from the hotel to Borders Books and Music. Marvin told me as he was driving us down Sepulveda: "I don't think this street is walkable." Well, he's half-right. For most of the day, I was the only pedestrian, which is kind of creepy-- the opposite of San Francisco, and the Philippines. There are barely any trees too, so I got quite a tan. People there rely a LOT on cars. Me, I've got nothing but time.


As you can see, the daily walk was worth more than the calories I burned on it. I bought a Magical Mystery Tour/ Abbey Road/ Let It Be songbook, and DVD sets of The Office, 30 Rock, and Extras. I got a Whole Foods reusable bag. Unfortunately, I can't take home anything fresh, so buying a shitload of fresh fruit and vegetables wasn't an option. Also in the Plaza El Segundo Area was Costplus World Market, Linens And Things (closing out), Best Buy, PetSmart, Banana Republic, J. Crew, and a few other boutiques. Of course, there is the magical Sur La Table-- but I bought my kitchen wants (acetate, cast iron pan, crumpet rings) at Surfas when Marvin, his wife and I chanced upon it.

The scenic water tower greets you.

It doesn't rain much, does it?
The temperature was 15-25°C (60-77°F), which is quite comfortable by my standards. I hated that there was little shade, though. The two pictures above are some of the places you might see on your way from Sepulveda to Main Street, which is 25 minutes walking west. I'll talk about Main Street on the next blog post. Even in the residential areas, before 5PM, it looks like a ghost town. I guess I'm the only bum?

Just crossing Rosecrans Avenue south of Plaza El Segundo, you'll find the Manhattan Village mall in Manhattan Beach, which has a Macy's and a Williams-Sonoma, among other shops. Unfortunately, sidewalks and crosswalks are closed between El Segundo and Manhattan Beach, so drivers win again. I was only able to go when some friends picked me up.



The day after I arrived, Marvin and his wife picked me up at the hotel to take me to Father's Office at Helms Avenue, Los Angeles. Marvin was quite impressive with his knowledge of brews. I'd say it was an intimate knowledge, har har. They are so funny and cool and I had a great time (even if Marvin was apologizing all the time for Lord knows what! Dude, I seriously enjoyed myself and thanks for lunch!). He asked me a few tough questions which I should really know the answers to. We also talked about food (of course!) television, work, life, politics and how all my knowledge of it is derived from comedy shows like Saturday Night Live. The burger is reputedly one of the best in LA, and I think that opinion is absolutely right. It had onions caramelized in bacon fat. I mean, come on. I even loved the sweet potato frites, something I hate here. The cola is a diet cane cola. We were quite puzzled by that oxymoron. But it was really good-- it had a rootbeer-like kick. We spent quite a bit of time at Surfas afterward.

After a brief nap back at the hotel, Todd and Diane of White On Rice Couple picked me up for dinner at Honda Ya in Japantown (Downtown LA). There was so much good food (buttered cod and grilled prawns, arrrrh) but for some reason I forgot to take a picture of even one dish! Where do I surrender my food blogger card? Anyway, these two are every bit as friendly and lovely in person as they are in their blog and videos. They gave me a pep talk for my exam the next day, which was really sweet. I'll have to wait till next time to see if Todd can counter my anything-goes martial arts, ha ha ha.





For lunch on Wednesday, I met up with my friend Tina (who had been living in California now for a few months on an observership) at Salt Creeke Grille, which was also in Plaza El Segundo. We were a bit intimidated by the ambiance but the prices were quite reasonable. I ordered my first Reuben ever, and while it tasted good and I finished the whole sandwich, I'd have to say sauerkraut is not my thing. Too sauer. I'm craving the ribs Tina ordered now, and the fries too. Their barbecue sauce is not the best or most unique I've tasted but the thin layers of fat running through the ribs really made a difference.

For a snack later that day, we ate at Pinkberry, also on Plaza El Segundo. Each cube of mango was a hit-or-miss. I've been spoiled by the mangoes here in the Philippines, of course.

One thing I noticed about the people in El Segundo is that they were a lot more guarded and not as friendly as the people in San Francisco, which I suppose would be expected, as the latter is primarily a tourist destination. But I felt kind of let down by the fact that I was the friendliest person in the area. The ghost town aspect of El Segundo probably wouldn't bother many of you, as you'd probably roam around town in a car, but for someone who enjoys the simple pleasure of walking around town, it made me feel uneasy. I joked that at least I'd see a mugger coming at me from a few minutes away.

Me goofing around after my exam-- I'm so exhausted!

Next update: Downtown El Segundo, and a little bit more of L.A., where I surprised myself!