rediscovering new york

WW2 plane landing on the hudson river

still getting acclimated to the new york atmosphere since the slight life perspective change brought about by the recent 10-day holland trip. and the city rediscovery is going quite good. new york is actually a live-able place after all. yesterday, a good example.

was able to bike around town again (great for the fitness and a great way of seeing the city). first stop was battery park where they had a reconstructed ww2 plane exhibition. run by a german with an all-filipino crew. was good to see the plane circling around the statue of liberty and the area and eventually landing on the hudson. quite a feat cosidering all the understandable paranoia with planes flying around brought about by 9-11.

so chill, even this man was one w/ the pigeons

next stop was central park north end. where there was a picnic with people from my old university in manila. started out that i was the youngest there. it was good to see the older generations. didn't feel out of place at all. they were very accomodating (and none of the air i was almost expecting so that was my bad for having unjustified expectations). and the food, though unhealthy as is common to philippine cuisine, was really good. for me, best was the bicol express and pinakbet. and ok, i liked the lechon kawali too. and then surprise suprise, people from my class arrived. some of whom i just knew were here but havent really met of yet. was able to share stories and catch up a bit. and best of all, was able to get myself in their circle so even less boring life for me (not that it's any 24/7 party, as it is). looking forward to an upcoming wall climb in jersey. and maybe a few volleyball games. and of course, some drinking and partying, hopefully.

was a very nice afternoon in the park. perfect weather. nice company. mats on the ground. new people. good food. good cozy atmosphere. as how it really should be.

after the nice picnic, drove down to the nyu area to chill in starbucks. (couldve lived without the slight biking accident—some stupid SUV cut infront of me wanting to turn left and my brakes didnt kick in that quickly coz i was a bit preoccupied with daydreaming—nothing major. no worries. it's all part of the new york experience.) got my usual tall mocha, extra hot. worked on a few spreads for a personal project. and even got a venti mocha with 4 shots of espresso on the house coz they were gonna throw it out if i hadnt gotten it. was warned of the 4 shots of espresso to keep me awake til tuesday obviously. but had no trouble sleeping. just woke up once at 4 am and slept back again. and woke up at 9 again with just a slight hangover type headache. but nothing debilitating. good to go and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

sure, new york is no amsterdam or maastricht when it comes to coziness. but, though new york is the fast-paced, career-centric city it is known for, a good life is not at all impossible. we choose to become who we are, and we all create the world we live in.

so til the day i find myself living in europe, im happy to say im here to stay and enjoy the city.