I know, I know.

I've disappeared again. I KNOW.

My mind and my life has been so kalat lately I'm so sorry. I have yet to even LOOK at the photos I took when Grace was here for four days. I haven't even seen them yet. I shall share recent events as soon as I've gotten my shit sorted out. So far, Grace was here from Rome so there was that Kari-Angel-Grace mega reunion. We haven't been together in 5 years so that was MEGA fun. Add Mica to that little trio and we were a mighty force hitting the streets of NYC.

It took me a long time trying to figure out what to do on my birthday. All I knew was that it had to be much MUCH better than last year. Last year I was in a personal and financial crisis and was depressed as hell. So I wanted to surround myself with as much company and laughter possible. Mica proposed game night over dinner of bbq ribs and rotisserie chicken before watching New York, I love you. I was hesitant at first but the more I played with the thought of game night, the more I liked it. So tomorrow (or rather, tonight) I shall have friends over for "game night." Which is more of playing with silly games than how Vegas freaks would consider game night to be.

Going back to the movie, New York, I love you. I believe it was the first time I've seen a movie in a theater that was shot in NYC since I moved to the city. It was fun seeing a lot of places in the movie that I walk around in everyday. My mind kept going "I KNOW WHERE THAT IS!" "I PASS THERE ALL THE TIME!" I was such a dork. What was even weirder was when I walked out of the theater and found myself in, well, New York City. It was, in all geekiness, WAY COOL.

Have I mentioned that I've upgraded my MAC? I still have the same hardware but I installed Snow Leopard and bought 2GB of RAM for it to run at the maximum speed the hardware will allow. I'm so happy and so grateful JA suggested doing this instead of buying an new mac which would have cost me over $1500. I also scored myself a 1tb hard drive which I connected to the wireless router so I can send files wirelessly anywhere in the house. CHEA!

I have to go to bed. Mica is taking me out for a birthday brunch tomorrow to a place she refuses to tell me because she wants it to be a surprise. I wonder where we're going? I still have to do last minute grocery shopping for tomorrow night's party and make sure the apartment is prepped fr entertaining.

I shall hopefully have photos ready for sharing after the night's events. I apologize in advance for my inevitable procrastination. Till then.

I've been getting a lot of days off now that there are about 6 servers to work with at the restaurant. I still don't get weekends off though, boo! I thought of going on another trip this week but I thought maybe I'm pushing the travel spending a little too much so I opted to take a vacation in the kitchen!!! I haven't been making anything as much as I would have liked so I'm taking this free time to flex my kitchen skills. I started off by cleaning the kitchen earlier today. Mica came home exclaiming, "OMG, the stove is gleaming!" Well, by the end of three days, it may not be quite so gleaming.

I busted out the good ol' pressure cooker and made Beef Caldereta since I've had a weird craving for it. I just finished marinating sirloin tips for my breakfast tomorrow, Beef Tapa, itlog na pula and sinangag! I just found two decent recipes for my afternoon project which are Banana Walnut Bread and Bibingka Galapong! I'm also thinking of making homemade chicken sopas (with alphabet pasta!!!) since a good hot creamy soup is very good in current NY weather. Our evenings have now dropped to the 40s and I've already brought out my thick comforter. It seems just recently that I was stashing it under the bed because it's gotten too hot for it. Now I can't even go downstairs to do laundry without putting socks on.

Hopefully tomorrow's projects turn out alright. I'm still trying to figure out what to make for Thursday. I'm planning to squeeze in an IKEA trip tomorrow afternoon so whatever isn't made tomorrow will be done the following day.

Sadly, I have no photos. I was famished by the time my meal was done that I went straight to devouring it. Maybe I'll have something to show tomorrow. We'll see. Wish me luck!

I was too tired from last night's shift to wake up early to see Ella and Andy off and say bye before they head back to Illinois. I woke up with them gone, their used towels and bed linen neatly folded on one side of the couch. It's been a fun last few days having them around. Who knows when I'll see them next. They stayed with me two days more than originally planned which was a pleasant turn of events. Andy's birthday was last Thursday and we started the celebrations as early as 12 midnight. I took them to Pinto for dinner Wednesday night then bought Magnolia bakery cupcakes to serve as his birthday cake. We were toasting the last few minutes of my own personal holiday (Wednesday marked my one year in New York) then proceeded to light up the candle and wish Andy a happy 30th year.

We were up early the day after and I made breakfast for all of us, Mica included before heading out for a long walk in the city. We scored them subway day passes and we traveled the stretch of Manhattan from the bottom tip in Battery Park City all the way up to 90th st where we had dinner in Saigon Grill. Photos can be seen in this album so you get a good idea of the places we visited. I myself don't do a lot of walking around the city. I only do get to see these tourist areas when I am with someone who wants to see them.

Whenever we have guests over, Mica and I always find a reason to bust out the Cranium game which we did play over bottles of beer and smirnoff. Andy and Mica proved to be a strong match and won the game.

Yesterday they did something I have never done in my year here, walk the Brooklyn Bridge. Even better actually, they left their car in Brooklyn Heights, walked to the bridge, crossed the river, walked across town, up to the village and ended up at my workplace. I kept telling them about the awesome pizza place near my place of work and they were so excited that they ordered ONE WHOLE PIE. We're talking New York size pizzas here and they sat down and scarfed it down. After their meal, they continued towards hudson river park, walked back down, back across the bridge to their car. OMG, no wonder they were sleeping by the time me and Mica got home from work.

I'm so happy I've been having quite a few guests lately. I hope my friends never stop visiting me. In two weeks, Grace is visiting from Rome and Angel is coming one last time before heading back to Manila. After that, I don't know anymore. I hope someone visits again soon. *ahem californians, where are you?*

I originally planned on waiting out my bus on Copley Square infront of Trinity Church since it's the closest park to the bus station. I ended up asking Andy to drop me off in Boston Commons instead because I knew there to be a public restroom in the Visitor Center just in case. Since it was too cold, I walked back to Newbury Street and eventually ended up in Starbucks.

What I SHOULD have done was STAY IN COPLEY SQUARE.

Why? WHY?!?!

Because on my way to the bus station, rushing because I left Starbucks at the last minute, I saw a crowd of people around a yellow tape surrounding an area of Copley Square. There were cranes and a film crew so I knew they were shooting something. I approach the crowd and asked the girl beside me, "Who's out there?" She replies, "Ben Affleck."

BEN AFFLECK WAS IN COPLEY SQUARE THE ENTIRE TIME I WAS WAITING FOR THE BUS! I COULD HAVE SAT THERE WATCHING THE SHOOT BUT I DECIDED TO SIT IN STAR-FUCKING-BUCKS!!!

SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT!

I managed to catch a glimpse of him sitting on his chair as they prepped whatever it was they were prepping. I couldn't stay and drool since I had a bus to catch and I barely made it.

I misread my bus ticket to NYC and thought it was leaving at 2:30pm. Ella and Andy took me out to the city to wait for my bus at 11:30am. When I re-checked the schedule, it said 4:30pm. So here I am, at Starbucks, god forbid, because 1.) it's too cold to be walking around and I'm not dressed enough for this weather 2.) I have a very big heavy back pack and a small rolling luggage that I can't leave anywhere. Normally the baggage won't be a problem and I would still be walking around but because of my fall, I have a weak arm that can't carry much of anything for too long. Simply putting my jacket or backpack on is a chore.

Boston looks to me like a city comprised mainly of students from around the world. Everywhere you go you see people with their noses buried in books, highlighting, typing, scribbling furiously on notebooks. I like how it's small enough to walk around in and people are friendly and accommodating. I can tell this won't be my last impromptu trip to this city. I will be back again in one of my future (hopefully) short breaks.

I think my trip to Martha's Vineyard has triggered a travel bug plus having discovered cheap bus tickets even makes trips outside NYC affordable and easy. I've bought a hosteling membership at Hosteling International too so at least lodging won't be a problem in the future. I'm already trying to think where to go next. Vermont? Cape Cod? Washington DC? Oh the possibilities!

I checked out of the hostel today and was picked up by Ella and Andy to go to Maine. They were set on hitting two states in their US tour (New Hampshire en route to Maine) and I was set on having the best the lobsters in the world.

We had lobster steamers and oysters from Robert's Maine Grille and Market. I was in total heaven. My lobster was fat, juicy and had the tastiest roe I have ever had. I was tearing through my giant meal with my hands with juices dripping down my wrist. There was something gruesomely erotic about mopping up the lobster roe with it's own flesh and licking your fingers trying to get every last bit of it in your mouth.

Kittery, the town we were in, was littered with outlet shops and Ella and I couldn't resist dropping by the gap outlet to see what we could find. We both got a couple of items before heading back on the road.


We drove up to York Harbor to take photos by the water and saw a lighthouse nearby, which we later visited. I kept telling Ella I needed to buy a new lens because I can't keep changing lenses all the time (I bring the 18-55mm kit lens and a 28-105mm) I need both for taking wide and close shots and I can't not bring both on travels. I had the kit lens on when I was taking photos of the lighthouse, which was perched on a high rocky islet by the water's edge. We were standing on low boulder cliffs and I made my way down near the water to take better photos. The rocks were wet from the waves but I slowly padded my way down to take my shot. When I was done, I turned, took a step and fell, slamming and sliding down the rock. My right arm and my CAMERA broke my fall. When I lifted myself up and looked down, the UV filter of my lens was shattered and zoom barrel was bent, rendering it unusable. I was in pain, shock and dirty. My camera seemed fine and unharmed but the lens was a goner. I had to laugh. I kept saying I need to get a new lens and never buy one and here is the universe telling me, "Now there, now you REALLY have to get one now."

Ella and Andy are taking me to the bus station tomorrow for my bus back to New York. I'm a little worried about my arm though, I'm not sure if I can work properly if it's sore like this. It's bad enough that I feel like I need an arm sling because it hurts when my arm hangs off my shoulders without support. My wound is bandaged up but sore. I hope this gets better tomorrow, otherwise I don't know how I'm supposed to carry plates of food on Friday.

Yes, babies. We walked 6 miles today taking photos along the way. We pretty much saw the greater Boston area on foot in one day. I can barely believe it. We had lunch at Boston Beer Works since Andy was really, really keen on trying the flavored beers (he had a Blueberry Beer). Ella and I were starving and we all shared a cheeseburger, pizza, clam chowder and tortilla with spinach and artichoke dip.


I have to say that Boston really is very much a cross between San Francisco and NYC with the exception that Boston is injected with lots of history, graveyards and historic chapels. Also, there seems to be an AWFUL LOT of Dunkin Donuts around. There's one in every other block! Rico (a friend who spent a few years living in this city while attending Berklee College of Music) just informed me earlier that it's mainly because Dunkin Donuts started right here in Massachusetts.

It's so much fun to finally be in the company of photographers again! I haven't had real awesome photos in a while and Ella took really good ones of me today.

Before heading back, we had beer at the oldest tavern in America, which we happened to find by chance despite Andy's attempt to locate it.

I've canceled my last night here at the hostel and will be staying with Ella and Andy in their hotel tomorrow night since we'll be in late after our road trip. Road trip you say? Yes! Tomorrow we're going to MAINE where I shall have my share of the best lobsters in the world! Yahoo!

PICTURES! PICTURES! PICTURES!

First thing I noticed when I finally arrived in Boston, was that it didn't look all that different from NY. Everything was pretty much the same, the only slight difference would be the streets are wider, cleaner and less populated. It was a 20 minute walk from the bus station to the hostel. Good thing I packed light so I didn't have to carry too much stuff. The hostel is in a very good location in the neighborhood of Back Bay. It's close to pretty much everything you need and public transportation (bus and train) are all a few steps away. As soon as I checked in, I dropped my luggage in my room, which I share with two other stranger I haven't met yet. I am assigned the top bed on a bunk bed.

*teka intermission lang*

OMG!!!! Ella just walked in the hostel and I just gave her and Andy a biiiig hug!!!! I haven't seen them in a looong time!!! I guess this post will have to be cut short since there's a lot we have to catch up on! See ya!

I'm on my way to Boston. I'm currently in the bus as I type this, all giddy with excitement because 1.) The bus is equipped with wi-fi service 2.) there is a wall outlet I can plug my mac in if I need to charge it and 3.) I'M GOING TO BOSTON BABY!!!

This was made totally on a whim. I found out on Friday that I was going to have four days off from Mon-Thu since Paul requested to work extra hours so he can make more money to pay for his vacation on the end of October. I understand the purpose but listening to someone request for a 6-day 12 hour/day work week is appalling. I gladly gave him my shifts and announced that I was going on a trip. Where? I didn't know. All I knew is that I had four days to do something and I was very well not spending it at home. I had to go somewhere. But where?! It had to be somewhere cheap and close by, accessibility by bus was preferred. I narrowed it down to two places. Boston and Washington DC. Angel is in Virginia and I could have called her up to meet me in DC but what would I do in DC? See monuments, statues and the White House? I'm not american and the significance of these attractions (except the white house) is lost to me. On the other hand, Boston to me, seems romantic and more geared towards arts, education and architecture which is why I'm here on a Megabus to Boston.

I was already set on taking the Peter Pan bus line to Boston since it was the same line I took to Martha's Vineyard and I had nothing bad to say about them but last night, Mica told me about Megabus which would take me there at a much lower price. So I went online in the midst of packing my bags and bought my roundtrip ticket for $26.50. Hurray!

Next was lodging. I'm supposed to meet Andy and Ella in Boston this afternoon but Andy seems dead set on driving over to a camp ground and camp as opposed to paying for lodging. I understand the situation, him and Ella wouldn't have been able to survive their 3-month roadtrip around the US if they kept paying for lodging. When it's time to sleep, they pitch a tent and sleep on sleeping bags. Showers, are obviously very hard to come by so this is a very big problem for me. This trip is supposed to be a vacation. I do not want to come back and be begging Lily to give me a break after spending three nights sleeping on the ground and without the presence of modern day plumbing. NO. I cannot do it. I'm all for camping and roughing it but not when I have to be on my feet again the week after carrying trays of food to hungry people. NO. I CANNOT DO IT.

So I booked my stay at a hostel.

I was online last night searching for good and clean hostels in the city and found Hostelling International (which also happens to be the same hostel I meant to stay in at Martha's Vineyard). Reviews in Yelp.com (my number one source for real person reviews) were very promising so I reserved my stay and printed my reservation. I threw in a few more small items in my tiny luggage, set my alarm and passed out.

I woke up earlier than necessary this morning so I wouldn't be rushing to Penn Station. I was early and at the front of the line so I managed to get good seats (I have two seats to myself). I am sitting across from a dude who looks like Taylor Lautner, only whiter and am overwhelmed with the need to write and share.

I shall be in Boston in roughly 3.5 hours and I shall nap a bit so I can spend the rest of the evening wandering the surrounding areas. I've never been there and I don't know my way around. I haven't traveled alone in...oh gosh, I don't think I've ever traveled alone. Although technically, if I manage to meet Ella and Andy then this vacation cannot be constituted as a solitary trip but it shall nevertheless be fun.

Photos soon.

Read and saw two things that made me applaud today.

1. The Generation M Manifesto

2. Video of Obama's appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman. (First time a sitting president guested on a popular late night show, btw. Which is COOL in itself.)

My favorite part was when Obama was asked about his thoughts on Jimmy Carter's comments that the strong outrage regarding his new policies on health care was rooted in racism.

His answer?

"Well, it's important to note that I was actually Black before the election. This is true."

To which Dave asks him, "Really? So how long have you been a black man?"

He continues by saying that the people have given him this huge honor (of running the country) and the fact that he's been elected says a lot about where the country's at.

I'm so happy to be alive to witness this amazing man change history.

Watch the rest from the video below.


Watch CBS Videos Online

I saw this trailer a few weeks ago but I"m sharing it now after having seen it again and I can't wait for this to come out.

Bonus video!

Last day in mv from kari lopez on Vimeo.

On my last day in MV, I asked Mica if we could go back to Aquinnah to have the clam chowder and chili cheese dog for lunch. The chili is the closest one to my mom's version that I can have right now and the chowder is the best I've had on the island. I switched to a wider lens so I was able to take a better panoramic shot of the Gay Head lighthouse with the cliffs.

better viewed larger so click the image

The buses in MV run once an hour. People who do come to MV, go with their cars so not a lot of people take the bus enough for them to travel more often. Hence, for people like us who need public transportation, we need to time and schedule our travels precisely. Luckily for us, the buses are never late and strictly follow their scheduled timetable. If it says the bus will depart from a certain point at 1:27pm, it will leave no earlier or later than that...at all times! Buses also are in contact with other buses on other routes so if a bus happens to be running late and you need to connect to another one at the next stop, the driver can radio in to the connecting vehicle to wait. Talk about precision!

trail leading to the beach by the cliffs

I was taking the last ferry to Woods Hole that would take me to the last bus to New York. Since, we were coming from Aquinnah, we were also taking the scheduled bus that would take me to the pier at the closest time to the ferry's departure. Everything was going well, the buses were on time and we managed to get to Oak Bluffs much earlier than scheduled. I peaked at the pier and see that the ferry has not arrived so Mica and I get coffee somewhere in town while waiting. When we finally decide to go to the pier to wait and wonder why the ferry was no where to be seen, I was informed that due to strong winds, the ferry that was leaving at 3:45pm was currently at Vineyard Haven (the next town). At that point it was already 3:38pm. We quickly hurried to a waiting cab and told him to step on it. If I missed this ferry, then I would miss my bus and will have to wait till tomorrow to catch another one back to NYC. As the cab sped up, I was quickly running lines in my head, "I'm sorry Lily I can't make it to work tomorrow. They canceled my ferry due to strong winds so I will be back in NY much later than I thought!" As I was thinking this, I started to see that missing the ferry was not exactly a bad thing and I could stay another night on the island. I smiling to myself until we pulled up close to harbor and I saw the ferry still parked at the docks. No such luck I guess. I hopped off the cab and ran to the ticket booth while Mica ran to the pier with my luggage. I grabbed my bag from her, gave her a quick hug goodbye and ran to the boat. They closed the gates as soon as I got in. I've never been sadder to make it to something I was trying to catch at the nick of time.


The trip home was much longer than my trip coming. I felt like I was sitting there in the dark forever. The subway back to the apartment was kind and I didn't have to wait for them to come. I quickly unpacked and repacked whatever needed to be laundered tomorrow before work and I downloaded the photos I took this morning. You can view the last of the MV batch of photos here.

We missed the bus to Vineyard Haven so we killed time hanging out at Beetlebung Farm across the road from The Yard. My album from day 3 consists mostly of Mica jumping around.

A few yards behind the flower patch there was a wooden pole with a decapitated deer head hooked on it. Whatever reason this was for, I do not know.

We finally caught the bus and headed to Vineyard Haven

...and had two heaping scoops of ice cream each from Mad Martha's.

We walked around the small town before heading over to Oak Bluffs and checked out the rows of gingerbread houses. Louiie, I took the photo of the piggy for you. So cutie!

We had a very late lunch at Linda Jean's Cafe where we had chicken and gravy with peas over rice and another bowl of clam chowder. So far the best among the three I've had here are from Faith's Seafood Shack in Aquinnah.

We hopped back on a bus that drove through Edgartown. It is probably the shi-shi-est of the three towns with the large American colonial houses and white picket fences and perfectly manicured lawns. We jumped 3 buses to head back to Menensha to buy shrimp and clams at the fish market for our sinigang. By this time it's gotten very very cold and windy that we were trying to shelter ourselves behind a shack and hugging ourselves to keep warm while waiting for the bus. Hard to believe that just the day before it was warm enough for us to be in our bikinis.

Currently packing my stuff since I'm heading back to NYC tomorrow (noooooooo!!!!!!). I wish I could stay a while longer but vegetarian fare must be handed out to veggie lovers at the restaurant (hmph). I still have to wake up early friday morning to do laundry since I'm out of socks. Craaaaaap! I want more vacation time!!!

Photos from today can be seen here.

You can barely hear anything from the video since the wind was blowing so hard.

A few things happened today.

Woke up early to watch and photograph Mica's dance class. I took horrible shots not meant for sharing. We had eggo waffles, tomato and cheese omelet and bananas with cinnamon sugar for breakfast then walked over to Chilmark beach. Mica said it was a short half mile walk to the beach but it felt further than that. Gawd, I am so out of shape. But the walk was worth it because we were presented with this...

We gave up trying to toast ourselves on a cloudy sky and hopped on a bus to the Gay Head Cliffs. Funny name..hehe..GAY.HEAD. *giggle* We were hungry and were very pleased to find affordable fare. We each had a 1/4 pound hotdog with angus beef chili and cheese, a cup of New England clam chowder plus a fish taco. OMG. I didn't think I could find chili that could challenge my mom's recipe but that dog was the shit. THAT IS WHAT A HOTDOG IS SUPPOSED TO BE. My only gripe about NYC is they don't know how to DO a hotdog. This one had the perfect skin snap and the flavor of the chili was amazing. We were farting all day after that.Then we took photos of the Gay Head (*giggle*) lighthouse and roamed the tourist shops before hopping on the bus back to the yard where I napped a bit before we made dinner of anchovy pasta.

Currently snacking on cheddar cheese cubes before we go to bed and wake up for another day tomorrow. The day starts the same with Mica's class then we're heading out to the busy towns of abercrombie and fitch-esque residents to take more photos. It will be my last day before I head back to gloomy NYC on thursday.

I'm in MARTHA'S VINEYARD!!!

The trip was faster than I thought. I slept mostly through the 6 hour bus ride. I had my trusty air cushion travel pillow which has been with me since Sagada days. The ferry ride was short and scenic as we entered through "preppy white people" territory. I stuck out like a sore thumb on the ferry ride over, being one of the small minority of non-caucasians in summery clothes, fancy shades and summer hats. I had on jeans, chucks, thin jacket over cardigan over vest over shirt because Mica told me to bring cold weather clothes since it was supposed to be chilly. The sun was high and VERY hot and my armpits were steaming *mental picture!* I stripped off my outerlayers, stuffed them in my backpack and de-boarded the ferry to be met by Mica at the pier. We headed over to The Yard, where she's staying and where I will be crashing for the next 4 days. I was very, very hungry having only eaten a sausage, egg and cheese sammie from Au Bon Pain on my way to the bus terminal. I was on an island and demanded one thing and one thing only. I wanted SEAFOOD! FRESH SEAFOOD!


We dropped off my luggage and we borrowed two bikes and huffed, puffed and panted our way to Menensha Beach. The last time I rode a bike, I must've been 10 years old and despite having retained the skill of bike riding, I however, lost the stamina to pedal even slight inclines. I wanted to CRY. My knees felt like jelly later in the night and I had to walk the bike during several stretches of low inclined roads. I was pathetic.

I took some photos before we decided to skip over to the seafood shack by the docks where we ordered a dozen oysters on the half-shell, a bag of steamed mussels, clam chowder and steamed lobster. I was feeling pretty generous so I payed for our feast. It was I who insisted on seafood anyway.

more pictures here

We were pretty full after our meal (we left no edible part of that lobster undigested) but we headed to the beach and the pier for sunset photos and pedaled back to the yard.

There was a show going on in the yard's theater when we got there and we snuck in to watch it. It was a one man show titled Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: From Douglas to Deliverance by Andre De Sheilds. It was a pretty awesome show of the history of African Americans in America.

Tomorrow we'll have an early start beginning with Mica's dance class (the one she teaching) at 9am followed by a (hopefully) trip to the beach while the sun is still high in the sky. She was right, the cool wind that creeps in around 5pm starts turning into a horrible chill (think upper 50s) as soon as the sun starts to set. There will not be any swimming on this trip as I had previously hoped. Mica just reminded me that the movie JAWS was filmed here and nantucket. Also, shark season has begun as well. Only summer of last year, one was found near one of coastal beaches of the island and another one the previous year (click for video). Knowing this, the waters of MV will not be seeing me this year. I'll have to settle to just sunning myself in their powdery sands. If we have the energy and time, we will hit the towns of Oak Bluffs of Vineyard Haven (the fancy areas with the fancy houses, the fancy shops and the fancy people)