New York Stories, Part I

I just got back from a 5-day trip to New York. It was my first time there, and I must say that I enjoyed nearly every New York minute. But first of all, what the heck is a "New York minute"? I've heard that phrase all my life, and for the life of me, I can't seem to define it by having been there.

I took my venture with my lovely new girlfriend. Now, before you start to say, "Uh, isn't this a little soon to be going on vacations?" you should know that I've already asked myself that. This is, what, going on 8 weeks now, and, sure, we were planning the trip on week number 3, but we are two very intense people, and frankly, a New York minute is nothing to what we can accomplish in the span of 5 days.

Since this was my first time there, I had no idea about the subway system and the best way to get around. I am, after all, a Hollywood Asian and I'm all about driving my car to wherever I need to go. Planning your day around a subway route or a taxi ride just isn't how I think. But by day 2, I'd say we had a pretty good grasp of getting around. Unfortunately, we walked way too much the first two days. But I must say, walking is the best way to absorb all the sights that a great city like New York has to offer. Because you will see things you would never see while riding in a car.

There are several things I'm going to highlight as I get my mind back in L.A. time. I'll talk about Broadway and the show we saw; about the shopping we did, and the shopping we did, and then the shopping we did; the food we loved, and the food we dissed, and the food we just ate to fill our stomachs, but ended up loving because we were so dang famished; there's the neighborhoods and landmarks we saw -- Midtown Manhattan, Chelsea, SoHo, Lower Manhattan, Wall Street, Ground Zero, Empire State Bldg., Statue of Liberty, Staten Island Ferry ride, H&M, Daffy's, Century 21, Macy's, MTV, Algonquin Hotel, Parasuco, Le Colonial, Nobu Next Door; and of course, the one place I wish to heaven we had gone to, for many reasons I doubt I will ever mention, but none that will ever mean anything to you as much to me and the GF.

Where do I start? I'm not sure, but wow, it was an expensive trip. That's all I can say. It's a good thing I've had a busy 7 months, with more freelance work on the way.

But I must say one thing: Spending money never felt this good.