and dragged me along on a nocturnal stroll. In South Beach, that means more deco!
Just past Lincoln walking up Collins Ave, there’s a strip of some very nice swish-y apartments and hotels.
I got thirsty, so I ducked in here for the world’s best mojito (cuz it was US$15!!).
More from here later!
It’s 0300 now and It’s time for bed!!
Doing time in South Florida
It’s waaay too hot outside to trudge around so I shall blog in air-con comfort! WAHAHAHAH
Look at the picture below and tell me what’s odd about it. Clue: Read the receipt.
WTF??
sooo I’m expected to tip in ADDITION to the “mandatory gratuity” that’s already tacked on?? That explains why there were only 7 people in Jerry’s Famous Deli for brekkie and it took 15 minutes for someone to take my order! *fumes*
I’m in South Beach, part of the city of Miami Beach now. It’s hella hot and sticky and it just finished pouring rain for 25 minutes. Feels like BKK.
Of cors, when you think of South Beach, you don’t think necessarily of rip-off restaurant policies or the fact that it feels like the “sixth borough” due to the fact that there are so many old New York transplants here. Instead, you think of deco and beach, two things that this place has in quantity.
Some shots from Ocean Avenue, behind my hotel on Collins Ave.
The bar at The Clevelander. The hotel is under renovation and closed but the bar is still open!
View from the balcony
My first full day in Florida. It’s really humid and it rains in the afternoon. Sounds like a recurring theme for this month…
The view from my room. WAH!
NEVER AGAIN!
OK, this is a rant against US Airways AKA US SCAREWAYS. If you like this airline, best skip reading this entry!
I believe in the three strikes rule and US Airways has got em’. The first strike was about a month back when my connecting flight from JFK-LAS was delayed for three hours (because of non-existent “weather”), thus making me miss my connection back home. I was thus forced to get a hotel room out of my own pocket (cuz “weather” delays are not the airline’s fault) to the tune of US$80 and then wound up flying home the next day. I was so tired and the flight I was put on to get back to SFO was early enough that there would be no time for Vegas type fun.
So that’s strike one. Strikes two and three happened today. I was booked on a UA itinerary, SFO-PHL on the redeye and a connecting flight from PHL-FLL. The connecting flight was, you guessed it, a US Airways codeshare!!!!
When I landed in PHL from my sleep-deprived flight, I was told that my original flight’s plane was “still in the hangar”. Mechanical issues. I was booked on another group of connecting flights, PHL-CLT then to FLL. I was also told that once my bag arrived that they could be sent to my hotel.
Yeah, right. According to the baggage people here, if the bags wind up on the original flight they were tagged for, they will NOT send the bags out and if I want to leave for my hotel (instead of waiting over an hour in the airport for my bags) I could:
A: Take a cab to the hotel and come back and get my bag and go back to the hotel.
B: Have the bag delivered COD.
Both options are unacceptable! Why should I have to pay money for US Airway’s problems or misinformation???
Each time I’ve flown this airline, it’s been nothing but delays. I’ve been in transit for over 12 hours now. By the time I get to the hotel, It will be close to 15 hours in transit. Just to keep things in perspective, I can fly SFO-HKG in 14 hours.
NEVER AGAIN!!!
now that’s a tasty burger!
In Pulp Fiction, one of my favourite movies of all time, there’s an extended scene with the devil’s helpers, a mysterious case, lots of guns (but no shotguns) and a miracle. There’s also a burger from Big Kahuna Burger, “that haw-aii-aan burger joint”. All of those other things aside, Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) was very impressed with the tastiness of the Big Kahuna Burger.
Now that’s a tasty burger!
Of course, there are others who like tasty burgers too! Like certain hotel empire heiresses (yum!)…
There’s a video that goes with this pic. Click here.
But an aside…we’re not here to talk about heiress socialites and their cutting edge adverts/PR stunts. You DID notice they were advertising a burger in that last video, right? Let’s look at Goodburger, a restaurant I literally found waiting for me after I left the MOMA around lunchtime.
I like to think Jules (or even Paris) would approve.
Goodburger
636 Lexington Ave (54th & Lex)
New York NY 10022
212-838-6000
www.goodburgerny.com
iPhone Tech
One of my friends drank the kool-aid and picked an iPhone up.
Lucky!
I helped him set it up to sync between two computers; the Mac (yeay!) for music, videos, photos and the pee cee (groan) for email, scheduling and contacts. I also configured the email client on iPhone so it could send and receive using EDGE.
That’s my 838 Pro (AKA HTC Hermes) on the right and the iPhone on the left. Look how slim lah!
I repeat, look how slim!
iTunes on both Mac and pee cee controls the sync functions with the iPhone, much like ActiveSync does on the pee cee side. The main difference is that iTunes is a LOT easier to set up, simpler to understand and gives you more control over the process.
And after playing with it for several hours, I can’t convey how impressive this piece of hardware is. Cannot. You should go to an Apple Store and playwiddit for yourself!
If it were only unlocked….!
iPhone caviats
To start off, these are probably the most crappiest photos you will ever see on this blog. It’s the fabled iPhone in my grubby mitts…
Pictures were taken with my Dopod 838 Pro (AKA HTC Hermes). Good PDA phone, not so good camera.
I shoulda brought my K800 instead…
The iPhone really is a marvel. It’s hella thin, looks like it belongs in the permanent collection at the MOMA and the screen navigation is really just like you see on TV. And that gorgeous screen! It makes YouTube videos and everything else look great!
So am I going to drink the kool-aid? Maybe…but my only concern is if I can get the damn thing unlocked. You see, here in the ewe ess of aaay, cell phone providers simlock their phones so only their SIM cards work on them. They justify this by their “subsidy”, a discount of the overly inflated MSRP of the phone that they provide to you so you can be indentured with a two year contract.
However, the iPhone is NOT subsidized. You’re paying full boat for it and it’s STILL SIM locked? That’s very wrong…and the only thing that’s holding me back from taking the plunge.
Home Improvement: Backyard Phase 1
So Phase 1 of my “improve the backyard” project, a project that has been in the works for at LEAST 5 years, is more or less complete. One of the reasons why I took so long was because I had no idea what I could do with it aside from “clear the weeds”. To give you an idea on how the yard looks like, here’s a shot from 2003(!) of the biggest part of the yard.
Imagine all of this being overgrown with 4 years’ worth of weeds. That’s a lot of weeds…
Here’s how it looks today. Note the blue trash cans. I don’t think they’ve moved much…
Eventually, my idea came to “extend the deck”. By doing that, it would more than double the decked space in the yard and remove the weed issue from that part of the yard. There’s a small terrace next to the steps in the center on the right that also has been cleared of weeds that got paver stoned over additional space for chairs, tables, charcoal grills, etc. It kinda works out because it’s twin on the left side is filled with poured concrete and it’s not level and has things growing out of it. That’s the side with the white yard chairs in the first photo.
So after 5 weeks of clearing out the weeds and various things growing in the terraces, I was able to have the work started on the deck. You can see the last bunch of weeds/plants in the middle of the last terrace next to the green can. Imagine all of this being overrun with weeds…
Nothing here but sand and bugs
Here’s the shot when the contractors came in
The contractors had to level out the sand and drill studs into the retaining wall to support the frame that the planks would be put on top of to create the deck.
Halfway there!
This was this morning when they began to lay down planks as well as compact the sand in the terrace above to install the paver stones.
Finally it’s done! More usable space in the backyard AND no more weed worries!
Yes, the new and old decks don’t match. The new decks are made of a composite that’s wood scraps and PET. They’re rot-proof and don’t require weatherproofing. The old deck is rotting out and in a year or so, that entire deck will need to be replaced too. So when the time comes, I will have the planks laid out in the same pattern as the new deck. So it will match then!
Now all I have to do is to figure out what to do with a 25′ X 22′ space. That’s the main part of the yard and that comprises “Phase 2”. Hopefully that won’t take another 5 years.
Some New York Tips
Even if you’re a frequent visitor (like me) to New York, you should take advantage of the offers that are out there for tourists to make it easier (read: CHEAPER) for you to enjoy what the Big City has to offer.
There are several things that you can do to ease the bite on your wallet that a trip to New York often entails. First off, resign yourself to the fact that you will be riding the Subway AND you will be walking a lot. Kinda like Tokyo, except a bit more gritty.
When you arrive in Manhattan from any of the terrible trio of airports (JFK, EWR, LGA) and you head down to the Subway to continue on to your final destination, you’ll need to buy a MetroCard to ride the Subway. If you’re going to be in NYC for up to a week (or even just a long weekend), purchase the US$24 unlimited ride MetroCard from the ticket machine. Considering it normally costs US$2 each time you go through the turnstile, this will pay for itself VERY QUICKLY. Will also work on MTA basi as well.
There’s a New York CityPass available for US$65 that gives you discounted tickets for a bunch of places. I went to the MOMA with their new digs (admission: US$20), the Empire State Building (US$18 admission + US$7 audio tour), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (US$20) and the Guggenheim (US$15) before I ran out of time. Based on how much these attractions would cost separately (US$80!), I came out ahead by using the CityPass.
And speaking of the MOMA, here’s my usual visit to Monet’s Water Lilies.
No lecture this time, just some picture-taking
Besides the impressionism collection, the MOMA has a great design collection as well as photography. I guess those are the reasons why I go to the MOMA so often.
A famous photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson. More here.
Big pills…that light up!
Here’s how their garden area looks like
As I was leaving the MOMA to go to lunch, I passed by a grafitti exhibit. This one caught my eye and made me think: Is this what the US airlines think of everyone that flies in economy?
I think it would be Y-Class…keep them away from the front of the plane!
Something missing
Looking south from a balmy evening atop the Empire State Building.
It only took 20 minutes to get up here this time!