Winter Break Vacation: Rainy Day at the Zoo

I'm pretty sure I drafted this, but I can't find it so I'll rewrite it.

Day 4: December 29, 2014, New York

That day it was super rainy and we only had one umbrella. We definitely had nothing to dress for the nasty weather, whether it was a water-proof jacket or rain boots (or at least not me.) But my friend really wanted to go to the zoo and I wanted to be productive as well, so we went anyways.

But the way there was just terrible. On our way there, I did complain a lot because it was pouring and I was getting soaked. Still, like I said we wanted to be productive and it was also my friend's last day.

So we got to Central Park Zoo and it was practically empty. There were a few other people there, but BARELY. It was soo much smaller than I had anticipated, because when you think of a zoo, you would expect something pretty big. But it was very small and divided into different wings.

After going through everything, we finally left. We didn't really spend that much time there, actually, but we trooped back home.. and by the end of the day I was super upset because of how soaked and uncomfortable I was and I guess I kind of took it out on my friend. I did feel bad though :( I took a warm shower after that and the rest of the night was just super quiet. 

Study Abroad Application: ✓

I finally had the opportunity to apply for study abroad :D I mean technically I think I could've done it sooner if I REALLY wanted to, but nah. I'll be finishing up a majority of my basic courses this semester and the rest will be for my degrees.

The one I applied for is in Shanghai and also offers an internship. I heard the program isn't too competitive, but still fingers crossed. Or else I'd be upset I wasted $50 for the application fee and would have to redo everything again.

Anyways, until next time :) Will keep you updated on this. 

Winter Break Vacation: Bad, Bad Lunch & First Shopping Experience in NYC

Day 3: December 28, 2013, New York

Woke up at 1:15PM to my friend's spam of texts.

Our first stop for the day was Otto, near Washington Square Park. The food wasn't really that good. Ordered pasta and pizza. The pasta was overly salty and the portions were tiny. The pizza just wasn't good. Had caramel and olive oil gelato for dessert. The caramel didn't taste like caramel and the olive oil one was just weird. Not worth the $40. 

Headed to SoHo to look around. It was my first time in the shopping area there. I ended up buying a few things from Necessary Clothing and the damage wasn't too bad.. I also bought colored tights from Joe Fresh, been wanting some, so I was happy to find them for $2 each. Wasn't able to take any pictures, but I bought two tops, shorts, and a scarf.

My friend got a stomachache so ended up cutting the shopping trip short but we will be back!! The bus took forever to come, probably we got to the stop after it left or something. It was like a good 20 minute wait. 

Black Friday 2013

I'm not sure why it took so long for me to post this since I drafted it months ago o_O I think it was only missing the photos. But anyways..

This year I continued my tradition of going to Wrentham Premium Outlets for Black Friday during their Midnight Madness. I left the house around 10:00PM or so, and I think I stayed awake the whole ride there. We didn't get there until around 1:00PM or so.. in the meantime I rewatched The Hunger Games so I can watch Catching Fire properly. 

Anyways.. the first stop was Theory. I caved in and ended up buying the Gabe B and matching Max C. I'm not totally satisfied with the purchase because I'm not sure if it was a good deal or not. It was 30% off the marked price, but that was about it. Last year, I got a super super good deal, but I might've gotten lucky. But if it wasn't luck...then I should've just held out. 

There wasn't anything else that I specifically look for. I mostly ended up getting sweaters and such. The guys actually finished shopping like two hours earlier than the girls, so.. T_T;;;;; 

Won't bore you with the details so here's the goodies from the night! The bag is for my mom, I like like it though, but I think she would like it more. We went to Natick afterwards and dimsum for breakfast to finish off. I got back around 11. Silly boys continued to shop more afterwards too wtf.

Overall, I don't think everything was that great of a deal o_O Like any other sale imo. But I've been wanting new clothes and it's not like the prices were bad lol.

Anyways, until next time! Hopefully it won't be super outdated like this one ^^;;

Winter Break Vacation: Lazy Day

Day 2: December 27, 2013, New York

We woke up at 11, surprisingly, considering how late we went to sleep. But then for the next two hours it was just lots of waking up and falling back to sleep. Finally got out of bed to get dressed, ate leftover food from the night before, and got ready to head out....only to fall back asleep until 6:30PM WTF. 

Sooo finally we headed out around 7. Our first stop was Prosperity Dumplings, due to the raving reviews of how delicious and cheap they were. It was a bit of a walk there but finally got there eventually. The food was good, I got full after 9 dumplings. Wasn't a big fan of my steamed shrimp dumplings. There was too much cabbage. 

So the yesterday I couldn't figure out how to buy a weekly pass, but finally did today. So wasted $10 :(

Next stop was the Rockefeller Center. Walked around the area to see what was good. There's the giant tree. 

Then we went to the Macy's in Herald Square. I didn't know it was the largest one. It had 9 floors.. That was interesting. Spent some time going through every floor just to have gone through them. 

Last stop for the night was the Brooklyn Bridge Park. I wanted to see the Manhattan Skyline at night. The walk from the station was pretty sketchy because it was soo dark. I have better photos from a different night, I think, so I won't post them here.

Went home and slept at like 7 even though we got back at 12. No idea how it got so late. 

Guess business frats aren't for me

Woke up early this morning for an interview with a business frat that I wanted to be a part of. I did it last semester as well, but didn't work out. I thought the interview went okay, better than last time. But still in the end, it didn't work out. I can't say I'm not disappointed/bitter about it, but I'm surprisingly calm as well. It was still a good learning experience, I suppose. They just don't know what they're missing out on.  In a way, I'm also relieved as well because I was terrified of how much time I would have to commit it the fraternity as well as school and work. It was something I was willing to bet my time on, but I wasn't exactly sure how it'd turn out. 

Winter Break Vacation: The First Day

Day 1: December 26

I took the 7:45AM bus and arrived around noon time. The ride was normal. Spent the first hour or two chatting then slept the test of the way. 

First thing we did was drop everything off at the apartment and then headed to Ippudo NY for lunch. Been wanting to try that place because of the raving reviews. 

Ippudo was about an hour wait. They take down your number and then they text you when it's almost time to be seated. I used that time to look around the neighborhood, which I found to be mainly Japanese food. I stopped by a super cool store called Toy Tokyo, which has a lot of collectibles. If only I could buy everything I want from there lol. I I bought a Gloomy Bear charm.

So back to Ippudo. We got the text and got back to the restaurant ~7 minutes later. Then it was another 5-10 minute wait to be seated. 

I ordered the Karaka Men ($14) with poached egg ($2). The ramen was served within minutes. The noodles were chewy and thin. The portion was pretty small though..I wish finished with it rather quickly. But they do offer extra servings, not sure how much that costs. 

After lunch we took went to Times Square. We watched American Hustle there. I think the movie was kinda meh. I didn't like it that much. 

Walked around the area some more before heading to The Halal Guys to grab some food. 

By this time our phones were out of battery, but we managed to get home safely :) 

Then.. We had a Paranormal Activity marathon because I wanted to watch the 4th one but we ended up just watching all of them. Didn't go to bed until 5.