Stopped by my local Dunkin Donuts today and
bought myself this frosted donut decked with the colors of the New York Giants
in spirit of the upcoming Super Bowl this Sunday. Other than the different
colors, it tastes exactly all the other frosted donuts they have.
I wonder if they have a different colored donuts in the Boston area for the New
England Patriots.
After opening for more than a month I decided to finally try the $1 pizza slice at my local 7-Eleven and I was quite surprised. At first I was little hesitant because other $1 pizza joints in NYC offer pizza that aren't the tastiest, but at $1 apiece one can't really complain. With 7-Eleven however, they were actually pretty good. The slice actually had some seasoning on it! This pizza is a good quick fix for those hunger moments.
Yesterday I embarked on my mysterious trip
assigned by the Bureau of Unknown Destinations. My destination:
Hastings-On-Hudson.
I started off the morning by opening the sealed envelope I received last
week. Inside was a round trip train ticket, a train timetable, mini
travel log and a card with instructions. Since I didn't knew where I was
going until this moment, I had no time to plan some activities and just had to
make up some while enroute. After a quick lunch, I hopped on a Metro
North train and was there in about 30 minutes.
If it wasn't for the view of the NYC skyline and George Washington Bridge in
the distance, I would've never guessed that this place was so close to the
city! Walking around the area I immediately had a small town/village
feeling. Mom and pop stores lined up along Main St. and diners at the
eateries consisted of locals that called each other by their first names.
There was a great sense of community.
As for activities other than eating, I was surprised that there were numerous
things to do. There was the Museum in the Streets where information signs
were placed in front of points of interest for people to read up on. Next
I walked along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail that cut across the town. In
this 26 mile New York State Historic Park, folks could take a walk north towards Dobbs Ferry or south towards Greystone, all the while walking past historic artifacts and
abandoned buildings. I walked south and turned around in time to catch
the sunset at MacEchron Park.
This was an excellent quick getaway from the city. I definitely have to
come back to the nearby towns to further explore the Old Croton Aqueduct.
If you look past the dated decor, dusty exterior, garbled PA system, dirty windows/floors and sometimes faulty doors, the M2 cars on Metro North do have a nice thing going for them... and that is that they are so easy to fall asleep in one!
Due to the probably bad suspension, the cars tend to be a bit bouncy as they travel up and down the lines. Coupled that with the cushioned seats and it's easy to feel weary during your commute and nod off until you are woken up by the loud announcement that you've arrived in Grand Central and everyone must get off.
This afternoon I received an email telling me that I didn't qualify for a position I applied for. It was the typical rejection letter, or in this case email. I'm used to getting this type of employment related responses, so it doesn't sting as much anymore. Besides, I was a little hesitant to apply for this position in the first place because I didn't quite have all the skill requirements they were looking for. Hey, it never hurts to try!
After reading this email, I realized that I don't get these emails that much anymore. A while back whenever I didn't qualify for whatever reason I would get one of those vague emails saying I'm out of the race. Now however, I rarely get any email. It feels like I'm left in the dark. Many say to never call to follow up as it might look like you're pestering them, but if I don't am I suppose to just sit around and wait for that email that will never come?
Yes, they are inundated with resumes and overworked, but is it that difficult to send that auto-generated email? "Dear [name], Thank you for your interest. We regret to inform you that you have not been selected to the next round because [select reason from drop-down menu]..."
If that is indeed too difficult, then how about programming some auto-send response with something along the lines of "Hey, we're still working on this position and haven't forgotten about you. Hang tight!" or "We have decided to put this position on hold while we reevaluate our budgeting needs and will inform you when we will be again actively looking to fill this position" that would trigger after certain amount of time has passed without any activity.
People (me included) will probably feel low, maybe even a bit slighted, when we get the rejection response, and that's fine. They at least they know where they currently stand and not left in some kind of job limbo. There are countless applicant/interviewee etiquette articles, but what about etiquette tips for the other party?
While running an errand this afternoon, I stopped by a post office along the way. While I was about to pay for my shipment I noticed the lady behind the bulletproof window had a stack of Chinese New Year stamps. They looked pretty cool so I bought two sheets, one to use and one to keep. If they came out last week I would've saved 24 cents per sheet as the Forever stamps were still 44 cents.
The dragon looks really well drawn and is quite colorful. It's a nice break from the usual Statue of Liberty, which by the way I heard is not the actual Statue of Liberty, but rather the one from the New York, New York hotel in Las Vegas.
The idea that New Yorkers are rude is probably as old as the city itself, and a recent article from Travel and Leisure reassured that. As a New Yorker myself I was ready to immediately dismiss the claim once again, but right as this notion crossed my mind, a lady that was walking directly right in front me didn't hold the door for me and I nearly had it hit me on the face. She then continued to yap on with her friend and walked slowly up the subway platform stairs, blocking traffic flow and making people having to walk around them.
To say all New Yorkers are rude is wrong however. For tourists it just takes just one bad incident for them to label everyone here in NYC rude and then pass that isolated experience to all their friends. However, for people that stay here longer they get to see the kinder side of local residents in various forms, whether it be helping someone with a baby carriage down/up the stairs, giving (correct) directions, or giving their seat to someone who needs it more.
Yeah, some New Yorkers are rude, but not everyone here is like that all the time. Stick around for a bit and you'll see what I mean.
To all those that celebrate it, Happy Chinese New Year! This year it’s the year of the dragon and for many that’s most special animal in the Chinese zodiac as it represents power and fortune. Because of this, it is expected to be an increase in babies born in China this year. Of course this is all just as valid as astrological signs if you believe in those stuff.
Well so far this year is starting off slow and I’ll take this over the stress I had Chinese New Year two years ago. My parents are currently in China visiting relatives, so it’s just a nice relaxing day at home for me.
A coworker told me that depending on what you do today you will be doing that for the rest of the year. I was about to set up a dentist appointment since I had today off, but after hearing that I decided to delay it yet again. I’ll go eventually! As for now, I’ll just take it easy for the day.
After reading about an art project called "The Bureau of Unknown Destinations" where participants are given a round trip ticket to a random destination and plan a day around that, I was intrigued and decided to partake this adventure. The trips are about one hour away from New York City and can be completed in a day, so don’t go thinking that the random destination can be some European city.
I stopped by the bureau yesterday and picked up my mystery package with the tickets and a timetable and task instructions. Given that this trip is free I have no complaints about the task. Besides, it’s a fairly simple task. I’m not allowed to open the package until the day of the trip, but what I do know is that the ticket is an open ticket and I can pick a date when it’s convenient for me.
Now I just have to wait until next Saturday when I can open the package and begin my trip. Ah, I can’t wait!
So we just had the first snowstorm for this season and compared to what we had last year, this was nothing. To make up for being underprepared last year, city agencies seemed to be over preparing in what turned out to nothing major. I guess it's better to be better prepared than be caught off-guard.
The sanitation department is testing out some fancy new GPS equipment on their plow trucks in hopes to curb complaints from the public constantly screaming at them for unplowed streets. Not sure if it was successful or not.
As for the MTA, certain subway lines ended early while others ran local, and all weekend service changes (except for the 7 train) were cancelled. Most stations posted up flyers saying certain lines, in my case it was the B train, was ending early, but unfortunately I was waiting in one of those stations they forgot to put up any posters. If it was for that conductor on the D train I would've been waiting for a nonexistent train.
Well, as soon as we're all talking about this storm, the snow has already moved out of the area. I wonder when is the next round.
Looks like Volkswagen is back again this year for another Star Wars themed Super Bowl ad. Doesn't have much impact as the first one, but still cool though.
For the next couple of weeks I will be leaving
work earlier than usual as I have to figure out dinner by myself. Have to
give myself extra time to prepare dinner now. Yes, I can cook, but real
basic dishes or dishes I wouldn't feel comfortable serving to others.
Hey, if I get sick from my own cooking, at least I won't be bringing down
anyone with me!
Of course since I work in Chinatown I can easily grab an inexpensive prepared
meal on the go and call that dinner, but I don't think that's too healthy on a
daily basis. Besides, these couple of weeks give me the chance to try out
cooking some new foods. If it fails, oh well.
This almost feels like living in Japan all over again except that this time I
have a lot more food options to choose from.
I'll admit I'm not an expert on SOPA (Stop
Online Piracy Act) and have not been following it as closely as I should, but
from the judging from the surface of this matter and general details and info
collected from around the internet, I sense that this is not going to be good
for the internet.
It's good to fight piracy, but when you want to place general, and often
over-reaching rules, a lot of innocent people are going to be caught in the
crossfire.
Rather than reading a post about SOPA, watch this video explaining a similar bill trying to pass called the Protect IP Act.
It's one thing to be famous, but when one is
well known because of his/her temper, as I found out during a dinner outing
earlier tonight, I don't think that's something to brag about. People are
famous for all sorts of reasons like their accomplishments, generosity,
heroics, etc. Having a short temper though, that falls on the other side
of the spectrum of things to be famous for, like being famous for greediness,
tardiness or irresponsibility.
Well, if you want to make a positive spin out of this somehow, you can argue that at least
people are talking about you which in a way is a form of free publicity I
suppose.
Waiting for over three months, I finally got my
refund from the MTA for a faulty unlimited Metrocard I purchased back in
September. The card only lasted for a day before the magnetic strip
conked out. I've had bad Metrocards before, but this is a record... one
freaking day!
Anyway, I called them three weeks after mailing it back to them to follow up on my claim as it took two to three weeks for my last claim. The nice lady told me that the average turnaround time was now two to three months. I guess it was either due to staff cutbacks or a raise in faulty cards causing the severe backlog, but I want to think it was the former rather than the latter.
This was one of those weekends where it was too cold to do anything outside, let alone step outside of the house. I was thinking about heading out for lunch, but the chilly winds quickly pushed me back into the house and persuaded me to cook something instead.
The frigid temps coupled with no direct Q train service to Manhattan this entire weekend meant it was the perfect time to stay home-bound. It wasn't like there was nothing to do at home either. Whether it be cleaning up my room, catching up on some video games, organizing my pictures I was able to keep myself occupied the whole time.
After weeks of being back-ordered, Best Buy is slowly getting Mario Land 3D back in stock and I was luckily able to grab one at a local store just in time for the weekend!
My first impressions of the game is that it's a pretty fun game. There are some parts where the camera angle is a bit bad, causing me to walk right off the ledge. Other than that though, the visuals, music and controls are good. The 3D implementation is good too, though I don't know if it's healthy to play it in 3D mode for several hours straight.
All in all, another fine installation in the Mario series!
Earlier this week, the MTA posted on their
website (which I unfortunately forgot to take a snapshot of as evidence) that
due planned work on the Staten Island Railway, trains would be departing
exactly as scheduled. At first I thought I read it wrong because sounded
funny. On time trains is a service change? Yeah right. After
a second read-through though, it did in fact said that.
Only the NYC MTA would post trains running on time as a service change.
So I guess trains running late means that it's normal service.
In the beginning I didn't understand why people would like to check in at places, but now I find myself doing it. I guess it's part bragging and part recording my history, well at least for me anyway. Many years from now I will remember exactly where and when I went to various places thanks to all these check-in updates.
Aside from just checking in at various places
though, which for some are very annoyed with I'm sure, I've decided to take the
extra step and add a comment and/or review for each place checked in.
That way people get more out of the check-in than just, "Oh, he's at the store again."
Of course, if you still find this annoying you can always block these updates
altogether. I don't blame you for doing so... I get annoyed sometimes as well!
McDonald's decided to jump into the bite size
chicken arena with their Chicken McBites. Anyone familiar with KFC's
popcorn chicken will instantly know what I'm talking about and probably even
mistaken this McDonald's version for that.
The taste is nothing new to regulars of this fast food chain. It tastes
exactly like their Chicken Selects except that it's obviously smaller.
That's fine and all, but like all other bite size chicken out there, each piece
is more flour than actual chicken meat. This is good for McDonald's
because that means they're cheaper to make and when priced at $3.49 for a
regular (in Manhattan) they can have a larger profit margin for each box sold.
In the end, I think these McBites could adequately satisfy a quick snack
fix. If you need more than just a snack, but like their taste, you're
probably better off getting Chicken Selects instead.
Today I ducked out of work early to avoid a
client that was supposed to stop by later (actually I still left late, but the
difference here was that I didn't wait around for my other coworkers to finish
up and leave together). I quickly finished up whatever needed to be done
today and cleaned up my desk for the day. Luckily by the time I was ready
to go the person hasn't arrived yet.
There is nothing wrong with the person. Actually the person's quite
nice. It's just that s/he tends to be long-winded whenever s/he stops by
for a chat and I wasn't really in the mood for an extra long conversation after
work today. Today was one of those days where you just want to go
straight home after work and relax.
The person will surely come by again in the near future, but today I'm going to
miss this friendly encounter I'm afraid.
In 2011 whenever I had an active unlimited Metrocard I wrote down daily the number of times I used that card for 30 days straight. I wanted to see exactly how much I was saving (or costing me) by buying an unlimited over the traditional pay-per-ride card. After a year of logging this information, this was what I got:
In 2011:
Bought 8 unlimited Metrocards costing a total of $832 (No unlimited card in Feb, Mar, Apr and Dec)
Took 579 trips using those 8 cards
Average rides: 2.4 per day or 72.4 per month
Average cost per ride: $1.43
Savings (compared to a $20 pay-per-ride card with 7% bonus): $0.78
Most rides in one day: 7
Number of days with no rides: 24
So in the long run I'm saving a little bit over the regular pay-per-ride cards. $0.78 doesn't seem much, but over 579 trips, that's a lot! Of course if I knew I didn't have an unlimited card, I wouldn't be making all those trips (one time I took the 6 train for just one stop to buy lunch!) and the total number of trips would be lower.
In the continuing series of obsolete stuff, I happened to
stumble upon my old Flip camera while looking around for an Ethernet cable.
I don't think I have actually used this camera to record
anything outside of the house. The only
time I ever really used it was the first day when I got it to test it out. With my point and shoot camera having a
similar function at a higher quality and also being able to take pictures,
there was really no need for this Flip.
Now with smartphones becoming more popular, people don't want to carry
around a single function gadget like this and I can see way Cisco ended the
Flip line not too long after taking it over from Pure Digital Technologies.
I wonder if I can sell this. If not, I guess it's time to recycle this
sucker.
With Kodak being delisted from the stock market,
does this mean the beginning of the end for Kodak?
I remember when I was younger and during Kodak's heyday, they were the company when it came
photography and film. I often would pay the premium price to have my
pictures developed using that fancy Kodak paper. The photos always came
out better looking on their paper.
However, as time passed I like many other people stopped printing/developing
pictures as digital cameras became more common and storing them on our massive
hard drives was sufficient. Kodak unfortunately seemed to be still stuck in
the film period. They did try to modernize by creating online picture
storage website and a handful of digital cameras, but the lukewarm receptions
to these innovations didn't help them one bit.
So as Kodak slowly vanishes away, I hope the company will at least retain some sort of presence in photography so the younger generation these days can appreciate the nostalgic process of taking pictures.
Today was another frigid day. In fact, it was so cold outside that I noticed several spit/loogies hocked on the floor were frozen. It's one thing to step on someone else's spit while walking, but another to step on frozen spit. Imagine if you slipped on some too. How embarrassing would that be when you try to explain to someone that you slipped on spit?
Now that I think about it, it's also quite gross to step on that huge amount of frozen spit to be able to slip.
Today I overheard someone proclaiming today to
be the coldest day of the year. While this is true, the year just
started, so that title probably doesn't have much weight. Still, it was
indeed quite frigid this morning while waiting on the elevated subway platform.
Using a term such as "coldest" so early in the year made me realize
that we can get away with many phrases with superlatives like this at the beginning of the
year. Aside from coldest, I can also say today was the windiest day of
the year. Or how about driest? It doesn't even have to apply to
just weather. Today was my busiest day of the year; he's the happiest
person I've talked to this year; or she's the wealthiest lady I've met this
year. They might not hold the title for that long at all, but it was nice for that
brief moment at least!
New year means new resolutions! I guess
it's customary for many to create some resolutions or goals to achieve for the
year, but whether they're actually accomplished is another story.
Speaking of that, some choose not to make any resolutions for this very reason,
but I say make some anyway. It's not a bad idea to have some kind of
(realistic) aim.
My first resolution is about my weight. Unlike others who resolve to lose
weight, I actually hope to gain more weight, preferably muscle over fat, though
I'll be happy with any. My next resolution is to sleep earlier.
This is actually a lot harder than it seems for a night owl like me, but I'll try
my best. My last resolution is to simply enjoy life and take it
easier. With more touristy weekends planned for the next season and mini
vacation(s) coming up when the weather gets warmer, this shouldn't be too
difficult to take these much needed breaks.
Hope 2012 shapes up to be the year I can finally keep all my resolutions!
In the continuing series of obsolete stuff, I happened to
stumble upon my old Flip camera while looking around for an Ethernet cable.
With Kodak being delisted from the stock market,
does this mean the beginning of the end for Kodak?