Prangster in New York

Hi everyone, I moved my blog

It's now on Blogger, not Typepad. The URL is still the same (at yeahokay.com) but in case you're using the old RSS feed, please switch to this one:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/prangster

See you over on Blogger. It's free!

So I went to Copenhagen

Sometimes I come back to this blog with no idea how to pick up where I left off. It's my own fault, of course, for being so damn lazy. Like now, I'm here to post some photos I took in Copenhagen this past week, but I feel weird about it because I didn't share the news on this blog that I finally landed a new job, which I did, and I'm going to start next Monday, which I will. (And I'm excited! Horray!)

So let's fast forward to the photos and pretend that you already know my new job is at Smart Design, where my good friend Jessi works too. I've been looking forward to working there for a while, and I'm totally happy everything turned out peachy.

Now here are some pics from Copenhagen. I took all these shots with the iPhone. Like I said, so damn lazy.

Cruising through the canal in Nyhaven.

Smørrebrød open face sandwiches. I felt silly eating these. They look so clownish.

The Royal Library building, known as the black diamond.

Delicious gourmet hotdogs from the Nimb Hotel cafeteria.

One of my fave experiences in Copenhagen was the view from the top of the Round Tower.

Frederiksborg Castle, built at the beginning of the 17th century, which today doubles as the Museum of Natural History.

Errr, what kind of hideous portrait is this?!

Thank you, Air France

I'm on my way to Copenhagen from New York to get my work visa! I flew the Airbus A380 with Air France and this was my dinner. It was so delicious I ate two. The old French man next to me didn't eat his chicken (crazy guy) so he gave it to me. Oh, and that bean and corn salad on the right was something special.

New York News

I haven't posted lately, I know, but I wanted to share a huge life change that happened to me recently: I finally switched from prepaid mobile service to a two-year contract. I'm soooo crazy, right? I got an iPhone too, and I'm shocked at how happy it makes me. It's hard to believe just a week ago I couldn't send or receive calls or messages because I'd run out of prepaid credit on my phone. And because I didn't realize I only had two cents on my account, I just assumed the entire T-Mobile network was down. But then I realized I had no credit left and I felt like a huge foolio. Huge! But now I have an iPhone and my life is complete. My iPhone is so cute.

The photo above was taken at the New York Stock Exchange (with the iPhone.) I went to a screening of the new Wall Street movie and there was an after-hours reception on the trading room floor. Pretty cool night. I'm so happy I could share it with my iPhone.

Grillin' like villains

I was in Chicago this past week and got to do one of my favorite things ever: grills steaks.

Some of my best steaks ever were made on this baby grill. It's tiny but powerful. This is my meat of choice: New York strip, usually from Whole Foods. Mmm, meat juice.

Salads are important in maintaining a balanced diet. So are beers.

Love on a plate. Sigh.

Turning 29 is serious business

I celebrated twice this year like a spoiled little kid! Ray and Jess treated us to a dinner at the Mermaid Inn on Wednesday. (Thanks again guys!) Then I had too many delicious cocktails on Friday night with new and old friends. Everyone was lovely and got along really well. I totally overcame my birthday anxiety of bringing together different groups of friends. Here are some photos from the dinner!

We drank fire!

My crabdance partner, Jessi. We're so white.

Jess and Ray. They're so dark.

Steve dropped by before he had to go to his flag football play-off games. They won both!

Roosevelt Island, NY

Wow, I've been in NY for two weeks already! I'm staying with Jess and Ray in their apartment on Roosevelt Island until I get settled. It's funny, every time I tell someone that's where I'm staying, I get asked why, as if living on Roosevelt Island is a questionable lifestyle choice. Today I took a walk around the island and took some photos just to show you it's not that weird here. It's kind of a mini 'burb.

By the way, the photos are devoid of people on purpose. I didn't want any death stares from the locals.

This is the Roosevelt Island bridge, which connects the island to Queens.

The super romantic riverwalk.

See, we are *thisclose* to Manhattan.

The water doesn't even smell bad.

There's lots of grass and trees. People set up picnics and stuff. I walked by an old guy sitting in a lawn chair with a Coke. And he wasn't homeless.

Underneath this parking lot there's a Gristedes supermarket and a post office. So civilized.

How cute is this?!

Judging by what I saw in the window displays, this boutique only sells old and dusty things. I would never buy lingerie from this place. Ever.

Ray and Jess are in good company. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan used to live on the island. So did Sarah Jessica Parker, apparently.

Random crap in the window display of a general store. By the subway stop there are more normal retailers like a Starbucks, a Duane Reade pharmacy and a Japanese restaurant.

This dry cleaners is serious about their shoe services. They had another 2 or 3 signs in the window advertising shoe shines.

There's a mid-century vibe in some corners. This is the back entrance to the apartment building.

So that's it. I hope you enjoyed this brief walking tour of Roosevelt Island. I promise I'll post again soon!

I live here

This is our apartment building in Taipei. Doesn't it look like something out of Total Recall? We live on the left hand side, 9th floor. If I could do more than the "auto contrast" function in Photoshop, I'd draw a squiggly line to show you where my room is...

TV in Taiwan

Last night my mum was watching an American Idol knockoff singing contest called "Super Idol." It was the season finale where they crowned the winner and 5 runners up. So many ridiculous things happened. The second runner up was a Korean guy and for some reason he won a women's handbag as well as a cash prize. The runner up was a girl from Shanghai who cried her eyes out before her performance because singing is her dream and it's who she is. Except she's really not that good. The winner was a Taiwanese guy who won $1 million Taiwan dollars and...a piece of women's jewelry. His mum was standing next to him and instead of giving it to his mum to wear, he asked his mum to put the women's necklace around his own damn neck! That move made my own mum say, "Ew, I don't think he's supposed to be wearing that." Oh, and the head of his winner's trophy fell off.

Why this ramen packaging?

Just when I thought Taiwan made sense, I see this in the ramen aisle at the supermarket. And just when I thought my life in Taipei was normal, my mum offers me roasted pig ear strips to snack on. I eat it and it's pretty good.