Back from ATL!

Talk about southern hospitality!!! An excellent trip. I got to experience a great Christmas, meet great people, hang out with sexy santas, eat great food and of course hang out with a great friend of mine.

Sitty! Gina's grandma. What a sweet soul.

Speachless!

Definition of awesome.

Great people at Two Urban Licks (food and decor pictures coming soon)

Schedule

Friday - Dinner with Sam and entertain some friends in town from ATL
Saturday - Shopping hell, Holiday day out (shecky's thing), Long Island for a holiday party
Sunday - Upstate maybe?
Monday - Work and pick up car insurance in Chinatown. Maybe grab some food for the office?
Tuesday - Dinner with Christy and pack for ATL
Wednesday - Half day, lunch with the boys, plane to ATL!

I'm on Azithromycin. It's a 5 day supply so I should be rid of this infection soon. Got me some codeine as well...

Congrats to Tickerhound!

Congrats to my buds at TickerHound. They launched a year ago today and are going strong. Check it out!

http://www.tickerhound.com/

The TickerHound Vision

Have you ever had a question about money, finance or investing and didn’t know where to turn? Are you tired of relying on the advice of financial “professionals” and not having a firm grip on your financial future?

We’re here to change that – by creating an open platform for investors to help other investors we hope to help you take your financial knowledge to the next level. So if you ever have a question about finance or investing, TickerHound should be the first place you come to get the answers.

I'm SICK

Got a Zpack aka Zithro, Zithromax and something with codeine for it!

Quote of the day.

It's snowing!!!

It's snowing!!!
Originally uploaded by Amazin' Jane

The Holiday's are ahead of us. =)

Random quote

"The horns are just there to keep my halo on straight"
Friend's myspace profile.

Eating...

I promise to upload pictures and stories about my China trip and Thanksgiving. In the mean time I want everyone to know that I've been eating and eating. Mostly healthy stuff but way too much of it. I ran a mile and change yesterday with my roommate Kingman. It's nice to feel your legs sore the next day sometimes. Like a shot in the arm. I feel I've been eating way too much and not burning or putting on any mass of any sort.

I've only biked a few times since. Nothing strenuous. I think I'm going for a nice run / bike tonight. We'll see. Keep you posted. Check out my bike on the M103!

I picked up a flat after going to Trader Joe's. the bus driver actually let me bring the bike on board. They're not suppose to. Big ups to him.

I'm back! Happy TGivings!!!

Here's a video to start the month of December. I'm back from a huge trip and a great Thanksgiving.

Hot Pot in Beijing from Simon Tung on Vimeo.
A video of the awesome hot pot techmologist and I had in Beijing.

Almost lost my camera...

How many times can you say you left your camera in a cab and actually got it back 2 minutes later!

It happened earlier today! We pulled up to a fancy building in Shanghai to grab drinks and take pictures. I look up, saw a great view, reached for my pocket for a camera and it wasn't there. I LEFT it in a CAB! We turn around and sure enough the cab actually made a u-turn and it was across the street. I yell over, look into the cab, and thank goodness it was sitting on the floor. The cab drive, who happened to be a woman, kept saying "I had no idea it was there" in mandarin. She thought I was accusing her of stealing it.

All is well in the camera front. Pictures to be posted after my trip. Credit to techomologist who spotted the driver.

Greetings from China!

We were playing with LED's midnight in Beijing. Here's a little peak and a hello of what one of our projects look like!

Hi (你好)

Really adorable stuff here.

Happy Halloween!

Neighbors on the first floor carved out awesome pumpkins!

Empire

Empire from Empire on Vimeo.

Office Supply Physics!

All through scotch tape!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/10/27/science/102808-XRay_index.html

China!

China is creeping up on me. In less than two weeks I'll have restricted internet use, great food, and great memories.

Beijing's weather is late fall / winterish weather. As we head south it will feel more like New York and then even a little Miamish.

Things I'll "miss" while I'm in China.
2 episodes of Entourage
2 weekends of NFL football picks for my pool
World Series of Poker finally
All of which I will happily do without.

I'm very impressed with how techmologist is approaching this trip. He's been really canvasing his network of fellow Asians and china travelers to consult with the big cities. With the planning and networking I really think this will be a trip of a lifetime.

Weekend Update.

Great weekend.

Friday Knick game and then Union Bar.
Saturday Caren's Bday party at Essex and then Around the Clock for Food.
Sunday hanging out at Dave's place in Hoboken.

Good times.

Pics below - All taken with my iPhone.

Fancy ventilation

Green tile work. It's pretty awesome.

Fancy Stove and Oven

62incher during the day.

62incher during the evening.

Gas powered wall O fire

Braised short ribs by fooddotout.

Cleaning up my place...

It auto plays so I've just posted the link.

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=20349520

Tour de Bronx (gothamist)

_DSC0098.jpg
Originally uploaded by dogseat

One day you can travel to the bronx in style!

Grouphug

"I’m scared to get a Myspace because I don’t think anybody would comment me."

Grouphug

What I read.

I read a lot online. Majority of it is from nytimes.com and gothamist.com. Here are a few stories that caught my eye today.

Daily News Endorses Obama
Grape Expectations
Jets Nose tackle and his passion for food
Times Topic on Coffee

Grouphug.us

"i cant be just friends with you."
grouphug

How many times has that happened to you!

Trip to the Chinese Embassy

The Chinese Embassy is a walk in the park. Get your paperwork in order and you'll be in and out in 15 minutes. fooddotout and I are planning a trip to China and we need to get our visas in order. We took the bus over to 42nd street and 12th avenue. Quick and painless. I thought I'd be late for work but I wasn't at all. I pick our passports with fresh visas up on Tuesday.

Riding on the M42!

Didn't get a chance to take any pics at the Embassy. I did snap a shot of Flat Top! Bringing it back old schooooolllll.

On my way back to the office I tried to take a pic of the library without looking like a tourist. Success!

Self portrait in the lobby of my building.

Water under the bridge...

Went to the Falls in NYC. It was pretty cool. I biked down there with the techmologist. He snapped some really sweet shots. Here's one shot with me in it! Olafur Eliasson knows what's up.

They shut them off FIVE minutes early. Not cool.

quote of the day

MyBuddy: My mom is a real housewife of NYC

me: ?

My Buddy: she just went "God, this is house is so big. So much effort to clean it up. This maid is costing me too much."

I don't think she understands what financial crisis is

me: LOLLL

that's hilarious

Rock of Ages & The Hudson

I went to go see a musical last night. Like most musicals there was a love story and singing. This was way different and way more awesome.

Check out the set list!
"We Built This City" - Starship
"Nothing But a Good Time" - Poison
"Keep On Lovin' You" - REO Speedwagon
"(Just Like) Livin' in Paradise" - David Lee Roth
"I Wanna Rock" - Twisted Sister
"Too Much Time on My Hands" - Styx
"Renegade" - Styx
"I Hate Myself for Loving You" - Joan Jett
"Oh Sherrie" - Steve Perry
"Waiting For a Girl Like You" - Foreigner
"Shadows of the Night" - Pat Benatar
"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey
"Heaven" - Warrant
"The Search is Over" - Survivor
"We're Not Gonna Take It" - Twisted Sister
"High Enough" - Damn Yankees
"The Final Countdown" - Europe
"I Want to Know What Love Is" - Foreigner
"Harden My Heart" - Quarterflash
"Here I Go Again" - Whitesnake
"To Be With You" - Mr. Big
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Poison
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - Pat Benatar
"Can't Fight This Feeling" - REO Speedwagon
"Wanted Dead or Alive" - Bon Jovi
"Cum On Feel the Noize" - Quiet Riot
"Any Way You Want It" - Journey
"Heat of the Moment" - Asia
"Sister Christian" - Night Ranger
"More Than Words" - Extreme

It really rocked out!

Afterwards my friends and I headed over the Hudson Hotel bar. There was this old man. He was in his 60's possible 70's GETTING DOWN on the dance floor. He was going to his own beat and pointing his fingers up in the air like a pro. When I grow old I would be so happy to live his night life in the club. NOT the bedroom.



Enjoy the music!!!

Busy & I got me a bicyle!

Been a little preoccupied with work and play recently. I'm finally back on the blogging circuit. I got a road bike last night! My coworker Dan has been helping me search for the a nice road bike and found a Cannondale on craigslist. I hopped on a train after work and picked it up on the spot. I love it so far. I need to get a lock, better seat, new tires, and a helmet now.

This image is from the actual craigslist posting.

Matches the carpet. Kinda.

I'm very excited about my new bike.

Travel Plans for the near future.

I came across an article on Nytime.com. Think of the possibilities! I don't know if being trapped in a train for 3 days would be comfortable. We'll see. Wonder how many stops there would be on the way. Hmm...

September 30, 2008, 12:23 pm

Traveling From New York City to Berkeley, Calif., by Train

I want to know if it’s possible to travel from New York City to Berkeley, Calif. by train. I am a single senior female. How long would the trip take and what would it cost (roughly)? Thank you.

Jeanne Blumberg,
Mamaroneck, N.Y.

Amtrak’s Empire Builder on its route from Chicago to Seattle and Portland. (Amtrak Travel)

Taking the train across the United States is a trip of a lifetime, especially since the rails travel through stunning areas of the country where highways don’t reach. It is possible to travel on Amtrak (www.amtrak.com) from New York to Berkeley, going through Colorado and northern Utah, but you’ll need to change trains in Chicago and Sacramento, Cal.

The trip will take at least 74 hours, or three days straight, so I suggest getting a private sleeping berth for at least part of the trip. I took a three-day cross-county train trip from Washington, DC to Seattle with just a coach seat and only slept well when the seat next to me happened to be empty.

The cost depends on whether you get the room. A coach-only reservation for a mid-October trip can cost as little as $265.20, with a senior discount. But if you add a Superliner Roomette (holds two) for the two nights on the California Zephyr (the Chicago to Sacramento leg), the price of the same trip is $809.95.

Be sure to check out the Berkeley destination guide in nytimes.com/travel, which includes “36 Hours in Berkeley, Calif.” by Joshua Kurlantzick. And if you have time in Chicago or Sacramento, our archives include destination guides to those cities as well. - DAVID G. ALLAN

Any Given Sunday

This is an email I received today from a good friend of mine. Actually he's one of my best friends. It's a quote from Any Given Sunday. A little inspiration to start your weekend off right.

I don't know what to say really. Three minutes till the biggest battle of our professional lives. It all comes down to today. Now either we heal as a team, or we're gonna crumble. Inch by inch, play by play, till we're finished. We're in hell right now, gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb out of hell. One inch at a time.

Now I can't do it for you. I'm too old. I look around, I see these young faces, and I think... I mean I've made every wrong choice a middle-aged man can make. I pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who's ever loved me, and lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror. You know when you get old in life, things get taken from you. That's part of life. But you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out life's this game of inches. And so is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small. I mean... one half a step too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow too fast, you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when we add up all those inches, that's gonna make the fucking difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying! I'll tell you this - in any fight, its the guy whose willing to die who's gonna win that inch. And I know if I'm going to have any life anymore, it's because I'm still willing to fight and die for that inch. Because that's what living is! The 6 inches in front of your face...

Now I can't make you do it. You've got to look at the guy next to you, look into his eyes. Now I think you're gonna see a guy who will go that inch with you.

You're gonna see a guy who will sacrifice himself for this team, because he knows when it comes down to it, you're gonna do the same for him.

That's a team, gentlemen. And either we heal, now, as a team, or we will die, as individuals. That's football, guys. That's all it is. Now, what are you going to do?

Quote of the Day

"I wish we had casual internet Fridays" Dan the coworker.

I'm back from LA!

What a great weekend. I feel so good after my red eye flight. Pictures and stories to follow.

I'm a tiger. ARghhh

Messing with exposure

fooddotout was messing with light exposures with his slr. It's so freaking cool.

It's suppose to spell out Simon. I only got to Sim.

Georg

Georgis


Light-Paint Piano Player from Ryan Cashman on Vimeo.

Fuck Grapefruit (xkcd.com)

Mets Win! Santana comes through!!!

WHAT A GAME!!! I want to thank Samantha for inviting me out last night. It was Amazing!

Santana pitched 8 innings of two run ball. He comes through every time and we finally got run support. The bases were loaded and a fan ran onto the field. It was one of the best "fan runs on the field" moments EVER!

The runner was in a grey sweat suit and ran from 3rd base to 2nd base

He juked the first security guard who fell flat on his face. The 2nd guard caught him and tackled him. What happened afterward seemed fake. The kid's sweatpants fell off. His white bare ass was exposed to the entire stadium. Everyone was going wild. It took another couple minutes to carry him off to left field. They took him into the visitor bull pen and the crowd kept going nuts.

The last time I saw someone run onto the field was at Yankee Stadium. The security there seemed twice the size of the chubby guys at Shea. It took one guy to tackle the gentleman and zip tie cuff him. And they carried him off like a tied up hog for roasting.

Two things. If you ever order the chicken cutlet sandwich at Shea, don't. You get barely any chicken and the bread's stale. Sushi is good but over priced.

I had a serious face on for the picture.

Then I switched it up!

In Church we trust.

Quote of the Day

“The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.” FREDERICH NIETZSCHE.

Weekend update!

I had a fun packed weekend. It started Thursday night. I went out to dinner with my good friend Winnie and met up with another old friend of mine after for a little clubbing. It was nice to catch up with old friends and it's been a long while since I went to a house club. Kiss and Fly had this euro feel to it. Half the people there spoke french. I had a rough Friday at work.

Friday evening I planned a birthday dinner for my sis. She's 16+15 and a little sad about it. I'm currently 27. What's the big deal? I guess I'll find out in 4 years. We ate at Stanton Social. The food there is consistantly good. I really like the variety. It's like Americanized dim sum. We had 5 people for dinner and ordered a total of 17 dishes. It was maybe 1 or 2 dishes over. Everything rocked.

My sister's a rock star! I found the biggest b-day cake for her.

Afterwards my sister and brother in-law left for home. Kenny and Winnie (my cousin not so cousin) went across the street to grab a few drinks at Essex. I have been partying there and brunching there for well over 7 years now. We had a few and I saw some old friends that work there. A new bartender started working there and she's absolutely beautiful. Sabrina from Queens. I can go on all day about her. We drink and 10pm rolls by and my good friend Mascha strolls in. It's her birthday party across the street at La Caverna! We grab some more drinks at Essex and we walk a total of 75 feet to catch her party.

That's not Russian Vodka! Happy Bday Mascha!

La Caverna is an interesting spot. I threw a new years party there about 5 years ago. It was a shit show. Nick, the owner, took care of it all. The place is still around and the place was packed out Saturday night. B&T crowd for sure though. We drink we have fun and we wonder down the block to Congee Villiage to find out they stop serving at 2am. I'm not too happy about that but we switch gears and catch a cab to Wo Hop. We chow down and go home.

I was pretty upset that Congee Village stopped serving food late.

I'm Monique and I don't know what I want from the awesome menu!

Saturday I try to recover fully for Greg and Cara's wedding. What a wedding! It's a close 2nd best wedding ever. I'm obligated to say my sister's wedding was beautiful and well done. Well, i'm not obligated but it was freakin awesome. Greg and Cara's wedding was at Water's Edge in Long Island City. There were beautiful views of the city throughout the entire evening. The band played Biggie Smalls and all types of awesome 90's hip hop. A lot of dancing and a lot of drinking. Table 5 was ON! We rocked the house down. The midnight cruise was provided by Doug Weiss, Greg's brother. We rocked out some more there and I mixed it up with champagne. We were expecting an after party at 2am but no one wanted to go out. Gaurav and I were the only two that made it out and chilled to about 3:30 at Forum.

The very happy couple who are currently in New Zealand.

The Hora!

Part of the posse.

Greg and I

Cara and I.

Sunday I was woken up by my buddy Gaurav requesting my awesome football skills. My awesome I mean I can catch every other ball thrown to me and hassle the other team by trash talking. I watched most of the Giants game on TV and missed the OT drive for the win while heading to the football game. We, team Super Crew, killed team 300. I had a few receptions and a jammed left pinky. Also by killed I mean we scored 5 td's and shut them out. I came home and George aka fooddotout wanted to go eat in chinatown via bicycle. I gladly joined and we cruised down to Christie Street to chow down on some braised beef noodles. We took the FDR service road back and "the falls" is quite a site in the evening.

Now I'm kicking back watching the last yankee game in the old stadium going back and forth with the Dallas Green Bay game. Kicking back and detoxing.

Live and die by the METS

Mets are a half game out of first place right now. I'm rooting for them because they're my team. I'm a Mets fan. I've always been. I don't remember how I became a fan but I just am.

I also have a $150 riding on them to win the world series.

Rainbow over Shea going into CitiField. It's a beautiful sight.

Hummus in Midtown

I want hummus and carrots. There's no large supermarket in Midtown that has hummus. I had a taste of Sabra's hummus over the weekend. That shit is good. Where can I find HUMMUS and baby carrots???

Babbo

Last night was a culinary delight! Went to Babbo with George and Jen. The food was freaking amazing except my braised beef. The beef was good, not amazing. Everything else was like whoa.

Awesome pics are taken by George. George's full review can be found here.

We were 15 minutes late. No big dealzzz.

Month of September

I thought August was crazy. September is crazier!

Vineyards in Long Island
Naked couch surfing
Sister B'day
Dinners
Fire Island
Russian Hats
Clubs
Lounges
Babbo!
Greg and Cara's wedding
Putting fires out
Visiting grandma
Finalizing China
LA
Running
Rooting for the JETS & METS
Entourage
US Open
Shabu Shabu aka Hot Pot
Adrianna Lima
$40 suit jacket from Zara

Pics to follow.

Grouphug.us

Grouphug is an anonymous confession website. Some are very disturbing. Some are quite funny.

Here's one I got a healthy chuckle out of.

993383354
I once found a girl attractive only after my close friend confessed to me that he was in love
with her.

iFAILLLL!!! 3G down!

"Hey Simon, how's that iPhone of yours?"
"It's great, check this out I can... I can show you a blank screen because the 3g and Edge is currently out"

Thank you Binh for the update.

engadget

iFAILLLL

Finalizing China

I'm finally getting China finalized. Here's how the itinerary is looking like.

11/7 Fly to Beijing
11/13 Fly to Shanghai
11/15 Fly to Fuzhou
11/18 Fly to Hong Kong
11/23 Fly back to NYC

Fun facts about traveling to the other side of the world.
There's a 12 hour difference in time.
China's morning is New York's evening.
Flight time non stop is about 14 hours.
Visa's are $130

Last night...

I woke up to my roommate laughing at me. Why? Because I somehow ended up on the couch passed out naked after partying last night. WTF?

The Tungs

Check out my parents! Kickin it old school with their wedding pic. Do we look anything like our parents?

My pimpin parents.

My sister and I rockin out the pink and the glasses.

Tung Oil - Do not mess around.

Reppin Minwax to the fulleset!