sophia’s travel by night

Just met some of mom n dad's friends. Spring n May, but it is Autumn right now!

I'm here in atlanta, transiting to san jose, costa rica. Just woke up in time 2 c sunrise n pass out again. Only the children look wide awake at ths hr. My parents should b in the same terminal now awaiting their flt to liberia. How surprised view wd b 2 c me!

well, i'm flying to costa rica next thurs (sept 27-oct 2) to meet my parents and their frnds. i'll prob b the only daughter around. i don't care, cuz i get to c my parents and travel to somewhere i've not been and wanted to go. i don't even care if i hv to lug my laptop and work late into the nites to finish my current project for my sister's company. i don't mind taking the cheaper flt & driving in a private car for 5 hrs to get to liberia, from san jose, is okay, i will prob c some sights n sleep. i can't wait to c the stars at nite while at the hotspring. and i my dad can answer some questions i've got regarding the designs and maybe i will even b able to draw a bit? too ambitious? maybe i should lug those. gotta borrow a smaller suitcase (22" carry on size would b good.)

cocoon travel sheets, comes in all materials and shapes. i love it. cuz when u'r travelling somewhat budget and lux at the same time, it's nice to kno tht ur sheets r ur own. u can trust it to b bug-free, germ-free and it carries ur own scent. it's washable n light wt + compact. u can even use it on long haul flts and save the airline & the world another sheet of plastic bag wrappings while making sure u're wrapped in ur own shell and it's warm.

ths is called razor clams

This is how i feel too.

O it's raining right now. didn't c that coming at all! gotta change plans for the day... maybe i'll just hang out n watch tv? tht'd b nice too. so lazy about moving myself once i settled in. but it'll b nice to hang w/ the cats and actually watch tv? anyways, tht's for in a bit, wanna chat about last nite, and various updates, things happening...etc. it's friday nite and i'm wondering, what's to do? and henry called to say he's nearby, want a drink? how about chikalicious? so, finally made it to chikalicious. tonite is the nite when dinner goes backwards/forward. desserts first then main food. no lines! cuz it's when most ppl r still at drinks or starting dinner... so, i thought maybe it was more relaxed and u get to converse w/chika while she worked. but she's soooooooo busy putting together things & she's shy tht it was a bit less like that. she has a big big smile, very shy, very sweet. the process of her making all the light y...

turns out the name, Helevtica, was latin origin of the swiss, Helvetia. since the typeface was updated into modern design by the swiss...hence. this is a new info i learnt at the film Helvetica (tht i dozed off on, i was tired) i must say, i love this typeface a lot, but because the Cap R always bothered me, so my passion is w/Avenir (related to Futura, avenir means "future" in french) as a challenge for myself tho, it might b good to design w/Helvetica for a while? just a thought. maybe not... -------going back towards the morning, wnt to the park for a quick stroll w/yuki wu (my aunt's name, actually, we are related thru my aunt marrying into her side of the family somewhere) and did yoga in the park. she asked, why do ppl not excercise in the park? in asia, our parks hv dingy trees and lots of concrete, not very pleasant, but ppl just love excercising ther; here, the parks have such amazing trees, etc and yet, only a handful is ther, sitting or ppl watching. i dunno ho...

well, i came across this book at the wu's, written by the wife of a taiwanese embassador (sort of) these are her picks of top 70 places to b eating in nyc... her book's english title is :Eat Big Apple [1] 1. burger joint at Le Parker Meridien 2. chikalicious (tried 3 times to go, but way too small & line way too long) 3. chumley's 4. db bistro moderne 5. katz's (will b closed for 2 yrs while they build a high rise condo there)* 6. norma's 7. rice to riches 8. serendipity 3 (seen in One fine day, movie)* 9. tomoe sushi* [2] 10. 5 Ninth 11. asia de cuba 12. balthazar* 13. kittichai 14. matsuri 15. morimoto 16. spice market 17. vento trattoria [3] 18. cafe gray 19. four seasons 20. gotham bar & grill* 21. keens steakhouse 22. le bernardin 23. nobu 24. peter luger steak house 25. sparks steak house [4] 26. asiate 27. aureole 28. craft 29. cru 30. limpero 31. petrossian 32. wallsé [5] 33. bouley 34. daniel 35. jean georges 36. masa 37. megu 38. per se [6] vegetar...

ths morning, i woke up on d&s's sofa looking out to c gray sky. eugene's not feeling well, and i wondered, if henry is feeling better today? will anyone b up for going to PS1 to c Jim Shaw's installation? it is gray outside and it made me want to stay in and sleep more. i wondered what time d&s r returning from long island? i'll sleep more n clean up a little later. woke up again and it's nearly 10.30am! i c the sun fighting its way thru the clouds. yippee! sunshiny day for sun shiny girl. my moods r dependent on sun i guess. i slowly got everything together. tidied up and thought maybe i'd go out and draw a bit. i've not done very good work since coming to nyc. maybe it's because i'm constantly distracted by work and things to c. my stomach grawled. ok i need to eat and pick up my sketchbook from matthew's apt. yeh, he's up for lunch, and he's right about Edgar being nicer than Cafe Lalo. i stayed on to draw in my book a bit b4 m...

this dish aunt wu created for her restaurant is a pate, quite similar to like any liver pate we normally eat, except it's created from pumpkin seeds and a few slices of chinese herb. it's so interested, the flavors n tastes great.

well, here some thoughts to chew on. how much do i enjoy food, working with food, that i am willing to go and work in it? soak up the life of food? i mean, i really do enjoy working with food, but it's on small scale, for small parties, what if i go in to work w/my "aunt" at gobo and her sons? she offered today to teach me her stuff. and we can work together in her teaching classroom and set it up above the restaurant. and it will b catering and classes along with developing, etc. but does this mean i hv to quit eating anything i pls and just b a health nut and eat only vegetarian? i don't kno if i can give that up completely. i love eating out and chk'g out different things too much. altho, maybe i don't. who says i hv to convert? it sounds very intersting. altho this would mean "commitment" and i won't b able to just take off anywhere anymore. i would need to stay here in nyc and study cooking? but i can travel to other parts of the world to st...

monday, i made konjaku w/my aunt, mrs wu, (from scratch) but in her version. this is a dish she serves in GOBO restaurant. it's cut n shaped like one wd the surface of squid on a skewer. i looks so beautiful, i wonder about wht it'd taste like. it's a lot about process, the making of this basic yet very versitile ingredient in further cooking. but in the book, i will also suggest to ppl if they want to save time, it's ok to buy pre-made products in the market. anyway, i'm writing here wondering if i keep a journal of the dishes i'm making w/her... should i bother to make a seperate blog? i'm so lazy tho mybe i sh/just keep it in 1. it is my travel blog thru life, so everything is all in 1? but would it b better seperate? it's pretty cool creating n learning from her. she wd point out the things i don't do tht much, the presentation of food. i'd like to make her cookbook more accessible. i think it'll b a book of my learning experiences thru h...

went to the richard serra show w/henry on sunday afternoon. somehow, i just can't remember exactly where it was located except in the 50s. everything in mid-town is like that for me, a vague memory of location, somewhat blurred. so i was a bit loast and late for the rendez-vous. (sorry henry) this is an artist back when i was at art center, i liked but ppl where critical of. cuz of his work being such grand scale, dominating a space. when installed in real life environment, it forces u to rethink ur body and its environmnt. i used to make installations and like to hv ppl think about space as their body moves thru it but in a very subtle way, non-confrontational. very asian. since i've only seen his work thru slides and the presenter's point of view, it has made an impression on me by being impressive but nothing more. my opinion until now hs bn "so-so" arriving at MOMA, my views & perceptions hv chg'd. i loved running thru the spaces btwn the work, all alo...

aujourd'hui c'est dimanche. this week in review, b4 i forget... thurs evening with henry in chelsea area, gallery open house, ppl everywhere! speed gallery hopping w/henry. i'm very happy henry visits gallery in the same way i do, speedy and dislike similar things, haha. and like similar artists, this 1 i love... and the coffee cups, well, tht is just so everyday of our lives, spent drinking coffee... and if everyone bring their own re-usable cup, imagine how much less trash there'd b? Billy's is where we had dessert after dinner at La G...? anyway, was wht used to b Le Gamin. tho i must say, the cupcakes weren't as yummy as Sprinkles, and the lemon bar was okay only. this place is popular here in nyc, so i wonder if sprinkles has crazier lines? i mean, look at Pink Berry and Jolato! wow, ther's a line everywhere. but it is nyc here. u line up everywhere that is a bit decent for food, things, etc. this friday, i finally made it to the farmer's market on ...

this monday is day off (labor day) for everyone. a lazy day to get ourselves back into the city mode. even tho i don't live here and don't hv the workday drag, i can still feel it thru my friends. and well, reality check, i still hv to start working on both fronts. nyc + tpe. so we spent the afternoon hanging out. had late late lunch and wnt to the riverside park, i had not realized it can b this beautiful like this here. it doesn't even look like being in the city! love it. very impressed by the outdoor restaurant here as well. it has a full sized kitchen. def a place to come back to. only wish i hv a bike like the velov in paris or lyon. afterwards, it's snack at the famous hotdog place. tho i do prefer hotdog w/relish instead tho, cuz then ketchup is better combo and i do love ketchup.

look at this line! we arrived back in nyc after long hours of traffic n making rounds to finally make it to the chicken rice place outside MOMA. i've not been here in years (since the days of late nite outs when i lived here) i don't ever remember such long long lines of ppl. wow! i'm so surprised. it is still just as yummy as i remembered it tho! no matter how things hv changed or stay unchanged.