Pancakes at Cafe Orlin near St Mark’s Place. There was a queue when me and Vyanne waited for breakfast. Pretty good stuff.

* * *

Life’s been like a hurricane blowing past. The worst of the storm seems to be over now. It’s mainly related to work and I’m glad I can breathe in and out slowly again. On a side note, I have more or less ascertained the date that I can leave NYC. It would have been nice to tour the US for a bit, but I’m not really in the mood for it and many other responsibilities elsewhere beckon me home. Heh, would like to come visit again in the future if possible, with San Francisco top of the places I’d like to see.

I am just trying to sum up my whole experience here. I’ve learned a lot in my related work field, but am still just a bit part player in it all. There are times when you can keep the system running with all your effort, and it feels in vain. It is also under pressure when we know the worst (or best) that will come out from us, and I’ve not seen a pretty picture painted from it. I just feel a little alienated and distant, perhaps working life is a little darker than I expected it to be, maybe because I’ve experienced different things going on in various places, including other parties that I deal with. The economic downturn has swallowed up many companies in the financial sector and those left standing are reeling from the effects.

It is curious but interesting, but like each year before, I feel I need to step up again. I can’t say I’m too comfortable in my current role (still plenty to learn) but I need more improvement to bring myself to the next level. Probably a fresh start when I re orientate myself to Melbourne life and getting the most out of myself. A little disappointed that I have fallen short of what I could have done with myself while I was here. Settling down in NYC to begin with unhinged me a bit, and it took longer than I should have to adapt to the circumstances.

Well, come what may.

* * *

I’ve been shooting images a little more and when viewing images, find the strengths and weaknesses of the two lenses I brought from Melbourne with me. The Sigma 30mm makes a better indoor lens than an outdoor one. The regular angle of 30mm renders out of focus regions of closeups better than it does on outdoor distant scenes. I put it on to understand why people use the 50mm (35mm equivalent) point of view on film cameras in the previous century. It works for general phototaking, but isn’t wide enough to dramatise a scene. I also find myself favouring 55mm and above for composing scenes. It gives a tighter crop and makes you focus your subjects properly. The 105mm also renders nicer bokeh and colour contrast compared to the 30mm. This may be the effect from the crummy lens filters I put in front of my glass, but somehow I still prefer how images are rendered on my 17-55. Heh, just want to experiment more when I get the chance.

* * *

Vyanne and I have been gorging the various burger chains available in NYC. We had Fatburgers and Goodburgers. We also managed to locate a Korean Asian grocery store on 32/31st Street. It’s like a mini Koreatown there. They sold everything under the sun for Korean and Japanese cooking stuff. We bought a few containers of Korean side dishes like pickled seaweed, anchovies, kim chi, fish cake. With a little sliced meat, we also managed to cook up some Korean bulgolgi (not quite authentic, missing the fruit juice that goes with it) and simple food like this tastes quite good.

Heh, as is common for me, I have hardware boxes lying around to use as temporary tabletops. My apartment is pretty small so there is no formal dining table, and this was the best I could come up with. At least it works and the food is just as enjoyable.

We also experienced what spring is like. It’s a beautiful time of year, with the cherry blossoms and tulips in bloom, giving the bare branches some much needed colour. When the wind blows, you can also see the petals of the cherry blossoms dancing and swaying in the wind before gently landing on the ground. The scenes are quite beautiful, it is something quite memorable indeed.

It’s been quite a long hectic week and I haven’t even touched Friday yet. Heh, work has been a battleground, with things happening that are beyond my control, but all I can do is to perform my job to the best of my ability. I just leave the work at the office once I step out of it and it’s good to not have a Blackberry to get constant updates on work and fix things.

Been spending time with Vyanne in the evenings when I can and the interesting things we’ve done over the last 3 nights include fine dining at Babbo (a restaurant opened by Mario Batali, whom I first heard on Iron Chef), watching an NBA basketball match between the New York Knicks and the Charlotte Bobcats at Madison Square Garden. Then tonight we had steak at the Strip House, which I quite enjoyed as we had scallops as an entree along with cream spinach in truffle oil and potatoes fried in goose fat as sides. It was quite fancy and I always feel troubled getting such attentive service from the waiters/waitresses.

I will elaborate on the events when I have more time as I have pictures from each place to post.

* * *

I am feeling mentally tired now. Won’t complain about it as other colleagues are having it worse off with working until the wee hours of the morning. At least I still get my 6 to 7 hours of sleep every night. Lots of things going on at work now and there are plenty of deadlines and things just pile up, they don’t disappear. So if you have to deal with it, you just have to deal with it.

I recall University life and at the very least, you suffer for periods of 3 months at a time before you get a minimum month long break from needing to doing anything serious. There’s no such reprieve from work, as everything is just ongoing, and it is a responsibility you have to deal with, as you can’t just walk out of it when the heat turns up.

* * *

Heh, April always seems to be a barren month for writing posts. Too many things going on. Really wanting to reach May quickly so I can be back to more familiar surroundings and think of long term goals. I note that things seem to be more fleeting these days, and as a kid, I used to think that things could go on forever and forever. I kind of like that school of thought, and at one point in time, it just dawned on me that things change, whether you welcome the change or not.

* * *

Maybe I’ve managed to emotionally detach myself a bit. I’m not quite the worry wart I could be and succumb to inertia just because I don’t know how to deal with the future. Heh, I’m not quite sure I know very much better on how to deal with the future of events, but I know at least that one will always find a way, no matter how hard it gets. Want to be concerned with work yet not succumb to its endless demands. It is always a ratio issue, on how much you are willing to sacrifice to get the work done or just be in tune with what you want to do.

It’s no easy answer, but better to choose early then to drag oneself on and be miserable.

Heh, just one more day at work, then I can relax at least for the weekend.

Was on my way to pick up Vyanne from the airport yesterday and saw the chairs and tables all lined outside restaurants. It was a nice sunny day, and warm enough to just sit outside to enjoy the weather. Heh. Vyanne arrived, a little wary from sitting on the plane for too long. The trip from Stockholm to New York was like my trip back here in January, the plane being mostly empty. Heh, the air stewardess stuck a ‘Do Not Disturb’ tag on her, which is kind of funny, as Vyanne was just tired and wanted to sleep through the trip.

Today’s weather was not so fine. It was a little colder and quite windy. We went to this little nice restaurant I walk pass daily when I go to the train station. We ordered some strange things and I’m not quite sure what I know about American food. Vyanne had these nachos with fried eggs in it, and I had a corned beef and hash (basically baked/boiled potatoes) just piled up. It’s something I could probably cook.

* * *

Didn’t do too much else today, just chilling at home. It’s nice to have someone around to talk to, makes the time just seem to fly by and it doesn’t feel like I’m always checking the clock.

Heh, tomorrow we will be sightseeing NYC. Lots of fun ahead.