Wow! Indeed, coming home from vacations never fail to get me off-track. And that is the reason for my being MIA for almost a month! To celebrate Marvin's 26th Birthday as well as our 2nd Wedding Anniversary, we decided to go to the Big Apple. It was my first trip there and it didn't fall short of my expectations! I truly heart NY!! Here's just a few captured moments we had during our 5-day trip there!

We rode a shuttle bus from the JFK airport to our hotel in Times Square. The bus was driven by this asian man on the photo who barely spoke English and who....

...yelled at me after I took this photo while inside the tunnel. I've never heard of such a rule but as they say ignorance is never an excuse. Well, at least now I am proud to be the owner of this "very rare" photo. ;) And now, onto our NYC escapade!!

I've received caricature drawings in the past but this was the first time that I really sat down in front of an artist while he draws my face...as the public looks on. I guess subconsciously I thought to myself that it had to be in NY Times Square, no less ;) By the way, what do you think of Marvin's caricature? I've had mixed, mixed reactions of that! Haha!

From Times Square, our feet brought us to Rockefeller Center. Because it's spring time, the skating rink turned into "Rink Bar." Too bad I didn't get the chance to iceskate there but seeing the beautiful and colorful flowers is good enough or actually even better ;)

The beautiful St. Patrick's Cathedral. It's amazing how "tourist-friendly" this cathedral is but at the same time they are still able to maintain the solemnity for those who came to hear mass or simply pray on their own.

That's me standing on the streets of the East Village where NYU students hang out! We had Yakitori and Kalbi for dinner! We went to the Greenwich Village afterwards.

And to cap the night off, we met up with my longtime girlfriend Mishel who's now based in NY and the Obligacions who were also visiting from LA. What a long day it was!

On our 2nd day we did the obligatory photo op at the Statue of Liberty. Then I said, "yun na pala yun."

From the Liberty Island we then went to the WTC site...there we found flowers, pictures, and cards commemorating birthdays of loved ones lost by the very tragic 9/11 incident. It's a very different sight from the lively, energetic streets of NYC.

After a spirit-dampening moment at the WTC site, we gave in to our "cheesy" side and had a double date dinner at the Serendipity. Okay, let me clarify that...Amy & I gave in to our "cheesy" side...Im sure Marv and Roj would want me to make that clarification.

And of course, I can't leave NY without trying Serendipity's Frrrozen Hot Chocolate. :)

This was at the "Top of the Rock" in Rockefeller Center. The view is really breathtaking!! It's funny how I realized why Central Park is called Central Park! It's practically in the middle of the sky-high buildings! It's awesome how those busy corporate slaves change into their running shoes during their break and sit under a tree as they enjoy their organic lunch at the park.

As if the magnificent view at the TOR wasn't enough, we continued to indulge our eyes with more beautiful images at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Though this time around, these are man's works of art.

The image on the left is by Auguste Renoit. He called it A Young Girl with Daisies.

Henri Matisse's Reclining Odalisque

Getting my Red Velvet cupcake from the bakery made famous by the SATC ladies.

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Life is simple. It's not as complicated as people think. It shouldn't be and it doesn't really have to be. That is why it frustrates me how people make things so complicated. It is immature, unnecessary, stupid, and totally a waste of time and energy. You get what you give. That is my motto. Some just get lucky. Pero kung gusto mo magulo, magulo rin ang balik sa'yo. Kung gusto mo ng ayos, maayos ang dating sa'yo. And I am not a fan of chaos. Gusto ko masaya lagi kaya masaya lagi ako. I always smile so people who see me will smile at me. I don't say bad things about other people so they won't say bad things about me. I cannot please everybody, but I try my best to. Sabi nga nila, life is short sasayangin ko pa ba ito sa pagiisip ng masama sa ibang tao? Definitely not. I won't give any room for negativities in my home, in my heart, nor in my life. I have a daughter and she will grow up in a happy environment. She is a happy baby. And I thank the Lord for that. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing your daughter smile. Nobody is perfect. We always hear this, why? Because it is true. So nobody can think less of other people. Because everybody is less...no one is more than the other. In the eyes of God we are all the same.