Things I want to do in NY

Days to New York: 33 days

Hurray!! I've got 33 days more before I get to see my parents again!! :) It will be so cool to look out at the skyline of New York City from the window at dinner or from the TV couch.

This was the view I got from my TV couch at 8.30pm on a summer evening

Of course, it will be about winter time when I'm there this time but NYC still will not freeze. In fact, so much comes to life then. All the post-Thanksgiving sales, pre & post-Christmas sales, tons of people in the City itself - it truly is the City that never sleeps. So what will I be doing?

1. Hanging out with my parents & brother Haven't seen them since June this year. Haven't been talking to them very much on the phone either because I have been a bad girl who's been doing work all the time or too tired. So I shall hang around them a lot to make up for lost time. It will be great to talk crap (read: gossip/catch-up on news about relatives & friends).

Dad will be at work most of the time so I'll see him at dinner & the rest of the evening. He's always watching 'Wheel of Fortune' at dinnertime so we'll probably sit there & guess the alphabets. Oh..the perfect excuse for leaving Mum in the kitchen - talk with Dad while she & my brother can prepare dinner. Afterall, I'll have more time with Mum in the day :P (yah, like be her personal porter after a trip to Chinatown or the supermarket. Thank God that the supermarket does a free delivery service for big purchases. No way am I going to carry another 20 pound frozen turkey for her again!)

'tis the time for my Mum to go mad when she sees her two grown-up kids behaving the way they did 20 years ago. Hehe!! I can't wait to do the Snowman & Dog Jingle Bell thing with my brother. It's hilarious! Otherwise, yes, we both will be of good service to Mum. At least we can hold clever conversations with Dad :)

2. Go to other cities Dad says he wants to go to Washington DC because the last time he went there with Mum, they didn't get to check out the museums ("Eh Girl..it's free one, you know?") . Point taken. Will certainly drop by the White House & Capitol Hill & pose by Abe Lincoln's statue. See, so touristy! Mum will surely make me drop by some Chinatown restaurant for lunch & then start to compare the size of Chinatowns in NYC & Washington DC & wherever. Her obsession.

Maybe I'll pop by Boston (Hey Elly!! No promises but I'll see how it goes!). No idea where else Mum would suggest. I bet she'll have this sudden idea to go somewhere because she'll say that she saw such-and-such a poster at Chinatown offering a return bus-ride to whatever city. (That's what she did the last time - I was sleeping when Dad came in to say that he's taken the day off to go to Boston..hurray! That was in June, by the way.)

3. Visit Museums I visited the Met Museum last year but it was really crowded because it was a rainy day so everyone had the same idea of visiting an indoor attraction. (WOW! How brilliant!) Moreover, some of the exhibits were undergoing a retrofit, like the costumes & musical instruments. So I will part with my US$12 just to visit those exhibits.

I'll probably heighten my awareness for art by dropping into the Guggenheim Museum and the MoMA. I was told by Ee Chin (she's an architect in NYC) to look out for the little galleries down in SoHo & Chelsea. Hmmm...that is if I'm game for it.

4. Ice skate in Central Park I refuse to queue up & pay US$22 to skate for 2 hours at Rockefeller Center with the whole of 5th Ave watch me fall. I'd rather make my way up to Central Park & pay US$10 to the Trump organisation & skate all I want. (Yah right! As though I would be able to last the day there). And I won't have 5th Avenue watching ungracious Milly Me on ice skates attempting to do a fakie on ice.

5. Watch a performance I have no idea what I want to watch on Broadway or off Broadway. Think I'll probably drag my parents to watch Stomp! and/or Rent. It will be nice to watch a classical concert though. Was hoping to catch Joshua Bell but I think he's on tour to Europe or something. And I'm so annoyed that I'll miss U2 although they have had dates in NYC in Aug, Sept, Oct & Nov. (Yah..beat that! My Dad called to say "Eh Girl..U2 got concert you know?" Thanks, Pa!) Would love to watch Depeche Mode with my brother but he's not going to be in NY until a week after the concert. Dave Matthews Band will also be performing at Madison Square Garden but I don't think that Boy is interested. He totally didn't even want to listen to my suggestion of watching Gwen Stefani. OK, maybe I'll try getting tickets to Jay Leno or David Letterman??

6. Shop Excuse me, this is something I will not leave out. I'm probably going to max out my credit this time round, considering the fact that I'm thinking of investing in a pair or two of really good solid designer shoes. (They are supposed to last me 10 years..long-term investment) I'll probably be following Mum around since she knows where the nooks & corners for good buys are. You can be sure that I'll never miss Macy's & Bloomingdales out. I love checking these places out without buying anything. Macy's good for all the munchie corners but tad too complicated because it's too huge a store, while Bloomies seems easier to navigate though there are less munchie corners in there.

I'll definitely check out Gap, Old Navy, Victoria's Secret, Forever 21 (well, at least I get to look at more stuff inside 4 storeys), H&M, Niketown, blah blah blah. The good, cheapo corners can be found anywhere, actually. Mum & me always go to the one at Grand Central Station (it's along Vanderbilt Ave) plus Conway. As usual, the hope for good post-Christmas buys :)

7. Eat How can I forget this - eating bagels with cheese spread and coffee! Au bon pain is good but a bit too pricy. Otherwise, it's a good place to sit in to enjoy that without being in the cold. Can't wait to savour Mum's cooking too! I'm thankful for the fact that Dad gets meal allowances, which includes buying stuff from the supermarket so hurray, I shall just pick stuff from the shelf, like my tubs of Ben & Jerry (they have the yoghurt version of Cherry Garcia & Chocolate Fudge Brownie...tastes just as good!) & bottles of Snapple, plus tubs of yoghurt. There's this little corner in the living area where Dad stores up all his munchies so I'm not worried. I'll probably try out one of the eateries in the Dining Level in Grand Central Station & have Mum yell in my ear for splurging US$10 on a sandwich.

Actually, my brother & me discovered some nice eating places along Broadway on Upper Manhattan towards Harlem. We had a real yummy set lunch for 2 at a total of US$15 (with tax + tip). Mum's probably going to overdo it by dragging me to Chinatown to eat mee pok because that's what she did - I had to endure walking with her & Boy from Battery Park to Chinatown (she can't navigate for nuts!), hungry, thirsty & tired...all for what? Her bowl of mee pok! That's because she hasn't had a decent bowl of mee pok since Chinese New Year & my brother hasn't had that in...a year. Forgiven, Mum :)

8. Help friends get stuff These are things I'll do as I walk around, like getting a Vera Wang catalogue for Gabby, shop for make-up (only because it's cheaper, like Clinique is), get stupid t-shirts for Gabriel (OK, I promised him a NYPD tee...hehe!! Beef up, Gabriel! Run everyday from Tiong Bahru to Orchard!). I'll be looking out for nice, cheap but good bags or whatever accessories.

9. Watch trashy & informative shows on TV Mum & me had a good time watching Jerry Springer-like shows. Scandalous & more scandalous! I forced my parents to watch the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon with me. Dad just walked away to watch news on the other TV while Mum thought it was cute for 2 minutes until it occurred to her that Patrick's a starfish, a pink one, mind you. My favourite channel is probably VH1 - all the garb & juice on celebs... I like! Otherwise, I'll have my eyes glued on National Geographic, Discovery History, etc while eating my breakfast. I hope I do not get rude shocks when I turn on the TV in the middle of the night due to jet lag & find some porn going on. I think I'll just bring my laptop down to the lobby to surf the Net.

10. Chill out Hey man! That's what a holiday is for. I'll be happy to just take a book, a coffee & my bagel & sit on a bench in Central Park (when it's not raining, of course!) or by the little park next to the UN HQ (across the street only..can go in my PJs :p) which faces the East River. Otherwise, just sitting in Barnes & Noble with a coffee is good too. If I could, I'll probably bring the laptop along so I can put down my thoughts. If not, my little notebook will be good too.

So many things to do in the Big Apple! If I'm lucky, I'll spot a celeb or two. Tom Cruise in June was a bonus..heh! I should keep my eyes open & my camera will be useful. Otherwise, just being in New York to be with my family is more than enough for me.