New York..

School's out!

Yeah.. can't believe how time really flies (oh the cliche!)!! Anyway, just wanted to write a little bit about New York and share some photos I took fairly recently.

I've been here for about just over 4 months now.. not that long a time to get really acquainted to life in NYC. My experiences here have been brief, and I know that there'll be more interesting things in the future. After all, I will be here for the whole year once I return from the summer holidays. Oh if you didn't know already, I'll be back in Malaysia for the summer holidays, from mid-June to the first week of September. I've already got some gigs lined up back home.. so I can't wait to be playing with me mates again!

Anyway, just a little sum-up of likes and dislikes of the different facets of NYC. Of course, the list would be rather flexible.. it's probably how I'm feeling about it at the moment. Things change, right?

Here's the short list (in no particular order):

Likes:

- *Update* Ah-hem.. my good buddy and fellow cheebye Malaysian mate, Chern Hwei (happy now, b*tch?) of which he helped me a lot when I got here!
- MUSIC!!! Great music scene, especially the jazz scene. Always something happening every single day.
- Nice weather during the spring.. cool, sunny, etc. My mom would like it.
- Nice food (when there are some)
- Great running spots. It's so convenient to run anywhere here!
- Friendly people... for most part.
- Netflix... although I wish I had more time to watch them DVDs
- Fast internet connection (DIE, STREAMYX, DIE!!)
- Beautiful scenery, in the city, out of the city.
- My collegemates
- Friendly musicians that I get to meet.
- Subway system. Very convenient to get around, for most time (when there is no construction happening, that is). And it's 24 hours.
- Free food everytime some events happen in the music building, like some major concerts, etc.
- fellow Malaysian buddies that are here.. not a lot but still are.

Dislikes:

- expensive. Everything.
- 7 train
- dirty americans. They just throw stuff around on the street with no civil regard. Expects trash workers to collect it, which they will.
- dumb americans... you can see a lot of it every day. And too many things to rant here! LOL!
- "Bathroom/Washroom for clients/customers only". Which means, if you are out on the street and you gotta piss/shit real bad, you can't go in to any store with a toilet unless you buy something.
- Wastage. Americans love to waste stuff.. because of their health regulations. It's also odd that these are the very same people who will churn out "Save the environment" campaigns. From food to plastic bags.
- Sink and tap designs. Whoever designed them should be shot.
- Subway system, when something is under construction. Service gets interrupted.. BAD!
- "CB" staying next to me.

There are more stuff on both ends. But this is what I'll write about for the meantime. Meanwhile, here are some pics I've taken with my trusty ol' Sony Ericsson K610i.

From top to bottom:
1) Artwork @ Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Andy Warhol
2) Some cool heritage houses at New Paltz, NY
3) Signs of springtime. Taken at 34th Ave, Jackson Heights, just a few blocks from my house.
4) My crib in NY
5) The legendary Jimmy Heath and his big band, The Queens Jazz Orchestra at Flushing Town Hall. It was the inauguration of that big band.
6) Chelsea Market - interesting little place.
7) Bleecker St., West Village
8) More Bleecker St.
9) The infamous John's Pizzeria on Bleecker St.
10) Bleecker St.. photo taken at 8pm!

For more photos, check out my Flickr side (click the Flickr link on the sidebar).

Till then.. have fun!