SantaCon

SantaCon is an event where a bunch of folks dress up as Santa or Santa minions and run around the city like freaks on leashes dancin n prancin about! There were over 6,000 attendees on facebook this year with five starting points in the boroughs that lead everyone into the Manhattan. I myself did NOT wanna get up that early to be in the city by 10am, so I stayed in for more zzz's and busied myself out with making a "Nick in a Box" costume complete with flashing lights for my friend while I dressed up as Rudolph with a flashing nose and antlers :P. Total run on sentence and incomplete sentence now.

NICK IN A BOX: I actually made the lights from flashing earrings that I got from Jack's 99 cent store!

So. Many. Santas.

And this was the cheering crowd at Washington Square Park:

Great spirit sparker! There are definitely a lot more lights being put up this year in my local neighborhood... does this mean I'll be getting a good Secret Santa present this year?

NOLAWEEN

Stayed at India House Hostel – very unique in feeling, very homey, friendly, and hippie. Down to earth artsy people would probably like this spot. It reminded me of wooden bunkbed camps and dorms with hotdog lunch plates. Complete with backyard picnic tables and xmas lightbulbs so you can watch the game with a beer from the fridge outside. With that said, I'd go back for a stay, thumbs up!

The Halloween parade in New Orleans was THE BOMB! Bourbon street was alive with monsters, balcony bead throwing brides, and a lot of floating drinks pouring around in to-go street cups. Live music and jazz trumpet notes flooded the streets with noise and soul.

This is a real Hand Grenade patented by Tropical Isle (only place you can get it). It doesn't taste like it can do much of any harm to you, but it's defnitely a strong concoction of random potions and mixes. Speaking of ingestibles, here are a few of my top NOLA faves that are not an everyday thing in NYC:


An oyster po boy from one of the MANY selections @ Johnny's Po-Boys – they close shop at 3pm, so catch them early! Also get a cup and do half lemonade half sweet tea – I caught this obsession from when I stayed in Atlanta for a summer.

Fresh shucked oysters on the half shell from Acme Oyster House – so fresh there's still gritty muddiness on the outter shells!

Meet the Muffaletta - bigger than my head and with layers of meat and olives mix paste for the special tang.


Beignets from the original Cafe Du Monde, best with a cafe au lait in the other hand.

The view somewhat diagonally across the street, very beautiful.

Sno balls, finely shaved ice with special syrups from granny smith apple to birthday cake and classic cherry.

And here is the infamous Abita Turbodog by the hostel poolside. And Purple Haze.

The French Quarter is so full of character and personality:



A terrible comment/joke: You can tell who the locals are if they are morbidly obese and ugly. alsdkjfa;sldf I saw lots of socks+sandals and tanktops over Tees when I was down there.

One more sight that was a "see it to believe it" moment...

The M i SS i SS i PP i River is BROWN. b r o w n!

We even did do the touristy thing and go to the Audubon Zoo though. I was actually really glad we did it because it was a zoo that was a lot more hands on! I had forgotten how fun the zoo can be – I got to touch some goats, walk in a spiderweb maze thing, hear some lions roar, talk to a parrot, and scare a peacock.

I would totally go for Mardi Gras when I get a chance to go back :)

Encounters @ LGA

Super late post on my NOLA Halloween Adventures – I am separating it into two entries because LaGuardia Aiport in itself is its own adventure because... I SAW THE JABBAWOCKEEZ AND USHER & MORE! Read on below:

I was so starstruck by the Jabbawockeez and Supercr3w that I couldn't even say their names out loud or anything. I passed by them and Phi Nguyen smiled at me – I did a doubletake and wobbled over to shake their hands. THEY ARE REAL!

10 or 15 minutes after I meet the Jabbawockeez, I go on a rampage stalking Usher:

Raf- (calm tone) hey look is that Usher?
Ana & Sam - OH SHIT it IS him!!! THAT'S HIS NOSE!!!

So Sam whips out the camera and trots on over swiftly to investigate:

Sam- Scuse me... is that Usher??
Bodyguard (with arms out like he's ready to catch a football, but with a bright smile) Yes Miss, yes it is.
Sam- OMG can I take a picture with him??
Bodyguard- No, sorry that will cause too much commotion (still smiling with arms out)
Sam- Can I take a picture of him from AFAR?? (Yes I said AFAR.)
Bodyguard- No miss I really can't help you there.
Sam- Aw okay... thanks anyway! (walks away)

And so then Sam went behind a pole like a creeper and took a video of Usher leaving Starbucks:

Since our Delta flight was delayed, we sat down near the plane exit paths and waited for boarding time. When the passengers started to flood off the plane, one lady handed us a bunch of free drink voucher tickets on the house for us to enjoy. How awesome is that!

After we watched everyone get off the plane, we see 6-8 Men in Black looking people in suits waiting for someone to come out. In my head, I was praying it would be Lady Gaga, but it was actually a convict prisoner of some sort! He had a crazy handcuff chain on him accompanied by a bunch of securities. He must've committed something hardcore. I would never ever want to know someone like that is on my plane, damn.

And then there was the time when I actually made it ON the plane, only to discover that the girl behind me has a deathly fear of flying. And was gasping and screaming and crying for air in despair the whole ride. Then the flight attendants gave her a few shots and she was laughing like crazy. Now I wish I took a video of her being all BIPOLAR!

LaGuardia – my new favorite airport you are!

Mitsuwa Tuna Cutting

Another year to visit Mitsuwa for the 400lb Bluefin Tuna cutting performance. Bought it on the spot - 'twas fresh n delish!



Nope, it's not a mousemonkey. It's a seatbelt cover lol so clever - I needed one of those cuz seatbelts love to slice my skin in the summer just like bluefin tuna...

The 2nd Most Interesting Show in the World

Went to check out the Most Interesting Show in the World for the 2nd year in a row, brought to you by Dos Equis. This year expanded and was held at Webster Hall with open bar. Tickets were free too, but they all got snagged really fast online. Luckily I got two and brought my friend Raju with me for his 25th bday. Happy birthday Raju! You are probably not reading this are you.




For this post, videos explain itself better :

Butterscotch the beatbox queen as seen on America's Got Talent.

That's right - it's the human slinky!

And back for the 2nd year is Mark "The Knife" Fajes. MIND YOU HE IS BLINDFOLDED AS WELL. Amazing!!

Carnival

Carnival @ Bowlmor Lanes opened up recently. Went there for Thrillist's 4 year anniversary event after work. Very nice decor and concept. There were booths of games that you would find in a place like Coney Island - like darts, ring toss, fishbowl ping pongs, hoops, shooting guns, dunk tank. You know, the works. It was like D&B's... but cooler!

Thrillist had some performers and jugglers to give us a show.

I never win anything, but I won this fish and named it Linda!

Highlight of the night: I finally got to try out mberry! Like magic, it enhances the taste of sour/bitter foods so that lemons taste like lemonade, I tried ordering this a year or two ago when I first read this article about it on notcot. And I actually contacted the guy through gmail but he ran out of goods and never contacted me back later when he stocked back up. People actually use these tablets now for chemo patients for tasting... and some use it for some tricks in bed... interesting??

Alley Pond

My friend Larry finally got a chance to upload all (or some/most of) his photos from a month ago when we took on the Alley Pond Park Adventure Course. Runs free May through November on Sundays with two sessions, 4 groups of 10 people each. Following screenshots and captions screenshottted from his facebook video:

Warmed up with a strategy game of island crossing - finally figured it out and went for it.


Next challenge: Spiderwebs. Get everyone from one side to the other without touching lines or using the same hole twice. I got hauled and others slipped underneath.


And lastly, we all got our turns to get on the Slingshot a good 40+ feet off the ground... you bet I strapped on my helmut tight and screamed like the whole village went on fire!


Fears conquered; nothing is impossible.

Omakase @ Taro

Friday Night at my sister's place heading over to Taro for some authentic Jap sushi! Just wanted to post this really cool pic of her new wall decals. We watched Transformers on that big Samsung after we pigged out.

You eat sushi all the time and it's always tuna salmon eel california rolls and the generic stuff that you usually get in America. But at Japanese opened Taro, you get selections of uniquely prepared fresh meats like horse mackerel, fluke fin, bluefin tuna, or sea urchin! My bro in law was so satisfied with the meal he bought some Sake for the chefs. In Japan it is a symbol of compliment to the chefs. Definitely sit at the sushi bar if you decide to go!

We did three chef selection Omakase menus and ordered some extras:

Liver Appetizer. I think this was chicken, don't quote me.

Wagyu Tataki.

Sashimi & Big Roll

so fresh!!!

Not all pieces need soysauce. And if you are lucky on a slower night, they serve you 2-3 pieces at a time and point out how to eat each one so you can get the full on experience and know what you're eating. The rice itself is very sweet and doesn't fall apart.

The center piece is sea urchin. Very raw.

The top three pieces have mint leaves in it. Tasted like Mojito!