Life Cont'd

Hi readers,

Just figured that you might want me to continue on what I wrote yesterday. Hehehe.

Today was an amazing, in many ways, perfect Sunday for me as well! I got up around 9:30 am and lazed around in my bed, before transferring some Zeny to my younger brother who just started playing Ragnarok Online again. RO is a throwback to us growing up, we spent many hours of our early teenage years glued to the computer screen playing this MMORPG. I went on to meditate for half an hour or so, and then steeled myself for a run.

Despite telling the said lady yesterday that I was planning to run in Central Park, I changed my mind and gave the East River a shot. Honestly, it was a tad chillier than I anticipated, but the run was nothing short of gorgeous. The promenades were such a treat, plus I ran far down enough to see the piers and the tourists and a bunch of green-clad musicians playing St. Patrick's songs. I also bumped into Liora (a coworker) on my way up! All-in-all, I ran a total of ten miles, and I can say confidently that I am ready for a half marathon. Thank goodness.

I wisely brought my credit card with me while I was running - I was super hungry by the end of it and decided to treat myself to my favorite buffet restaurant in the city: Darbar Grill. I was this random Asian kid with a grey long sleeve, damp shorts from running, and a frazzled hair, but I mustered all my confidence and piled heaps and heaps of the delicious and creamy Goa fish curry and the spicy goat curry onto my plate. And boy did I gorge it down - pretty certain that if all customers ate like me they'd go bankrupt in less than a week!

So when I got back, I was delighted to learn that Jihong agreed on having dinner with me. I gave my daily thanks and got ready for my CMB coffee. Yushu is pretty chill, I had a great conversation with her, learned a lot about her love for travel and stocks. After talking to her, I am definitely going to look into investing in JD, a Chinese e-commerce company that she says hasn't been recognized by the American public yet. T'was nice meeting ya, Yushu!

I stepped to the office really briefly, bumped into (and had a lengthy conversation with) Francesco, the really funny Italian Associate in my office. Went to the 41st floor and bumped into Catherine, and gave her a hug (she's so sweet), and then watched a bit of Alan Watts before readying myself and heading out to meet Jihong for dinner. I was so lucky too - the 6 train wasn't running from the station near my office, but I was able to alternatively take a bus that got me there only a few minutes late ;)

Earlier in the day, she told me that she wanted sushi, and all the options I could thought of weren't ideal as they'd typically make us wait, especially at a 7pm on a Sunday. Fortuitously, one of her friend recommended a place called Ise, which was very convenient for both of us, and also had a rezzy spot available. Grand. Anyways, I stepped into the restaurant and saw her sitting in a quite, private room-like booth that sat four but was given to us anyways. She dressed stunningly, looked truly attractive, and smelled like heaven. I forgot how beautiful and attractive Jihong is.

Ahem. Anyways, I gave her a hug and had the most amazing conversation and dinner in a while. She told me that she got an internship with the Cravath or Wachtell equivalent law firm in Korea, and I was so happy for her! We caught up on life, our workout regimen, and our friendships and relationships. I was so glad to share food with her too! I was planning only to eat some salad (given the Darbar above), but we ended up sharing a magnificent sushi/sashimi combo, a delicious bowl of seaweed salad, and a delightful charred salmon head. Tasty!

We decided to go get some drinks afterwards, and she suggested to go to Bookmarks, a bar that I mentioned to her a long time ago. Before we get there, I just wanna talk about the Universe being playful today. When we were at Trader Joe's, I was asking the cashier if TJs sells flowers, and the cashier said yes. I thanked him and then told him that I'd buy it next time. The cashier then looked at Jihong who was standing right next to me and told me: "you should buy her the flowers now." And I looked at Jihong and asked her: "Do you want flowers or alcohol from next door?" And the cashier guy yammered: "You don't ask her, just buy it for her!" Hahahaha. When we were on our train up to Bookmarks, Jihong for some reason wasn't holding onto the poles in the subway properly, and she almost fell over when the train abruptly stopped. Fortunately, I caught her in time and guided her hand to the pole. The woman sitting behind her immediately said: "Lady, you should've grabbed the pole, not your man." Hahahahha. The Universe truly loves to tease us.

Anyways, we arrived at Bookmarks, it is in the 14th floor of a hotel somewhere near Grand Central ;) It was such a beautiful and cozy setting (although drinks were less tasty) and we eased ourselves up and talked and shared for hours and hours. It's funny that I was able to learn a lot more about her and the way she thinks, and I think I was able to cheer her up a bit too. I am also really grateful because today she was so at ease, she was in no rush to be anywhere, and it was really nice being around her. Doesn't hurt that she was a bit touchier than the usual ;) hehehe. We ultimately moved to a pair of sofas near the fireplace, and we were reminiscing about how the place reminded us of the Lord Jeff's Inn, which we visited when we had our restaurant week date in Amherst.

Ultimately, I walked her back to Grand Central, which was adorned with colors and lights so beautifully. I gave her another hug, and asked her to text me when she got back to her dorm safely.

Thank you so much for today, Jihong :) I am so happy that I got to spend time with you, it was so warm and so nice to be around you. Hehehe. It's funny that you told me that you don't believe that a guy and a girl can never be truly just friends. Hehehe. I guess we'll see about that, for now let me say that I am grateful to have you in New York, and I would love to see more of the face of yours. Til' next time :)

Thank you, Universe, for such an amazing and perfect weekend :)

R