Last night Brandon and Ben (his brother) took me out to an amazing dinner for my 27th birthday at Cafe Sydney, a fancy restaurant with an unbeatable view of the harbor. This was quite possibly the best meal I've ever had. I had seared tuna, a curry cod, and a lucious chocolate thing for dessert w their suggested dessert wine. Delicious!

I forgot to mention... back in San Fran, Sarah and I spent Saturday sightseeing and doing touristy shit...
we went to the Fisherman's Wharf, had an In&Out Burger and then immediately the car was stuck in the midst of literally 20,000 pro-life protester parader idiots who took up the entire street and walked down with their signs. This was cute and kind of funny for maybe 15 minutes but as the parade of people continued to flow with no end in sight, it wore on us and got annoying because we wanted to drive out and see Golden Gate. Finally after about 2 hrs and a ton of idiots who all held signs reading bizarre things like "abortion hurts women" we got out.

Pam made an amazing risotto/garlic bread/cheese and crackers/salad dinner for all of us (her roommates and some friends she invited) last night. I neglected to take a picture of that.

Interestingly, her friend Reuben looks like the identical twin of my friend Tony from Hopkins. This probably bears very little interest for anyone reading this, but seriously, it's like meeting a good friend who you recognize completely, talks the same, smiles the same, wears glasses the same, laughs the same, except he has a different personality and a different name. It's wierd. I showed Reuben some photos of Tony online but I don't think he was as impressed with the comparison like I was.

Later on Pam drove me through Sunset Strip which seems like an exciting place. And we met up with Reuben at a bar in Beverly Hills and got some Red Stripes... good times.

Tonight i'll be meeting up with Mark (high school) and Adam (cousin I haven't seen in 5 years) and perhaps a few other stragglers.

Got to LA today to hang with Pam (college housemate) and others... The weather is perfect and I even broke out my sunglasses. We checked out Santa Monica, a fun walker-friendly place, and drove past the beach. Again, we opted for mexican food because, as I explained before, there will be no mexicans in China so i better get my fill now. (I've also begun taking photos of all the food i eat on my trip -- maybe this is the OCD part of me but I feel like this might be entertaining later on...)

Pam lives with a few roommates and she had to go drop her friend off somewhere far away so I hung out with her roommate Dave. We headed off to hike the nearby Temescal Canyon which was a gorgeous 2 hr hike up a steep rocky and dusty path with a great view of West LA from the top. I made sure to take a sunset photo of myself looking awesome.

Flights: 2/2 (on time, no lost luggage) I'm impressed with American Airlines, they haven't sucked yet. Next flight will be with Pacific Air to Sydney in 2 days -- hopefully I'll have good luck with them and it won't be my own personal version of Lost.

Pam is now cooking dinner - a mushroom risotto -- I will take a photo. Things are good...

Everything has gone well so far --

On thursday, the flight to san fran was on time, and the trip passed quickly as i watched 5 episodes of Heroes,, a great show. the in-flight entertainment was crappy tv but had a few minutes of bobbly flay cooking something, which i found amusing.

Randomly, it turns out my high school friend Alex's father was on the flight as I noticed him across the baggage claim area. He didnt seem to recognize me so I wasn't sure if it was really him or just his doppelganger, but a text message to Alex confirmed that yes, his father was there for business. But i was gone before I could say hello.

Sarah, my neighbor from freshman year who I am staying with in oakland, picked me up and we headed over to her place. we grabbed some mexican food at "campadres" which was playing a country music radio station. There are things i dont like that i never really gave a chance -- things like asparagus and cooked carrots. i've tried them once and never tried again. Country music never made it to my list of things I enjoy... but i confess i never gave it much of a chance. Well, after listening to maybe 20 songs of the most annoying, cheeseball country songs ever, i'm glad to report that yes, i hate country music. that is confirmed.

oh, reason we went to mexican -- there are no mexicans in china so i should get my fill beforehand.

I had a going away party / joint birthday party with Dave and Evan @ Kanvas on Friday. It was a pretty wild time and a lot of people showed up.

My photos from that night, completely unedited

Avi's photos, taken at PM, a club in the meatpacking district that we went to after Kanvas...

Teresa's photos...

Funny story about Kanvas -- they kinda suck. I 'rented' their downstairs private room for our party by signing an agreement that my party would meet a $2,000 minimum at the bar in 3 hours (from 10:30 to 1:30). I figured this wouldn't be too difficult to meet (Dave, Evan and I had a party at Kanvas 3 years ago in the same room and met the minimum). So I assumed it'd be no problem. Sure enough, tons of people showed up, and the drinks/shots were flowing. Dave pulls me aside around midnight and asks if we'll be ok. I said "dude, look at all these people, of course we'll be fine, don't even worry about it."

Around 1:30 as people are trickling out, the manager comes over to me and says we are short, way short, of our minimum. I'm like "uh, it cant be that bad... we filled this place for the last 3 hrs". He's like, "you're at $1300. I'll give you another hour."

I honestly don't know how that's possible, and if it is, then their minimum is way to high. Anyway, an hour later, Avi and Evan both talked to the guy for a while to try to have them write off the "loss", which is ridiculous...Kanvas was actually not very full that night, and nobody was trying to come downstairs into our 'private' party -- so in other words we gave them huge business and it'd not like they lost money because they reserved that room just for us. Our party filled the place, too, so it's not as if another group would have been so much better unless they normally book alcoholics with expense accounts. Perhaps they do.)

In any event, I signed the form, so whatever, it's my fault. Avi was pissed because I could have done it at his bar, Aspen, for free. Finally, we were within a few hundred dollars, so Evan bought a bottle of vodka from the bar to meet the minimum. It was a little ridiculous because the bartender was one of those awesome guys who gives away tons of drinks and doesnt charge much ... evan got 10 shots and the guy charged $20. So obviously there was something amiss in their calculation of our bar minimum.

It was an awesome time though... I can't believe I got to see so many people before I left, it was awesome. I think I have photos of pretty much everyone I knew.

Funny moment was when roommate #2 (Vince, dave's friend who lived with us for a few months and painted his room a crazy red) met roommate #3 (nathalie, who, shocked to find her room a horrible red, painted it brown). Nathalie's reaction: "you're the guy who painted my room red!!!"

Amy (my friend from Trevor high school where I worked a few years back) told me she actually reads my blog and finds it entertaining!! She said she actually forwarded my Bill O'rielly rant to her friends because she liked it so much. That's awesome! Amy, there will be more rants, don't you worry. I'll be living in China. There will be ranting... I'm sure one will include my having to use the Pepto and Immodium AD I just purchased yesterday. Haha.

Funny story... first, read the story below about how my friend Joke (pronounced yoka) saw me in a National Geographic documentary about the NYC subway that aired in Amsterdam (where she and Anuj live). I worked on that doc as a production assistant and did not think I was ever filmed, but apparently I thought wrong.

And apparently I am now something an international star...

Two days ago, I get a call from my old housemate from Hopkins, Julian. Let me tell you a bit about Julian -- he is a funny Italian guy from LI who also happens to be an amazing musician/conductor. I hadn't spoken to him in 1.5 years. He calls me out of the blue, from Grand Central, and says he just arrived in NY from Sweden where he was on vacation/doing some musical stuff. He says he took Malaysian Airlines and decided to watch a little TV. He turns on a NatGeo doc about the NYC subway thinking to himself, "what am I going to learn that I don't already know" as most NY-ers approach most subjects. And he sees the same shot that Joke had seen a while ago... me getting into a subway car. He said he had to rewind it and watch it again to be sure but yes, it was me. I am a star. I am in Amsterdam, and Malaysian Airlines... perhaps I'll get to see myself when I fly "Air Pacific" to Australia or "Finnair" to China.

I need a copy of this video...

New shows I need to 'obtain':

-the wire
-nip tuck
-the office
-heroes
-the nine
-top chef (recommended by a student)
-dog the bounty hunter (recommended by my cousin)

Two days ago I saw a stupid car accident... some guy tried to pull a U-turn on central park west and rammed into the back of a passing car. What a tool. The passing car was the hideous Chrysler PT Cruiser, possibly the ugliest car imaginable.

another highly productive day:

- went to B&H to say hi to the hassids and buy a case for my tripod

-met up w my sister at Macy's to buy stuff for Maddy -- I'm going to smother her with gifts bought in NY that were ALL made in China. why not just wait til I get to china? Because maddy is expecting presents, and lots of 'em, when i see her

- then we dined at a deli in midtown.

- I dispatched my sister afterwards to go back to my apartment with the stuff we had bought, drop it off and pick up my big jar filled with all my change. I said she could keep 10% of however much the quarters and dimes and everything amount to. It was $56. I told her she could round up to $6 for her hard work.

- then to tutor at the office, followed by tutoring on the UES.

-finally home to discuss business school essays with my cousin.

- and hammer out more of my crazy Australia itinerary.

-and see the apple keynote address on their new iPhone, which, I hate to admit, looks pretty sweet.

whew, time to sleep. more of the same tomorrow.

If, for some reason, you read my blog but did not get an email for Sushi on Wednesday, here is the invite:

Hey all… it’s the final all-you-can-eat sushi night. Come and eat with me but don’t lay a hand on my tuna sashimi or I’ll smack you like when Qin Shi Huang put the smackdown on all the neighboring kingdoms in 221 BC and the Qin Dynasty unified China. Yeah, it’s like that. (I’ve been watching too many PBS specials on China…) The irony here is that the sushi place is owned not by Japanese people, but by Chinese people. Not sure if that constitutes irony, but whatever, I’m the emperor, I’ll do what I want. And if I want to build a big wall, then screw you, I’m building my wall.

*** let me know if you’ll be a part of my empire… IE if you are coming to sushi

All you can eat SUSHI ---
WEDNESDAY (1/10 this week) 7:30pm
@ Eastern Sushi (AKA Nihon Sushi) 2nd Ave btw 72/73rd st (West side of street)
$26 (incl tax + tip) and half price drinks/sake

Reminder:
Party this FRIDAY @ 10:30pm @ Kanvas (23rd/9th ave)

I had a wonderful evening with my two cousins - Dave (son of one of my dad's 2 brothers) and Lani (daughter of my dad's sister). It was a little Novich reunion at a kosher Deli. We gossiped a little, talked about our parents a bit, and ate some delicious food (cole slaw, pickles, french fries, bbq ribs, burgers, pastrami, and an amazing chocolate cookie pie thing at the end). It was great to catch up and it turns out at least one person reads my blog in addition to my mom... Dave!

Interestingly Dave is also my Google nemesis... when searching for 'novich,' I get reams of articles he's written for the Journal News.

Here's a funny photo of Lani and me on the bus ride home

Damn what a productive day:

-I braved the crappy USPS to pick up a package they hadn't delivered properly. It seems every single person I meet behind the counter is slightly insane, a sociopath, and just the most obnoxious, rude piece of shit ever. Today's run in with the short woman behind the pick up window was no different. I walked up, passed my slip through the 72 inch thick bullet-proof glass window and gave her my ID and she immediately yelled "hold your ID." Because the woman had been consistently rude to everyone she came in contact with that day, I think she was used to saying this repeatedly so it came out sounding like "hoh-ner-eye-dee". I had to repeat after her to be sure. After finally getting the package and getting the f out of that godforsaken place, I thought: it'd be a good idea if the USPS hired some consultants to provide some insight on how they can do a better job while saving money and being more efficient. But then i realized probably the first suggestion would be to fire everyone that works there -- so I doubt consultants will be coming anytime soon.

- I picked up a bagel with lox and tomato

-I need to do a lot of printing soon and I don't trust me printer so I went to a few computer/printing places on broadway to compare prices. the most outrageous quoted me 50 cents per printed page as if that were a perfectly reasonable amount of money to pay. WTF? The bargain place costs 8 cents per page, but 25cents per minute of computer use. I'm thinking it probably makes sense just to buy a new industrial strength laser printer and call it a day.

- made photocopies of my passport, what a bargain at 11 cents per copy.

- I went to 2 magazine stores looking for the january copy of PCmagazine, which no one has yet. My article about Skype will be in it. Finally, my first clip since Journalism school!

- I called GHI to take terminate my insurance while I switch to travel insurance during my time in China. I called the regular number, hit 2, then 1 (for premiums) and promptly got A WOMAN'S ANSWERING MACHINE. This is fucking GHI we're talking about here, not 'mom and pop insurance co'. And after going through their menu it goes to an answering machine message like : you've reached samantha, i'm not in, leave a message. It was 10am so it was certainly not lunch break (yeah, I called one other time when they said NO ONE IS IN THE OFFICE between 12 and 1...wtf?). No wonder GHI and insurance companies make boatloads of money. They don't answer the fucking phone or they're off eating lunch all day. Meanwhile, I called back, talked to a real person, and found out the fax number I need to fax a letter to saying I'd like to terminate my shit. Jesus, could they make it more of a pain in the ass. Welcome to the way things were in 1978. I'm assuming they all have rotary phones and no internet access in the offices.

- Then there was radioshack -- I popped in to see how much an australia electric plug would cost... just the plug (not the converter from 240v to 110v) cost $18. what a ripoff.

I forgot to post about our kick-ass new years party my roommates and I hosted at our apartment. I guess there's not a whole to say that these photos don't already make apparent. Uh, people came. They brought a lot of booze. More people came. Booze was consumed. Happy new year.

Actually we had quite a good turnout. Meinon (from hopkins) and Marionada (my old college housemate) came, which was awesome. Marionada, we're still eating those truffle chocolates you brought but the cookies were gone the next day. And hoff came with Papa Shi. Chung brought her people. Zak has no friends but still managed to bring Greg (who we went skiing with several years ago) who brought a few of his people. Lots of other people came too, and I can't remember much else which is why I took pictures. Enjoy!

Chung begins preparing an incredible assortment of finger foods. I begin eating them.


People start making our apartment look like a real party zone... Not just a cramped apartment. Ok, it's just cramped. Whatever.I am on the phone with Maddy -- it is just after midnight, so Greg decided to swoop in for some photo action.

On my run today in unbelievably warm 70 degree NYC winter weather, I ran/bumped (whatever) into Joke (pronounced Yoka) and Anuj (pronounced a noodge). Joke was the first attractive girl I met at Hopkins and Anuj was the first student I met at Hopkins (right when I got out of the car just before orientation began). I haven't seen them in over a year and a half at least. They're married and live in Amsterdam but were visiting NYC for a few weeks and just walking around the park. This is why I love running central park -- the random run-ins!

My computer speakers and my roommate Paula's cell phone have a little love affair going.

Basically, my speakers start humming feedback, like a buzz or white noise interference, and then immediately after they go silent, Paula's cell phone goes off... it is the WEIRDEST thing and just started happening today (or that's what I noticed. )

And it gets more interesting. Seems the buzz that hums in the speakers is different for when it is a TEXT message and when it is an actual phone call. So bizarre.

This is nothing new. When Maddy was here, her cell phone would cause my speakers to do the same thing, except her phone would be right next to teh speakers. Paula's phone is at least 5 feet away and through a wall.

Oh yeah, and it's driving me nuts.

A few years ago, after the coldest couple of days ever in New York, I vowed I would leave the city during the winter months for warmer climes. It simply wasn't worth it, I reasoned, to deal with the horrible New York City winter, the frigid air, my stubbornness against wearing 10 layers, and the negative degree windchill. I would plan to go somewhere warm, like Peru or Florida. I'd live there for a few months and sublet my apartment. It didnt' really matter what I'd do because to me, not being in the freezing cold was worth everything.

Fast forward to today. I am actually doing this: planning on leaving NYC during winter for much warmer places (australia, california, thailand and southern china). But the irony here is that we are having the WARMEST WINTER EVER in NYC... what the hell is going on?? yesterday was around 60 degrees. Thank god I can't really remember how I felt last year around this time, but it was really cold. the year before was really really cold.

It could be a lot worse. we could live in a city that holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in north america

But part of the excitement of my trip was the ability to say 'good riddens' to the 20 degree days where you shiver during most of your run and never feel comfortable when you're outside. And now I can't do that. Oh well.