R.I.P. 2004:

highlights:

- my shocking yet well-deserved proposal to susie in japan at a zen garden
- full of dusty, dirty, yet delightful adventures of tibet
- long globetrotting adventures from asia to europe

lowlights:

- no easy cash flowing
- out of the loop with inner circle of friends
- unproductive blogging here

i hope you have a prosperous happy new 2005!

even though suz and i sat in the last row of the plane, we cuddled so much that probably made a female passenger next to us envy of us. we had completely lost track of time that our cross-usa flight felt so brief. that's one of those precious affections you will get when you have a partner.

anyway, we're very excited to be here in sunny, spacious bay area as opposed to cold, cluttered new york. i could see that my future wife (grins to suz) feel very elated to be here away from new york scene.

off we go to the dreaded shopping malls today...

in case you haven't noticed... it seems like for the past 20 days, i've been typing into my blogs at around 2-3 am... i wonder why i enter blogging at this wee hour...

at least, i'm not like one of those guys who likes to watch porn movies at such this time...

earlier today, i went to soho with a friend just to get a glimpse of a bathing ape's newest shop as it FINALLY opened today. i think we waited in the line for like almost an hour before we got in and hovered around for a good half hour. as a result, i came out of the shop carrying 3 pairs of bapestas. of course, for a good reason, i plan to sell 'em on ebay as these bapestas can be only purchased at this new york location. while i won't disclose the price of these sneakers, you can call me crazy for buying these overpriced sneakers, but i'm crossing my fingers that many crazed bape fans from asia will buy 'em at such whopping $$$ soon this week. if that's the case, then i should be able to get a nice dose of profit for holiday shopping soon!

also, i did see nigo, the creator and president of a bathing ape at the shop... he's soo dayum SHORT... like 5'4 or so!

there's a great airfare deal for a $99 roundtrip (no, it's not a mistypo) to stockholm, sweden from newark, nj for december only. i could have taken this deal right on the spot and just stay at a friend's place there, but unforuntately i'm stuck with a new business, a few japanese guests coming soon, AND my passport is somewhere in the air enroute to its passport center to get more pages added... out of visa pages.. :-( why did it come at such a wrong timing???

it was such a rare pleasant weather outside today that i was practically on my feet all day roaming the whole manhattan. here's what i've shot earlier today:

free book exchange in soho

graffiti work in lower east side

hotel on rivington in lower east side (still in construction, but spanking awesome interior design)

a true public restroom in lower east side

my roommate in good mood after getting a certificate of business for our new business in lower manhattan

last night i took my japanese friend, miya, to rockfeller center as she wanted to see the infamous rockfeller christmas tree. on the ice skating rink near the tree, we caught a man kneeling down and proposing to his girlfriend in the middle of the rink. everyone just kinda stopped on the rink and all of us from balcony cheered 'em on. the gal couldn't believe that it had actually happened right in the public eye. congratulations to this couple... though i doubt that the couple will ever land on this page.

well, i'm just giving you a realistic idea! ;-)

earlier today, i spent a couple of hours sketching thumbnails for a new logo for a new business that my roommate and i are starting. i never realized how much fun is it to sketch logos. i usually try to give a different concept for each sketch instead of just sketching away randomly. i think that definitely gives me more creative selections to choose from.

anyway, new business you ask.... well, we're starting an online business that sells, what we call, sub-culture, products - mainly on urban toys, books, and tees. i think we are going to have so much fun with this business that my buz partner and i had one of nice lengthy business meetings today. more details to come later...

i guess this is a great project for me to do while i can't climb for the next few months due to my finger injury. i do admit that it sucks not to climb at all, but it's real NICE to rest and gives me an excuse to tag new york with my name.