in a new york minute

you've heard the eagles song, right? and i experience it everyday. as soon as i get off the bus at the port authority bus terminal on 42nd st., i take a deep breath, check that i don't have sleepies in my eyes, then join the throng of people sprinting--not walking--to their respective points of destination in manhattan.

everything happens quickly in new york, everyone moves fast. if you stop in the middle of your tracks for a fraction of a second, someone will surely bump into you.

new jersey and new york are in the same time zone, but still, everything seems to move at a quicker pace in the big apple. i've adopted their speed, because when in new york, one tends to walk as new yorkers do (with the obvious exception of ogling tourists).

a new york minute seems like 10 new jersey minutes...and an hour in philippine time.

the peoplescape of new york is as volatile as the cloud formations in the sky. you never see the same faces again.

[photos of the morning crowd inside the port authority bus terminal]

kinokuniya

can you say that word five times without faltering? hehe. that's the name of a japanese bookstore located along avenue of the americas, right across bryant park and just near 42nd st. my kawaii radar drew me to this place.

the store carries shelves upon shelves of manga, japanimation dvds, japan/j-pop photography books and magazines, and japanese souvenirs, stationery and all those plush kawaii things....like tarepanda and miffy.

surprisingly, i didn't see a lot of hello kitty items. there were few, but i expected more from a japanese shop. i guess they conceded the task to the sanrio store on 42nd st.

in the photography books section under "japan subculture", i spotted these blythe books which i'm sure will be to gingmaganda's liking...

and naturally, everything was expensive. my eyes grew as big as blythe's when i saw that some fancy versions of the pilot pen cost $10 each! and that's before the 8.25% sales tax! those pens would cost way cheaper at national bookstore. but then again, i'm not in the philippines. pilot was my pen of choice in elementary until high school.

statues of liberty on parade

turns out that lady liberty is scattered across manhattan slathered in different sports teams' colors! i spotted three such statues on different days. it's like playing "where's waldo" in manhattan, except you're looking for the smaller statues of liberty! i wonder how many there are altogether?

first, here she is inside toys r'us store in times square, right by the entrance.

then i found another one along 6th avenue right across bryant park...

and just today, i saw yet another one in front of modell's sporting goods store at 42nd street...

the challenging part of photographing anything on the streets of new york city is getting a decent shot without people passing in front of your lens...there's always people walking by, especially when it's a friday and there's tourists everywhere!

litratong pinoy#10:pag-aaral

masuwerte ang mga kabataang nag-aaral ngayon dahil may mga sasakyang puwedeng maghatid sa kanila sa paaralan, gaya nitong traysikel na lulan ang mga mag-aaral na gamit ang knapsack na bigay ng kanilang pampublikong paaralan sa lalawigan ng capiz. ang litratong ito ay kuha noong pebrero nang ako'y nagbakasyon sa pilipinas.

noong kapanahunan ng mga magulang ko, naglakad daw sila sa kanilang paaralan araw-araw na naka-tsinelas lang sa probinsya. malalayong distanya ang tinahak ng kanilang mga paa para lang makapag-aral.

eto naman ang pangunahing gusali (main building) ng unibersidad ng santo tomas sa españa, manila. dito ako nagkolehiyo. binisita ko muli ang aking alma mater noong marso nang malapit na akong bumalik sa amerika. araw-araw ako sumakay ng dyip/FX/bus/traysikel habang ako'y nag-aaral pa dito. gaya ng ibang estudyante, nagbubunyi ako tuwing may bagyo dahil ibig sabihin noon ay walang pasok--lalo pa't mabilis maging karagatan ang palibot ng kampus nito. pero hindi masayang maglakad sa baha na hanggang tuhod!

bumili ako ng jacket na may disenyong "quadricentennial" bilang souvenir dahil magdidiwang ang UST ng pang-apat na daang taong anibersaryo nito sa 2011. sana makauwi ako sa taong 'yon.

at narito naman ang pampublikong aklatan ng new york sa 5th avenue at 42nd st. na malimit kong puntahan. ito ang isa sa dalawang rebulto ng leon na nagbabantay sa harap ng gusali. kadalasan ay may mga exhibit sila na libre para sa mga tao. namangha ako nang una akong pumasok dito dahil akala ko ay nasa loob ako ng katedral o magarbong museo. ang sarap mag-aral dito!

pero sa modernong panahon ngayon, gaano karaming tao pa ba ang pumupunta sa aklatan upang magresearch ng gawaing-pambahay kung puwede namang i-google ang sari-saring impormasyon? pag may libreng wi-fi ang aklatan gaya nito, tyak pupunta ang mga tao bitbit ang kanilang mga laptop.

mamma mia! (here i go again...)

not too long ago, i was raving about having watched "mamma mia!" the musical. now, i just want to share some "mamma mia" eye candy by posting pictures of the same billboard location but with different designs taken on different days. first, here's the original billboard advertising the musical:

and here it is again most recently with the movie poster. doesn't she look like a greek deity with her dress?

now i want to go to greece!!!

shear genius!

a giant pair of scissors emerged in the middle of times square this morning. i was drawn to this bizarre attraction and discovered that bravo channel is putting their creme dela hair cream of stylists featured in "shear genius:season 2" to the test by having them work on random people's hair. it'll most likely end up in one of their episodes...perhaps even their pilot for the second season.

each stylist-contestant had his/her own booth. this one looked like matthew in the roster of stylists at the show's website.

"shear genius: season 2" airs on june 25th at 10/9 central on bravo.

domo arigato, mr. roboto!

you just never know who or what you're going to spot when walking in the big apple. i did a double take a few days ago when i passed by this guy on a bike with a silvery co-rider at his back. turned out to be a live advertisement for "robot village", a hobby store for robot enthusiasts on 81st street.

when i stopped to take a picture of the biker dude, he seemed to pose a bit, smile just a bit while trying to act nonchalant to the fact that someone is photographing the robotic spectacle attached to his bike. he was actually kind of cute!