New York City, USA

Shopping

The first thing Emiko said to me this morning was, "Hey, you know those shoes I bought yesterday? Do you like them?"

Someone was having seconds thoughts about her purchase. She pulled them out of her bag to let me look and she was right. They looked good last night, but in the light of day, they were nothing special. We went back to the store on Broadway to return them and she picked up another pair that looked good both in and outside of the store.

Breakfast

The night before last, while walking around SoHo, we saw a bakery that had some really good-looking pastries inside. We kept promising ourselves that we would go there, but something always got in the way (like they were closed, we weren't hungry yet, etc.).

Today was our last change to try it out. The items were fairly pricey ($3 for a coffee, $5 for a croissant sandwich), but they looked to be pretty good quality, so we picked up some stuff. Their coffee lids were the coolest things. You could slide a little tab to open and close the little hole you drink out of. Check it out:

After walking around for a bit, looking for a suitable place to sit, we opened the bag to find that they had given us only one sandwich, instead of the two we had paid for. Motherfuckers!

But this was really a blessing in disguise as it afforded me the opportunity to buy breakfast from one of those guys in the little one-man trailer deals. I ordered eggs and bacon on a bagel. Greasy, fluffy and salty. Heaven.

Went down to Water St. to do a bit more shopping and went to the docks, but the smell was unpleasant, so we started back uptown. Emiko wanted to see the MET before leaving.

The MET

I've known Emiko for nearly 3 years now and had absolutely no idea that she was an art buff. I don't know art from something a retarded monkey made with a crayon, but anything to expand my horizons. It was my first time here. I wanted to see some of the China exhibit, but we were really short on time.

They had an incredible collection of medival European, Chinese and Japanese armour. I could have spent all day there, looking at ancient implents of destruction and war.

WTF?

Let me give you a little background before I explain this photo:

Just before I left for Tokyo in 2001, my family and I went on a trip to Washington D.C. We went to one of the many free modern art galleries they had there. I noticed that many of the paintings were just absurd. The more I saw, the more I scoffed, until I finally saw this. I made my sister take a photo of it, so that I could always be reminded at how easily people are fooled. How is this art?

So when I saw this at the MET, I just had to have a photo. Man, I'd love to have been on the other end of this deal when it was being sold to the museum.

Van Gogh

Here we go. This exhibit (along with the Picassos) was what Emiko was looking for.

The only thing I learned about Van Gogh from art class in junior high was that absinthe and sharp knives don't mix well.

Our journey ends

Before heading back to Toronto, where you have to search high and low to find a decent diner, I wanted one more greasy breakfast and real coffee for the road. We found ourselves at the Midnight Cafe just off of Lafayette. Had a quick meal, then it was off to the airport.

While waiting to board, I realized that I hadn't written a single journal entry since we got here. This is what happens when you are more occupied with having fun, rather than recording it.

Today was sad for a few reasons. Not only was it the end of a fantastic trip with good friends, but it was the end of my 3 week vacation and it was the beginning of Emiko's last week in Canada. I plan to visit Japan for 3 weeks in spring of 2005, where I will see her (and all my other friends there) again. But spring is a long way off.

I tried not to think about it too much, but the moment the thought sunk its talons into my mind, I couldn't shake it.

But on a happy note, the day had come and gone, and we didn't get into one fight. See? I can be civilized - I just choose not to.