Laptop brotherhood
Today is a dedicated clean-up day, in every sense of the word. My parents are visiting me in a couple days so I will be vacuuming, organizing, and scrubbing my entire apartment until it’s lifestyle-magazine clean. But I’ve also been cleaning out my bloated hard drives. While deleting a bunch of junk, I discovered this photo from last year which I had meant to post.
This is my trio of laptops, the oldest one from as far back as 2003. A lot of history and good times in this photo.
How I went from Apple store newbie to lifetime ban in one week
I had planned on reviewing the iPad in my next post, but instead I’ll dedicate this entry to my photo below and an incident that happened today. Review of the iPad coming soon.
(UPDATE: now posted)
As was correctly guessed, those iPads in the photo are not for me. When Apple delayed the international iPad launch by a month, early adopters worldwide started to panic. Since my nearby Apple store initially had plenty of stock, I offered to purchase and ship iPads internationally for members of the NeoGAF gaming forum. I was doing this as a favor, unlike hoarders who were unloading iPads on eBay to cash in on the $150+ markup. Instead, my asking prices were very reasonable, just enough to cover all the tax, international express shipping, and Paypal fees with a little left over for unexpected costs.
So as the pick-up requests came in, I went on multiple visits to the Apple store, buying no more than 2 per day since I had heard there was a limit per person. I found this whole situation pretty funny considering I had never bought an Apple product prior to this madness (the iPod Touch I use at work was given to me by my medical school). But the store recently went completely out of stock. I had one last order to fulfill so an employee helped me place a reservation. A few days passed and yesterday I was sent an email notifying that my reserved iPad had come in. The story begins here…
Apple iPad tease
Today I stopped by my local Apple store and went on a little shopping spree.
Stay tuned this weekend for more info about the photo, along with my impressions / review of the iPad. Believe it or not, this is the first Apple product I have ever purchased. The iPad is a very “wow” device that leaves a strong first impression, but I can already tell that it’s not for me.
What about you? Got iPad?
Cherry Blossom lane
Spring is here at last! With spring comes not only pleasant weather and girls in shorts, but also tons of jealousy-inducing blog posts about cherry blossom season in Japan. I subscribe to lots of Japan blogs and it seems everybody’s having a great time with the sakura flowers and hanami parties. A couple of my life goals: to experience Chinese New Year in Taiwan and to attend hanami parties in Ueno Park, Tokyo.
But even we in the USA can have our fun. Washington D.C., of course, has its famous Cherry Blossom Festival. And I’ve even discovered a random neighborhood close to my apartment that harbors a secret: a small street lined with cherry blossom trees!
Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen – Rosemead, CA
The area of Los Angeles that I’m from is called the San Gabriel Valley. One of its claims to fame is that we have the largest Chinese community in the U.S. That equals the best Chinese food in the country, not just in terms of quality but also sheer breadth of variety. The Atlantic Monthly had a great article on this phenomenon — even though it was written a decade ago, everything in the report still holds true. Perhaps our unique situation is even more exaggerated these days, since the community has only grown larger over the past decade.
My point in bringing this up is that despite the amazing Chinese food, our Japanese restaurants in the area are comparatively lacking. We have our fair share of good places, but most would agree that the standouts are located in the Gardena / Torrance area or near Little Tokyo in downtown L.A., both quite substantial drives from the SGV. The Shin-Sen-Gumi restaurant empire, known for its authentic Japanese cuisine, operates mostly in Gardena. I only recently learned that they had opened a hakata ramen shop in Rosemead, CA (quite a bit closer to home) so I jumped at the chance to try out their ramen.
A Bathing Ape shark clan
I’ve been in love with the A Bathing Ape label ever since my first trip to Japan. Their shark hoodies are my favorite and among Bape’s most desired products. Most were created in very limited quantities, adding to their mystique. Due to their rarity, I’ve been patiently hunting for my favorite sharks over the past few years. I finally tracked down the green Shibuya city camo shark for a reasonable price and have completed my collection!
Top row starting from left: Aoyama; Shibuya; Harajuku; Taipei (all city camo series)
Bottom row starting from left: Black/red exclusive to Bape club members; Salmon PONR shark; Navy blue knit wool shark; standard Bape crewneck
Of course, there’s a few dozen other sharks that have been made, but unless I can get any of them super cheap (not going to happen), my shark collection is essentially complete. Unlike some Bape diehards, who seem to be solely collectors and keep all their goods tucked away in the original plastic bags, I actually like to wear my hoodies out and about. I’m still waiting for the first day when I bump into another shark-wearing fan. Probably won’t happen unless I’m in Tokyo.
In case you were wondering what the shark hoody looks like when worn, here’s a photo from last summer when I visited my brother at Harvard. Putting the Harajuku white camo to good use and blending into the marble! It’s impossible to see through the shark face, so zipping the hoody up all the way is purely just for effect. Couple more photos of the Taipei shark hoody.
Julian Serrano – Las Vegas, NV
Ever since Las Vegas firmly established itself as a powerhouse city in the restaurant world, every new casino opening has proudly boasted a line-up of marquee chefs. Julian Serrano is the eponymous tapas restaurant by the chef who created Bellagio’s Picasso, one of the groundbreaking restaurants in Vegas dining. Although I do not have much experience with Spanish food, I was eager to visit Serrano, hyped by accounts that this was the highlight of the whole Aria casino. I found the food adequate but not especially impressive. Unfortunately, the experience was marred by new restaurant opening woes that left us displeased.
