DAY 7. Just another regular day for the two new New Yorkers. We started with a nice helicopter ride over manhattan and down the hudson river and ended it with a night of chilling with the bleacher bums at Yankee stadium.

/ JiYoung on the helipad
/ Ready for Take-Off
/ Us in Flight!
/ FROM THE SKY: USS Intrepid
/ FROM THE SKY: Yankee Stadium
/ FROM THE SKY: Central Park
/ FROM THE SKY: Empire State Building
/ FROM THE SKY: Lower Manhattan
/ The Yankee outfield
/ JiYoung with the bleacher bums
/ Us in right field
/ JiYoung stikes a pose in her new Yankee hat

DAY 6. A slightly gloomy day in Gotham so it was time to cover some of the basics and take those pictures that prove we were actually in NYC. We toured uptown reaching the heights of the Empire State Building and walked the sidewalks between 5th Avenue and Times Square. And to top it all off, we sat upfront and close to a showing of Phantom of the Opera (JY’s first time).

/ The two Bad-Asses getting out…
/ JiYoung at the Empire State Building
/ Cool at the Top of the World
/ I strike a pose
/ Chillin’ on 5th Avenue
/ Us at Rockefeller Center
/ LA Palm Trees or Midtown Skyscrapers?
/ JiYoung in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral
/ Us in St. Pats
/ Us at Phantom of the Opera
/ JiYoung sympathizing with the Phantom
/ Soaking up Times Square Flavor

DAY 5. A new start after the incident we now refer to as “the boat”. Roadtrip. It was time to bust out the Pontiac Aztek and hit the hometown of Woodcliff Lake, NJ for a little walk down Marvin Chow memory lane. JiYoung and I visited famous sites such as the Old Mill where I used to lifeguard, Dorchester Middle School, Fusco’s and Casa Del Sol for a Yummy Sandwich!

From that short tour, it was off to the primary agenda of the day… SHOPPING at WOODBURY COMMONS… woooo! Not much to say here except that it was a most enjoying 6 hours of walking and holding stuff. For JiYoung though, it really was a thrill, walking away with dreams come true packages…

/ The infamous BOOGIE BAG!
/ Dream Come True. Mission Accomplished!
/ Me with my cool new Shades! Thanks JiYoung
/ JiYoung ending her day sporting her new shades and happy scarf.

DAY 4. The 4th of July. America’s Birthday. The day started off beautifully with a nice stroll/tour of every New Yorkers sanctuary… Central Park. From the John Lennon IMAGINE tribute to the famous Disney statue it was a spectacular visit. We walked the A LOT of the park, saw some interesting people and caught some sun on the Great Lawn…

/ Andy our cycling tour guide
/ Heaven in the middle of the city
/ JiYoung catching some more rays
/ Us at the Great Fountain
/ JiYoung taking a dive at the Boat House
/ Chillin’ in the Park

Later that afternoon, it was off to Pier 47 for a Circle Line Cruise of lower Manhattan and a great view of the fireworks. It really sounded like a great idea and the first 30 minutes of the 5 hour tour were great. Wind in our hair and sights to see… but then we parked under the Manhattan Bridge.. and we sat there, and sat there, and sat there. 4 hours of just sitting around was rough… but eventually the fireworks came and they were spectacular but in all honesty, not really worth the investment. Probably the lowpoint of our trip but the MOST memorable :)

/ JiYoung and the USS Intrepid
/ Pre-Boredom Smile
/ Taking a look at the city
/ JiYoung and the Brooklyn Bridge
/ The Sun Sets but the Fireworks are still hours away
/ Fireworks…
/ and more Fireworks!!
/ JiYoung at the end of a loooooong night.

DAY 3. A beautiful sunday in the tri-state area and what better way to start off the day than with some delicious dimsum straight from the hood in chinatown. After downing the tiny morsels it was time to pack up the dog and head to jersey… SeaSide Heights baby!

/ But first their was traffic!
/ And over the 3 hour drive, their was sleeping
/ as well as a little dog drool!
/ Finally at the Shore
/ JiYoung chillin’ on the sand
/ Us at the beach
/ The golden tan.

DAY 2. The illustrious wedding of shirley and dan… the driving force for our 4th of July travel date. For those of you know shirley, it was her to a tee. For those who don’t, let’s just say that none of us knew that you could do a wedding from scratch. Homemade invitations, tea cup takeaways and more food than even JiYoung can eat!

/ The outdoor ceremony
/ The traditional Chinese band
/ Us with the Happy Couple
/ Shirley and Dan do the Tango
/ My beautiful girl takes a sip
/ Us chillin’ on the couch
/ “happy” at the end of the night…

but before all the wedding hoopla their were things to do… city to see, discount stores to visit and cute puppy dogs to walk.

/ A ride through the city
/ The Century 21 goods
/ Catching the 1 train
/ Mocha and JiYoung strike a pose
/ Dancing down the street

DAY 1. It was the long awaited birthday vacation to New York City. JiYoung’s first trip to the east coast and second trip to the states. Nothing much to report but a 20 hour travel trip and random hotel lounges.

/ JiYoung’s first ride in Business Class (with the good food)
/ There was a lot of Zzzzzz’s
/ Chillin’ in the United Lounge Tokyo
/ Us at the car pickup

and when we landed, we had just enough time to check in and chill in Little Italy.

/ JiYoung taking a taste of 5 liqueur coffee
/ Streetside with the masses
/ Us in the heart of Little Italy

A week in Barcelona. Not a bad way to spend a week strategizing about the future of the Nike Brand. 10 hours meetings + 5 hour dinners. Tiring I tell you… but an enjoyable trip. My team even won the futsal tournament if you can believe it!! At the end of 3 very long days, I did manage to sneak a day to spy barcalona during my inagural trip. Come fly with me…

First we headed to Park Guella, one of the many shrines to Antoni Gaui. As you walk into the park, you are immediately hit with the impact of the details fo the work and architecture in a non-american way.

/ Kellie at the Steps
/ Kellie + Me at the Top of the Park
/ Crosses at the Peak
/ View of one of the Park Churches
/ Park Square Balcony
/ Ash Trays this guy made from pop cans
/ People Hangin in the Park Square
/ Somebody drew a big M in the middle of the Park Square
/ The Gaudi/Dali Museum
/ Dali Ant Exhibit at the Museum
/ Another Church along the Moutainside
/ Long Shot of the Park Trails
/ Tunnels under the Park Trails
/ Kids playing football in the park – anytime, anywhere [1]; [2]
/ Panoramic View from the Hilltop

We also saw this great house with the phrase Okupa Y Resiste written on the roof. Upon closer inspection, the rebellious words, No Justice, No Police, Fuck the Police!… priceless and beautiful.

From the Park, believe it or not, we took the BUS to Casa Mila where Gaudi lived. We didn’t get to see the whole inside, but it has an amazing courtyard.

My short 5 hour tour of spain was amazing and some precious time away from the meeting… but one of the perks of having your meeting at the stadium offices of the FCBarcelona team is that you get to actually walk on the pitch. The actual field where magic is made. The same grass where Ronaldhino makes effortless movements as he attacks the goal. Amazing!

/ DJ + Mark break for a smile
/ Me, Ricky and DJ warming the bench
/ The Stands
/ Carl and Benj directing the crowd
/ Fraser and Benj at midfield
/ Celebrating on the Pitch

Not a bad way to spend the weak…

I have no idea what time it is. I’m on my 6th international trip in 60 days. On my way back from Barcelona (which was pretty damn cool except for all that work stuff… more to come with some sweet pics) but between me and Seoul is Heathrow airport! This is possibly not only the worst airport but the must god-forsaken place on the planet. I have nothing against the brits except that they won’t convert to the Euro – i love chips and fish – but this airport blows. It’s like the Newark Airport of NJ… just gives London a bad name. Anyway, I’m boarding soon so i’ll probably have to walk for about 15 minutes and then ride a bus on the tarmac right up to the plane and board. Fucking ridiculous! Hope you’re all well. Greeting from cheery england!

Sounds like a trip but when you’re locked in a conference room talking long term strategic planning and marketing… not so fun :) but the view from my hotel room was pretty sweet… here. I did get to take a dip in the Pacific and catch up with some old friends.