Another City Weekend: cliches, ramyun at 3am, and the awkward poker-winning smile.

I hate cliches.

The ironic thing is that I say so many cliche things all the time. Like initially, I was going to start off this entry with something like, "Well, midterm week has come and passed." But then I thought it so terribly cliche that I decided not to use it. Instead I have an opening in which I talk about how terribly cliche I think the opening I was thinking of using was. But I guess there is a place for the cliche, as long as it's used at the right time.

My overuse of the cliche is one of the few things that a certain friend hasn't pointed out and made me completely conscious of. For one, my friend told me that I smile funny; that I purse my lips and my smile is more of a smirk. Now, every time I smile, I self-consciously contort my face in mid-smile, often drawing strange looks from whoever might witness my futile efforts to resist pursing my lips. Speaking has become quite the task too, as every single habitual phrase I use has been exploited. "I don't know", "Say what?", and the indecisive "It's up to you." are now on the list of things I'm not supposed to say, so I now stutter throughout conversation, in an attempt to eliminate the aforementioned from my vocabulary. I have such great friends. =)

Well, I can't go one blog entry without mentioning food in some shape or form, since New York City=food. Last week I went to Carnegie Deli at 7th Ave and 55th St, about a ten minute walk from my apartment. I ordered the brisket sandwich, and it had to be one of the BIGGEST sandwiches I've ever seen. It is a bit pricey though; they require you to spend at least $12 a person. But I wouldn't hesitate to go once more. The picture's kinda sketchy because I had to use my the camera on my cell to take it, seeing as I have neglected a large part of my Asian heritage in not owning a digital camera.

So my Friday was spent down at NYU at some casino-type event hosted by an Asian culture club at the school; I accompanied Alice and James to the thing, held at the Kimmel Center. The only lame thing was the chips didn't earn you money, they got you raffle tickets, otherwise I would have made off with 25 dollars in profits for the night! While none of us won any of the prizes, (a nano, digital camera, and Max Brenner gift set) I managed to almost quadruple up on money and make up for Alice's and James' losses. One hand that was dealt out, I totally schooled this guy in a totally movie-esque type of ownage. If you're familiar with poker lingo then you'll probably understand this, if not, then I guess I'll make a watered down version so you know what I'm talking about.

Poker Lingo:
So I was sitting on an 8 and an ace in the hole, suited. One of the other players raised the blinds to 25, which both the big and small blinds called, along with myself. The flop came K-7-K. Everyone checked all around, but I sensed a slow-play coming from the other side of the table. Fourth street came a 3. Checks once again. And finally, the river showed a 10. The action came to this short, Asian guy in a black NYU hoodie sitting across from me. He throws in 25, and I know he's got the trips. He might be trying to steal the pot, but I'm thinking he's had the set from the get-go. The smart move would have been to fold, but I figure if I raise him another 25, he's gonna get scared and think I've got the flush, even though it's a dead man's bluff: I've got NOTHING. And it turns out I'm right. He folds, I show him my cards, and he flips out. I smile my smirkish smile and rake in the 200+ in chips.

Sans Poker Lingo:
I owned him. Period.

So after that we went back to James' dorm, and watched a couple movies. Gone Baby Gone, then Wedding Crashers. Had some ramyun somewhere in the middle. Then around 5 or 6am for some reason we all tried to pile into James' twin-sized bed, which didn't quite work. I just remember drifting in and out of sleep til a little after 10, then I left. A pretty solid night overall.