Autumn in New York

October 27, 2012 -  Finally! After 3 attempts at Bryant Park, 2 visits at Central Park, New York has turned auburn and amber at Riverside Park!

Here are some photos. It is just in time before hurricane Sandy arrives tomorrow Sunday until Tuesday. Calling all photo and Instagram enthusiasts! I hope the hurricane doesn't take all those orange leaves away.......and you get to see it by Wednesday :)

Autumn in New York = "Fall" in Love!

I have found my favorite mascara: Urban Decay's Big Fatty Mascara

I have been using mascara here and there, often to just darken the tips of my lashes because I hate the clumpy look and the heavy feel. Without any particular requirement, I have used types such as basic black, brown shades, volumizers, lengtheners, waterproof (the rainy days can get tricky with mascara, but I hate these because I lose my lashes by the time I wash my face).

I was neither pleased nor unhappy with my many mascara brands. I used 1 or 2 brands at a time in no more than 6 months. Then I just replace with any new brand that I wanna try.

Now the search is over! I had the opportunity to try Urban Decay's Big Fatty Mascara. It is categorized as a Thickening and Lengthening Mascara, and I'm telling you, it is a game changer in the field of mascaras. Its brush is too pretty that it combs all your lashes no matter how thick or close together they are. The end result is a natural-looking lash but defined at the tips so they look longer. For some reason, I never had the need to put so much, it never gets clumpy, and it's very light. I do not have that feeling that I have bushy lashes if you know what I mean, like some mascaras make it annoying to blink.

Above are photos of the box and the brush up close. It is priced at 20USD. Urban Decay reformulated this and I think they redesigned the packaging too, but hey, this old one suits me great! How much more for a reformulated version?

The only problem I had with this mascara is that when you use it in places with hot weather, it does not dry up fast enough. So be very careful that you do not smear it after applying. It must have something to do with the oil in the formula. Nevertheless, I still love it because it lasts longer unlike other tubes which dry up so fast even before you use the entire bottle.

The box reads: "It's big, it's fat, it should be illegal. Infused with hemp oil, this mascara is a trip, taking lashes to a new realm where fantasy and reality collide. The big, fuzzy brush makes lashes look so full, so dreamy... so surreal! The creamy formula thickens, lengthens, and glosses lashes. Just one use, and you're addicted."

......and indeed, I am.

My Central Park Tour

As I was waiting for Central Park to get all auburn and amber, here are some photos I took in October 2012. It is a nice chilly weather where you can go around the park leisurely from 2pm-5pm. I followed the recommendation of Lonely Planet to make a walk tour that will lead me to the lake, the Bethesda Fountain, the Great Lawn.

I got off the train at 72nd West Central Park. And here begins my phototour.......

The Bethesda Fountain is amazing and I wonder how it looks like in winter...

Shakespeare Garden

The tree right on top of Strawberry Fields "Imagine"

The park is a nice place to walk the dog, read a book, stare at the lake... Autumn in New York is indeed something :)

Lovin' Korean Air

Took a long flight via Korean Air recently and I am just satisfied with it. First of all, as described by the ticketing office, the airline has enough legroom. I do not have long legs, but I do crouch and extend my legs a lot and always have stuff to put underneath the seats, so the need for space. Not only is it roomy underneath, the aisles and overhead bins also have good space. The curvature of the overhead bins were constructed in such a way that it does not look like it is sticking out or anyone can bump their heads into it.

My connecting flight was a nice experience- I got to see Incheon airport. It is clean and spacious, comparable to Hong Kong airport, which is my favorite airport. It is also very easy to navigate, wide spaces with bright lights, and wifi runs superfly for free :) On airplane mode, my Blackberry Messenger, Gtalk, and other networking sites ran well on my Blackberry phone.

With all the problems that airlines are experiencing right now, it is very fantastic that Korean Air just comes to the destination earlier than expected. My connecting flight brought me to Incheon Airport 20 minutes advanced. The next flight towards my actual destination was a 14 hour flight that still managed to arrive 45 minutes in advance. I was like, this is just a really nice change! I also arrived at an appropriate time of 7:45pm. Other airlines take you to your destination during midnight or dawn, but not Korean Air. I did not leave Manila at a very early time  either. My flight's ETD was 12:30pm which allowed me to leisurely go through the Monday morning Manila city drive.

When it comes to food, I specifically tried the Korean food they serve and I enjoyed it. They serve Bibimbap in both the connecting and the last leg of the flight (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibimbap) with this really nice spicy paste shown in the pic below. The paste is similar to Hoisin sauce but not as sweet and it is just a lil bit spicy, so don't get too scared with it.

The Flight Attendants of Korean Air are prompt and respectful. One even taught me how to enjoy Bibimbap - like how to eat it by mixing the veggies and meat with the rice, put on the paste, and do not mix it with the soup!

TV? no problem. You have your own in your seat. The movie collections are nice. I managed to watch 3 movies and 1 documentary. The Audio collection is acceptable, i navigated through it, although it needs more of the recent Western Pop. I did like their "relaxation" albums. You also do not need to bring a 2-prong adaptor (shown below). Just bring your favorite headset with a 3.5mm jack and you're good to go! They do provide headsets but I would recommend you bring your own if it is a long flight to enjoy the sound. I had my very own Action Fit Philips earphones that I use for running and I am so happy I did not bother to buy the more expensive Travel Fit Philips earphones because I do not need it. Any standard earphones will work as long as it si 3.5mm. Before landing, I turned on the skyview which shows the view of our landing. A bit blurred, but it is a nice thing to see.

I am proud of Cebu Pacific for how they land their planes. Korean Air is not so bad either. I did not experience any luggage falling off from inside the overhead bins, it wasn't a scary noisy landing, it was nice actually.

I called Korean Air 4 days before my schedule and the customer service officer booked me my seats for both the departure and the return flights. In case you're wondering, this was done for free. I did try the web check-in a day before my flight, and there is no need to print anything so it was pretty efficient. On the day of my departure, true enough, my seats were booked just where I want to be, including my connecting flight seat number.

I think I may have found a reliable airline (and cheaper alternative) for long flights, or possibly when I get to visit Korea! Korean Air is just superfly :)