2/11/08

94 Days and Counting...


until Kristin and I embark on a day tour of Athens, then a (7) day cruise through the Greek Islands including a port call in Turkey and possibly a (4) day visit to relatives in Sicily.

easyCruise Life - The Boat
The latest addition to the fleet is 134 metres long and has 9 decks. It can accommodate 550 passengers in 250 cabins. It is operated by a crew of 79.

The Itinerary
Cruising from Athens to 6 Greek islands from the lively to the laid back and authentic. There's no better way of visiting the Greek islands and Turkey in one trip - from the party islands of Mykonos and Paros to the more authentic Syros and Samos plus Turkey's number one resort, Bodrum.

2/10/08

saturdays

Tonight Angela and I attended a UBS sponsored evening at MOMA, part of their Saturday Nights program. The theme (supposedly an homage) was "Sex and the City trendy"...I fretted a bit over that but I should have realized in NY that means black (dressed up or basic).

It was a lovely evening, serendipitously Angela ran into her friend Sabina and the three of us chatted over wine and beer before strolling through the five main floors of the exhibit (modern paintings, sculpture and furniture--including the Barcelona Chair that has been around since the mid 1920s).

My favorite of all oddly enough was a massive wall-sized black and white painting, chalkboard-like with scribbling, it reminded me of Q's black and white painting that hangs on my living room wall.

Afterwards we had a bite to eat at Thai Basil, where I realized that although I've increased my travel destinations as of late, there are so many places left to go. Between Sabina's stories about South America and Angela's adventures in Africa my country-hopping through Western Europe seems like an RV trip to Disney World.

I made it back to my car with barely 10 minutes left before the parking garage closed (thank goodness it was a mere $19, compared to $51 at the garage on the same block as the museum); and pulled into the driveway just at midnight.

Simple and easy Saturday night...I could get used to these.

2/6/08

slightly unnerving

we once shared a parallel time my dad and I, as of late (since moving downstairs) i don't see him in 24 hour intervals, sometimes not in days...we have carved out a routine of time to visit with one another, or rather I carve out time to visit him (when i get home early enough to detox, in anticipation on thursday night for viewings of LOST, sunday morning breakfasts).

but that absence, any absence so it seems, clearly defines the trivial changes in his day to day. a heavier breath as if he has a cold and is breathing through one nostril, the messy wind blown hair revealing a balder spot than before, his hands and fingers the lines multiplying. even our discussions on politics and the news have slowed down as if catching up to his body.

i'd grown accustomed to his voice, my great debater...I didn't think this would be then, here, witnessing a reverse metamorphosis toward a cocoon.

Sexy is... Profane

One of my absolutely favorite industry newsletters is MediaPost's Out to Launch which highlights the best in advertising creative for print, television and online.

In today's issue, they feature an ingenious campaign run by K*Y Jelly where site visitors fill in the blank to the phrase: Sexy is....

Apparently certain words are considered profane:

Chinese New Year Starts Tomorrow

Year Of The Rat

This year, the Year of the Rat, is the first animal in the Chinese horoscope.

Here are some fun facts to know and tell:

Rat Years: 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008

Chinese Calendar Year: 4706

Corresponds to Western Sign: Sagittarius

Born in Year of the Rat: Al Gore, Sean Penn, Jimmy Carter, Alyssa Milano, Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lauren Bacall, Eminem, Scarlett Johansson

Rat Characteristics: smart, quick-witted, compassionate, charismatic, charming, ambitious, practical, honest, eloquent, versatile, familial, creative, hard-working, organized. At the same time, the Rat may lack a sense of humor, be power-driven, critical, calculating, bossy and defensive.

Best Careers for Those Born in the Year of the Rat: writers, actors, accountants, detectives, psychologists, lawyers, politicians, engineers, managers, entrepreneurs, musicians, stand-up comedians, researchers

Lucky Colors:

Red (symbolizes happiness), Gold (symbolizes wealth)

Source: MediaPost Daily (2/06/08)

Holy Tuesday...it was a Mardi Gras

Paradou, a French restaurant in the meatpacking district hosts a blow-out Dirty Bingo event the first Tuesday of every month. Yesterday's was a special edition in honor of Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras.

The Fantastic Five* adorned with our most festive feathered and bejeweled masks were seated front and center for dinner, dessert, sipping Champagne cocktails galore. The divalicious hostess, a trannie with the most bodacious hair any girl would die for, was accompanied by Wild Will, the Latin stripper for the evening. The Fantastic Five agreed that although hot to trot and ripped, Will lacked a bit of height and biceps to match our tastes.

Our table must have been enchanted...as two of the fantastic five went home with fab gift baskets from high-end shops like Babeland & Kiki Montparnasse. Winners had to scream DIRTY BINGO (like bitches in heat), spin around and curtsy before charging forward to collect the prize and remove a layer of Will's wardrobe (every other winner had to use their teeth ;).

The evening ended with Will performing lap dances at each table, he seemed to spend an extra long time at ours...smitten with the two ladies in the front.

Until next time...

*Names have been omitted for the sake of secrecy--we all need a little :)

2/4/08

Monday is a Monday

peppers and onions, sliced thin sauteed in olive oil with bliss potatoes mozzarella & eggs--all the ingredients for a perfect omelette unless of course your skillet burns the skin off the bottom of everything and your oven refuses to light. the entire kitchen looks like a San Francisco morning except it smells like burnt garbage. sensory overload. it's nearly 10:30 and I'm starving, my mismatched fork and I are picking out the the less charred remnants of the red peppers trying to make sense of it but I guess Monday is a Monday all the way through.

I feel like I am caught in the path of an unfurling butterfly breaking out of its cocoon. the giants win the super bowl, super tuesday is upon us (I'm really crossing my fingers for Barack) and the industry news about Microsoft/Yahoo! and Google's offered alliance.

2/2/08

Q to the Rescue

I had forgotten the utter joy i experience from penning a post or two on this blog. You certainly wouldn't think that with the lengthy hiatus. But when I think of all the time I've wasted doing (what does that mean anyway) the most mundane things (filing, ripping out articles I never actually read, Internet word games) its frightening... all that time I could have been typing away, carving out stories from the real and the non-real realities I experience everyday...I guess I have to add a bloody (there's something about this Britishism that I love) addition to the New Year's Resolutions--some of which are actually sticking not quite like crazy glue more like the blue gummy stuff used to hang posters. Julian (Sharyl's son) calls it magical, the blue stuff, maybe its a blessing in disguise. Sort of like Q sending out an email to read her captured thoughts on the AWP conference she's attending in NYC this week. One thing leads to another....

the in between

i am so far behind that I don't know where to start...most would say start fresh but the end of last year was filled with adventure.

It seems odd to perpetuate the inevitable disorganized thoughts that will come flying out as I remember the past and live the present, prepare for the future. Hopefully it will all work itself out in a kaleidoscope of prose.