WebJournal - The blog will set you free

WebJournal - The blog will set you free
News of no interest whatsoever except to very close and patient friends and family members and maybe people with no life

Thursday, July 31, 2003

Back from the Late Show with David Letterman. I had to run from the office to make it to the quarter of 6 PM appointment with Debra. As soon as I got there we were ushered to a waiting room with a small bunch of people for some pep talk and instructions (no whistling, no high-pitched screams, no waving to grandma, etc.). Finally we were inside.
We were sitting on the very first row on the balcony (and I was told not to lean on the rail), to the left side of the theater. Great seats.
It was interesting to see how it's done, how many people work to make it happen (a lot!)
The show we saw will be broadcasted tomorrow. It was the second taping of the day. Unfortunately the actress (Naomi Watts) being interviewed was a total bore, quite plain and unwitty. But we did much better with the stand-up comedian (Jeff Stilson - very funny) and even better with the band (O.A.R.). I loved it! The guy sitting beside me was a friend of the band from their hometown in Maryland and was busting with excitement.
After the show we had dinner at Ruby's Foo on Times Square. I walked back home under the rain, got home soaked but happy.

The theater/studio after the show- Picture subreptitiously taken with my Nokia

11:54 PM

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I went into convulsions a little while ago. I just could not stop laughing. Howling, actually. Good thing I got the giggles or I would have committed suicide right away. The story goes like this:

I bump into my boss, she looks at me and says "You are trasformed".
"Is that good or bad?" I ask.
She just looks at me and curls her lip.

You need one hell of a self-esteem to hang around her.

4:07 PM

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M.A., Miguel and Pilar are leaving at this very moment and I am downloading the new version of Tinderbox, the coolest software I have seen in a long time. So cool I actually paid it in full - a very rare thing for me - and I have no regrets.
Back to my evening: M.A., Pilar and I had dinner at home and waited for Miguel, who was working on the night shift. After he came over and had his dinner we went on the roofdeck for several margaritas. Then we got hungry and came downstairs again for a second round of cheese, salmon, ersatz caviar, pate, cake, ice-cream, baklava, etc. Eventually it got to be too late. We are supposed to work tomorrow. We are supposed to be responsible adults. Which we all are. Really. We will all be there tomorrow morning. We will all be watching our productivity.
Tonight Cecilia called. She got THE call from headquarters and she should be in NY in about three months. I am sooooo excited!!!!!

2:19 AM

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Wednesday, July 30, 2003

Yesterday evening was very productive and almost perfect for an evening at home. Pizza delivery, a beer (I can't believe I am drinking beer now, but I have so many leftover cans and bottles in the fridge that I might as well), a horror movie on TV and several episodes of the Real World. And I finally backed up some of the data on my iBook, erased the three partitions and cloned my iMac hard drive on my iBook. I had been thinking of doing this for months but kept postponing it.
I text messaged Sergio to see if he remembered my wireless network password, he called me back with the info and told me he and Virginia might get married, although "nothing is set in stone yet". I will have to wait to congratulate them.
Debra is back in town, I was supposed to see her yesterday evening but her therapy appointment was cancelled (the doctor is just one block away from my place) and I had every intention of getting some work done at home.
Tomorrow we're going to the Letterman show.

7:57 AM

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Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Back from the gym. Zero cardio - shame on me. Upper body workout.

I am wondering if Debra is back from Greece. Before leaving she told me she had tickets for the Late Show with David Letterman. Were they for this Thursday? I can't remember ...

Bob sent me an evite for lunch on Saturday but Saturdays are reserved for Melissa, unless I am out town, and I might well be out of town this weekend.

8:40 AM

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Monday, July 28, 2003

Quiet Sunday. After picking up Marita at JFK (and seeing Carson Daly coming out of the terminal - yup, he is tall and cute - I thought about taking his picture but nobody else has recognized him so I felt sorry for the guy ... I also felt very stupid) we went to Susana and Catherine's for a late lunch/early dinner. Catherine made a delicious gazpacho and we had lots of cheese and ice-cream for a perfect high-cholesterol meal. I was home a little by 8 PM, in time for Sex and the City.
I am now backing up my iMac hard drive on a firewire external drive. Eventually I'll have to merge the three partitions on my iBook and copy the backuped files to it too so I can have the iMac, the iBook and the external drive somewhat synchronized.

12:00 AM

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Sunday, July 27, 2003

It's Sunday but I didn't remember it when I woke up this morning. I thought it might be Monday and I needed to be at the gym at 6:30 AM and I had forgotten to charge my iPod's battery and then I needed to go to work and I was stressing out. So much tension and I wasn't even fully awake! Well ... Friday evening M.A., Miguel and I went to Pilar's and stayed and stayed and stayed until about 7:30 AM. Actually Miguel left a little earlier. And Monse wasn't there because she has left for a week-long yoga retreat at the Catskills. It was a mellow yet very enjoyable night and I am still amazed at our own capacity for non-stop conversation. I thought M.A. and I were the die-hards but Pilar is proving to be just as bad, or just as good, depending on your standpoint. Before dinner, while M.A. was preparing the food in the kitchen, I was doing Pilar's make-up. She hardly ever wears anything but eye-liner so it was fun to play around with other products. I still think I should have gone with a darker eyeshadow. Late into the night I dozed off on the couch for a while and when I woke up I was ready to hit some after-hours club for a little dancing. It never happened, of course.
Finally we decided to go home. M.A. and I walked a few blocks with the blender that is now as part of me as my head and then I got into a cab. Unfortunately the doorman on duty was the same as on Wednesday morning and he had the same little sardonic smile plastered on his face. I think the guy is not aware of the risks he is taking. If I come home in the early morning again I will have to kill him to save my reputation.
Saturday I picked up Melissa to take her to the movies. We went to the Kips Bay theaters and watched Charlie's Angels. I managed to sleep through a portion of it, through the blasting music, but what I saw of it I loved. I was impressed with the stilettos the Angels were wearing as well as with the constantly changing hair-dos and make-up. I was less impressed with Demi Moore's body, which I find a little too masculine, fake boobs notwithstanding. She has no hips and no waist. And her face is too thin now. Mind you, this is an actress I used to find drop dead gorgeous.
Saturday night was nothing to write home about. I called in for some Japanese food, watched America's Most Wanted and fell asleep.
I have to get ready now. I will be meeting Pilar and two other girls (well, women) in a couple of hours. We are going to the airport to pick up Marita.

9:25 AM

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Saturday, July 26, 2003

How unexpected:Liza Minnelli and the freak split!

7:53 AM

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Just got back from Pilar's and it's ... 8 AM. This was a long night. I now need to catch a few hours of sleep before I go get Melissa. The post will come later this evening.

7:47 AM

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Friday, July 25, 2003

Plenty of sleep. Awake by 5:30 AM. At the gym by 7:15 AM. 20' on the crosstrainer. 45' upper body workout. A Green drink and a salad for breakfast. I am now fully detoxed (yeah, sure!) and ready for the weekend which will probably start this evening at Pilar's.

8:55 AM

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Thursday, July 24, 2003

Yesterday, after less than 3:30 hours sleep at night and a gruesome workout in the morning, I went home at noon for a quick bite and a quick nap. Later, at Monse's, I slept on and off through the evening, night and early morning, before going home and sleeping from 6:30 AM to 9:45 AM. Basically, it has become difficult to tell what day or what time of the day it is now. All I know is that the guys took the day off today, while Pilar, Monse and I are at our desks, as usual, which proves we are indeed the stronger sex.
It all started after work yesterday. We were invited to Monse's at 8 PM to finish off last party's leftovers. At about 6 PM M.A., Miguel and I went straight to Jade, a bar a few blocks away from the office. The bartender, Samantha, just about killed us with a cocktail so stiff that we each had three sips (seriously, not more than three sips each) and our heads were instantly spinning. Not happy with that she also gave us a complimentary vodka shot. From the bar we went home to pick up my blender, have a beer and allow me to put on a second layer of make-up (an absolute must with this kind of sleeping patterns).
We then cabbied down to Monse's and there all hell broke loose. The food was perfect for me, hot hot hot, and there was plenty of wine and plenty of margaritas and other concoctions. There was some dancing, some jumping around, some singing, some boozy conversation. Some going out to buy cigarettes, some living on the dangerous side and coming back without the goods. Some falling asleep on couches and floors. And then there was that moment when you can't possibly imagine going back home. Or going back to work, ever. When you start fantasizing about going to the beach or that nice little restaurant in Brooklyn. Fortunately, it passed. The lure of my own air conditioned apartment, a great shower and a nice bed finally made me leave. The look on my doorman's face made me wish I had not come home at all.

12:58 PM

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I've finally decided to come home for a couple of hours of decent sleep. A decent post will have to wait until this afternoon.

5:50 AM

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Somebody's snoring

5:02 AM

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It�s 5 AM and we are still at Monse's. I�ve just cancelled my dentist appointment. So far we had a wonderful time.

5:00 AM

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Wednesday, July 23, 2003

I got to the gym at 7:30 instead than at 6:30. And then of course I got a speech from Johanny about my less than impressive energy level. Shit.
I am now going to cook something to take to the office. The cafeteria sucks big time and I am sick and tired of having sushi (the only decent food to be found) every day of my life. Either I bring my own food or I skip lunch, which I have been doing these last couple of days, but then by the time I get home I am ravenously hungry and I don't really care what I eat as long as I eat. Not good.

Matteo left yesterday. Pam left this morning. The house is quiet once again.

9:14 AM

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Back from seeing Mario at home, where he is recovering from knee surgery. How on earth am I going to be at the gym at 6:30 AM?????

2:03 AM

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Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Dinner with Jonathan, Pam and Matteo at a Middle Eastern place in the Village. We then walked and ran under the heavy summer rain (I loved it!) to the nearest Tasti D-Lite for a little self-deception before ending at Jonathan's. His wife was there and she looked a little pissed so we did not stay long. Home now, I am debating whether to watch Matrix Reloaded or try to get some sleep ...

12:14 AM

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Monday, July 21, 2003

More pictures from Monse's party.

7:01 PM

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9:19 AM

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Up and going, ready for a workout.
I've uploaded some pictures taken by Quique at my 4th of July bash and some pictures I took this past weekend.

6:03 AM

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Pam wanted to go see some obscure artist she likes that was playing in in Central Park today. It was an excruciatingly boring experience. We were there for hours, with a couple of godawful bands playing about three songs, punctuated by hours of waiting. So much waiting that I lost the little patience I have and before this Natasha Atlas girl reached the stage I just got up and came back home with Matteo in tow. I was not enjoying the music, I was not enjoying the people. We were in freakland, surrounded by weirdos, many of them stuck in the 60s. The worst was when a band started playing some techno-Arab music and a few people got up to dance. I use the term dance very loosely here. It was painful to watch. More than painful, it was irritating. This one guy with a great body but absolutely no idea what to do with it was one of the first ones to get up and subject the rest of us to his convulsions. There were plenty of girls too, and plenty of older women, doing what they probably learned at the three bellydancing classes they've taken. Now, I have nothing against people dancing. I don't care if they have zero rythm and zero grace if they are really into it and they are having fun. I actually like people who get lost in their own little dance. But really, if you are going to get up in the bright afternoon sun, with no alcohol as an excuse, and you are going to shake your hips and shoulders trying your damnest to be sexy, you'd better not look like you are running a high fever or counting the steps in your head. Also, I could not believe that in such a big crowd I could not find one mildly attractive male to latch my attention on. Not a single one! So it was the music, and the people, and soon it was the people with no sense of personal space invading my own space. I hate it when people I am not familiar with, or willing to get familiar with, get too near, when they touch me, when they are so close I can smell their breath. And I particularly hate it when they stick their feet in my face. I get very very annoyed and I can get violent too. So it was a good thing I left.
On our way back I had a nice little chat with Matteo. Having him around does not feel as weird as I feared it might be. Although he does look a lot like his father, he is not a clone, and his personality is very different. I can be with him without being constantly reminded of Ghego. Not that I would mind that either. After all, I loved Ghego, and I still do. It's just that playing host to the 14 years-old of my high-school sweetheart, probably first love and certainly major adolescent obsession, is a rather bizarre experience, or so I thought. In reality the kid is endearing on his own terms. Right now it's almost 1:20 AM and he is exploding eggs in the microwave oven ...

12:36 AM

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Matteo, on Sunday morning. I told him to smile after the first picture, he said he never smiles, so that's how we ended up with the beautiful second shot.

12:01 AM

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Sunday, July 20, 2003

This is what the Corleones were doing on Thursday night. Enough to send a normally boobed girl to the surgeon.

11:53 PM

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Melissa is back from camp so yesterday we went to pick her up and then walked to TeaNY for lunch (as much as I like their fake club sandwich, I must say the place is getting to be a little too laid back for me). From TeaNY we walked to the South Street Seaport and took The Beast ride. That was a lot of fun, but not as much fun as the first time. Matteo was a little nervous before we boarded the speedboat, not sure if he was going to handle it well or if he was going to puke all over somebody. Fortunately everything went just fine and he even said it did not go fast enough.
After the boat ride we dropped Melissa home and went to Ricky's to get hair dye for Matteo and colored hair spray for me. From Broadway we walked to the Brooklyn Bridge. Pam, Jeff and Matteo walked it, I sat down, took out my cell and called Pilar for a chat. Eventually we all cabbied back home and Matteo and I ran to the bathroom to try some red and some white hair sprays while Pam and Jeff went to the market to get food. Dinner was two different pastas with two different pestos (regular and sundried tomatoes), a couple of salads and a glass of wine. While Pam was starting dinner my attention was riveted on Larry King interviewing John Walsh. I adore John Walsh. There is something so profoundly honest and real about that man. I admire his guts and his accomplishments. And I love his in-your-face style and his cockyness.
I was asleep around midnight yesterday, with the boys playing on the computer on my bed (I can really sleep through anything) and woke up at 4.30 AM but went back to sleep again. Now we should all get up and start lining up for the shower.

10:24 AM

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Saturday, July 19, 2003

I just finished uploading the photos of yesterday's party. I gave the camera to Elena so she would snap some and then somebody else must have taken it from her because Elena shows up in some of the photos.
Anyways, we (Pam, Jeff and I) left at around 1 AM when lots of people where still dancing away to Spanish music. On one hand there is only so much Spanish music a girl can take and on the other hand I was consumed with worry at the idea of Matteo home alone. So, as for everything else in life, when pain exceeds pleasure you just do something about it. In this particular case, I came back home, to find the kid peacefully sleeping on the couch.
As for the party itself, I did have fun and met a few people. I loved it that Pam and Pilar hit it off, or at least that Pam really liked Pilar (I have yet to ask Pilar for her impressions). She told me she finds her adorable and has invited her to D.C. At the beginning I was worried about the music situation but Enrique saved the night when he walked in with a bag of CDs. You can't go wrong with Madonna's greatest hits.
As usual, the food was provided by the Corleones. I am grappling with guilt towards M.A. because I hurt his already hurting finger in our Wed. night fight. Did not mean to, of course, and I don't recall hitting him hard but the results are disgraceful nonetheless.
Quique is leaving today and does not know when he will be back. He was very sweet when I went to say goodbye yesterday. The man has certainly grown on me.
Today's plans are still hazy but it will probably involve a meal at Moby's place and as of tomorrow, Aurelia (a girl from yesterday's party) invited us to a bbq. She should call sometime today or tomorrow.

12:07 PM

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Friday, July 18, 2003

Less than 15 lousy minutes on the treadmill, a 20 minutes really fast upper body workout, a few minutes boxing with Johanny and a few minutes on the punching bag. The juices are flowing now.

9:12 AM

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I can't acces the pages on my home server anymore and I can't figure out why, so I finally moved my photo album to my mac.com account. I have to design a decent index page but the primitive one I uploaded today will have to do for now.

A little while ago my sexually active neigbour came in, made a lot of noise and started getting his girl (is it always the same girl or are they all different? I must drill a whole in the wall to peep in and find out) on the oh-my-god thing - fortunately it was just a quicky. I am starting to resent him and yes, it's out of raw, unadultered envy.

Tomorrow it's Friday and Monse is having a party. It's also Quique's last night in NYC. Will bring my camera.

1:50 AM

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Thursday, July 17, 2003

One of the good things about creating this database is that I can work and listen to the music blasting from my iPod . As I am still in my Italian nostalgia phase, I am listening to Jovanotti, Guccini, De Gregori, etc. The works.
Yesterday we ended being quite a bunch for dinner: the Corleones, Monse, Pilar, Nicol�s and his friend and Pam. Pam got into town late. Somebody, unaware that we were expecting her for dinner, had jumped under a train in D.C., thus delaying her departure. Some people just don't care about others! In any case, we stuffed our faces with food and drinks. Too much of both. I somehow ended wrestling on the floor with M.A. Can't remember what started it but I am sure it was his fault, as I am never to blame.
The tragedy was that I had just had a manicure. Now I know that one is not supposed to wrestle and punch with a fresh pink manicure. Basically, it�s already peeling. Sooooo annoying.
Yesterday Johanny woke me up. Today he did the same. He called me at 6:30 AM, having forgotten that I had a dentist's appointment this morning and was not going to meet him at the gym. And then when I was rushing out of the house, late for the appointment, Agostino called from Paris. Pity, I would have liked to talk to him longer. On the other hand, I am not much of a talker in the morning, though I more than make up for it the rest of the day.
Tomorrow I am getting my ac units back. Yay! It will cost me 1.200 bucks but my landlady will promptly reimburse me and I will once again be able to live with subzero temperatures, the way I like it.

3:21 PM

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Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Wow! I did the sleep camel thing again! This is extraordinary! Johanny just woke me up after 9 hours of sleep, on top of the couple of hours I had already had in the early evening. I was so shocked when he told me it's 9 AM that I yanked the phone off the jack. Gotta call him back now.
This is good. I now have had enough sleep to last me through the weekend.
Have to rush to the office now. Work is still slow so I am allowed to spend all my time on computer tasks and I am enjoying every minute of it. I am now creating a Microsoft Access database for terminology and importing all of our glossaries into it. I am also taking care of creating some translation memories and I have to start testing a couple of programs. Work is pure pleasure these days.

9:06 AM

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Tuesday, July 15, 2003

Feel asleep almost immediately after coming home today. Asleep by 8 PM!!!!! A call from Pam woke me up a little while ago and I am now watching The Real World and The Osbournes on MTV. She is coming tomorrow. Her cousin and Matteo, Ghego and Julie's eldest, are coming on Friday.
I hope I will not stay awake until tomorrow now.

10:39 PM

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Is overwhelming happiness normal? I was pondering this question today, at 6:30 AM, as I was going to the gym and enjoying nothing less than a spectacular morning. I felt so absolutely thrilled, with my iPod blasting music into my ear, and this irrepressible need to beam at people. Sometimes I think I might be bipolar with one pole missing. Maybe this is an extended euphoric phase. Or maybe this is the way life was intended to be. Back from my workout and still in a joyous mood I spent some time dancing like a maniac in the bathroom. The beginning of yet another magnificent day.

9:01 AM

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Sunday, July 13, 2003

So far one of my typical Sundays, when I hardly leave the bed/apartment, except for some grocery shopping and light maintenance (manicure in this case). Pilar is coming over for dinner. M.A. was supposed to be the cook but he called to cancel. A wise decision given that he has to be up early tomorrow. I have plenty of snacks and finger food, I'll fix a salad and uncork a bottle of wine.

7:50 PM

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Back from a night on the town with the Corleones and Monse. First Monse and I went to The Bitter End and had a drink while I realized I was at the wrong bar and was to meet the bros. at Kenny's Castaway instead. Vintage me. Luckily when we came out on Bleeker's Street we ran into Quique who was trying to call me on my cell from a public phone booth. We stayed at Kenny's for a while and then had dinner at a Mexican place nearby before going to The Red Lion, another music club. It's a white boys kind of place, the bands played U2, AC/DC, Guns and Roses, so, basically, there was a lot of jumping around and shaking heads. There was only one, repeat, only one, black guy in the house and he ended up behind me with his hand on my butt. Well, maybe not right away, but certainly after an unreasonably short time. He also put his hand under my shirt and on my stomach. That was ok, after my afternoon at the fitting room I figured that a guy who touches my stomach and is still willing to go for more deserves some kind of satisfaction. Except that I really don't pick up guys at bars and I all I really wanted was to dance and have fun and that's about it. So eventually, when I had his erection stuck in the small of my back and his hands playing drums on my butt, I was ready to go.
Once out on the street we looked inside the bar and saw this pretty blonde girl, sitting on a bar stool by the window, showing off a breast and playing with her nipple for the pleasure of whoever wanted to take a peek. This included a small mob of guys crowding the window, including the Corleones.
After the unexpected peep show M.A. and I left Quique and Monse to their devices and cabbed back uptown.

4:18 AM

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Saturday, July 12, 2003

I got a message from the jerk in the hat. This is what he wrote:
"Great way to share your life with friends & family and the people who happen to cross it. Interesting to learn how one is perceived. SO far from your final season, Carrie!".
I am assuming it's not a compliment, but I am too stupid to get what he meant.
Monse assures me he is a nice guy and I will have to leave it at that.

Re. my off-line life, yesterday I did the Opal-Divine-Opal circuit with the Corleones and Debra. In a extremely rare show of restraint I left relatively early but then again, once a month a girl has the right to act non characteristically.
Today I went through the frustrating and depressing experience of actually trying on some clothes and looking at myself in the fitting room mirror. Something I NEVER do and I had to choose today, with all its hormonal imbalances, to subject myself to the humiliation. What on earth was I thinking? It's enough to get you suicidal.
I am now waiting for the Corleones to come get me so we can cab downtown, hit a few clubs and forget about mirrors.

8:45 PM

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Friday, July 11, 2003

Just back from an evening with the Corleone bros. (aka M.A. and Quique). Been to a few places. Can't remember the names right now. Will have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, I need lots of water.

2:24 AM

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Thursday, July 10, 2003

Not a good day for service. My overnight purchase from MacMall (a bluetooth USB adapter) is nowhere to be seen. Then I ordered food through nyctogo for a total amount of $21, only to be presented with a cashier ticket for $32. I tipped the kid who did the delivery but sent the order back to the deli. A few minutes later I got an irate call from the guy at the deli. In a very hard to understand broken English he started screaming at me. Though luck. I guess I am officially a NY broad now and not only I did not budge, I also filed a complaint with nyctogo. I am so proud of myself. Standing my ground when it comes to money is a very difficult thing for me to do. I don't mind being called lots of names, you can call me a bitch, a complete flake, a raving lunatic, a total whore, whatever you want, I truly couldn't care less, but don't you ever call me cheap or unpolite. I'll be devastated. Go figure my priorities.
Today I spent the evening playing around with iKeys and MacMaid. Cool utilities.
I also almost decided to get one of those Japanese straightening processes done. I am sick and tired of very bad hairdays and the summer is just beginning.

1:24 AM

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Wednesday, July 09, 2003

Not bad at all. Could do this more often. Straight home from work. M.A. and Quique were already there. M.A. had dinner ready. And a delicious one at it. I called Pilar and upon her arrival we went to the roofdeck to enjoy the food and the drinks until now. I also met a trio of very friendly new neighbours. One of them, the one visiting from Atlanta, Georgia, the kind of good ol' boy I tend to fall for.
Tomorrow morning I'd better get up in time to go get a fake tan. I am so tired of this piggy color look. Also, I need to pick-up my cell phone mail-in rebate before work.

2:35 AM

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Tuesday, July 08, 2003

I am in utter despair. Both my ac units are dead. In 90+ weather! The one in the livingroom needs a new compressors, the one in my room has a leakage. Luckily I can sleep through a rock concert, so at least I can have the fan running at full power all night (it is very very noisy). I just called the landlord and left a message with the bad news, but I know she's away on vacation in Florida and I can't remember when she's due back. Oh boy ...

I was doing the so-called night shift yesterday but was out by 9 PM, so I took Jordina with me and we joined the M.A. and Quique at a nearby bar for a couple of apple martinis and some bartender ogling on their part (the girl, Samantha, was indeed beautiful and very friendly, clad in a leather top) before having something to eat at the new Divine Bar on the West Side. I think I like the one on the East Side better, but the West Side one has a terrace, a big plus for smokers.

11:39 AM

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Monday, July 07, 2003

Yay! I've RSSified my blog! I'll upload the icons later today.

4:41 PM

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I am having a wildly nostalgic early morning after reading, as I religiously do every day, Beppe Severgnini's column in the on-line Corriere della Sera. Today, a published letter about the best songs of the 70's sent me straight to the net for any piece of nostalgia. Oh, the lyrics to Lucio Battisti's songs! Mina, Francesco de Gregori, Guccini, De Andre ... I am reading them out loud, singing them in my head, just to capture the sound of the words in Italian. I can almost smell the smells of my adolescence. A few more minutes of this and I will be in tears and ready to hop on a plane. Such is the power of memory lane.

6:34 AM

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What a waste of a day. A few feet from the bed is as far as I' ve been today. Spent the whole day on the computer, yet I have accomplished nothing. I called a few friends and watched Sex and the City. There goes a Sunday.

_{cartoons drawn on the back of business cards}

1:09 AM

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Sunday, July 06, 2003

I might as well start blogging. I woke up at 4 AM and have been on the Net ever since. By now I am convinced I will not go back to sleep so before I open the latest Vanity Fair and go straight to Dominick Dunne's column and before I unplug my server in case of the big bad hackers attack, I shall proceed to a brief recount of the latest events of my fascinating, deeply spiritual life.
So ...

SATURDAY
After spending the afternoon with Pilar and buying a giant fan that should help me survive the heat wave until my ac gets repaired, I went out for a drink and dinner in the neighbourhood with M.A. and his brother. Quiet evening, was home by midnight. That would explain why I was awake by 4 AM. I am perfecting the art of sleepless living, which has always been a major aspiration of mine.

FRIDAY
Maybe I shouldn't say so myself, but the 4th of July combined-efforts party went great! I had a moment of panic at the very beginning after a quick check of the roofdeck situation revealed an alarming scene with dozens of kids and all sorts of people I had never seen in my building before crowding the space and taking over all the tables. We had to change the plan on the fly and start serving some food downstairs in the apartment so we could move up to the roofdeck just a little before the fireworks started. Shortly after they were over (and none too soon - I am coming to realize I have the attention span of a two-years-old and the whole glitzy show was a tad too long for me - half-way through it I was totally disinterested and busy chatting with Pilar and scrutinizing the neighbours) we lugged the second round of food and drinks upstairs where we took possession of a table in the smokers' section. There we stayed until 4 AM, consuming an inordinate amount of beverages, probably more than 20 bottles of wine, 32 cans of beer, several bottles of beer and a couple of bottles of tequila. In part because I wanted to avoid problems with the building's administration (sometimes it feels like I am living in a maximum security prison, with cameras all over and people watching them constantly and serving fines for all sorts of misconducts) and in part because I just can't eat without sharing and I just can't be around people without talking to them, I fed the security guard attending to our safety and chatted with the maintenance guy in charge of cleaning up after the masses had left. Everything went smoothly, the food was yummy (M.A. outdid himself and, for once, seemed happy with the results he produced), the company was fun. Again, if I might say so myself, everybody had a good time. Well, almost everybody. The jerk in the silly hat was probably too busy making stupid snotty remarks to enjoy himself, a problem he should probably discuss with his shrink. M.A.'s brother, Quique, flew in from Spain and took a cab from the airport to the party. Johanny came with Pascale, who was looking stunning, and three other girls. One of them, Caroline, is so beautiful I had to fight the urge to stone her. It did not help that she also seemed like a very sweet girl. IMHO, girls like her should be killed before puberty. The guy I had met at the gay bar on Thursday was the first one to show up at home. For a gay guy he sure was relentless in his pursuit of Monse's attention. She is interested too so this could be the birth of a beautiful friendship or, at the very least, a great lay ... I can't believe I wrote that.

THURSDAY
Enrique's party was a very, very pleasant surprise. Lots of people, lots of people I did not know, which is a plus at a party. Lots of very young, very diverse people too. There is something to be said about being the oldest person at a party (something I am quickly getting accustomed to): we just don't care about minor embarrasments and social awkwardness. We get the big picture, the big picture being that if it's a party, it's meant to be enjoyed. So I kept myself busy working the crowd, dj'ing or finding people to dj for me and clowning on the dance floor. Had a blast. Given that a couple of people asked me for my e-mail/phone number so I could go animate their parties, I think I did my part.
After the party a few of us went to Barracuda, a gay bar next door. That's were I chatted up this Swiss guy. Somehow we went directly into his need of having several children and his dislike of heavy duty grab-a-crotch kind of gay scenes. Good conversation.

Wow, this was a long post. Now I can turn my attention to Vanity Fair, maybe get some breakfast and then decide what to do today. It will probably be a shopping Sunday, given the 4th of July sales. And tonight is Sex and the City night!

5:52 AM

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Saturday, July 05, 2003

I just got in and will be out in an hour or so. Barely time to take yet another shower and to pray for some rain.

7:28 PM

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Something is wrong with the link from my main homepage to some pictures. In the meantime I've uploaded the pix from yesterday and, barring any more complications, you should find them here.

2:41 PM

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Pilar is on her way to my place. I am on my way to the shower. The blogging will have to wait.

1:40 PM

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Trying to get blogger to generate a xml file for a rss feed ... still trying.

1:37 PM

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This is what it looked like after the cleaning lady left. Today I am waiting for the cleaning lady to come and straighten up my life again.

11:51 AM

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This is what my kitchen looked like after my last party.

11:49 AM

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Everybody is gone. I am as awake and alert as if it was 10 in the morning. Shit. Maybe I should go for a younger crowd.

4:13 AM

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Friday, July 04, 2003

Happy 4th of July! The flag is by Hugh macLeod.

3:28 PM

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Before I actually get in the shower and officially start the day and before I blog every detail of yesterday's party, I must admit I am totally in LOVE with ... the work of a cartoonist! I woke up this morning (sort of), reached for the iBook that's always resting on my bed and always on (no man can compete) and started surfing. And then magic happened! This guy's website is an absolute must. I just had to send him a quick note and thank him for his brilliance. Oh, the thrill of discovering a mind you can relate to so strongly! It happens so seldom but when it does, it kicks ass. And I LOVE his cartoons, they are everything I like in art. So immediate, so straight to the point, so no bullshit. He wrote this and I so wish I had ...

So you're going out a lot. Pretty soon you're going out too much. Parties. Bars. More parties. More bars. So you decide to cut back a bit, y'know, start living like a normal person.

So you trade in those wild & crazy times for delivered Chinese food, Forbes Magazine and Seinfeld reruns. You're just going to try it for a couple of weeks, and see how it feels. After all, this is a "new you" we're talking about. A better you. A saner you. A wiser, more sensible and compelling you.

But you know in your heart of hearts that you didn't move from suburban Cleveland/Denver/Pittsburgh/Whatever to a $3000-a-month Manhattan apartment just to watch Seinfeld.

In New York, you always think that if you try harder, work longer hours, make more money, spend more time at the gym, put more effort into networking, read more books, go to bed earlier, drink less booze, avoid negative people, listen more attentively to your friends and colleagues, eat more vegetables and stop smoking so many damn cigarettes you will eventually be able pull off that great Miracle Of Miracles: to be able to live in Manhattan while simulatneously leading a healthy, satisfying, productive, emotionally-balanced life.

Ha.

2:56 PM

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Back from the party and from Barracuda, a great gay bar where I met a cute Swiss guy whom I invited to my party tomorrow. But right now I need to sleep.

3:52 AM

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Thursday, July 03, 2003

A little late for the gym but then Johanny was even later. I managed a 15' jog on the treadmill and packed quite a few lower body routines. It's very very humid and drizzling today. I like it. It's different from yesterday and I like change. Change is good.
Tonight I have a party. Will bring my camera.

8:47 AM

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Wednesday, July 02, 2003

By 7 PM I was getting tired and figthing back sleep while watching tv. Luckily M.A. showed up and we went to the roofdeck for drinks and dinner. It was perfect up there, breezy and much cooler than indoors. And, of course, I woke up completely. Yet, I have to be up by 5:45 AM tomorrow again.

11:35 PM

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I was up at 5:45 AM this morning, at the gym by 6:30 AM. I managed about 26 minutes on the treadmill, nothing earth-shattering but not a bad start and then 45 minutes of steady upper body weight training before getting a few minutes of a wonderful massage. For somebody who was still wide awake at almost 3 in the morning I think I did pretty good. I am now having a shake before jumping in the shower. I am still feeling explosive energy. It's an amazing day out there and life rocks.

8:35 AM

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Tuesday, July 01, 2003

Debra and I shared a little wine early on today on the roofdeck. By 9 PM she was gone and a just a short while later I was back on the roofdeck discussing the details of the upcoming 4th of July party with Teresa, a girl from work who lives in my same building. Now I am watching old Sex and the City episodes on HBO on demand. I should be at the gym by 6:30 AM tomorrow.

11:01 PM

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