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

Monday, September 30, 2002

And I have to get up in less than 4 hours ...
got back from UPW a few minutes ago. Wonderful experience, to be told at a later time ...

3:37 AM

Saturday, September 28, 2002

I am now on a break from the seminar. I came back to the hotel for a short siesta. Yesterday was great and I ended up doing the firewalk again (my fourth time). I wasn't going to because I was beat and totally out of state, but then a trainer-in-training on my lane asked if she could practice with me and I agreed. We were two lanes away from Tony's but I was way too busy hosing people's feet to peek at what he was doing with the special needs people. I know he helped a kid on crutches and a guy in a wheelchair, as well as blind lady but I would have like to see how he does it.
Unfortunately one of the special needs people had to leave yesterday before the firewalk because she was in too much pain. She had not taken her medicine in order to be able to drive to the event and to focus on it, but then the pain was so bad she could not stay.
I have to go back to the crew room myself. There is a session on reiki that I do not want to miss. And them some dancing lead session I'd like to take. Tony will probably be going until 9 or 10 tonight, eventhough I heard he's sick with a bad sore throat, with just one break which Nancy and I might use to move to another room in the hotel (our cards are not working, we can't get into the room).
I saw Beatriz yesterday and she was beaming. J.P. too, he has done the firewalk twice and was ready for a third go when he was stopped.
Gotta go now.

12:25 PM

Thursday, September 26, 2002

One of my neighbours (the new muscle guy from California) just rang my door. He wanted to know if a ring he had found by the elevator was mine. It was indeed. But it's a toe ring! How could I lose a toe ring and not even notice??? He's such a nice guy. I am looking my best, of course, still in nightgown with my hair all standing up and no make-up whatsoever. It figures. Not that it matters, the guy's gay and I am married but still, I don't want to be know for scaring the neighbours.
I am almost done packing. Gotta shower now and have lunch and maybe call Eloisa to join me.

1:32 PM

I should unglue myself from the computer. I 've been at it long enough this morning. I cancelled my training session in order to pack for tonight but I haven't done much so far.
Yesterday I started playing with Ogg Vorbis files, downloading some with LimeWire and Neo. I like the way they sound, too bad my iPod can't play them.
Katja left yersterday and at about 10.00 am I got a call from one Capucine in Miami looking for her and saying something about not having sent her the ticket to Miami. I was worried there for a while, but then when I got to the office there was an e-mail from her, from Miami, so I knew everything was fine, though I have no idea what this Capucine lady was talking about.
Daniel left this morning at 7ish, which means I am now technically alone. Not for long though as I will be sharing a room tonite (as well as Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights) with Nancy and her new husband Mike.
Johanny will drive me to Meadowlands after work tonight. I will be bringing a bottle of wine so we can have a toast in the room if it's not too late.
Tomorrow it's registration and then, at about 4 pm, the event starts. I signed up as an usher and for the security position on the fire lane. I'd like to be at the physically challenged table at registration, but I am not sure how things are going to be structured this time, now that Longer will no longer be there.
I am very excited, as usual. I can't wait to see JP on Monday and get his feedback. I think Anna and Melanie D. will be crewing too.
I will be bringing my iBook with me so I might be able to blog a few lines now and then.
Let's pack and make a couple of phone calls.

10:05 AM

Wednesday, September 25, 2002

Damn! Just got to the office to find out that I've been scheduled to prepare minutes of afternoon meetings next week (and, theoretically at least, have them ready by 3 pm the day after). Given that hubby will be arriving on Thursday, I'd better find a solution fast. Lets say that this challenge requires careful planning on my part if I want to somehow enjoy my hubby a bit. I certainly do not want to stay at the office very late, so I might work from home. But even this is not the perfect solution. The perfect solution would be not to work in the evenings at all. Guess I'll have to improve and speed up my drafting technique to reach my goal. Hey, there we go! The scheduling was a blessing in disguise! Just an hour ago, before I even had time to unload my stuff on my desk, I was called in by my boss to sign my professional evaluation form, which was fine by the way, except that my minutes drafting skills could use some improvement. Couldn't agree more. And I will certainly have leverage next week to improve them massively. Perfect. Everything makes sense now.

4:14 PM

Katja is sleeping. She has to get up in about 3.5 hours to catch her plane to Miami
Daniel is sleeping too and I should wake him up in a few minutes so he can get back on the computer and finish his translation. Once done that I can go to sleep myself. I need it. I also know I will be dreaming wonderful dreams after talking to hubby tonight and realizing he might join me here in NYC in as little as 3 months. We will start looking for a house - well, a tiny overpriced apartment - and having a more normal life or at least as normal as we can handle. In any case, whatever we are doing, we are doing right: in a few weeks we will celebrate our 26th years together! And still going strong ...
Goodnite. I am exhausted and I need to wake Daniel up.

12:50 AM

Tuesday, September 24, 2002

Mmm ... my link to my very first two blogs in Agust is gone ... I vaguely remember doing something I shouldn't have but I sure don't remember what ...

4:53 PM

Finally did train with Johanny this morning. I feel tired but great now.
Katja will be leaving at 5 am tomorrow morning so it will be just Daniel and I until Thursday. Then it's going to be just me for a week and later next week it will be the one-and-only's turn. It's been a long time since we saw each other (first week of July) and I am very excited.
Gotta run.

2:25 PM

Monday, September 23, 2002

I am kind of tired but I just called home and Katja is waiting up to make me dinner. This is a girl worth marrying!
Daniel is home too, working on some Power Points slides. Eloisa might be joining us for a drink later on.
In the meantime I am taking a short break from work, answering some e-mails and reading up about SCARS (Special Combat Aggressive Reactionary System). It sounds very interesting. I will have to look around to get/download a video and see how I like it before forking out for a training seminar.

10:55 PM

Relax. Breath deeply. Relax.

I am getting into panic mode over Tony's tickets because I really don't feel like wasting all this money. Today's been a roller-coaster. I came here to the office before I was supposed to start working just to able to attend a meeting. Only problem was that I had the meeting time wrong and by the time I realized it it was too late. Great. I then proceeded to listen to my voice mail and to a message from Tara, something about the place to pick up the tickets. A nice reminder of my impending doom. Then I opened my mail and, joy of joys, read a message from a friend of Robert Caro's (to whom I sent a message at the end of last week) saying in no uncertain terms that she "wants" a ticket and to please call her. I called. She had made other arrangements. Then there's a message from Emilio, who had not been able to find people interested in or available for the seminar. So I am back to square one, or maybe two. J.P. is really excited about going and so is Beatriz. I still have one ticket though. I just sent Frank a message and I will call him later today. I feel like I am harassing my own friends and people will start screening out my calls. I'll see what I can by tomorrow at noon and then write/call Tara and beg if necessary.

Daniel came home yesterday after 11 pm and was too tired to keep on working, so we jus chit-chatted for a while and called it a night. He got up at 6 am this morning, went for a run. I woke up at at 6 am this morning too but remained glued to the computer till at least 11 am. Fixed a salad and veggie burgers and had lunch with Katja. Then she left for a casting. I left a little bit later and was greeted downstairs by two of my doormen commenting on how popular I am and asking whether I know everybody in my country. I had to explain that yes, I do know a lot of people but unfortunately I am not the popular one, my apartment is. This is obviously not true, I am wildly popular but I am not supposed to brag about it. I am also not supposed to doubt the sincerity of my guests. Most of all, I am not supposed to undermine my own self-esteem.

Lets hope it will be an early night at work today.

3:33 PM

Sunday, September 22, 2002

Brunch went great (I have to be very careful with my wording and I need to sound appropriately enthusiastic: Andrea will read this blog tomorrow). Really. He looks just about what he looked like back then, except for the graying/thinning hair (I am so glad men have the hair issue and it's not just us with our boobs issue), his wife is extremely lively and chatty and, wonder of wonders, they have a well-behaved, smiley, cute 6-years old who does not scream, does not need constant attention, does not make a mess of his food. Very refreshing.
We went to Calle Ocho, on Columbus Ave. I've been to the place a couple of times but I had no idea they do not play live music after complaints from the neighbors. They've also modified their menu and there is basically very little to nothing I can eat anymore, so I had to compensate with a couple of mojitos (mind you, this was breakfast for me). Anyways, I had a great time, and we did not get stuck on memory lane and the glory days of high-school. Because I enjoyed myself so much I was fast at picking up the tab thus ensuring a second meeting out of guilt if not honest desire.
Once I got back home at around 4 pm I promptly collapsed on the bed for a prolonged siesta. Now I am playing around with the computers - after spending quite some time sorting out all the cables and somewhat cleaning the table and all the gizmos - watching the Emmys, commenting on them with Katja, waiting for my Japanese dinner to be delivered (she already had pizza). Daniel stopped by this afternoon to drop his stuff and will be home tonight at 11ish. He has to work, so I will give him the iBook.
Debra called. She's back from her time-share in Spain. Gotta call her back. And I have to call Johanny too.
Tomorrow I am on the evening shift at work, all the way through Thursday. And Thursday night I have to shlep over to Meadowland for Tony's seminar. I can hardly wait.

9:04 PM

Finally. Jaguar is now running smoothly on my iMac through a convoluted system of backing up my iBook with Synchronize Pro and then installing the whole bootable drive on the iMac. I have now reinstalled Thinking Home so as to gain back control of my house. I am a little tired of the totally off schedule, so I will reprogramme the lights and a few appliances later this evening. I would also like to use a web interface to send commands from the office, or anywhere for that matter. As for now, I have a few minutes to tackle the streaming video issue before I have to start getting ready for my brunch appointment with Andrea, Caterina and their kid.

9:25 AM

Saturday, September 21, 2002

I am trying to install lynx (actually lynx.2.8.4 from forked.net but I've just realized I have to install other stuff to make it work. With lynx I might be able to check my mail at the office without all the stupid certificates that are not working and I will certainly be able to speed up my browsing time. Most importantly, I'd be able to try something new.
It will be the first command line application I'll use. I can't wait to try a gazillion others.
It's a little hazy outside and I am not sure where to take Melissa. I called her yesterday but last time I tried it was 10.30 p.m. and nobody was home. I hope she can make it today because I am busy tomorrow and I'll be busy next weekend.
Back to my computer obsession, I want to download and install Synchronize! Pro X to make a bootable copy of my OS X disk before I reinstall. It might be a good solution for my iMac too.
Well, gotta get out of bed and make about a dozen phone calls.

12:06 PM

Friday, September 20, 2002

I am so so pissed. It's been barely 2 weeks since I have installed the new Mac OS 10.2 "Jaguar" and it's already acting up. My Internet preferences pane has just disappeared. It's nowhere to be found in the preferences and though it seems to be in the Library nothing happens when I click on it. So now when I click on a link I have to wait for Explore under Mac 9.2 to open. I also can't upload my movies and photo albums on my iDisk. To make things worse I am also having problems with my iMac, the one I had repaired a few months ago. The CD-Rom disk drive is not working and Jaguar will not install from my external disk drive. I'll try reinstalling Jaguar on my iBook tomorrow, when and if I find the two installation disks that went missing somewhere in the hundreds of CD-Roms stacked in my room. But I'd better wait until tomorrow. Right now I am fuming. Katja did the sensible thing and decided to stay away from me until I get back to normal. Bright kid.

11:49 PM

V. called tonite and came home for dinner. Unfortunately she was back to the old V. She whined and complained non-stop and had to tell her what I think, which is mainly that she chooses to focus on everything bad, she chooses to blow it out of proportion and she chooses to live reacting to problems instead of having a life. I am not sure she understood, but I hope she did because she can be sweet and fun.
After dinner Katja and I went to the movies. We saw "One hour photo" with Robins Williams. I liked it but it was completely different from what I expected, not a real thriller, not a scary movie, rather some sort of psychological thriller with a moral message. And I really can't stand Robins Williams. Even when he plays the bad guy he comes across as a loser.

Briefly:
Talked to Daniel, he will be coming over on Sunday night. He has a job as a translator/escort with Avon for the whole week and he will be working late, so it's better if he does not drive back home to NJ. every night.
His wife Beatriz is pondering whether to attend Tony's seminar.
Agostino called from Paris. He left a sweet message and will call back on the weekend.

12:32 AM

Thursday, September 19, 2002

Maria should be leaving by now. It was lovely getting in touch with her again. Her parents and my parents were always very close. When my father was posted in Washington D.C. at the beginning of his career, her father was too. Then they were together in Italy (we were in Genoa, they were in Rome) and in Paris, France. My siblings and I saw a lot of the Castells kids growing up but after that, except for weddings and funerals and except for my sister who is friends with Maria's little sister, we hardly ever see each other. It does not help that we all live in different countries either.
Maria is flying to Paris this evening to visit her folks and Katja and I will have the house to ourselves till Monday.
On Sunday I will brunch with Andrea C., a guy I was in school with in Paris and who is now with the Italian Mission to the U.N. I haven't seen him in ... mmm ... nearly 20 years!!!! and we sure have a lot of catching up to do.
Next week I'll be working the night shift and should be able to get some browsing and shopping in the mornings. I also have to find out the best way to get to Meadowlands on Friday night.

5:12 PM

Got a call from my friend Daniel. He needs a place to sleep in the city next week. Guess where will that be?

4:59 PM

Wednesday, September 18, 2002

Back home. Maria treated us to a lovely Italian dinner at Angelo's on 2nd Ave.: very good food and a very friendly waiter who actually sat at our table.
Katja is now scraping her feet in the tub trying to get rid of all the dirt she picked up walking home barefoot on the street. This is what happens when you wear new shoes. She could barely walk, she had already put on a bandaid and even a napkin between the edge on the shoe and her skin so I told her to just slip them off . Isn't this New York after all? You do your own thing here and nobody cares. And I was almost right. Nobody gave her a second glance except for some guy at a table on the sidewalk who just couldn't help himself and came out with a loud "That is sooooo disgusting" .
Fortunately I am not sharing the bed with her and her dirty feet!

10:50 PM

Gostats was not working properly so I just switched to Bravenet.

2:15 PM

Tuesday, September 17, 2002

The girls are back in my room, sharing my bed. I am on the inflatable bed. I can't share beds in general and with pregnant women in particular, given that I tend to kick in my sleep (wich explains why my hubby and I eventually settled on a California king size bed).
Shopping went well today. I got a mock turtleneck from Ann Taylor for my sister and I got myself black trousers from Talbots and a grey dress from Ann Taylor. I also bought a couple of make-up brushes from Takashimaya and, finally, a phone card for my wireless phone. I hope my new clothes fit because I sure did not try them on, as usual. Of course I did not get the pea coat I wanted to buy in the first place. I'll probably go to Century XXI on the weekend.
The girls are ready to call it a day , I want to sleep sort of early tonight AND "Laura en Am�rica" will be starting any moment now. Later.

11:21 PM

Had my first half can of Diet Pepsi in over a year and a half. I just had to. After the god-awful wine of last night I had the most god-awful lunch a while ago. The globs were supposed to be shrimp egg-rolls but the shrimps were hard to find and they looked more like oil-drenched filo pockets with Asian spaghettis. Not to mention the fried rice. Berk! And I usually do not eat eggs at all. It will take me at least a couple of years to digest that mess. The good part is that I had a healthy breakfast this morning (broccoli and green peas with orange/pineapple juice) and will have a healthy dinner.
Today after work I plan on going shopping with Katja. I am in the mood for some instant gratification and I walso want to buy something for my sister to cheer her up. I made it to the office very early today (the second person in!) so I am definitely leaving by 5 pm.
I hope I'll have time this weekend to start writing about my experience in St. Barts and to look into my extensive computer-related to-do list (uploading some pictures of my sister's new puppy, connecting my two Macs with my brand new crossover cable, figuring out how to install Jaguar on my iMac or deciding to install only OS 9.2 so it can control my lights and electrical appliances, editing a couple of videos, etc.). Oh, I also want to offer one of those web page monitor services and maybe a guestbook/billboard thingy.

2:38 PM

My iPings have been ringing like crazy so I woke up at 6 am. Have been on the computer ever since. I still have to digest the frigging wine.
I hear footsteps in the other room. Today's a busy day: Katja has a casting this morning and Maria has a meeting at 9 am. I'd better get in the shower fast.

7:19 AM

I missed both my class and my training session today. On the other hand it was a pleasure to talk to JP (not my hubby, but JP from NYSC) who's totally excited about coming to Tony's seminar and he might even have somebody interested in buying a ticket. If he can't get somebody I might have the tickets on Ebay next week.
Tonight Emilio, my upstairs neighbor, came down for a drink. I opened the most disgusting bottle of wine, had a couple of glasses and now am as sick as a dog. I sure know what not to buy next time.
Anyway, I called my other upstairs neighbor, who is from also from Uruguay, to see if she wanted to join us with her boyfriend, but she was already in her pj at 9 pm. Hard to believe and, in my view, a major tragedy.
Speaking of tragedies, when I went to the San Gennaro street fair on Sunday I saw the "world's smallest human" and the more I think about it the more upset I get. They actually have this little deformed lady sitting in a box. I went in to see the attraction and was completely taken aback. I had to say hi because she was obviously a human being, but then I was at loss for words. What do you say to somebody who makes a living posing as a freak? I have serious doubts about the legality of the whole thing.
And right now I have serious doubts about the possibility of making it through the night without throwing up ...

1:05 AM

Monday, September 16, 2002

I've hardly had time to sit down at all. I hope to be able to write about the weekend tonight, if I don't fall asleep exhausted.
Agostino left yesterday. He was very sweet and even called from the airport to say goodbye once again.
In the afternoon Katja and I went to pick up Melissa and take her to the San Gennaro street fair on Mulberry St. It was pouring! We had an appointment with Maria at 4 on Mulberry and Broome but she was a little late and we were impatient, so we missed her.
I gotta go now. I hope to resolve the situation with Tony's tickets this week or I' ll be in deep shit (yes, I can be a poet too).

8:24 AM

Sunday, September 15, 2002

I might get some time to write tomorrow. Right now there's the three of us in my room and I can't type without sitting on somebody's face. It will have to wait.

12:42 AM

Saturday, September 14, 2002

All the girls slept in my room. And all the girls just woke up. Agostino is cutting negatives in the other room. We need some breakfast now.

9:50 AM

Friday, September 13, 2002

Talk about a siesta before dinner tonight! It's an absolute must if I don't want to be teary-eyed by 11 pm. Should that happen it would be such a major blow to my party-girl reputation that I would have no option but to kill all witnessess.
Let's think: I was here at work early today so I could leave by 5 pm, rush home and get almost an hour of sleep or deep relaxation before blasting some loud music and getting into gear again. I'll have time left for a shower and some magic (i.e. make-up) before Maria's arrival. I'd probably have some time to spare to go get something to bring to the party (I figure wine is just not enough when you are showing up with three additional guests ... well, actually Katja is keeping to her liquid diet and therefore does not really count as an eating guest ... ). With a little luck we could all be squeezing into a cab by 8.15 pm.

I got to remember to call Melissa to make arrangements for a pic-nic at the Park on Sunday. I could invite Eloisa too, given her fondness for pic-nics. I also have to call Frank to explain why I haven't called him before. Debra is off to Spain for a week and Bob is probably pissed because I could not go to his concert (he sang Mozart's Requiem at Julliard's on Sept. 11th). Vivienne did not show up the other night so I suppose she is not planning on sticking with her new boyfriend. This is the state of affairs within my eclectic circle of friends. Now back to work: I am using voice recognition and am not sure how long it will be before my voice turns into a slur.

3:11 PM

Gotta get up, gotta get up, gotta get up ...

7:05 AM

Gotta sleep, gotta sleep, gotta sleep ...

12:09 AM

Thursday, September 12, 2002

I could use a power nap.
For some reason I cannot edit the entry made on 9/11/2002 at 1:03:56 AM. On my to do list for this evening: sorting out this problem; installing Jaguar on an iMac without a cd-rom drive (or, to be exact, with a non-functioning internal cd-rom drive and a non-bootable external cd-rom drive) and troubleshooting streaming video from home.

4:36 PM

Maria sent an e-mail confirming her arrival tomorrow evening. She will be home around 7 pm, barely in time to drop her luggage and go with us to a dinner party, if she wishes to come along. I am wondering about the sleeping arrangements. Should the three women in the house stay in my bedroom and leave Agostino in the leaving room? Should I keep my bedroom guest-free and put them all in the living room? Should I put Agostino in the bathtub?
I'll think about it later. Right now I must get to the cafeteria fast and eat before the place is invaded by the delegates.

12:13 PM

I think I'd rather stay in bed.

6:53 AM

Wednesday, September 11, 2002

Katja and I are watching a pathetic talk show on a Latino channel. I must admit I am hooked on this horrific Spanish Springer's Show wanna be (Laura en Am�rica): night after night I find myself tuning into channel 47 at 11.30 pm for my fix of the worst of humankind. Now all I need is to get addicted to the Anne Nicole show!
This evening I talked to Pascale and Johanny who are back from their vacation in the Dominican Republic. I haven't seen her in a while but we agreed to go out on a happy hour sometime next week . I should also resume my training with Johanny next week . In the meantime Katja and I decided to get up tomorrow at 6 am and go work out and run in the Park. Could this be wishful thinking?

11:51 PM

Today, after work, I went to the superquick hairdresser around the corner. They do it all in under 15 minutes. I don't think I would get a real haircut there but it's a fine place for a trim and it's a block away. I am now home with Katja who, as promised, has not set foot outside all day. We are waiting for Agostino and Afafe for dinner. Vivian called too. She is seeing somebody new. He lives a couple of streets from me so she might come over with him too, if she makes up her mind and decides she wants to introduce him to her friends.
Afafe should be leaving tomorrow and Friday I might have another guest coming (Maria, the daughter of very good friends of the family). More later.

8:04 PM

Everybody is accounted for now. When I got home today I opened the door to find Katja and a drop-dead gorgeous and strangely totally unattractive guy sitting at my table. He was a flight attendant and part-time model who kindly took it upon himself to take her home. Katja flew business class from Toronto, just a seat away from Pierce Brosnan and got him on video. Anyway, she is here now and if she is going to bring home safe hunks, she is most welcome to do so. Later on we all had a copious dinner (homemade veggie soup, fake chicken patties and fish for Katja, leftover pasta al pesto, salad, chocolate sorbet and vanilla caramel ice cream with a nice Chardonnay - all prepared by yours truly because I keep hearing that Agostino is very good in the kitchen but I have yet to see him boil water) ) and we are now ready to relax, read and get some sleep. After dinner we took a couple of pictures just to make Gianmario eat his heart out and we sure did manage.
Agostino is now planning on getting up at 4 in the morning to get to Ground Zero. Fortunately there is nothing on Earth that can wake me up before I am ready. Anyways, I'd like to get to the office early so as to get some work done before the Sept. 11th anniversary ceremony, which I really want to attend. I am watching a lot of memorials on television, but a few at a time because they are so hard to take. Tomorrow will be a sorrowful day and to top it off we are now on orange alert. Katja does not want to leave the house at all, I on the other hand strongly believe in going about my business as usual or, better yet, to live with a vengeance.

1:03 AM

Tuesday, September 10, 2002

So far Katja has arrived and Agostino too. Afafe is still missing in action. I am preparing dinner and will be back later on.

7:52 PM

Believe it or not I have yet to finish A.I.
I left the office relatively early today in order to get to a special class at Crunch for the opening of the Broadway show "Hairspray". It was a lot of fun, people were in wigs and some in costumes, the teacher was in drag and we got a dancer from the show teaching us a few steps. Three girls won free tickets to the show. A TV cameracam was there along with some journalist, but I had no idea who they were till I got a call near 11 p.m. from Luis informing me that he had just seen me on the news on wb11. I am now fervently praying that the rest of my colleagues do not watch that channel or I'll have a pretty embarassing day tomorrow.

12:30 AM

Monday, September 09, 2002

We're back. I spent the whole day at home playing with the computer and still not watching the whole A.I. movie. At 8.30 I met Agostino and Afafe at Canal and Broadway and after a lot of walking and dinner at some Italian place in the Village and one compulsory stop ad Duane Reade to get more stuff I do not need, we are now home again. I am not sleepy yet, let's try this A.I. dvd again ...

1:48 AM

Sunday, September 08, 2002

About yesterday, biefly: dinner at a low key japanese joint (East Japanese). Agostino's friend Gianmario and his roommate Gabriela (I think she's from Norway) joined us. After dinner we went to a party in Park Slope. We got there after midnight so most people had already left or were in the process of leaving. The crowd was mostly graduate students/associate professors, very nice people but not really my type. A bit on the too young side and a bit on the too academic side too. As usual (I've come to know the drill by know) Agostino started a very heated debate with Afafe. This time it was about Muslims in Bosnia, but it can be anything as mundane as the color of the refrigerator. She keeps her cool and he starts shouting. Things escalate, he gets really loud. The party girl and the two other girls left at the house were enjoying the show (fact is Agostino does not really get mad and he does burst out laughing now and then, he just seems to enjoy a spirited discussion). We left at about 2.30 a.m. and it took us forever to get back to Manhattan. Gianmario stayed behind, given the unexpected chance of being the only guy with three single women in the house. Now Agostino and Afafe are interviewing some arab guy in Brooklyn and I am trying to set this damn streaming webcam. It's too late for the yoga class I wanted to take but I am kinda tired anyway.
Later on in the afternoon we'll meet somewhere downtown and I'll give Debra a ring so she can join us for dinner.
I called Melissa yesterday but she can't meet with me today. We'll have to wait until next weekend.
Re. Frank, I did not call him because I can hardly see where could I fit in a movie this weekend, but I will definitely call him during the week.
Katja called. She's arriving on the 10th and staying till Oct. 2nd. She might even attend Tony's seminar, the one I will be crewing at the end of September.
It's a gorgeous day today. I'm going to gobble down a salad and hop in the shower.

2:45 PM

Let's just say it was another late night. We will now have breakfast before going to sleep. Goodnite.

3:43 AM

Saturday, September 07, 2002

I am at the office now, making sure the document comes out right. I just had a chat with Cecilia in Uruguay. She was chatting with Frank in Buenos Aires, who was chatting with a friend of his in NY. So the friend wants my phone number. Thank God I did not give it to him! I now have enough background information on him to regret ever giving him my e-mail address. ... let's hope he's not an axe murderer too.
The incredible thing is that Frank's father used to be a translator with the UN and FAO. Anyway, his friend (Sebas) is an actor/director (probably a waiter) who's been in NYC for a couple of weeks, though he's been living here before. His grandfather was a famous film director, or so I hear. As I am basically clueless on the subject matter I am not particularly impressed and, frankly, I've never heard of the guy. We shall see.

Tonite I am out with Agostino and Afafe. Probably dinner at some East Village place.

3:27 PM

Back home. Great time at the bar. We stayed there all night and danced as much as possible. Mario left first, more than a little tipsy. Miguel �ngel, Luis and I went for a slice of pizza (no cheese, plenty of veggies for me - nice to have something healthy after downing 4 Tom Collins) and got home a few minutes ago. M.A. is leaving tomorrow for Spain but he will be back next year. Us, the bargoers, can hardly wait!

2:27 AM

Friday, September 06, 2002

I just got home and have barely time to redo my make-up and get out again. I am meeting with Miguel �ngel, Luis and Mario at Opal Bar and Lounge at 7.30, though I might be a little late. From there we might go downtown.
I have to leave a note for Afafe and Agostino to join us because my cell is out of minutes and trying to buy some on the phone today was a nightmarish experience and an unsuccessful one at that.
I also have to call Melissa to let her know that I will be working tomorrow and that I'll see her on Sunday.
Gotta go now.

6:57 PM

I am at the office now, thinking about were I'd like to go tonight ...

1:28 PM

Once again, I tried to watch Artificial Intelligence yesterday nite but fell asleep halfway through it. Maybe one day I'll manage to sit through the whole thing.

Had a very busy day at the office again, left past 8 pm. Tomorrow will be gruesome but then I should have finished the document I am working on and will take a day of part-time slacking before submerging myself in anything else.

Tonite I stayed home again but we went on the roofdeck for a while with Agostino and Afafe. Agostino fell asleep, as usual. He falls asleep as suddenly as he wakes up, and when he wakes up he talks non stop. Quite a character but a funny and endearing one.

I am thinking of starting a private weblog, but I have to research the best way to password protect it.

1:23 AM

Wednesday, September 04, 2002

I am actually staying home tonight. I am also cooking. Agostino is asleep on the floor (there's a sofa bed plus my real bed plus an inflatable bed ... go figure!) and Afafe is typing her story away. In a few minutes the water will be boiling, I'll be setting the table and this will be one quiet night at home. I had a wonderful day at the office today, swamped with work but the kind of work I like. I had a couple of great meetings with the Technoligical Advisory Group of which I am part and a couple of very rewarding moments with different people. Couldn't ask for more.

9:08 PM

Sometimes I wish I did drink coffee ...

8:49 AM

Guess it's another late night. Had dinner with Miguel �ngel and Luis (from work) in a Mexican place nearby (good food and good Margarita) and then went to a bar. For some reasons all the bars in the area are deserted, even all those usually vey crowded. We went to Opal and it was fine. Miguel �ngel noticed that we were supposed to get the 2-drinks-for-the-price-of-one deal until 11 pm and we ordered ours at 10.55, so he went and talked the barwomen into given us a second round for free. We stayed until a drunken Australian decided to strike a conversation. Given that we understood about 2 words every 100 he slurred and that the ones we did understand were either f# words or f# concepts, we had to leave. We halfheartedly discussed going to another bar and then decided against it. Luis went home and Miguel �ngel and I walked a couple of blocks together, untill he darted into a pizzeria. I got home to Agostino frantically photoshopping and Afafa slipping into a coma on the sofa. They are now working on the article they've got to send tomorrow and I got myself in bed, though it's going to be a while before I sleep. Also, I gotta be in decent shape tomorrow as I have a meeting with one of the big bosses. I hope I'll wake up in time (my alarm system consists of the alarm clock, three calls at 5 minutes interval from iping.com and iTunes blasting music). I am falling apart here, let me turn on the a.c. and get some sleep.

2:05 AM

Tuesday, September 03, 2002

I did indeed manage to get to the office before anybody else. My colleague could not believe it. I am now rushing to a Dance Party class and then back home. I might go out tonite, again.

6:16 PM

Wouldn'it be nice if I managed to get to work early? I am just wondering how will I get my chocolate-soy-protein-cum-chocolate-soy-milk shake without waking up my sleeping guests in the living room. Wait! I just heard steps! Fantastic Let's hop in the shower !

6:55 AM

Monday, September 02, 2002

Good news! Katja called me a while ago from Toronto, where she is competing in a beauty pageant. There has been some sort of mix up with a place she was going to rent in Miami so there's a change of plans: she is coming to NYC untill the beginning of October or so. I can't wait to tell my doormen: they are going to be thrilled! The other VERY good news is that the Italian journalist (Agostino) turned out to be a bit too interesting. I've only spent under an hour talking to him so I will have to see how this evolves. In any case he will be staying with me with his friend for about 10 days so my place might get a little crowded, especially if hubby comes over for a weekend as promised, but I am certainly not complaining. A house full of lively, interesting people sounds just perfect to me! ... mmm, I just realized it might not be a good idea to have Katja here with Agostino ... or maybe it's an excellent idea and a great way of fighting impure thoughts. There's something about having a Miss Universe runner up around the house to transform you in a completely invisible entity. Argh! Now back to work - and I'll probably forget the Aerobics w/Attitude class today ...

5:27 PM

Benoit, the French journalist, has just left, after a coffee and a short interview. Another journalist is on his way. This time it's an Italian and he will be staying with me for a few days. He seemed very nice on the phone. More to come.

10:25 AM

Just had a call from the French radio. The journalist will be here within 45 minutes for an interview. Let's make some coffee for him.

9:13 AM

Well, I wanted to call it an early night but I met Elizabeth's son at her birthday party. He was there with his girlfriend and a couple of friends. They asked and I couldn't refuse. We went to Galapagos in Williamsburg. From their webpage: "Get down with DJs Acidophilus and Juba, spinning la salsa dura with diasporic pretensions, a musical homage to the '70s, all over the globe. That means Gitanos with Afro picks, Trenchtown rockers, Colombian salsa rebels and more. Kinosonik (an Ocularis collective) goes Latin, serving up a spicy visual collage of multi-layered film, video and slide projections." Upside: a lot of fun, free Chivas and good dancing. Downside: yet another late night. And I got home to a message from Agostino, Pam's friend. He's already in Manhattan so I guess he'll come stay with me tomorrow. Just had a nice shower, I'll probably surf for a while, read for another while and then just hope to get enough sleep.

1:31 AM

Sunday, September 01, 2002

Still in bed, what a disgrace! Spent the whole morning redisegning and rerouting my website - not too much to do but still time-consuming. Will add streaming video later today.
Now I gotta get up fast and shlep over to NJ to Elizabeth's birthday party. I'll better try and stay away from parties and nites out for a while after this before I turn into a full-blown alcoholic!

2:52 PM

Managed to do almost everything, even squeezed in a blow out at the hairdresser's but no brow job. Anyway, I am back from the party and ready to sleep. Had a wonderful time. As usual Bob thought there were more gay man than the ones accounted for (good ol' wishful thinking - and I totally refuse to believe in Tom Cruise's homosexuality, I don't care about the friend of the friend who swear he has had sex with him). The guests were a lively and diverse bunch: the doctor crowd, the tennis crowd, the friend-since-kindergarden crowd, the girl she met at the bakery, the visiting Greek orchestra conductor, the Italian neigbour ... too bad I had run out of batteries for my camera and could not take pictures. Sandra was at her best and I really liked her busband, as well as their friend. Well , better do a little computer fiddling right now and then get some sleep: tomorrow will be a busy day!

2:26 AM