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, October 31, 2002

Something did materialize after all. At about 12.30 Miguel Angel called from a bar on 2nd Ave. and 53rd. St. He was there with Maria and Yamile and I joined them there for a glass of wine and lots of gossip. Once again, he is sleeping in my living room. I would be doing the same (sleeping in somebody's living room) if I lived in New Jersey. Just the thought of having to shlep back home at 1 or 2 at night is very unsettling. Fortunately for him he will be moving back into Manhattan this weekend, but I will not be lacking a guest, given that Pam will be here on the 12th. I should open a bed and breakfast. I just love having people over for dinner, lunch, breakfast, sleep, whatever.

2:03 AM

Wednesday, October 30, 2002

Nothing materialized so I just came home. I already heard that Infanta Elena was at the reception so I hope to get all the dirt tomorrow at work.
I do have plans for tomorrow though: dinner with Bob and company at a Chinese restaurant downtown, followed by the Halloween parade in the Village and then maybe dancing at SBNY Splash Bar New York (the legendary Chelsea gay bar and nightclub with the great halfnaked barmen - granted, they are gay but they still qualify as great eye candy ... and Eddie, the one featured this week, lists Anthony Robbins as his idol! A thinking hunk! )

11:59 PM

I am once again at the office since 10.30 am. Luckily I had time to get a trim at the hairdresser and buy treats for my colleagues before coming to work this morning (this is my way of buying votes as a staff rep!). Now I am hoping and praying that I will be done by 10 pm, in time to join some friends at a bar. Fact is a bunch of people from the office are at a reception at the Embassy of Spain. I had to miss it but this does not mean I have to miss the post-reception festivities too.

7:43 PM

Now that I've been rebounding for 45 minutes I am so energized that I'll probably stay up all night. In the meantime, I am reading up on one of my favorite columns: Italians by Beppe Severgnini. So far, my attention has been caught mainly by two topics: the antiamerican feeling throughout Europe and the issuance of Italian passports to Argentinians. I'll skip on the first one for the time being and go straight to the second one: a lot of Italians seem to think that most Argentinians ae applying for an Italian passport not out of love and admiration for the country but rather out of poverty and need. Well, duh! I wonder if the hordes of Europeans who landed on our shores years ago were motivated by a deep passion for our countries or maybe a sophisticated curiosity for an exotic culture or were simply escaping abject poverty or war or political persecution. I wonder what would have happened if Argentina, or Uruguay for that matter, had required them to master the Spanish language before allowing them to live and work among us. Actually, maybe we should kick them out now given that, decades later, many of them still can't speak the language.

12:26 AM

Tuesday, October 29, 2002

Enough is enough. This is one woman in search of an aspirin.

3:24 PM

Wow! I turned off the light yesterday at 10 pm and juts got up now at 9.30 am! This is enough sleep to last me a week.

9:37 AM

Monday, October 28, 2002

Loved the movie. Loved it so much we absolutely had to see Part II, too, so we called a few Blockbusters to locate a copy and then cabbied uptown to get it. I could not not see it right then and there. Given this addictive and instant gratification personality of mine I can't happier I never tried hard drugs! I get hooked on just about everything or, as my hubby says when I don't like something, it's just a matter of me trying it. After that first step I will probably love whatever it is and be obsessed about it for a while. Well, there were a few things I did not like about the movie. Marlon Brandon, for one. Maybe it's because I've seen so many spoofs of Vito Corleone, but I felt like laughing out loud every time he started mumbling stuff. I also think De Niro looked like a gay flamenco dancer. Al Pacino on the other hand ... mmm, yummy (and I don't like him at all nowadays). He did not have the raspy voice back then and he had about half the mannerisms. The worse the character got the sexier he seemed to me, which is something I should be ashamed of. Actually, it's like guys fighting on the street. I just love watching fights, and I mean real fights, not the push and shove and safe shouts when your friends are standing between you and the guy you want to chew the head off. I think they only think I find unsexier than a guy who gets into stupid fights out of plain stupidity or a few too many drinks, is a guy who refuses to throw a punch when the situation calls for it. Having said this I shall now program the computer to wake me up tomorrow morning, as early as possible.

1:08 AM

Sunday, October 27, 2002

I am taking it easy today. I am leaving now to go to Francia' s to watch The Godfather, which I have never seen before. I will stop at the Amish market to get some sushi or something and that's about all I will do today.

1:34 PM

Finally home. We hit the Divine Bar with Miguel Angel and Francia and then Opal. Francia letft almost immediately because she was tired and it was not her kind of place anyway. We stayed and danced. And danced. And danced some more. Till now, almost 4.30 am. Miguel Angel has decided to quit smoking so he almost got into a fistfight at Opal. It did not help that he is a short guy and has a chip on his shoulder, by his own admission. With a little luck he will be less belligerant tomorrow. As of today, he is sleeping in the living room. I will check my mail and a couple of websites and then call it a day.

4:21 AM

Saturday, October 26, 2002

Melissa wanted to have lunch at Vegetarian Paradise again. I obliged and then took her to see Ghost Ship. What a disappointment! They don't make scary movies anymore. The first scene was promising, so promising I was wondering whether I had done the right thing by taking a 12 years old to watch it. From that point on everything went downhill. Whats-her-name-Margolis has got to be be one of the worst actresses ever. She is totally flat, conveying absolutely no emotions, except a look of utter boredom. Anyways, I have no time to get into the details, Miguel Angel just called and will be here in 30/40 minutes, lets just say that the plot was Alien meets Carrie, the B movie ...

7:31 PM

Call me shallow, but I adhere to the principle that if you can't dance you can't fuck. Mind you, this does not mean you can't be attractive, just that you will probably be a lousy lover. Of course, this is my theory and, as all of my theories, I have no proof whatsoever to back it up. In my book, if you can't dance it means one of the following or, God forbid, both of them: a) you've got no rythm and/or b) you are not comfortable with your body. What it comes down to it is that I find non-dancers totally unattractive, unless they are otherwise athletically inclined. After all, you might not be able to get the latest steps right but you still need a pretty good control of your body to be a kickass kickboxer.
These are the kind of idiotic thoughts that occupy my mind after a couple of glasses of cheap red wine.
Another thought that keeps popping in my mind is that I have had it with Cuban music. It's not that I don't like it, because I do, it' s just that it is not my first choice and certainly not my only choice. I am more a R&B, funk, hip-hop kinda person. I am certainly more into those beats than into some jazzy-fusion-Cuban sound.
I should probably just shut up and get some sleep.

1:10 AM

Friday, October 25, 2002

Great! I'm off to the party!

10:01 PM

I am very impatiently waiting to see if more work is coming.
Tha party is in full swing downstairs, or so I've been told, and there's a great band playing ...

9:57 PM

It's been 3 days now and I still have this head/neck ache. I thought it was the rebounding but I did not rebound today and it hasn't gone away. I also have pain in my left hand and ache on my left arm. And no, it's not a heart attack. It's something I've had a hundred times before, usually after a long flight or a particularly gruesome high-impact aerobics class. I also get the neck ache when I don't blow-dry my hair. It must be part of the ageing gracefully process. Something is pinching back there and it's driving me nuts. If it's not gone by tomorrow and if a little wine tonight does not numb it, I might even consider taking an aspirin.
And while I am whining I might as well mention that I dropped a cutting board on a toe this morning. It hurts. Reminds me when I dropped the door of an Ikea mirrored closet while trying to assemble it. This was a few days before my wedding. I somehow managed to block the pain, put on a pair of heels and get to the airport to pick up my future mother-in-law (yes, there was a lot of blood involved). Needless to say, my poor toe was broken.
Re. tonight, there is the staff party going on from 7 to 12 pm. If things are quiet as they have been all week I might take off early and check it out.

6:13 PM

Thursday, October 24, 2002

This rebounding is a lot of fun. I've been at it for about half an hour with my iPod blasting Jock Jams. Let's hope we have hot water now (there wasn't any early this morning) so I can go get a nice long shower. I also need to cook something and be outta here in less than an hour.

1:53 PM

I am falling asleep. Tonight work was over very early, probably nine-ish, but I stayed over to take care of other pending stuff, mostly computer work. At about a quarter of 11 pm Emilio, my upstairs neighbor, called me. He had worked until 10 pm and he waas bored and wanted to know whether I was up to go out for a drink ... to O'Neils, of all places. I said yes and we met there at 11 pm and stayed until 1 am. It was quite enjoyable and I already sent Vivienne an e-mail message see if she wants to meet him.When we got back home there was this package waiting for me, with the Firewire hub and the camera USB cable, so I've been playing with then until now. I am also watching CNN, as usual, but I am very, very sleepy ...

2:04 AM

Wednesday, October 23, 2002

Yesterday Haizam and I were done before 10 pm. Miguel Angel was almost done. Francia was called at home and summoned to meet us at O'Neils for a beer or two or, in my case, a glass of wine or two. Seems Gov. Pataki was upstairs and when we were leaving a guy (either a driver or a bodyguard) asked me if "I was with the campaign". I was almost tempted to say yes and have him drive me home.
As always, it was relaxed and fun.
Today we had our crowd lunch at the Hapon restaurant and then I came over to the office for my weekly Technological Advisory Group meeting. Now it's time to tackle work.

4:18 PM

Monday, October 21, 2002

It's been a long long day with very little sleep (fell asleep at 4 am, the alarm rang at 6 am and I stayed in a state of near coma until about 8.30 am) and very little food at 6.30 pm when I realized all I had had since yesterday were two glasses of water. It's 10.30 pm now and I'll be out of here in no time. Actually, I am done with my job but I am waiting for Haizam so we can go out and have a very late happy hour before going home.
This morning I was here at 10 am to attend a meeting at 10.30 am. The meeting itself would have been considered unpleasant by anybody else's standards, as it was not only about voting somebody out of a panel, but voting him off his present position. Being the monster that I am, I enjoyed every minute of it. I just love to watch the different personalities at work and how people react very differently to the same situation. Today I was witness to two extremely different styles of handling direct confrontation. One was a very dignified response and the other was a screaming heart-attack-in-the-process kind of response. I just had to call hubby later in the evening to let him know that I now completely understand what it is about meetings that he loves so much. And the power is OURS!

10:38 PM

And now I am stuck watching a marvelously fascinating documentary on Channel 13 about an Emergency Hospital in Afghanistan ... I guess I'll sleep some other day.

The documentary, according to my online TV guide is: "Afghanistan Year 1380" follows surgeon Gino Strada and medical coordinator Kate Rowlands as they treat victims of the fighting in Afghanistan in the fall of 2001. Their Kabul hospital had been shut down by the Taliban, and as the film opens, they're operating in the town of Anabah, controlled by the Northern Alliance, where they treat both fighters and children ("and when the planes bombed my father died," says one boy). But when the Taliban falls they head back to Kabul---as bombs fall around them---to reopen their hospital. Among their patients: injured Taliban fighters.

2:49 AM

Sunday, October 20, 2002

I've just finished watching Cnbc's Tim Russert in a very interesting interview with Michael Moore . I certainly do not agree with Moore on everything but it is very refreshing to hear a dissident voice and somebody with such a strong delivery. I will make sure to keep an eye on him, buy his book and check out his movie.
I am so glad I have a dentist's appointment on Friday because I just removed a dangling brace and I now have the wire moving around in my mouth.
At some point tonight I should jump on that rebounder and get some work done ...

8:11 PM

Sundays are mad for slacking. As much as I hate it, I keep doing it. So I've stayed home all day playing around on the computer (and buying a USB replacement cable for my digital camera and a firewire hub to plug-in my external drives and a couple of webcams) and watching either horrible E! Hollywood stories or CNN's relentless coverage of the demented sniper. I debated whether to take a Pilates class for a while but the debate never got to the operational phase. It's almost dark outside now and I've just ordered dinner (for today and tomorrow) at Zenith. Their dairy-free chocolate cake is to die for.
Yesterday with Debra was fun. I did not particularly enjoy the movie (White Olander), though Michelle Pfeiffer's hair in jail looked so good we were wondering which crime we should perpetrate to get that kind of perfect highlights and do. The girl that plays the daughter is very good but as for the characters , IMHO, they sure were not very complex and the storyline was very, very predictable.
Dinner , on the other hand, was great. This Vatan place was very different and fun, service was very friendly and the restroom was exceptionally clean. Hey! Even the food was good, just spicy enough. Debra and I had not seen each other for several weeks so it was non stop chitchat. On my way home I stopped at a newstand and bought my usual six hundred magazines and today I can proudly say there's nothing totally unimportant going on here or abroad that I am not aware of.

6:38 PM

Saturday, October 19, 2002

More photos of my sister's wedding uploaded.

3:45 PM

Can't seem to get hold of Melissa, her big brother must be on the Internet because it is constantly busy and has been for hours. Time to change plans on the fly: I will work from home for a while and then meet Debra for a movie (White Oleander - seems to be a chick flick, not something you'll go see with your boyfriend/husband) and dinner at Vatan. And I'll work in some time for rebounding too.

2:31 PM

I went upstairs to my neighbour's after work today. Eloisa had a friend over who is leaving tomorrow. Had dinner at this Italian place on the East Village and now I am back, ready to get to bed as soon as I find the plug to my cell's charger ...

12:45 AM

Friday, October 18, 2002

I will be working the evening shift next week but I already have two compelling reasons to come early on Monday: 1) I have a text to finish and 2) I've been asked to show up for a meeting so I can vote against somebody. It will be my pleasure.
Other than that, I am in the process of organizing lunch at one of our favorite Japanese restaurants with a bunch of colleagues on Wednesday. There's 10 of us so far.
I also have to take care of the second official girls' night out event. I need to come up with a place where we can drink, chat and dance and that would be agreeable to our very diverse group (agewise and tastewise). Our first outing was at S.O.B.'s, a rather unfortunate choice on that particular night: the band was lousy. Also, that club has no tables or chairs, and not all of our girls are not of the dancing-the-night-away variety.
Gotta call Johanny to get on a training schedule again. And Frank (I keep forgetting!).

5:31 PM

Thursday, October 17, 2002

We are in the process of slowly getting ready for work. Yesterday was great fun, the conversation was lively (nothing like politics to get people going), the food was fantastic and we drank 5 bottles of wine plus a bottle of limoncello. At about 2 in the morning Francia was knocked out and could barely kneel down to hug the toilet, so she stayed over. Miguel Angel was wasted too and there was no way he could get back to NJ, so he stayed over too. I don't know if it's the rebounding, the Q-Link or if I am turning into a professional drinker, but I am just fine and dandy. Not even an upset stomach. I should be worried. But I am not. And now off to work.

9:31 AM

Tuesday, October 15, 2002

Haizam has been bragging about his cooking abilities. It's time to prove them. He will be preparing"pulpo a la gallega" tomorrow, at home, for a bunch of friends. Details to come.

4:15 PM

Monday, October 14, 2002

Paul Newman will be on Broadway in December! I'm getting a ticket NOW!

11:26 PM

He is gone now. I am so happy I took a couple of day off to really enjoy him while he was here. Our next time together might be in a month or so or, if things get too complicated in Buenos Aires, then in December, for X-mas.I am waiting for his phone call from the airport (probably from Miami). He usually calls me before boarding. Instead of his call I got one from Emilio a few minutes ago. He's on his way home from the gym and wanted to go out to have some drinks and watch football. I took a rain check as I would like to have an early night and an early morning tomorrow.I also got an e-mail from Pam today. She'll be coming at the end of the month for an interview in NYC.

8:18 PM

JP is leaving today. The non-stop rain? Gone. It's gorgeous outside today. Yesterday we had a quick lunch at Chevy's and headed to Madame Toussad's wax museum. I had already been there with Melissa but it was JP's first time and we had a great time.At about 10.30 at night, when we were home debating our dinner options, I got a surprise call from Lisa, who's in town for just about one day, on her way to Boston. She was at the Times Square Hilton with three friends. So, in less than 5 minutes, JP and I got out of bed, took a shower, changed, had dinner - actually, he had dinner, I decided to skip it - and were in a cab heading for the hotel.Lisa looked great. According to JP, she looks younger than 5 years ago, when he last saw her. And she was having a particularly funny day. Conversation was mostly about sex, of course, and it was raunchy and funny. We went to the View bar at the Marriot Marquise and when it closed we started walking around for another bar and found one very very busy with some sort of firefighters convention, massive guys from all over the nation and loud loud music. JP was not having as much fun as we were and that kind of bar scene is not really his favorite but he tagged along till the end. So its' now almost noon and we are slowly starting to function again. We have about 4 good hours together before it's time for him to go. I'm out of here.

11:45 AM

Sunday, October 13, 2002

It's been raining non stop since JP arrived so we've been mostly going out for a short periods of time, getting completely soaked and coming back home.
Today, while JP was out having a haircut (the real short buzz cut I love), I started the day with the usual cheerful Saturday call to my mother who was doing worse than ever, if such a thing is possible. Today's is the two years anniversary of my father's death and she was drugged out and in absolute despair. My sister arrived while I was talking to her (more like listening, actually) and she seemed to find the situation quite normal.
As soon as JP was back we were out of the house. We went down to the Village to have lunch at a Spanish place and then walked (or swam) to the SoHo Apple Store (with a stop at the new Prada shop - just to check out the shop itself as I find 99.9% of Prada stuff absolutely hideous, the remaining 0.1% being a pair of heels now and then). He had not seen the Apple place yet and that's just unacceptable. We spent quite some time coveting just about everything and, specifically, the flat-panel displays. JP offered to buy me one of the 17-inch monitors for our anniversary (which is today: 25 years since we met) but I heroically declined. I think it's better to wait a little while and then go for the 23-inch. Still, saying no was very, very difficult. Rational thinking does not come easy to me. After what is slowly becoming my weekly pilgrimage to the Apple shrine, we tried to walk a couple of blocks under pouring rain only to decide that is was better to fight off the crowd for a cab. We got home and went out almost immediately to get some food, then came back and never left. We spent the rest of the day channel surfing and even had dinner in bed.
He's fast asleep now and I am getting hungry.

2:25 AM

Saturday, October 12, 2002

Sorry. I am very busy doing nothing.

11:20 AM

Thursday, October 10, 2002

Damn! I've been up since God knows when, in full make up, waiting for JP to arrive. I got a call from him this morning saying that there had been a problem at the airport in Buenos Aires, that he was in Miami and that he would be arriving in NYC at about 1.30 pm. It's now 3.34. I checked and 2 American Airlines flights from Miami have already arrived to JFK, at 1.33 pm and 1.42 pm. There is another one scheduled for landing at 4.21 pm. Boy, am I pissed! And I took the frigging afternoon off!

3:33 PM

Wednesday, October 09, 2002

I will be waddling home today. If I can't get up on my feet, then I might just roll out of the office. The food was great, not to mention the drinks (in my case a pisco plus a pisco sour plus one half of a second pisco sour - I truly hope there was no egg in my cocktail!). As it always happens at buffets, we ate like there's no tomorrow. The only restraint I was able to exert was towards the meat. I can proudly say I overeat without touching the meat or poultry dishes. I did make up for it with plenty of ceviche though. And I will not even mention the desserts. Sometimes I wish I could barf.

5:12 PM

I am soooo ready for the Peruvian buffet! I am sitting here in front of my PC, salivating ...

12:46 PM

Tuesday, October 08, 2002

Just bought a half-fold ReboundAIR through eBay and PayPal. I can't wait to get it and start bouncing around!
Busy day at work today and we could not get a table for our planned lunch at the Peruvian buffet. We are not easily deterred though: we already have a table for tomorrow.

JP will be here on Thursday morning, I therefore asked the housekeeper to come over on Saturday afternoon instead of Friday morning so I can take Friday off and we can sleep in. Only a day away ... I already started working on my fake tan ...

10:45 PM

I finally got my HomeCam going. I will have it on 24/7 for a while and see how my iMac performs.

12:15 AM

Sunday, October 06, 2002

What a waste of a day! I did not follow through any of the plans: I did not work, I did not go to the gym, I did not go to the movies. I did not even roast my potatoes! I cooked them in the microwave oven and then put them in the oven, just to take them out ten minutes later to sautee them. Patience is not my best feature.I did download some webcam softwares, given that my SiteCam server is not working. I also watched a couple of made for TV movies, which I happen to love and I also watched - in awe - Larry King with Christopher Reeve and his wife.Just called Miriam in Uruguay and found out she is in Ibiza. I hope she is doing OK. Tried to call Liliana but she's not answering her cell or her home phone.So now I am looking at a sleepless night ahead of me. I absolutely want to finish this precis writing tonight.I will make sure to turn off CNN, Fox or CBS before I get an overdose of war threats.

10:18 PM

I am having a culinary morning. The soup is cooking, I added the frozen letf-over veggie soup so I now have enough for several days. I then sauteed the red and yellow peppers, added some water and left them simmering. Tonight I'll probably oven roast some potatoes.
Plans for today are: lunch, work, gym and maybe movies (Red Dragon). Life rocks.

12:49 PM

Today I made my usual Saturday calls to my family. My mother was on some new pill and I had great difficulty understanding what she said, she was slurring her words and the content of her speech was not much better. I guess I'll never agree with her shrink's approach. I then called my sister, who was the one who told me about the new medication, and then my hubby. I actually called him 3 or 4 times. He was with a business associate who must think I am a harassing wife. The decidely crazy decision about closing the trade offices abroad was confirmed yesterday (this is what happens when you have a senile President) so, technically, JP's future does not look too bright. In actuality though it's great news. For one, it means he is definitely moving in with me in January. It also means he now officially qualifies as a victim, a fact that can be duly exploited! And last but not least he will be able to work full-time at his other - and more lucrative - interests.
I met Melissa for lunch today and took her to Vegetarian Paradise. I ruined the perfectly healthy lunch immediately by taking her next door and buying way too much junk. We spent some time strolling in Chinatown and then I walked her home in time to get ready for a party she was going to with her family. While we were having lunch I told her about JP's and my plans of buying something, maybe even out of Manhattan, and then when we were saying goodbye she suddenly asked if we were still going to see each other when I move. It's like every time I doubt whether I am doing enough or when I wonder whether she is getting bored with me she comes up with something this sweet and I am completely reassured.
I fell asleep early this evening so it is now late at night and I've done my on-line compulsive shopping (just ordered a Rollo Style brush) and finished cooking all the veggies to supplement a veggie soup tomorrow.
I bought ViaVoice for Mac OS X today at Apple's store in Soho but I can't get it to do the voice setup. I'll try with another mike on Monday and if it's still not working I'll see what I can do about it.

1:49 AM

Saturday, October 05, 2002

Back from dinner with a bunch of interesting and diverse people. On my side of the table: Jane (a Corean/Canadian physician), Alice (a Hungarian nanny, working for, among others, Cindy Lauper), Chiota (sp?) (a Japanese lady-who-lunches), Catherine (regular American banker) and then the three people I already knew - Kate (a statistician from Poland), good ol' Bob (a Philippine American mechanical engineer ... and he is going to hate me for describing him like that) and Caroline (an engineer from down South ... was it South Carolina or Georgia?) - and at the end of the table the American guy whose name I can't remember and the Brazilian girl who arrived late. Most of them sing together at Julliard's Chorus. All of them were very nice and at least Alice, Jane and Chiota want to join my monthly girls' nite out, specially if it's dancing at some salsa place.
I spoke to Melissa and we are going to the movies tomorrow and then to get our nails done. I will then stay at home at night to bet some work done.
As of tomorrow morning, I'd like to go get a funk class, if I wake up in time.

1:36 AM

Friday, October 04, 2002

There goes my evening workout!
It's getting very difficult to have a social and a healthy life at the same time. I really should switch my workout to the early morning, before anything else, and combine it with the hour of power. I will always have to go to the club for classes, but at least I will make sure to get the cardio out of the way.
Now instead I have to rush home from work to get something warmer to wear, slip into more comfortable shoes and head over to Bob's for a drink, before going to some Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. Kate and Lynn will be there, but that's as far as I know.

2:37 PM

I got my first $50 free freshdirect.com order. I know I'd love this service. The veggies look very nice and the strawberries smell yummy. They also sent me a loaf of frozen bread, a chocolate chip cookie and a roasted chicken, which I will oh so kindly give out to a non vegetarian colleague or homeless person.
I've been spending quite some time on the phone tonight. Spoke to my in-laws in Madrid who where worried about the shooting lunatic and then maybe 4 or 5 times with JP (hubby, not trainer), then called my friend Gabriela in Uruguay.
I've also spent some time surfing for real estate web sites. I looked for houses as far away as Larchmont, NY and Greenwich, CT and then decided that's way too far away, so I researched the New Jersey Gold Coast. There are very interesting properties to buy in several gated communities on the waterfront - I just have to get over the shock of having a NJ address (Bruce Springsteen is from NJ, right? I feel better already). In about a week, when JP is here, we'll rent a car and start window shopping for a house. He's leaving Buenos Aires in December, putting all our stuff in storage and moving in with me in January. Hopefully we will find something to buy within a year. We have yet to decide where exactly we'd like to live and I for one change my mind every five minutes. Sometimes I think I absolutely do not want to leave the city but then I am not willing to live in a shoebox for the rest of my life. Both JP and I love entertaining, so we really need some space. On the other hand I don't enjoy quiet residential areas or too much nature. I need mean city streets and bars and restaurants. I need diversity and chaos.
As usual, as I am multitasking: surfing, downloading and installing stuff and watching TV. Right now it's (once again) "Malice" with Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman and Bill Pullman. Love this movie. Love Alec Baldwin. Must be the only hairy guy I've ever liked.
Oh, and I am also looking into the price of rebounders ...

12:18 AM

Thursday, October 03, 2002

Adrenaline junkie that I am, I just had a very exciting lunch break. I was munching away with a couple of colleagues when I saw these two secret service guys run out of the cafeteria. For a moment I longly took in their feline movements and the speed at which they were running, then I finally asked myself what on earth was going on. I thought it might be a delegate having a heart attack or something (most of them are no spring chickens) but as we were leaving the cafeteria we noticed a thick crowd in the hall. We looked out into the street and saw a mob there too. By then we were already sorrounded by radio and tv people, so I just had to pump somebody for information. Seems a lunatic fired some shots at the building. Nobody has been hurt and weirdos like me have thoroughly enjoyed the display of testosterone. Few things are quite as sexy as secret service guys prancing around. Now lets forget the cheap thrills and get back to work.

2:32 PM

Wednesday, October 02, 2002

I finally made it to the club to take a funk class! And I've just turned off the tv, in a heroic display of willpower. Now I will play around with the computer for a while, then hit the sack with a book. Oh, and before I'll call hubby for a goodnite kiss.

10:25 PM

Tuesday, October 01, 2002

For some reason I can't seem to get back on my training routine. I was tired at work today and decided ro get to bed early. It's 9.15 pm and I have found a thousand things to do. Hopefully I'll be quietly reading by 10.30 so I can get up by 5.30 am or so and hit the gym first thing tomorrow morning.

Yesterday I made history. I was supposed to be at a meeting at 3 pm for precis writing. Was there all right, with a colleague from my team ... except that we got into the wrong conference room! We even went as far as sending back the French team that came down to (legitimaly) cover the meeting. We thought it was funny that the rest of our team was not showing up but we did not realize our mistake until the meeting started and the delegates were reading very strange speeches. Needless to say we had to call back the French team and scurry into the other meeting. I was trying very hard not to burst out laughing. I had had half a glass of wine at noon (at a goodbye lunch for another colleague who was retiring) but certainly not enough to lose my spatial abilities and I was with this other girl after all.To make things worse I was telling the whole story to somebody in the restroom today (I can't never keep my mouth shut) when the boss walked in. I figured it would be better for me to tell her myself before the grapevine magnifies the incident beyond recognition. Being who she is is hard for me to say wether she found the story mildly amusing or if she is now more convinced than ever of my complete idiocy.

I am happily chugging away my green drink. I was told today that Miguel Angel will be back in town next week. We were not expecting him until next year, so this is good news. Lots of nights out to the bars are in my near future.

In the meantime, it seems hubby will be here this week-end, so I might take Monday off to enjoy his company. I will see Melissa on Saturday and then maybe we could rent a car and get out of town.

Re. Tony's event: it was great, as usual. I am now planning for UPW Miami at the beginning of 203.
This time, for the second time, I helped with the special needs people and I really love it. It enables me to interact with a group of participants from day one and see the transformation. Also, some of their stories were incredible. There was this guy Frank, who was in a fire at work 20 years ago. He was not burnt but he has extensive neurological damage and is now disabled. He was in such a high after the firewalk that he actually went to talk to Tony about joining his Platinum Partnership. There was also this young woman, with her husband. She was paralyzed from the waist down because of a doctor who kept telling her to sleep out her pain and call him in the morning. She now can walk, although in a funny, wobbly way, but has no feelings in her butt and mid-section and is in pain. In the midst of this otherwise tragic stories is so refreshing to see couples going through things like this together. In Boston we had a couple where the lady had a neurogical disorder and was in constant pain. The husband spoke so lovingly of her to me it was just beautiful. I am definetely going to crew the special needs position from now on. And I hope to work with Donna again. She was just magnificent. There were also two other girls who helped a lot but I can't remember their name. I hope I will when I see them in the crew list.

And the greatest thing about this UPW was when I saw this cute little guy a had befriended at UPW Boston. He was just the nicest, most genuine, energetic guy and I remembered he was a broker and worked at or near the WTC. After Sept. 11th I was worried sick about him but, as usual, could not remember his name so it was hard to find out anything. And there he was! I saw him on Saturday afternoon, while we were helping the participants find buddies for an exercise. I kept an eye on him and eventually went to talk to him and give him a hug. He did remember me and he said he had sent me an e-mail. I never got it and I am afraid he sent it to the wrong address. I hope he calls me if it happens again. He seems like such a nice guy.

10:03 PM