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

Sunday, December 29, 2002

Lunch today at my brother�s. It was delicious: we started with orecchiette with broccoli, peperoncino and pignoli, then it was fish with olive oil and onions and fain�. Dessert was dulce de leche ice-cream with walnuts and warm chocolate. I didn�t have any but I heard it was scrumptious.
Tonight I went out with Jimena and Jose. JP stayed home. He seems to be practicing for his old age. We met my brother and three Italians friends of his at El Bonanno. The Italians were way too loud for me and the place was too smoky so Jimena, Jose and I left to have some tapas at Almendro 13 and then came back for some more wine. We did not stay long though. I must admit that I like Madrid, I like the bar, the food is great (when you can find something vegetarian, that is) but the smoke situation is really bad, not to mention the general lack of hygiene. Every single surface is sticky and the floors are a mess of paper napkins and god-know-what. I try not to focus on the filthy fingers going from my drink/food to the money and back to my drink/food. As for the restrooms, I did not dare to use them.
Tomorrow I might go shopping with Jimena.

7:41 PM

Saturday, December 28, 2002

The party was a blast. Lots of friendly people. My niece Jimena and I went first and got there at the very beginning, when very few guests had arrived. This was good because I could introduce her to Haizam and we could also get introduced to people as they walked in. I am in awe of Haizam�s organizing power. Nobody seems to say no to this guy. I have no idea of how many people were there. He thinks about 60, I tend to think more. There were people from Washington D.C. and people from NYC. People from Madrid and people coming down from Barcelona just for the party. Lots of girls, as usual. Quique came with his brother Javi. Jose - Jimena�s boyfriend - came over with three friends. Blanca was there. Mar�a Teresa too, though I did not recognize her at the beginning (new hairstyle). JP came too, a little late and in no mood for partying but at least he was there and he did not get in the way of my partying.
The bar had to close at 2 AM but Haizam had already a contingency plan at the bar just next door, which closes at 5 AM. In any case we left at about 3 AM. JP was getting seriously bored and I was seriously hungry.
Today, Saturday, we did nothing. I was in a shoe buying mood and headed to the Corte Ingl�s to do my deed but did not find anything to my liking (I want very pointy shoes on high heels). We ended up in the supermarket section buying food to last us a week.
Tomorrow ... well, today, in about 11 hours, we will have lunch with my brother as his place.

8:43 PM

Friday, December 27, 2002

Lunch with Pilar and Blanca was great. Delicious food and non stop chat. Afterwards we went to a caf� and I cabbied my way back. Amazingly the cab driver made a flattering comment about my eyes and about the rest of me too. I confess I was taken aback. It has been a while since last time I was hit on like that. I am too shocked to decide whether I enjoyed it or not. Part and parcel of being in a Latin country, I guess.
Time for a short nap/relax before getting ready for tonight�s party.
JP is still at the hospital with my mother-in-law. She has Crohn's Disease and was not feeling well today.

1:29 PM

Thursday, December 26, 2002

Dinner at Teatriz. Two stops for drinks after dinner. First one at Bar Chipote, second one I forget the name but will post it tomorrow.
Had my haircut at Llongueras this afternoon and I am very happy with it, though totally appalled at the lack of higyene of the salon and the sight of old women smoking away and chatting with voices so raspy they sounded like transvestites.
Given that I was wondering around the house until 7.30 AM yesterday, then managed to get about 3 hours sleep, maybe I should get something to munch and then try and get some sleep. I am meeting Pilar and Blanca tomorrow for lunch and I have Haizam�s party at night.

10:24 PM

Wednesday, December 25, 2002

Seems JP has decided to spend his time watching videos. Should I kill him or just ignore him? So far I have chosen the latter.
I am going to the hairdresser tomorrow see if they can do something about my perpetual bad hair day. I will then call Pilar and Quique to invite them over to Haizam�s party.

8:35 PM

I am in Madrid now, barely able to move after eating way too much turr�n. The trip was almost uneventful. I was sitting beside a big black guy with a big baby on his lap but fortunately there was a seat available across the aisle which I claimed as mines as soon as dinner was served. That was good for me but also for the poor father, otherwise he would have lost an arm to gangrene from holding the child on the 6 hours flight.
So I moved to the other seat and chitchatted for a while with the guy sitting beside me. Very nice young fellow from Senegal who has been to school in NY but now lives in Senegal. We switched from English to French but it did not take long for the conversation to die, especially after he said he disliked NY and the US in general. He actually said, with no embarrassment at all, that he prefers the suburbs. That was a major conversation killer.
As usual, I kept scanning the plane for somebody easy on the eyes but was dismayed at the curiously unattractive people surrounding me (it is a very strange thing indeed when I can�t pick out somebody in a crowd to lust after). I thought I had been particularly unlucky but then we landed in Lisbon and I found myself surrounded by the most ghastly looking people I had ever seen. Boy, are the Portuguese ugly! How did the Brazilians get to be so gorgeous?
Re. JP�s present (a 17� flat screen monitor - I can say it now) needless to say, it never made it to Madrid. The airline has not even figured out if it left NY at all. I am almost sure it was stolen either in NY or in Lisbon.

Technical note: VNC is not working. I can�t connect to Rory. I hope it did not go down.

11:58 AM

Monday, December 23, 2002

I am off.

7:13 PM

It figures I would be sick. Not really really sick, but your garden variety running nose and itchy throat kind of sick. Actually yesterday I wasn't feeling too good. When I finally got home I got a glimpse of myself in the mirror I had my hair pasted to my face, in that that oh-so-attractive I've-got-a-fever look. I collapsed on the bed fully dressed for an hour or so and then of course I was up and about the rest of the night. Seems I can live on a couple of hours of sleep a night! It is now almost 5 AM and I spent the night trying to write an applescript that would watch a folder and e-mail me new items added to it (so that I can use movement sensors with my webcam). So far I've managed to have the script use smtp authentication but I've yet to find a way to send attachments without opening any mail application. Also, the script has to kick in only when there's a new item in the folder and has to send me only the new items. Anyway, I will now update the data on my iBook and do some packing (I will be checking JP's present as luggage so I can only take one suitcase with me). Later I have to do some last minute shopping. A car will be picking me up at 7.30, although my flight leaves at 10.55.

5:05 AM

Sunday, December 22, 2002

Of course I did not stay home.
After lunch I cabbed downtown to get Melissa but she had other plans, so I just gave her her presents and got mine, which I I haev yer to open although I did read the card. Lovely.
I then went to CompUSA to ge J.P. and my brother their presents. I have yet to decide whether I will take JP's present with me to Madrid or whether I will just keep it here.
In the evening M.A. and I went to Opal and then the Divine Bar where we joined by Debra, after her late night shopping at Macy's.
I have so many things to do tomorrow I stress out just thinking about it.

2:42 AM

Saturday, December 21, 2002

I might not sleep at all tonight. I was exhausted when I got home from work (and certainly not from working too hard) and dozed off for a while. I seem to be on some crazy hormonal rollercoast and on top of that I never remember to take my iron supplements so there are moments when my energy suddenly disappears. Problem is I slept for an hour or so, mayble less, but enough to keep me awake the rest of the night.
Tomorrow Melissa will come with me on my frantic last minute Xmas shopping. I have to buy a present for JP and another for my brother. I have some ideas but I am not going to post them in case they are reading the blog.
In the evening I'll probably stay home, unless I have an early dinner with Debra because Sunday I have to shlep over to Union City for brunch at Mario's. M.A. will be cooking another paella.
I am now going back to configuring the sensors on my webcam.

3:11 AM

Friday, December 20, 2002

Pam left this evening for D.C. but might be back for New Year's Eve, though I will not be back till a few days later.
Tonight has been very quiet, I've mostly been playing with the computer. I have to decide on a new Internet provider now that DirectTV went down. I have a couple in mind, but I needt to make sure that I will have a static IP, that I will be able to run a server and that it will work with Macs.

This coming weekend will be hectic as I have yet to buy all the presents, except for the ones for Melissa. I also have to to take care of the tips for the doormen and the maintenance people of my building. I have to pack for the trip. So far I have a to do list of more than a dozen items to be completed before Monday.

Christina Aguilera is on SNL on Comedy Central now. I am not sure who I dislike more, it's either her or Mariah Carey (who, btw, was on Larry King's tonight). Both have this slutty look (Aguilera is fixated onshowing off her navel and Carey can't seem to find any dress wider than a belt) and both have a tendency to transform every simple little pop song into a three act operafest.

Pam just called: she got an eMac from Tayikistan (not his real name, of course). I am turning green ...

12:51 AM

Thursday, December 19, 2002

You know you are middle-aged when you go to a party and the main topic is fertility issues and sperm motility, not to mention playing sing along Beatles' songs on the guitar ..

2:30 AM

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Saw 42nd Street. LOVED IT!

1:07 AM

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

Had lunch today with Pam, Francia, her sister and her cousin, both very pretty and nice girls. After work Pam and I went out for a demented little stroll in the freezing cold, stopped at Bloomie's and tried to get to Barney (they were closing). Just before losing our noses and ears to frostbite we settled for dinner at a Mexican joint a couple of blocks from home. Then it was a supermarket stop for candy and trashy magazine before coming back to my nicely heated apartment.
Well, as nice as my apartment is, I am in the mood for change, as usual. On Wed. I have an appoitment to see two duplex apartments on 58th St.
In the same spirit of change I tried out a red shampoo this morning that turned my hair way redder than a regular dye. I like it. So of course I am changing it again. I will wash it off tomorrow morning and I will try the brown one.

12:01 AM

Monday, December 16, 2002

We took a walk with Pam and her cousin Jeff to Rockefeller Center and Time Square before getting him to his car. He drove us to Broadway and 78th before taking off to Washigtonville, wherever that might be.
Pam and I had dinner with Debra at Ruby Foo's. More than dinner this was a decadent feast with several margaritas, tons of food and way too much dessert (we had both the chocolate cake AND the bento box). The only way to avoid a heart attack upon arrival was to walk all the way back home - also a great way of getting to see the windows at Bergdorf & Goodman and Sacks without half a million tourists climbing on our backs. Hopefully we'll do Barney's tomorrow after work.

Negotiations have been extended and we still do not know whether we will have a mass transit strike or not.

12:58 AM

Sunday, December 15, 2002

A wonderful party. So wonderful I never left. At 6 AM there were six of us still there, so I just slept over. The apartment is so spacious, palatial by NYC standards, with a great view and the best shower ever (the water comes down so strong that you might as well wear a helmet). The guests were from all over the world and very friendly. When I walked in there was just this one very handsome guy. For some reason he looked a bit gay to me and when he told me he's a flight attendant for United I just knew he was gay. Well, turns out he is not. Halfway through our conversation I had the weird feeling he was actually flirting, although it took a while to register. (Un)fortunately he had come with his car and he had to leave early.

I shall never assume somebody's sexual orientation again. I shall never assume somebody's sexual orientation again. I shall never assume somebody's sexual orientation again.

There were two surprises at the party too. A minor one and a major one. The minor one was Steve showing up. I had last seen him more than 2 years ago and he has just recently come back to the States. It was good seeing him and he looks as fine as usual. He is also a very sweet guy AND he likes to dance.
The major surprise was that Vivienne and Randy got married. Actually they were already married when they came to my dinner several weeks ago! He proposed the second time they spoke on the phone (they had seen each other only once) and they married three weeks later! He seems like a great guy and they both look so happy so more power to them. They will have their formal wedding sometime next year.

Anyway, I woke this morning at 11 and helped Pascale and Zenia clean up the place while Johanny slept a little longer. After breakfast I headed to Century 21 to buy some presents. Needless to say I bought 2 presents for Melissa and a whole lot of things for myself. I am now at home waiting for Pam, who is driving in from D.C. with her little cousin (littles as in 20-years-old). She will stay with me for a few days.

The mass transit strike situation has not been resolved yet.

4:46 PM

Saturday, December 14, 2002

Logistics are so difficult! I met Javier at the Lincoln Center to watch Bob perform with the Juilliar Choral Union . Amazingly, I liked it very much. I saw Mel there and we agreed to meet at the door with her and Bob so they could decide whether thay wanted to hang out with us or not. Javier and I waited for about 10/15 minutes, it was too crowded to see anybody so we left (patience has never been one of my strong points). It did not help that I was also frantically juggling cell phone calls to try to get everybody together. Debra had just had a deep tissue massage and was staying home dry and cozy. Francia was waiting for instructions at home. The C. bros were going out for drinks in the neighborhood and were going to call us later on. For Chrissake!!!! Finally Javier and I headed out, to the pouring cold rain, walked a few blocks and decided we'd rather go back to a more familiar part of town. We ended up at this Greek place on 2nd Ave. and 50th St. Francia arrived a few minutes later with Danny (I finally got to meet him) and that was it. Miguel never called. Haizam could not make it and Luis, as expected, declined. The C. bros, having been unable to get through to me on my cell (no wonder!), left a message for us to meet them at some club near home. We never did. We stayed put at the Greek joint, we had some dinner (a few shared tapas) and a couple of bottles of wine, and we talked a lot. I mostly loudly disagreed with Danny but it really doesn't matter, I love a heated debate.
I am now home, ready for my restorative sleep. I will check my spelling and content tomorrow and make the appropiate changes (done). Good nite!

2:10 AM

Friday, December 13, 2002

I have this neighbour who has the same erratic sleeping patterns as I do. I can see his big screen TV from my bedroom window. He has it on until the wee hours and then this morning, at 6 AM, a few minutes after I turned on my TV, he turned his on too.
Right now I am watching the breaking news, i.e. the resignation of Cardinal Law. It was about time!

7:18 AM

Thursday, December 12, 2002

Tonight will be a quite night. Francia is on her way to have dinner here at home. Will probably watch a lot of TV.
Tomorrow's Bob's concert and Saturday it's Pascale ad Johanny's X-mas party.

7:15 PM

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

Detox day today: only veggies and water. Mind detox too: saw Nutcracker at Rockefeller Center and loved it. I guess I will never be truly cool as long as this kitchy side of me keeps finding a way out! The theatre was packed with moms and little girls in velvet dresses (some dads and little boys were in attendance too). Just across from us there was this poor ugly little thing, skinny and bookish looking, in a black velvet dress with a string of pearls around her neck and a headband worn low on her forehead. Some parents deserve to be shot.

11:26 PM

OK, I tried Casting in Sunset Golden Copper thinking I would end up a redhead. Nonsense. A bare wash of colour. Will have to try something else.
Went to Dess'ys today and left around 9.15 PM to meet Francia at O'Neils. Haizam was working late and everybody else was in bed early. I also got lousy news: JP will not be moving in with me in January. It was to be expected. Maybe I should be happy for him. I am just too pissed right now to even consider that possibility. Of course this stupid allergy that had been plaguing me for a couple of days has gotten much worse.

12:30 AM

Tuesday, December 10, 2002

Should I buy a wig?

2:04 PM

I am struggling with a very very very bad hair day, but at least I found this profound truth on a hair styles web site: "Wanting a new hair style every few weeks is not fickle, it is merely evidence of being multidimensional". I could not agree more.
In any case, I am off to Dessy's for a glass of champagne after work. That was my plan for the evening, hence the godawful hairdo, but now M.A. informed me his brother will be calling me this afternoon to go to a bar I am sure to love. I can't possible go out with hair like this. I must stop at home and grab some wax. What will I do with it depends on what my web research comes up with.

1:55 PM

Simply put: I-did-not-get-it. I loved the music though.
Before the show Francia and I went to the Manchester Pub with Miguel, to be joined by M.A.
After the show we had dinner with Javier at "The Greek Kitchen" on 10 Ave. at the corner of 58th St., where we were joined by Emilio for a last drink. As usual, they kicked us out.
I have high hopes of getting some decent sleep tonight.
Also, my brother-in-law confirmed my ticket to Madrid: I am leaving on Dec. 23rd and coming back on Jan.3rd.

12:27 AM

Monday, December 09, 2002

For some unknown reason when I am in high spirits and having fun (which in my book it is defined as seeing people, dancing furiously and having wonderful conversations) I get two very distinct cravings: sex and art. The sex I will eventually get, so that's settled. The artsy mood is yours truly yearning to express her joyous self. I keep seeing things I'd like to replicate and. modestly, to make better: bright colored paintings, figurines and, above all, mobiles. I'd definetely like to try my hand at making mobile sculptures, unleashing the Calder in me. On my wishlist for my birthday next year there will be a piece from this guy in Laguna Beach, CA. that does the kind of stuff I am crazy about and that I have been coveting for years now. I've also just discovered Romero Britto (just as in yesterday) and I am already in love with his sculptures.

3:16 PM

This week is cultural life week. Javier bought tickets for tonight's "Winterreise" and for "Nutcracker" on Wednesday. I am sure I can squeeze in some bar hopping too. So far, I also have two parties on Saturday.
The boss just walked in. Time to stop blogging.

11:47 AM

Of course I did not fall asleep until 4 AM ... too busy on the computer. I just uploaded some pictures from the season's first snow.

8:48 AM

Sunday, December 08, 2002

From CNN.com "Iraq's declaration on weapons of mass destruction was delivered to United Nations headquarters in New York soon after arriving at John F. Kennedy Airport Sunday evening. Arabic translators were called to the U.N. to translate some of the documents immediately. ". I can see we will be busy with weapon lists till the end of our natural life.

11:32 PM

Today it was the fair at Union Square with Debra and Francia, a late lunch at Zen Palate (where I saw this adorable broker I met twice at Tony's seminars. This is the one I was afraid might have died on 9/11, so every time I see him, even from afar, I am elated - plus, he's just the sweetest guy) and then took the train (yes, the train - too cold to wait for a cab in the wide open spaces) to Grand Central, bought a stack of tabloid magazines and came home to enjoy the evening. I promply fell asleep and I am now awake with my throat on fire and ready to download some Manu Chao songs from Gnutella.

11:24 PM

I'm back home on this busy Saturday. It started as usual with the phone call to my mother, then I picked up Melissa and took her out to lunch at this place she wanted to try (Sammy's). We then spent the afternoon walking around and getting in and out of shops. I bought her a hat she really wanted and she probably needed, given the freezing temperature. I left her at home a around 6 PM and headed to 2nd Ave. and 2nd St. to meet Francia, Preetee (sp?) and her friend Maureen at the Anthology Film Archive to watch "Love, Passion and other stories". I loved "La Primera Vez" and hated the one about the "patatas". After the shorts went to Marie Anne's, a Mexican place with great margaritas. We had a totally Sex and the City kind of evening, talking loudly about men and sex, confessing deep shameful secrets (I can't believe some women still fake orgasms most of the time!!!!), passing judgement and laughing really loud. Preetee and Maureen called it a night after dinner but Francia and I walked all the way home. Or almost home, should we say. Because it was too early to go home, we headed to an Irish Pub on 2nd Ave. and spent hours chatting away with a couple of glasses of mine.
My throat is now on fire, from the cold and the cigarette smoke, and by carrying a conversation over loud music (we were just by the juke-box).
I need my beauty sleep now so I can go out again tomorrow ...

4:11 AM

Friday, December 06, 2002

I waited and waited for Johanny's call this morning. It never came, so I just fell asleep again for a couple of hours.

Agostino sent me the link to his new website (Agostino Reportages). It looks great.

3:52 PM

As usual after a day of slacking I woke up very early. I was watching TV and doing my fingernails at 4.30 AM! I'll get ready to get to the gym now and I hope not to freeze on my way there.

5:14 AM

Thursday, December 05, 2002

Perfect wasted day. I did not get a foot out of the door at all. So much for the beautiful snow or the laughing yoga. Way too cold and a major snow storm. I did practically nothing, except call Francia to gossip about yesterday and call my friend Gabriela in Uruguay, then chat with Pam, then with Debra and then with Sergio from California (he called and it was the first time we've spoken in probably 2 years). I also talked to JP at least a couple of times. Except for my usual communication overload I did not accomplish much.
I am half frozen. I have the heat on but it's still cold in here. Time to get under the comforter. I am watching "Married in America" on A&E. Fascinating.

9:55 PM

There's a snow storm out there! Great. I now need a hot shower, lots of layers and I am out!

11:29 AM

Everybody is gone now, the kitchen is almost done and I am a happy camper. Things started very slow tonight and for a moment I thought the evening would flop. M.A. and Quique left early to catch some sleep before their early flight to New Orleans tomorrow morning. Francia, Javier, Luis and Loreto stayed and we eased into a nice conversation. A quite evening (I even forgot to put some music on) but an enjoyable one. They left a little while ago with lots of leftovers. My freezer and fridge are full too. My learning experience today: I was reminded once again of why I should not judge people too quickly, if at all.

I am off work tomorrow. If it snows as it should I'll run to Central Park and snap lots of pictures. I'd also like to take this Laughing Yoga Class in the evening.

2:41 AM

Wednesday, December 04, 2002

Got an e-mail message from my sister, conveying a message for me from my mother's shrink: he says he has repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to write an answer to my fax but has found the task too difficult. He would prefer to talk to me face to face. Given that I have no plans of going home for while, it sounds like a cop out to me. And sending my sister as a messenger it's the pits.

3:14 PM

Tuesday, December 03, 2002

I am not going anywhere tonight. It's very very cold out there. "Deep freeze", as defined by the weatherman. I have a few faxes to send, e-mails to answer, bills to pay - plenty of things to keep me busy. I should also get rid of several bags of magazines and junk, but that's a should, not a must, and that's the way it's going to stay at least until tomorrow.
I'd like to get up very early tomorrow again, so I have time to rebound for a minimum of half an hour and maybe even highlight my hair a bit before work.
Then, in the evening, it's paella time and about 8 to 10 people should show up. I still have to buy the wine and I will probably fix a salad and some entree yet to be decided (I am a very relaxed host).
Going on to more meaningful things, I feel I've been slacking in the CANI department and must get on track immediately. Have to remember to be aware of what I do and why I do it. I also have to ask myself the right questions.
Time to get some stuff done on my mac AND get ready to watch the Osbournes.

9:43 PM

Shit! It happened again! My blog entry disappeared before I had time to post it! I really don't want to write it again. It had links to all the restaurants that Emilio recommended to me. It will have to wait because I'd like to get some sleep or at least some rest.

12:56 AM

Monday, December 02, 2002

My upstairs neighbor called. We are meeting at about 10 PM for a drink and baseball at a nearby Irish pub.
I froze my butt this morning walking around town at 6 AM waiting for the gym to open (I thought it opened at 6 AM but is opens at 6.30 AM - Crunch opens at 5 AM so it might be a better choice if I get in a demented early morning exercise mindset again tomorrow morning). I am still very cold, yet here I am, going out again. Some things never change.

9:42 PM

I am up and surfing. I'll have breakfast now and get to the gym before work.

5:28 AM

Sunday, December 01, 2002

Halleluja! I finally hit the gym! I ran a little over a lousy 2 miles but it's better than nothing and it feels great.

5:53 PM

My tree is up but I can�t find the rest of the X-mas decorations!

2:41 PM

It's a gorgeus day out there!

10:44 AM

I've just written a blog that did not post. Shit!
Anyways ... great music but too many white frat boys. Too much of an age gap and the only one who danced turned out to be gay, as usual. Argh!
We cancelled the paella tomorrow and postponed it to Wed. Now I only have to hope that nobody will show up tomorrow demanding to be fed!
Re. my X-mas plans, I just read a message from my brother-in-law. The best he can do is a ticket for $1.660. I think I'd rather stay in NY. Now all we have to see is whether JP can find a ticket from Geneva to NYC for the holydays. I have a funny feeling already ...
something is brewing ...

3:42 AM