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

Tuesday, September 30, 2003

It's midnight and I will be leaving in a few minutes. Where's everybody?

11:54 PM

Got home by 2.30 AM yesterday and was up by 9 AM today. I am in a lousy lousy mood and have a really bad headache. At least I took an IQ test on the net and I am happy to report that I am not totally retarded. I also convinced myself that had I not been answering at least 4 calls while taking the test I would probably have scored higher. My ego needs a lift today.

I really really hope to be done earlier tonight. Everybody is going out for dinner and I HATE to be left out!

12:18 PM

Still at the office. And I will be here for another hour or so.
I have been fed a very steady stream of work but nothing that I could not handle ... or so I think. I won't know for sure until tomorrow. If I get a frantic call first thing in the morning telling me about the hordes of delegates ambulating from one end of the building to the other, looking for non existing conference rooms or meetings, I'll know I could have done a better job.

Something amazing happened this morning. I got to the gym at 10.30 AM, convinced that the place was going to be empty because hardly anybody works out in the middle of the morning. Yeah, sure. Big mistake. There wasn't one frigging treadmill available! I had to settle for 45 minutes on the elliptical machine. But I notice that by the time I was done only a couple of treadmills were still taken, which means I'd better go a little later tomorrow.

Interesting article on CNN today:Survey: Women ditch stigma, seek younger men. Duh! They should have interviewed me. I've been preaching the virtues of younger men since I was young myself!

12:29 AM

Monday, September 29, 2003

I repaired the broken link to Jorge Schubert's picture but just in case, let me throw in another couple of photos: one, two and, well, three.

9:37 AM

Sunday, September 28, 2003

It's Sunday, of course. My kinda Sunday. Did I go to the gym? No. Did I at least rebound? Niet. Did I watch M.A.'s DVDs? Forget it. Did I cross out any item off my to do list? No. Did I do anything that could be construed as vaguely constructive? Of course not. Did I leave the house at all? Nope, not since Friday night!!!!
I spent the whole day watching made-for-TV movies and reruns of reality shows I had already seen. I bought some songs from the Apple iTunes site. I sent a couple of e-mails. I had a green mixed salad, an order of sautee spinach and three (yup, three) shrimps delivered. A milestone kind of day.
I am now watching Kid Rock and Hank Williams Jr. on CMT Crossroads but I've seen parts of it before so I will try to find some horror flick on pay-per-view and then go back to my book: Blood of Others, by Rick Mofina.
I have, of course, the worst case of heartburn ever. Quiet living does not suit me.

IMed my brother-in-law today and then spoke to my sister-in-law. She is coming next week, probably with my mother-in-law, probably with one of my nieces, probably with her boyfriend. I am afraid it's going to get a little hectic here.

I have now switched to GAC to drool over these very sexy, masculine and yet sensitive cowboys while zapping back and forth to K Street, the new series on HBO.

Tomorrow's Monday! Yay! The Sunday curse will be over!

9:50 PM

Saturday, September 27, 2003

I did not get to see Melissa today. By the time I managed to get through the constantly busy phone line she had already left with a friend of her mother's. So I stayed home. Took a long bath bath with scented oil and then got hooked on The Critical Hour, a medical reality show I had yet to discover. Zapping through the channels I also ran into Alejandra, a crappy Venezuelan soap opera (for some reason transmitted in Portuguese on cable) with one very important asset: Jorge Schubert. This guy was a consuming erotic obsession of mine for the few months I lived in Uruguay. I even went to Buenos Aires to see him play on stage. And I made my cousin give him a letter. Yes. I can't believe I am confessing to this. It's so pathetic. I am very prone to these major crushes. I thought they would getter better with age, say, past 13, but there's no sign of improvement. I am well on my way to being a sadly perverted old lady.

Speaking of crushes I just watched for the umptieth time Jerry McGuire on TV. Never mind that I also own a DVD copy of the movie. I love the story, love the flick and Tom Cruise's weepy "You complete me" line can send me into spasms of ecstasy within seconds, no matter how many time I've seen it. It is very hard for me to imagine a more attractive male than Tom Cruise in this movie, except maybe Tom Cruise in other movies ...

Does Putin have to look like a Russian mafioso? All he's missing is a gold tooth!

11:22 PM

9:06 PM

What's the deal with portion sizes? We had dinner yesterday at Cowgirl Hall of Fame and I could barely eat half of my veggie burger (frankly, nothing to write home about and the margaritas were nothing special either). Enrique had most of his food doggy-bagged. After dinner we were all so full and sluggish we could barely pop in at the White Horse Tavern for a beer before going home. It's never a good idea to stuff your face when you want to have a lively night out.

I should be seeing my little sister Melissa for lunch today and then I need to shop for a new shower curtain. As for this evening, it's going to be quiet. Monse and her friend are in D.C. today, Pilar and Paulino are in Florida and Nicolas is busy, so I am planning on an evening at home. Hopefully I will be watching at least one of M.A.'s DVDs. He's coming back next week (finally!), after a month away, and I am too ashamed to admit that in all this time I could never find a couple of hours to watch a stinking movie!

10:41 AM

Friday, September 26, 2003

You can always count on Gawker for a link to a refreshing article.

Tonight's Gemma's last evening in NY (until next year) so we are meeting at Monse's and then going out for dinner. I haven't had food, nor water for that matter, since my Japanese dinner yesterday. It almost killed me but I should be doing fine later on.

3:57 PM

The problem when I stay home in the evening and get to sleep relatively early is that I wake up too soon. Before 4 AM today. I am not sure I want to be at the gym at 5 AM ... might try to get some more sleep or might work on that document. It's still pitch dark out there.

4:48 AM

Thursday, September 25, 2003

Everybody was dead today and not a soul was willing to go out again tonight, so here I am, home. I got Japanese food delivered and I am now debating wether to read or watch tv. I will certainly get up early tomorrow morning, get to the gym and get to the office very early so I can finish a document before anybody gets there.
Tomorrow evening we are going out for Gemma's last day in NYC.

Uploaded the postings from the plane (see Sep. 22 and 23). Pictures will follow shortly.

9:53 PM

I sort of took care of the catering side of Nicolas's get-together. I love organizing parties so it was no big deal. Pilar, Paulino, Miguel, Teresa, Enrique, Monse, Mario were there. After a while this Italian guy showed up, Beppe, from Naples. He mostly stayed with Gemma and her friends Esther and Benja until most people had left. Then we started talking, and talking, and talking. He was not what I would usually consider my style but then he was cute and very bright and of course we had all this Italian thing going. Talk Talk talk all night long.
He said if having company was my problem he was going to stick with me until the end of the night, which he did. Nicolas, Miguel, Gemma, Benja, Esther, Beppe and I went first to the Opal but, upon finding the place dead, cabbied down to Splash. There was a wet underwear contest going. Veeeery easy on the eyes. After a while Gemma, Benja and Esther left and Nicolas, Miguel, Beppe and I stayed. Miguel disappeared almost immediately to do God-knows-what and Nicolas and I kept on dancing, with Beppe just staying there, barely moving.
Anyways, it was fun, it reminded me of what a wonderful time I could be having was I not married.
Better try to get some sleep. More blogging tomorrow.

4:07 AM

Back from lots of places. Too tired to blog. Have a meeting tomorrow morning with my boss' boss. Better not be late.
Oh, boy ...

4:04 AM

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

No blogging yesterday night. No jogging this morning.
From the gallery Pilar, her brother, Monse and I went to a Mexican place on Bleecker St. were I had a super duper margarita, a potent stuff the waiter warned me about, and a banana margarita with some guacamole and quesadillas. I also got to meet the bus boy, a guy from Montevideo, of all places.
Side note: on our way to the Mexican place I saw this guy I met at UPW (see the posting for Tuesday, October 01, 2002) and that I keep bumping into ever since. I did not say hi to him because he was talking to somebody else but now I am all excited about seeing him in November and maybe crewing with him.
From the Mexican joint we went to Kenny's Castaway where, in an display of admirable restraint, I ordered a cranberry juice. It was a good move on my part. The band was so strident I could have turned violent had I had any more alcohol in my system.
Just had a chat with my boss. I know she is no runner-up for a popularity contest, but she has always been good to me. I was trying to figure out how to spend as much time possible with JP when he comes for his stent procedure and I could not have asked for a more accommodating response on her part.

12:39 PM

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

Arrived this morning at 7.45 AM but did not get home until 10.00 AM. The traffic was horrific, thanks to George W. and his appearance at the UN. The weather was worse. I decided to wait it out a little at home and have lunch before coming to work at about 1 PM. It's 4.30ish now and in a while a bunch of us will be leaving to go to the opening of a gallery in Soho. I am not planning on staying out too late cause I want to publish the posts I wrote on the plane and upload some pictures tonight. I also want to run tomorrow early in the morning.

4:32 PM

I don't care how many flights I've taken, I always approach them with a sense of wonderment. This hopping on a giant structure that will somehow propel itself and me with it in the air and take me miles and miles away in a few hours never ceases to amaze me. I am always struck also by how different things are from one country to another. People, customs, food ...
In Buenos Aires and Uruguay, as always, I see my father everywhere. It never happens to me in the US. HereI see his facial features and his kind of body in the men around me. I also see his style, the way he used to dress, move, talk. That peculiar mixture of Italian and Spanish roots.
We will be landing in about an hour. The babies were perfect, they slept all through the night. I never got to see any of the movies. I zonked out early on and woke up at 6 AM. Not an unpleasant flight all together. I am coming back home.

7:03 AM

Monday, September 22, 2003

Good news: I have an aisle seat and nobody's in the window seat beside me.
Bad news: to my left, in two four-seats rows there are 3 mothers with a toddler each.
Lets see how it goes.
The iPod is playing relaxation sounds. It is a little strange to be in a plane surrounded by the sounds of a thunderstorm, but I love it. My Sony noise canceling earphones help a lot too.
I've checked the airline magazine and one of the movies featured tonight is the Matrix Reloaded. Yay!
So ...
Going back to Buenos Aires on Sunday was a struggle. As usual we did it in JP's time, which means we got to the boat 2 minutes before departure. And when I say 2 minutes I mean 2 minutes, as in exactly 160 seconds. Lucky for us the guys at the ticket counter know him very well and they waited for us.
We had dinner at a friend's restaurant and I decided to have meat. My twice a year meat and what better place to have it than Buenos Aires? JP and I shared a piece of corpse. I ate maybe a third of my half. Had I tried to eat the whole thing I would have probably needed hospitalization.
Today we had lunch together at a great reastaurant called Il Gran Caruso. The decor is nice, it's situated in a great area, the food is spectacular and the owner is a very cordial man. Once a week he has people singing opera on the patio. Thank God it was not today.
As usual, a little fight here, a little argument there, and by the time we have to part ways again things are smoothed out and it sucks to leave. He will come to NYC pretty soon though, for his stent procedure.
I am sitting on the wing, this things should not be shaking as much, damn it!
Sunday we had lunch at my mother's, with my sister and her husband. It ended with JP trying out my mom's pellet gun.
I had barely time to get back to the hotel and see Liliana for a few minutes before leaving to Colonia to catch the boat back to Buenos Aires.
I am glad to report that Liliana' s husband-to-be has a magnificent body. Not that I had a chance to take a good look (I mostly saw him sitting down at a table but I did indeed notice the nice square shoulders), but she assures me he's hot and I have no reason to doubt it. He does an hour of serious weight training every morning and then proceeds to ride a stationary bike for an hour. In the evening, every evening, he runs outdoors for another hour. He does the whole protein supplements thing too. He's getting in top shape for the wedding. Should make for an interesting honeymoon. I wonder if she would be willing to give me some intimate pictures.
The lady in the seat before me keeps leaning back and is just about to lay down on my lap. One more inch and I'll be forced to type with my teeth.
The wedding on Saturday: very classy affair. The bride looked beautiful and the groom was beaming.
Side note: one of the toddlers needs a change of diapers. Fast. Preferably before dinner.
Back to the wedding. The party was at a big event with dozens of tables. JP estimates about 350 guests. I have absolutely no clue, I can only say there were plenty of people.
I particularly loved the flower arrangements and the table decoration.
We got there while Katja was getting a hundred million photos taken outside the house. We waited inside until she was done and then I went to congratulate her. She was, as usual, very affectionate and hugged me again and again before demanding a picture of the two of us. I hope the picture finds its way to a trash can fast.
The guy behind just asked me for a pen. No problemo, but why did he had to pick his nose at that exact momentwhile talking to me?
Oh, the wedding ... J.P. and I sat down at a table of complete strangers and J.P. proceeded to talk non stop until it was time to leave or, more accurately, until they decided they had to leave. I can't believe this is the same man who hardly said a word years ago. He was the silent type then. Now it's like he has a 3-hours-speech prepared for just about any subject known to man. The economy in South East Asia? Moral decadence and the decline of religion based values? The fine points of Italian cuisine? Fashion? No issue is beyond an opinionated expose.
It is funny, in a way. He might be the only person who can shut me up. And then he will ask me wide-eyed "Is everything OK? Why are you so quiet?", like there ever was an opening for me to say anything!
Katja came to the table with her grandmother to introduce her to me. The lady was stunning, as is Katja's mom, and very nice. I am always introduced as "Katja's other mom" and it's a nice feeling. The girl is adorable.
I liked everything about the wedding except the music, which I hated with a passion. I have no idea what the hell it was but my informants tell me it's the typical wedding music in Uruguay at the moment. A disgrace. But the young crowd was going crazy, jumping up and down and screaming and sweating, so I guess I'm the one with the problem.
Liliana has promised to play real music at her wedding and she'd better not make me travel all the way from NY to not make me dance.
Is the guy behind me giving me back my pen or what?

10:21 PM

The photos from the wedding are up. Click on the little camera icon on the upper left

10:51 AM

Sunday, September 21, 2003

Briefly. Will expand later.
Missed the 8 o'clock boat. Could not get in touch with my sister yesterday. Did to go the Mercado del Puerto with two friends while JP had a nap. I had a great time. The place was ultrapacked, you could not move an inch. We headed directly to Roldos and Liliana spotted a bunch of friends at the bar. I had plenty of "medio y medio" (sweet wine mixed with sparkling wine) and practically no food. The friends of my friends were obviously gay but not out of the closet. Very pretty boys. Ended up trying not to get french kissed by one of them and inviting him to the wedding (!!!????). One of the topics of conversation: plastic surgery procedures. People here are having very bizarre things done.
Back to the hotel by 5.30 PM. Met Liliana's future husband. Had a Manhattan.
A few minutes later collapsed dead (and more than a little tipsy) on the bed. Could not wake up for the wedding. JP had to go by himself - actually, with a friend of his.
He did come back to get me for the party though. More about the party later (and pictures). In any case, it was a very elaborated affair with tons of people. We got back to the hotel past 3 AM.
Today, Sunday, it will be lunch at my mother's.

Published the posting from the airplane.

9:54 AM

Friday, September 19, 2003

JP got home past 5 PM and tried to make me happy by taking me to a happy hour. No such luck. Way too early for the South American way. After an hour spent in traffic we just came back home. He is now in the living room entertaining one of our guests (the topic are either politics or international trade - absolutely riveting) who arrived today from Geneva, Switzerland. In an hour or so we are meeting with more friends (Ra�l�s brother and his wife) for dinner.
Tomorrow we will be taking the 8 o�clock boat to Montevideo. With a little luck I�ll have enough time to hit the gym before meeting a friend of mine for drinks and lunch at the Mercado del Puerto.

I have to post the entry written on the plane, but will probably do so tomorrow.

7:05 PM

I have been here only a few hours and I already had enough of politics. JP picked me up at the airport (a little late, so I had time to find out that my cell works in Buenos Aires - this could great news except for ATT�s roaming charges) and we came straight home to meet with a politician friend and have breakfast at a little new coffee shop across the street. Had my fill of chummy-chummy stories with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and God knows who else. It was non stop politics all through breakfast. They are now gone to a meeting and then lunch at the Embassy. I am staying home, surfing and IMing my sister. I might nap a little too.
JP said something about eventually going for some political office. I really hope he was joking because my answer was swift. If he is planning on any kind of future in public life I am filing for divorce. Immediately.
Seems my little sister is being prepped for a brighter future too, but then I am not married to her.

9:12 AM

Thursday, September 18, 2003

FInally airborne. Got my iBook running and my iPod playing some lively tunes to get my mind off frigging Isabel. Actually the take-off was extremely smooth, not a bump, not a jolt. Now I can look forward to some God-awful plane movies and some worse food, though it will probably taste delicious compared to the fare at the UN's cafeteria. I can't believe I forgot to order a vegetarian meal! Lets hope there's something else besides beef.
The real problem with this aircraft is that is smells like urine. Real bad.
The check-in went smoothly too. No line and no hassle. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to check Raul's huge suitcase Raul but the flight is not full so they did not give me grief.
I am now in travel mood, happy to be gone and happier yet that I will be coming back.
I actually feel like jumping up and down, jogging or even better dancing - all things I can hardly do on a plane. I wonder if they would ever consider installing a treadmill on a plane. It would be a major hit.

Yesterday, Wednesday, after I finished a rather difficult text - well, difficult to me, which is not exactly the same and I am not even happy with what I came up with - I met Monse and Gemma at Chevy's on 8th Ave. and 42nd Street for margaritas and some Mexican snacks. Pilar joined after she was done, at 10 o'clock or so. Second stop was this pretty terrace around 48th St. .Nicolas came over when it was almost closing but he had time to down a margarita.
My way back home had a little drama to it. I was dying to go to the bathroom, rushing home. I get there, dive headfirst into the elevator and of course, as these things tend to go, I could not just press my floor number and adopt a pretzel position in the elevator. For one thing, the damn thing has a camera and its images are there to see to not only the doormen but just anybody who walks into the building or feels like hanging out in the hall. Then matters got worse and the elevator stopped at the mezzanine to let in some guy doing late night laundry. I couldn't even say hi to him for fear of losing my concentration. Maybe I should start wearing adult diapers so I don't have to go through life sprinting from one restroom to the other.

Tuesday night I waited for Pilar at the office while getting all the 411 on Princess Stephanie's latest wedding (I bought Vanity Fair to read on the plane and I am half-way through an article written before she got pregnant by the latest circus guy and had to hastenly get married again). Eventually we left and had dinner at Nino Positano. Nicolas joined us later for a drink .

Now, I know this is not a particularly endearing trait of mine, but I hope they all stay home and not even talk on the phone while I am gone, so I am sure not to miss anything.
I remember once reading of somebody who thought the world did not exist when he closed his eyes. I am not that bad, I KNOW the world keeps on going ... I just wish it didn't.

I am listening to Nelly now and I really feel like getting up and boogeing.
I'll have to make do with bobbing my head like one of those dogs that people stick on their cars.
I hope JP takes me to his health club tomorrow so I can work up a sweat.
The smell of pee is being replaced by the smell of food.
If am definitely flying to Argentina: on the screen now a Roberto Giordano's runway show. The tackiest thing ever. What is it with these people and their obsession with models or, as they put it, "goddesses"?

I could not take Nelly sitting down anymore and had to switch to Annie Lennox. Beatiful, beautiful song.

OK, had dinner now. And wine.
Was thinking about my dream job. When I was a little girl I wanted to be a dancer in a chorus. I never wanted to be a ballerina. I wanted to be a chorus girl in one of those team dance groups that were always performing on Italian TV. Lorella Cuccarini. Heather Parisi. Not even them, I wanted to be one of the girls in the background. A Rockette would not be bad either. I love the symmetry of group dancing, the energy, the high.
Now I think I would have loved to be a cheerleader. That would really be my dream job. Not in a competitive cheerleading team, but more like one of the Lakers' cheerleaders.
Bizarre indeed because I ended up having an "intellectual" career, but I can't think of a better rush than dancing wildly at a game. I would not mind rehearsals, the little experience I have with them, I like them. And the adrenaline of performing live is just unparalleled.
I never think about age. Age is not really a factor in my life. I do what I want to do, I live the way I want to live, without any consideration to the chronological factor. Still, now and then at moments like these, on long flights (hitting turbulence, by the way) I can't help but realize I am too old for some things. I will never be a Lakers' girl. Granted, I could start a senior cheerleading team and I just might, but it will not be the same.
Still, I am not sure it bothers me, it's just a fact of life, among a gazillion others.

Time to go back to Vanity Fair.

7:42 PM

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

3 miles this morning.
And then I lost my ground pass and was late for work and missed an important meeting and had a voice mail telling me they were waiting for me to start the meeting and my computer was acting up and I have an urgent document to finish and then JP calls and tells me he's having the cath on October 7th.
Smooth day so far.
Oh, and the hurricane will probably hit the area on Thursday night, just around the time I was planning on boarding my plane.

12:47 PM

Monday, September 15, 2003

It's eery how similar two people can be. Nicolas and I are like conjointed twins separated at birth. Any casual conversation ends up with us discovering yet another issue were we are in total agreement. We are constantly finding new common grounds. And given that our point of views are not exactly popular among our peers, the mere fact that we agree is amazing.
Today it was the circus and Oriana Fallaci. We both hate the former and love the latter and for the same reasons. The circus to us is seedy, squallid, sad. It attracts all kinds of dysfunctional freaks. Freaks in the arena, freaks on the bleachers.
And we are sick of people ramming Cirque du soleil down our throat. That one might not be seedy but it sure is damn boring
As for Oriana Fallaci's piece following September 11th attack, we think it was just brilliant, right from the gut, refreshenly political incorrect.
Yeah, yeah, I know that every human life is equally important, and I really believe it. What I don't believe is people who tell me that the death of a child of their own would hurt them as bad as the death of an unknown infant in Africa. That's just bullshit.
Nobody could live if they really felt the pain of every body else.
So I find it totally natural and honest to admit that, while I think any violent untimely death it's a tragedy, when it happens 20 blocks from home it tends to be more real to me. I tend to feel it more. Now shoot me.
And when Berlusconi came out with his abrupt comments I thought there were probably not the most diplomatic remarks but I also thought he was, to a certain extent, right.
And I hated Dario Fo and his stupid demagoguery.
Oh, we both dislike jazz too.

No jog today. Too tired. I wil try to sleep a little earlier and go tomorrow early morning!

Something else for my wish list. I love this gadget.

Gotta sleep, gotta sleep, gotta sleep.

9:59 PM

No running this morning and I was at my desk by 7.40 AM. After work I have to go get a present for my sister and probably a pedicure. I will run later tonight.

9:21 AM

I am starting to think that Pilar, like vampires with mirrors, cannot be seen at airports. This is the second time I miss her at Newark's.
Monse and I met at Penn Station a little over 1 PM to catch the Amtrak train (I took a cab from home and had the most decent driver ever: he stopped the meter less than halfway through the ride because we were stuck in traffic and he did not think it was fair for me to pay so much - kudos to him!) and we were at the aiport by 1.50 PM. Pilar was leaving or had just left but we never knew it. We stayed and waited and waited. At 3.15, totally perplexed, we took the bus back to the city and went for a bite a block from Pilar's, calling her on the phone every few minutes to see if she was home. Eventually, realizing that she was not answering the calls but the answering machine was not picking them up either, I thought maybe the phone was not working again - it has happened frequently these last weeks. At 5 PM we walked to her place, asked her doorman and lo and behold, she had arrived hours earlier, was home and the phone was out of service! She had probably broken a world record, racing through immigration and customs in under half an hour, and had slipped out of the aiport while we were arriving.
So we hang out at her place for a while and left by 8 PM. I was falling asleep so I came home, slept a little while, watched and taped Sex and the City and worked a bit.

I got an e-mail from Leroy, one of my housemates from DWD in Hilton Head. I have thought of him and the rest of the gang frequently but had lost their addresses so I was overjoyed to hear from him. Can't wait to read an update of his life.

As for Saturday, the party was at La Nacional and one of the bars we went to was the Karma Club. This is a tobacco bar so my clothes reek of cigarette smoke now. Still, I liked the place. The rest of the bars, at least three of them, I don't recall. What I do remember is the doorman greeting me with a "Good dawning" or words to that effect. Actually, I think it was "Bien amanecida" and I found myself almost explaining my nocturnal habits to him.
The party itself was wonderful. Marta (Dario's wife) had planned every single detail. I really hope they keep on loving each other forever because her ability to sneak behind his back might be a dangerous things down the road. It was a surprise party and he had not the faintest inkling of what was coming. After the first shock of walking into a place all decorated for his b-day, he was blindfolded and made to guess who some of the guests were. He had no clue, obviously and was in for another major shock: three of his best friends had flown in from Bilbao to be there with him! There were posters with Dario's picture. The were video greetings on a Vaio. There was sangria and wine and beer and plenty of tapas. There was flamenco dancing. A very strange flamenco dancing, indeed. One of the dancers looked like Popeye's girlfriend and should maybe devote her life to another activity, the other was Asian and a much better dancer.

1:53 AM

Sunday, September 14, 2003

3. something miles on the treadmill. I need a shower.

10:55 AM

Back from the party and several bars afterwards which I won't even try to remember now. I finally got a big black guy stuck to my butt the way I like it and Monse called me a cockteaser. I vehemently denied the accusation but I know I probably am. I just love to grind. As usual I had to leave when his hand started meandering too close to home.
I just took a shower and I'd like to get some sleep so I can get to the gym before picking up Pilar at the airport tomorrow.
More details and pictures to follow.

3:48 AM

audio post powered by audblog

12:21 AM

Saturday, September 13, 2003

audio post: a noisy bar.

10:13 PM

It's humid, it's raining and my body feels accordingly.
My shins and feet felt combustible today so I only did 20something minutes on the treadmill, which I supplemented with another 20ish minutes on the elliptical crosstrainer. I might do some rebounding at home later on.
Raul called but I have a party tonight - it's a surprise birthday party organized for Dario by his wife. I have met them twice at Monse's and I like them both: he is an absolute teddy bear, warm and funny, she is sweet and friendly. The party is at some Spanish bar downtown and it has a 70s/flamenco theme. Sounds promising.

12:20 PM

From a CNN review of the film 'Once Upon a Time in Mexico' (one movie I will not see):

Banderas gets top billing in a cast that has to be one of the most gorgeous ever assembled: Johnny Depp, Salma Hayek, Eva Mendes and Enrique Iglesias co-star. He brings a quiet strength and a spirituality to the film, but it's Depp who steals every scene he's in as Sands, a sleazy CIA agent. .

I can hardly imagine a less gorgeous cast. Johnny Depp does nothing for me. Salma Hayek is microcephalic, not a particularly attractive feature to me. Eva Mendes I had to look up - your garden variety no-personality babe. Enrique Iglesias is sexy enough for a video clip but a whole movie of droopy eyelids?

As for Banderas, you have to be on something pretty potent to see anything barely reminiscent of strenght or spirituality in him. He looks like a rapidly ageing little boy with that silly pouty mouth of his and he has the expression range of a knee. I'll never get all the hoopla surrounding him.

Clearly CNN's critic has a latino fetishism.

Time to go for a run. I need to be back before noon to make my round of Saturday's calls.

9:41 AM

Friday, September 12, 2003

I had never heard the word "limerence" before. Now I not only know the meaning of the word, I also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I too am compulsively and unapologetically drawn to limerence. The whole idea is hilarious and yet so very true. So many men, so many attractive men, so many irresistibly attractive men, so little time, not to mention too much time spent in Catholic schools ... thank God for imagination and the possibility of running hard porn/sappy romantic movies in our head.

5:04 PM

Yeah, baby! 4.1 miles! The 0.1 stretch just for kicks. It took me almost an hour of steady jogging (well, I am counting about 8 or 10 minutes of warm up/cool down) but I got there. I've got to focus on speed now.

9:22 AM

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Got back from an extended happy hour (since 5 PM).
O'Neils and the Divine Bar with, coming and going, Monse, Enrique, Elena, Nicolas, Miguel, Gemma, Maria and Francia.
For those of you who must know every detail, I got my period this morning and all I want to do is take off all my clothes, turn the AC on (which I already did), lie down, sprawl out and watch some TV until I fall asleep.
One thing I am sure of is that I will host a party to celebrate menopause, whenever it comes.

Lets see if I can get decent sleep and hit the 4 miles mark tomorrow morning.

10:59 PM

It's not 7.30 AM yet and I clocked in 3.67 miles at a leisurely pace. Again, boredom and time were the culprits. The plan is to keep at it like this for a few more days, then try to improve time, not distance. A 3 to 4 miles a day jog/run should be sufficient. If it is not, the hell with it. I got a life too.

7:34 AM

Wednesday, September 10, 2003

After work Monse and I went to the movies. We saw "El otro lado de la cama" and we both loved it. Of course, there's always a holier than thou critic that hates it. Who on earth tells these guys their opinion matter? The movie is indeed fun and very sexy too. And I loved the choreography. I also happen to think the actors are quiet attractive, specially the guy who plays Javier. The critic cheap references to tapas-fueled Whack-a-Moles make her ignorance pretty clear. Guacamole? In Spain? What an ass!
Anyway, Enrique joined us after the movies and we had Greek tapas over at Uncle Nick's Ouzaria on 9th Ave.
Now I'd better try to get some sleep. I need to run another 3 miles tomorrow morning before going to work as early as possible.

11:23 PM

Sergio is getting married! December 14th!

3:50 PM

New shoes = 40 minutes on the treadmill. Granted, the pace was not the most impressive: I clocked in just an itsy bitsy over 3 miles but hey, you gotta start somewhere! Also, I quit because it was getting late and a little boring, not because I was coughing up blood, which in itself is a good omen.

8:58 AM

Back from dinner. Monse and Gemma were there as well as Enrique's buddy from Spain (if I could only remember names!), a very friendly and funny girl who made tortilla and a red pepper salad for us. She was there with a friend of hers who is originally from Texas but has been living in the city for 10 years. The guy is a modern dancer cum card designer, a little on the shy side but I got his business card so I can send him info on Hugh macLeod and maybe help him out with his Mac.

12:19 AM

Tuesday, September 09, 2003

I get in the elevator with two sweet young girls. One tells the other, in Spanish, that she is dying to take a crap. Just like that. Now, are there not aware that just about everybody in NYC understands Spanish? I had to bite down on my lips very hard to stop myself from laughing out loud and embarass them, but really, girls!

Got a new pair of New Balance sneakers. Not the prettiest nor the coolest things around but they will do.

6:50 PM

So yesterday, after work, I went out for a drink (at O�Neils Pub, 3rd Ave at 45th Street) and dinner (at East) with Gemma, her friend and Luis R., all freshly out of a grueling whole day of examination. Enrique and Teresa also came along. Now, about this competitive examination thing ... I know so many people who are taking it and the problem is I really want all of them to succeed. I know it is kind of impossible, but it will still suck big time when some of them are left out.

This morning I was at the gym at 8 AM and once again I had to stop jogging after 15 minutes and get on a Stairmaster. I really need to buy new shoes today before my shins detach themselves from my body.

I have yet to find a way to detach other, more offensive parts from my body ...

Re. today, I had this half-idea of taking a funk class at Crunch in the evening but I just got an e-mail from Enrique (from two rooms away) with a very enticing dinner invitation at his place tonight. Out goes the class, in comes the dinner.

4:53 PM

Monday, September 08, 2003

2:04 AM

I've been accepted to crew Tony's UPW in NJ in November. Or so I think. I got a bizarre e-mail, accepting me for a crew position in Denver. There is no event in Denver in November so it is clearly a mistake. Beatriz got the same message. So ... now I have to make sure I can take a couple of days off that week. As always, I am so very excited. Last time was great and I don't expect anything less this time around. It's going to be great to have Beatriz on board too. She and I will most certainly be sharing a room and we might get a couple of other people with us, preferably participants so we can follow the transformation.
Tony has come up with a new product from the event he was leading in Hawaii on 911. I have heard so many stories from people who were there that day or from others that I immediately called to buy it and ... it's already backordered! Damn! I will also get the other tape as soon as it is out. The "interventions" or whatever you want to call them are one of my favorite parts at the seminars. They are truly fascinating and seeing Tony in action is mesmerizing. I am also interesting in seeing what Cloe Madanes is all about. I remember her from Date with Destiny in Hilton Head. She was sitting right there in the first row with a bunch of shrinks. She did take the stage at the very end and said something very flattering but I can't remember her words (I wasn't blogging yet so I have no record!).

I am not sure what exactly I am doing being totally awake at almost 2 AM. I was planning on an early morning jog and being at work as early as possible. We shall see.

1:23 AM

Sunday, September 07, 2003

One of my perfectly useless Sundays. Did nothing. And when I say nothing I mean absolutely nothing. I just aimlessly zapped from one TV channel to the other, surfed from one website to the other. At 6.15 PM I finally got my act together and went to the gym. Unfortunately I really need new sneakers and even with the insoles I slipped in them today my shins were killing me after 20 minutes on the treadmill. Better than nothing, I guess. When I came back home I danced like a maniac in the bathroom and sent my iPod flying and crashing to the floor while giving a specially heartfelt rendition of a Michael Jackson's hit. By the time I was singing along to a Michael Bolton's tune I knew it was time to stop and get in the shower.

Monse is back. Pilar will be back in a week. Things are slowly going back to normal!

I nyctogo'd a Japanese dinner and I am wondering whether to watch the President's address or ignore the sucker and get in the mood for Sex and the city.

8:09 PM

Just uploaded some pictures taken on the last week of August.

3:24 PM

Saturday, September 06, 2003

This was not just a beautiful day, it was nothing short of spectacular! Sunny, clear, breezy. Absolutely perfect!

Friday started with a colleague's wonderful idea of having a little tea/wine get-together in her office for no good reason at all, which of course is the best of reasons.

In the evening Nicolas, Cristina, Silvana, Monica and yours truly went downtown to Arthur's Tavern, had a drink there (pretty seedy place, IMHO) and then Nicolas left but we were joined by Gemma and two friends of hers, who had just flown in from, of all places, Kentucky, at Trattoria Spaghetto on Bleecker and Carmine. The friends are in town to take the competitive examination for Spanish translators on Monday (actually, the girl is, the guy is the husband travelling with her for moral support).

This morning I finally got my sorry ass over to the gym and managed to stay on that treadmill for half hour. Can't understand what keeps me from doing it more often given the high I get from it. After a while I was bobbing my head to the "Shake it to the left, shake it to the right" tune on my iPod, synching my stride with the guy to my right. For some reason I hate not being in synch with the people around me. It must be this dance thing with me. Everybody HAS to be perfectly aligned!

Today being Saturday it's my "call the world" day. I first called my sister (it's her birthday), then my mom and finally my friend Gabriela in Uruguay. I hadn't spoken with her in a while and it felt good. She is always a little bit out there, a little bit on the nutty side. Just enough. So she immediately put on her Freud hat and started reading things into what I was telling her. Then we went on to debating auras and whether her ADD-diagnosed kid is an indigo child or not.

Melissa was busy shopping with her mom today so I did not see her.
As I was sprawled on the bed watching Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey's reality show (she is soooo silly but so pretty it doesn't really matter and he is so hot and so not silly it's even better) Nicolas called. Given that I was thinking of calling him at that very moment I am now almost sure to possess amazing mind powers. Now, if I could only harness and direct them at whim! I had lunch, he hit the gym and then we went to the movies. Repeat after me: I must never watch a French movie again, I must never watch a French movie again, I must never watch a French movie again. Actually, I think the movie is technically British, but it definitely feels French. It is painfully slow, as French movies tend to be. Nothing happens for the longest of times. The camera pans from a face to a knee to a wall and back again. The only interesting thing are the actresses' boobs. The young girl has very pretty boobs but she's young so that's to be expected. Charlotte Rampling, on the other hand, is 58 years old and I can't believe her breasts! What is really puzzling is that they don't seem to be fake. When she lays down they flatten out. What's the deal?

I saw this Trikke thingy on TV today. I wanna! I wanna!

On my wish list too, and if some of you guys in Madrid are reading this please act on your desire to make me happy: marzipan from Casa Mira. I love most of their stuff but their marzipan in particular. Thanks!

11:35 PM

Friday, September 05, 2003

It's probably unrealistic to expect to sleep 4 hours a night. I had this vision of waking up at 4.30 AM and going for a run on the treadmill before coming to work. Truth is I woke up past 6 AM (which still means I slept less than 6 hours). No work-out but I was at the office a little past 7.30 AM. The pace is quickly picking up here and it's good, in a sick way.

Just came across this article on a book on marriage. I am not sure I agree, actually, I am pretty sure I disagree with the book, but the author does make some valid points. I loved the "and so you "work" at your relationship, like a prisoner in Siberia ice-picking away at the erotic permafrost".

9:54 AM

12:17 AM

Has a drink at a local pub and dinner at Josie's with Nicolas. I really like the guy. Of course, I also happen to know he reads my blog. :) No, really, I do like him.
We left the pub when the football game started. We were at the bar, just beneath the giant screen, surrounded by screaming guys. It was time to leave and have dinner.

Before going to the pub we stopped at the YMCA and I joined again. Now I am officially a member of the YMCA, the NYSC and Crunch. I really have to get rid of the NYSC membership. I will keep Crunch's though because they have the coolest classes. And the Y is just too convenient a deal to let it pass by.

I got the sweetest e-mail message from Don today.
This is a guy I had the briefest fling with 16 years ago, while I was living in Milan, Italy and he was stationed at an Air Force base in Desenzano del Garda. It was short and intense, at least on my side. I reconnected with him a few years ago, just before coming to NYC. And have been in touch with him ever since. He is now married and has the most beautiful baby girl. He is also the nicest and friendliest guy ever. Oh, and very easy on the eyes too.
Yesterday I sent him an e-mail telling him I was a little bummed out and telling him how amazing it is how some people just creep into your life almost imperceptibly and then wham! you suddenly realize they are an important part of it. He wrote back saying I am one of those people to him and that he recalls the time we spent together as one of the best times he had in Europe. Just what I needed. I might go visit him in Wisconsin at the end of the month. I'd really like to meet his wife, she seems so cool ...

12:11 AM

Wednesday, September 03, 2003

Still at the office. Worked late, then cancelled my appointment with Johanny (it's been three weeks now since I last trained with him - shame on me!) and I am now waiting for Francia to be done so we can go out for a drink.

"There's no vice worth giving up for an extra five years in the geriatric ward"
John Mortimer: Author, Barrister and champion of individual liberty. Recently celebrated 85th Birthday.

7:58 PM

You can now add comments to my posts. Those I do not like will be immediately deleted. This is my world, my rules. I love it!

2:37 PM

The webpage to access my home automation system cannot be accessed from the office and I have no idea why. It's driving me crazy. Maybe it's just a time out problem, maybe it's something else.
Yesterday it was The Real World's evening but I fell asleep exactly at 10 PM, when it was starting. I then woke up at almost 1 AM., called Pam and chatted with her for a good hour and a half (she is leaving today for France and coming back on the 24th) before going back to sleep and waking up at 6. Needless to say, I am quite tired.

7:18 AM

Tuesday, September 02, 2003

It was a real dim sum. I flipped through my old Zagat and decided we should go check out the Golden Unicorn. It does not have the best of reviews but who cares, I never agree with reviewer's anyway. It certainly is a big, fun, crowded place. When we got there we were almost scared away by the crowd waiting downstairs. They were giving out numbers and it looked like there was going to be a long wait but we had good dim sum karma and were sent directly upstairs to the 3rd floor. Lots of Asians were munching around us, including a cute as a botton little Chinese girl in a Chinese red dress. I could have kidnapped her. Pity they turn out so ugly once they grow up (believe me, I took a hard look at her parents).
The food was good except for the revolting chicken feet and pork God-knows-what that I did not even dare to bite into but almost made M.A. barf. Take a look at the picture so you remember what not to order.

Unfortunately I got to see this guy at a nearby table with the chicken feet hanging out from his lips. A truly disgusting sight.

After lunch we went for an espresso at Sal's on Broome St. It had been almost a couple of years since my last coffee (well, I did have one last week at work but only because I was freezing) and I have to admit this one was worth it. After the espresso we split until the evening.

In the evening we went out with Raul, Gemma, Nuria and Mirella. We started at Panchito's for margaritas and a bite and then stopped at Kenny's Castaway before heading to the bar next door to the Red Lion's.
At Kenny's they wanted to charge us an admission fee but after some brilliant negotiating we went in for free. The brilliant negotiation had probably a lot less to do with our skills and a lot more to do with the city being absolutely deserted.
Next yeat I have to make sure I am out of town for Labour Day.

As for the bar next to the Red Lion, we've been there about three times now and the place is fine, not trendy, more like a dive with a pool table in the back. Because they do not have a cabaret licence people are not supposed to dance but the music is good and a "No dancing allowed" sign has never stopped anybody.

Today I picked up Melissa at 10 and later on met Gemma, her sister and friend in Times Square to get our photo taken for the HSBC Starring You big screen. Basically, they take a picture of you and then attached it to a cartoon character and display it on a huge screen on top of a building. They keep doing it for a month so if you happen to walk around Time Square look up and enjoy my 15 seconds of fame.

At 2 PM Melissa and I went to see Freddy vs. Jason. Not scary at all but funny in a very cheesy way.
On one of our taxi rides today the cabdriver asked me is she was my daughter "because we look alike". Some people come up with funny lines, really. Melissa and I are as different as two people can be. Not only we do not have one single matching feature but she is dark-skinned with dark hair and dark eyes. I have the coloring of a a well-fed pig and blue eyes. Yet, when I dropped her back at her place in the afternoon another cab driver asked me is she was my child. Go figure.