The quest for the elusive bronze sandal ends

Shani's mom mandated that the bridesmaids wear bronze sandals in the wedding. In case you're wondering, bronze sandals are not very common. After spending an entire Saturday scouring every shoe store in Soho and conducting an exhaustive online search, we finally found a suitable pair of sandals at DSW yesterday. Also went to an Indian clothing store to get the outfit I bought in Vancouver altered.

Jared was visiting from DC, and we trolled through the neighborhood: pizza at Gruppo, sake at Satsko, backgammon at Jadis, drinks at Heathers, and then vino in the brand new wine bar at Public.

Evolution

It never ceases to amaze me how the city always changes when I'm away just for a week. While I was in GA, a lingerie shop opened down the street. And next to it, coffeehouse B Cup got instant neighborhood cred with a mural by local graffiti artist Chico. Am I the only one who's noticed the irony of a store with bras in its front window being located next door to a business named B Cup?

Observations

It's always nice to be home. Without the distractions of NYC (work, bars, noise from the street, etc.), I can't help but relax. However, each time I return, there seem to be fewer trees and more construction and traffic. Mini-malls with parking lots and cheap apartments/townhomes are spreading like kudzu along the outer parts of town. Personally I feel this detracts from the town's charm, though most residents think the developments are "progress." It's unrealistic for me to expect my hometown to remain the same as 15-20 years ago, but I guess I'd prefer that.

I was surprised to discover wine is more expensive in south GA than NYC. Selection is dominated by domestic wines. The labels I recognized were at least a few dollars more than what I see in NY. Does Bee Liquors hook me up? Or is there just a built-in discount for volume in Manhattan wine stores because there are so many NYers drinking lots of wine?

Alternative holidays

Had a Thanksgiving feast with about 20 relatives at the Statesboro Inn. Maybe I sat in the same chair as W when he visited a few weeks ago! Eating at a restaurant vs. cooking & cleaning definitely reduces the stress of the day. My cousin who lives in Wales was home for Thanksgiving but will not be back for Christmas, so her immediate family put up a Christmas tree and decorated it on Thanksgiving day. My mom & aunt didn't go that far, but we did exchange presents since I won't be in GA for Christmas. Wrapping gifts in Nov. was a little odd. But I suppose presents are nice any time of year!

World's Best BBQ

I've travelled lots of places and sampled many types of 'cue, but my heart belongs to Vandy's chopped pork and their sauce. Really. Brian & I had lunch at the downtown location Wed. The weather was pretty crappy following Tuesday's snow scare, but we warmed up fast with plates of BBQ, sides of Brunswick stew and potato salad, sweet tea, and whole lot of "baby"s (as in "Hey baby, how you doin'?").

Shopping in Savannah

Statue of Gen. Oglethorpe in Chippewa Square.


Sorrel-Weed House on Madison Square.

Hung out in Savannah Monday. There are lots of new stores downtown in the historic district. Spent lots of time in Mint Boutique, Savannah Art Works and the SCAD store (which isn't new, but they always have cool stuff). Also went to a new shopping center on the southside, which was not my scene, but it did have a Fresh Market so I bought good cheese and gourmet deli stuff for dinner. 

Dawn at La Guardia

I went online last Friday to check in for my flight home and discovered my direct flight to Savannah had been cancelled and I'd been rebooked in a way that had me spending all day in the Atlanta airport. Thanks, Delta! I should've learned my lesson last Christmas, but for some inexplicable reason I keep buying more tickets. After spending over an hour on the phone with agents, I managed to change my ticket to avoid a long layover in Atlanta, but my departing flight left La Guardia before 7 am. The fact that I had a super-early flight was reinforced when I left my apt. Saturday morning to hail a cab to the airport and people were still milling around streets from partying Friday night. Mercifully, the flights to GA were uneventful. Had fried shrimp for lunch at Johnny Harris, and then I slept for about 2 days. Not sure if it was getting a flu shot & acupuncture Friday, the 4 am wake-up Saturday, or just the ability to sleep in my old bed in a quiet house... But I was laid out.

Cold turkey

First of all, there HAS to be a limit on the # of times a person can get lost in lower Manhattan. God! I've lived here for 12 years. By this point, I should be able to navigate the area without stopping and asking for directions (multiple times).

But I digress. Tonight was another meeting of the Dining Out Group. This time the restaurant was my pick, and I chose Turks & Frogs, a Turkish spot in Tribeca. Had seen good press about this place for 2 years, and DOG was the perfect excuse to finally motivate & check it out.

Once I actually located the restaurant, we had a lot of Soguk Mezeler (cold appetizers) to start. Everything was delicious, but the group fave was Tarama Salatasi, a red caviar spread. Also shared zucchini pancakes and a couple of entrees. Good stuff.

What I'm listening to

Perhaps I'm overdue for a visit to the farm, but I am digging a Luke Bryan demo CD Will gave me when he was visiting in Oct. Really country, really good. GA peeps, he has upcoming shows near you.

Presidential free time?

OK, I'm admittedly a little obsessed with the President's visit to my hometown a couple of weeks ago. The local paper interviewed the owners of the inn where the President went for lunch after his speech. He was supposed to stay there for 2 hours, but wound up hanging out for 4 hours. And he hand-wrote a thank you note to the inn owners later that day. He has manners & is human, but I'm still questioning whether this trip was the best use of his time. (The candidate he was campaigning for lost the election.)

My burgeoning life of crime

Went to see Borat with Shani & Clara. Comedic genius. We laughed so hard we cried during some parts. After Borat was over, we went to the ladies' room downstairs & noticed Marie Antoinette was about to start in another theatre. So we stuck around & saw that film too. It was beautifully shot, but a little slow-moving. Though it did give a good glimpse into what life was like in Versailles during that time.

Miami Vices

Ab looking like a Colombian drug lord.


Baxter dons the seersucker.


Clara rocks the peach leather halter dress.

Rick throws two major parties each year: one in the summer for his birthday and one in the fall before the holiday social whirl kicks into high gear. Generic cocktail parties are boring, so he gives these gatherings themes. Last night was the fall party, and its theme was Miami Vices. Dress code was South Beach chic (though most added in a healthy dose of 80s trash). The lethal caiprinihas got the best of me.  

On pins and needles

I’ve always harbored stress and tension in my back. Following a really bad Client call Wed. afternoon, my back was very tight. So yesterday morning I went to an acupuncture clinic Charles recommended. I had to fill out the requisite forms. The acupuncturist talked to me for about 45 min.; she spent about 30 min. figuring out where to place the needles, and then I had them in for about 30 min. I asked how many needles she was using & she told me 12. I was lying face down, but I think there was one in the top of my head, a couple at the base of my skull, some in the middle of my back along the spine, some in my lower back, and one in each ankle. I didn’t feel most of them going in; the others were just like a little prick. Surprisingly, the whole thing was really relaxing; I even dozed off. Charles and others who’ve had acupuncture told me they can feel energy moving around their body. I didn’t really feel anything, except maybe a release of the tension. The acupuncturist told me that sessions use up a lot of energy, so she said I should have a hot lunch and rest. I went into work, but it was pretty quiet. So after having a big lunch in the cafeteria, I went home and took a 2 hour nap before I went out for dinner. Basically acupuncture made me ravenously hungry and quite tired! However my back feels significantly better. The whole thing cost $35, which is way cheaper than a massage in NYC. And I think the acupuncturist detected and treated some problem areas in my back that massage therapists have never touched.

Today's top 3 indicators I don't work at a bank

1) A dept. head emailed me asking, "Is this for some specific assignment or is it a wank?"

2) In an effort to find a specific example of how to introduce characters on screen, my creatives watched the entire 2nd season of Everybody Loves Raymond on DVD

3) Work ceased for a while after Britney announced she's divorcing K-Fed

I used to think everyone was entitled to a bad day every now & then

Yesterday a construction worker confessed to killing an actress last week because she complained about the noise he was making working in an apt. near hers. His excuse: "I was having a bad day." WTF.

John's Da Man

 

Go runners go

Runners heading up 1st Avenue.

Runners coming down 5th Avenue and turning into Central Park.

Beware the banana. It's all fun & games til you slip on a peel.

The marathon is by far my favorite event in NYC. I always participate… by standing on the sidewalk and cheering. 38,000 people running around the city is an amazing sight. Went up to my old neighborhood today and watched the runners come up 1st Avenue (around Mile 17), then walked over to 5th Avenue to watch the runners enter the park (Mile 24).

This year there was a somewhat annoying trend: celebrity runners. Saw chef Bobby Flay and media whore Lance Armstrong run past. Lance had a very strong finish, but the NY press was pretty brutal (they said he weighed too much, mentioned when his legs looked heavy and pointed out when it seemed like he was slowing down/walking).

Congrats to my co-workers: Jim finished his 1st marathon ever and John completed his 2nd NYC marathon in a row.

Night of 1000 penises

Last night was Shani’s state-side hen night. Our crowd is not terribly traditional. Therefore we turned the bachelorette paradigm on its head and invited guys to the festivities. Things started off at Rick’s apartment, where we had drinks and some laughs. When I was planning the party, Shani requested that we go out dancing. Sounds simple, but I had some agita over this… as stated in the NY Times today, “going out dancing these days is akin to directing a strategic assault in the name of fun.” We headed to Purple. Everyone got in, and we danced into the wee small hours with minimal drama.

Spotted: Isaac Mizrahi walking on lower 5th Ave. Sat. afternoon.

Transport for thrill-seekers

Work was a little nuts Thursday, and I had a black-tie gala that night. Wearing a fancy dress & heels, I found myself standing on a corner in Midtown 15 min. late for meeting the clients for drinks, and there were no available cabs. Less than optimal. So I walked a few blocks. I was cold, my feet hurt, my bag was heavy, there were still no cabs, and I was now 30 min. late. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I hopped into a pedicab. Oh my. It was sort of like riding the Cyclone or the Wonder Wheel at Coney Island: scary because death seems like a very real possibility. As the driver guy was biking me to my destination, I was acutely aware that I was totally unprotected. If we had an accident, I would be catapulted onto the pavement. We did have a close call; a car almost hit us as it tried to merge into our lane (it probably didn't see us because pedicabs don't have lights). Thankfully I arrived at my destination unscathed. Pedicabs aren't metered, so the guy asked me for $25 for the trip. In a yellow cab, it would have been $8 with tip. Made me feel sorry for the tourists who get gouged every day.

I chilled out after I found everyone and had a glass of wine! The host of the gala was Epatha Merkerson from Law & Order. Apparently she also enjoyed some wine during cocktail hour & dinner, because she was pretty buzzed on stage. At first it was entertaining, and then it was a little awkward. But the event was a pretty good time overall.

What I learned in school today

Spent this afternoon at Jazz at Lincoln Center for a "digital summit," which is a fancy term for watching clips like the one below & then discussing them. There was Q&A with the founder of YouTube. Once you get over the fact that he's a guy in his 20s who sold his company to Google for $1.65 billion last month, he has a surprisingly unimpressive presence. Witnessed demos of some staggering technology from the founders of Spot Runner and Visible World. Also heard a fascinating presentation from a guy who facilitated the marriage between Nike running shoes & the iPod.

We never did this in Mell

Check out a phenomenon from China, the Back Dorm Boys.

Not too spooky

NYC celebrates Halloween on Oct. 31. If Halloween falls on a weekday, there may be parties the weekend prior, but the real deal is always on the actual day. Last night, I watched the Village Halloween Parade from 6th Avenue. The parade event is at the same time organized and quite loose ... if you want to march in the parade, you just show up in costume at a staging spot in Soho and get in line. The costumes are typically very creative. Some people wear costumes they've planned for months and are flawlessly executed; others are more spontaneous, but still original. There are impressive puppets, and some marching bands to keep the energy up. The best part: Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley from KISS were the grand marshals. Met Charles & Tyson for a late dinner at Yuca Bar; the restaurant's front windows facing Avenue A yielded some great people-watching.

"Islands in the stream, that is what we are..." Rick as Kenny Rogers with a buoyant Dolly Parton. 

Peach of a President

Dubya was back in rural Georgia Tuesday. This time he was in Perry, a small town in the middle of the state. He was campaigning for a different Republican candidate. And this was a repeat visit; he was in Macon Oct. 10 rallying for this guy. So that makes 4 trips to GA in 2 months.