Don't feed the bears

I saw the documentary Grizzly Man when it was out in theatres last year & then saw it again this wknd on the Discovery Channel. It's about a guy named Timothy Treadwell who lived with grizzly bears in Alaska for 13 summers. When I saw the film originally, I thought this man was truly crazy. But I suppose that's too simplistic and also quite dismissive. He loved the bears and the wilderness, which is fine. Though he did all of these bizarro things to supposedly protect the bears, when they seemed to be doing pretty well on their own. After watching the film again, I now view him less as "crazy," and more as just completely out of touch with everyday reality and modern civilization.

Brace yourself, Asia

Had brunch with Gary & Marina in Chelsea on Sunday, and met Ryan. They are coping with parenthood pretty well (in no small part to their baby nurse).

Then I went to Rick's apt. to try to plan the trip to Sri Lanka for Shani & Michael's wedding. It's challenging to try to get 10 people with different travel goals arriving from multiple countries on the same page. But we made some progress. Now we just have to book everything!

All in the 'hood

On Friday, Robyn invited me to a drinks with some of her fellow AdCenter grads. As it turns out, because this industry is so small & incestuous, I already knew all of them except one! Went to Hi-Fi, a bar near my apt. Extensive jukebox; good happy hour specials, and a lot less dive-y than I expected. Then we had dinner at Paprika, my favorite neighborhood Italian. The veal ravioli never disappoints!

Sat. I ran errands. Had dinner with Duck at Mercadito. They have a citrus margarita with habanero pepper and great guacamole. Muy caliente! We tried to have dessert at Chikalicious, but there was a queue outside (despite the fact that it was in the 20s with 30 mph winds). So we wound up checking out the Blue Owl, a new lounge-y bar that opened about 2 weeks ago. In true East Village fashion, the bar is downstairs from an Asian foot rub place, and adjacent to a Pakistani deli and a Polish restaurant. Met the owner, Ashley. It was pretty cool, but I would prefer to go back on a school night.

Spring (sake) has sprung

I hadn't been to Satsko in 2 1/2 weeks (the horror!), so Gail and I went there for dinner last night. Although it's still Feb. and the temps are in the 20s, the Spring sakes are now available & they're amazing. As usual, it was a fun time... We met Satsko and her daughter, as well as this girl Carrie (one of the sushi entrees on the menu is named after her). 5 other peeps joined our party, and then my neighbor Amy came in with her brother, so our group definitely commandeered the place.

Afterwards we went to Sing Sing Karaoke, and stayed there til 1:30 am. Time flies when you're karaoke-ing!

Did this win a Grammy?

I just watched a VH1 special on R. Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet video soap opera. We had some good laughs over the 1st episode, which took itself a little too seriously. But there were 4 more episodes. My stars in heaven. How did he & the director film this stuff with a straight face?

We got the spirit

Ready? OK! There was a cheerleading competition in Atlanta this wknd. My flight down was relatively packed with a squad from NJ, and I saw more cheerers on MARTA. Sunday, Brian reported “cheering” cheerleaders who were waiting for his flight to Chicago. And I actually had members of two rival squads on my return flight. One group had a gigantic trophy, and a handful of girls from a different group wound up boarding the plane behind me and when they saw the others, I overheard them questioning whether they should have taken a different flight (meow!)

And now, we assess and reflect

I love where I grew up. Though when I return I'm always reminded that living in NYC is different than living in GA. Not necessarily better, but definitely different.

1) Soon after I got on MARTA at the airport Friday, I overheard someone say something like "Look at that white girl!" The comment came from a bunch of teens who happened to be black. I wondered who they were talking about -- and eventually I realized they might be referring to me. I'm in the racial minority every time I ride the subway in NYC but I'm usually not addressed as "white girl." NY isn't free of racism, but why is race still such an immediate differentiator in the South?

2) The acclaimed Bodies exhibit (currently on display in lower Manhattan) will soon be traveling to Atlanta. Sunday's AJC contained a 2-page editorial dogging the exhibit, saying it disrespects the dead. I'm all for freedom of speech, but isn't a lackluster review enough?

3) Widening GA 400 and revamping 316. I feel so strongly about this issue, I can't even attempt to make it a philosophical question. Just stop building roads and start expanding public transportation options. Stop giving people an excuse to spend hours in their car every day and start incenting them to use public transportation. NYC traffic is no joke, but we have like 8 million people on a 12-mile island. (And if you're stuck in traffic you made a choice to be there --you could have taken the train, biked or walked).

Not a small canoe

Went down to GA this wknd. Friday night in Atlanta wound up being an Evening with the Guys. With minimal advanced planning, was able to have dinner at La Fonda with Nora and 3 of my guy friends.

Sat. headed up to Joseph’s cabin at Big Canoe. Although I grew up in GA, I'm pretty unfamiliar with North Georgia, and 11+ years of living in Manhattan hasn’t exactly endeared me to nature! Though I admittedly had some anxiety while we were driving to the cabin, it was truly lovely when we got there.

Spent lots of QT with Jan and Nora: Cooking, drinking, building fires, and playing some board games. Even though the temperatures were pretty chilly, they were still warmer than NY. We braved the weather Sunday for a little hike – there are a couple of beautiful waterfalls near the cabin that made the trek worth it. The cabin has multiple porches/decks with some amazing views, so we're hoping to go back again in a season when it’s more appropriate for being outside.

Went to Reshma’s house Monday, saw her dad and Jay, and then went out for a “Big Girl” lunch. So, all in all, it was a great long wknd. I felt like I really had a rest/break from my normal routine, and more importantly, was able to visit with my college friends.

Fun and Games

Grace and Sarah hosted a little party at their apt. last night, which included a rousing game of Taboo. This was somewhat of a break-through for me. Several years ago at Tommy's condo in Ascutney, VT I had the misfortune of being on the same Taboo team as a psychotically competitive player who yelled at me during the game. I've been Taboo-averse ever since. While I can't say I demonstrated true Taboo prowess last night, I happily participated.

Shut up and drink (shots)

Went out with the studio guys last night for John's birthday. They chose Barcelona bar, a relatively new place a few blocks up from the Agency. In a city full of pretentious lounges with $15 glasses of wine, this was a somewhat refreshing alternative. Fairly cheap drinks, no BS, friendly bartender John. Sort of reminded me of the Roadhouse in Athens, but with bar stools that aren't held together with duct tape.

I ♥ my Snowplow

Random NYC snow-clearing incident of the week: As I exited the subway near my office yesterday morning, I couldn't help but notice a guy who was driving a little John Deere snowplow. It was the size of an ATV. I couldn't help but notice him because he was driving all over the sidewalk, narrowly missing pedestrians. I don't work for the Sanitation Dept., but it seems that if you're going to clear sidewalks and corners with a snowplow, it's probably best done at 4 am vs. during the height of rush hour. He wasn't wearing a city uniform, and he didn't really seem to be clearing any snow. So I'm wondering if he was just some random guy who happened to have a snow plow & wanted to mess with people.

Got snow?

The weather outside is frightful
But the space heater inside’s delightful
With nowhere to safely go
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Heard the blizzard warning Friday, so I ran errands and actually bought food Sat. morning. The snow started in NY around 4 pm Sat., began sticking that night then finally stopped around 3 pm Sunday.

Final count - 26.9 inches. The largest snowfall ever in NYC. Even larger than the one my first winter here when I didn’t leave the apt. for 3 days because I thought the snow would gobble me up and my family would never hear from me again.

Although I’m no longer a snow virgin, I was still perfectly content to hunker down in my apt. this weekend and watch movies: Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and Cake (a Lifetime movie). Dichotomy is everything!

Tyke in photo is Aidan; Nikki took this pic Sunday near their apt. in Westchester. 

New Biz burn out

After leading lots of RFIs and pitches last year (and 3 major new business wins), I thought I’d be able to concentrate my existing Clients. Apparently not. Was asked to work on another RFP for which we were ill-equipped to respond, much less win. Eventually senior management agreed to withdraw Friday afternoon, but only after the Agency team wasted about a week and a half scampering around on this. Oy.

This job is making me thirsty

Last Wed. had drinks with Robyn, Donna and the studio guys at (where else?) Luxia. Then met an Old Client for drinks & snacks at Metrazur. Grand Central is such a lovely building – so quintessential NYC. But aside from spending a couple of hours in the main terminal, it was also quite nice to have a former Client want to spend an evening with me (vs. her co-workers or her current ad agency) when she was in NY. Gave me a little hope that business is more about personal relationships than $ or politics.

Went across the street for margaritas with the team Thursday. Also finally saw Wedding Crashers. My mom saw this in July and really liked it; a fact I find fairly disturbing now that I’ve seen the film.

Who says white girls can't bellydance?

Pic of Sarah dancing in the restaurant last Friday night. 

the next Scorsese

My colleague Guy directed a short film, The Apologist. It is currently in the running for this year's Cinequest Viewer's Voice Competition. He worked really hard on this film, so I'm excited when he gets deserved publicity.

Cool product of the week

Ab threw a SuperBowl party last night. No one was really watching the game, but the room would fall incredibly silent during the commercials. We're all ad nerds.

Ab served some righteous hot dogs using his Hot Diggity Dogger, a contraption that grills the dogs while simultaneously toasting the buns.

How to throw a surprise birthday party

Grace and Sara organized a dinner party Friday for Sarah's birthday. She was genuinely surprised, probably because her birthday was January 4. Dinner was at L'Orange Bleue, a Moroccan restaurant in Soho. Bellydancing was involved, so hopefully I'll have some pics to share soon.

After dinner, we went to the Turntables on the Hudson party at the Frying Pan in Chelsea. We like this spot on the pier for drinks in the summer, but I haven't been dancing there in years. The Frying Pan is a lightship that sank, was brought up from the ocean, patched up & turned into a club. Only in NYC, folks! There are still barnacles down in the dance area. Kinda cool, but also kinda scary. The weather Friday night was super-mild, so I climbed up one of the ship's masts for a peaceful view of the Hudson River and NJ.

Gary & Marina’s apt. just got a little more crowded

Meet the newest resident of London Terrace: Ryan.

Photo courtesy of Marina's cousin Tally.

the Joy of Sake

I haven’t forgotten about Rue B, but my new favorite neighborhood hang-out is a sake bar, Satsko. Went there last night with Gail after I got back from Ft. Lauderdale. The bar is teeny, so it feels like you’re cozied up in someone’s kitschy living room. Since the place is still undiscovered by the masses, it's currently offering great deals like 6 glasses of sake & 3 appetizers for $25. We also don't mind the charming bartender Warren.

Word up Ft. Lauderdale

Drove past Blue Martini after research ended Monday and wound up hanging out til 1 am. Who knew Ft. Lauderdale would be rockin’ on a Monday night? Again, pretty flawless that we were sitting outside sans jackets.

Suffering through the Miami "winter"

I always underestimate the restorative power of the beach. Sleeping with the windows open and wearing tank tops & flip flops in January was unbelievable. NYC was warm last weekend, but definitely not this warm.

Went out with Duck’s cousin Nicole Sat. night for drinks at the Setai. Also saw my poker buddy Joe who just moved down to work at the country’s hottest ad shop Crispin Porter.

Walked past Miami Ink a few times. Nunez was working Sat. Cutie! Those guys are so busy; there was always handful of people waiting outside the shop.

Over Christmas I learned the Rubell family sold the Greenview, so this time I stayed at their other property, the Albion. It's a cool example of nautical art deco design.

Overall, it was a relaxing 2 days. Ate some Cuban food, did a fair amount of shopping. I think this was my 9th trip to South Beach; somehow I never get tired of the place.

Reminder advertising at its finest

At LaGuardia last Saturday, I saw a man (probably in his late 40s) boarding my flight to Miami. He was carrying a large, yellow tote bag with the Valtrex logo on both sides. He could have been a self-assured doctor that needed more luggage at the last minute, or maybe he was simply a clueless guy who got this bag from someone. Either way, he was doing a hell of a job keeping herpes top of mind.