Goodbye, Shelley

My trip home has been marred by some incredibly sad news: I got a call Friday night that my former creative director Shelley passed away.

I worked with Shelley for 5 years when I first moved to NY, and respected and cared for her a great deal. She taught me infinite lessons of poise and grace, and was also a good example for women on how to have a successful career while also being a loving wife and mother.

I have lots of memories with Shelley (including trips to Houston and hanging out around the agency). However, I bumped into Shelley in Grand Central last Dec. when I was headed to CT. I knew she was fighting colon cancer, but she looked absolutely amazing & was charming as always. I'm glad this is my last image of her... for now I'd much rather think of her as catching a train home to Westchester vs. being gone for good.

Among the oak trees and spanish moss

Nora came down from Atlanta Sat. night and stayed over at my mom's house. Sunday morning we drove to St. Simons Island. For this trip, we stayed at the Village Inn, a really cute B&B with a nice, small pub. Very good location - it's only a short walk to the pier and all of the restaurants and shops in the village.

Sunday we grabbed some sandwiches at the 4th of May and hit the beach in front of the King and Prince. We had a massive fried shrimp dinner at Mullet Bay, where I ran into a few people I went to middle & high school with.

On Monday, a family friend invited us to the Beach Club on Sea Island, so we had lunch and sun there. For dinner we checked out Blackwater Grill. I'd never eaten here before. Though the restaurant serves tasty low country specialties, so I had the crabcakes. Later, we had a beer at Brogen's.

Tuesday we had tacos at Barberito's and drove to Epworth and walked around. It has definitely expanded over the years, but it's still very tranquil. I have so many fond recollections of weeks and weekends spent there for church retreats when I was growing up.

Took in the sun at East Beach. It was practically deserted. It's hard to believe that such rustic beaches still exist. It was a completely different experience than going to Long Island or New Jersey, where strangers are basically on your towel. I was a little too brave and dropped from SPF 30 to 15, so I got red in some places.

Tuesday night we went to the Lodge at Sea Island for sunset drinks on the veranda. I hadn't been here before; it was very cool. The lodge overlooks a channel, so you can see boats going by. Meanwhile, a bagpiper plays on the golf course. It was a bit surreal, like being at a Scottish castle or something. Later, I had shrimp and grits for dinner in the Oak Room. Before leaving, we took a quick tour of the wine cellar.

Overall, it was a relaxing trip. St. Simons truly is a special place. I feel very fortunate to have been able to spend time here when I was little. Being there for the past few days makes me want to go back more often; it doesn't seem like nearly enough to just visit for a night or two every couple of years.

Fun at home

Had lunch at Vandy's Friday with Wesley and his wife & son. All Southerners are fussy about their barbecue, but Vandy's is still my all-time favorite BBQ place. Their chopped pork sandwich makes me very happy.

Ben's engagement party was Sat. night at Boggy Branch Farm. Was a pretty warm night, but was a fun time. These events are quite efficient - in a matter of hours, I was able to see cousins and scores of people from my church and the community.

Midnight train to Georgia

Rising gas prices and Delta's financial woes have resulted in out-of-control airfare to Savannah. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so yesterday I took Amtrak's Palmetto train down to Savannah. It was a long, but relatively uneventful ride. It was interesting to see how much rural, small-town NC looks like rural, small-town SC looks like rural, small-town GA. I read Anderson Cooper's memoir and enjoyed my new iPod Nano. Station to station, the ride was a little over 16 hours!! Though thankfully I wasn't travelling today - there was a major power outage in NY that snarled the trains.

The train got in last night around 10:30 pm, so I decided to stay overnight in Savannah's historic district. It was quite nice to be able to wake up and have coffee and read the paper on Madison Square.

My mom came down to meet me today. We wolfed down a lot of fried chicken for lunch at Mrs. Wilkes' boarding house, and then I bought 2 pairs of sandals. Thus furthering my habit of doing most of my shopping when I leave NYC.

The weather is great (to me) - sunny, low 90s and about 50% humidity. None of the NY crap we've been having that requires me to wear a wool pea coat.

Coming out of the winter shells

Although it's not yet truly warm here yet (and it pains me to type that), people are starting to spend more time outside. Have seen some celebs in the past few days:

• Eddie Kaye Thomas (Finch from American Pie) walking on lower Fifth Ave. Saturday
• Robert Sean Leonard (Neil from Dead Poets Society and currently on House MD) walking on East 14th St. yesterday afternoon

Whirlwind weekend

Brian visited NY this weekend, and I think we may have set a new record for running around the city!

We met Robyn, Paul and Kanad for drinks Friday at Calle Ocho on the Upper West Side and then grabbed some hamburgers for dinner. Then we went to Satsko, because well, that's where I hang out.

Saturday we walked all around the Gramercy, Union Square and NYU/Washington Square area (for starters). Then we headed to Hell's Kitchen for the Ninth Avenue Food Festival, and then back down to the East Village for a Ukrainian festival and beers at Burp Castle.

I'm working on a pro-bono project right now for a human rights group. Priority Films has 3 films (a narrative and 2 documentaries), and they held a screening/cocktail reception at Soho House in the Meatpacking District Sat. night to generate awareness of the cause.

From there we went to Kin Khao in Soho for a Thai dinner with Shani, Rick, Ab and Eavan. And finally met Charles at Boxcar Lounge for a nightcap.

Sunday morning, we popped out to Brooklyn for a quick look around Williamsburg and walked back across the Bridge. Went down to Chinatown for dim sum, and then walked back to my apt. through NoLita and the Lower East Side.

And then Brian left & I took a nap! But it was a really good weekend overall & I seem to have rebounded from the excursions pretty well.

What's doing in Rocky Top

Long time, no blog. Have been feeling under the weather because of the fluctuating climate/temperature.

We had research in Nashville this week. I think this was my first trip to Tennessee. Nashville is a decent little city, very green. Upon arrival, Sarah and I visited the Country Music Hall of Fame. Some interesting stuff. My favorite thing was looking at the musicians' outfits and boots; they also the original Hee Haw set. Afterwards we headed to the Second Fiddle and Legends Corner to hear some live music.

The respondents in Nashville were actually pretty good. Though one person did cite moonshine as his favorite home remedy... God bless the South.

New Orleans festivals

Paul Simon performing at Jazz Fest last weekend. NO musicians Allan Toussaint and Irma Thomas joined him on stage for a few songs. My spies report strong attendance both weekends. While this year's fest was poignant because of Katrina, apparently it was also of better quality than ones in recent years.

Eric & Brenda at French Quarter Fest in April 

Future Wimbledon champ

Tennis freaks Mike & Andreea had a baby girl a few weeks ago. Apparently she is now the youngest permit holder for NYC tennis courts.

Sea change

Obviously I'm obsessed with weather and the temperature. But this weekend was really nice, and it gave me the feeling that perhaps we've turned a corner. Hopefully there will be more "good weather" days ahead than not. A few first rites occurred Saturday:

• I enjoyed my morning bagel, coffee and newspaper in the park vs. in my apt.
• The neighborhood Latin musicians started their jam sessions in Tompkins Sq. Park
• It was warm enough for me to leave my windows open
• There was a need to compete for attention with other pedicured girls at the nail salon

I had a pretty mellow weekend overall, capped off by a walk through Chinatown and Tribeca yesterday afternoon. Had dinner at Bubby's and then met Robyn to see Marcellus Hall at the Knitting Factory. The harmonicas made me think of Austin.

Multicultural Cinco de Mayo

Festivities started off in a somewhat traditional way: Coronas, chips and salsa on Gary & Marina's terrace. But that all changed when I met Ab, Eavan and Enda for drinks at the Rubin Museum of Art. We had dinner at La Luncheonette. Looking at Himalayan art and eating steak au poivre with an Irishman and a Dutchman is not very Mexican, but I suppose I can't complain about a nice night out with friends.

Isn't it ironic?

When I started out in advertising, all I wanted to do was travel for work, go to Client dinners, and be invited to industry events. Now that I'm more senior and this stuff is required, it's a bit of a drag. Last night there was an awards show at the Guggenheim. While I wasn't exactly looking forward to this, I suppose it wasn't all bad: there was a cocktail hour with open bar, CBS's Dave Price hosted the event, and I got to see some former Clients and colleagues.

Quite good band

2nd installment of the Dining Out group took place last night. It was my turn to pick the place, and I chose Las Ramblas in the West Village. Nice tapas and very refreshing strawberry sangria with cava! Gave me flashbacks of my trip to Barcelona with Tina. Then we went to Rocco's Pastry for dessert.

Gail and I went to Pianos on the Lower East Side to see The Picture. I thought it was a really solid show. For some reason they reminded me a bit of The Bravery, but much less electronic. Then we went to the Stanton Social for drinks. This is why I don't go out on the weekends - too tired after going 4 places on a Wed. night!

Random observations

I actually had work to do Sunday. However, it was a nice day, so I took a break to walk down Ave. B to Houston and back up Ave. A. There was some sort of gathering in Tompkins Sq. Park: a DJ was playing Prodigy-esque music, about a dozen people were hula hooping, and one woman was dancing around with a smoking skillet (presumably incense).

Good thing about Union Square - there's always something going on. Bad thing about Union Square - there's always something going on. Yesterday, there was a rally over the Immigration laws in Union Square. Sarah and I left work a little early, only to find ourselves in the middle of the protest when we got off the subway. Peaceful demonstration, but very crowded! I had to take a big detour to get home, but this gave me an excuse to stop by Dumpling Man to pick up dinner.