Birthday week!
My birthday kicked so much ass, although it did not start fantastically, it must be said. I woke up angry with the world - actually personally affronted - that I had to go to work, a mere day after getting back from Costa Rica and on my birthday, of all things!! I got to work and was a horrible grouch all day - generally grumpy, snippy with the news that we have less development time than I thought we would, annoyed that my pre-vacation instructions had not been followed to the T. None of it was really a big deal, but with the horrible offense that I should be expected to work, it was all just terribly dramatic. I got a huge number of happy birthday wishes that morning, though, which I think is all that bolstered me through the day.
I had nothing planned for the evening, but Gary suggested we go out for a drink and keep it low key. I had texted him while out of town bemoaning my lack of plans and he had promised: either something small on Thursday or something big on Friday. Monday is a stupid day for a big birthday, after all. Of course with my annoyed mood and him having to do a couple of late breaking things at work, we didn't actually end up leaving the office until around 7. Boo! I wanted to go to Sapa (fusion next to my apt, with great happy hour choices), but Gary had gone there last week so he suggested tapas at Pamplona, which was sort of surprising to me for some reason, but I went with it.
We got there, and I thought, oh look at that big group of people at that table next to the bar. We'd better find a seat not too close to them so they don't back their chairs into us every time they get up.
Um, yeah. Then I heard the "Surprise!"
And it was a surprise. A huge surprise. Apparently, while I was out of town, Gary and Wambui planned this - Gary looks after my apt when I'm gone, and he'd gone through my past eVites to see whom I'd invited, then my address book to get all of their email addresses. Wambui (who got the brunt of my grumpiness earlier that day - boy did I feel bad about that) somehow sourced the cutest happy face cupcakes (there is a story there, but it's a work thing) and it just ended up being one of the best birthdays ever... even if Dustin never will be able to have chocolate cake ever again.
The rest of the week saw lots of other going out for follow-up birthday partying. My friend Jen took me out, Jamie took me out (Craft - delicious!), Gant too me out to Morrocan... I have to say, if this is indicative of 30, I don't see why anyone complains. :>
London
is fabulous. As always. A little grey, a little overcast, a little rainy, but very Londony.
Gareth is a wonderful host and has obliged me in many ways. We've been to Borough Market twice - the big question is always: what to get for lunch? Borough is a wonderful outdoor market under the rather vast railroad tracks at London Bridge station. It is full of fabulous artisan foods and butchers and specialty suppliers and such. A lot of the stalls cook and sell their food as well. Brindisa, for example, a spanish shop (with a restaurant on the corner) does such good chorizo in a bun with sweet pepper, rocket and a drizzle of olive oil that there is ALWAYS a line 30 people long at lunchtime when the market is open.
Yesterday, I saw Matt and we enjoyed a cocktail at the place I took the picture that is his blog banner before making a pilgramage to the Apple store. Little did we know, yesterday was the launch of the iPhone in the UK - the store didn't open until 6:02 (why 02??) and when we were finally allowed to enter (there was a queue), it was to the applause of a dozen Apple store employees. Surreal.
I am lucky in a couple of ways: My fave independent handbag brand (Kimchi) doesn't seem to be carried by anyone anymore... perhaps they're out of business? My fave German shoes (Trippen) are not in my size/style at the store that carries them here. $$$ in pocket = good. Especially with this exchange rate.
Tomorrow, I'm on a Eurostar to Paris for a day with Lisa. Cannot wait. It will undoubtedly be fabulous and delicious. Paris, and all.
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The house, it is warm.
And yesterday, it was full of people. Eighteen people, to be exact. I hasten to remind you that this is a studio apartment. Cosy.
It was a wonderful party - sort of spur of the moment so I could do it before I went to the UK. There were several people who couldn't make it, and a few people I forgot to invite because I'm blonde blonde blonde. But we did have a good time overall.
I took some pictures. A few in the beginning, then I put the camera down so I could hostess and visit. When the crowd thinned out some, I picked it up again. As it usually turns out, this means that there are several of a few people and only a couple of the larger group. Sigh. Next time I'll have a photographer. ;)
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Honored.
Last night, after work, Wambui (a friend of mine with whom I work) and I headed to the Indian Consulate for an evening way more intellectual than we had anticipated. The pair of us and about 150 other people were adressed by former Indian Ambassador Alan Nazareth, Professor Akeel Bilgrami (Philosophy, Columbia Uni) and Professor Dennis Dalton (Poli Sci, Barnard College), and then there was a Q&A session with the three of them acting as panelists. The talks were not about Gandhi so much as his influence and some of his ideas. I'll do a crappy job of describing this, so I defer to the summary in the thank you email I got this morning:
It was certainly something for the intellectual: the panelists offered detailed analyses of Gandhi's philosophy of religious inclusion, economics and his sphere of influence; something for the cultural enthusiast: a performance of "Lotus" which featured Bharata Natyam, Odissi, Manipuri, Middle Eastern, Burmese and Flamenco dancers; something for the gourmand: a full buffet of traditional Indian cuisine...
I feel like I've reached my cultural quota for the month. At least. ;) It was really really very cool.
When we were on our way out, I got a text from Mat, who has been my best friend since early high school: "Ryan and I are thinking of having a commitment ceremony this fall... Will you officiate?"
There are not words to describe the honor I feel. I am overwhelmed. And so very happy.
So, all of you who are reading this: Have any of you officiated weddings or commitment ceremonies or anything like that? Any tips? Advice? I really want to do this right.
The hunt continues...
My ankle is pretty much normal! Woo! I'm on big antibiotics still and it's not yet pretty, but it's no longer getting any worse. Yay. No more balloon foot glove.
Now I just have to find an apartment. This is getting increasingly more stressful as my moveout date gets closer and closer. October 31 is the last day of my lease so I'm starting to feel the pressure. I've just upped my price range though, so I think I should soon have success. Hopefully today. I'm leaving work early to do a marathon search. I've got a great broker - I'm confident we'll find something.
It's a crazy busy week otherwise. I've been onsite at the client since Monday in client meetings abou tthe next release of this project.
Monday was a client dinner.
Tuesday was a FABULOUS dinner with my friend Wil at this amazing restaurant Veritas. I had chevre cheesecake. With ice wine. 4tw.
Tonight I'm supposed to go out with Gary.
Tomorrow I'm going to drinks with David (whom I met through Kevo a couple weeks back).
Friday I'm going to a Gandhi Jayanti celebration at the Indian Consulate with Wambui.
I'm going to NEED the weekend. :)
Foot glove!
The doctor said I had an infected "bite." He did not specify the type of bite nor did he seem unduly concerned though he was impressed with how big and nasty it was. He gave me mega-antibiotics and told me to take one three times a day.
Last night, I had tickets to the John Vanderslice concert. Tony was supposed to go with me but we totally forgot about it until like two hours beforehand and he couldn't make it into the city in time. :( Gant ended up coercing me to go (I was sort of in a funk when we met up) and overall it was a pretty good concert. The opening act sucked but, whatever. You can't get lucky with opening acts every time.
I'm just going to throw this out there: Do. Not. stand up for three hours when your ankle has an infection and hurting. When I came home, I chide you not, my foot looked like when you blow up a latex glove. A foot glove. It was crazy swollen.
It's still all swollen. I think I'm going to be taking cabs for a day or two. Ow.
BAM!
This weekend has been so full I barely know where to begin. All three days were noteworthy, which is noteworthy in and of itself. All three days also involved Brooklyn, which, again: noteworthy. I have now been to Brooklyn twice as many times as I had before the weekend. I'm not sure what my final impression is.
Friday was a bug-finding and fixing day at work. We go live on the 24th (read: middle of the night on Sunday) so we're testing the crap out of everything right now and fixing anything that comes up. Amazing, there was next to nothing that came up. I sat relatively idle most of the day. Fabulous.
Gary and I cut out of work a little early to get a strawberry caipirina to kick off the weekend. Then I was off to Brooklyn, to meet my friend Kevo for dinner at Peter Luger. Steak was delicious and it was awesome to see Kevo again after almost a year. I can't believe I left London that long ago.
Kevo had brought a friend of his, David, and afterwards the three of us headed to Union Hall in Park Slope for a drink. As it happened, an Australian band, Mid-State Orange, was playing downstairs, and while none of us had ever heard of them, they were actually quite good and we stayed for their whole set. Afterwards, we caught up with the lead singer. He and I discussed how Chicago and Melbourne reminded us of one another.
There was another bar afterwards. And then we all came back to my place for a coffee and to enjoy the view. The evening went later than I thought: 3AM, but it was all fabulous.
Saturday was not so pleasantly remarkable. I went out early to get a few things and planned on finishing up a couple jewelry pieces I had started last week. I invited Gant to come over and join me for a movie and some food while I did jewelry. We were just ordering when I got an IM from Tony: help, i've just been robbd. not a joke. call 911.
Yeah. Damn I was glad that I wasn't in the other room or not paying attention to the computer or whatever. Tony has given his own account of the story, but in summary, he was indeed robbed at gunpoint. He's a little worse for wear but generally okay and quite shaken up. I did the 911 call (his phone was stolen) and Gant and I headed to Bed Stuy in Brooklyn. We stayed with Tony while he made various phonecalls and waited for Christopher to show up and I folded all of his clothes and tried to tidy his ransacked room. At about 11, we all took off and Christopher dropped Gant and I off in Astoria to meet up with Joe.
Somewhere along the way, we decided I should change my name to Cupcake. Cupcake McCabe.
Today: King Lear. My cousin and I met up in the West Village for lunch (which was delicious) and spent a long time talking and catching up. Then off to BAM for some RSC Shakespeare. Oh, and Ian McKellan. Who was dreamy even if we didn't have the best view. The costuming confused me a little. It started in the, hmm, 19th century? And it ended up mid-twentieth, getting progressively more modern. Not sure what they were trying to do with that. The production was really fabulous in spite of it, though.
Now, it's time to wind down. It's been crazy. Yesterday was tough, but I think the weekend was net positive. Not least because Tony's okay, and I was able to contribute to that in some small way.
Le Bernardin: "Egg" ftw
My friend Erin is in visiting me for the weekend.
First: These shoes rule. These shoes suck.
There was shopping. In Soho. For many hours. Then there was brunch. Then there was shopping. Dinner attire was purchased. As well as gifts. And other things.
Second: Pedicure. For the shoes, y'know.
Next, Le Berndardin: Chef's tasting menu accompanied by a fabulous bottle of Pouligny Montrache. Amaaaazing. The meal's highlights fell with the escolar and the calimari, however, it was "Egg" all the way ftw:
Milk Chocolate Pot de Crème, Caramel Foam, Maple Syrup, Maldon Sea Salt
It's all about the sweet and salty. Every bite found us unable to speak and closing our eyes we were so overwhelmed. It was possibly the best desert I've had in my life. And I'm not even a chocolate person.
I want Erin to stay foreeeeever.
Binary watch!
I really have no idea how this never got blogged about... but now that I think about it, I believe my birthday was around the time I lost my camera battery charger and it was a few weeks before I got a new one.
My birthday this year (a couple months ago now) was extremely pink. James got me matching leather jewelry boxes an a vanity case (pink). I got lots of pink cards and pink gift bags and everything. But the present with the biggest cool factor was...
A PINK BINARY WATCH!!!! (From Erin, who rocks my entire WORLD)
As you can see in the above picture, the time is 0111:100110, which, of course, is 7:38. Yes, it took me forever to learn how to read this without doing mental arithmetic every time. Every now and then, at work, I'd look at my cubemate Gary, and say: It's 4:40! Or: OOOH! It's 1:00!! See? See???? Predictably, he laughed at me. Dork.
So there you have it: the binary watch. :)
Very Sad
And yet, it started out as a good game. We had scored a touchdown in the first 15 seconds. The first quarter was phenomenal. And then it all fell apart.
Everyone will blame Grossman, who fumbled the ball a couple of times on the snap. I feel for the guy, but he is too green. Maybe next year, I guess.
Urlacher, of course, was a tank. I really hope we don't lose him next year. He's sort of amazing.
Our party was good. We had 7 over and it was a lively crowd. Not everyone cared about the game, but we did all watch it. And drink beer. And eat chilli. And little hotdogs and mini pizzas.
And afterwards, we drowned our sorrows in champagne and played with the Wii.
I'll go out on a limb and say, in spite of everything, a good time was had by all.
