Summer Balance & Writer's Block

Sorry people, but I have had a major case of writer's block lately. 

Or maybe it's just laziness. 

I have not properly reported yet on my trip to Croatia (um, which happened a year ago), nor my adventures in Vietnam (April).  Both posts are three-fourths written, but I can't seem to finish them for some bizarre reason - it's like I'm not even interested in my own stories anymore. I had a heavy spring season of travel (which I can't even remember all of right now), so I think it all just overwhelmed my head and caused writer's shut down -- which, by the way, follows writer's block.

The strangest thing has happened over the past two months - I think some people in far-reaching corners of the world refer to it as "work-life balance." When summer started, all my work travel unexplainably and mysteriously came to a halt. People started acting strangely - scheduling web conferences and phone calls instead of plane trips (I think it has something to do with this "fuel surcharge" thing that I don't really understand). Anyway - so the output is I have gone without any work travel for 2+ months (which has not happened since the day I moved here almost three years ago). I have been living in London day in and day out - and it has been remarkably good for the psyche. I think this is what "normal" people must feel like. 

...So I have had a summer full of spending lots of QT with my lovely friends here in London, having tea, sleeping in on the weekends, reading tons, shopping, going to dinners, movies, theatre, calling people on the phone, cooking, a bit of running in the park, having Sunday lunch. I'm even "dating" someone - which in my life means that I can see a guy I like more than once every two months.

In July, I took a week holiday home to the States to visit my family and friends. While there, I spent a few days on Cape Cod which I love (one day I hope to "summer" there like a Kennedy). The London weather even managed to get warm-ish with honest-to-God sunshine in late July (there is seemingly no spring here, it goes straight from winter to summer - which in England is more like the U.S.'s springtime). It's kind of bliss. Don't get me wrong, work is still very busy, but it all seems somehow manageable.

I won't say any more about it though as I don't want to jinx...it's that "Jewish guilt" my mother always said I had - i.e. - I think that if God notices something good is happening to me, he'll take it all away. Oy vey - does God surf the internet and read blogs? I sure hope not. If so, I take all the balance and happiness stuff back.

Maybe I'm not writing so much lately because I'm just living versus recording. Hmmmm.....

Coming up this weekend I have a getaway planned with a friend in the Cotswolds (SE England country), and then I go to Portugal for 5 days to celebrate two friend's 35th birthdays at a seaside resort. Come September, the work travel will start up again, but why jump the gun speculating about that.

Ok, time for sleep. Which will be nice considering I just ate the biggest yummiest bowl of sweet little ripe British strawberries and a gorgeous wedge of French cheese....while listening to my favourite Counting Crowes unplugged album...all on a school night - oh the gluttony and wild abandon!

Roller Disco, Baby!

Friday night I went out with the girls to Roller Disco (at Vauxhall in London). At first, it was hard to believe roller skating ever came naturally to me, but within an hour I had found my groove again. It's worth going for the 80's garb alone....good times.

My First Pub Quiz

Pub quizzes are an English institution - and one - until tonight - that I had yet to experience. But my friend Olly (who seems to get a lot of play in this blog) changed all that when he invited me to join a team of real-life English people at the "Night of Champions" pub quiz at the Hurlingham Pub on Wandsworth Bridge Road.

Now, I am not a pub quiz champion - that would be quite impossible given I have never participated in one before. But clearly they were not checking credentials at the door. I arrived just in time to a flurry of camera crews and exited people drinking beer - and the first question was asked two seconds after arriving at my table (I was running very late coming from work at Canary Wharf - the stupid Jubilee Line had been shut down and the DLR was only running one way). 

I made some impressive contributions within minutes. "What is the current U.S. President's middle name?" OOOH I know that - WALKER! "Who was the infamous woman who made news for cutting off her husband's...." OOOOH I KNOW, LORENA BOBBIT!!!!!!!

And.....that was precisely the END of my pub quiz contributions. Later on, I very passionately insisted on two answers I just KNEW were correct, but they were not. (The movie themeline "It's never too late to turn it all around" is from the film "8 Mile," NOT "Vanilla Sky." And Mr. Selfridge coined the phrase "The Customer is Always Right," NOT Mr. Woolworth). I SWEAR I thought the Americans invented customer service.

We ended round one with 10 answers correct out of 25. And I don't think we even got 5 answers from round two. I spent the entire second half only focusing on an anagram we never solved - why did I not see that the letters that form the word "consumerist" also form the word "misconstrue" ??

But despite finishing at the back of the pack, I now know lots of crap that I did not know before. Like, there are 27 cards in a Tarot deck. And Sophia Loren was the first actress to win an Oscar for a foreign-language film. I SHOULD have remembered that scarebs are also known as "dung beetles" and fruit stewed in sugar is a "compote" - but those facts had temporarily escaped me. Until the answers were read at least.

The quiz ended in a tie-breaker between two teams of impossibly dorky men. And an infuriating man named "Just Ralph" or something like that managed to come in third all on his own. Seriously people, get a life already (not that I'm bitter or anything).

I am grateful to my British teammates for letting me take part in this humble-pie eating contest - even though Olly somehow suckered me into paying for his dinner and beer when it was all over.

We like to party.

Edelman had its annual Christmas party on December 4th (they call it "Christmas" here, not "holiday" like in New York). It was held at a very nice venue called the Lindley Hall in London (part of the Royal Horticultural Halls and Conference Center). I worked late, so I missed dinner and most of the performance (which was a bit like Cirque du Soleil), but I came in time for plenty of drinks and dancing. This is a picture of some of the gals I work with. From left to right: Kate, Vinnie, me, Amber, Nicole, and Faye. I especially like this photo because of Amber's disregard for the fact that a photo is being taken in favour of fully enjoying her drink. Who can blame her?


This is a picture of the Lindley Hall

A Weekend of Thanks, Indeed.

I had a very nice Thanksgiving in London this year. I suppose to compensate for being away from home once again, I celebrated twice!

I worked all day Thursday, so it was nice to be invited to my friend Lindsay and Mike's home in Islington in the evening to wind down over a warm and cosy Thanksgiving dinner. There were seven of us total and it was lovely. Mike took the day off from work to perform his duties as master chef, and he did not dissapoint with a delicious squash soup to start (look at the pictures, it was like a spread from Bon Appetit magazine!), a yummy turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and the mandatory green bean casserole. We also had a few bottles of very nice red wine which helped it all go down even nicer. I baked my typical pecan pie and my friend Kate baked an apple pie, so we ended on a very sweet note.

Instead of the typical evening of American football, we spent some time in front of the computer after dinner watching various videos on YouTube and laughing our heads off. My how times have changed. Actually, growing up at home, I never cared for football, I was much more excited by the TV showing of "The Sound of Music" that they aired every Thanksgiving night in the U.S. My cousin Lauren and I would always argue over who "was" Maria (we were always casting ourselves in fictional productions). Those wre slightly magical times, I love Thanksgiving at home.

Friday, my friend Kate came to town to visit from Amsterdam, and Molly came in from NYC, as she always does for Thanksgiving. Friday evening, they came to my flat for champagne and snacks, and then we met our friend Cristina and went to the theatre to see the play "Swimming with Sharks" starring American actor Christian Slater. It was just ok...a little flat (I was also very tired and was fighting to stay awake during the first act...must have been the champagne before). After the play, Cristina went home, and Molly, Kate and I met my friend Cabe out for a drink, along with his girlfriend Juliet and his sister Sally, who was visiting from NY. We had a few drinks at Jewel Bar, downstairs from my flat, then Molly, Kate and I got takeaway pizzas and salads from Fire & Stone next door....then took it back to my place, got in our PJs and had a slumber party until we crashed around 2am.

Saturday, Molly left in the morning, I baked another pecan pie, and Kate and I spent the day lounging in my flat, reading magazines and gabbing....it was great! We then went to Cristina and John's for their annual Thanksgiving dinner at 4pm. Think this year was my favorite one so far (it's year number 3 doing the Chiswick Thanksgiving at the Benson's!) Cristina and John's daughter Katie is 3.5 and is always the star attraction, she is SOOO much fun. They also have a new baby Jack, who is 6 months old. There was a crowd of 14 adults and 3 kids this year, so it was very lively. And the food was awesome - Molly always serves as master chef and did a brilliant job orchestrating the kitchen (as always). After dessert, we played a round of turkey trivia that Cristina had developed and sat around the table talking into the later hours. Kate and I got back to my place around 10 or 11. It was a really good day.

Sunday, Kate and I braved the crowds on Oxford Street and went shopping at Selfridges in the early afternoon. Then we met Molly and Cristina at 3:30 for tea at Claridges. While I liked the setting and the music, I must say it is not my favorite tea in London, I was a bit dissapointed by the food. I would still choose the Berkeley or the Lansborough over Claridges if making a recommendation. But they served a nice Dom Ruinart pink champagne to start and the sandwiches and scones were pretty good (I was not impressed with the Christmas cakes and pastries). We still had a very nice time together. After tea, Cristina and Molly left and Kate and I moved to the bar where we had some proper cocktails. My (other) friend Kate met us there, so we had a nice session.

Kate and I walked home from Claridges, which took about a half hour. It was wonderful because we walked via Bond and Regent Streets, so we got to window shop and see lots of pretty Christmas lights. It was very nice outside and a pleasent stroll. I think my favourite lights so far are these GIANT angels with halos and wings, lit up in white lights, that line South Molton Street....gorgeous. I'll have to take a picture.

Today (Monday), I worked in the morning and then took the afternoon off to shop a bit more with Kate on Kings Road. I bought a pretty patterned silk dress for my company Christmas party. We got back to the flat at 4:30 and Kate left for the airport.

I am lucky to have such nice friends here in London. The weekend was like a mini holiday....a bit restorative. A lot thankful.

Mike's picture-perfect sqash soup
Mike gets the bird ready
Kate and Cat
Lindsay, Kate and Cat
Kate's apple pie

Cat's (famous) pecan pie

Lara Croft, My Halloween Alter Ego

This picture ought to have my family back home good and worried - no fear Ma, it's just a little Halloween fun! I can't remember the last time I dressed up for Halloween, but I forced myself to get into the spirit last night for my friends' Lindsay and Mike's Halloween party. I went as my very favourite action heroine Lara Croft, from the video game "Tomb Raider" (which was also made into two awesome movies starring Angelina Jolie). I know it looks agressive with the guns and all, but she is a force for good...really only shooting mummies and stone creatures and monsters as she seeks buried treasure and saves the world -- a female Indiana Jones. And she is, I might add, an English character.

I was glad it was a Halloween party hosted by Americans, as in England, Brits only tend to dress as something scary for Holloween -- such as a witch or ghost or vampire or ghoul or mummy. But in true American style, we dressed as whatever we wanted. There were some devils and a bloody butcher in attendance, but there were also two well-appointed geishas, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (my friend Kate), a sexy Robin Hood (Lindsay), Ali G (Mike), a dog, Amy Winehouse and her husband (Sherri and Jacob) and of course, a handful of plainclothes people who came as themselves.

Anyway, it was a fun night and I enjoyed my alter ego. I will be a bit sad to return my guns and holster to the costume shop tomorrow.

Heather's Farewell...and Two Waiters

Heather, one of my oldest and dearest friends in the two years I've been here, is leaving for Dubai tomorrow to seek out a life of fame and fortune with her beau Nick. Ok, well, he got transferred with his bank for two years and she's going because she's in love and got a nice job with Edelman's affliate there. I am positive that she....they....will be amazingly successful and have totally good times.

So we had a little goodbye dinner tonight at a totally sweet place called "Small & Beautiful" in Kilburn...underneath the Brondesbury rail track. it is a very cute little place with great food at amazingly affordable prices.

Anyway, I am sad to see her go, but looking forward to my visit to Dubai, which I predict will be sometime between the months of February and May 2008. They have a sweet pad on the beach that I plan to take full advantage of.

There were about 8 girls in attendance tonight (we talked about all sorts of good stuff....jobs, waxing, spa treatments, guys, parts of guys, you know, the usual) - but this is a picture of Heather, me, and two very attentive waiters (we did not ask them to be in this picture, but there you have it). Notice Heather's swank new haircut with the fringe. And notice how huge I look in my coat...but that's becuase the waiter was unusually small. (It is winter now in England, by the way -- temperature seemed to drop about 40 degrees today). After this picture was taken, the waiter seemed to want to kiss me inappropriately (not that there is usually an appropriate way for a random waiter to kiss you), but I resisted and sort of ran outta there. That was really weird and awkward.

Anyway, Heather has been like a little sister to me, so it was hard not to cry when I left her. But I didn't. Just a little "bon voyage" for now. As usual, I'll probably talk to her more now that we don't live in the same city than I did when we were together. It's always like that, you take for granted the people closest to you. That kinda sucks, really, don't know why that is.

I took the tube home with my friend Sarah and got off at Westminster station. I sort of felt like crying becuase I was sad to see my friend go, but then when I walked out, Big Ben was, bam, right there, huge and looming overhead, all lit up like a happy smack in the face. And then I didn't feel sad anymore...becuase it is so pretty and I was very happy to be staying/living in London. So I took a picture with my camera phone to capture the moment -- and here it is. That was good karma. Happy trails, Heather!

Party at Cat's

Here are some pictures from my party last weekend...thanks to my friend Olly for taking them!

Tom

Olly and Me

Sandra and Amanda

Nana


















Mike and Sybil














Cheryl and Rory

Nicki and Hannah

I'm Quite Proud of the Gays. Especially the Dutch Ones.

Last weekend I went to Amsterdam to visit my good friend Kate who recently moved there from Washington, DC (Kate and I go way back about 10 years when we met in DC and became fast friends). It happened to be Gay Pride weekend, so we spent Saturday on a boat on a canal with about 15 other people (some of whom Kate works with) watching the Gay Pride Parade, which takes place on boats crusing down the canal...gives all new meaning to the term "parade floats." The weather was gorgeous and the whole city was out. Heck, it was so packed, perhaps all of the Netherlands was there...the city was buzzing.

It's impressive how popular Gay Pride activities have become. So popular, actually, that all the straight people go too. It's a bit of an all-day love fest of peace and understanding -- as everyone gets a bit more in touch with their inner disco drag queen. What's not to love about that?? By the end of the evening, one of Kates friend's, Karen, had a huge sticker plastered on her chest that said "I'm Gay." (She's not.)

What I really like about Gay Pride "Dutch Style" is that the parade takes place on boats. The streets and bridges were lined with crowds watching the party go by. After watching the parade pass, all the boats (including ours) went out on the water for a two-three hour cruise, forming a traffic jam on the water full of people partying, dancing and having a generally crazy time. Adults, kids, pets...everyone was out enjoying the disco-thumping boats. I think my favourite parade boats were the "gay grannies" (exactly what it sounds like -- old, gay grandmas); the ING boat (corporations are impressively on-board with Gay Pride these days too) with a cast of smartly dressed IMG employees performing their own choreographed line dance to Dolly Parton's classic song "Working Nine to Five;" a set of topless, blue-painted mermaids with long golden braids; a boat of gay tennis players (most in skirts) dancing with rackets in hand; and the gay Brazilian boat. And of course, no Gay Pride Parade is complete without a slew of men in drag who have better bodies than me and most women I know. Whatever. I was just enjoying rocking out to all the Wham! and ABBA.

Our party cruise ended around 6pm-ish. By this time, the crowds had taken to the streets and everyone was out (no pun intended). Kate and I fought our way through the crowds, got dinner and then went to a cafe for a cappuccino around 8:30pm. We were sitting outside gabbing when two cute blonde guys came and joined us at our table with a pretty endearing pick-up scheme. It totally worked -- we ended up going with them to one of the main city squares for a giant party where everyone under 25 who lives in Holland (it seemed) was packed into a tight space dancing to a DJ playing blaring techo music. We had some more drinks (there were beer stands lining the streets) and danced with our new pals for a couple hours, then slipped off to meet up with some of Kate's friends at yet another outdoor party about 5 blocks away in another city square. This party had a band. We had some more drinks, hung out a bit more (I bought a fun light-up neon lei necklace), and we finally departed the scene around 1:30am. By this time, Kate and I were famished again, so we stopped into a busy Middle Eastern diner called The Pharoah something-or-other where we each got a plate of grilled chicken (we think it was chicken) and a giant side of french fries. nothing says "DIET" quite like that at 2am. Stomachs full, we stumbled home pretty tired. I had a splinter in my toe where I had wiped out on some wooden steps earlier and Kate and I both had a bizarre case of the spins. We are both clearly too old for this.

Saturday we took it easy...met Kate's friends for brunch at an Irish pub near the Dam (city center), then wandered over to tour the Rembrandt House. Rembrandt lived there for more than 20 years where he painted most of his famous works. The house contains many of his etchings and is still furnished/preserved in typical 17th-century style. After the tour, we wandered through a few galleries and antique shops, browsed the storefronts (as most places are closed there on Sundays), and then stopped into the lounge at the Hotel Americain and had a few cocktails as we watched the people go by. We wandered to another more residential square later that evening and had dinner outdoors at a very tasty Turkish cafe.

I flew back to London Monday morning and went straight into work. It's kind of nice...Kate and I are now the same distance away from each other (45 minute flight) as we were when I lived in NYC and she lived in DC. It's nice having an old friend from home so close...and fun that we are both having European adventures together. It's hard to beleive that the last time we were both in Amsterdam back in February, Kate had no clue she would be living there permanently in 4 short months. Funny how life works...

The European Launch of Adeena's First Book!

My brilliant friend Adeena (Sussman) has published her first book!

"Just Heat it and Eat It" is a fun look at convenience foods of the 40s-60s. It is very good and includes interesting tidbits and trivia about some iconic American foods...which Adeena painstakingly spent hours researching and putting into prose.

Adeena is in town visiting from NY and brought me my very own copy. So we threw a party at my place last Friday evening to celebrate -- about 25 friends came, so I consider that the European launch party for the book...I passed it around and all were impressed! (We were also all very impressed by the delicious vodka mint lemonades Adeena was stirring up and pouring by the pitcher...)

To order your very own copy, check it out on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933112190/ref=sr_11_1/103-3567841-5247038?ie=UTF8

Adeena's website is www.adeenasussman.com.

Cookie Does London (and Paris on the side)

So, in keeping with my highly delayed and backlogged posting habit, here are some pictures from Jeff's (or Cookie, as I like to call him) visit to London in early March. We did all sorts of fun touristy things that I haven't gotten to do since coming to England: We toured the War Cabinet Rooms and the Winston Churchill Museum (WAY cool, I had no idea about the whole War Cabinet Room thing), we went to Greenwich and strattled the Prime Meridian (and I learned just what exactly it is....I missed that in fifth grade geography), we toured the Cutty Sark (also in Greenwich), toasted at Vertigo (a champagne bar atop Tower 42 in the city), ate at Jamie Oliver's "Fifteen" restaraunt, and toured the recreated Shakespeare Globe theatre (with an impossibly boring tour guide who was so dull she was hysterical). We even went shopping and Jeff let me pick out a few shirts for him at Ted Baker that I know he never would have agreed to on his own. They are probably in the bin for Arizona Goodwill as we speak (damn, I should have gotten a picture when I had the chance). Shopping for boys is sooooo fun.

We also took a side trip to Paris for a day and a night....I had to go last minute for work, so Jeff came along. He is so agreeable. ;)

The weather was horrible the entire time (not that you can tell from these pictures when the fickle English sun did come out for 5 seconds), but we made the best of it!

Here are some pictures....
1)At Vertigo champagne bar, 42 floors up (but it was not as blurry as this picture)
2)The Eiffel Tower being sparkly during our rainy nighttime walk
3)Jeff impersonates a figurehead in the Cutty Sark
4)St. Paul's Cathedral peeps over the Blackfriars Bridge
5)Jeff and I separated by East and West at the Prime Meridian in Greenwich
6)Me at Shakespeare's (recreated) Globe Theatre
7)Cookie at the Blackfriar's Pub....VERY "monastary chic" and cool