News of sorts…

Sometimes you don’t have the energy to write another paragraph, and the inspiration to blog is far from home.

So what do you do instead? Read a book, something fun and light, or carry on drafting the manuscript… not much else to do way past midnight… and television seems so out of context – bad news vs. gossip programs, spoiled for choice, eh?

It’s the news you hear – neither good nor bad – just strange, unexpected, seems more like a joke than the reality… and you end up feeling dazed the rest of the evening.

Nothing’s worse than a relationship or business of any kind without a final closure… Weird, really, and the aftertaste just never goes away for good – if it does, you know you’ve become immune towards everything.

So much food for thought and so little time and space……….

First Water, Now Soap

What’s it all about, soap operas?

Every Russian channel on Time Warner cable here in the US is heavily based on numerous soaps, one after another – inevitably, every free moment you get, you’re drawn into whichever one appeals to you. Well, not so much the male population of viewers – true. But it is addictive… And with Russian synchronized translation.

How can I watch it? Ohhh tell me all about it… We’ve been following Mexican telenovelas in former USSR and beyond for years and years now. Simplemente Maria and Marianna in “Los Ricos Tambien Lloran” being the national favorites in Russia back in the early 90′s. No kidding!

Yet, over a decade later, I discovered myself listening to some nonsensical soap opera in the background as I was polishing my manuscript (no, not about telenovelas!) – how did that happen? Let’s just say I was watching a news program and forgot to turn it off…. No, but really! There are certain ones I cannot bear to watch – not even for 30 seconds, and this one is clearly among those ultimate banalities.

Now, ask any Russian housewife back home and no doubt, she’ll confide that it’s the highlight of her day on a winter day in Moscow… Whenever the title song of a Mexican soap kicks off, they feel reborn and so rejuvenated all of a sudden. Honestly!!

So will you forgive me if I finish this blog and keep the amazingly scripted tele-addiction on in the background….?

No Water… Spiced Pumpkin Latte, Please!

Got up at the crack of dawn for a very glamorous reason – the management is shutting hot water off in my building for most of the day, therefore, we, the residents, were forced to shower and flee our homes rather early…..

I managed to escape to the nearest Starbucks in Barnes and Noble and am reading a wonderful book I picked up yesterday called “Elvis Is Titanic” – a must! Seriously good….you won’t regret it!

As a true New Yorker, am also “enjoying” a cup of the special coffee of this season – spiced pumpkin latte with whipped cream… Always reminds me of my very first fall in NY back in 2004… Same coffee, same aroma, different Starbucks branch, though!

About to start working on the go, as they say, but can’t stop listening to the iPod – funny how a good song can capture your attention and eventually distract you from work. Especially watching the traffic early in the morning – never a pretty sight – can be inspiring, haha!!

The whipped cream has sure made my drink a little too greasy – will remember to cut that one out of my “venti spiced pumpkin latte with any milk pumpkin powder and whipped cream” order.

Starbucks generation rocks…not!

Kinderville

Babies. Childhood. Carefree times….

(Gentlemen, feel free to skip this post!)

(Ladies, be prepared to feel that warm tingle!)

So… Babies: good ones, OK ones and nightmare ones – all kinds. Some are more fun than others, most are as fascinating as the one next to it, but really – a special baby is a gift for everyone, including the parents’ friends.

Yours truly has an adorable baby which unfortunately does not belong to her but to her close friends. Does that make me feel deprived whenever they take her away? Well, some say kids are great as long as you can give them away – maybe so for some, but at times I do feel a little upset when I have to pop out to a meeting or travel and not see her for more than a week. Can’t get enough of this amazing creature – and she’s not even my own!

Have spent a beautiful afternoon with her today – a lot of laughter and fun, just a tad bit of complaining, mostly about “more food!” and “give me your blackberry, I want to chew it!” but all in all, nothing compares to the purity, joy and enthusiasm of a child. And that’s as personal as we’re going to get here, you know (for those of you wondering!!)

Which reminds me, this morning I received an email from a very special person who was, in many ways, responsible for making the Russianette’s dream appear more realistic and more feasible than she would have ever thought back then… And that was many, many years ago in Moscow…

The email brought back a whole bunch of amazing childhood memories from that era, and made me realize I must have come a long way since then as I hadn’t spoken to him in years… Such utter joy and inspiration, truly!

Kinderville, please take me back….!!!

Crabs from the days gone by…

Couldn’t resist sharing this, but please bear in mind no names or other description of definite identity can be disclosed due to the ridiculous nature of this true story, which took place just a couple of days ago….

A really nice gig of a famous rock star from a couple of decades ago rocked the house in Philadelphia last week… Can’t say where or when exactly, of course, for obvious reasons you are already aware of, but it was quite an event – fun, and nostalgic, albeit way before my time but still… lovely stuff, thanks to my new friend and a great musician herself who invited me to the show.

All was good, prim and proper until we went to hang out with the musos backstage after the show… It was great, as we chatted away and talked about this, that and the other. There was a young woman standing in the corner looking at one of the musicians we where talking to the whole time – and she just wouldn’t take her eyes of him! Was she a friend? An acquaintance? Or did she sneak in after the gig?

Finally, she walked up to us and shared a rather curious story about how the rock star who was onstage during the last few hours had had a fling with her when she was under-aged and as a result, she inherited… the crabs! Insane!

And why would you ever share that publicly? She was giggly about it, too, and by the end of the confession gave a CD of demo songs to the musician as a little post-scriptum. I would have felt guilty even mentioning it anonymously but she must have felt otherwise… Amazing how people can basically care so little about such things… How, I don’t know…

Busy Bee

Only so many hours a day you can work without feeling like a piece of sun-dried cabbage by the end of it. But that’s the life of a New Yorker, I suppose – it’s all about hard work here. So what happens after spending years on the go? Finito?

Even after hours of being busy with all sorts of arrangements, deadlines and submissions, as well as sessions, meetings and hang-outs (alter ego problems!!) I still feel as though I haven’t made the most of the available 24 hours per any given day… “If only I had done more yesterday, I’d have been able to do even more today….” That’s my motto… but not a healthy one, I agree!

Having finished drafting the radio show for my program on Tuesday morning, I am officially done for the night… But oh wait, what about typing out the manuscript I drafted last night? Still haven’t done that… But when???

Not complaining, God forbid, never! What’s better than being hectically busy around the clock and barely finding the time to take a quick breather? Well, maybe a little catch-up with a friend online – the one across the ocean… Oh yes, that is always special, I agree. Yet, work is always there staring me in the eye whenever I turn around to cast a quick glance at what’s cooking on the desk!

May it always be that way… busy, busy bee!

Dizzy but Happy

First things first: Swedish coffee rocks – and who would have thought? Danish pastries, OK, but Swedish iced coffee with a touch of cream? It’s out of this world!

Catching up with a friend across the Atlantic – not just a friend but a very dear one – via Blackberry sat outside of FAO Schwartz with a glass of iced coffee and a crowd of tourists catching the tail end of NY’s Indian summer ’08 on Fifth Avenue can be fun. Especially after picking up a pair of fabulous jeans at a fancy store with the best dance music you will ever hear in the Big Apple…

Except, by the time I brought the jeans home, I realized the cut was completely wrong. Therefore, an imminent return + refund was inevitable!

Feeling a little dizzy after that double-shot espresso on ice, but how could I neglect a few minutes of “Dear Blog” coziness? Never!

Wait, but I haven’t eaten anything since the picnic earlier this afternoon around 1 or so. Crazy! That’s why I’m dizzy, no wonder…

“What’s for dinner tonight?” is the big question! And the answer is equally promising – potatoes in tomato/garlic/coriander sauce. Yummier than it sounds, I promise.

Wouldn’t be so smart to go out AGAIN tonight – not with the amount of paperwork I’ve got waiting to be typed out and edited. A manuscript is no joke, you know. Pretty intense but well worth the hassle, I bet!

If I manage to get through the work tonight, I’ll try to write more nonsensical little-nothing’s later. But for now, tara!

Fun, fun, fun….

Have you ever had the best time ever at an adorable 1-year-old’s birthday party in Central Park? Well, I did…this afternoon!

An absolute blast – the most creative, fun crowd of people (very artsy, mostly musicians) and kids laughing and giggling non-stop on a beautiful Sunday afternoon… What more could you ask for? No crying, no moaning, no drama AT ALL – just fun, fun, fun and delicious snacks, along with top-notch champagne. Yummy!

Icing on the cake? A ride on the carousel in the very heart of the park. Not difficult to figure out who had the most fun on those horses, too… Yes, you’re right – the grown-ups!!!

Too bad I didn’t qualify for the free balloons and other eye-candies, but hey, it’s never too hard to buy one of those pretty little things using one of those pro excuses, such as “it’s for my niece” – always works (and I’d know!)

Back to work… Shame all fun and excitement has to come to a logical ending. Life is all about deadlines and responsibilities…

Most of the time, that is!

Reunion Part II – A BLAST!

What a memorable night, that’s for sure!

It all began in a very civilized, grown-up manner – dinner for three as part of Reunion Part II at a fancy Indian restaurant in Chelsea called Earth. Samosas, curry and an overpriced mojito to start with…. And a very conservative conversation to go with it. Except that didn’t last long – being our usual crazy selves, we got so carried away after over a year of not seeing each other, instead of catching up like civilized people do, we spent the time making ridiculous jokes and driving the waiters insane! We are mad, yes.

When it was time for dessert, I took the liberty as an honorary Indian (never been there either, by the way!) to order masala chai, hoping to end the soiree in a purely Hindu manner. Except what we got in return was a cup + an ordinary teabag + milk + sugar on the side = traditional chai? I don’t think so! Oh, and it was 5 bucks, too! Lovely.

As the craziness was getting more and more intense, we decided to go from A to B and carry on from there… Since Ms. Wifey couldn’t join us due to an early start at work the following morning (on a Sunday!! But hey, that’s television…) Mr. Cupid and I were forced to pursue our adventures the night before his departure by ourselves……..

And so we found a fabulous Irish pub, Bill’s Gay 90′s (not a gay bar, no) with live music and quite an interesting crowd… Needless to say, we were the youngest people in the room – by 30 years at least! As soon as we walked in, the owners yelled “Fresh meat!!!” And the most sober ones, too, by the way – everyone was completely drunk by 10pm and kept singing every little song with the star of the night, Bryan (great voice, actually.)

Within an hour or two, Cupid and I were singing and dancing away, requesting all sorts of random tunes, one of them being “Tempted” by Paul Carrack.

“Paul Carrack?”, Bryan asked me in sheer amazement. “How do you know him?”

We do share the same… record producer… Except it would’ve been irrelevant then, I suppose!

Cupid’s ex landlady was also there – in all her glory! Lovely lady, actually, but she talks a little too much. Within a couple of hours, I could see why my friend used to complain back when he lived in NY, “She’s lovely but man, she talks!!!” Yup.

By 1.30 it was either “next stop” or “home sweet home”. What say you, Cupid?

A few minutes later, we were queuing up outside of a very odd Moroccan lounge/restaurant. Have had dinner there a couple of times in the past (it’s in my neighborhood) but it’s always been way too quiet and somewhat deserted. Not that I’m into loud places – not at all, but it was just a little too strange for NYC.

Anyhoo, our friends – A & S, a super fun married couple from India, definitely among the closest friends of mine here (including Cupid and Ms. Wifey!) were waiting for us inside but when we realized it was going to take 2 hours to get in thanks to the wonderful bouncer and an equally gracious manager (I swear, I live next door but have never ever seen a soul walking into this place before) Cupid called Mrs. A and gave her the heads up. “OK, I’m coming out!”

Having spent another hour trying to get in (not that it would’ve been worth it, you know) we finally gave up on the idea completely and the four of us started hunting for a – diner!

We finally ended up at another local place that I love, PJ Clarke’s, which has been around for donkey’s years (longer than me!) and is actually very good. At 2.30am, I found myself ordering a soft-shell crab sandwich and fries, while Cupid had a burger that he’s been craving ever since he arrived in NY last week, and the most fabulous Indian couple (Mrs. A, who by the way is not some curry-cooking middle-aged lady but a young girl in her 20′s, will kill me when she sees the nick! But they are fabulous and Indian, too, which is a bonus for a Hindu wanna be like myself!) had coffee, wine and French fries. The waiter looked somewhat puzzled as he took our order. It was, after all, 3am by then!

The evening ended on a high note – fun, fun, fun. Except by the time I got home and opened the door… Let’s just say, mildly speaking, that my mom and her friend visiting us at the moment, were far from delirious!

“Mom, I’m 24!!!” Ooops that was a giveaway of sorts… After all, I’m trying to conceal my identity – for whatever silly reason, but still….

While you were sleeping….

As I made my way to the departures lounge at airport to say “a bientot” to you, you were already boarding the plane and I couldn’t make it past the gate…..

I shouted your name over and over again…

But it was too late, the door was slammed by the flight attendant and the plane took off a few minutes later…. Off you were….!

I watched the plane disappear out of sight…. You were up in the clouds as I made my way back the hotel to pick up my bags from room 507 and depart for the Big Apple…… A bientot, it will have to be for now…. x