Thursday, April 26, 2007

Dinner

March 5th 2007, dinner at the Millenium in San Francisco. My first outing in months! Here I am trying to remember what it was like to spend an unscheduled few hours without thinking about the California bar exam.

My brother, perhaps just as relieved as me, celebarting in kind with me.










Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Columbia Invades Wine Country!




The first Annual Columbia Alumni Association event in Sonoma at the Deloach hospitality chalet. Sounds fabulous....but it began as a series of total mishaps, miscomms and misadventures. Perhaps thats not so unusual in the annals of human collaboration and the yoking together of disparate personalities. But it was daunting nonetheless. And frankly, up until a few days before the day of the event, I really didnt think we would pull it off. Hah! Just goes to show how much emanates from laying back a bit and trusting in life, its ebb and flow for sure, but its basic, enduring goodness. A Grand Success!!
Stuart and his glib, New York-ese inflected intellectualism. Greg and his folksy, brainy approach to the timeless art of winemaking. Ginny and her unexpected radiance she brings to scientific (biodynamic) farming. Jean Charles and his hale fellow well met Gallic charm...who happened to be wearing the same navy blue blazer and pink shirt outfit....how funny indeed! And most unexpectedly of all...All those brash, independent Columbia alums doing something one never would have forseen...actually engaging with and enjoying one another!
Next step: More events in NY, Chicago, DC, Pittsburgh etc and (drumroll please...) launching The Columbia University Wine Club . Out of the frying pan and into the fire...



Monday, April 16, 2007

Easter 2007- resurrection for real





































Easter 2007-- all about faith, resurrection and joy, huh?...how very fucking appropriate...
Today started off as a terrible grey day, with Chery very upset over the grisly death (eaten by semi-feral dogs) of her beloved cat, Boris, and the tension between us as thick as toxic molasses. For most of the morning I felt trapped between wanting to reach through her immense sadness in some way, and then feeling like her (apparent) sense of entitlement was going to bring out the absolute worst in me...things that Ive worked hard to control, if not eliminate. Wanted to scream with the unhappiness, the helplessness of it all...

Dan came over later that morning , and we (along with Cheryl) drove out to Jana's home to pick up the antique Korean chest I had bought...beautiful piece, and perfectly suited for storing all those pesky cd's stashed in the last unpacked box from my recent move into the new loft. Made me happy....what a good little interior decorator I'd make, huh? Anyway, got some loving advice from Dan about the danger (to oneself) about being bitter, angry to people. Armed with this, I went back and had an open, positive discussion with Cheryl...

Cheryl rests for a while, the day unfolds in its own inexorable way....and she rallies as the day slips into early night. And her new positive energy (mine also?) absolutely changes the entire context around her, us. [I cant help thinking of the line from What the Bleep?: when you change the way you look at things, you change the things around you.]...
Dan stopped by first and we opened up some champagne...Happy banter...Cheryl starts planning for her fabulous meal, though for some reason we are all rooted to the slow easy pace as it seems to be unfolding. And, even though we all refuse to do a grocery run, Cheryl's culinary skills win out in the long run...she makes an amazing Tuscan feast using only random ingredients we had in the loft. Brava, ragazza, brava!!! Florence arrives, with her radiant smile and warm aura, and wows everyone with her terribly Indian kaftan/kurta thingy...mad style points for you Miss Florence! Then Deirdra comes with her quiet intelligence and curious mind. Shes stunning in her sexy librarian neo-geek black glasses. She stays way past her bedtime...

But who can blame her?...the evening has this organic quality about it and the laughter, joy and fun warms us all.

Sunday, April 8, 2007

A Venice State of Mind - 1


So Ive started in earnest planning to be in Venice from late Sept to early October.


This year is a Biennale year, so the entire worlds art will be on display in Venezia
http://www.labiennale.org/en/


Ive started putting out feelers among friends from Italy (Andrea + Claudia), friends who travel there frequently (Cheryl) and the most excitng wildcard....friends Im starting to meet online....Myspace, Nerve and who the hell knows what all else!


From these online sources Ive already met a Reggae/Dub collective that is based in Venice! (My Yardie relatives---you know who you are -- would be quite amused by this)

Moa Anbessa



And a slow food-esque type foodie group that specializes in....pork!!! Now hows that for great goddamned luck?



Wondering where the dialogue will lead, and am excited....

Third Law, Second Look

After lots of unplanned changes to our dinner logistics, I met up with Jason B, Deirdra and Cheryl at Royal Peacock in North Boulder--my favorite Indian joint in CO. Amazing food...gravy to die for (Indians, like Italians, call curries, masala, etc "gravy") and great specials that include exotic meats like Russian Boar

Without Lassen there I was the only common link between folks, so I did intros and pointed out common interests....travel and music, esp. Jason's interesting musical journey and his new opportunity to do a film score. As the food starts coming out, the conversation gets increasingly pre-verbal (grunts, moans, etc) and then as the entrees come to a climax the conversational regression hits a low point and becomes nonverbal altogether (head nods and wags, eye rolls, etc). Throughout, I can see out of the corner of my eye Shanti smoking cigs on the porch every 15 minutes or so. He's in a pretty quiet mood, or maybe I shouldve spent more time chatting with him when we arrived...I'm always surprised that he remembers me...

The snow has picked up momentum while we were eating...after a slippery drive to the Dairy Center, the Third Law dance performance was sorta underwhelming-- themes of immigration, love, lost and found memories, youth and aging, loss. Definitely some innovative movements and specific dance syntax...but overall a somewhat dull set of dances, inconsistent tone/polish. One major exception...The Box Dance!!! Amazing, even virtuoso, athleticism, humor and playfulness that didnt sacrafice the symbolism-- one's movement within the confines of life (love?fear? etc).
http://3rdlaw.org/

Late supper at The Med-- Soo Young joins and we make quite an eclectic and diverse group...I love that!!! Finance folks, creative folks, software & hardware engineers, PhD and musicians and dancers. Maybe theres hope for cowtown after all, huh? if such a group can spontaneously self-organize....Gigi, Dan, Deirdra, Cheryl, Jason, Jennifer. Much laughter, 2bottles of Rioja and empanadas and a pizza. Deirdra in particular strikes me as a person of note, whereas in our previous discussions (very fleeting and superficial, admittedly) that was not my feeling. Hmmmm...

While dropping off SY, I am pulled over and given the full DUI drill culminating in the dreaded breathylizer...all worked out in the end....seems I didnt drink all that much (2-3 glasses?) and the rest, well, my metabolism mustve taken care of...

NYC March 2007






















OK-so I just spent a week in New York...one of my regular trips back that somehow turned into one of these expansive experiences, filled with new people and new experiences. The memory, only a few days later, is sort of a blur, slightly shimmering...and happy to be sure...

Thurs- Afro Brazilian DJ set at Sullivan Room and 3am Supper at Employees Only. Ed, Taka, Dan, Gunilla

Fri- Dinner at one of those hipster places on Clinton/Rivington and birthday party at Backroom (nee Lansky Lounge). Megan, Jessica, Dan, Fernando, Ling, Madoka and a buncha Singaporean Chinese fashionistas, and the odd Japanese photographer.

Sat- Rich, Marie, Jakob and Valetta at the brownstone....playtime with the kids all afternoon. Dinner at 5 Points, Brazilian dance at Danspace, Sake at Decibel, supper at Brick Lane (and assorted illnesses and unexplained disappearances). End of the night was an improvissation of island beats and jungle fever-driven folks. Gotta love it...
Ish, Sladana (radiantly pregnant w/ twins!!!), Sue, Anita, Gunilla, Deepa, Tomoko, Taka, Florence

Sun- Brunch at Ici in Ft Greene--fucking babyfest of the first order! Playtime meets feeding time, sprinkled with small amounts of adult conversation. Drinks at Freres on Ludlow. Outernational at Knitting Factory. Lisa, Raouf, Toni, Tony, Florence, Dan, Rich, Andrea, Claudia, Megan, Tim (Robbins) and Susan (Sarandon)

Mon- Dan returns to CO. Russian baths all morning with Hari and then back to his daycare place where baby Uma and her fabulous 2yr old friends are whiling away the day with fingerpaints and afternoon snacks. Dinner with Madoka at Soy. Long lovely walk in the E.Village.

Tues- Business stuff. Packing. Back to CO. Good chat with Taka re JV oppty in the car on the way to LGA.

Introduction

Full fathom five thy father lies;
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
-- The Tempest

Somethin' filled up my heart with nothin'...someone told me not to cry. But now that I'm older, my heart's colder, and I can see that it's a lie.--- "Wake Up" Arcade Fire

This is a subjective (and at times asynchronous) chronicle of my life after leaving New York and moving into the wild yonder beyond the shores of the Hudson. Sort of a love song to the people and events that have created the fecund texture of life after Gotham. And to some, one in particular, who were there all along. I am not a writer or a photographer, but I'm doing my best to share aspects of my wide world rim roaming...the upswells... and the wipeouts, along the way.