City of Dreams, Goals, Love & Hoes.

October is FLYING by!  I last updated mid-day on S’s birthday – after work we met up around 8pm for drinks, hit a couple of local spots, then went up to cheer Diana Nyad before crashing too hard.  S loved his gifts – he is a big Buffalo Bills football team so I had one of his favorite players record a video greeting for him and revealing what one of his big presents was.  It was super funny – I wrote the script but the guy’s mannerisms and reactions to the gift itself were completely hysterical.   S said he watched it like 12 times and couldn’t stop laughing!  I also found Johnny Cash stamps at the post office and he loved them!

The next day morning came way too early but no rest for the wicked.  I worked until around 5 then got ready and met my friend M up at Lincoln Center for some NY Film Festival events. We saw Only Lovers Left Alive – the new Jim Jarmusch movie.  I loved the idea of a story about two vampires who’d been in love for centuries, but it was more like an hipster blood junkie addiction metaphor thing.  Nothing much happened.  Neat visually though.  For me the best part was the way they made Tangier look so beautiful and interesting – I had been there after my Gibraltar swim but to me seemed like a cramped, dry, unexciting place.  It was nice to see the same place through a different lens.  Also some very intriguing scenes shot in Detroit.  I always hope that city will rise again.  Skipped the Q&A and headed up to the patrons lounge.  M made friends with one of the bartenders and he completely hooked us up all night.  It was completely ridiculous – famous people were queue-ing at the bar and us sitting in our (high backed brown velvet!) chairs all night, glasses never even got to half empty.  M is seriously the best – lovely to everyone and everyone just gravitates to her.

I had never really gotten the hype about Tilda Swinton and I don’t think she looks particularly stunning on film but after seeing her in person she’s my new hero.  She has this weird lanky grace and literally glows, like a sexy magical alien.  It’s crazy – the next day I looked her up and she is 52 years old!  And her boyfriend’s my age – rock on.  Heck, maybe she really is a vampire.  Whatever it is, (SK II maybe?) I want some.  Then Steve Buscemi walked in and my night was complete.

We decided not to go to the reunion screening of Dazed and Confused and stayed in the lounge until the afterparty at the Paramount.  By this time we were starving so we ate every single appetizer presented to us (seriously, I ate something fried that had cream cheese in it, and some sort of fried meat on a stick.)  Miraculously I only had one drink at the afterparty and a couple of seltzers which probably saved my life the next day.  Jumped in a cab with M, she dropped me off before heading back to Brooklyn and we proclaimed it possibly the best night ever. 

The next day I had to work waaay too early, and look like a human to boot.  Bah.  I got up, showed, blowdried, makeup and suit and went to work where I proceeded to go non-stop until 5:30pm.  Thank goodness it was a short day for this time of year.  Went home, took a nap (S was already in the bed!) and then headed back up to Lincoln Center for another movie, Blue is the Warmest Color (for once I think the English title is more apt then the original.)  This one got the Palme D’Or at Cannes and was controversial due to some stuff with the actors/director and the really long, really explicit lesbian love scenes, but it didn’t seem exploitative to me, more like a portrait.  Some people have such a  hunger, hunger for life, hunger for certain people. It can either destroy you or fuel your life.  The love scenes showed part of that hunger, so I didn’t think they were that gratuitous.  Overall I liked it, it was over 3.5 hours long and I wasn’t dying to get out of there so that’s probably the best indicator.  After that we took the subway home and went.to.sleep. 

I slept in and then met up with my mom to see a matinee of the new Janis Joplin musical.  I really hated it.  I like Janis Joplin’s music and feel her life could have been an awesome show, but this kind of sanitized everything and was like a watered down greatest hits montage.   It was a nice day and we took a walk around midtown.  I got a cashmere sweater and some running shorts at Joe Fresh, then we went for early dinner at the Andaz.  We had a carafe of wine, an amazing cheese plate with bread and grapes and fresh honeycomb, my mom had carrot ginger soup with coriander and I had some autumn veg mix that had parsnips, potatoes, squash, ginger, and tumeric.  So good.  We were too full for dessert but each had a cordial – I had something called licor 43 (yummy vanilla-y taste, served over big ice cubes) and my mom has a vile concoction called Zwack.  I dropped my mom off at Grand Central then took the train down to 14th Street.  Got off the subway and started feeling really ill, so I got on the crosstown bus and S met me at the door.  Spent rest of the night and all of the next day in bed.  I needed that!

Super late night last night – took car service home and driver was playing Bon Jovi.  Hadn’t eaten all day so I had some bread and cheese and gingersnaps and chatted with S a bit.  Watched Project Runway and before I knew it it was 3am.  Ugh.  Got up around 8am today and so far it’s been an easier day.  I was smart and brought food too – oatmeal for breakfast, lots of coffee and a delish brie and green apple sandwich on some sort of artisanal walnut raisin bread.  It’s the little things!  I am debating on whether to go out to this great-sounding but super-late night event tonight, I really want to but know the rest of my week is going to be such madness and I have an early day tomorrow too.  I may leave soon and go to gym, I need it. 

Couple of fun photos – arial view of Diana Nyad swim (from her blog) and one of me at 190 Bowery, one of my all-time fave NYC landmarks: