Happy New Year!

To all,

May 2007 be a year full of renewed hope and dreams, coupled with happiness and joy. May the tenacity of your spirit grow with each day!

A.B.

Home Sweet Home

Arrived safe and sound in Mexico on Friday 12/22/06... although the flight was slightly delayed, and my pooch traveled in a special cargo area, which was stressful to me, we made it.

I hit the ground running and saw a friend for dinner. It was nice to see G.C.R. face to face; luckily he is doing well, just came out of a relationship but that ended on good terms, he is looking spectacular and life in general is good for him. I was thrilled to see him. He is one of those good, no, great friends that remain unaffected by time and distance. We had dinner at a restaurant curiously named "Otto" which, unfortunately, wasn't as great as the New York counterpart.

Saturday, I met with my former boss and good friend B.E.; G.C.R. accompanied us, we had Chinese at a Hunan, an old haunt. After that we then went to a club which was completely empty, but we had a good time.

Sunday was Christmas; my mom cooked a fabulous dinner, typical recipes in our family and today was just a relaxing day. I saw a very good movie at home with my mom, Elsa y Fred, about an older woman and her neighbor and their budding romantic relationship. It was quite sweet and inspiring.

Before my trip home, I met with W.W. for dinner. We had tapas and after that I asked him if he would like to grab dessert, so we did and we went to Chikalicious. Absolutely delicious.

More later,

A.B.

The Chocolates

Due to some mailroom delays, the chocolates arrived at W.W.'s desk on Tuesday, in the afternoon. I received a thank you e-mail stating that they had put a huge smile on his face. Cloud 9 has nothing on me. We have a date Saturday :-)

A.B.

Neruda, Pablo

Pablo Neruda is absolutely gifted. I just bought a bilingual compendium of his work.

If You Forget Me


I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.

Pablo Neruda

Such a beautiful expression of love.

A.B.

The Romantic...

Yesterday late afternoon, I sent W.W. a tiny box of chocolates from La Maison du Chocolat and a thank you note.

A.B.

Cr[Bl]ackberry usage

So, I read this on WSJ today:

December 8, 2006, 5:21 pm
BlackBerry Addicts: A 12-Step
Program
Posted by Peter Lattman

WSJ.com’s most-emailed and most-read story of the day: “BlackBerry Orphans,” a tale about the unexpected impact the devices are having on family dynamics. We know that lawyers — and those of us at the Law Blog — are chronic BlackBerry users, so we urge you to read the story. But the sidebar, “A 12-Step Program for Addicts,” is a keeper. Here are the recommendations, and feel free to add your two cents:

1. During meals, do not check email.

2. Do not hide your email habits from family members. If you feel that someone would be upset to see you BlackBerrying, it’s a sign that you probably shouldn’t be.

3. Commit to stop emailing while driving (even at red lights), walking across the street or doing anything that requires careful attention.

4. Do not check email for the first hour of the day. In addition to giving you time to leisurely read the newspaper or spend time with your family, the practice will help you shake the tic-like checking ritual.

5. Endeavor to leave the mobile email device in the car or at home when attending any function taking place at your child’s school, or when picking up your child from school.

6. Decide on an email-free block of time. Parents should first assess their child’s conversational patterns — some like to talk about their day immediately after school, others just before bedtime. Even if your child doesn’t seem interested in talking, stick to your promise not to email during that time.

7. Set boundaries at work: Alert your colleagues that your mobile email device will be turned off during the predetermined time slot.

8. Actually turn off your device and stick it in a drawer during the time you’ve designated as email-free.

9. If you are in the middle of a work crisis, still try to respect some boundaries. Consider blocking out a few 15-minute periods to check email — and then turn the device off again. Honestly assess whether the situation at work is an actual crisis that can’t be solved without your oversight.

10. When emailing while socializing or spending time with your family, ask yourself if your priority at that moment is enjoying after-work activities or getting work done. If it is the former, power-down. If it’s the latter, return to the office.

11. Upon arriving home, practice a ritual that helps you mentally separate the work day from the after-work evening. Light a candle, put on music, pour a cocktail. Don’t check your email during this time.

12. If mobile email overuse creates tension between you and your significant other, consider creating jointly agreed-upon BlackBerry-free zones. For instance, unless your bedroom doubles as a home office, consider maintaining it as a sanctuary of your personal life.

So thrilled I didn't take my crackberry with me during my dates... then again, I am still not back at the office.

A.B.

Sunday

It was 12 pm, and I thought it was time to call W.W. and I held back. I didn't want to appear to over-anxious which, with me, is always a challenge. I don't hold back and have been trying to maintain some form of equilibrium when it comes to dating.

I stepped out of my apartment to run some errands and then, at 12.50 pm called him. As he picked up he said he was just text messaging me (ugh). We agreed to meet at 3 pm in Union Square and then head up to the museum.

I quickly grabbed breakfast at Jerry's in Soho. I had some french toast with strawberries and bananas, and coffee. After that, I stopped by Paul Smith, Moss and Alessi, and then headed home. I took a quick nap, walked my pooch and then headed to Union Square.

W.W. was running 10 minutes late and I got stuck in the 6 train for a good 10 minutes due to some malfunction on the 4/5 line. So, we met at about 3.15 pm at the holiday market.

We took the 6 train uptown and ended up walking in the wrong direction. As we realized this, I saw La Maison du Chocolat and asked him if he would like some hot chocolate. He said yes and we walked in. We ordered and W.W. said he would get it. I balked as the gentleman rang us up, $18 for two small hot chocolates. I apologized to W.W.. He laughed and we drank merrily as we walked down to the Museum.

The exhibit was very interesting, though I focused much more on the Picassos and the Lichtensteins than on anything else. It was quite an interesting collection of varying artists with a common theme and, in some instances, reinterpretations of Picasso's works. We had a lengthy discussion about copyright and appropriation in the art world and came out on different sides of that discussion, which I thought was good. Differing views always lead to interesting conversations.

After that we saw the Kiki Smith exhibit, which W.W. found slightly disturbing and that I enjoyed a little more.

We grabbed a cab and headed over to L.C.'s for the party. We tried to find something to bring along, but all the liquor stores were closed. L.C. opened the door and greeted us with great big hugs. We stepped in and were received with two glasses of champagne.

We continued our conversation, met some people and spoke with them, had some great food (a triple cream from Coach Farms, one of L.C.'s and my favorites); some amazing manchego; a delightful fig compote to pair; brownies with fresh fruit and other marvels.

At about 8 pm, W.W. said he had to leave to take care of some work. He left and I stayed longer to spend time with L.C. At 10 pm I text messaged him with what I believed to be the answer to a question that we had lingering (an impressionist artist whose work had been exhibited at the Met that at the end of his life used torn fabrics to make artwork: Matisse) and got a response (Yes!). I went home just thinking that W.W. is a really nice person and hope he thinks the same of me; and that maybe, he will want to go out again with me.

A.B.

Friday's Dinner

I had dinner on Friday with the guy (W.W.) I met at 'Toys for Tots' on Sunday. We had followed the event with dinner at Sueños and had a very nice time. Those occasions when conversation flows and silences are not awkward, but rather meaningful.

We arranged to meet Friday at 9 pm for dinner at The Tasting Room. I arrived a couple of minutes late and W.W. was already there. I smiled as I walked in and saw him. He was very handsome. Strangely, he wore a white shirt with diagonally crossing blue lines and a navy jacket, with jeans. I was wearing a white shirt with diagonally crossing blue and brown lines and a chocolate brown velvet dinner jacket, with jeans. I commented on our attire. We were informed our table wouldn't be ready, that the restaurant was running slightly behind schedule and were invited to the bar. As we were about to order a drink, the hostess offered us a complementary glass of sparkling white wine which we readily accepted.

We began talking about his office holiday party the evening before and were seated 15 minutes later. As it was his first time at the restaurant, I suggested he order dinner and that I would take care of the wine. He ordered our dinner and I the wine. And the conversation continued. Midway through dinner I asked him what he had planned for the weekend and he said he was going to go on Sunday to the Whitney, as he an interest in seeing the Picasso and American Art exhibit. I told him I thought that it should be an interesting exhibit, that the Whitney has always been a favorite of mine and then if he would like to go together. As I said it, I felt like a dunce, inviting myself to something he had plans to do. He immediately said that it would be great, quelling my minor anxiety. I told him that that afternoon, my friend L.C. would be hosting a holiday party and if he would like to accompany afterwards to the party. He accepted.

We finished dinner, and the last of our Oregonian Pinot Noir and left the restaurant. As we walked, we had that sensation of not wanting the evening to be over but, at the same time, not wanting to over do it. As we stood on the corner of Elizabeth and Houston, I told him I needed some coffee. I suggested we go to a coffee shop nearby which turned out to be closed. I then offered going back to my apartment, and that I could make coffee. He said yes.

We bought some milk on the way and headed up to my apartment. I took his coat, hung it up and proceeded to make coffee. We sat down, continued our conversation and then he lay his head on my lap. I played with his hair a little bit and we kissed. After an hour of conversation and a little flirting, he headed home.

I bade him farewell and began looking forward to Sunday.

A.B.

Toys for Tots

I went to Toys for Tots yesterday, and had a blast. It is always such a fun party and a great event. Mountains of toys, streams of vodka, much merriment.

I was fortunate to see many people I have encountered in New York in the past and catch up. I also saw, from afar, one of the guys from Gym Adventures and the gym manager. The gym manager walked up to me and mentioned that they have been having many complaints along those lines. In addition, he told me that as they were talking to these two guys, one of them was confronted by his boyfriend who was arriving at the gym and found out what had transpired.

I saw a couple of bloggers at Toys for Tots too, so that was cool.

And, finally, I had a wonderful conversation and dinner with a guy I met there. I had not seen him and we bumped into each other, face to face. He said "Hello" and then "I saw you twice this evening, but you didn't notice me, how are you doing?". We spoke at length and then, as the lights came on, and everyone shuffled out, we went to dinner. A great evening. We are having a "second date" on Friday.

A.B.

Celebrity Sighting

I rode the subway up to work this morning with Stone Phillips of Dateline NBC. The guy is tall, taller than me. He's about six foot three inches tall; very handsome and very distinguished.

A.B.