Month: March 2007

The place I went to lunch was L’Atelier de Jo’l Robuchon. It’s frustrating because I know I can’t describe how exquisite my lunch was. I forgot to bring my camera which is a good thing, because I’m sure my photographing every course would have mortified Jonathan. But every dish was also visually perfect, the different plates they came on, the color, arrangement, the range of textures, with this wonderful bubbly foam on top of a number of them, that was my favorite I think. The work that must have gone into every spoonful of food, the different layers, and how they would taste together — I just can’t imagine it. It’s a particular kind of genius/total obsession to detail that produces perfection which is almost painful, because you want more of everything you taste. (I did finally get full though.) Thank you, Jonathan. The picture doesn’t quite capture that sphere, which is filled with more perfection. It’s a beautiful, shiny gold. (The photograph us from http://augieland.blogs.com/.)

Last night, around 9:30 police cars and emergency vehicles started pouring downtown. At 9:31 one police car went screaming down my street and I heard it hit something and just keep right on going. That was unsettling. After a while heliopter lights filled the sky. It turns out four people were shot and killed further down on Bleecker. A guy went into a pizzeria and shot a bartender, two auxiliary police went after him and the guy shot both of them (they were 28-years-old and only freaking 19!) and then the regular police shot him.

Oh christ. I just read that the guy who shot the bartender, shot him 15 times in the back. He walked into the restaurant, the bartender gave him a menu, turned around, and then the guy shot him 15 times. And then killing those poor kid cops. I wonder the hell his story is going to turn out to be?

I just realized, my friend Jonathan, who works in the Medical Examiner’s office, will be attending to all these bodies today. He told me he gives the tough cases to the new guys. “They have to learn.” But I don’t imagine these sad cases will be too tough.

(I feel terrible posting American Idol thoughts, so I’ll just keep it to Sanjaya is still here–pre-teens and Vote for the Worst are so annoying.)

This is one of my fantasy homes. It’s in Brooklyn Heights, on the promenade overlooking Manhattan. Sigh. Sigh, sigh, sigh. I WILL NEVER LIVE IN THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE.

Richard Sweet from Chicago kindly re-touched the photo of Cricket and Bean below so that it’s a little lighter and you can see them better. The picture was taken with one of those … whatchamacallits, I have one, the little video-conferencing camera? Anyway, that’s why it’s not high quality. Thank you for making them more visible, Richard!!

My friend Jonathan is taking me out to lunch today, and he’s a food critic, so absolutely delicious food is in my immediate future!! I cannot freaking wait. I will be posting all about it. It’s a restaurant in the Four Seasons. So in this case I will give a happy sigh, sigh, sigh.

I had a long, hard, difficult day yesterday. Echo went down and I couldn’t get into the building where we keep the machines until after 8PM. So, I was home all day, helpless, waiting for someone to call or email and let me know I could get in. I got home sometime before midnight, and my friend Cricket sent me a picture of her dog Bean (who she knows I love and want to steal). It’s dark, but you can see his absolutely adorable face, right?

He’s a little guy. I’m pretty sure if he ever visited, Buddy and Finney would KEEL him. My current fantasy is to get a chihuahua, because when we’re both old I would be able to carry him or her up and down the stairs. I always thought chihuahuas were yappy, unpleasant dogs, but everything I’ve read about them says they are not. They are sweet, loyal and very people oriented.

This is me, Miriam, Mary, Alessandra (who is having a baby in June!!) and Dimitra!

And this is Alessandra with Rebecca, who just finished this program in neo-natal nursing, and I’m thinking I’ve got the name/description wrong. God help me. Memory-abilities completely shot. Anyway, I had a great time, just love the choir girls, and for the millionth time, I wish I had a pretty little apartment in Brooklyn Heights. Man, that place is enchanting. I’ve got a couple of pictures of my fantasy Brooklyn Heights home, which I might post later.

The Mobil building is not a success. I can see why the designers thought it was a good idea at the time. The metal work in and of itself is pretty.

But the overall building is not. (I didn’t take a shot of the whole building.) It doesn’t help that it’s across the street from the Chrysler Building. A detail (actually, the Chrysler Building is such perfection, if you look closely, there are gorgeous details within details even in this close-up):

Yesterday felt very productive. I went to the library after my meeting, except I found a lot and have to go back. Bottomline, that’s a good thing, but it just means MORE WORK. I’m meeting some friends for brunch in lovely, lovely, Brooklyn Heights, so I’ll have a nice meal with friends and then head back. A nice life, overall. Can’t complain. Except I will. But I have to say, I do get to walk around in a city where people come from all over the world in order to build what they hope will be the most gorgeous buildings in the world, and even when the results are not a complete success, there’s good bits.