spewing nothing

i feel like i'm stuck in the middle of a tornado; everything's just spinning around me at ridiculous speed. and everytime i reach out to get involved with one of the many spinning things, i get dizzy, so i retreat. and all i keep thinking of is vacation. and cocktails.

i've been in love with cocktails for a while. it all started with the negroni at east side company (larry & alyssa's birthday party) - i was mesmerized by the giant single ice cube. or maybe it was the manhattan at cite (RIP the unlimited wine dinners). actually, i think it was circa 1999... the sidecar at cibar (courtesy of ed taibi). a few years ago, the cocktail-craze hit NYC. and then i met naren at bobo. now i'm hooked.

i gave up brown booze and shots for lent. people poked fun at me, but i don't think they understand how much i love my makers mark. and shots of jameson. so now i love gin. something to add to my lent sacrifices next year.

it's not aiding my new year's resolution to drink less. i have plans to drink 6 of 7 nights this week. next week 6 for sure as well. this, in turn, affects my resolution to sleep more. when i woke this morning (if you can call it that), i felt good. at 2:54AM. i went to sleep after midnight. between the strange dreams and the work stress, i couldn't get back to it. so i worked. and gymmed.

i had after-work cocktails at irving mill yesterday. the ginger pear frost was sweet. i was hoping the ginger would give it a kick. it wasn't bad; it just wasn't what i wanted. then i had a tart kumquat citrus special. it was just what i wanted. i'm liking sour/tart drinks that turn your nose. but irving mill - pretty restaurant, good-looking menu, decent cocktails. note: i should go back for food. even though i probably liked it more because of the company.

despite the insanity of work and life, i think i'm happy. and if not, at least i'm seeing naren at bobo tomorrow.

irving mill
116 east 16th street btwn irving/park
new york, ny 10003
212/254.1600

dreaming of warmth & workouts

i've been in china for almost a week now to oversee the last stages of our (Keep) Spring 2009 production. this somewhat rural area of china - xuchang - is much colder than i expected. i was last here in september, and the weather was still quite warm - t-shirts during the day and a hoodie in the evening - so i couldn't imagine that just four months later, i'd be wearing 3 layers, plus my arcteryx puffy, and still be shivering. the workers here amaze me, with no gloves, they're toiling away, for probably close to nothing. you see, the factory is not heated. i'm in a private office, with 2 heaters, and it's still freezing. i don't try to imagine what working beyond these doors would be like.

instead, i sit at my desk dreaming of warmth and workouts. last week, my girlfriends and i booked a long-weekend to the fairmont mayakoba in mexico in march. one of the primary reasons we chose this hotel was that i required a nice fitness center.

since march 2008, i've been obsessed with the gym. originally my doctor recommended it as a solution to my sleep issues. i joined the gym at the union league club; it's small, and there's rarely anyone there - perfect for a novice. and as i started to go, it became a sanctuary. my S.O. and i would get into a fight; i fled to the gym. i was stressed from work; i immediately escaped to my sanctuary. when i had to go to china for the first time in april, i was panicked at the thought of being away from it so long. it was a drug. but after a visit to my friend in DC in june (and working out at the sports club/LA - an amazing place - every day that weekend), i realized it wasn't just my gym that made me so happy; it was the actual workout! (note: i'm not skinny from my addiction - my indulgent eating has made sure of that.)

i'm not so insane now. in china, i've accepted the fact that i won't see a gym for days. i bring pilates videos; i walk up the hotel stairs, bottom to top, until i feel exhausted; i listen to my workout playlist on my iPod... sometimes just hearing these songs lifts my spirits or cures my boredom. it's all i can do. however, at the factory office, i sit. i email, review samples and production shoes and shiver. so in my downtime, i plan my workout schedule for when i'm home. it's insane, i know, but the thought of slipping out before my S.O. wakes and getting in a quick weights/cardio session makes me giddy. calculating how much time i'll have to workout between work and getting ready for an evening event might seem crazy, but every minute i think i can squeeze in excites me.

i've even created a microsoft word calendar that begins the day after i get home until MEXICO. yes, i'm a fanatic. but in this frigid cold, i have to go to extremes to keep my mind off of the chill that keeps running through my body.

20 hours in shanghai

i had another night in shanghai on my way back from xuchang for work, and this time, there was no time for massage, eyelashes or dumplings!!

instead, i met two english speakers as i was checking in at the lobby of my hotel, and out of the blue, one called me for dinner. i suggested jishi restaurant, this wonderful shanghainese spot that i went to last time, but when we arrived (without reservation), they weren't taking any more diners - it was overflowing with patrons and waiting guests!! upon cauvin's (the new lobby friend) recommendation, we ended up at grand gateway mall in xujiahui at a cantonese restaurant (average food, not worth writing about) in their crazy food court maze on the 5th floor!

cauvin's two friends (both shanghai residents, one an actual local) met us, and we decided to try xintiandi for after-dinner cocktails. the raucous crowd at luna (a mix of chinese and western faces) drew us in where there was a chinese cover band playing mostly american songs.

my friend malcolm texted me to meet him at velvet lounge, but instead of finding him in the crowd of non-asian faces, i met a slew of italians!! they were hilarious, welcoming and just a load of fun (two chefs who talked italian cooking to me... mmmm, i do love food, especially italian food), and after a few too many cocktails (evidenced by my pounding headache this morning), i headed back to my hotel around 3:30am. talk about making good use of my few hours here!

this morning, i'm checking out and going for DVDs - i've missed too many talked-about films (ironman, indiana jones), and annually, it's cheaper to buy them here than to continue my netflix subscription!! hopefully i'll also get some dumplings or street food en route!

i miss my massage and i really could've used a manicure AND eyelashes, but shanghai this way was pretty amazing as well.

efficiency

last night on our way out of the hotel for dinner, we found a note under the door (see image, to come). since it was in all chinese characters (as you can see), i went to the front desk to ask what it said. "close your windows; there's a typhoon coming."

who needs to check the weather when you can get notes slipped under your door??? chinese efficiency.

in sync

on my flight to Shanghai on monday, i awoke towards the tail-end of the flight to some bells and chimes indicating that there would be an announcement, which was this (slightly paraphrased): "After your long flight, please take a moment to stretch your body." Then on the screen, a video comes on with a full stretching routine. But the best part was the majority of the passengers actually did the stretch! SYNCHRONIZED STRETCHING ON A FLIGHT??? it rocked.