Year of Living Dangerously – weeks 40 and 41
October 16, 2011
I got a little backed up this week so I had to combine my blog for the last 2 weeks. I went upstate to visit my parents last weekend so I didn’t get a chance to write about week 40 so I’ve included it in this posting. I love going upstate in the fall. The weather is usually great…nice and crisp…and the leaves are normally at their height when I drive through the Adirondacks to get home. It was a little disappointing this time because the color of the leaves was not as vibrant as usual. I think this has something to do with the fact that it hasn’t been that cold and there has been so much rain. It was still a great view, though. I had a nice time with my parents. We went out to the Village Inn, one of the best restaurants in my hometown and saw a lot of their friends and some relatives. We also went to my cousins restaurant while I was there. They serve some of the dishes that used to be on the menu at the 284 Club, my father’s family retaurant that my uncles ran when I was a kid. It was started by my grandparents when my father was growing up. I remember going there to eat just about every week and I loved the food. Their lasagna was a special favorite and they now have it on the menu at my cousin’s place so, of course, I had to try it. It tasted just like I remembered….great!
The week before I left, work was pretty good. I’m slowly figuring things out and finding where I can add value (I hope). I’m doing a lot of recruiting which is not my favorite thing but necessary for the company at the moment. I’m hoping I’ll be able to hire someone to take over some of the office management duties soon since I don’t really know what I’m doing in that area. My picture is now up on their website….a first for me. I always thought that the people listed as management on company websites must be pretty important. I guess I know better now that I’m up there.
I did a few things in the last 2 weeks. I went with some friends to this cute place on Madison Ave called Duo. I think it is relatively new. The drinks and food we ate at the bar was pretty good and the place is kind of cool inside. I went to Splash, a gay dance club, for happy hour to celebrate my friend’s birthday. The bartenders there are pretty hot….all shirtless and some in just underwear. None were interested in me, of course, but the view was good. I went with a friend to a very good play called ‘Man and Boy’ put on by the Roundabout Theater. Frank Langella was in it and he was great. The play was interesting and, even though it was set in the 30s, the story had relevance to today. Over the weekend I got dressed up and went with a good friend, who also likes to get dressed up, to the restaurant Rouge Tomate. Before the restaurant he suggested going to the King Cole bar at the St. Regis Hotel for a drink. This bar is like being transported to old New York and I like going there. Rouge Tomate was very good. The decor is really interesting…clean and modern looking… and the tasting menu was a treat. I highly recommend the place.
A few things in the news caught my eye. First, of course, is the occupy wall street movement. They’ve been in that park downtown for 4 weeks now and, even though they make some good points, I have to confess that all I’ve been able to think of is…are they taking showers anywhere? From what I was told, there is a place they go to and get cleaned up. I hope so because, if not, that is one smelly park. Herman Cain is now the new Republican frontrunner. Don’t they have a new frontrunner every week? He is the guy that was head of the pizza company. I might be able to get on board with him if one of his campaign promises was ‘pizza for all’ but aside from that, he is just another one of those zany Republicans. Lastly, Anderson Cooper is doing a whole series on bullying on his show. I must say that it is interesting that bullying is suddenly the thing to talk about. Bullying has been going on forever. I remember the guys in my class doing and saying awful things to a girl in my class who had been born with some deformities. I’m sure high school must have been hell for her, but she held her head high and did everything she wanted to do. She came back to our high school reunion 20 years later with a wonderful husband who obviously adored her….the ultimate revenge. I wonder if bullying is so much worse now. Obviously the whole social media thing has added a new dimension, but perhaps it is just that kids today don’t have the capacity anymore to realize that this too shall pass and that they will triumph after high school and leave their tomenters in the dust. This doesn’t excuse people behaving badly but, since no amount of TV coverage will probably end it, we are going to have to teach kids to overcome it. That girl in my class certainly did.
Until next week…