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July 30, 2003
Click your Heels 3 Times and Make a Wish
Some days I try to imagine I am in another city as I walk down the street. Today I imagined I was in Paris. No one was walking around looking like a wet dog with hunched shoulders. The sky was clear and the streets clean. No shorts, no overgrown and out of date shoulder pads and no wrinkled dockers. Everyone looked perfect and healthy and beautiful. The scent of fresh flowers hung in the air, and the cofee, ahh, the coffee was perfect as well.
This was one of the days I yearned to be in another place. Today everything seems off. People are talking about terrorism and disasters again. No one wants to take business trips even though we are booked solid through the end of the month. At least we won't be trading terrorism futures. By the way, how did such a ludicrous idea even come into existence? The more I hear about politics, the more depressed I become.
Posted by kafi at 09:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 29, 2003
A Moment of Silence
While visiting Westminster Abbey, we were instructed to take a moment and pray or meditate. The minister went on to say that we need to pray for our world leaders, "especially the United States and President Bush."
Posted by kafi at 04:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 27, 2003
Decorating Diva
Instead of redecorating my my site, I decided to decorate my place. My apartment now smells of wool, linen and stained wood. Yesterday, I spent an entire day at IKEA, armed with last year's catalog (full of bookmarks and turned down pages), picking up design ideas and a few goodies for my apartment. It was a guilt free trip primarily for the purpose of adding a little style to my living room/dining room. Floor sweeping, airy linen curtains now grace my enormous windows, emphasizing the high ceiling and concealing the ugly blinds that were previously in place. A sleek comfy chair replaces a very chunky hand-me-down chair and a deep lime green area rug now provides a place to stretch out on the floor. And a few cream-colored round rugs act as a runner in my entryway. Best of all, I provided a little inspiration to my friend J, who after 2 years has finally decided to do a little redecorating of his own.
Posted by kafi at 11:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 25, 2003
New Day, New Face
Use it or lose it. That's what happens with creativity. I needed a new look to help segue into autumn. I know, it is 90 degrees outside, but I haven't touched PhotoShop in ages and I felt like doodling. This new design feels incomplete and since I don't like having a messy home online or otherwise, more changes will take place over the weekend.
Posted by kafi at 04:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 24, 2003
Metro Rules!
Yesterday I tried an experiment and failed. It's rather embarrassing, actually, because it was a simple exercise in driving to work. I didn't feel well and I thought I might improve my commute by driving instead of taking the metro. So, with the needle nearly touching empty, I took off and drove into downtown. What I didn't anticipate was the madness on the roads. I kind of know my way to the office, but not in a hands down certain way. So I made many unnecessary turns, eventually landing at a parking garage just a couple of blocks from the office. And I only paid $15 to park for the day. Now to put this in perspective, $15 buys me 2 weeks work of commuting by metro without the pre-tax benefit.
Getting to work, it seems is the easy part. Getting home was a nightmare. Many wrong turns found me unable to navigate my way through the city. I got turned around, was refused several left-hand turns and nearly ended up clear on the wrong side of town. So what did I conclude from this little experiment? As much as I dislike walking to the metro, especially on hot or rainy days, I really don't see a need to EVER drive to work again. Now I am one of the fortunate few who can metro to work and save the environment by using public transportation. (Mantra I will repeat to self each morning.)
Posted by kafi at 02:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Stranger in my house
Yesterday I came home to an unwelcome surprise. My bathroom was dirty. Not, "I haven't cleaned my bathhroom in 3 weeks" dirty, but "someone has dropped dirt and rocks and nails" dirty. And boy was I pissed. I'm a private person and knowing someone has been in my space really put me edge for a few reasons. After a heated discussion with my apartment manager, I found out that he inadvertently sent a repair person to my apartment, instead of the apartment downstairs who had requested work in the first place. I was extremely upset to find out this person was in my apartment alone, because I had left some of personal items out in plain view and had I known someone was coming in, I would have put my things away. And then there was the dirt and mess left behind, which is inexcusable and warrants another phone call to the company that fixed what was never broken.
Now, already I had given light thought to possibly moving to another place for some other reasons. And now I have a full list of reasons. A list that will probably get longer as the days and weeks pass. In the meantime I will remain somewhat positive about the situation. I have an Ikea outing planned for the weekend because regardless of where I live, my house must feel like home.
"Food fuels the body, great food fuels the soul"
William Shatner
Chairman, Iron Chef
Posted by kafi at 11:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 23, 2003
The night-time coughing, achy head, sneezing...
Ever since I got back from vacation, I've been sick. Congestion, runny nose, coughing, sneezing. Just like a commercial for cold medicine. And I've been tired. I've perservered though, making attempts to leave the apartment and be social, with pretty bad results. Actually, not all bad. I hung out with a "to remain un-named person" over the weekend. I enjoyed myself, and didn't once act witchy. I was especially happy to see a furry old friend. It's been a few months since I've seen Stew and he appears to be the same old cat. Other than that, life is back to normal, whatever that means. I still have the task of putting my vacation photos online. Hopefully I can get them up by the end of the week.
Posted by kafi at 11:48 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 20, 2003
A Tale of the Socially Unfit
It's been a week since I've been back. Try as I might, I am having difficulty adjusting to life after vacation. I feel like a social invalid, finding myself cursing people for the slightest things. I am rude and anti-social.
A happy hour that could have been a really nice social mixer turned out to be a gathering of banal beings forced to be polite in a basement room of an unsavory bar. Remember hearing the stories of parents hiding their sick children in the attic or basement? Well that's how I felt in that situation. A group of people unfit for society locked in the basement with a very bad bartender. Once I escaped, with my friend in tow, I was greeted with sunlight and street traffic. We made our way across the street to a bar restaurant with good drinks (because tonic water has bubbles, right?) and a delicious seafood ragu over polenta (my kind of place!). I could actually hear the music (a little down tempo house) and everyone looked, well normal. No one had that hungry "Hmm, who should I try to talk to now" look in their eyes.
Again, I attempted to socialize last night at my college reunion dinner. It was somewhat successful, given I have a nasty cold and probably shouldn't have gone out in the first place. Thank goodness it was a short event. There were people I was happy to see (smiles and hugs all around). There were others, like the actor/Italian basketball player (give me a freakin’ break!) who, without an ounce of tact, handed out his head shots to EVERYONE and asked me, or should I say my chest, out on a date. But like I said, it was a short event, and before I knew it the night was over and I was home, snug in my bed.
Posted by kafi at 10:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 16, 2003
Ibiza
Not being a huge music person, I tasked myself with picking up a couple of albums while in the UK. I like lounge music; really chill and soothing stuff that's easy on the ears. As luck would have it, I ended up bringing home 2 really great albums. My friend cannot get enough of Ibiza VI, mixed by Phil Mison. Actually, I've had it on repeat all day. The other album, Soho Lounge, is great also. I prefer the jazzy and electronic instrumental tracks with the light drum beat in the background.
It was after reading several fashion magazines and watching a little BBC that I learned Ibiza is the hot party spot for summer vacation. I don't think I'll ever be prepared to go, given I don't handle the nightlife very well. In addition to the beautiful beaches, it is a huge clubbing scene so if you can't handle clubbing at home... But there will always be another Ibiza CD, featuring the latest DJs for folks like me.
Posted by kafi at 04:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Speaking of Loire
Another trip to France is order. Without enough time to visit the local wineries and sample wines, I left feeling a little bit cheated. But not entirely, though. There happened to be a wine store across the street from our hotel where the lovely owner was extremely kind, selecting a couple of great examples of not-too-sweet Chenin Blancs from the Loire Valley. The balanced sweetness and acidity made it the perfect sipping wine in the evening after a long day of touring the city. Not only that, but it was also very affordable. Michael Franz, a writer for the Post agrees, according to his article today on the Loire's Chenin Blanc.
Posted by kafi at 09:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 15, 2003
Back from Vacation
My trip to London and Paris was fabulous. Returning home had my hands clammy and my stomach nervous; I simply did want to leave Paris. I shall post photos sometime this week, as I re-adjust to the daily grind of going to work and preparing my own meals and making my own bed.
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