San Gennaro

Chocolate. Strawberry. Cannoli. 'nuff said.

Seattle trip

I love Seattle, it's an amazing city, but Bainbridge Island has won my heart. The moon was a weird, perfect white sphere, traversed by skudding clouds above craggy mountain tops, mirror lakes and acres of pine.


We set out the first day from Bainbridge heading west over Olympic National Park.

My father wanted a drive to see the ocean, and our best route was a three hour drive from Bainbridge into the National Park, around cresent lake, then past Port Angeles and Forks (the "treaty zone" in Twilight...) and landing finally at magnficent La Push Quileute Beach.

Amazing.

The next several days were spent on Bainbridge or in Seattle, with a tour of the Underground, and a day on the Duckboat.

I could live there.

Brompton on the Upperwest Greenway, NYC

Riding the B up the Westside bikepath.

At 42nd Street and the highway, majestic Intrepid museum. Next door, the Norweigan Cruiseline dock.

Waterside parks, suntanning lads, old piers, new piers, under bridges, over tennis courts. Past the boatbasin and into Riverside Park, up to Columbia University where the bells tolled.

My new bike

More on this later, but another long term wish is fulfilled.

Spent the summer riding the city on my new wheels.

I LOVE MY BROMPTON!

Been riding to work every morn via the bike path along the Hudson River, all the way down to the World Financial Center and into Battery Park. It's true love. I can take it on the bus, in the subway, stow it in a corner of my office near my desk, and take it up in my bldg elevator.

Sigh. I've already ridden the ferry with my baby to Governors' Island for picnic overlooking the Harbor.

Tomorrow...GWB and the little red lighthouse!

A really charming post.

This list...it's kind've inspirational.

From a short blurb by Matthew Diffee posted in the New York, titled, "I think my friend was wrong."

THINGS THAT ARE BETTER THAN A NEW YORK CITY HOT DOG:
Most Coen Brothers movies
Cezanne
BBQ ribs
A bear-skin rug
A rodeo
A Frisbee-catching dog
The Declaration of Independence
A lumberjack breakfast
The prom
E-mail
Cashmere sweaters
Chicago hot dog?
A personal assistant
A free trip to anywhere except Scranton
Filet mignon
Bruce Springsteen
Your firstborn child
A good book
A mediocre book
Walks on the beach
Sports
The Beatles
A good art museum
Free anytime minutes
A day at the park
Family
Christmas
Dogs
Cats
Surf and turf
The New York subway system
Beluga caviar
A kiss in the rain
A piña colada
Rainbows
A Porsche
Coffee
A La-Z-Boy chair
Soup in a bread bowl
Eskimo culture
A balloon ride
Surfing
The Eiffel Tower
Camping
A campfire
Being an uncle
The beach
Bonsai trees
Caramel popcorn
The smell of fresh-cut hay
Fresh muffins
The ability to read people’s minds
Spaghetti
Money
Elvis
Pinot noir from Oregon
A nice leather bag
Ice-cold water when you’re working outside on a hot summer day
A good ghost story
A Cinnabon
Home-baked Cookies
A good Martini
Ice cream
Big Ben
Diamonds
The Rocky Mountains
Orange Julius
Pajamas with feet
That fake large-mouth bass that dances on the wall
Star Wars collectibles
An iPod
Sneaking into a second movie
The Muppets
Glenn Miller
A cheeseburger
A heavy quilt
Fuzzy slippers
Yellowstone National Park
The complete first season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
Sleeping in
A good bookstore
Chocolate
Gift certificates
A snow day
Digital photography
Break dancing
Getting flowers
Sushi
The invention of the printing press
NPR
Jet Skiing
A huge yacht
Monty Python
Shrimp cocktail
A library card
Learning a second language
Sailing
A helicopter ride
The Texas State Fair
A convertible
Seeing the Northern Lights
The environment
New bed linen
World Peace
Tokyo
Pizza
Puppies
Emily Dickinson
A bucket of fried chicken
A smoking jacket
Beach volleyball
Supermodels
Swimming with dolphins
The rainforest
X-ray vision
A tent
A beanbag chair
Sunsets
A haircut
Billie Holiday
Seeing someone fall down
Stargazing
A laptop
Sailing
Hot wings
An extension cord
Stiletto heels
Norway
Finding a cure for cancer
Chips and salsa
Cell phones
Andrew Wyeth
Converse Chuck Taylors
Mount Everest
Girl Scout cookies
A fridge full of beer
Winnie the Pooh
Snowboarding
The San Diego Zoo
Vinyl
Roller-skating
A black-pearl necklace
A sky full of hot-air balloons
Clint Eastwood
A shopping spree
A good mystery
Hammocks
Miniskirts
Snowshoeing
Vermont maple syrup
Helping others
A Tiffany lamp
The Pacific Coast Highway
Guinness
Kittens
Fresh-squeezed orange juice
"Moby Dick"
The Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Fine China
China
The Great Wall of China
Guernica
Hall and Oates
Thoreau
Arabian horses
Mozart
A Twilight Zone marathon
Texas Hold ’Em
Brownies
Edgar Allan Poe
A nice chess set
The sound of a train in the distance
Polka
A stack of National Geographics
A photocopier
Sunblock
A goosedown comforter
Levi’s
Cocaine
T. S. Eliot
Golf clubs
A boa constrictor
The dog track
Electricity
A free canoe
Mosquito repellant
A hot tub
A fish fry
Red beans and rice
John Updike
Thigh-high stockings
A Fender Stratocaster
Cliff divers
A garbage compactor
Wool mittens
Google stock
Hot chocolate
Sitting beside a bubbling brook
Sherlock Holmes
Flying a kite
Winning
The Monterey Bay Aquarium
The Boy Scouts of America
Fudge
The smell of burning leaves
Hunting
Fishing
Apple pie
Donkey Kong
A Stetson
Bling
Slow dancing
A chicken quesadilla
A petting zoo
A paddleboat
Feeding ducks
Being next in line for something
Sea-Monkeys
The Matterhorn
NASA
Clairvoyance
Thomas Hardy
The sound of wolves howling in the distance
General Tso’s Chicken
Marilyn Monroe
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
The Museum of Natural History
Silk pajamas
The Great Pyramid
Bunnies
TV/VCR combinations
A lifetime supply of ketchup
An all-you-can-eat seafood buffet
Picnics
The swallows of Capistrano
"Danny Boy"
Handmade furniture
Whale watching
A Slurpee machine of your own
A hot-fudge sundae
Talking-horse movies
Gold
Professional wrestling
Space travel
Antarctica
Submarines
The right to bare arms
Advil
Mount Fuji
A good fastball
An ATM when you really need one
A cruise
Four-wheel drive
A Ferris wheel
A subscription to Texas Monthly
Otters
Really nice luggage
Peace of mind
The family farm
Easter Island
Indoor plumbing
A candlelit dinner
A Zamboni
A long, hot shower
Winning the lottery
A good childhood memory
Modern science
High-school graduation
A maid
Michael Jordan
A French maid
A white button-down shirt
The Bible
The Golden Gate Bridge
Superman
A birthday cake
The Emancipation Proclamation
The color teal
Snowflakes on your nose and eyelashes
The way beavers build those dams
And Amtrak ticket
Crawfish étouffée
A safari
The circus
"American Gladiators"
The United States Marine Corps
Hang-gliding
Lyle Lovett
A Super Bowl ring
Spare batteries
A free carwash
A field of wild flowers
Halloween
Sleeping
A family photo
Fly-fishing
Venice
A bachelor party
A Martin guitar
The Chrysler Building
Shakespeare
A set of encyclopedias
The Olympics
The Grand Canyon
Jazz
Sitting in a hot tub
Jamaica
The word “Zamboni”
White-water rafting
True-crime stories
The Smithsonian Institution
The Pill
Las Vegas
A T-bone steak
Samba lessons
A dinner with friends
Emmylou Harris
A love letter
A full tank of gas
Free firewood
Perfect pitch
A healthy herd of goats
A piano
The Autobahn
A drive-in theater
Yosemite Sam mudflaps
Penicillin
Massachusetts
Greek mythology
Seeing a bald eagle
A Boston Red Sox cap
Two or more Yankees caps
A screened-in porch
An easy-to-reach power strip
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Art Institute of Chicago
Ken Burns’s Civil War documentaries
Christmas presents
Barnes and Noble
Western art
A leather couch
Vegetables fresh from your own garden
Vegetables fresh from your neighbor’s garden
An incomplete set of golf clubs
A good, solid pickup truck
Fireworks
Austin, Texas
A decent gazebo
A choir robe
A strong work ethic
A dentist in the family
Champagne
Freedom of worship
Lobster
Good health
The speed of light
Television
The Red Cross
A good batch of chili
Mount Rushmore
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
Coming home after being away for a while
The space shuttle
A flight with no delays
A hat trick in the World Cup
John Denver
Political scandal
A master’s in history
A hands-free headset
A children’s Easter pageant
The mall
Refrigeration
"The Sound Of Music"
The sun
Literacy
The Mona Lisa
A horse-drawn-carriage ride
The Romans
Winslow Homer
Your average Indian-artifact collection
Solar power
A disco ball
Niagara Falls
Cheetahs
Breaking the speed of sound
A fine twenty-year-old Tawny Port
All-you-can-eat shrimp
A free minivan
Lots of new underwear
An African safari
Owning a de Kooning
An ergonomic desk chair
A DVD player
Snow boots
A night in a luxury hotel
A cold beverage on a hot day
The great state of Texas
Rhode Island
Free checking
Shark Week
A yacht ride
Friends to help you move
A subscription to Sports Illustrated
An eighty-gig external drive
Antiques
A picnic
The Upright Citizen’s Brigade
A locksmith when you need one
Bob Newhart albums
A universal remote
Netflix
The Queen Mary 2
Seeing wildlife
Over-the-counter pain relievers
Reality TV
A lifetime supply of printer ink
Chocolate cake
Christmas
Hunting with your father
SNL
Homemade apple pie
Laughing with friends
Someone to love
Feeling better after being sick
Seeing someone else fall down
Self-defense classes
A road trip
Fire trucks
Inheriting a small fortune
A solar-powered calculator
The University of Chicago
Dog parks
Yosemite
A long extension cord
The migration of the monarchs
Drano
A celebrity sighting
Prince Edward Island
The call of the wild
A nap
Taking your nephew to Disneyland
Digital photography
Spelunking
Being able to speak more than one language
Noise-reduction headphones
A favorite family recipe
The Staten Island ferry
The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier
The Constitution
The ability to move things with your mind
Photoshop
Seeing the bats in Austin, Texas
String theory
A big vat of bacon at a breakfast buffet
A spare tire
The Tribeca Film Festival
An efficient and reliable vacuum cleaner
Dogwood blossoms
A food processor
Smoked salmon
Maurice Sendak
Browsing small-town garage sales
Private roof access
Fresh bread
A garden shovel
Being ambidextrous
A library card
Falconry
Finding a lost twenty in you coat pocket
Buying lemonade from a child’s lemonade stand
The first robin
Sleeping in
A priceless stamp
Winning a game of chess
A rental car
G.P.S.
Swimming with dolphins
The Bible
A room with a view
The satisfaction of a job well done
An old, comfortable pair of jeans
An electric drill
Cable
Toilet paper
A dependable flashlight
Harley-Davidson motorcycles
Someone you can trust
Kittens
Watching your kid graduate from college
A beloved family pet
Genuine leather products
A cup of hot tea on a foggy day
Nice fluffy towels
Sitting in a hot tub beneath falling snow
Sherlock Holmes stories
A sturdy extension ladder
A ship in a bottle
A stone fireplace
Sushi
Believing in yourself
A wrap-around porch
Wildflowers
A Good pair of binoculars
Western medicine
A tailored suit
Anonymously helping those less fortunate
Sunsets
Drive-in movies
Homemade peach cobbler
Revenge
A neck pillow on a long international flight
Classic cars
Beethoven’s Fifth
The invention of the ziplock bag
Sequels that are as good as the first movie
A nice set of luggage
Fresh blueberry pie
A good mystery novel
Homemade ice cream
A hand-knit sweater
Tickets to a Broadway play
Church-league softball
Easy-to-use software
Gift certificates
Amusement parks
The Blue Ridge Parkway

One of those lists...

25 Random Things About Me

[I'm doing this for Samantha, this actually makes me really nervous, because I don't have 25 interesting things about me. So I will make some up.]

1. I love chocolate, not Skittles, not Yellow Cake, not Strawberries, not Cheesecake, not Sweettarts, yechh. I don't put sugar even in my coffee. Example, when I dated someone years ago, I asked him on his birthday, "What kind of cake would you like for your birthday, honey?" He replied, "Lemon Cake with Raspberry Filling." Being the excellent girlfriend that I was, I ran all over the city trying to find the best Lemon Cake with Raspberry Filling that NYC had to offer. On my bed, we sat crosslegged, opened the box, and oohed and ahhed at the most excellent cake I could possibly find that fit what he wanted. What a fun evening.

My birthday came a few months later. I waited for him to ask me, "What cake would you like for Your birthday, D?" Waiting...waiting...and he shows up on the day of my birthday, box in hand, smile on face. I was doubtful when I opened the box.

What was in the box? Lemon Cake with Raspberry Filling. Sigh.

My opinion is that the federal government should mandate that cakes are only made out of dark CHOCOLATE, in the form of a layer cake with creamy frosting...mmm.

Moral of story? ALWAYS ask what cake the birthday girl wants. Not what you want. Even if you think you're bringing the "best cheesecake or whatever" in the world. They may not want it. It may cause some eyerolling.

2. To continue with the theme above, French Chocolate, dark and yummy. Think...Maison du Chocolat, Vosges, Marie Belle, Jacques Torres, Richart, Michel Cluizel, Patrick Roger. Not Hersheys Kisses, (whatever!). In San Francisco, I loved Ghirardelli of course, and lived near Ghirardelli Square, visiting chocolate festivals every year, and sipping hot choco overlooking the smoky bay.

3. Other notes on luxury. Spoil yourself, enjoy yourself!! You need it, you deserve it. I'm not a spa person. I don't like being touched by people I don't know, especially so intimately while wearing very little. Gives me the Heebies.

To spoil myself, I get fun haircuts and strange haircolor. I buy excellent shoes and handbags and coats in all colors, for all seasons. I'm starting a collection of quirky and fashionable blouses I love. Some people like t-shirts. I do occasionally, if they fit right.

Fashion's about what looks good on ya. What takes 10 pounds off the silhouette. What makes you tall and slim and glam.

My formative years were spent in Ocean County New Jersey, mecca of mallrat ripoffs, haphazard skater-wear, and blue eyeshadow...BIG hair. In the 80s. It was embarrassing.

Thus, in fashion, I’m attracted to sleek simplicity and slimming colors, something flattering but comfortable, permitting movement with grace, where one can scale a 40 story building in Midtown, flash my cool techno-gadgetry, and slip into a short slim gown in the elevator on the way down for a drink at some dark, swanky bar with a giant mural, take rides in the limo, and claim a seat at a show during Fashion Week. I love clothes that go from work to exciting nights out. (I'm heavily influenced by James Bond movies, obviously).

4. I moved to San Francisco, then to Boston, to see what's out there. My 20 some-odd years in the Big Apple were action packed, fulfilling and interesting on a minute-by-minute basis, but when the opportunity came to see the world, I took it. Um...saw alot. Ate alot. Met alot of people. Ran back home to NYC after less than 3 years. I clicked my red heels and said, "there's no place like home."

5. I'm certified in sailing on SF Bay. The experience was amazing. I wasn't a total newbie though, since I grew up on Barnegat Bay in NJ, another center of sailing culture. We'd spend whole weekends fighting fierce winds, choppy waves, and getting tangled in our own canvas and lines. One time we blundered haphazardly into a professional regatta as the sun went down and wind turned. More seasoned and more suntanned gentlemen and women were swearing at us to get out of the way. I met some great people, and had some good hard practice. I never did sail in Boston, where the public marina lets you sail on the Charles for less than $300 for the entire summer.

6. When I was 16, I accompanied my cousin on a tour of Europe in the 1980's. Europeans generally seemed much much more aware of American politics than the average american teenager. After my 3 week tour through more than 15 countries, I studied International Relations and Journalism at NYU. I visited Europe about 3 times since then. It's been about 10 years since I traveled like that. I miss travel, but it's so darn expensive to pick up and go nowadays... One day though.

7. My favorite country to visit is Italy. Food, culture, music everywhere, food everywhere, people smiling and friendly…and the ART. The frescos, the architecture, just walking down stone galleries, winding streets, wide staircases and shadowy doors…most romantic country I can think of to fulfill the senses.

Followed by that and for similar reasons, France. Not as friendly, but so much to do. Reminds me of NY, actually.

8. I have a theory that sitcoms have changed the way Americans communicate. (Yes, I watch too much tv). Doesn’t work start to feel like that NBC TV show, The Office? Aren’t we speaking a bit snappier since Seinfeld? Sex in the City? Yup. Ouch.

People are a lot of funnier and more bewildered than ever before.

9. I love McDonalds. I eat there 3 times a week. I only eat the Big Mac meal. When I was very tiny little baby in Queens, my grandmother from the Philippines took care of me while my parents were gone all day at work. From birth to 4 years old, she fed me, took me in the Stroller on the subway to go shopping, taught me to read and write, and hugged me every day. Eventually she had to go back to her life….and then she was gone.

As a baby, I couldn’t understand what was happening. I cried for three weeks. I couldn’t sleep. I crept about the apartment, looking in the oven, looking in closets, in pantry cabinets, but she wasn’t there. My parents grew alarmed, then frantic. I looked at them with tearstained face, not recognizing them for who they were.

In the middle of the night on the third week of not eating or sleeping, my father and mother took me for a drive through Queens in the middle of the night to stop my night terrors, hoping the motion of the car would rock me asleep. My mom was crying. It was very late. Down Queens Boulevard, before the overpass, a sight inspired me to stop crying and I lifted four-year old self to the window, then pointed. My mom immediately understood.

“She wants to go to McDonalds,” she told my dad, and we sat on the formica plastic seats, near Hamburgler and Ronald, under yellow arches, munching fresh French fries quietly. I didn’t have trouble eating or sleeping again after that night. My father decided I had separation anxiety from my grandmother and wouldn’t let me be imprinted by anyone else but my mom and he ever again.

27 years later, I relayed this touching story to my friends in a NY city cab one late night after rounds of drinks. They howled with laughter, rolling around on the floor of the cab.

“LOLA….” Laughed my friend, mimicking my childhood grief, imagining mini-me chasing a plane down the runway, taking my grandmother away.

Whatever.

They wanted me to sell that story to McDonalds. McDonalds saved my life. Seriously.

10. I wish I spoke Tagalog. Then Carol and I could make our snide comments in another language. (Just kidding, we’re really nice people.)

11. My dream is to have 3 homes, one in each place:

A. New York
B. San Francisco
C. Venice

12. Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.

13. I don’t ski, although I have, once. I do swim though. Long ago, we were on the Metedeconk River Yacht Club swim team, and no matter how athletic the guy is that I am with, I still swim better than he does.

14. I read Sci Fi. Most girls don’t. I was part of a book club about 10 years ago, full of intelligent, high-end, glossy, college-educated women. We read Proust (well, we read a lot of interesting books)…EVERY time I brought up sci fi, I was looked upon with pity and disbelief.

I looked elsewhere for my sci-fi camaraderie.

My favorite night was not with them, but around the same time, when my group at work would meet at some dingy bar in the financial district after work, our dot-com sadly winding down, and after most of the people had left, we moved our wooden barstools into a circle and discussed Stephen Hawking’s Universe in a Nutshell. I miss our talks!

15. I love Vinyasa Yoga. There are some great studios here in NY, where I get a better workout than NY Sportsclub has to offer, and have met some spiritually intereting friends along the way. In my heyday, I could do pushups on 3 fingers of each hand. Easily.

16. I’m a Catholic.

17. There are 3 criteria for a movie that I will spend money to watch:

A. Magic
B. Kung Fu
C. Spaceships

No teary-eyes, please!

18. September 11th was pivotal to my world outlook. I was in the city during the time, and when I opened the shades of my apartment and looked South, I watched Tower 2 fall.

The days after were heroic and hysterical, outpouring of emotions, lots of hugging and crying. Old friends called to check everyday, although we hadn’t been in touch much before.

It was incredible.

19. Lawschool, well, I don’t regret it one bit. I am one of those non-practicing attorneys that wanted to spend my days NOT talking much with other lawyers. I’m glad I found a rewarding career NOT being a lawyer. I smile more than they do.

20. I love NJ. At least the shore. I know every exit on the Garden State Parkway, and drove my friend’s convertible from NY down to Atlantic City when she had a whim to play blackjack. I need a red convertible sportscar, badly.

21. I don’t have kids or a husband. Yet.

22. I write a lot. About different things. Kept journals all my life, mostly titled after my boyfriends…”The Book of S”, “The Book of R”, “The Book of H”.

I burned them soon after.

23. My friends are my family.

24. I love being back in NYC.

25. I am waiting.