And it all Began...Part II

Before I go on with how Turkish got it on - or not. I had to tell you this story. When I re-read my last entry I remembered something that was -well amusing.

I considered myself a sexual child- more like experimental child. I tried everything to see how it felt and really to see how far I can go with things without having the guilt halo hovering my head. Like most young girl, my sexual fantasies played themselves out on the bare floor of my childhood bedroom, with Barbie and Ken and sometimes Barbie and friends (girls).

All sheltered little girls live vicariously through Barbie, that whore. While we learn how to write cursive and do long division, she takes it up the ass and eats Skipper's box. I may have been privy to a strict moral code of conduct, but Barbie got gangbanged with abandon and didn't seem to give a shit about Jesus, STDs or teen pregnancy.

I have to admit that I was not a big fan of barbies but they were the closest objects to resembles the ideal woman that I craved to be one day. I played alone, constructing sketchy situations with the girls and ken. Often, Ken was always invited to Barbies Malibu house. As soon as he rang the door bell, you would hear Barbie shout “come upstairs, I have a surprise for you”. He would walk upstairs to her bedroom to find Barbie in her birthday suit dancing around teasing Ken. Other times, Barbie had major pool parties where all her girlfriends would come over. But the rule was, bathing suits off in the pool.

I was also developing a flair for inventing my own fantasies.

Sabrina was just a regular girl at my CATHOLIC grammar school, not popular or unpopular enough to attract attention. It’s hard for me to remember what specifically motivated me to talk to her. It wasn’t that I wanted to have sex with her. Perhaps I was trying to be helpful; I knew how much I wanted to be found sexually attractive, and she probably had the same secret longings that led me to bang Barbie and Ken’s smooth plastic crotches together. Isn’t it funny that no one in Malibu Barbie world had pubes? Just an observation. Whatever cryptic intention was in my mind, I decided to draft a secret admirer note.

“Dear Sabrina,” it began simply, but quickly spiraled into more lascivious territory. I left it in her desk, then loitered on the edge of the circle of girls that gathered around as she read it. “Dear, Turkish: I want to feel your...” she squinted at the next word quizzically. “I think it says BREASTS,” I interjected helpfully, drawing suspicious glances from her friends. Each preceding line required the same sort of interpretation. They didn’t seem to understand ANYTHING about sex, even the basic facts I had slightly incorrectly interpreted from my father's hidden stack of pornos. Did I just say that?

She read the closing, in which I had signed the name of a boy in class who wore army fatigues to school and so seemed unlikely to mind, but for some reason they were all staring at me instead. I even tried to get the ball rolling by looking toward the boy like “Get a load of this sex freak,” but it didn’t deflect their disgusted but pitying stares. It was at that point that I realized I was in trouble. It wasn’t long before the guidance counselor called me into her office, just to “chat.” I was not previously the kind of child who saw the inside of any kind of School offices.

In kindergarten I had been sent to the principal’s office for biting another girl on the playground, but had used my superior intellect to explain that I was merely standing there with my mouth open when she had decided to hit me. I was not entirely sure what intellectual voodoo it would require to forestall the consequences of dirty-note writing. Yet the counselor seemed strangely nice, tentatively asking about my home life, my parents, school.

When she finally brought up the note, she just wanted to “talk about it.” She dashed my hopes of a career as a private investigator by telling me that Sabrina’s friends had not only seen me scribbling the note at my desk like a mini-Danielle Steele, but had seen me deliver it as well. She had also recognized my handwriting, and everyone had been tipped off by the fact that I was the only one who knew what cumming meant. Faced with this seemingly insurmountable evidence, I did the only thing that could still get me out of this bind. I burst into tears. I cried until she called the other girls into her office, and when they arrived I cried so long that even they seemed a little convinced. I wailed and sobbed and swallowed my own snot and choked out, “I...just...don’t...understand...why you guys would ACCUSE me of this!”

Everyone seemed disturbed by my outburst, especially when my glasses started to fog up from the excess moisture. The other girls even apologized and hugged me before going back to class and still I cried. Apparently desperate to get this nymphomaniac out of her office, the guidance counselor let me go.

I lived in fear for weeks, waiting for my parents to bring up the dirty note. But as I rode home in my dad's car, it became obvious that she hadn't mentioned it. I have no idea what the guidance counselor was thinking letting an obvious psychopathic deviant like myself run around free, but she never did tell my parents.

It all began...

I am known to chase skirts like a sailor. But add some shots to my evening, I become a pussy hound. I chat up strangers at the bar and then try to pressure them into making out with me. I have talked many straight girls into a bathroom stall in this state through a mixture of confidence and shameless flattery.


I grew up like any other privileged children at my boarding school. I met my best friend there and we played lots of games. I was 9 mind you. We managed to play house, doctor and my favorite – teacher. Our evaluations turn into elaborate role-playing games, which ended with us exploring each other’s genitals in my tree house. I felt guilty about what we were doing, but since every sexual encounter was masked in the guise of a game in which a male and female character had sex, I could sort of pretend it was all just make-believe. We never peeped a word and till this day we both won’t admit to having played doctor.


Around the age of 12 (soon after I left boarding school and came to America) I had a best friend and his name was Mark. He was my first kiss along with major bonus package of feeling me up but we never had sex. These experiences I had growing up caused me to consider myself “bisexual” (I was in HS – don’t worry) but now that I look back at it, I was craving the attention of someone who would perform these naughty acts. It didn’t matter if it were a boy or a girl. Hands and lips felt the same with both genders.


I started my freshman year of HS with a boyfriend and I supposedly had a boyfriend until my senior year. But truthfully, he went to the all boy schools and I went to the all girl school of my town. He had no clue who and what I was doing. When I met my friend Butch, I was totally open to the idea of a lesbian relationship. She was butch. Package included : short hair (I just got out of bed hair but pulled back in a pony) stocky cause she played some serious softball for the team and wore men clothes outside of our habitual catholic school girl skirt and button attires.


I don’t really know what drew me to her. Butch was a senior when I was a tiny freshman shrimp. She wasn’t anything I wanted in a person but she provided me with a satisfied service, which was a total plus. Everyone knew she munched the carpet but they never assumed anything happened between us – big save.


Nothing attracted me to Butch but somehow whatever we had lasted two long exhausting years. She did drive a nice Jeep Wrangler – soft-top and always spoiled me with goodies. I had my own personal chauffeur and I was ok with that.


Our relationship fell into a pattern of supply and demand. I demanded something, and Butch supplied it, although often with a sexual price tag attached. I didn’t like that one bit. 1) She was practically a man – pubes flowing everywhere and I sure was not ready to floss 4 times a day. And 2) she wasn’t what I called a pretty young woman. I tried to break up with her several times, but every time I managed to tell her I was done she’d show up after my tennis practice with a car trunk full of presents for me. Surveying the booty, I still wanted out, but, well, I really wanted those presents too.


In truth, Butch was deeply in love with me; the sexual exploitation resulted from the fact that not only was I probably not even attracted to girls, I definitely wasn’t attracted to her. And for my part it didn’t occur to me that not wanting to have sex with someone was grounds for breaking up; I always worried more about how others felt about me than how I felt about them. So I threw myself as heartily into lesbianism as I had my affairs with men, even growing fond of lesbian movies and anything gay - RENT.


A budding teenager, I also cheated on my grown-up lesbian girlfriend left and right. She couldn’t even leave me alone at a party while she went on a beer run before I was chatting up some cute college-aged girl I didn’t just have sex with girls behind her back; I had whole relationships. Remember my boyfriend? Well he was in my umbrella of relationships as well.


When I left for college, I left behind Butch, Mark and my other side dish. I wanted a clean slate, I wanted no one to know of my pass and so, my little liberal college was my escape - lesbians of all sorts purring at the inexperienced “bisexuals” . The good thing was, I already knew the words to all the Ani Difranco songs that are required college-girl listening and I fell hard for a girl I will nickname Turkish.

To be continued…







In my book, there are two great artists known to provoke human kind. Kenneth Cole and Oliviero Toscani. The one I do want to focus right now is Toscani because I am sure everyone has heard of his new campaign and amazing photos of a woman who suffers from anorexia. She bears not a thread of cloth on her body revealing and showcasing her body after years of the disease in hope to help those who are in the process of indulging in such outrageous and disgusting weight loss package.



I have had the opportunity to have met the man in his early years of provocative images back in France. My parents (I swear) know anyone who is somebody in this world. I was about 14 years old when the Benetton Campaign Black and White hit the major front windows of the colorful branding of Benetton on the streets of Paris. Although he began in the early 80’s, his work still remain a showcase among advertising agencies who dare bait the public with Toscani’s delicate watered down colored images of human issues.



Like Kenneth Cole (Pro Gay Marriage) , Toscani emerges from the studios with brilliant ways to “teach” or should I dare say “engrave” Issues into our brains. One of my favorite ad is a full page vibrant image of a black lady breastfeeding a white infant. The magnificent part of the image is the shot he gave us - black torso clashing with the white infant.



The “Breastfeeding” ad set out to develop a sense of common humanity that transcends skin color. I remember reading about some critics who were concerned that the Breastfeeding ad brought fourth the abuse where slaves were forced to breastfeed the children of white owners.
And of course, regardless of the criticism the ad won awards in France.



Like K. Cole, Toscani’s oeuvres continues to penetrate the soul of each and everyone of us. It doesn’t matter if you hate his work or you love it - you still can point out a Toscani ad from a million.


That is a true artist - one who makes us wonder. Again, It takes courage to place human ignorance on prints.
My mom and I had a long conversation about my new view on life the other night after we saw The Skin of Our Teeth. Now I admit I get overly emotional to these kinds of things but my mother has an uncanny ability to sharpen every blow to hit you at the very deepest and most vulnerable place. It makes you want to fight her even if she's right. But then you are left so bruised and dazed that you don't know what to think. You start seeing all your behavior laid out before you in glaring burning letters: selfishness, thoughtlessness, disregard for the feelings of others again and again and again. And I start to doubt my own emotional responses - what is my subconscious agenda? I end up feeling so helpless and worthless and looking at her heart so raw in the face that I become incredibly depressed. It’s hard to get perspective, to grab hold of anything constructive from a place like that. But the other night, I saw another woman – it was not my mother.

I was deeply shaken by Mrs. Antrobus' announcement that "life is never how you hoped it would be, but somehow you go on". I was almost scared to, but I asked my mom if that was true. How horrible if that is true. I do hope I might get SOME of the things I hope for. I'm not asking for fame or fortune, I would just like to curl up at night with a partner who loves me and feel good. I don't see why that wouldn't be possible, it’s not a lot to ask. And to do something that means something to me. That's all I really want. I want it to MEAN SOMETHING and feel good about it. There are people who get that sort of thing. Aren't there?Anyhow it all feeds into my new realization: that you cannot live your life for the end result. It is the journey of life that makes life worth anything. Because you should never quite get there maybe - maybe death should interrupt it all, and then you should say, "Oh I was almost there, but look how far I came!" I don't know.


I saw 'Away From Her' with Julie Christie, who I imagine is the most beautiful woman who ever lived. She has the most profound and untarnishable beauty and grace. I would like to be a woman like that. Her beauty is pervasive, it spreads around her and splashes and spills away from each footstep she makes. Loveliness is a halo around her head and she makes everything lovely by shining upon it.

I would love to be a woman like that.

Its ok if I'm not, but I aspire to that. I suppose you are born with it or you aren't. She was probably that beautiful from birth. I am normally beautiful I suppose, but no more than normal. I am not extraordinary.

I would like to be, but if my exterior is never extraordinary that would be fine.

Oh Dear god. Why me?

P erhaps you remember the story of The Pearl. During the early days of this blog, I posted about her quite frequently along with stories about E. (Hope). The Pearl and I dated briefly (2years) and broke up this past year. I started a relationship with The Gym Addict and quickly ended it. Her and I began to talk again and we hooked up and she swore that I was the one and reminded me every time we spoke how much she misses me and more. I actually don’t really know what happened a little after to cause us not to speak to one another.

For maybe 5 months we didn’t have any contact with each other, and then segued into a sort of interesting, intense friendship that would become complicated every once in a while due to us fooling around a bit or her telling me how much she liked me and wanted to be with me but then something would possessed her and she would hate me and not talk to me and basically blame the not talking on me.After the 5 months of the glorious silence treatment, she texts me with “ I don’t know what happened between us…” blah blah blah… and from there on, we talked on occasions. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to call her. At the time I was dating different people and so was she and clearly had no interest in seeing one another.

And…One evening in July after work, I invited her to grab a few drinks at Third and Long on the East Side. She accepted and we met, drank, and although there were awkward moments, I still managed to talk to her (even with the interruptions – she insisted on texting her gf and it irritated me but I remained calm). We went outside to smoke a cigarette and the “real” talk began…I told her how much she hurt me in the past and how much I do miss having the relationship we had. I knew was it was gesture doomed to failure. Because she has been in a relationship of convenience with a friend of hers for the past months. And I knew that she may have cared for this girl despite the random “she’s crazy’ outbursts.

She told me that she never cared about me, the relationship we had didn’t count, I didn’t mean anything to her and that she no longer loved me. Which is fine – the part of she no longer loved me. She moved on, I did too and I wasn’t expecting her to still love me, but what shocked me was the “what we had was nothing”. That, my dear friends, was a stab in the heart.

We stopped talking again after that night. That, both saddened and angered me. Because, look, I’m realistic. The Pearl apparently has some intimacy issues and perhaps my big declaration of strong feelings frightened her… But I was unhappy that she had made absolutely no effort to get in touch with me. I mean, a friend with whom you have a pretty strong bond tells you how much you meant to her, and then you just cut her out of your life entirely? Give her a sort of friendly silent treatment? I mean, OK, I realized a while ago that nothing was ever going to happen between her and I. But it would’ve been nice if she could’ve at least said something to the effect of how the relationship we had was meaningful.

I was beginning to wonder if she was some kind of emotional robot. Did she have any feelings whatsoever? And I was starting to think that maybe she just didn’t have any for me, in any sense. Because, from my end, that was the message I was getting.And then, a few weeks ago, we start talking again. She invited me over this past Saturday to hang out at her place and just sorta relax. I spent 3 hours (traffic) to get to her house to find her silent. The only time she spoke to me was when I addressed her. It was fucking awkward. As soon as I arrived her place, she tells me that we are seeing a movie with her neighbors – which is fine but I really wanted to spend some time with her – not her neighbors. The entire time I was there from 4-11:57pm I spent with her neighbors. I was talking more to her them then I was talking to her. Simply because she avoided me in every possible ways.

When she decided that she was tired, we headed to her place. She went to her bedroom, CLOSED the door and said goodnight. I was in the living room on the sofa. And something triggered. I was actually saying to myself – what the fuck is wrong with this girl? I decided to head home that night and endure the commute because I couldn’t get myself to sleep in the same apt as her.

I wasn’t planning on sleeping with her. Not after how she treated me the entire time I visited her. I would have rather spent time talking to her. But it seems though, every time she opened her mouth, it was to talk about the girl she recently broke up with. As a friend, I just listened. But really, what I wanted to do was scream at her and tell her that I didn’t care. And I don’t know, I got home around 3am and this weird feeling came over me. The closest thing I can imagine it being like is if you walk in on your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife in the middle of having sex with somebody else. Like a punch in the gut. Like suddenly realizing that whatever you’ve been offering to this person, especially if it’s a lot, just simply doesn’t mean that much to them.

Did she hold me in such little regard that she was just avoiding contact with me when we could’ve been talking honestly and openly about what had happened? What, if anything, was I to her? And apparently what had happened between us back in the winter either didn’t mean anything to her, or she was just simply going to act that way.

And I kind of lost it. Deleted her from my AIM and my phone list. It’s a little juvenile but I couldn’t help it. All of this felt so permanent. Once you remove somebody from your life and your online friends list, you can’t just have them back whenever you feel like it. You have to send requests.

But I told myself that she didn’t care. So what difference did it make? So, that’s it unless she gets in touch with me.

And maybe it’s better to write her off and just carry on, anyway.



You are jealous aren't you?

I like to keep it anonymous as possible, thus any references to my day job are as few as possible. But in this case I feel as if my hands are tied, because for the first time in a 1-year I actually had a lot of fun at our conferences. So some of the highlights watered down as much as possible.

1. We had it in a hot place. And it was hot.

2. The planes, both coming and going were on time. This is big, since I've been flying around almost twice a month.

3. I thought I had to room with someone. In fact, I did not. This is huge, because when I'm in hotels I have a tendency to want to walk around either naked, or in the yummy bathrobe the entire time. Also, the room was huge, with the best bed I've ever slept in - better than the Washington DC Ritz. PR lady actually bought one of the pillows, it was so good.

4. The bathroom, which was roughly the size of our NYC conference room, had a jacuzzi tub and a TV. You bet your sweet ya-ya NYC lezie got in that tub with a glass of wine and watched reruns of 'sex and the city' one night after the meetings.

5. Got a massage on the company. Looking like a mental patient high on crack afterward in front of your colleagues: priceless.

6. Witnessed the relatively high-profile CEO of the company karaoke 'Natural Woman’, among other tunes. This is entirely out of character. Those of my faithful readers who know where I work will surely be amused at the visual.

7. After we closed down the Monday night party, went to the lobby bar and got sponsored (my lexicon for someone buying me a drink) by the head of one of the departments I work with. Said sponsor was also uncharacteristically funny during her time up at the podium earlier that day. Now have crush on unfortunately married head of department.

8. Had some Cubans with a new recruit in another department. Again, married. This is NYC Lezie's luck.

9. Spoke French with my personal Haitian driver.

10. Didn't have to sit in my stuffy office for the past three days.

Yes, I did work.

Alcohol units: um, a lot.
Cuban cigars: 2 1/2.
Weight gain: 20,000 lbs (well that’s what it feels like)
Pieces of roast lamb: 3. (See above)
Pieces of sushi: lots
Office gossip units: A LOT!!! Now I know the 411 on who is fucking who.

Everyone loves Tim Gunn - NOT

Everyone knows how much I hate Tim Gunn. I only watch 'Project Runway' because I love Heidi Klum and Nina Garcia's opinions of what constitutes "fashion". NO, I do not love Tim Gunn and his quiet stoicism and fake enthusiastic voice with the contestants. But funny enough, as much as I hate him I have gone out of my way to watch his new show 'Tim Gunn's Guide to Style'.

I caught the show while eating lunch and within 10 minutes I was shocking on my food, vomiting and crying in disgust. On this show everything I hate about Gunn is multiplied to the 10th power. He's an ass and tough and is never encouraging. I decided then and there that if I had my own personal Tim Gunn, kind of like a cross between Jeeves and a really great gay roommate it would be something like this:

I picture us in a couple different scenarios:

1. It's a Sunday night. I'm knitting and Tim's reading. No, Tim's knitting too. As he reaches for his cup of tea he catches my profile. Very nonchalantly he says:

- "NYC.Lezie? I think you may be due for a facial."
- "Am I, Tim?"- "Yes, your pores are starting to resemble the Con Ed midtown sinkhole. I'll call Svetlana tomorrow."
I reach over and squeeze his hand.
"Thanks Tim – I fucking hate you."

2. It's a Tuesday morning. I'm getting ready for work. Tim wanders in and sits on the bed. Crosses his legs and says:

- "You're not seriously wearing that."
- "Oh, okay. How about with these pants?"
- "45-year old soccer moms are more stylish."
- "What about this?"
- "No. Just - no."
- "I'm running out of ideas here, Tim."

He walks over and grabs a dress out of the closet, puts his hand on his chin while considering what shoes to pair with it, then points to the box while plucking one of my Chanel scarves out obscurity.

- "Fucking A. How do you do that?"
- "It's a gift."


3. It's Wednesday at 3:30. I'm just about to eat a Snickers bar when the phone rings.

- "Hello?"
- "Put the Snickers bar down and get a yogurt."
-Click-

4. It's early Saturday morning. We're on a Hampton Jitney to The Springs so crowded we're forced not to sit together. My cell phone beeps I have a text message.

- "Christ, I can see your roots from the back of the bus."
- "I can't help it! My stylist is on vacation!"
- "Get some Clairol or something. Just...make it work."


I hate you, Tim.
Xoxoxoxo

PS: I am assuming The German is a fan, so I apologize.

Rosh Hashanah

I got on the NJ transit this morning to find a massive amount of empty seats. My dear friends, Rosh Hashanah is here.

I arrived promptly at Penn Station around 730a and guess what?? Yes- you guess it right – EMPTY. I didn’t have to squeeze between people and…when I went to grab my coffee at Seattle C., I only had to walk up to the counter and not have to wait my usual 10 minutes. Sweet.

The subway + no commuters = ghost

Midtown during morning rush hour commute – yep, guess it right again. EMPTY.

But really, deep down, if this has anything to do with Jews and their new year, I call bull-crap. Rosh Hashanah doesn’t start until sundown tonight.

I think some people are really milking a two-day holiday into a three-day event. That just isn’t right. But then again, fake Jews (JAPS from the UES) and real Jews (Borough Park, Forest Hills and Kew gardens – actually I take it back, they are everywhere) take advantage of this glorious holiday why shouldn’t I - right?

Alas, I am here, at work, writing this, while EVERYONE else is at home chillin’.


L’Shana Tova – my fellow Jews L’Shana Tova !

Lady with the xxsmall tee

I saw a woman on the street this morning with a sign on her t-shirt (" i'm up here" - with an arrow going up). I'm sorry, but isn't the purpose of having letters and words on your t-shirt for people to read them and think you are all ironical and shit?

So there I am like a jackass on the street trying to read her tits, which she clearly doesn't want me to read cause you know, her eyes are up there. She REALLY wanted to get the point across that she should be loved for her "mind", that she went ahead and bought the t-shirt about 2 sizes too small. Just large enough that it wouldn't fit, but small enough that I can see the lace from her bra (shutup, I read slowly) and her gettinglargerbytheminute muffin tops.

Honestly? If you want people NOT to stare at your tits lady, wear the words on a hat, not on your knockers.

Something...

Today marks the first year since the awful events of six years ago that I haven’t taken the day off from work /school (usually we had the day off) on September 11th.

And truth be told, I wanted to. It just wasn’t practical. That with missing a ton of work due to my grandfather’s death and the US open. I can’t really afford to take days off unless it’s an emergency (like going to Spain or Italy). Or a beautiful woman tells me she’s reserved a suite at the Mercer and wants to spend the day making crazy love to me as we lick champagne off of each other.

But seriously. I spent September 11th 2002—2007 with Friends and Family. We would always have breakfast early. Like, at 7:00 a.m. And in 2006, I went to the memorial ceremony, but it was just such a circus. There was some kind of fringe religious group walking through the crowds trying to get people to go to one of their services, and a ton of tourists milling around aimlessly. It was too much for us. And so, every year after that, my friends or Family and I would spend the day walking around lower Manhattan/or stay home and watch the ceremony on Television, reflecting on life and how lucky we were to be able to get together in this greatest of all cities, and how we would never leave. I even swore that, once new buildings were put up, I’d move my office there. And I joked that I’d keep a parachute under my desk, but no one ever doubted that my intentions were sincere. Because they all know that they were. And still are.

Things change, though. Last year, Boarding School Pal and I met for breakfast at a café near his apartment on the corner of Charles and Hudson. Where he had lived since 2000. And we wandered around for a while, until we finally had lunch at Bubby’s. But, as I’ve posted before, BSP has his own firm now and so after we ate he had to go to work. And I bid him goodbye and stayed in the East Village with L.

I had decided that I was going to take a nap for the afternoon. I was pretty tired from having gotten up so early and, honestly, the night before had been one of the first times I’d ever hooked up with L. And we’d stayed up pretty late.It was a beautiful day and, as I opened the window to let fresh air into her apartment, I heard the most glorious bagpipes. And they were coming from someplace nearby. They were playing a sad, mournful tune that went on without break for at least two hours. Possibly longer. And sitting there in her living room in this greatest of all cities, I wished I could’ve found whomever was playing. Because I wanted to either give this person a hug or buy them a drink.

And then I remembered that there’s a fire station nearby, on either 2nd or 3rd Streets between Avenues B and C. And shortly after that, the anonymous bagpiper hit one extremely sour note that seemed to float in the air for several minutes, before he or she just stopped playing entirely. And by then I didn’t feel like sleeping anymore.This year, for the first time since that awful day six years ago, I won’t be spending any time with BSP and his wife on 9/11. They live somewhere in CT now, after his former landlords bought him out of his lease so they could re-rent his stabilized apartment at an exorbitant, illegally high rent. I emailed him to see if he wanted to grab a coffee or a drink after work, but the only thing I heard back from him was something concerning a piece of business that we have together.

So, I’ll be at work today. Not the end of the world, but admittedly not how I really wanted to commemorate this significant event. But maybe I’ll stop in someplace local in the late afternoon for one quick drink.

Because I’m lucky. I lost nobody on that day back in 2001.

So whatever happens today, I’m going to be very conscious of the fact that it’s 9/11. A day that anybody who was in New York City at the time will always think of very differently from all other days. And which all Americans and citizens of the world know as a day that changed history in a lot of complicated ways.

But I’m also going to accept that this year won’t be like years past. Which is OK. This is what’s supposed to happen. Someday I’ll have my own partner and children, and I’ll be too concerned with work and getting the kids to school and the other mundane aspects of life to take a day to myself and just reflect.

But I’ll do that today.


While I still can.
Today marks the first year since the awful events of six years ago that I haven’t taken the day off from work /school (usually we had the day off) on September 11th.



And truth be told, I wanted to. It just wasn’t practical. What with missing a ton of work due to my grandfather’s death and the US open. I can’t really afford to take days off unless it’s an emergency (like going to Spain or Italy). Or a beautiful woman tells me she’s reserved a suite at the Mercer and wants to spend the day making crazy love to me as we lick champagne off of each other.



But seriously. I spent September 11th 2002—2007 with Friends and Family. We would always have breakfast early. Like, at 7:00 a.m. And in 2006, I went to the memorial ceremony, but it was just such a circus. There was some kind of fringe religious group walking through the crowds trying to get people to go to one of their services, and a ton of tourists milling around aimlessly. It was too much for us. And so, every year after that, my friends or Family and I would spend the day walking around lower Manhattan/or stay home and watch the ceremony on Television, reflecting on life and how lucky we were to be able to get together in this greatest of all cities, and how we would never leave. I even swore that, once new buildings were put up, I’d move my office there. And I joked that I’d keep a parachute under my desk, but no one ever doubted that my intentions were sincere. Because they all know that they were. And still are.


Things change, though. Last year, Boarding School Pal and I met for breakfast at a café near his apartment on the corner of Charles and Hudson. Where he had lived since 2000. And we wandered around for a while, until we finally had lunch at Bubby’s. But, as I’ve posted before, BSP has his own firm now and so after we ate he had to go to work. And I bid him goodbye and went up to midtown.



I had decided that I was going to take a nap for the afternoon. I was pretty tired from having gotten up so early and, honestly, the night before had been one of the first times I’d ever hooked up with L. And we’d stayed up pretty late.It was a beautiful day and, as I opened the window to let fresh air into her apartment, I heard the most glorious bagpipes. And they were coming from someplace nearby. They were playing a sad, mournful tune that went on without break for at least two hours. Possibly longer. And sitting there in her living room in this greatest of all cities, I wished I could’ve found whomever was playing. Because I wanted to either give this person a hug or buy them a drink.



And then I remembered that there’s a fire station nearby, on either 2nd or 3rd Streets between Avenues B and C. And shortly after that, the anonymous bagpiper hit one extremely sour note that seemed to float in the air for several minutes, before he or she just stopped playing entirely. And by then I didn’t feel like sleeping anymore.This year, for the first time since that awful day six years ago, I won’t be spending any time with BSP and his wife on 9/11. They live in somewhere in CT now, after his former landlords bought him out of his lease so they could re-rent his stabilized apartment at an exorbitant, illegally high rent. I emailed him to see if he wanted to grab a coffee or a drink after work, but the only thing I heard back from him was something concerning a piece of business that we have together.



So, I’ll be at work today. Not the end of the world, but admittedly not how I really wanted to commemorate this significant event. But maybe I’ll stop in someplace local in the late afternoon for one quick drink.



Because I’m lucky. I lost nobody on that day back in 2001.



So whatever happens today, I’m going to be very conscious of the fact that it’s 9/11. A day that anybody who was in New York City at the time will always think of very differently from all other days. And which all Americans and citizens of the world know as a day that changed history in a lot of complicated ways.



But I’m also going to accept that this year won’t be like years past. Which is OK. This is what’s supposed to happen. Someday I’ll have my own partner and children, and I’ll be too concerned with work and getting the kids to school and the other mundane aspects of life to take a day to myself and just reflect.



But I’ll do that today.



While I still can.
Oh sweet Lord. The Wife was unbearably adorable. She actually made fun of me for not drinking enough. Meanwhile, my alleged friend sat there, mostly immobile, picking at his bok choy throughout lunch.

Midway through the meal, when The Wife went to the bathroom, I announced “I really like her.” The Writer and the husband vigorously nodded in agreement while The Writer
sort of laughed at the table. This is when I realized I was angry at him. My alleged friend had been hiding from me for two years and the lunch was making it very difficult to pretend everything had been The Wife’s fault. Maybe insecure, controlling wives drink martinis and tell you about the time they passed out in front of their mother-in-law’s house but it seemed unlikely. So I leaned over to my alleged friend and whispered in my best I-really-mean-it voice, “I like her more than you.” Then I avoided him for the rest of the day which was difficult, since I was sitting next to him, but somehow possible.

Hopefully I hurt his feelings but I am guessing he thought I was joking.

Blind-Date from Hell

On Friday night, I just wanted to go home and relax. But stupidly, I’d let my friend Jew talk me into going on a blind date with a friend of hers.

We’d been at Happy Hour on Tuesday night, and she’d been asking me about my love life. And I explained to her that I was happy being single and, while I wanted to be in a relationship again, it had to be right. With somebody I got to know well and took my time with. And I was in no hurry about it.

Jew stated that she had the perfect person for me, and would I be interested in having a drink with her friend sometime soon? I said thanks, but that I’d pass. I hate blind dates. In fact, if you’re wondering why I’m referring to what eventually happened this past Friday as the second worst date ever, it’s because the most awful one that I've ever had was also a blind date. It took place about 3 years ago, and was just miserable. I’ll post it sometime, because, if nothing else, it really is a hilarious story. But now is not the time.

But Jew would not be deterred. And since she’s a good friend and I was under the influence of a few vodka and tonics with lime, I caved. I said I’d be working late on Friday, but that I could meet for a quick drink. I rattled off the name of a low key wine bar near work, and said she should have her friend email me. Which is what happened on Wednesday. I exchanged a few brief emails with Jew’s friend and said we could grab one quick glass of wine on Friday night. The reply came back agreeing that would be fine, since she’d be at a Fashion Week party until about 10:00 p.m., anyway.

Now, maybe you’ve been on dates before where you didn’t want to go in the first place. But you went because a close friend talked you into it while you were drunk. Honestly, Friday I just wanted to lounge around and watch a movie. But I found myself in a very crowded midtown wine bar, nursing a lovely Sicilian red as I waited for Jew’s friend to show up. And I thoroughly ignored the nasty looks from people eying the empty stool beside me at the bar that I was saving for my date as I tried to stay awake.Jew’s friend eventually showed up. And not only was she already hammered, but she was dressed in an outfit that was completely inappropriate for anything other than a leather fetish party. And it was seriously revealing. And totally out of place for this establishment.

But I told myself that, OK, she’s just come from a Fashion Week party so I should give her the benefit of the doubt.And then we began to chat. Or, rather, she began to chat for about an hour and a half and I would occasionally try to answer a question when she’d pretend to be interested in what I thought about something or about my background. For example, she went on for about twenty minutes about what a great cook she was and seemed to list every single recipe she’s capable of making.

I was thinking about tennis. And tennis - only. And what a great guitarist Johnny Marr had been with the Smiths. And how I hadn't been to see a movie in an actual cinema in a while. And so on.But jew’s friend finally asked me what kinds of foods I liked, and I began to answer and then she interrupted me and went on and on about fifty other things for an eternity. And she reiterated that she liked to cook in a very suggestive way. I guess the implication was that if I were to date her, she’d cook for me a lot. But spending time in a kitchen with this woman seemed like a fate more horrible than I’d wish on anybody other than Tango. And even then I wasn’t sure.

So, I’ll spare you the details. She just talked forever and ever. And I watched her with what was probably a look of utter boredom. And I don’t think I have to tell you that there’s nothing I enjoy more than a good conversation. I like getting to know people. But this was so insanely one sided.

Finally, at 11:30 p.m., I couldn’t take it anymore. I lied and said I had to be up early to... well, I just had to be up early. Being a gentle-lady, I paid for the drinks anyway. With cash, so we wouldn’t have to wait for the overworked bartender to run my card. And then outside I stupidly lit a cigarette, because Jew’s friend bummed one from me. So I was trapped for another ten minutes. And then she asked me if I wanted to get one more drink. Or if she could come home with me to meet my new kitten.

I was tempted to tell her that the Cat had rabies and that he might attack her if she came over, but I didn’t want to besmirch his reputation like that. I just said that it wasn’t a good night, and put her in a cab without promising to call her again. Because I never, ever will.

Even if there’s a major snowstorm and she has the only supply of canned goods in NYC.

It just wouldn’t be worth it to survive a natural disaster under those circumstances.

My friend and his Wife

My male (completely platonic - duh!) best friend from boarding school recently had the nerve to find a serious girlfriend, disappear completely, and subsequently marry said girlfriend. I have seen him exactly once since he met this woman and that was at the wedding.

For the two years prior to the Big Day, all I got was the occasional trying-to-stay-in-touch e-mail. Obviously I had to assume that this wife character was a horrible, evil bitch who not only forbade my friend to see me but was really, really fat. However, The Wife has apparently achieved some sense of wedded security because I'm going out to dinner with my friend, and The Wife tomorrow.

Now that eating overpriced Pad Thai with The Wife is imminent, I am forced to confront a series of uncomfortable facts:

a. The Wife is not actually fat.
b. Unless she dieted for the wedding and now has put it all back on!
c. But no matter what she looks like my friend is in love with her, and they are married, which means she is the most important person in his life. I need to respect that. But it's hard to respect it when The Wife hates me.
d. The Wife hates me because she thinks I’ll be a girl-bitch and say snide things and try to compete with her which I’m totally going to do.

So...The Wife is actually right to hate me. See? Uncomfortable.

Even worse was when The Writer tried to fuck with my head by saying “How do you know it’s her fault he never sees you?”But I can't think like that, I can only be angry at one dinner companion at a time. So I invited her to come along (great for being bitchy to females when needed) and bought a new dress (security blanket).

Just as I spent the college years worrying what ladies thought of me, I am apparently going to spend the post-college years obsessing over them.

stuff for the brain

you see, I have been pretty busy these days. less time for me to blog and update you with my fabulous life. blame it on the US open (so gay - yay!) and NYC Fashion Week.

but, I wanted to share a few things that made me happy recently...

1) go pick up /netflix/rent/download/steal "Amour de Femme" - french lesbian flick...amazing!!!! i am in love with (always been) Helene Filliere.

2) There is a new book out - Hack. her name is Melissa Plaut. so pick it up. its interesting.

ok. I need to head out. CIAO

Instant Message Confessions

This kept me going for a whole hour.

Me: I need to marry some rich woman or have a sugar mama to pay off my student loans for me. I am highly considering an older woman. Believe it or not!
M: less drama. I wont spend money on going out...decent sex...housing...pretty sweet deal

Brooklyn: I have actually considered a sugar momma but I don’t think I would be happy I need to be the breadwinner...no way really tell me about her
M: I haven’t met her yet. Are you kidding? U r such a homo...the bread winner
B: ooo damn i got excited 4 u lol.... shut up and yes, yes i am...
M: so u better find urself a little lezzie who likes that
B: lol I’m sure some woman out there would love to be a trophy wife
M: haha. I want to be a trophy wife. That’s my goal. actually…become a writer and a trophy wife with three kids and they all play tennis or soccer.
M: and a dog name Sophie
M: and a cat - Cinderella
M: yeah. I got it all planned out

B: lol ok well there has to be some1 else out there.... and 3 kids no way. Where r u living since u have everything else planned
M: a brownstone in the West Village. And a summerhouse in the Adirondacks
M: this is going to make my blog… just an FYI

B: lol that’s fine lol I like the brownstone idea but do u really want to raise ur kids in the city?
M: yes. Best private FRENCH schools
B: that’s cool then u and her better make a nice salary
M: well yeah. See that’s the problem. She needs to make lots of money...cause writing is not going to pay for my expensesB: lol so u need a lawyer/doctor/business woman.....some1 like that


There is more. but i am just too lazy to edit it.