Friday, November 28, 2008

back at home in s.f., a dinner out, JUST US . . .


my man.

just an homage to the simple pleasures of a favorite restaurant
(GUESS.  where do we ALWAYS go?)
a quiet night with no plans on the books after a long trip,
and your favorite companion.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

ATLAS SHRUGGED, a gift from my grandfather, a reminder of what shaped me -


when i was 10,
(true story here)
my grandfather handed me this book.

he would do this every now and then, hand me a book.  i learned that there was an expectation attached to the gift, that you would read it, and not discuss it, but absorb it.  learn from it.  that he was handing you a piece of himself that he thought important to your life.

if you haven't read ayn rand, it's a big tome for a ten year old.

i loved it.  

i think her philosophy altered me and gave me such a sense of confidence,
of belief in the creative will,
of the "virtue of selfishness" (her words, though easily mine),
that i re-read it every three years for a long time.

to revisit dagny taggart.  and john galt.  and myself.

if you haven't read it, i don't know if i can recommend it.  it's an intensely personal book, it would be like recommending a memory that gets gilded with age.  or a religion that you practise in privacy.

but on this trip, i took it and read it in the mornings.  late in the night.  on the plane before i slept.


and i reconnected with my grandfather.

and myself.

the book is about change that one chooses.  and how it alters the world, and the self.

it felt like good timing.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

dinner at sucre, a buenos aires gem -

we DID work our asses off on this shoot,
but we made the most of our evenings, too. . .

 

sucre is at the heart of the park in buenos aires,
a concrete bunker that could be smack in the middle of los angeles,
or on the edge of brooklyn,
or in beijing.

 

it has that continental anonymity that is still striking when you enter it,
and the food is my favorite in a city riddled with steak and pasta.

so there we headed for dinner with the client . . .
and it was easy.  it was funny.  it was riddled with talk of all things
NOT
work related.

 

i'm guessing that's what
blood orange and porcini mushroom risotto with pecorino
can do to a group.



you heard me:

BLOOD ORANGE AND PORCINI RISOTTO

it was floral, bitches.  and i ate it ALL.

(that's why there's no actual picture of the food.  i ate it ALL.)

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

a quiet night out with the core team that is forming my new work world. can you feel the energy?

i love how people surround you in life,
suddenly rushing in when you least expect them,
and you look up from your menu
and there they are,
intimate,
intelligent,
a bit dazzling.


and you think,
i met her through a friend at work,
and her through a work connection,
and him? 


i've grown up with him.

these tethers we have to each other are so precious,
and they lead us to each other.


if we are lucky,
we get to collect many strings,
and look up to place our order
with people who already know
what we're going to say.

Monday, November 24, 2008