Operation MMPF revisited April 29, 2009

I’ve been in Cape Town nearly a week now, and let me just say — WOW. I haven’t done a TON of exploring (yet!!) but I’ve loved everything so far. It’s amazing to step out my front door and smell the ocean, walk down my street and see it. There’s no way anyone could argue that the ocean doesn’t have a presence here, as I might have done in Boston or even (gasp!) Barcelona. The Atlantic is rugged and raw and real, and I LOVE it. I’ve now spent several days walking along the ocean-side promenade, both towards and away from Cape Town, and every time it’s just as magical. It’s a bit like walking on East Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, actually. And definitely as beautiful. I’m delighted to have the ocean be such a presence in my life. As soon as I can get myself a bicycle, I’m planning on having it be my primary mode of (daytime…) transport, and hope to ride along the promenade 7/8 of the way to school. (Um, yeah… no public transportation, per se, in Cape Town. I have yet to experiment with the sketchy-looking van-taxis that my roommate seems to think are safe enough and only cost R5 or so, versus a regular taxi that would be about R50… Hm… I don’t know, man. They look pretty damn sketchy to me. But, erm, when in Rome…?)

Having all this free time, though, has been a little strange, especially given that it’s a generally accepted truth that venturing out alone after dark is a BAD idea. So basically, I’ve been eating and cooking good food every day, getting out to walk for a couple of hours or so, and spending the evening watching tv, reading, hanging around the house with my housemate, and playing on the internet. Oh, and I’ve been off the booze this whole last week — giving my liver a break, you know (also, what am I going to do? go to a bar by myself? yeah, no). And I know that it’ll all be different as I start making friends, and I’ll have REAL excuses to leave the house and whatnot, but yeah, it’s been odd — healthy, but odd.

So, once again, I’ve decided to attempt to dedicate myself to losing all the damn weight I put on in B-school. (Seriously. I just can’t live like this anymore!) As luck would have it, there’s a personal training gym down the street from my house, and (hurray for the exchange rate!) it’s relatively affordable. The place is beautiful, and has huge windows overlooking that gorgeous ocean that I love so much, which is a total bonus. I got myself all enrolled yesterday, and met for the first time with my booty-kicking trainer today. Um, yeah. Apparently, not only am I a giant fat-ass right now (for me — 66kg, gasp!!!), I’m also REALLY (really, really) out of shape. I guess today was a “light” workout. (Light? LIGHT?! Light workout my A**!!) I thought I might die at LEAST three different times. I had no idea that personal training would mean working every major muscle group AND feeling like a total fool. (My trainer is, like, thisbig, adorable, Vietnamese/Canadian, and ALL muscle — I was so embarrassed every time I had to ask for less weight on something that the tiny woman could do with her pinky! BUT, she’s a total sweetheart and really good at postive reinforcement, so she definitely wasn’t TRYING to make me feel like a g**damn heiffer.) The worst part? Sprints. In the gym. With a medicine ball. Suddenly I’m the fat kid in gym class, or Chunk from the Goonies, or something (doubled over, panting “hey guys… GUYS… just… guys… just a second…” pant pant pant). The horror!! Especially when my trainer says, as I heave my fat ass from one end of the gym to the other with the bright orange medicine ball “It’s not a jog! Come on! Visualize those pants you want to wear!!” And I’m thinking “I AM running!! What the hell? Eff those pants!!” So then I force myself to push harder, and she says “Good! Only 30 more seconds!” which nearly makes me cry, because really, I’m no sprinter and it’s HARD, and my face is turning seventeen shades of purple, and I want to drop the stupid medicine ball, and I finally finish, and want to collapse and die, but am congratulating myself internally for at least completing the excercise without falling on my face and maybe now I’m done for the day — but NOOO! There are lunges to be done! And tricep curls! And squats! And hey, guess what? Another set of effing SPRINTS! Dear god, it was humiliating. Oh, and yeah — this is the gym where the SERIOUS fitness nuts go, so, while it was the middle of the day and there was (luckily) almost no one there, there was only one person in the whole place larger than I am — and she’s freaking PREGNANT! Gah!! And my trainer is so dear and sweet and positive that I had to force myself to smile all the way through it and act cool, purple face be damned (“Yeah, I can handle this, no problem… wait, how many more? … uh, yeah, no, it’s fine… really…” Smile smile smile…). Meanwhile, my face is now a deep shade of crimson, I have sweat dripping out of every pore, and I want to fall on the floor and die. And again, this was the LIGHT workout. Even more fun? I’ll be keeping a food journal and sharing with my trainer. Awesome. Turns out it’s a good thing that the beer here isn’t very tempting, eh? When she told me I need to try to cut out 500 calories a day (combination of diet and exercise) I almost fell of the elliptical machine! I mean, I’ve been eating well, but sheesh! This is going to make partying with the classmates challenging, to say the least (“just a white wine spritzer for me, thanks” — nooooo!!!). Tomorrow I have to go back to the gym for a half hour of cardio and more punishment to my abs (yay!) and then I’ll be seeing my trainer again on Friday morning (8:30am, yay!). Um, I don’t know what I’ll do if she wants to give me more than a “light” workout. Hopefully not hyperventilate and die, because that would be REALLY embarrassing… In any event, I guess I can expect some results from this one, right?

In South Africa!! April 25, 2009

Well, I obviously never got around to the “Where To Drink” blog that I intended about Barcelona, but that’s okay – I’m pretty sure that anyone who travels to BCN can put that together for themselves. (Although, I’d like to give particular, if belated, shout-outs to La Cerveteca – the ONLY place to drink beer, as far as I’m concerned! – and Hook, a.k.a. The Pirate Barrrrrrrr, which is a great, exceedingly kitschy place for late-night mojito).

So, YES, I’m in South Africa!!! It was weird and somewhat heart-breaking to leave Barcelona (all those good-byes to all of those awesome, awesome people, uuuggghh) but luckily, I was able to hit the ground running when I got here, so it was nice to be so immediately distracted. My friend Keyren has a brother here, and happened to be in town visiting with her pal Jerrod, so I was able to tag along for dinner two nights in a row and start meeting people right away – which, needless to say, was fabulous. Not only is it nice to start meeting people, we went to great restaurants and the company was tremendous – it’s always a treat to see Keyren, and a bonus to meet cool new folks. The icing on the cake is that her brother owns a wonderful little boutique hotel in Cape Town that prides itself on excellent service, which they do extremely well, and I was able to stay there. I highly recommend it to any travelers coming this way!!

After my amazing first two days, it was off to Jo’burg to meet up with Megan and David and a new friend, Leigh. They picked me up at the airport and we headed directly to Kruger Park, where Megan’s folks had generously donated their timeshare. I have little to say on this topic that isn’t some variety of “AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!!!” Stunning, diverse landscapes, giraffes in their native environment (as well as hippos, zebras, elephants, babboons, buffalo, warthogs, a mongoose, a zillion beautiful, exotic birds, a million impala/kudu/antelope, etc), gorgeous waterfalls, great times with friends – all in all, an AMAZING encounter. But better if I just demonstrate a bit in pictures, right?

Anyway, I got back to Cape Town on Thursday and have been settling in nicely. My house is incredible, my roommate is fabulous, there’s an awesome grocery store around the corner, and my street ends two blocks away, at the ocean. So far, so good. Of course, I’m a bit adrift now, as I don’t have school until next Monday and have nothing of import to do – and oh yeah, I don’t really have any “friends” yet, per se. So I’m thinking I’ll spend the week looking into a local gym, try to buy a bike to ride to/from school, and maybe start hammering out that business plan. However, I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be back on the blog, while I’m here. I imagine I’ll have a lot to say about Cape Town, when I get to know it a bit better. For now I’ll just say: it’s beautiful, it’s exceedingly foreign, and I fear I’m in grave danger of falling madly in love with it. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Barcelona: where to eat in this awesome city April 6, 2009

Unbelievably, it seems that my time in Barcelona is drawing to a close. I celebrated my graduation from ESADE last Friday, had a tremendous time with my parents, Mary and Doug, and now need to spend the next week packing up my life and moving on to the next, Cape Tonian chapter. Whew!

BUT: before I left, I thought I’d leave you all with the legacy of information I’ve been gathering for the last 18 months about where to eat and drink in the city (having made myself a sort of unofficial expert, it’s the least I could do!). I’ll be doing this in two installments — where to eat and where to drink — since I have so damn much to say on both fronts!

Tapas, a few views:

For yummy, inexpensive, typical tapas: El Tropezon, Regomir 26, in the heart of the Barrio Gotico. This is a nondescript little joint where you write down your order on a slip of paper, hand it to the waiter, and wait for huge, oily, delicious plates of tapas to appear. My favorites at El Tropezon: pescaditos fritos (literally, “little fishes,” lightly breaded and fried, you eat the whole thing, and they’re fabulous — like fishy popcorn, as my mom would say), patatas bravas (the most garlicky aioli in town!), pimientos al padron (oily, salty, flavorful, delicious), champinones (in a white wine sauce with olive oil and salt, you’ve never had such yummy mushrooms!), pan con tomate (typical toasted bread with tomato and olive oil, and a must-have at any Catalan tapas joint), queso manchego (typical Spanish sheeps-milk cheese — dry, salty, potent, pairs perfectly with your pan tomate!). To be fair, though, you can’t really go wrong with anything there — it’s all delicious!

Another view on tapas: Calle Merce in the Barrio Gotico, in general, offers a slew of divey Spanish bars offering chorizo al diablo (Spanish sausage that comes to you in a little ramekin, covered in aguardiente — they light it on fire when they bring it to the table, and you cook it yourself!), chorizo a la sidra (chorizo cooked in Basque cider — the flavors complement perfectly!), and, unforgettably, leche de pantera (“panther’s milk” — an opaque white beverage that you buy by the bottle for about 9EUR, seems sweet and innocent enough but seriously packs a punch!). Calle Merce is a great place to bar hop and try a variety of inexpensive tapas, Basque Cider and leche de pantera without breaking the bank. If you like a good dive bar, these are awesome places to go!

Speaking of inexpensive tapas, I would be remiss in not mentioning La Champagneria, Carrer de la Reina Cristina 7 — in no way a secret to Barcelona natives OR tourists, as you’ll see by the mosh-pit dense crowds that always populate the locale. However, it’s absolutely worth getting a little pushed around (or, let’s be honest, felt up), to get your hands on a 2EUR chorizo sandwich to go with your 2EUR bottle of cava. A word to the health-code wary: don’t freak out. It may be dirty, it may be crowded, but fear not! I’ve never known anyone to get sick from eating there — and we’ve eaten there a LOT. I’d recommend starting an evening out there — try to get there before 5, particularly on a weekday, if you want to avoid the insanity. Also, be advised that they close early — 10pm, I think.

For the freshest tapas around, El Quim in La Boqueria never fails to deliver. It’s definitely on the expensive side, but you’ll be so happy with your jamon iberico, asparragos a la plancha, chipirones, pimientos al padron, gambas al ajillo, patatas bravas and obligatory cup of cava, you won’t care at all. Plus, it’s completely entertaining to watch the men prepare the food right in front of you, and infinitely satisfying to know it probably came from the stall right behind you. Tip: try to get there before 2pm, which is lunchtime in Spain, since there are only about a dozen seats around this tiny bar, and they fill up quickly. Also, they close at 4, so you’ll have to plan on going there for lunch.

For fancy, up-scale tapas, Carles Abellan, a disciple of El Bulli’s Ferran Adria, has provided two different perspectives on what tapas can be. His tapas bar, Tapas 24, is a bustling, hip little spot on the corner of Diputacion and Passeig de Gracia. He offers typical tapas done with style and flair. It’s reasonably priced, and well worth the hour you’ll probably wait to get in, as they don’t take reservations. (I recommend nosing up to the bar for a glass of cava or several while you wait — the hour will fly!) Be sure to order the bikini (a toasted sandwich with mozzarella, jamon serrano and truffle paste — heaven!) and the chocolate dessert (little balls of chocolate ganache covered in olive oil and chunks of rock salt — it’s decadent, interesting, and utterly delicious). Going further up the pricing scale, I must mention Comercio 24, a much more avant garde take on tapas. I recommend really going for it and ordering the Grand Festival: 12 courses of tapas, each one flavorful, decadent, innovative and rich. I ate there on Saturday with my folks and Mary and Doug, and there was precious little conversation in our 4-hour meal that didn’t sound something like “oh my GOD, did you try THAT one yet??” We ate things like sea urchin soup, duck risotto with foie mousse, oysters on the half shell, entrecot with cauliflower foam, and tuna tartar with egg yolk vinagrette (to name just a few). However, be warned: you may spend a month of rent on one meal — but it’ll be worth it!

Moving away from Spanish cuisine, I’ll mention a few non-Spanish favorites:

For delicious, home-made Italian cuisine, Made In Italy, Calle Ample 50. This has been my stand-by favorite restaurant in Barcelona — it’s close to my house, affordable, and always delivers a meal that is as delicious as it is filling. I recommend the Insalate Tricolore, Rollitos de Salmon or Queso al Forno to start. For main courses, you pretty much can’t go wrong with the pastas, but the lasagne tends to be a hit, as does the pear and goat cheese filled pasta with gorgonzola cream sauce. Also, I’m a big fan of the pumpkin risotto that actually comes to the table in a hollowed-out pumpkin. For dessert, the home-made tiramisu is excellent, or the irish coffee — made with mascarpone! — can help to pick you up for a long night out.

Other honorable mentions that I love:

Arc Cafe, Calle d’en Carrabassa 19 — super affordable, eclectic menu, free wifi!

Abissinia, Torrent de les Flors 56 (in Gracia, metro L4 Joanic) — home-made Ethiopian food. Order the Plato Combinado, go with your friends, and prepare to be delighted by the friendly service and rich, interesting food!

Bollywood, Avenida Drassanes 27-29 — authentic Indian cuisine (the mango lassi is excellent!) and Bollywood films on screens around the restaurant. A great place to go with a large group, and a totally awesome vegetarian choice as well!

La Coronela, Calle Consulat de Mar 23 (in Born) — the only place, in my opinion, to eat Mexican food in Barcelona. A bit on the pricey side, but worth it when you’ve experienced the awesomeness of the conchinita pibil and tamarind margaritas!

La Paladar del Son, Torrent de les Flors 6 (in Gracia, metro L4 Joanic) — Cuban food — ropa vieja and mojitos that don’t disappoint! — affordably priced and sufficiently off the beaten path to avoid the hordes of tourists you’ll find in other areas of Barcelona.

Maoz, a chain of take-away vegetarian falafel joints, can be found in various locations around the city, and is the perfect way to fill up on healthy-ish food on the go. Be sure to load up your falafel with toppings at the Buffet Libre to get the most bang for your buck (er, Euro…)!

Milk, Gignas 21 in el Barrio Gotico, is the only place I know in Barcelona to get brunch. This is a great place to recover from your big bad Friday/Saturday night — which you can do with a Bloody Mary and an Eggs Benedict! They only serve brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10-4, but at night this cozy little restaurant becomes a cocktail lounge and bistro. At any time of day, it’s not a spot to be missed!

Rambla Samosas — for a late night snack, when you’re stumbling around Las Ramblas after the bars close, don’t be afraid to buy a samosa (or several!) from one of the many men to be found with boxes of hot samosas at 3am. Seriously, they’re delicious, and you’ll be glad for the oily, alcohol absorbing properties of the fried potatoey goodness!

Alright, I feel like I’ve covered most of my favorites, but PLEASE feel free to comment and add any that I’ve forgotten!!!

Next post: where to drink. Cheers!

So… wow… March 2009 March 25, 2009

Incredibly, I’ve let another month or more pass since my last post… But lemme tell ya, it’s been a FULL one — epiphanies, travel, “research”, revelations, revelation — in short, a LOT of fun stuff.

The short version would include a whirlwind 24 hours in London with Kim, Marijn, Patrick and Laleh in February, then a FABULOUS visit from the famous WDA in March. Will and I took an INCREDIBLE trip to Bavaria to visit J&L, who might just be the greatest hosts of all time ever — pancake breakfast, weisswurst and weissbier breakfast, trips to Alpine monasteries — that’s right, plural, and no, not for “gawd”, for BEER — an aborted sledding expedition, beer by the liter, the list goes on and on. We then came back for a killer week in BCN and a celebration of Will’s 30th! We ate, we drank (and oooooooh, did we DRINK!), we conquered… ‘Twas grand (and well documented in pictures on WDA’s profile on the FB, if you’re curious!). But the party didn’t stop when Will left! Last weekend, my girlfriend Megan and I hopped on a last minute train (half off if you buy online within 24 hours! FYI to those traveling by train in Spain!) to San Sebastian, where we spent the weekend (can you guess it?) eating and drinking! Holy Pinchos, Batman, it was some EXCELLENT food! Okay, so that would be the travel and revelation part. The next awesome happening in the last month has to do with revelations, epiphanies, and the aforementioned “research” (which is my new favorite euphemism for drinking beer, but more on that in a moment).

As we know, the market is in the proverbial “sh***er” — it’s impossible to step into the street in Spain without inevitably hearing someone mention “la crisis.” (My friend Terry here has proposed La Crisis Drinking Game — every time someone says “la crisis”, take a drink! It’s become an informal toast amongst us soon-to-be-unemployed newly-minted MBAs…) The word from Career Services is to more or less forget any aspirations of working outside your home country, as international visas are going to be VERY hard to find. Of course, we already knew that I’m headed back to the West Coast, but I was having a bit of anxiety about leaving Europe, and at least now I know that it would be more or less imperative either way. Sad, but true. Anyway, we also know that I have seriously struggled with the question (what DO I want to be when I grow up??) of what kind of career path to take after the MBA. And finally, FINALLY, it dawned on me that I should, in fact, set out upon the risky, treacherous, and exciting path of the entrepreneur. (Which means that I’ll be recruiting LOTS of you for help, advice, “donated”, ahem, services, etc!) I can’t post too much here (intellectual property and all), but will say this: I’ll be combining several of my passions into a little business — think beer and maybe some education and a good amount of narrative, people. I’m really excited, and hoping to hit the ground running when I get to Portland this summer with a complete business plan, so I can jump right into market testing and see if my idea can hold, and then start looking for funding. It’s not grand, it’s not particularly socially responsible (yet! I have big ideas about how little businesses can contribute!), it’s not even terribly innovative — BUT, it’s mine, and I’m excited. My reasoning is this: I can either spend the next 6 months scouring heaven and earth for a job that’s most likely less than awesome and probably not in Portland with my hunny, or? I can create my own fate, be my own boss, and commit myself to something I truly love. So I’m making lemonade, basically, out of “la crisis” (drink!). Also? As I mentioned, I’ll be with my amazing hunny, and we’re planning to do this business together, which makes it totally perfect. I won’t be anything close to economically stable for the next couple of years, I don’t think, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be having too much fun to care too much. And if the business goes well? A couple of rocky, busy years seem like a small price to pay, because in the best-case-scenario, it’ll be stable by year 3 and I can shift focus elsewhere — I’ll let you all fill in the blanks on that one.

That more or less brings us to now. And NOW is, well, full. Everyone here is starting to get really intense about leaving — with reason, of course. This has easily been the most intense 18 months of my life — of all of our lives, I’m pretty sure; we’ve collectively made friends for life, crammed more information into our brains than I would have thought possible, traveled, suffered, partied, laughed, cried (and cried, and cried…), etc.  All in all, it’s been, as predicted, a life-changing experience. (Of course, the life-changing continues for me in Cape Town, but given that graduation is — gasp! — next week, it’s starting to feel pretty official now.)

This next week brings my last classes at ESADE (tomorrow, actually!), some awesome parties,beach with friends, and then? My parents get here on Monday (yay yay yay!!!), M&D get here on Wednesday (yay yay yay!), and after they leave? I have just over a week to wrap up  my life in Barcelona, pack my bags, and head to Cape Town — which will be a whole new chapter of this adventure called an MBA. I’m excited, sad, overwhelmed, ecstatic, melancholy… Whew! I can’t believe it’s all coming to an end! I feel like I just started this blog, and it’s almost time to start wrapping it up. (Don’t worry, I’ll blog in CT — and probably MUCH more faithfully, since I’ll have more schoolwork to put off doing!)

Oh, and hey, if you want more info about my little business and how you can help me start it, just email me, and we’ll talk. To “la crisis”! (Drink!!)

Not in hiding… per se… February 17, 2009

Aimee and I used to joke that any time a person finishes a sentence “per se…”, they more or less negate whatever they said right before that. Like, “He’s not unattractive… per se…” (“more like homely…”) or “I don’t hate my job… per se…” (“it freaking sucks”) – you get the picture. So to say that I haven’t been in hiding since I’ve been back in Spain, well, it’s neither true nor untrue, I guess.

Revolutions and resolutions January 4, 2009

Hello friends and family! Once again, apologies for the extended absence from the blog, but I’m back in Barca on Wednesday and PROMISE to be a much more faithful blogger in the months to come!!!

Anyway, I thought it would be fitting to start this year with a blog dedicated to a bit of reflection on the last 12 months of my life — which have been full of, as you might guess, revolutions; revolutions that, in turn, are leading me to many resolutions (clearly). 2008 was a funny year for me, since it was split nearly down the middle between living in Spain and living in NYC. My life in Spain, as you all know, was marked by a roller coaster ride of peaks and valleys, manic highs and soul-sucking lows: great visits from friends, abundant identity crises, academic failures, spectacular travel (Sevilla and Dublin are both cities I’d like to revisit!!!), incredible meals, and nearly enough soul-searching to last a lifetime (alas, as I still haven’t figured anything out, I suspect there is yet more of that to come). In NYC, I’ve led a very different kind of life: it’s been a stable, lovely time, full of tremendous family meals, brilliant outings with friends, travel back and forth across the country (three times!), that fabulous trip to PR, long work days and mellow evenings, and an overwhelming return to a revived sense of self.

With so much to reflect on in 2008, it would be easy to go on and on and on. Fear not, I won’t do that! If you’ve been following this blog for the last year or so, you probably know what the revolutions have been, and that they’ve been largely professionally related. (I WILL find a way to save the world AND earn a decent income, dammit!!!) However, the personal revolution that you might not know about (due to aforementioned extended absence from the blog, ahem) is that I finally (finally!!) let myself fall for the man who has loved me best and longest (10 years of marriage proposals — no joke!), and that, starting as soon as I can get my booty to Portland (likely summer this year), we’ll be crafting a new vision of the future — together, which rocks more than I can possibly express here. He’s the best ever, and I can’t wait to see what adventures we’ll have and what life we’ll build. We just spent three tremendous weeks together on the Left Coast, and it wasn’t nearly enough time, but it’s good to know that we can look forward to living together as soon as that’s humanly possible. Also, on a less romantic front, I’ve recently become a vegetarian (not totally true — technically I’ve simply committed myself to a cruelty-free diet, but that mostly means not eating meat), though I don’t know how much I’ll be able to stick to it in Spain (damn that irresistible cured ham!!). All told, 2008 was a HUGE year for me, and I can’t wait to see what 2009 has in store.

Anyway, I said revolutions AND resolutions, right? So how ’bout I just list the resolutions for you, and hopefully making them this public will make me a wee bit accountable to actually hold to them, eh? In no particular order:

– I WILL lose the weight I’ve gained in b-school, hopefully with the assistance of my good pal Dan in BCN.

– Travel wish list for the next 6 months: Munich (J&L, I’m coming to see you!), Paris/London (P&L, where are you guys these days??), Victoria Falls (maybe with Megan and David in April!), Tanzania, Kenya (hopefully to volunteer at an orphanage there), and all of SA, since, you know, I’ll be living there for a couple of months.

– Find a way to get my folks and extended fam to BCN before I depart in April.

– Fiesta at the beach house in August (with so many of us turning 30, there should be a celebration, no? — who’s in??).

– Find a job that allows me to stay true to myself and my goals, and happens to be in Portland and pays a million dollars (okay okay, maybe not a million, but you know what I mean).

– Take advantage of my kickass location in BCN and actually buy yummy foodstuffs from the Boqueria (living with M&D in NY has been a totally inspirational culinary adventure, and I hope to continue the good eating on my own across the pond).

– Be nicer to myself.

– Be as good a partner to my honey as he deserves (which is no small feat, be assured — he deserves outright awesomeness).

Wow, alright, this list is getting out of control, so I’ll stop. But before I end this particular post, I would like to say a very sincere THANK YOU to all of my awesome and amazing friends and family for helping me through the last 18 months of chaos, insanity, panic attacks, and general psychic suffering. I’m predicting a much more balanced 2009, and ask the question of all of you: what revolutions and resolutions do YOU have, coming out of 2008, and what adventures will you have in 2009???

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

Having my cake, and eating it, too October 18, 2008

First of all, thanks to everyone for the ideas and advice. Second of all, yet more apologies for my further extended absence – life is just so full these days! That said: clearly, a decision has been made. Equally clearly, you probably already know what I did. Just in case: I am still in NYC.

The decision pretty much made itself when my boss came back to me, two days after my last blog, and said that he had gotten approval to extend my contract through the end of the year. So now I find myself… still here. Which is, actually, totally excellent. Though the days are long and the work is still, er, under-stimulating, I’m enjoying being in the eye of the storm, as it were. It’s incredible to have a front row seat to all of the action in the marketplace. It was kind of devastating to have to say no to CT (again!), but felt like the right decision. After all, what is the purpose of the MBA? Really? Career advancement, obviously.  (Um, and, you know, learning. And stuff… But seriously? Career advancement.) And it looks as though I’ll be able to do some pretty good networking in the next couple of months, and perhaps secure myself an offer for post-MBA before I leave, so it will have all been totally worth it to say no to CT.

However, I have awesome, cake-eating news! Turns out I can still go to Cape Town to study! In May! Soooo… I’m gonna. It’s especially excellent because I was worried about just how much work it was going to be to finish on time and still graduate in April (turns out a lot – a crazy lot – of work would have been necessary to finish on time). I’m SO excited to still be able to go, and feel like it’ll be the perfect way to close two of the best years of my life.

So that’s my big news, for now. There are all kinds of other details I could and probably should provide about the awesomeness that is my life right now — but suffice it to say, I am happy, I am doing well, and I couldn’t possibly be more thrilled with my life right this minute. And hopefully, I’ll be able to find more time in the near-ish future to recount, in greater detail, the various reasons why. Until then, I’ll just say that I’m delighted to be able to have my cake, and eat it, too.

OIALO September 24, 2008

OIALO: Laurent-speak for “Once in a Lifetime Opportunity.” As you may recall, he challenged me back in April to find an even bigger OIALO to trump Cape Town, if I were going to say no to the exchange. As you may also recall, this was one of the arguments that tipped the scale for me, and I ultimately said YES to The Cape Town OIALO (because staying in BCN, while cool, could not compete in the heavyweight “once-in-a-lifetime” class of CT).

So why, now, am I revisiting this theme, nearly 6 months later? Well, unless you’ve been living under a rock or have an aversion to the 24-hour-news-cycle (though, in fairness, don’t we all??) these last two weeks, you will have heard that our country just suffered its worst week in finance since (gasp!) 1929. Which means that work has been busy. Really really busy. Crazy insane I-never-saw-THIS-coming busy. (The super-boring job I wrote about in my last blog? A distant, and now precious, memory.) Which brings me to yesterday, when I sat down with my boss and told him that, if he felt like they could really use my help, I could probably find a way to stay through the end of the year.

The implications of this offer are various, and mostly quite obvious. Firstly, and most obviously, I would be delaying my graduation by one term, and perhaps less obviously, forgoing the much-anticipated Cape Town OIALO (turns out it’s only available, well, NOW). However, it also means that I’m putting myself in a MUCH better position to, at a minimum, acquire and outstanding reference — and (again very obviously) at a maximum, a job offer (though this, admittedly, is a rather remote possibility, given the now-over-analyzed-and-over-discussed Horrific Market Conditions). Unfortunately, this gets even MORE ambiguous, as today I learned that I’m only guaranteed work through the end of October — after that, they’ll reassess, I’m told. (Interestingly, in either scenario, I end up with November and December off — unless they have work to give me here, of course. If I believed in God, I would start to think She was sending me a message about the last two months of this year…)

Which brings me to tomorrow: my theoretical Last Day of Work. I have Thursday off to wrap up my life in NYC and then head to CA on Friday, then on to CT about 10 days later (of COURSE I don’t have my plane ticket yet — c’mon, have you MET me??). However, were I to continue working, well, I’d work on Thursday, fly to CA on Friday, and be back at my desk at 7am on Monday (I get tired just thinking about that possibility, I have to admit — and I’d have to give up playing golf with my dad on Monday, which is a total drag).

So the question is: which of these opportunities is MORE “Once in a Lifetime”??? Which will pack a heftier OIALO punch?? And what do I DO with these two amazing opportunities???  Either way, I know I’m one hell of a lucky girl — but that doesn’t make the decision any easier.

So, Tribal Council: OIALO Cape Town, or OIALO New York??? Cast your votes quickly! I only have a few hours to decide!!!

Best summer EVER! August 24, 2008

So I suppose from my lengthy and uncharacteristic silence you might infer one of two things: either my summer is going terribly ridiculously insanely awesomely well, or it’s a disaster and I’m under a rock crying in self-pity and frustration, too embarrassed to update the blog.

Well, let me assure you — the reason is totally the former. I’m actually not sure how this summer could be going much better (well, no, I am – but more on that in a moment).

I knew it was going to be great pretty much from the instant I got here. In my first week back in the States, I got to enjoy a surprise visit from Diana (surprise to both of us, actually — sneaky Jason!!), go to a FREE production of Hamlet in Central Park with Clarke, Megan, Will, and a buddy of Clarke’s, go to the MoMA, take the little boys to a pub in the Village to watch the Eurocup final, and spend a LOT of time hanging with the family. Not a bad way to start a summer, right?

In the following week, I started my Awesome Summer Job. Which is really all I could *sort of* complain about, actually. Because it’s… well… in a word? Boring. Really really really boring. And not that awesome at all. However, to be fair, it’s really the name on the resume that matters, right? And furthermore, after a WHOLE year of identity crises, frustration, an acute case of square-peg-round-hole syndrome, and general ebbs and flows of school-related misery –  I have to say, it’s kind of okay. I finish my 10- or 11-hour work days with plenty of mental energy, and the job causes me exactly ZERO stress. Really, none at all. So that’s not so bad. And, er, they’re compensating me rather handsomely to be, you know, mostly bored, soooo… Yeah, like I said, it’s annoying, but I really shouldn’t complain.

I will now, in bullet form, give a quick overview of the many things that have been making my summer so very kickass (in no particular order):

– Family!! One of the hardest things about living abroad is the distance from the family, so I have been soaking up as much family time as I can — and it’s been AWESOME. Mary and Doug are some of the coolest folks I know, and it’s a total bonus that we just happen to be related and I get to spend the summer with them. And the kids? Man, don’t get me started. Let me just say that they all rock and are becoming very impressive human beings, and I am totally enjoying our time together.

– 4th of July weekend in Boston — catching up with Laura and Sean, Becky and Ben, the crowd at the JJ, brunch with Lauren and Tom — all awesome stuff.

– Charlie Chaplin shorts in Prospect Park for Jason’s birthday — picnic in the park with beer, Charlie Chaplin, great friends, and a live orchestra? For $3? Are you kidding?

– Dark Star Orchestra concert on Governor’s Island with Doug and some of his work colleagues (Dark Star is a Grateful Dead cover band, so I was apprehensive, but MAN, was it a fun show!!).

– 4-mile run with Megan, Annie B (18-year-old cousin who was here to babysit for the boys in July), Will, Doug, and a friend of Megan’s in Central Park (yes, folks, I ran — well, more walked than ran, but still! — a 4 mile race!!), followed by brunch at the Boat House and a trip to the Met. It was easily one of my favorite days this summer. 

– Dating — it’s just not happening right now. I had a few half-attempts at dates, only to realize that I just can’t be bothered to make romance any kind of priority at the moment. Which I consider a personal triumph.

– LA for J&L’s wedding! Highlights from CA: finally getting to the (beautiful!!) Getty to see where my awesome aunt Annie spends so much of her life; lunch with Scotty H — hadn’t seen him in YEARS, and still love him to death just as much!; dinner with Guille in Newport (his wedding is in PR in two weeks, and we KNOW that’s going straight to the list of summer highlights!!); pre-wedding bonding time with Jen; protein shakes and killer talks with Annie every morning; dancing with Casey at the wedding (BIG moves!!); the wedding itself, obviously — J&L really know how to throw a party!!; real mexican food!; bowling with Annie and Martin and the folks who live in their building. Anyway, the list goes on, but it was a very busy week!!

– Movies! It’s been a great summer for movie-watching — both at home and in theaters. It’s just nice to have the free time to do that, I guess.

– Beer!! I’ve made a few dangerous discoveries in Brooklyn that have led to some rather expensive but CRAZY delicious beer drinking. The Beer Table in Park Slope might be my new favorite bar ever. If only they had beer for less than $14… Siiiiigh…

– Food!! Much like the above entry, I’ll say that this city offers WAY too much wonderful, though expensive, cuisine. But damn! I’ve been eating well. And of course, we know that my uncle is pretty effing awesome in the kitchen, so it would be innacurate to say that all of those excellent meals have taken place outside of the house. Probably more like half, actually.

– Grad school friends! Megan lived just 2.3 miles away (really — she made me clock it in the car) so we spent a good amount of time together, and it was GREAT! Also: Christopher (my hermanito from school!) came for a whole week. We managed to catch a Broadway show (39 Steps — out of control hilarity!!), drink a beer on a lawn in Central Park, eat some fabulous meals, visit with friends, and just generally enjoy the city.

– Laura in Brooklyn! She actually just left about an hour ago, but we had a GREAT weekend, and I got a chance to show off almost everything that I am loveloveloving about Brooklyn.

So that brings us to now. Mary and Doug and the kids have all been in CA and get back tomorrow, and I can’t wait! I’ve missed those guys! And then I’ll have just about a month before the next adventure begins. Of course, before the Big South African Adventure starts, I can look forward to a trip to Puerto Rico, hopefully another weekend in Boston, a week or so in CA (Summer’s wedding!), and lots of other New York wonders.

So: apologies for the long silence! But I’ve been busy enjoying my awesome summer. Seriously, this might just be my best summer ever. F’real.

Countdown to NY!! June 17, 2008

I know, I’m terrible, and I haven’t written in over two weeks — d’oh!! But I have good reasons! Great reasons, in fact! After that last post, I had a week-long strategy course with my ENTIRE class (Spanish and English sections integrated!), and before it ended Sean and Laura got here to begin their week of Barcelona Awesomeness (and it was, oh man, SO awesome!). So school sort of fizzled and faded away, (honestly, after the pain! the horror! of finals, well, ending the strat class was completely anti-climactic!), and then I switched gears into vacationing-with-my-pals mode (read: frequenting my favorite BCN spots — Bar Quim, the Boqueria, Made in Italy, La Vinya del Senyor, Santa Maria del Mar, my preferred chiringuito, etc). It was an extremely busy end of the school year, what with visitors plus tons of end-of-year festivities (good-bye dinners, good-bye parties, etc). THEN, Kim and Marijn came through on Sean and Laura’s last night (they got engaged here the next day! congrats Kim and Marijn!!!!), and they more or less coincided with the arrival of two other Boston friends, Aaron and Jessie. Whew! It’s been CRAZY! And fun, and I’ve had no problem getting right into vacation mode (do I ever?).

Of course, true to form, I have yet to start packing, which I’m about to do. Really. Any second now… I leave for NYC on Thursday morning, get in around 2:45pm, and then, as far as I know, I don’t start working until around the 30th, sooo… Yet more time off, for hanging out with the family, getting on East Coast time, buying some more suits, and trying desperately not to be too too sad that I’ve just left BCN for the next SIX months!

So the countdown to NY is now two days (eek!) and I should probably get ready to go. Really. Any second now. But man, it’s been an AWESOME couple of weeks, and once again I’m feeling super connected with just how amazing my friends are, both old and new. Good stuff.