Seems we all keep in touch now via facebook status updates. Just enough info to keep us in the loop but not always enough info to get into the deets. Funny how now a blog is the vehicle for longer communication. It is like the snail mail of the 90s. In honor of the status update, I provide this blog update:
Rick is..another year older (last Tuesday)
That is right - my final year in my thirties began this week. As usual, I claim an entire week to celebrate. On my actual birthday (a beautiful day in the city), I had a fairly calm day in the office and then 51% took me to Craft for dinner. Craft is one of my favorite "special" restaurants. I certainly can't eat there every week, but on special occasions personally or professionally it can't be beat. 51% had a great bottle of wine, and I had a great bottle of champagne. At Craft everything is served ala carte, and this always results in ordering more than you should eat - but we do it anyway! For main courses, I had an awesome braised halibut with all sorts of citrus sides (kumquats, grapefruit, etc). Delish. 51% had lamb which looked great but I didn't try. Somehow we ordered like 6 different desserts - including their homemade cinnamon sugar donuts. We waddled the 5 blocks home and had a ceremonious bite of the beautiful chocoalte cake awaiting me at home from the Cupcake Cafe - although we each felt we were going to explode!
Wednesday morning I did a bit of shopping in midtown, then headed up to the country for the balance of the week. Tonight we will have a big dinner to cap off the birthday week.
Rick is..LOVING E=MC2! (last week)
It is no secret that I am a huge Mariah fan, ever since her first album came out. All through the 90s, there was a Mariah album to serve in parts as the soundtrack to my life. We each had some tough times in the late 90s and for her into the first few years of this decade. She finally got through it with the release of The Emancipation of Mimi back in 2005. Well, I've been waiting for this one for awhile. Scheduled to be released on my birthday (see above), I thought there couldn't be a better birthday gift. Well, thanks to a friend (Thank you R!) I received a promotional copy 4 days before the official release. All I can say is that it is on heavy constant rotation. She has some great stuff on here - easily 3 or 4 number one hits. This album is going to weave its way into our summer soundtrack like Emancipation did a couple years ago. Wait until the remixes of "OCC", "I'll Be Lovin U Long Time" and "I'm That Chick" come out. Love her. Congrats Mimi.
(Funny side story - one day back in 2000, I had just gotten out of a cab at Jane and Washington, ready to head into our new apartment. I noticed a flurry of activity on the opposite corner, in front of Industria. Turns out Mariah was doing a photo shoot right in front on the sidewalk. I immediately called 51% - who was up in the apartment. Apparently I didn't get much out besides "Mariah" "now" "throw camera off the balcony" "NOW!". Poor 51% scrambled to find a camera (this is when we all still used those disposable cameras), came out to the balcony, and threw it down to me - now screaming hysterically at him and flailing about on the sidewalk. Of course the camera sailed right between my helicopter chopper arms and crashed on the sidewalk.... Imagine what I was like when J-Lo moved into the building..)
Rick is..an American (on Tuesday)
And by that I mean I filed and paid my taxes. Actually I did it on Monday, so no part of my birthday would be spent in the line at the post office. Let's just say that I helped both the Federal government and the State of New York get a little "greener" if you catch my drift. Ouch. It is a drag sharing my birthday with the tax deadline - especially since my best friend (and accountant) is a tax partner for an accounting firm! She always manages to remember me. This year she sent me cookies from Elena's at Chelsea Market. My favorite year was the year she was literally so swamped that she Fedex'd me a $20 bill and oreos and a snicker's bar from the vending machine in her office. Classic.
Rick is..PISSED at Tivo (on Wednesday)
So you also know I am a fanatic about American Idol. Well since we were out to dinner on Tuesday for my birthday (see above), I was relying on Tivo to tape the Mariah Carey (SEE ABOVE!) night of AI. Well, I get back to the country on Wednesday night, and notice that not only was it not about to tape the results show (with MC performing!), it also chose not to record the performances from Tuesday! What the hell is a "Season Pass" good for if you don't record every episode of the season!! We are not speaking right now.
Rick is..getting shit done (all week)
Spring has come out of nowhere in CT suddenly. So this week I have had landscape crews at both the house and the farm. At the house, we are doing the usual spring clean-up, plus a few instant changes to get the house ready to put on the market - which we are doing anytime between two weeks and never, we haven't figured it out yet. Yesterday and today we have had the lawn re-sodded, since the original grass never came in so great. We also had the woods cleaned up a bit, and we are going to add a little more landscaping around the front of the house for "curb appeal" (although there is no curb to see the house from as it sits about 700 feet off the road). At the farm we have several crews going through to begin cleaning up the land. The pastures, fencing, and stonewalls hadn't been maintained for a while before we bought it, so we need a major "catch up" to get it under control. They have been there for three days and it already looks better. We keep debating when we are going to move to the farm - the farmhouse is, um, a bit rustic compared to our current house. But everytime we go to the farm, we just fall in love again and say rough or not, we need to get moved there. Stay tuned.
Rick is..cleaning for company (this weekend)
51%'s sister is coming to CT on Wednesday for a 10 day visit. We get along great, so I'm really looking forward to it. I pick her up in Hartford on Wednesday, we will stay in CT through the weekend, then down to the city where she will stay with 51% for the better part of the following week. One more weekend back in CT and then she flies back to Ohio on Cinco de Mayo.
I think that is enough of an update for now. Everyone stay cool and stay out of trouble!
