A day in the life....

I've been able to get up at 7 a.m. the past two days. That's really unusual for me. It means I've managed to get to work before 10 a.m., a kind of daylight I rarely see these days.

I walked to work kind of happy today, another new experience. Good things are happening. I think I've learned to appreciate them.

Still, I left work really late - 8:40 p.m. - and when I was walking down Bleecker to catch a cab, some really strange guy who was like a fat Truman Capote with a huge belly and a Walkman looked at me and shouted over his own music, "Oooh! Rockin' the legs with the brunette! Yeeeooooh!" I knew there was something magical about my dress today.

It was my cab driver's first day on the job ever and he didn't know how to get from MacDougal and Bleecker to Varick and Canal so I had to guide him turn-by-turn. Once we got on Varick, he started careening down the road. As I grabbed onto the backseat strap, he said in a thick Russian accent, "You like my driving? In my country, I was a race car driver!"

I laughed and then we both turned serious. I said, "Uh, really? Because if you say yes I'll totally believe you." He nodded emphatically and said, "Oh yes, back in Russia..."

He dropped me off at Tribeca Cinemas for Naked Angels, where I got a good up-and-down by the handsome gay organizer and a lot of eye contact from the female writer who cast me in her play. Love this dress.

I'm getting to bed about an hour late tonight so maybe I'll get up at like 8 tomorrow if I'm lucky.

Vacation vs Work

While I was in Syracuse, I was on email constantly and had co-workers calling me on my cellphone with one crisis or another. It didn't totally feel like vacation (more like working from home), but I chose to be so reachable so it would be easier when I got back.

When I got to Florida, I tried to make the work feel as much like a vacation as possible to even everything out. It started out hard enough: on Thursday I got up at 4 a.m. to catch a 5 a.m. cab for a 6:20 flight - which didn't leave til 7:10. Worried I wouldn't make my 9:35 connecting flight, I literally ran through the Atlanta airport from concourse C to A, getting there 5 minutes before the takeoff time (and wheezing terribly), and they wouldn't let me on the plane. Ended up running back and forth through ATL trying to catch an earlier flight, which proved impossible, making me have to bump my first meeting of the day.

Despite the difficulty getting there, we actually had a great meeting at Royal Caribbean - which is based in the Port of Miami among many other travel/hospitality/cruise companies. I was in a rental car (this time a red Aveo) for the first time in Miami in many years and I was zipping around like a pro, pushing my mental state aside and shifting into full work mode.

We had another great meeting, this time at the corporate headquarters of Burger King. Their offices are situated on a lagoon by the MIA airport, and when we walked through the reception area with the glass-topped Whopper coffee table, I knew I was going to have a good time. Upon our arrival we were greeted with complimentary Icee's (mine a frozen Coke which I used to be obsessed with, Kevin's a cherry limeade) and a platter of cookies. Like Wendy's, the hallways kind of smelled like the food they were marketing, but I found this scent pleasant and comforting, just like the times my father used to take us out for BK as kids (which was a "nice" dinner out compared to, say, McDonald's). By the end of the meeting, which went really well, I was bouncing off the walls, and gave an audible "oooh!" when they gave us parting gifts of Spider-Man toys.

The day ended relaxingly enough, with some poolside time at the Surfcomber Hotel (and a free cookie at check-in!) and a $25 Johnnie Walker Gold and Drambuie cocktail at the Raleigh before bed. I only got one night at the Surfcomber because of hugely inflated weekend rates, but I sure enjoyed it.

The next day we had one final great meeting and then we were off. We'd planned to stay one more night because we were trying to fill Friday with as many meetings within driving distance as possible, but we ended up staying the extra night just to enjoy Miami. After lunch at Nikki Beach, some more swimming (this time at the Riande Continental), some Lincoln Road Mall shopping and a quick movie on my own, Kevin and I had dinner at the Delano where I had the best bluecrab and shrimp cobb salad. I then struck back out on my own to experience some nightlife, and I actually managed to find bars that locals hang out in, rather than the nightmarish nightclubs that are frequented by sweaty goombas and their fake boobed girlfriends.

Automatic Slim's has a stripper pole for drunk happy hour chicks, hot female bartenders who stand on the bar and pour vodka down dudes' throats, and a DJ that plays rock and soul mashups that keep you there even when you're done drinking. It got a bit too loud for me so I followed the recommendation of a local (Rachael Ray would be proud) and stopped by a bar called Lost Weekends, which is tucked away on Espanola Way just off Collins, but faaarrr away from the bikini-clad mania that has come to define South Beach. I had a bottle of Spanish beer called Mahou and met a local guy named Mike, who thinks I'm a crazy chick but also told me about a couple of other good beer bars I should check out in the future (take note: Abbey Brewing Co. and Zeke's Roadhouse, which has $3 beers of the world!).

On Saturday, breakfast at the 11th Street Diner and a walk down the boardwalk (which is where I got sunburned, with the noon sun directly overhead) sent us off to the airport fed and sunned, hot and ready for home.

Now that I'm back, despite how much work I did all week, I've got a lot of work waiting for me. But I feel good about it. I accomplished a lot while I was away. And managed to have some fun, too.

Happy Anniversary, Baby!

Today marks my 10th anniversary in New York City.

On the Road

I took a nice day trip today, something I don't often do when I come Upstate. I realized I'd never been to Ithaca, and lucky enough my friend Liz from college lives and works there, so it gave me a great excuse to go visit. I rented a Budget Rent-A-Car, and in typical form I tried to get a modest compact car, but instead they gave me an orange convertible Eclipse Spyder. Obnoxious. But fun to drive at a very natural 80 mph.

Ithaca is best-known for its natural wonders, something I learned from all the "Ithaca Is Gorges" t-shirts that I've seen on college kids throughout the years. As a kid we always used to visit caverns and gorges, which makes it curious that we never made it to Ithaca, even though it's only about an hour south of Syracuse.

It seems fitting that Liz lives in Ithaca, since a fond memory of her is driving to Chittenango Falls together one summer during college and getting right in the waterfall together, just in our bras. The water felt like fists pounding on our backs. We rode back to Colgate in the car still topless, just in our bras. It felt very natural and liberating.

So before I met Liz for lunch I stopped by Taughannock Falls State Park in Trumansburg, which has a great falls overlook and Gorge Road, which follows the whole gorge (and which also has many pedestrian hiking trails). I couldn't figure out a way to actually get down right by the falls but there's definitely a walkway there...

We had lunch at the Cafe Dewitt in the Dewitt "Mall"...Then a walk through the Ithaca Common (the outdoor mall), where I left my ATM card in the M&T Bank machine. I hate the ones that suck your card in. I always leave my card behind in them.

Ithaca is in the center of the Finger Lakes Wine Country, nestled on Cayuga Lake, but most of the wineries are north of the city. I visited the one that's actually in Ithaca, Six Mile Creek Vineyard which is situated on a pre-Civil War cemetary and former stagecoach stop. For just $1 I got to taste six different Upstate wines. Of course on a Monday afternoon I was the only person there, but I was happy to bring back a bottle of Vignoles white and Dolce Vita sweet red back to Mike and Maria to imbibe later.

Before leaving I wanted to make sure I got to see one more waterfall - there are many more - so I swung by Ithaca Falls which is basically right in the middle of the city, across from a school, just off a pretty well-trafficked road. I got so close to the falls that I could feel the mist coming off of them, and I was surrounded by fly-fishers and local students lounging as they studied for the end of the school year...I think the area must be in a drought because all the water levels looked really low and receded to me, especially considering how close I was able to actually get.

On the way out of town, I had to stop by Purity Ice Cream, the shoppe that claims to have invented the ice cream sundae. I got a junior hot fudge sundae with Gimme Mocha Fudge ice cream, named after the local favorite Gimme Coffee. It was OK but Carvel honestly was better. The hot fudge sauce rocked but the ice cream was a little too much ice and not enough cream.

I tried not to get a speeding ticket on my way back to Syracuse and dropped my car off at the airport. I never drove it with the top down (considering my distaste for wind) but I had a fine time cruising around in it today.

When I got back home, Maria made pasta with mushrooms and garlic for me, which we all ate with some of the wine from earlier today. We all talked about our days. It felt like a real family.

Leavin' Las Vegas Behind

I had a good trip to Las Vegas, but I guess the price for that is working a 13 hour day today. You know how mass never goes away, it just changes its state? It's the same with work and time. If I'm out of the office for 5 hours, I've got to stay 5 hours late.

I flew out to Vegas Sunday on a 7 a.m. flight, a nearly miraculous feat for Sandi of the Rises-Late-in-the-Day tribe. I wanted to have some time by the pool and actually enjoy my trip, rather than just working the whole time. I'm glad I did - I flew on a refurbished Song airplane on Delta Airlines, which meant a TV at my seat and the opportunity to watch the fantastic flick The Pursuit of Happyness(which I'll be quoting henceforth until further notice). I arrived in Vegas happy.

I got sunburned in like 10 minutes at the pool, with record 90+ degree heat and burning sun. Caesar's Palace has three pools but I couldn't stay out any longer so I only got to swim in one of them...So much for the exercise I was hoping to get.

But, we were in Vegas for a work conference, so I can't complain much. And boy did we work. Lots of early mornings, chasing people down, handing out business cards, taking copious notes during keynotes and panel discussions....EXHAUSTING. We barely wanted to leave the hotel.


Had I been there on vacation, I could've made more of our crazy, gaudy, old school Vegas hotel. My room in the Forum Tower was some kind of hedonistic chamber, with two remarkable features: 1) a mirrored ceiling above the bed, and 2) a big round tub on a raised dias in the bedroom. Total party bath. What a waste to be there alone.

The last time I was in Las Vegas, I stayed at the Stratosphere with the worst flu of my life. Back then, even through my sickness, I always thought Vegas had no character of its own and, like Epcot, was just a composite of copies of other places. In good health during this trip, I felt the same. But my hotel room - despite its "Roman" theme - gave me a little glimpse of a bit of Vegas character. Or at least my fantasy version of it.

Still, most of the restaurants we ate at - Mesa Grill, RAO's, Spago - were just reproductions of New York or LA establishments.

Everybody loves Vegas and Atlantic City for the gambling or the drinking or the general sense of debauchery I suppose, but the normally party-centric Sandi takes a break in those circumstances. Yes, I gambled a little, basically breaking even with a $2 deficit, even playing roulette for the first time - but the highlight of my trip was the relaxing massage I got courtesy of the conference hosts at the Bellagio spa. It was a little unnerving because during our tour of the facilities, they pointed out the jacuzzi room and said that swimsuits were "optional." After a double take and asking if they had any swimsuits to borrow (I didn't bring one, and they don't), I turned to Edith and said, "I dare you."

I got out of my massage before she did and ran right in there. Imagine her dismay when she entered the room in a robe and I'm submerged in the bubbling bath, wondering how she's going to manage getting in the pool naked. Of course I wasn't comfortable either. I don't think the bubbles hid anything.

But it was all very relaxing and set us up to have a nice Casa Noble tequila at Bradley Ogden and a business dinner at BOA. We didn't have much energy to go gambling again but we made a valiant effort to check out the MGM Grand and Paris casinos. I wished I'd been able to find a Press Your Luck slot machine like the one I won $100 on years ago, but I entertained myself with the bonus rounds on the I Dream of Jeannie penny slots ("Does that make you happy, master?").

Unfortunately my relaxation ended as soon as our return flight started circling over New York City, unable to land because of JFK's inclement weather closure Tuesday night. When we finally did land, the lightning on the field prevented any staffers from guiding us into our gate. We sat a long time on that plane.

The weather was still bad when we finally deplaned, and I had the pleasure of waiting a half hour for Carmel to pick me up in the rain. No Carmel. No cabs (and a looong taxi stand line). I finally had to call my old Atlantic standby car service NYC Two-Way, who came to my rescue and finally got me home at 2:30 a.m.

I'm a little dragged out and have got to take the train out to Connecticut on Monday for work. But three friends' birthdays this weekend should help me find some, ahem, relaxation before I have to start working like a dog again.

Elephant Walk

Tonight Eric and I stood over by the Queens Midtown Tunnel to catch the annual Ringling Bros & Barnum & Bailey parade of animals down 34th St. to MSG. The highlight is the elephants - about a half dozen of them, followed by some horses and ponies. No tigers, though.

It's quite a hipster destination, and the drunk frat boys of Murray Hill were particularly enjoying it in front of Twelve sports bar on the south side of 34th. But lots of people who walked by had no idea what we were lining the streets for.

Here's the account of last year's parade from Gothamist.

It goes by pretty quick and it's late at night (12:30ish) but it's probably the closest you'll get to an elephant in Manhattan unless you actually go to the circus.

Back For Good?

Well, at least until Las Vegas at the end of April. At least I get to go with a cohort. She doesn't know this yet, but I may drag her to the Luxor to do some Criss Angel stalking. I caught a marathon while flying back from Miami and I'm hooked. He's hot.

But for now, at least for a month, I'm back. I flew to Columbus, OH for the day yesterday, which is something I don't often have to do for my job. I know there are account exec's and Corporate America upwardly-mobile people who do that all the time, but I'd kind of rather stay in a town and settle in a bit. But I've actually been to Columbus before, visiting my sister, and I can't say I'm dying to spend a lot more time there.

We actually had to go to nearby suburb Dublin, OH - home of Wendy's and Dave Thomas. Dublin appears to be a cute, shamrock-speckled town, with little shops and restaurants surrounded by the strip malls and family dining establishments that completely dominate the Columbus area. After our meeting (at Wendy's corporate office, of course), we stopped into the non-chain Jason's Restaurant & Bar, where I had great lettuce wraps and a salmon and asparagus salad. Was it really local flavor? I don't know, we were the only ones there - it seemed maybe too sophisticated for the surroundings. But for a couple of New Yorkers, it was perfect.

The Wendy's offices literally had the scent of square burgers lingering in the air. The conference room had a huge drive-thru menu against the back wall. The kitchen had a soda fountain, with their trademark yellow paper cups, of course. I kept hoping for free fries but no luck.

Even the ladies' room was unmistakably "Wendy's." I felt like I was in one of their restaurants. Even the soap dispenser reminded me where I was.

I haven't eaten in a Wendy's in a while but I actually worked at one for five days in 1993. It was my first job out of high school (my parents wouldn't let me work during high school) and I was the Superbar girl. I liked making the garlic bread but I often burned it, and I would always forget about the tortillas which would get dry and crumbly if left out too long. A lot of the job was stirring and scraping - the salad dressing containers, the alfredo sauce... And then sometimes I would have to sweep up the fries that had been mashed into the carpet in the dining room, and even worse was cleaning the restrooms. No wonder I felt anxious when I saw that soap dispenser yesterday.

I eventually had to quit my Wendy's job because my OCD mom couldn't handle me coming home every day smelling like chili. For those five days I practically lived in the bathtub. But, it turned out for the best because it led me to working in clothing retail, which led me to music retail, which led me to my career in the music industry, which led me back to Wendy's. Funny how things work.

Back from the Beach

After spending four hours in the Ft. Lauderdale airport because I couldn't get on an earlier flight, I'm finally back - just in time to fly to Ohio tomorrow. I like travelling, but my work schedule has left me exhausted lately. Just keeping up with the emails feels like moving a mountain.

I've been to the Miami area several times, most recently last summer in Hollywood at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino & Hotel (the very same place where Anna Nicole just died). I've been going to Winter Music Conference since '99 or 2000, skipping only two years since then (once when I was unemployed, and last year so I could go to Budapest).

This year's trip to WMC made me want to not go back.

First of all, it was rainy. And cold. So cold that not only could I not swim in the ocean (one of my favorite things to do), but I couldn't even dip a toe in the hotel pool. I was wearing long sleeves and jeans (which had to be rolled up because of the downpour).

You have to understand, WMC is all about the hang. Nobody except radio programmers and aspiring DJs actually go to the conference itself (the panels etc), so you have to make yourself as visible as possible at all the parties, most of which are poolside or on a roofdeck. That kind of sucks when it's raining.

The events that were inside this year seemed more disorganized than ever. I felt like I was always arriving everywhere too early, with events starting 30-90 minutes late, open bars not happening, no free food where there was supposed to be free food...

Plus - and maybe it's because I was away last year - I felt more alien to Miami Beach than ever. I actually got turned away from The Setai for wearing flip-flops (at the beach!), and when I returned with heels on, the party I was there for wasn't even starting for another hour. I'd been there the night before as well for a Tiesto release party, which apparently Tommie Sunshine got turned away from though I got in. That was a disappointment too, since there were no free drinks or food for us - only for the suits in the back room who were having some kind of law firm corporate meeting. (One lawyer named Sergio stole a white wine for me, thankfully.) I also got turned away from the Delano for dinner, even though there were a million empty tables. The excuse? Too many reservations.

So I trotted over to The Raleigh, where I felt welcome. I could listen to the great music coming from the Stones Throw party at the pool, and I had a nice, reasonably priced meal with impeccable service. Screw the snooty Delano. I'd rather sit on a patio with lanterns swinging in the breeze above me, and a twisted-trunk tree with an orchid growing out of it in front of me. Until I can afford to actually stay there, I think I'll keep making reservations at the Richmond, the hotel next door. At least that worked out well.

My trip wasn't all bad. I met lots of interesting people: the PR manager for J. Sisters (resulting in a free manicure), the co-owner of Rowland Coffee Roasters (manufacturers of Cafe Bustelo and their new cafe con leche in-a-can), and a hot model/rapper/actor/political activist named KDubb The Truth. Besides standing in front of BT in line at Walgreens, I also managed to get some meetings in and see and be seen, which is really all you can do down there. I wish I could've accomplished more, but the rain definitely thwarted a lot...

I spent most of my time at Cafeteria, which is ridiculous because that's one of my favorite New York places and you'd think I could find something different in Miami. But generally unless you're at a nice hotel, the food is touristy and a rip-off, and chain restaurants (even fast food) have such bad service and are so dirty you don't even want to go in there. Cafeteria had great events, great networking, good food, and a hot bartender named Joshua who works nights til 6 a.m. and was making me gigantic tequila gimlets in big plastic cups.

An exception to Miami's bad food problem is the late night must-visit Raffy's, which looks totally scary but it's great cheap Cuban food and they have a nice overhang to protect you from the rain. It's part of the Rabrinni Hotel which looks terrifying.

Definitely the best part of the trip wasn't even officially related to the music conference, though it fit alongside it well: Night Tennis, hosted by Sony Ericsson, which was a UV tennis tournament set to dance music. Let me say that again: glow-in-the-dark tennis. !!! They played all these crazy remixes and mashups (like one of my favorites, Party Ben's "Pump Up the Doorbell" MP3) and there were strobe lights and video projection - it was like being in a videogame. Plus it was open bar, and closing out the evening were DJ sets by Paul Oakenfold and MURK (who I really wanted to hear but I was too tired and had to make it back from Downtown Miami).

I was really hoping to track down some of the event organizers or someone from Sony Ericsson but it was really a consumer event, so I had to just enjoy myself. I was standing courtside, so close that I actually got hit in the elbow by a tennis ball. Awesome! Best of all? The whole thing was FREE. For everyone.

For more photos from my trip, check out my photo blog.

Life on the Road

Last year I travelled a lot for vacation: Budapest, San Francisco, St. Thomas... This year I seem to be travelling a lot for work, but the destinations aren't nearly as exotic: West Chester PA, Dublin OH, and I just got back from Minneapolis.

I actually had really wanted to go to the Twin Cities, mostly to see Mall of America. But I also had this idea that my hometown Syracuse was very midwestern and that I would feel at home if I visited some actual cities in the Midwest. I was wrong.

When I went to Colorado a couple years ago, I was struck by how western it was. I felt the same way about Minnesota. I'd been to the Midwest before, but mostly Chicago and Ohio and Detroit, which are more "mid" than "west." In Minneapolis, even in the Mall of America, I felt like I'd come home to the prairie.

I'm bummed actually because I'm a big follower of Laura Ingalls Wilder lore and I think my quick trip made me miss out on a bunch of stuff, but I'm sure I'll find my way back to Walnut Grove at some point (and South Dakota, and Wisconsin, and Wyoming...).

Even during a quick business trip, though, I had some good eats while I was in town. Immediately upon my arrival I bolted to Fuddrucker's, where I had the best burger of my life. The eating continued at the mall when I had a coffee-flavored peanut butter, marshmallow and pretzel pressed sandwich at P.B.Loco (which is kind of doing the same thing as Peanut Butter & Co). And I managed to save just enough appetite to have a good steak salad and the locally-brewed lager Leinenkugel at the Firelake steakhouse downtown. So much for detox. At least our waiter was dreamy.

My last night in Minneapolis we had a great business dinner at the city's best Italian restaurant, Zelo, whose architecture is particularly interesting with gothic arches in this old furrier's shop.

I really wish I'd had more time to check out the city but it was really all about running from meeting to meeting and then meal to meal. At least my hotel (the Millenium, which is a bit run-down but served its purpose) was centrally located on Nicollet Mall, so even though my early morning schedule kept me from really going out at night, I did get to see some stuff. Orchestra Hall looks beautiful at night with lots of twinkly lights (and the ice and snow that was left over from the area's last storm). Walker Art Center is a definite must-visit for next trip.

Had a bit of a hard time getting back last Tuesday, with high winds over LaGuardia causing many airlines to cancel flights. I was stuck in Chicago O'Hare for a bit, but I busied myself eating a breakfast pizza at Wolfgang Puck's. When in doubt, eat food you've never had before. Always entertaining.

So now I'm back safe and sound, and ready to head to Miami and OH next week. I promised myself I would take a vacation to Nashville this year...I hope I can stick to that plan...

Gotta Get Away

I was away for the second weekend in a row, and I really needed the respite. Mike's house upstate has become sort of our home-away-from-home, especially now that we've been there a few times.

On our way to Barrytown we made a pitstop in Eric's hometown of Cohoes, which is a town in transition and kind of a curiosity. The "Spindle City" has all these old mills that are being converted into housing and it seemed like all the other buildings had burned down in some horrible fire or another. I'm always curious about Upstate towns given my own Central New York upbringing in Syracuse, but I didn't find a lot of similarities between this Albany suburb and the Syracuse suburbs I'm used to. The houses kind of looked the same - lots of old Victorians and two-family homes - but part of Cohoes is actually an island which seemed totally foreign to me.

I'd like to go back in better weather and check out the view of Cohoes Falls, even though you can only view the waterfall from an observation deck because the banks are so high and dangerous. Plus I like Erie Canal-related history, and this is a good spot for it.

Saturday night we went grocery shopping at Hannaford, which is no Wegman's but it's a damn good supermarket, and Edith and Eric cooked dinner at Mike's house. Now that I'm older, I like that I can appreciate a good night in with friends, drinking wine and eating cheese by a fiery stove, petting the dog and listening to an old Victrola. What could have made it better? Maybe a dip in the hot tub surrounded by snow. But I felt like I was getting sick so better not take my chances.

The winter weather has made me seek out coziness - I think it's why I've been going to Marshall Stack so much - so I've been craving antique Edison bulbs, room temperature beer, and hot bubbling foods. On Sunday morning we caught brunch at Rhinebeck's A Spot of Tea, a lovely restaurant built into a historic home from the late 18th century. Even though we didn't sit by the roaring fire, we did get a warm reception from the waitstaff, and a hot pot of Irish Breakfast tea to boot. I had the chance to try some real English food, which is something I actually missed out on when I lived in England. Back then I was too poor to ever eat out, so I ate meals consisting of very un-English peanut butter, and tomato sandwiches on toast. For every meal. I'm not kidding.

So Sunday I had buck rarebit and a golden raisin scone, so much better than the dry crumbly scones you can get around here.

Taking so much comfort in food has placed me in the very dreaded position of needing to detox again, so as a last hurrah we stopped by Red Robin on the way home. Might as well go out in style with a tower of onion rings.

On my first night of detox, tonight I bought Edy's limited American Idol edition ice cream "Take the Cake," so I can enjoy some yellow cake-flavored treats when detox is over. It's the cheese at the end of the maze for me. I won't break detox to break the seal on the packaging, and when I finally crack it open, I know I won't eat the whole thing, but just having it in the freezer waiting for me gives me something to look forward to. Even though it's too cold out to eat ice cream.