It Takes A Village

Photos by myself in Aspen, in the funky lobby of the Sky Hotel.

Studded leather and some sort of pelt adorns the front desk. This lobby is always hopping.

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Today I got to spend some time with my brother, a corporate lawyer, who now lives in LA. He works with banks and large companies to structure contracts and transactions. My brother lived on Wall Street a few years and doesn't miss New York at all.

'Life is hard in New York,' he tells me every time we see each other. To him, it's the subways and the long hours. Why not have a healthy lifestyle and nice weather all the time?

I often think the opposite, that New York life is easy, and that New Yorkers are a breed of human that refuses to grow up. They don't have to deal with buying a place, cleaning gutters or shoveling snow. They can live in a perpetual playland, if they want to.

Take my coworker and her husband, who came with me on the Aspen leg of my trip. They rent in Battery Park City, after living in White Plains.

'How about Brooklyn?' I'd suggested to the husband. 'You get twice as much space as Manhattan, and there are a lot of great restaurants now. It's not like it was a few years ago.'

'Well, we love Battery Park City. There's the park, and there's the water.' Then he added, 'Having a kid in New York isn't so hard. Everyone comes to you.'

Yes, that's true, but your combined income has to be a certain amount to afford such luxuries. He and his wife have a nanny who visits every day, so that both parents can work. They own a car, and he makes the reverse commute to Jersey for his job. Presumably, too, they park the car in a garage.

My cousin and her husband, on the other hand, live in Chicago. They also have a babysitter who visits daily to care for their 10-month old. They own a townhouse on Chicago's South Side.

These families are the lucky ones. I think it's the story of many couples in New York and other major cities. Their lifestyles sound nice. Their kids were planned. But what happens when life doesn't go according to plan?

What if you're a single parent? What if you're struggling to make ends meet? Your view of the world would be very different from 'everyone coming to you'.

My mom recounted life when I'd been born. My father was studying for his PhD. His monthly stipend was $400 a month. Rent was $350 a month. Fortunately, my grandparents moved in to help with my brother and me, so my mom could go to work.

It certainly does take a village to raise a child. Some villages are just fancier than others.

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Farewell to Snowy Aspen

Photos by myself, in Aspen, Colorado.

There are psychics even in such a ritzy place.

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Selecting photos for today was tough. The decision came down to one snowdrift photo with a guy in red, or another snowdrift photo with a woman in blue. Hm.

This morning I took a direct flight to LA. It only takes 90 minutes to go from one extreme to the other. I deplaned to palm trees, 60 degree weather and much, much too much sunshine.

My picture taking in Aspen yesterday was bittersweet. I've decided to accept the recent job offer, so I feel it was my last visit.

A big part of me feels like I'm losing something, and I have to continually remind myself that I never had anything to begin with. Nobody has that beautiful town, not even the rich and famous people who visit or own homes there. It's just work, and I was lucky enough to have these experiences.

I'm sad to leave. I love my freaky coworkers. But after weighing the pros and cons hundreds of times, I felt it was better to change jobs now and get other things built, rather than stick around on this one thing, which is great, but stressful and not so rewarding.

Anyway, to lighten the mood, I have to recount what happened this morning.

I sometimes wear things akin to pasties when I wear confining tops. You know, covers for the nips. (Gentlemen, I'm sorry for such details, but alas, I am a female human with breasts). These things are made of soft silicone and are wonderful. Rinsed and dried after each wearing, they become sticky for the next use.

Well, I stayed in a very fancy hotel in Aspen, and this morning I made my way down to the front desk to settle my bill. I was decked out in my puffy down coat, ready for the cold. The front desk guy remembered my name.

'Why, hello, Miss K, how was your stay?
Are you leaving us?
Would you like us to charge the balance to the AmEx account we have on file?
Would you like a copy of your bill for your records?'

They are so polite and nice over there, my gosh. Nice Front Desk guy then told me a shuttle would be leaving soon for the airport. A nice bellman then helped me collect my bags.

Well, you can see what's coming a mile away, can't you? Only then, after the prolonged talk with the front desk guy and a polite thank you to the bellman, did I notice that a pink silicone nipple cover had stuck itself to the front of my puffy coat, for all to see.

Good lord.

Maybe it's best I don't return to that fancy little town for a good long while.


Photo by myself, in Aspen, Colorado.

The snowdrifts here are taller than most humans.

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Greetings from Snowy Aspen

Photo by myself today in Aspen, Colorado.

You can see the gondolas lace up the mountains at unbelievable inclines, while the town below is beyond charming.

--
After working all morning and early afternoon, I was finally able to walk around this beautiful town. It's been snowing lightly all day and threatens to snow all night. I have a flight to LA tomorrow morning, and I pray it won't be delayed.

Because of the snow, the skies were white today rather than blue. Skiers were trooping all over the place in their ski boots, while I scampered in my sneakers, looking very much the doofus.

It was brisk outside, but I didn't mind the cold because everything was so picturesque - the town still decorated with Christmas ribbons, and the impossibly steep mountains with their advanced trails and evergreens.

Skiers were taking pictures as well, and packing the ritzy bars and restaurants. There is tons and tons of snow here, and it's startling to experience when it hasn't snowed a lick in New York. As I was being driven by one hotel guy, he expressed his exasperation with the snow. He also griped about his run-in with Elle McPherson at the hotel, who had been in a 'mood'.

Meanwhile, I need a serious starvation diet, pronto. I was shuffling about with my pants unbuttoned all day today, the result of all this hard work and free food. Good lord. I am only hoping that my condition will become so terrible that I am forced into action.

A coworker asked me how I felt about going from Aspen to LA. I told her that my parents, having lived in New England forever, have a very particular relationship with the thermostat. No joke. It is often 50 degrees inside, and I will wear wool pants, socks and layers to keep myself from turning blue. So packing for this trip was not an issue.

I'm visiting my parents for a family reunion of sorts, so there will be guests over. I am hoping the thermostat will get some action. If not, then the wool pants that I can barely button will go on!



Photo by myself today in Aspen, Colorado.

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On Louie and What's New on TV

Photo by myself from the window of Patsy's Pizza.

My theory is that Patsy's is the Poppy's in those Seinfeld episodes. Their pizza and family style pastas are delicious.

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The other day, Mark and I visited Louie at his foster mom's apartment.

Louie, a stray orange cat, lived for months outside on a futon and then a cardboard box in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Since being rescued a couple months ago, he's gone to the vet, where he was dewormed and de-ear mited. He's still relatively shy. It may take another month before he's comfortable around people.

When I saw Louie, he was under a bed, scrunched up against the wall. He looked very happy, but denied photo ops and intervews. He just gazed blankly at me and closed his eyes, the way cats do when they feel safe from the paparazzi. I will have to get a picture of him when he's less skittish.

The other night I stayed up way too late, watching yet another Bravo reality show, Millionaire Matchmaker. (Then of course, I woke at 6 am, which makes for a very tired and grumpy person). If you haven't seen it, stay away. It is addictive. Bravo often runs three episodes in a row, so once you're hooked, you'll find yourself staying up past midnight.

A matchmaker in LA sets up these 20 and 30-something year old attractive women with guys that happen to be millionaires. Often the guys are dorky, or they were dorky and are now trying to be cool. They have really nice cars.

One dude had spiky hair and a 'landing strip' under his lower lip. (Um, gross). Another looked attractive but had the personality of esoteric wallpaper.


Matchmaker: What are you looking for in a woman?

Millionaire dude: What am I looking for in a woman?

MM: Yes, what qualities are you looking for?

MD: What qualities does one look for?

Holy crap.


Here's a photo, meanwhile, from my hotel window this afternoon. It is mighty cold out, but brightly sunny.


Lower photo by myself in Aspen, Colorado, this morning.

For more on Louie, click 'here',
'here' or 'here'.

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Blah Blah Blah Work...Blah Blah Blah

Photo by myself, in Times Square.

Though New York is known for the glitter of Times Square, most New Yorkers avoid the area because of all the traffic.

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I'm off again to Aspen for a few days next week. Woohoo.

Work is running at high gear, and from there, I'll be off to LA for a long family weekend. I'll have my laptop with me to do some work, so I'll post while I'm gone.

I'm looking forward to being reunited with the deep bathtub in the hotel room, the mountain air and snow.

Being away from New York makes me all the more attached to it. The pushy people on the subway, the noisy hustle bustle, the search for restaurants based on lunch specials, the way your shoes hurt a little hitting the pavement - the most bittersweet details become dear.

I've never traveled so often for work. What I'm doing is nothing, of course. One of my coworkers alternates between D.C. and Virginia every other week. Another practically lives in Palm Beach.

Finally, my big boss travels constantly. Every week he's on the road, and no one knows how he does it. Flying between ongoing projects and personal travels to Asia and Europe, he never seems to tire. One veteran coworker has never seen Big Boss take a sick day. He's never even had the sniffles.

I guess at this point I could go on about how most New Yorkers are workaholics. But I'm too tired from the work day. Maybe some other time.

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Open Country

Photo by myself in Aspen, Colorado.

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I missed posting here these last few days. I didn't realize what a habit I had with writing and posting my photos.

It was absolutely beautiful in Aspen. Wow. I've been there several times, but these last few days were spectacular - stunningly bright, the mountains and trees tipped with snow. There were skiers and snowboarders everywhere, just soaking up the natural beauty.

I traveled with a colleague, Sarah. Our days were busy. There was a site visit and meetings and discussions with a new client. There was a lunch we had at the base of the mountain, where you could get tomato soup for a whopping nine bucks. There were a couple of really nice dinners I had while sitting in bed, watching Discovery channel on the big flatscreen tv.

I wish I had interesting tales to tell, but alas, I'm still recovering from the trip and my lingering bad cold. For now, the few photos I'm showing here will have to do.

I wanted to take pictures of everything - how cute the town looked with its Christmas lights at night, some of the immense houses we drove by, the wind swept skiers, the mountains littered with gonolas.

There wasn't any time to snap many photos. These will have to do.




Photos by myself in Aspen, Colorado.

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Duty Calls

I'm going to miss posting for a few days. I'm off today and I'll be back Wednesday after a series of meetings, site visits and a presentation.

I won't burden everyone here with my worries about the trip. On top of the stress, I have a serious cold. Yesterday I sneezed 100 times in rapid succession and went through a box of tissues. Mark and I made a special trip for black and white cookies and I sneezed four times at the counter. Everyone, including the cashier, backed away.

Mark happens to be now having knee trouble. He was an active gymnast, wrestler and all else growing up, and now it's starting to show. He's been limping and moaning and leaning on me, and I've been sneezing and moaning and holding him up. We look like survivors escaping a zombie outbreak.

If I have time to post, I certainly will. My trusty camera is coming with me. The temperatures in Aspen are in the 20's. A hot bath and a glass of wine are on the top of my list when we arrive.


Photo by myself in Brooklyn.

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All Work and a Little Play

I apologize for how lax I've been as a writer, and I apologize in advance for how boring this entry is. My life has been pretty monotonous, and I promise to liven things up (without going postal).

The past couple weeks have been a whirlwind of days and nights, slaving away until 9 or 10 pm. Sunday, we worked til 2:30 am, only to return early Monday morning to scurry around right up til the car took us to the airport.

Fortunately, our presentations in Aspen were well received. We have a ton of work ahead and a hectic schedule, but that's normal. New York must be the home for workaholism. Some people work hard and play hard, while others just work very, very hard. I reached my limit on this deadline. The upcoming vacation will be the perfect time to recover.

With full day meetings on two days, there was little time to wander around town. When we did wander, we got lost (how does one function with streets that have names?). We were lucky enough to stay at The Little Nell, which was beautiful. The rooms were charming and luxurious, and the service excellent. It seemed like any time I left my room, someone would go in there to clean it up. In high season, my room goes for $750 a night. Whew!

We capped off our trip with a huge, delicious Italian dinner at Campo de Fiori, sitting outside among the wildflower arrangements. We ate until bursting and, braindead, had nothing to say to one another. It was the perfect way to end the trip.

Now we're home to scramble and do it all over again.


Photo by Lars Jensen. For more great images, click here.

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The Country

Sunday night while in Aspen, I went to a party hosted by a guy whose family made a fortune from spaghetti sauce in a jar. My coworker Sarah and I tagged along with our client to a gathering of random people. We met cousins of Jarred Sauce guy, and a sprinkle of eccentric, wealthy people who spend their time between Aspen, New York and Palm Springs.

Just out of the ritzy part of town, we wound down leafy roads to a folksy iron gate at the property edge. A path wound over a wooden footbridge to a sprawling log cabin nestled around a pond. The lights were on and the door was thrown open.

A few steps through the Entry Hall, and you arrived in the Living Room, with its enormous vaulted ceiling and two working fireplaces. Legally, you're only allowed to build gas fireplaces in Aspen. These were beautiful, real, wood burning fireplaces that must have been a part of an existing house.

The larger fireplace had mantle about 20 feet long, made up of random grey stones. There was a firebox in the middle, and two openings to either side, each stacked with firewood. The mantle went all the way up to the ceiling, and across it, about 8 feet up, was a huge grey timber with an antique shotgun mounted to the front.

Littering the walls of the room were beautiful objects - wood skiis, snow shoes, deer antlers and wrought iron. There were five or six bedrooms (I lost count) that wound their way around the site, a breezeway, an open kitchen, and a game room with a full bar. An outdoor jacuzzi near the Master Bedroom suite faced a brook that ran under the house. Karen and I have seen a lot of fancy houses between us, but this one had a unique rustic charm. We both couldn't stop saying 'Wow.'

I usually take pictures of everything I can, but that night, after a very long day of travel and work over the client's dining room table, we were camera-less. Besides, it would have been bad form to take pictures. We spent the evening standing conveniently close to the homemade tortilla chips and guacamole, margaritas in hand.

And at the end of the evening, we bid our host good night. He pointed to the tattered doormat. 'That's what a bear done,' he said. 'You can't have handles on your doors cuz they're so smart, they'd walk right into your house'.

Darkness stretched on beyond the little footbridge to the car somewhere ahead. I took a breath. 'Okay Sarah, you go first.'


Photo by Penny Sanford Porcelains. For more great images, click here.

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