my busy week

I keep trying to stay focused & get things done, but I'm very easily sidetracked. This past week was split between work, exercise, etc & stuff I'm not supposed to do. I had 2 sessions - one of my slaves brought me Godiva chocolates & a Barnes & Noble gift card as a belated birthday present, isn't that sweet? I also worked an exhausting promotion for a new VH1 show called Acceptable TV. It was not a well-thought-out way for them to reach their target young demographic but I got paid & I always enjoy analyzing how to get people to respond so that was fine.

Unfortunately the pay wasn't munificent, which is why it was so bad that I shopped. Last week I saw 2 of my friends wearing super hot dresses from American Apparel. Up to this point, I wouldn't shop there. I think I disliked the not-hot-enough models, then after I read the disturbing article in the NY Times about Dov Charney I definitely was not a fan. But these dresses were so good I had to check them out. I ended up buying 3 on Tuesday & 3 more on Thursday. They not only look sexy, they're about $26-36 with good, comfortable material. I can't go in there again for a while, it's too dangerous. Sexy Englishman helped by threatening (& carrying out) "punishment" if I shopped any more. Or maybe that was just an excuse for us to try spanking...

Even worse, I bought jewelry: I lost my favorite ring Monday, & I was kind of down all week so I went to Tiffany's & replaced it. I forgot that it was about $200 (had a gift card the first time), & I haven't exactly been economical lately so that was a problem. The other jewelry I got from a street vendor by my house, which wasn't as much damage except I'll pass him every time I go to the train & will need to tape my hands inside my jacket or something. I think I'm in that stage of being broke where it's gone on long enough to make me impulsive & restless, much more likely to say "oh fuck it" & just buy things instead of being disciplined. I'm usually really good about resisting temptation, so this is kind of scary.

I ended up spending a fortune on dinners this weekend too - Thursday I visited Fashionista at Lan where she just started working, & my dinner was $100. I guess I should have asked her first what the deal was. It's a fantastic resto in the East Village, & certainly not overpriced for the quality of the food, but I can't remember the last time I actually paid in full for myself to eat somewhere like that. I'm always on a date or someone rich is having a party. On Saturday Lovely Blonde very kindly accompanied me to a reception in Brooklyn for an art showing by one of my photographers. He takes pictures & then turns them into giant canvases, they look really cool & Warhol-esque. We took the train, not knowing we were venturing into Bed-Stuy! Nothing happened though, & the show went well. Afterwards we decided to take advantage of Brooklyn Restaurant Week & go to Blue Ribbon. It was really good, & the bartender gave us all our drinks, but that was another $100. Sunday was Fashionista's birthday & another wonderful, expensive meal at Lan. I got really pissed off for a few minutes because it was supposed to be $35 prix fixe & the bill came to $105/person. Alcohol is surprisingly expensive. I guess I don't notice usually because I rarely buy drinks. I forced myself to calm down & rationalized that it was her birthday & there was nothing to be done at that point.

I barely slept last week, what with having work early one day, being inexplicably unable to sleep one night, & staying out all night with Fashionista 2 nights. Got home at 9:30 this morning - her birthday was of course the occasion for indulgence on a larger-than-usual scale. After dinner we did gay night at Hiro, where I was admiringly called Naomi Campbell 3 times (I suppose because she's a quarter Chinese), & then a very noisy APT before the regulation apartment afterparty. I managed to make myself get up after a few hours' nap but I feel guilty for not getting much done & I'm trying to figure out why it's so hard to get myself home at a reasonable hour. I guess I'd rather go play than work on what I'm supposed to do. At least I manage to go to the gym & whip my ass into shape almost every day.

In happier thoughts, Lovely Blonde & I were virtually attached at the hip all weekend - we met up briefly Friday, then she went on the Brooklyn adventure with me Saturday & stayed over that night. We wanted to fool around but she had a tummy ache so we just snuggled. Sunday we wandered down to Soho & ended up at Kiki de Montparnasse & Agent Provocateur, which got us all excited. We both desperately want these adorable little vibrators at Kiki but they are crazy expensive. Afterwards we had brunch at Ideya with some friends of hers, then I had to go pick up my auntie from Penn Station. Lovely Blonde came to Fashionista's birthday dinner too & stayed out with us all night. We finally made out for the first time. Sexy Englishman was in Vegas for the weekend with some guy friends, & despite getting back late last night, joined us at the restaurant for a little while. We were so happy to see each other we had really hot sex in the bathroom. LB even joined in at first, but I think we all felt our first three-way should be on a bed where we could all be naked & have space. We are planning to go to Vegas some weekend soon, just the three of us. :)

Well, I only got 2 things crossed off my list today, but I'm going to the Snow Patrol concert with SE so I have to get ready. Another day semi-wasted...

more reviews

My friend Know-It-All insisted on taking me out to belatedly celebrate my birthday right before I left for Colombia. First we had dinner at Amma, this lovely Indian place in the East 50s. We ended up just getting a bunch of appetizers which were all really good. I love Indian but don't get to eat it much - I guess that's because my dates are usually trying to impress me & Indian hasn't quite acquired the same cachet as, say, French or Japanese. Anyway, I definitely recommend the crab cakes & lamb.

Avenue Q is so much fun! My voice teacher had me listen to the CD, since there's an Asian woman part, so I already knew it was funny, & seeing it live was immeasurably better. Somehow the whole puppet thing (about half the characters are puppets) works & isn't confusing. & the songs! They're funny when you read the music, & hilarious when acted out. Like "The Internet Is for Porn," Lucy the Slut's song "Special," &... all of them, actually. Everyone was great - they sang in tune & were all really good actors. The only small quibble I had was with the guy who played Princeton & Nicky, who came off a little too gay. It was easy to overlook though.

I also liked the ingenious set design. It looks like a row of houses converted into apartments in Brooklyn (obviously) & people can pop easily in & out of the doors & windows, while scenes that need to be indoors are staged out front without seeming odd. I have to give props to the puppet sex scene as well. I liked that part in Team America a few years ago & this scene was shorter but equally as hot. Or maybe it's just fun watching people go at it, even when they're puppets.

Speaking of going at it, I've been home for a week & with Sexy Englishman every night but one. We had a great weekend - Armin van Buuren at Pacha on Friday, sexy stripper makeup night at Penthouse (for some people who missed my birthday), & snuggling on the couch all Sunday watching movies. He might be the best boyfriend ever. He's always kissing me or smiling at me or saying something sweet & we are both equally freaky in the bedroom. I am trying very hard to keep my compulsive worrying at bay & not let my recent bad experiences turn me into a crazy neurotic & so far I think I'm doing all right. :)

Bogotá restaurant scene review

Auntie was really happy to have someone to go out with, so I had some fun trying different restaurants with her. There's La Fragata, which revolves at the top of the Bogotá Royal Hotel. Its specialty is seafood & everything was pretty good, although a bit too sweet for me. I think that is just the taste here though, as well as too salty. The service was perfectly Old World & luxurious. I also liked my veal Milanese at the Hotel Cosmo the next night.

There is an area called the Zona Rosa, where young people hang out at night. Lots of fancy places there. We tried Pesquera Jaramillo, Cabala, Habana Mamma's, & Salto de Ángel, all of which were very good. I had Argentinean cuts of steak - punta de anca & bife de chorizo - at the first two, which don't seem to be available in the States. Fantastic. Habana Mamma's was Cuban, as one would expect, & pretty good although again a bit sweet. At Salto de Ángel I was introduced to the joys of baby beef, which is not veal but about that tender. They don't skimp with their portions either. Every steak I got was massive.

There is a national craze for crepes here, so we went to this chain Crepes & Waffles. I did not much like my crepe the first time, which was too sweet, & the prosciutto was weird, but the second time was better & they make the most amazingly yummy sundaes & mini-waffles. I discovered this scrumptious substance called arequipe which is milk & caramel made into a sauce, & super deliciosa. Oooh & there is this powdery candy made of arequipe plus Pop Rocks-type stuff which is incredibly good. It's called Quipitos Pops! & I really hope it's already being imported here because I haven't the foggiest idea how to get that done.

Astrid y Gastón is an ultra-fancy Peruvian restaurant in a converted mansion. I really liked it. I decided to be adventurous & try some new things, so I asked the waiter to recommend dishes instead of going for what I know I like. I ended up with a very generous ceviche appetizer & a surprisingly filling little seared tuna entrée. For my cousin's wife's birthday, Auntie & I took her to Tramonti, which is on a hill overlooking Bogotá. It's a great view & the food is quite good too. I had an arequipe napoleon for dessert which was heavenly.

Andrés Carne de Res is a really fun restaurant in some city or district called Chia. I have to say, it was the highlight of my trip. I love steak as we all know, & I had a great big slab of it in the form of chuleton. The place itself was the draw though - it's clearly intended for young people & the whole setup is so happy that it made me laugh out loud in delight just looking around sometimes. Then at night it turns into a disco! I didn't dance the way I do in New York clubs but I had tons of fun. Also, their mojitos come in large bowls which could probably hold the contents of two cocktail glasses.

So, to sum up - Bogotá food is generally too sweet &/or salty, there are some fine restaurants though tastes are quite different from in NYC, & the desserts are fantastic. I can't say I'd advise anyone to make the trip for just the food, except maybe Andrés Carne de Res for sheer good fun.

Bogotá, Colombia: 6/10

My assessment may not be quite fair, since I spent the three weeks with my very old-fashioned auntie who only speaks Chinese & heavily accented Spanish, so it's not as though we were out tearing up the town. In any case, my impression is that a great deal of Bogotá is dirty, poor & conducive to crime. There are also some very nice areas with lovely restaurants as well (see separate post), & everything is tons cheaper than in the States. Auntie doesn't have a car so we spent a lot of time in cabs. We'd ride somewhere for twenty minutes & the fare would be, say, 8000 pesos, which is a little over $3.50. In NYC that is the base fare when you get in the cab at certain times! The exchange rate took some getting used to - it's supposed to be 2320 pesos to $1, but the effective rate is about 2200, & price tags of $100,000 never quite stopped being a shock (they use the symbol $, I don't know why).

Auntie is very upset about her soon-to-be ex-husband, which will be her first breakup ever. They were together for almost thirty years, so you can imagine how traumatic it is for her. I spent most of my time cheering her up & telling her about my dating experience in an attempt to bring her up to speed with the rest of the world. The poor woman is so sheltered in that respect. Also, I worked on my Chinese & Spanish - my family barely spoke Chinese while I was growing up, so this was a great opportunity to expand my vocabulary from mainly food-ordering words. It was kind of bewildering because I went from comfortably speaking English all the time to being forced to think of words in two languages I'm not very familiar with. Good for me though. I met a cousin I didn't know I had, too. My maternal grandfather apparently had three kids with his first wife before making five with my grandmother, & this cousin is the son of one of those first kids. It's really weird because he's almost as old as my parents, & his children are exactly my siblings' ages. I feel like they should be my cousins instead of second cousins or whatever. Anyway, I love kids so it was fun playing with them & getting them to like me.

I have to express my admiration for the Colombian bus & train system. I wasn't allowed to go on it, as a pretty young foreigner, but it looks really organized & modern. The buses are called TransMilenios - they have their own lane on the highways as well as pedestrian bridges. They seem to run on a pretty frequent schedule too. The trains come aboveground at each stop & then disappear back under the highway in between. Someone did a wonderful job designing the whole system. I wish that could work here in NYC - trudging up & down the stairs to the subway takes a lot of energy. & the buses cause so much traffic.

The people of Bogotá seem fairly friendly, although sometimes I wished the men would back off a little. Overall nothing bad happened, though. No one tried to steal my purse, my pinky with its new emerald ring is still attached to my hand (despite dire predictions of amputation if I wore my rings), & other than strange men trying to talk to me I was not bothered in any way. It's a funny story behind the ring - Auntie is very superstitious, & insisted that I needed to protect my "fortune" by wearing it. I have a ring at home I could wear but she insisted I needed a new one, & who am I to argue with more jewelry. :) We got a small emerald since that's the major gemstone in Colombia, & it's very delicate & pretty. Auntie also bought me an outfit & if she'd had her way I would have come home with the contents of at least one mall as well. She's really sweet - I got bored at times, but I did my best to be there for her & help her not think about how much of a pig her husband is being. I won't go into detail, but he's done everything awful short of murder, & my aunt slaved away for thirty years making his life as smooth & pleasant as possible while working & taking care of their kids. A little depressing to contemplate.

Bogotá seems to be a little slow in adopting some aspects of modern technology, which is most glaringly obvious in the cars. I did not see one single car, new or old, with automatic windows the whole time, & we took anywhere from one to five cabs a day, so I had a more than sufficient sample to observe. I can't think of a single reason roll-down windows would be popular compared to power ones so I found it very puzzling. Most cars are stick shift as well, which is also a head-scratcher since traffic is really awful most of the time. My understanding is that automatic was developed to cut down on gas consumption & driver effort in those situations. Gas is only slightly cheaper than in the States, even though Colombia is much closer to Venezuela.

We went sightseeing in the country one Sunday. It's really rural right outside the city, with cows & everything. Actually you can find them in the city too, but not so much. It's bizarre to drive by cows grazing peacefully on the shoulder, I'll tell you that. Anyway we went to this Catedral de Sal, which apparently is one of the new manmade wonders of the world. I wasn't impressed by a bunch of giant crosses & prie-dieus carved out of salt in a giant salt mine, but then I'm an atheist & I've never liked the simpering style which seems to be de rigeur for angels. But it was certainly a massive mine & a great many people spent a lot of time hollowing it out in slightly interesting ways.

Bogotá drivers are absolutely frightening. I can't count how many times I gasped in horror, sure that we would crash. People think nothing of cutting each other off & darting in & out of tiny spaces, which would probably earn a shooting in America. I guess they're just much braver - I was scared to death a great deal of the time though. & what is up with the bathrooms generally having no toilet paper? I don't know how mens' rooms work but we ladies need paper! I would say 50% of the places did not provide. It was really puzzling, & don't say bidet because there weren't any either. I suppose they expect women to have fully stocked purses.

I probably would have liked Bogotá better under other circumstances, & I will say that the weather is pretty mild & it is a rather pretty city in aerial view, with lots of history.