trip next door

So I meant to go to the Museum of Modern Art today, and even made a point to leave my hotel early, but then I saw the crowds, literally spilling out onto the street (which in NY doesn't strike me as a good idea). Then I noticed a folk art museum next door, and there was no line outside of that, so in I went, and in less than a minute, I had a ticket and was wandering in the first gallery without having to wait in line or elbow through crowds. There are five floors to see - sculptures, quilts, paintings, needlework, stuff you might see in someone's house really. I wish Diana had been there to see the quilts. She probably could have told me more about them than what I was able to get from the little plaques next to each one. There were a few more "modern" pieces - like the baby blanket made out of condom containers.

And I wish someone would give me a medal for walking around NY by myself. I still can't decide if that was stupid or brave.

I'm not sure I love New York

A train ride with Bob in the morning, during which he realized that he had forgotten his laptop. After this realization, he quietly excused himself and went to the dining car for a stiff drink. He read a bit of my Oprah magazine (5th anniversary issue) and then fell asleep. I listened to the first part of Quentins by Maeve Binchy on CD - short stories within a novel about a restaurant in Dublin - and hoped that the next two days were not going to be as bad as we were anticipating.

Our train got in later than expected, and the Difficult Client, wasn't pleased. The speaker was friendly and laid-back and had curly hair (reminded me of Chris' hair). The meeting room was freezing cold, and of course, I'd decided to wear a suit with a short skirt. I tried not to yawn too much during the three-hour presentation - it's not my fault that I get sleepy when I'm cold.

We got the attendees to their dinner, and then we sat in the lobby and complained about them for an hour. We have now been dubbed The Fab Four since we seem to be doing okay with the Difficult Client. Kim reserved a table for us in the bar, and we worked our way through wine, a lobster martini, and various other dishes - I had a double order of asparagus, and why didn't they tell us that the spinach was creamed? Yuck. The steak and potatoes smelled great, but I knew I'd never get to sleep if I had anything that heavy.

I'm looking forward to my museum trip tomorrow morning, though I'm getting more and more nervous about having to plow through the throngs of people in the streets, and it is New York traffic after all. I've decided to set aside a little time for myself on these business trips to get out and see where I am. This fly-in, work-fly-out stuff is ridiculous, especially since we hardly ever get to take advantage of the comp time we're supposed to get. So why not take a little comp time while you're working?

lunch with Gina

We had an awesome going-away lunch for Gina. This is one of the few reasons why I stay with this company - the partners in crime - a group of editors and writers and art & production people all laughing and eating and having a good time in the middle of a work day. It was like our own little Bloomsbury group or Algonquin Round Table, minus the booze.

Our going-away present for Gina was a ruck sack full of really useful stuff, like Reese's Pieces flavored lip balm, and sunblock, and gum, and books by Ernest Hemingway (the Africa-themed ones, of course).

I envy her this Exciting Stage of her life. I'm going to be 30 in a month, and I'm not excited or thrilled or terrified by it yet. Delayed reaction? Should I DO something to make it exciting and/scary? And if so, what?

so long, and send me a diamond

Sigh. Gina is leaving. None of us can blame her - her probable fiance is in South Africa, and she went to visit him. How often does one get to go to South Africa? We kind of thought this would happen. Actually, we expected that she'd come back with a ring - diamond mines in South Africa and all that - but she didn't. She did see a lot of diamonds, though. She said she got a diamond high. I wonder what that's like?

I predict she is the first of many that will leave the company. There's something brewing in the air, and I think we are about to see a mass exodus.

I remember when Gina started. She was late on her first day because her car broke down, and she was flustered for the rest of the day. She was very tan. She still is.