Mini renovations of the Bauhaus variety

I finally put up my last print--from the Bauhaus museum in Berlin--and the apartment is looking very spiffy. There should be a shelter magazine that only focuses on changes you can make to your space that don't require any structural changes or help from a contractor. I find that when you don't have a lot of money to spare, doing things like hanging a print can have a major impact. I may even move the position of my George Jenson 1950s multi-colored clock, which has been the inspiration for my entire decorating scheme, and late-in-life embrace of orange and turquoise. (My favorite color used to be plain old blue.) CL-3 was nice enough to hang the print for me, thus illustrating that however old fashioned and sexist it sounds, it is just so NICE to have a man to do a physical task that takes him 5 minutes and causes him to feel satisfaction when it would take you 30 minutes and get you thoroughly frustrated, not to mention sweaty. Yes, men are good for a lot of things. I am glad they are on the planet--they keep things interesting.
Ciao--
Paola

Life is SO good right now

I don't want to tempt the evil eye (or kana hara) as my people say, but suddenly, life feels full of opportunities and wide open in a wonderful, not scary way. I feel so lucky to have my life, my book, my apartment, my friends, my sister, my nephews, my brother-in-law and lots to look forward to. How is it that one month, you can feel so alone and negative and occasionally despairing, and the next things seem brimming with possiblity? I don't know, but it's nice to know that life happens that way sometimes.
Buonna notte!
Paola

Drinks with my agent

It's so nice to have an agent to have drinks with.
Ciao--
Paola

I'm feeling very "Paola" lately...

Must be the dating thing. I've been mulling over the fact that I've kind of created a blog alter ego--"Paola"--who is more adventurous and confidently sexy and relaxed than I am in real life. Not that I'm trying to be dishonest here--as I've mentioned before in these pixils, penning my thoughts for my blog has pushed me to see my life more clearly and consciously, and more positively, since I kind of have to frame things that way online. "Paola" has moved on from the ex completely, doesn't feel nervous about dating ever and takes everything more lightly--all things that aren't necessarily entirely true in real life. So I need to develop this alter ego, see where it leads me, then merge it more with the "real" occasonally insecurity-ridden me.
Buona serra...
Paola

Bayhead bliss on the Joisey Shoo-eh

Ciao amici--
I spent the weekend exploring an area I've long denigrated: New Jersey. Spent a weekend in Bayhead on the Jersey shore--one big Ralph Lauren ad with the blondest, most perfect looking people I've seen anywhere. I was majorly ethnic there. But I really liked it--how can you hate a beach where they rake the sand each morning so that it is soft and silky and free of wayward shells and seaweed? Stayed in an okay B&B (The Bentley), which made up for what it lacked in charm and luxury in great proximity to the beach, an amazing breakfast (omelettes with local produce, waffles, bacon), an assortment of bicycles and comfy beach chairs and great outdoor showers. Had some terrific seafood too, (lobster roll sandwich and raw oysters) at Red's Lobster Pot. Here on in, I shall vary my summer routine by inserting excursions to the Jersey Shore.

So. Fifth date with CL-3. Intense.

Buona notte--
Paola
P.S. To those in the know, I predict my first taste of stracciatella gelato since before Italy is approaching....

I am not a crook!

Saw the play Nixon and Frost with Frank Langella playing Nixon--it was intense and fascinating, the back story of how David Frost's series of interviews with Nixon, in which he admitted wrongdoing in Watergate and apologized to the American public came about. Makes me want to read All the President's Men again. David Frost was apparently kind of a playboy fatuous talk show host, which is partly why Nixon agreed to do the interviews with him--Nixon thought it would be an easy way to increase his stature. Turns out Nixon was wrong--the Frost team found a transcript which ended up proving that Nixon knew about the Watergate coverup long before he said he did, and was involved from the beginning. That ended up bringing Nixon down.
So, three plays in a week and a half. That's what I call taking advantage of New York City's cultural scene. I've had a really great summer so far, culturally speaking. Not even counting Italy, I saw Ani DiFranco at the Prospect Park bandshell. She is my new musical idol. I've listened to nothing else but compilations of all her music that my friend Wes and CL-3 were nice enough to give me. So great to discover new music that I like! Also saw the Philadanco dance company--an amazing group; if you ever get a chance to catch them at the Joyce, do it--at summerstage. And have been to the Hamptons, the Berkshires, the Adirondacks, plus enough weekends left over to laze around NYC. In short: I am having a very happy summer. Happier, I realized recently, than my summers with my ex. And that is something very nice to realize.

Tomorrow I am going to Bayhead, one of my few forays to the Jersey Shore. Don't worry--I'll have my camera in tow and will record all blog-worth events, excluding anything romantic, which will remain divorced from this virtual diary so I can retain my dignity and professional reputation. :-)

Ciao.
Paola

Procrasti...nation!

I had five or six essays to read and comment on tonight before my media bistro workshop tomorrow (you can see it at mediabistro.com under courses )
. So what did I do instead? Well, I read one and a half but I also:
1) Went to a play (Beyond Glory), a one-man show where the actor plays a number of war veterans who've won the medal of honor; he tells each of their stories in character. At first I thought: Oh no! A monologue of war stories for an hour and a half. I'm going to die of boredeom. But the acting was amazing and stories were incredibly moving, and, while gory at times, not over the top. Very raw and real. Loved it! It wasn't anti-war--it was real about the war from individual, usually impoverished and undereducated soldiers' points of view. It was incredible--a real treat and surprise, rare at the theater these days. It was also fun to see the show without knowing anything about it--I subscribe to the roundabout theater company, and I just show up--don't read reviews or even remind myself of the name of the play. And it kind of feels fresher to see the shows that way--you can respond without knowing what the critics thought beforehand. (I'm all for reading the critics afterward.) (Okay, the play doesn't count as procrastination, since I'd bought the tickets months ago and had to go.)
2) Luckily, the play ended at 9, so I decided I had time to go food shopping at Gourmet Garage (which is open til 10). I had to--I was out of fresh milk!
3) Come home, put groceries away.
4) Put out fresh flowers
5) Do the dishes
6) Do three--count 'em--three loads of laundry.
7) Fold said laundry.
8) change my sheets
9) change my duvet cover (counts as a separate task). In fact, I am totally "girl-ifying" my bedroom (see my efforts, above). I rediscovered a Marimekko duvet cover that I haven't used (the ex hated it) and put it on, added some buckwheat pillows (those are the best--a local cheapie linens shop sells them for $20)
10) send an email to my agent
11) do this blog!!!!!

No wonder I have four essays to go (and that doesn't include the final comments, which I will have to do in dribs and drabs tomorrow) and it's already ten minutes to one. I'm on a real staying up jag, lately. I like it. As you can see above, I am quite productive from the hours of 10 pm til 1 am.
Buona notte!
Paola

A weekend at Casa 'Dacks!

That's Sue and Steve's house in the Adirondacks, near Amsterdam, New York. Really nice lake communities up there, blue collar for the most part, with very simple cabins (or "camps" as they call them), flat-bottomed pontoon boats and lots of hiking and fishing and all kinds of country things. Spent the weekend reading on the porch and the boat, swimming in the lake, eating amazing food (alaskan wild salmon--I'm not a salmon lover but alaskan wild salmon is like eating an entirely different fish) and enjoying my friends. It was nice to be out of the city in such a low-key, beautiful place.

Had a THIRD date with guy #3 from CL. Molto bene!
Ciao--
Paola

Just so no one feels left out...

...I feel compelled to state for the record that my third date of the weekend triad topped them all--good conversation, sparks, laughter. Met a very nice guy with an off-the-wall sensibility and core sweetness--all this has done much to improve my view of the world and of men, in particular. (Not that I had anything against men.)
And THAT is all I'll say.
Ciao amici!
Paola

A moment of sunshine in my apartment

I love my apartment dearly but it gets very, VERY little light. And anyone who has read any of my ramblings on Roma knows that I LOVE light. (I'm a Leo. Astrology is crap but in that respect, the Leo/sunlight connection holds true for me. I am a summer girl through and through.) In any case, my bedroom is the only spot in my pad that gets bonafide light, from about 1 PM to 3 PM. It's a luxury, it's brief, so I decided to photograph it.
P.S. My bicycle resides in my bedroom (despite the fact that my building has a bicycle storage room) because seeing it motivates me to ride it; if I had to schlep it out of the basement, I'd be less inclined to go. How SELFy of me!
Ciao--
Paola

College reunion

Well, sort of. I spent the afternoon and evening with my friends Billy and Rosalind and their three wonderful kids--they live a block from the beach so that means swimming and sunning and all kinds of good summer stuff. And Billy made pizza--dough and all--in honor of my Italian sojourn--it was fantastic, especially the white pizza. As good as Roman, definitely.

If I'd grown up in Huntington Bay, well, I just might never haveleft Long Island! What's stronger in me--the city girl or the beach girl? I'm not sure. I couldn't live without either one for longer than a year, I don't think.

Had my second date of the weekend this morning--coffee at Cafe con leche. It was really nice--just so great to meet someone interesting and have intelligent conversation. My faith in men (and dating) is being restored. I guess I just have to cancel the online dating membership and stick to the messy democracy of free Craig's List, where the good ones pop up from the riff raff like jewels. Tomorrow evening? Date number 3!
Ciao--
Paola

P.S. I'm starting to feel as if "Paola" is my hot, dating alter ego....

First date of the triad

I met someone this afternoon and we took a wilting walk/cooling bench-sit in Riverside Park for a few hours. Nice date. Nice to meet a smart, interesting, diehard NYer.

Okay, never mind all that (since I can't really share details anyway--I must protect my reputation, after all)! I HAD to post the cutest photos of my nephew Jordan, at his camp. He is growing into such a handsome young man, I can't believe it! I feel like these should be on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post or something.

Back to dating. I have TWO more dates this weekend, plus a visit out to the beach at Huntington Bay to visit my friends Billy and Ros. When will I work on the book?! Starting to be a problem. It's hard to be disciplined in summer--for me at least. I want to be at camp, too!
Ciao!
Paola

70-odd responses!

That's what I got when I put a brief personal ad up on Craig's List last night. My theory is, there are so many oddballs and kids and teenagers on the site wasting time and prowling for each other that the good responses--say, 2-4 out of 70, pop right up to the top. The way I think my ad pops up among the internet morass of random-ness that is Craig's List. The winning combination for a profiles is: thoughtful, but not trying too hard, with a dash of earthiness, sexiness and smarts. Now I get to choose. Heh, heh, heh!
Ciao--
Paola
The photo, above, may be the one that did the trick--it's the one I posted. I cropped it myself!

The easiest babysitting job ever

Decided last minute to help my sister out and babysit for my nephew Caleb tonight, since the regular sitter was sick. We went out for Ben & Jerry's, lay in bed and read and played Connect Four--which I actually won. (I'm usually terrible at strategy/spatial relations games.)
What could be nicer?
Ciao--
Paola
P.S. The photo above is of my older nephew, Jordan, who is away at camp right now. They post current photos on the website every day. My how times have changed from the once a week phone call that you had to walk across camp to make in the office.