Food & Travel, My Other Loves

Day 5

Had to stay home again today although by the afternoon, I felt like a semi-human being even though my head was totally clogged.  All hopes of doing yoga in the evening were dashed since there was just no hope breathing through my nose.

Why is it that really long, hot showers always makes you feel better even when you mostly don't?  The hot steam really loosened things up and I took the opportunity to clean out my nasal passages using my neti pot.  It definitely provided some relief. 

I watched alot of TV today, considering I rarely watch TV at all.  I zeroed in on one of my favorite channel  and watched my favorite cooks Giada De Laurentiis, Ina Garten (aka The Barefoot Contessa), and Tyler Florence whip up delectable dishes.  Now, if I could only have Giada's kitchen with Ina's garden, and Tyler cooking nightly for The Husband and I, well, that would be a dream come true!  Ok, fine.  I'll settle for Giada's kitchen and Ina's garden.  And btw, how ADORABLE are the Neelys?  I interspersed some of the food episodes were some travel shows, particularly Globe Trekker.  It reminded me of how much I really love love to cook and how I would love to host my own travel show.

Heading back to work tomorrow and determined to get back to the sweat box.  With that, I leave you with one of the four Hong Kong video that I made last year for TripFilms, which focused on food.

Watch more of my videos at Tripfilms.com

A fresh start, a new beginning

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

- T.S. Eliot

Day 1

Happy New Year everyone!

I rolled out of bed 9:15am this morning, awoken by an alarm clock so that I could attend the only class offered by my nearby studio at 10am.  I slept at 2:30 this morning after a large meal of lots of noodles (pancit canton represented the Filipino variety and spaghetti for the Italian variety) for long life and round things (meatballs, brussel sprouts, mandarines, grapefruits, grapes, and pancakes -- yes they are flat but circular so I guess they count) for prosperity.  This is a Filipino tradition to ring in the new year that my family has done as early as I can remember and if The Husband and I are in town, we do it at our home and have my mother over.

With an unsettled stomach and sleep dust still in my eyes, I walked to the studio along a desolate street.  Remnants from the night's festivities remained -- firecracker paper, broken plastic new year's hats, trash.  "Please don't let me be the only one in class," I thought to myself as I looked around and saw no one.  Thankfully, I walked into the studio lobby and there was life.  Eight students were guided today by Caroline, a sweet teacher whose instructions were so clear that I all I could was completely entrust myself into her hands. 

My old knee injury decided to make its appearance at awkward pose, first set.  Halfway through the second part of awkward, I felt a sharp twinge and came out early and by the time we got to the third part, the most uncomfortable feeling in my knee (as if a huge air bubble was in there waiting to burst) admittedly scared me to go down no more than 3 inches.  I bit my lip, tried to let it go and tried to breath normally.  All I could do was stand there with my arms up and tight.  I wonder if it's my mind or my body telling me to back off when I get that uncomfortable "air bubble" feeling.  It's not sharp, acute pain but there is such immense pressure that my breath goes out of wack and that's my cue to back off.  Any thoughts out there fellow yogis?

During our long savasana as we transitioned between the standing and floor series, Caroline said, "while the rest of Astoria sleeps through their hangovers, you are here doing yoga."  I smiled.  I never did any kind of exercise on New Year's Day and it felt great to start the day, to start the new year with an activity that focuses on me.  There are many traditions I do for the near year like the midnight dinner or wearing polka dots (remember circles represent prosperity!).  Perhaps doing yoga could be a new tradition I add to the list.

A big dose of culture

My office is closed between Christmas & New Year!  This year, The Husband and I decided to stay home rather than travel overseas.  I am looking forward to my week off to recuperate and relax.  I already know how my week is going to shake out.  It's going to consist of bargain shopping, reading, bikram yoga, baking, and museum visits!  There are soooo many awesome exhibits in NYC right now (below is a list of what I want to see) and I'm excited to catch up on my culture.  Will let you know what I think from each visit.

American Museum of Natural History [AMNH]
Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World

Brooklyn Museum
James Tissot: 'The Life of Christ'

Guggenheim
Kandinsky

Morgan Library & Museum
A Woman's Wit: Jane Austen's Life & Legacy

Museum of Modern Art [MOMA]
Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops for Modernity
Monet's Water Lilies
Tim Burton

Whitney Museum of American Art
Georgia O’Keeffe: Abstraction

A Minute with Ciarán Hinds

I relish in my confidence and ability to talk to anyone. With charm and grace, I usually can hold my own in any conversation. College and university presidents, philanthropists, banking CEOs, the young and the old.

Unless...

...I am standing in front of an actor. I can't believe how star struck I get! All my charms drain away and instead, I hear the pounding of my own heart in my ears as they burn searingly hot. Suddenly, all my easy confidence disappears and I have a case of temporary amnesia as to what to say next. A large part of me wants to remain indifferent and am ashamed that I react this way. Heck, these actors are people too; we're no different...well perhaps except in talent and in money?! My NYC pride reminds me that it is totally unfitting for a New Yorker to be flustered with a famous person. This city is a great equalizer; the world continues to turn regardless of who you are. People pay you no mind even if you are a star most of the time.

As a result, I've sat next to Kyle MacLachlan on the subway, dined next to Tom Selleck in a restaurant, seen Denzel Washington doing sit ups with his trainer at the gym, walked past Spike Lee buying his morning bagel from the guy in the corner cart, walked past Jason Biggs on the sidewalk only to encounter Ethan Hawke two minutes later, sitting in the front of a restaurant I entered, ridden the subway with Natalie Merchant and her newborn baby girl, accidentally bumped into Sarah Michelle Gellar, and watched Brad Pitt exit a pediatrician's office with Pax...all with such cool composure you could refrigerate cucumber on my face and body! Puhleaze. I am a New Yorker and I do not create a fool out of myself by gawking at celebrities. This is not Hollywood folks. Decorum, please.


But today was different. A special screening of Persuasion at Brooklyn College featured a Q&A with Ciarán Hinds after the film. He spoke for 15 minutes about the film, its production, and his own particular craft of acting. He was charming, soft-spoken, intelligent, funny, and quite the gentleman. I was struck at how different he is when he performs, most notably evident in his voice. His tone takes on more power, a kind of air if you will, when he's in character, which was lacking tonight. The only time I've noticed this kind of shift in a person is my cousin in the Philippines, Methodiusmonk. The moment he puts on his robes and celebrates Mass, he becomes a different person. Possessed by the Spirit, his exterior shell is of course the same, but his way of being is unrecognizable to us, his family. I suppose this is what I see too when actors are in "the zone"? Or when I used to give presentations; I was "on".

The Q&A session was an absolute delight albeit short. I managed to take some pictures with my camera phone but I felt absolutely silly doing so. As you can see, some pics are blurry because I so wanted to hurry up and put the phone away while equally desiring pictures of Mr. Hinds. Everyone rushed to the stage to ask for autographs and take pictures. I resolved that I would not get his autograph like everybody else. Yes, my NYC pride prevented me. Instead, I exited the auditorium and went to the bathroom in preparation for the hour subway ride home. After exiting the stall, I got a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Where was the confident woman I loved? Why was I letting this moment slip away? I had an opportunity for a guaranteed minute with Mr. Hinds so why not take it? I reasoned that I was not stalking him on some street corner with a raised picture and pen shoved to his face among a crowd of other fans. No, this opportunity would be more genteel.

So I forced myself to go back into the theater and I happened to be the last person on line. Thinking the woman before me was the last person he would speak with, he got up but then he saw me and stopped. I flashed him my winning smile, the one I've depended on to get out of numerous parking tickets or used to end a debate I've won. "I'm sorry Mr. Hinds. If I could oblige you for one last signature?" "Of course," he said and got back down to his knees. By the way, he was on the stage and I was on the ground. He looked so comfortable in such an uncomfortable position -- on all fours on a hard floor -- I wondered if he regularly did cat/cow poses from that tabletop position he seem to so easily be in? I handed him a playbill for The Seafarer. "I thought you were brilliant in the play," was all I could muster. Oh my wit escaped me! I wish I could've said more like how MoJo was so gripped by the tension that his hands shook at the end of the play! But the moment passed. He looked at me and asked, "To whom shall I address this?" I said my name, spelled it, and I watched him, mesmerized at the deliberate way he wrote. All I could say was, "Oh, I hope it doesn't smear!" referring to my ink pen's possible inability to stick on the shiny playbill cover. Gad, how idiotic did I sound?! When he signed his name, I thanked him again and he said, "Oh, it's alright." I smiled again and practically ran out of the theater relieved that our encounter was over.

I completely came undone.

So here it...a trophy for my courage. It's funny how my wish to meet him and get his autograph on my playbill came true. I remember how much I wanted to wait for him to come out of the theater after the play but I felt silly with MoJo with me. And here, a few days later, I managed to get it in a more intimate and personal setting.

Ask and you shall receive.


UPDATE: Click here to see another blogger writing about the evening's experience and thanks to ClaudeS39, we have a video of Ciarán's appearance that afternoon!

The Seafarer by Conor McPherson

Hurry! See The Seafarer. I can't remember the last time I've seen a play this good. Granted, I don't see a lot of plays but perhaps I might see more now, thanks to this one.

Set in Ireland, the protagonist Sharky returns to take care for his blind older brother. It's Christmas Eve and the two are in the house along with two other friends to drink and play poker. One friend brings a guest from Sharky's past, Mr. Lockheart, who turns out to be the devil himself coming to collect Sharky's soul. Sharky has to win the game in order to save it.

Tension replaced laughter in moments, only to revert back once again to laughter. This cycle continued throughout the play. MoJo was so gripped that he found his hands shaking by the end. It really was that good. The writing was excellent but the acting was even better...if you can imagine something better than excellent.

Conleth Hill, Jim Norton, David Morse, Ciarán Hinds and Sean Mahon
The actors of Conor McPherson's The Seafarer (l-r)
Photo by Joan Marcus

We walked out of the theater absolutely delighted by the play's ability to draw us in and forget about the world for 2.5 hours. As we walked back to the subway, I felt as if I jumped the space-time continuum. I felt disoriented as my eyes tried to adjust to the bright lights of Times Square compared to the drab, dreary house in Ireland I had just been in a few minutes earlier.

For the next hour, MoJo and I discussed the play, compared notes, and continued to feel the endorphin-like effects of having just undergone a fantastic experience. I was so completely moved that my dreams last night were racy and tumultuous. The content of my dreams, I cannot remember. I awoke feeling like my brain ran some kind of marathon...it was spinning and moving so quickly I couldn't hold a moment of it in my hand.

My main reason to see the play centers solely on watching Ciarán Hinds act. Captivated by his portrayal of Frederick Wentworth in the 1995 BBC TV-film version of Jane Austen's Persuasion (my absolute favorite of Jane Austen's novels) he got on my list of "must-see-actors-any-chance-I-get". Tonight, I was not disappointed by his performance and his name remains planted firmly on my list.

Now if Hinds & Alan Rickman can be in a play together, it would be a dream come true! I would be the first in line to get tickets. :)

We ate dinner at Etcetera Etctera and the meal was nothing to write home about. Rarely, do we order dessert but the hazelnut ice cream doused with amaretto and espresso caught our eyes. So we ordered it and we were delighted by the sweetness of the ice cream juxtaposed against the bitterness of the espresso. Why have coffee and dessert separately when you can have it together?! Delicious! And easy enough to make at home.

American Ballet Theatre's Giselle

Photo courtesy of ABT.

For work, I had to entertain the Foundation's South African guests this evening. Since we are a supporter of the performing arts, we have many connections in the dance, theater, and orchestra world. Six complimentary tickets got us inside tonight's performance Giselle at the Met.

Did I mention that I work for a great organization?!?!? What a perk!

New Year Baby Fundraiser

Attended a fundraiser at the White Rabbit in the Lower East Side for a documentary film that's in the process of getting created called New Year Baby. It's the story of a Cambodian American family who survived the genocide of the Khmer Rhouge and started again in the United States. It's a touching and very poignant story of love, courage, and sacrifice.

I used to be involved in the production team but then I started grad school and I knew something had to give. Unfortunately, it had to be New Year Baby so I told Soch, the director that I could no longer be part of the team.

But tonight, I came out to support the project and all the amazing people are working to make this film happen. I even won a silent auction prize in the process -- a beautiful blue Cambodian silk scarf, matching purse, and wallet -- all for the low price of $60 -- that went to a good cause. MoJo was just coming on with a sore throat so he went home early. I stayed and schmoozed to support the film and encouraged others to support it too.

I believe in this project and would not be the least surpirsed if it aired on PBS or at your local independent theater in the near future. For more information, check out the New Year Baby website.