Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Bad Sign, Better Judgment
I almost posted something that had the company found it probably would have gotten me fired. After venting, reviewing the post, correcting the typos, and smoothing out the language, I erased it. I'm worried about the company I work for, though, and the more open former colleagues become with their reasons for leaving, the more I think I should update my resume.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Update to the Travel Update
A few minor changes:
October 13-17: Chicago
October 20: New Orleans
October 24-31: London
November 3-6: LA
November 11-12: NYC
November 12-14: DC
November 17-18: NYC
November 24-28: Europe, maybe
December 2-3: NYC
December 4-6: LA
December 9-10: Phoenix
And in case you're wondering why the flurry of blog entries -- I can't access the VPN or the company's webmail. I think that the IT group accidentally changed my password.
October 13-17: Chicago
October 20: New Orleans
October 24-31: London
November 3-6: LA
November 11-12: NYC
November 12-14: DC
November 17-18: NYC
November 24-28: Europe, maybe
December 2-3: NYC
December 4-6: LA
December 9-10: Phoenix
And in case you're wondering why the flurry of blog entries -- I can't access the VPN or the company's webmail. I think that the IT group accidentally changed my password.
The Uptown Manhattan
While I was writing my ode to my Nespresso machine, it occurred to me that I should also talk about my lifechanging cocktail experience in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago.
I'm in San Francisco once or twice a year, and I almost always stay at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square. It's a Starwood property, and it's conveniently located, and did I mention it's a Starwood property? The bar in the hotel was never anything to get too excited about -- just a place to meet before you left the hotel to get drinks.
Well, recently, the WSF redid their lobby bar and rechristened it as the Clock Bar. It's really mod, and the waitresses are all glamazons. The Clock Bar offers their twist on a lot of classic cocktails as well as some really interesting new ones, and they have amazing truffle popcorn on the appetizer menu, which you should totally get if you're there -- well worth the $10 (it seems like a lot, but it will take everything you have not to lick the bowl when you're done eating the popcorn), but the thing that swept me off my feet was the Uptown Manhattan.
I stupidly ordered a Dark and Stormy first, forgetting that most bars don't stock a spicy enough ginger beer to make that worthwhile. It was ok, but not anything special, so I took another look at the menu and saw the Uptown Manhattan: Maker's Mark bourbon, Amaro Nonino (a delicious, Italian, herbal liqueur), orange bitters, and cherry brandy. I ordered it, and it was probably one of the best decisions of the year.
I took a sip and was transported to a magical land where it was just me and my Uptown Manhattan. You know how in the movies, there'll be that moment when the main couple see each other and hear birds sing and can't see anything but each other? Sadly, I had that moment in San Francisco with a cocktail. I was torn between gulping it down as quickly as possible because it was so delicious and only drinking a tiny drop at a time because I didn't want it to go away. I ordered two that evening, and two more on each of the following evenings. I would have loved to have drunk 3, but I was afraid it was going to involve some serious pain that would damage our perfect relationship.
I asked for the recipe, and the glamazon expressed a little bit of doubt that they'd share, but sure enough, she came back with the recipe written out for me on a slip of cash register paper. I laminated it at Kinko's. For reals. I'm crap at making cocktails (opening a bottle of wine is easier), but come mid-December, when the weather finally goes below 60 degrees in Houston, and I'm finally off the road, I'm going to make a pilgrimage to the liquor store and find all the ingredients and make myself some Uptown Manhattans. And if I'm successful, you should probably start a fund for me to go to the Betty Ford Clinic.
I'm in San Francisco once or twice a year, and I almost always stay at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square. It's a Starwood property, and it's conveniently located, and did I mention it's a Starwood property? The bar in the hotel was never anything to get too excited about -- just a place to meet before you left the hotel to get drinks.
Well, recently, the WSF redid their lobby bar and rechristened it as the Clock Bar. It's really mod, and the waitresses are all glamazons. The Clock Bar offers their twist on a lot of classic cocktails as well as some really interesting new ones, and they have amazing truffle popcorn on the appetizer menu, which you should totally get if you're there -- well worth the $10 (it seems like a lot, but it will take everything you have not to lick the bowl when you're done eating the popcorn), but the thing that swept me off my feet was the Uptown Manhattan.
I stupidly ordered a Dark and Stormy first, forgetting that most bars don't stock a spicy enough ginger beer to make that worthwhile. It was ok, but not anything special, so I took another look at the menu and saw the Uptown Manhattan: Maker's Mark bourbon, Amaro Nonino (a delicious, Italian, herbal liqueur), orange bitters, and cherry brandy. I ordered it, and it was probably one of the best decisions of the year.
I took a sip and was transported to a magical land where it was just me and my Uptown Manhattan. You know how in the movies, there'll be that moment when the main couple see each other and hear birds sing and can't see anything but each other? Sadly, I had that moment in San Francisco with a cocktail. I was torn between gulping it down as quickly as possible because it was so delicious and only drinking a tiny drop at a time because I didn't want it to go away. I ordered two that evening, and two more on each of the following evenings. I would have loved to have drunk 3, but I was afraid it was going to involve some serious pain that would damage our perfect relationship.
I asked for the recipe, and the glamazon expressed a little bit of doubt that they'd share, but sure enough, she came back with the recipe written out for me on a slip of cash register paper. I laminated it at Kinko's. For reals. I'm crap at making cocktails (opening a bottle of wine is easier), but come mid-December, when the weather finally goes below 60 degrees in Houston, and I'm finally off the road, I'm going to make a pilgrimage to the liquor store and find all the ingredients and make myself some Uptown Manhattans. And if I'm successful, you should probably start a fund for me to go to the Betty Ford Clinic.
My Nespresso Machine
This deserves an entry all by itself, because knowing the background will help you understand why if there were a fire, I'd probably grab the Nespresso machine first.
One of the primary reasons I love going to Australia is to drink the coffee. Shana asked me why I'm so obsessed with the coffee, and I had a hard time describing it to her, but I think I've finally figured it out. Remember the first time you smelled coffee, and nothing else that you'd smelled previously compared to how rich and deep the aroma was? And no experience that you'd had previously compared to the disappointment of drinking it? Coffee is really weird in that it doesn't really taste like it smells. Or at least none of the coffee I've ever drunk does.
Until I went to Australia for work. I don't know what they do to it down there, but the airport coffee in Sydney is amazing, and everything I had afterward was even better, but especially in Melbourne. Coffee in Australia tastes exactly like it smells. It's a heavenly experience every single time. All that wasted anticipation from the first time you had a cup of crappy, American, drip coffee gets satisfied years later in a small paper cup.
If you're a coffee fan, you can't miss visiting Melbourne. It's like they add crack and heroin to the coffee. I'm kind of sensitive to caffeine, so I usually limit myself to 2 cups a day, maybe 3 if I'm really sleep-deprived, but when I'm in Australia, particularly Melbourne, I'm drinking 4-5 cups a day -- I get it anytime it's available or there's a coffee shop in my path.
It's not drip coffee. All of it is espresso and espresso-based. The easiest thing to do is to order yourself a cappuccino in Melbourne and bask in the goodness. Or just drink it as fast as you can and order another two. Not that I've done that or anything.
My last visit in August was primarily to Melbourne -- HOORAY! Melbourne is great partially because the Baileys are there, but if they weren't there, I would still be excited because did you read what I wrote above? Amazing coffee. In any event, Melbournians are justifiably proud of their coffee, and we had a couple of day-long meetings at the Westin Melbourne for the Australian members. At the first one, the hotel served drip coffee, and the Melbournian members were understandably taken aback to the point that they said something to Melissa. Melissa said something to Cindi, who said something to the hotel, and magically, for our second meeting, the hotel put an espresso machine in our meeting room.
That kind of proximity to the espresso machine was HEAVEN. I had a cup at every break. (I switched to decaf after the first 3 cups because I didn't want to (a) speak too quickly or (b) have a heart attack.) I'm very open about my love for Australian coffee, and one of the members suggested that I buy the home version of the commercial Nespresso machine that was in the room.
I wrestled with that one. I wrestled like Jacob wrestled with the angel. And I ultimately came down on the side of "no" because I was concerned about the electricity situation (different voltages in the US and Australia) and how I was going to get the coffee capsules that the machine uses. I couldn't in good conscience ask Melissa, Dawn, and Diane to take turns sending me a shipment of my drug of choice every 3 months.
Then I went on vacation to Italy, where the coffee is also amazing. When I mentioned how much I liked the espresso to the villa manager, she suggested that I get a Nespresso machine. That was it. I didn't buy one in Italy, but when I got home, I got online and discovered that Nespresso makes machines for just about every country in the world, including the US.
It wasn't cheap, but it was worth every penny. I got the milk frother/steamer, too, and I have at least 2 cappuccinos every day when I'm home, and it's a thousand times better than the swill they serve at Starbucks. I just wish I'd known about Nespresso sooner!!! I'm at the part of the year where I travel every week, so I'm not getting as much quality time as I'd like with it. I'm always disappointed when I drink coffee outside my home now.
You might be openly mocking me right now, but ask Melissa and Cindi and Dawn about how delicious the coffee is that Nespresso makes. And if you ever come to Houston, I'll make you a cup, but be warned -- it will change your life and make it nearly impossible to drink any other coffee again without a little twinge of disappointment.
One of the primary reasons I love going to Australia is to drink the coffee. Shana asked me why I'm so obsessed with the coffee, and I had a hard time describing it to her, but I think I've finally figured it out. Remember the first time you smelled coffee, and nothing else that you'd smelled previously compared to how rich and deep the aroma was? And no experience that you'd had previously compared to the disappointment of drinking it? Coffee is really weird in that it doesn't really taste like it smells. Or at least none of the coffee I've ever drunk does.
Until I went to Australia for work. I don't know what they do to it down there, but the airport coffee in Sydney is amazing, and everything I had afterward was even better, but especially in Melbourne. Coffee in Australia tastes exactly like it smells. It's a heavenly experience every single time. All that wasted anticipation from the first time you had a cup of crappy, American, drip coffee gets satisfied years later in a small paper cup.
If you're a coffee fan, you can't miss visiting Melbourne. It's like they add crack and heroin to the coffee. I'm kind of sensitive to caffeine, so I usually limit myself to 2 cups a day, maybe 3 if I'm really sleep-deprived, but when I'm in Australia, particularly Melbourne, I'm drinking 4-5 cups a day -- I get it anytime it's available or there's a coffee shop in my path.
It's not drip coffee. All of it is espresso and espresso-based. The easiest thing to do is to order yourself a cappuccino in Melbourne and bask in the goodness. Or just drink it as fast as you can and order another two. Not that I've done that or anything.
My last visit in August was primarily to Melbourne -- HOORAY! Melbourne is great partially because the Baileys are there, but if they weren't there, I would still be excited because did you read what I wrote above? Amazing coffee. In any event, Melbournians are justifiably proud of their coffee, and we had a couple of day-long meetings at the Westin Melbourne for the Australian members. At the first one, the hotel served drip coffee, and the Melbournian members were understandably taken aback to the point that they said something to Melissa. Melissa said something to Cindi, who said something to the hotel, and magically, for our second meeting, the hotel put an espresso machine in our meeting room.
That kind of proximity to the espresso machine was HEAVEN. I had a cup at every break. (I switched to decaf after the first 3 cups because I didn't want to (a) speak too quickly or (b) have a heart attack.) I'm very open about my love for Australian coffee, and one of the members suggested that I buy the home version of the commercial Nespresso machine that was in the room.
I wrestled with that one. I wrestled like Jacob wrestled with the angel. And I ultimately came down on the side of "no" because I was concerned about the electricity situation (different voltages in the US and Australia) and how I was going to get the coffee capsules that the machine uses. I couldn't in good conscience ask Melissa, Dawn, and Diane to take turns sending me a shipment of my drug of choice every 3 months.
Then I went on vacation to Italy, where the coffee is also amazing. When I mentioned how much I liked the espresso to the villa manager, she suggested that I get a Nespresso machine. That was it. I didn't buy one in Italy, but when I got home, I got online and discovered that Nespresso makes machines for just about every country in the world, including the US.
It wasn't cheap, but it was worth every penny. I got the milk frother/steamer, too, and I have at least 2 cappuccinos every day when I'm home, and it's a thousand times better than the swill they serve at Starbucks. I just wish I'd known about Nespresso sooner!!! I'm at the part of the year where I travel every week, so I'm not getting as much quality time as I'd like with it. I'm always disappointed when I drink coffee outside my home now.
You might be openly mocking me right now, but ask Melissa and Cindi and Dawn about how delicious the coffee is that Nespresso makes. And if you ever come to Houston, I'll make you a cup, but be warned -- it will change your life and make it nearly impossible to drink any other coffee again without a little twinge of disappointment.
More Things That I Love
Foodlife
My Nespresso machine (beyond reason, really)
Eclipse gum (the royal blue flavor)
Free water at hotels
Flying small jets (you get to gatecheck your luggage)
Facebook (did I put this one already?)
The Uptown Manhattan at the Clock Bar at the Westin St. Francis
My Nespresso machine (beyond reason, really)
Eclipse gum (the royal blue flavor)
Free water at hotels
Flying small jets (you get to gatecheck your luggage)
Facebook (did I put this one already?)
The Uptown Manhattan at the Clock Bar at the Westin St. Francis
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Travel Update
Lots of changes! Here's the update:
October 9-12: DC
October 13-17: Chicago
October 24-31: London
November 3-6: LA
November 11-12: NYC
November 17-18: NYC
November 24-28: Europe, maybe
December 4-6: LA
December 9-10: NYC
Sigh.
October 9-12: DC
October 13-17: Chicago
October 24-31: London
November 3-6: LA
November 11-12: NYC
November 17-18: NYC
November 24-28: Europe, maybe
December 4-6: LA
December 9-10: NYC
Sigh.
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