Okay, So I'm Not in Palm Springs Yet

No, I'm not in Palm  Springs yet.  Soon though - I am  leaving in an hour (yes, at 3 A.M.) for Bellingham, to catch the 7 A.M. flight.  In the effort to keep myself awake, I thought I would catch you up.

I've noticed that while I have talked about spinning, and introduced you to the gym folk in Palm Springs, I never introduced the Vancouver people.  So, here they are, or at least some of them..

Debbie is not quite awake!

The shining faces which greet us every morning....

.....the equipment....

....."MY" bike!

...working hard

And yes, I actually work hard too!

And it is a good thing I do, too.  With all this coming and going, there also seems to be a lot of eating and drinking.  Case in point:  on Tuesday night, I met friend (and former law school classmate - we go back a few minutes) Philip, for three hours of martinis and talk at the swich Wedgewood Hotel downtown, a favorite watering hole.

Don't you hate people who get better looking as they get older?

 On Wednesday, more bridge, but with a twist.  Former bridge partner Jules has been spending a lot of time in China, but is back, at least temporarily.  He requested some friend time, so we decided on dinner at Milestones and bridge at my place for a change.  Throwing a monkey wrench into the works was the fact that the Milestones (one of a chain) where we were to meet had closed, and Dennis did not have a cellphone.  (yes, Virginia, there are legitimate reasons to have a cell phone).  We did - finally - all connect, and had dinner at another restaurant close by.

Jules and bride Ruicia

and the usual cast of characters, Dennis, yours truly, and John

With all the excitement about meeting, Jules had left his lights on, so we had to do the jumper-cable bit before we finally headed for my place for the much-delayed bridge game.  By the time we got our usual 24 hands in, it was after 1 A.M.!  Good thing you need less sleep as you get older!

The remainder of the week was spent in tying up loose ends - those of you who travel know the drill - no open wine bottles, no food left to spoil, mail-pick-up arranged, in my case invoices submitted (who would have stayed in this cold, wet weather but for the pay), and now, at last, I am ready to roll.  Next post will definitely be from Palm Springs, where I will be (with the exception of a few concert jaunts) for 8 weeks!  Hip hip hooray!

Did I Say I Was Retired?

Most of you know that I officially retired in August, 2011.  However, I hadn't been gone for a month before I received an email saying "we're swamped", and so I signed up to come back on contract, as needed.  As you know, I have an expensive bucket list, and so I was happy to do so.

Retiring was actually a scary thing.  I am blessed with a good pension, and could live on it, but not in the style to which I was hoping to become accustomed.  So, I applied to another agency, The Mental Health Review Board (stop it!  I can hear the cracks from here!), to see if I could get some contract work there.  It was such a long time ago that I had almost forgotten, but just recently, I got appointed to that board as well.  On Monday, March 5, 2012, I chaired my first hearing.  The neat thing about administrative law is that hearings, although they vary in format, the basic requirement is simple; natural justice must be done.  For the uninatiated, that basically means that the claimant must be heard, must hear the evidence involved, and must be able to have the ability to rebut that evidence, and, of course, be entitled to a representative.  Beyond that, the western world as we know it will not come to an end if mistakes are made.  Luckily, the Mental Health Review Board panels are three person panels.  I was chair, with a doctor and a community member as wingers.  They were both seasoned veterans, and graciously shared their expertise with me, and, after the trauma of making sure the recording device was working, all went well.  It is actually quite exciting to get to know people from different backgrounds, and mastering new problems.  I have four more hearings scheduled for this week, so, hopefully, by the time I leave on Sunday for Palm Springs, I will have the routine down.  These hearings are always available, so I will be able to pick up where I left off in June, when I get back to Vancouver.

Wednesday night, I was back to the usual bridge game with the boys.  Every once in a while (i.e., when there is a coupon for lobster fest in the paper - some of us still read newspapers!), we spice it up with dinner at the Boat House before bridge, and this was one of those nights.

Yes, those are palm trees.  They were planted years ago, on my favorite street in Vancouver, Beach and Denman, and I caught the sunset before we went in to dinner.

from the left, John, Dennis, Tom, and Yours Truly

On Thursday, there was actually an open house at the Mental Health Review Board, as they had just moved to lovely new offices in New Westminster.  No, no pictures available; see excuse in the previous blog.  However, it was lovely, and, as there are about 70 members of the board on call, nice to get a chance to meet some of them.

Sunday morning, one of the gals in the spin class invited a few of us over for brunch, and there I did remember to bring a camera.  You all have seen what my place looks like, so I thought I would show you another of the wonderful residences in Steveston.

Interesting architecture, great view of the Fraser River

lovely presentation!

Kelly, our hostess and gourmet cook on the right, and Sue, her trusty sidekick doing Mimosas on the left.

Donna, just coming from another class!

And lots of healthy food!

Jeannie, instructor and friend, finally arrives, bringing yet more food (as if we needed it!)

And another week has whizzed by.  When you hear from me next, I will be in Palm Springs, where, presumably, it is not howling a gale, with rain blowing sideways, and where, presumably, I will not be freezing!

Till then!

P.S.

So, in my poem  to New York, you might have noticed that some photographs were missing.  I used to document everything, but since David died, well, not so much.  I kept on forgetting to bring my camera.  These are taken by Lesley's ever-present cell phone.  I think they are great, and well worth adding.

The Red Rooster, in Harlem

A Harlem Brownstone

The Brooklyn Bridge

George M. Cohan, a local here

Nora with New York Cops with horses

Nora and Lesley, dinner at Lincoln Center

The iconic view of Lincoln Center

Lesley and Nora at the opera

That's all, I promise.  But just to whet your appetite for future installments, I will be returning to Palm Springs next week,  to San Jose and Los Angeles in April for three, count them, Bruce Springsteen concerts, back up to San Francisco for the Wall Concert on May 11, and leaving from San Francisco to Arle France for a river cruise on the Rhone on May 12.  Enough to keep you interested?  And you're surprised that I keep working!!!

New York, New York

I do love New York!

When I found out that the Metropolitan Opera was going to do Moussorsky's Khovanschina, and that it was not going to be simulcast in HD, I knew I had to go.  And this, my dears, is why I am  continuing to work - I have very expensive habits!  When I mentioned it to colleague Lesley, she decided to join me.

So, on Wednesday, February 29, off we went, driving down to Seattle (Jet Blue is much cheaper than Air Canada out of Vancouver, trust me, and well worth the drive) to have dinner with Mariah (always a treat), and off on the Red Eye to New York.  I must say, I thought I was way too old to be taking the red-eye, but much to my surprise, was quite functional on Thursday.

We stayed at the Affinia Hotel, at 31st and 7th, right across from Madison Square Garden, a hotel I highly recommend, for its rooms, its prices, and its location.

We of course couldn't get into our rooms at 6:30 in the morning, so opted for leaving our bags, having breakfast, and heading uptown to 53rd and 5th Avenue to MOMA (the Museum  of Modern Art), where membership indeed has its priviledges and we could get in early.  Going back to this museum  is like visiting old friends, so it was a wonderful first stop.

By this time, even I was tired, so we returned to the hotel for a nap, to prepare us for the opera evening ahead.  And a great evening it was.  We headed uptown on the subway (more on the subway later), and ate in the restaurant in Lincoln Center.  I tell you, everything in New York is like home to me, but nothing more so than Lincoln Center.  Going into the opera house again was a real thrill.  My mother and I used to do standing room  here, many many moons ago.  Noone did pathetic better than my mother, so we always ended up with seats, after spending only the $5.00 price for standing room.  A little different these days - we plumped for $140 seats in the orchestra.  Khovanschina was wonderful, very Russian and therefore sad (the only opera I know of that ends with the self-immolation of the crowd).  I was thrilled to be there - nothing warms the cockles of my heart like a standing ovation at the Met - and Lesley was game, as she always is.  In short, a great night was had by all.

We topped it off, by walking the 35 blocks home, passing through Times Square on the way.....

...as well as the garment district....

...where only the street art remained to remind one of its history.  It is a very personal history for me.  When my father and grandfather came over from  Poland, my father worked in the "shmatta" trade, until being blackballed by the union for voicing discontent with its practices. (see, I come by my mouth honestly!).

By Friday morning, both Lesley and I were no longer sleep deprived, and pumped by the energy which is New York.  Lesley had been to New York before, but was still more of a tourist than I, so she did what any friend would do; she dragged my kicking and screaming to do things I wouldn't ordinarily have done.  To start, we headed off to Harlem, for brunch at the Red Rooster, a new foodie place recommended by friends Andrew and Elaine, our arbiters for all things trendy.  As always, their recommendation did not disappoint - great atmosphere and great sould food.  I'll pass on the recommendation.

Then, off to  Brooklyn, where we went to the TKTS booth (for the unitiated, the place for cheap theater tickets - there is a booth in Times Square and the Financial District as well, but this fit into our plans).  We did score tickets, both for Friday night (Rock of Ages for Lesley, and Death of a Salesman with Philip Seymore Hoffman for me), and for the Saturday matinee (Venus in Furs for both).

 And then, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhattan.  What a thrill!  I had never done it before, and I highly recommend it!  (and while I am  making recommendations, David McCullough's book on the building of the Brooklyn Bridge is fabulous, as is Rutherford's book about the history of New York)

Dinner on Saturday night was at Ruby Tuesday's, fine, but no particular recommendation except it was handy and on the way to the theater.

Friend Lesley at Ruby Tuesdays (I do love the name!)

Nora, drinking as usual!



The theater was fabulous.  It is not as if  I hadn't ever seen Death of a Salesman before (and even recently), but Philip Seymore Hoffman just mailed it, as did all the rest of the cast.  It is the kind of evening I live for! Lesley enjoyed her play as well.

Saturday,  Lesley and I went for different museums.  She opted for the Cloisters, uptown, for a dose of tranquility and medieval art.  I had to pay my obligatory visit to the Metropolitan Museum  of Ast.  Again, lots of old friends, but two new galleries as well, the Islamic Art gallery new in the last few years, and the rennovated American Art wing, both well worth the visit.

Rodin's Burghers of Callais

We opted for the matinee, and Venus in Furs was - well, different would be putting it mildly.  It was extremely well staged and well acted, and comes recommended, but not for the faint of heart! 

Now normally, I would have done another play in the evening, but I desparately wanted to go to dinner at Sammy's Famous Rumanian Restaurant, a place where I had eaten 26 years ago, when I was doing bond closings in New York for the Bamk of America.  And it hasn't changed a whit.  It is still a dive (albeit a very expensive one), in a basement, with about 20 tables, and the best Jewish food in New York.  Examples:  not only pickles, but pickled tomatoes.  The best rye bread you have ever put into your mouth, accompanied by - wait for it - chicken fat, served in syrup containers on the tables.  The drink of choice, is frozen vodka, served in its bottle, in a block of ice.  The main course is meat - if you want anything else, it is an optional extra (I have a veal chop to die for, Lesley a 16 ounce steak, with potato latkes and fried onions, and yes, you might have noticed that the only green thing I have mentioned was the pickles.)

 

It was Saturday night, so the entertainment included not only the cute little Jewish boys who were the waiters but a Jewish singer/comedian and dancing - Jewish and otherwise - by the patrons (including yours truly, but not including Lesley).  Both of us enjoyed it tremendously, and went to bed with smiles on our lips).

And, the trip was concluded on Sunday morning by a trip to the infamous Carnegie Deli, for blintzed   (me) and Challah french toast (Lesley, who took a piece of cheesecake to go).

Some miscellaneous notes.  New York is still the city that never sleeps, with an energy that no other city (not even London) can match.  The people are still loud and friendly and wonderful.  The city is surprisingly clean, and  I saw no beggars - quite a change from Vancouver.  The subways were clean, bright, well marked, and frequent.  I did notice that while in the past, everyone would have been reading the newspaper, with the infamous New York fold to accommodate the crowds, now no-one does, which to me seems a great loss.

And so, off  the airport, for the long trip home (although Jet Blue is also something I would recommend - the pilots made two of the best landings I have ever experienced, and the staff are effeciant and friendly - and it's cheap).  It does seem a long way home, but you must admit, we squeezed quite a lot into just a few days. 

And today, another first.  As some of you know, I have been hired on contract with another adjudicative agency, the Mental Health Review Board.  Today was my first hearing, and so the adrenalin rush continued!  I think I acquitted myself  reasonably well, and am  happy to add another source of income for my increasingly expensive pursuits.

It looks to be a busy week, both work and pleasure, so off to bed.  Good night.

My Bad!!

I can't believe that I have let six weeks go by without letting you know that I am  alive, if not very well right now.  But more on that later.  Back to where we left off.....

When last we spoke, I was in Vancouver, catching up with friends.  I did that for another few days - lunches, teas, drinks, whatever meal worked, and on January 21, I went back to Palm  Springs, this time with the Vancouver bridge group in tow.  Tom, John and Dennis had been talking for a long time about coming to Palm Springs to see what I was raving about, and we finally found a date when we were all available - and which coordinated with a seat sale.  Amazing how quickly the time passes in the airport when you can play bridge while you are waiting!

Here we all are playing bridge in Palm Springs! 


We did actually go out and explore a bit:  Shermans for a deli brunch one day, and Lulu's for dinner with Art and Wally, and even downtown for shopping.  And John actually got in a long run, just to say he could......


As always, the bridge and conversation were great, and now at least the guys know why I rave about the desert!

The next month in Palm Springs went by in a blur.  I got back into the routine of going to the gym  for an hour and a half every day, and playing bridge with Art two or three days a week, visiting with friends, and just generally enjoying being in the sunshine.

And then the excitement started.

As you all know, I have a view to die for from  my patio.  There are only 11 houses on the ridge including mine, and pretty nearly everyon - includinf me - e is going to be carried off the ridge in a pine box.  There was only one person who might sell, and I had told everyone who would listen that I wanted that house, or, shall I say, friend Mariah wanted the house.  Well, long story short, it came for sale, and as of February 29, Mariah will be its proud owner.  There was a whirlwind of telephone calls and inspections and papers to be filled out, but we are just about there.  I am  so excited, I can hardly stand it!  Mariah and I will finally be neighbors, after 35 years of friendship, sitting around in la la land together (if I can ever get her to retire, that is.....) 

Hank (yes, he of  Nora and Hank's Excellent Adventure) came down to Palm Springs from San Francisco on February 18 for the weekend.  We have taken to spending his birthday together, or as close to his birthday as we can manage, and, as we are both creatures of  habit, we did so again this year, going to Shame on the Moon for a lovely dinner.  (Okay, which one of you rock and roll groupies knows where the name "shame on the moon" comes from?)

And on Sunday, I had a barbeque for 50 people at my house, aside from Christmas dinner the first party I have had since David died.  It was, by all accounts, a roaring success!  See for yourself!

A small sample of the food.

And, finally, Lou, the barbequer par excellence, without whom  it would not have been possible.

So, with all the toing and froing, I almost had to come back to Vancouver to rest, or, at the very least, to replenish my kitty, as I have been spending money like a drunken sailor!

I had to come home anyway.  I don't know whether I have mentioned that in addition to working on contract for the Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal, I have also been appointed to the Mental Health Review Board (okay, no cracks please!).  They set up their training for February 21, so even though I already had a plane ticket for the 24th, I had to scramble to get one for the 20th.  A more circuitous route for a two hour trip could not have been found.  Hank and I drove to Ontario, California, about an hour west of Palm Springs.  Hank flew out of there for San Francisco.  I followed, flying to Sacramento, changing planes for one to Seattle.  Mariah picked me up in Seattle, and we caught up with each other while she drove me to Bellingham, where friends Donna and Pellham  picked me up to take me to Vancouver.  Time elapsed from  leaving Palm Springs:  13 hours.  Are you tired yet?

But make it home I did, and was bright eyed and bushy tailed for the training the next day.  I am  actually amazingly excited, considering it is supposed to be work.  Well, it is work, but it is a new topic, with lots to learn and new people to meet, and, of course, that remuneration!  So, wish me luck!

And now, there is the usually catching up with job #1, friends and colleagues.  And, back to where we started, which is my saying that I felt truly awful.  I do.  I would love to blame it on the weather - it is snowing today, for gods sake, on top of the rain, wind and cold it has been throwing at me all week.  Really, though, I think I was tired, and the recycled air in the plane got to me, as it sometimes does, and I am  hacking and wheezing and feeling close to death.  However, this too shall pass.

And to close, I have to tell you that I have had an unfortunate reminder that "carpe diem" is my motto.  Got word that a long time friend (have got to get out of the habit of saying "old friend", don't I?) has been diagnosed with leukemia, and is not long for this world.

So, if  I am  repeating myself, I am  sorry, but it is worth repeating.  This is NOT, I repeat, NOT a dress rehearsal.  We do not get to do this again.  So, let us all have a good time while we are here.  Hug your family, hug your friends, have sex, spend money, do whatever it is that makes you happy, because if you are happy, the people areound you will be happy.  All of  us have probably given up the idea that we will find a cure for cancer, or some other such worthwhile thing.  The best we can hope for is to make our cherished few happy.  I'll resolve to try, and you guys can call me on it if I slip.

And, assuming anyone is still listening, I will try to be more diligent about letting you know what I am  up to; I'm  honored that you care!