Saturday I woke-up in a panic, feeling sure I had a ton of work to do, but no idea what it was. I crawled out of bed and decided to organize my day. I needed to work on my EWI website, write my blogs, go sandwich ingredient hunting and make a million phone calls. I decided to start-off with the website. After watching several YouTube tutorials and reading several articles I decided that I must either be retarded or missing a vital piece of information. Fuck-it! I will try to learn a thing or two from my mom's computer tech husband while I am visiting them this week.
Off to search for the perfect sandwich! Unfortunately, I was not feeling great and had no interest in the damned sandwich. I soldiered on though! On my way down Bleeker I was stopped by an old woman sweeping her porch, we made small talk for a while before I went on my way. Just a reminder that in New York you are never alone, it is a city of neighbors instinctively bound together by the close quarters and hardships. We are all in this together.
I made my way down Bleeker to Murray's cheese shop where I procured a lovely Manchego. Next door at the Italian shop I purchased some smoked ham. I couldn't resist the urge to stop by Lobster Place next door to window shop their fish. Oh the smell! The heavenly aroma of fresh fish is one of the loveliest things on earth. The polar opposite of the rank smells I encountered down in Chinatown. After my fish-sniffing break I decided to go check-out the Citarella's on 6th Ave. Once again, I found myself taking in the smells of a fabulous fish market. I passed on the fish and purchased only a pear and a bottle of Fiji water. On my way out I realized that I had forgotten to buy the specialty sea salted butter at Murray's, so I trudged back over. I still had not found my cranberry walnut bread, so I gave up and settled for a loaf of challah on the way home.
Back at the house I sliced the challah thin and spread the divine butter on the outside. For a sauce I mixed organic honey and spicy brown mustard, topping the sauce with slices of fresh pear, ham and manchego. I experimented with a truffled honey, but the taste of it nearly gagged me! For my taste, the woodsy and sweet are not a pleasant combination. I grilled the sandwich and it looked beautiful! Despite my flimsy appetite and low expectations, the sandwich was fantastic. Sometimes when you know what to do and you have the right elements, just going through the motions is good enough. I ended my evening sacked-out in front of the tube, going to bed anticipating my rowing adventure.
Sunday was gorgeous, 75 degrees with a cool breeze and bright blue skies. I headed over to pier 40 in high spirits. I decided to take pictures of the water front on the other side of the Westside highway. It reminded me of the relaxed beauty of the Santa Monica boardwalk. Me being me, was blissfully unaware of those around me, seeing their forms as just part of the pictures I was snapping. I put my camera away and crossed the street after the light changed, glancing up at the men who had been in my shots. Low and behold one of the men was an actor from Law and Order out for a stroll with his new baby. Ugggh! I felt like suck an asshole! He must have thought I was some crazed fan snapping pictures of him! I have a history of this type of faux pax. I was hungrily walking downtown looking for a place to eat, when an overfilled bagel caught my eye, as I neared the overflowing bagel I happened to look-up and see the bagel's owner, none other than Leonardo DiCaprio. Ugggh! I was mortified at the thought that he must have interpreted my hungry gaze as being for him, not his meal. Oh well, I suppose my unawareness must be a cosmic joke to keep me humble!
I arrived ready to row! I begged out on the 5 hour row to Brooklyn and was assigned the "short trip" crew. We were set to go down to the Statue of Liberty and back in around 3 hours. Apparently seamen, no matter their geographical location are a strange lot. The unlikely crews consisted of waspy couples, hippies and that strange breed of middle aged white men looking to redefine their masculinity. None the less, the weather was beautiful and I was ready to climb aboard.
My first indication that things may not work out as I had hoped began when I gazed down at the dock and realized the bobbing was making my head hurt. I ignored this fact and climbed down to our ship. The first hours was lovely, the wind blowing a light mist over our warm faces. My crew of 4 rowers and two skippers were getting along famously. All that began to change as we passed the financial district and passed into the New York Harbor. By the time we made it to Governor's Island, I was not feeling well at all. The rest brakes we took, where we simply let the boat bob around made matters even worse. As we passed the Statue of Liberty, I was in agony! My head was screaming and throbbing and an intense bout of nausea was growing by the minute. I swapped out with the extra rower and spent the remainder of the trip clinging to the sides of the boat praying for land. I though about jumping overboard and swimming for shore. Anything to get off that fucking boat! But my fear of the disease infested waters of the Hudson kept be aboard. Needless to say, I spent the remainder of the night recovering.
This week I certainly had a new NYC experience, I worked-out every day, I tryed a new recipe, wrote, pushed myself by attempting the website and went out with my EWI group. It was fairly successful week.
I am headed to Colorado this week for a girlfriend's wedding and I plan on taking advantage of my mother's kitchen to test out a pulled pork recipe! Hopefully, I will be able to channel the heart of the experiment while I am there, seeking out friendship, adventure and passion every day. My life is shaping up, and hopefully I am getting closer to finding my destiny.
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