12 posts tagged “me”
I find myself missing New Orleans more than I thought I would, and a certain part of me feels fundamentally changed for the trip. I can't quite put my finger on the feeling, nor can I identify a single moment that precipitated this change. I barely came to know the city, yet it is a city I want to know; simultaneously, Fort Lauderdale is becoming boring to me.
I feel the need to massively change my environment, my vacation only helped push those feelings forward. Now just to decide to actually make the move.
I just took full advantage of my employee discount and booked a trip to New Orleans to visit my dear friend E. Yes, this discount is one of the reasons why I so adore the hospitality industry. I relish in that while others are paying, at a minimum, the ridiculous sum of $400+ a night, my entire stay will be significantly less.
Now I find myself facing the important questions in life: Do I want to risk the first floor dining room at Galatoire without reservations? And which wine(s) should I bring along for that dinner?
Ah, I can't wait until 3/20. I haven't traveled anywhere in ages. It'll be nice to actually step on a plane again without a thought about business.
Well, I know it's been quite awhile since I actually posted anything on Vox (or anywhere for that matter), and having some free time, I figured why not?
Life has been interesting lately. The hotel has been consuming almost all my time, but aside from that I find myself missing someone I didn't expect to miss. Of course, once you love someone it's impossible to ever stop loving them. I am in a bit of an indecisive rut as to whether I'm going to contact them or not. At least these feelings are spurring up interesting thought.
I'm also planning a trip (when I can escape the hotel...ha!) on the Trans-Siberian Railway (preferably the 'Red Express' from Moscow to Beijing via Mongolia) with an old friend. I miss traveling. I haven't been out of the country in years, and so I need a grand adventure to start things off again.
Otherwise all is well. I've been swilling lots of good wine (the last was a splendid Mouton-Rothschild '96, though it was a touch young--still wonderful though), taking photos, and starting to pick up the pen again.
And now I'll leave you all with some photos: (Blah, this importing from Flickr needs some work)
Anyway, tell me what you think.
Okay, so I finally got around to watching the King Kong remake and I have to say, I was caught up with it. Peter Jackson had me, especially at the end. The last 15 minutes stirred up a lot of emotion. Lots of powerful images there. Then he lost me. He lost me at the exact end, with Jack Black and his frickin' line "The airplanes didn't do it; t'was beauty killed the beast." That line ruined the entire movie for me. Not even the line itself, just the delivery. I was into it, it, nearly teary eyed, then that line hits and full stop.
I'm annoyed by this. Sure, it may be nitpicky, but I can forgive faults in the beginning and middle of a movie, even in the last bit, as long as the ending, those last maybe 3 minutes, are done wonderfully. It's a bit like Casablanca. Is it a perfect movie? No, of course not, but the last ten minutes of it are amazing. And while this version of King Kong is no Casablanca, the end was pretty damn well done. Except for that line. Now, instead of being completely sad and contemplating all the symbolism and allegory in the movie, I'm just frothing about one silly line.
Grrr.
/rant
One of the decent aspects of being unemployed for the moment is that boredom has driven me to the kitchen. I had thought of finally devouring War and Peace, but Tolstoi will have to wait until I've finished the rather massive and daunting study guide for my Islamic History final on Monday. So food it was.
And my favorite comfort food is soup. There is nothing more comforting than a delicious, lovingly made soup.
What did I make? Bun Bo Hue (I'm to lazy to add the accents).
It's a traditional Vietnamese soup that I've intended to try my hand at making for about three months, ever since the October issue of Saveur magazine landed in my mailbox.
I also love spicy food, and reading the recipe for this soup alone brought tears to my eyes. I had to make it. Fortunately I had found most of the ingredients prior to my unexpected destitution. After some alone time with the dart board and some old place d'emploi brochures, I decided to tackle this beast of a soup.
After about 4 hours I had the spiciest, hottest, most delicious soup I've ever tasted in my life. And yes, it made me cry.
For those of you interested, I'll copy the recipe here.
This recipe makes 8 servings (I always make lots of soup...seriously, buy those little plastic take-out bowls the Chinese places use, then just freeze the extra for whenever you feel like it!)
Ingredients
7 tbsp. canola oil
3 medium yellow onions, 2 cut into 1'' dice, 1 thinly sliced.
1 tbsp. annatto seeds
2lbs. boneless beek shank (shin), halved crosswise, tendon removed and discarded
1 lb. boneless pork leg, from the upper butt portion
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 lbs. beef bones, cut into 2'' pieces, boiled for 3 minutes
1 1/2 lbs. fresh pork hock, cut into 1/2'' slices
3 tbsp. plus 2 1/2 tsp. Vietnamese fish sauce
5 trimmed stalks lemongrass, 4 cut into 3'' pieces, bruised; 1 minced
1 1'' chunk Chinese yellow sugar (this was a pain in the ass to find..thank goodness for Fernanda's food market)
3 tbsp. dried chile flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. granulated sugar
2 tbsp. fine shrimp sauce
2 14oz. packages of large round bun (rice noodles) boiled, then rinsed with cold water
1/3 cup chopped rau ram (Vietname Coriander--also a pain in the ass to find--again, Fernanda's is awesome)
3 scallions, green parts only, trimmed and thinly sliced
Directions:
1. For the broth: Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add diced onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add annatto; cook until onions are yellow. 4-5 minutes. Season beef and pork leg with salt and pepper; push onions to side; add beef and pork. Sear meat for 4-5 minutes; add bones, hocks, and 5 quarts water. Bring to a boil; skim off and discard any scum. Add 3 tbsp. fish sauce, bruised lemongrass, and rock sugar; reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Transfer pork leg and hocks to a bowl of cold water; let soak for 10 minutes. Simmer broth for 1 hour more. Repeat soaking and draining with shank. Chill leg, hocks, and shank in refrigerator. Skim fat from broth; strain through a fine sieve.
2. Combine remaining oil, chile flakes, garlic, and minced lemongrass in a small pot over medium-low heat; gently simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir-in remaining fish sauce and granulated sugar. Set chile mixture aside.
3. Bring broth to a boil in a large pot. In a bowl, stir together 1 cup of broth with shrimp sauce; pour into pot through a fine sieve and stir in 1 1/2 tbsp. of chile mixture. Season to taste with salt. Divide noodles between 8 bowls (have your take-out containers ready!) . Cut beef and pork across the grain into 1/16'' thick slices (this is so demaning--I cheated, mine are bigger); top each bowl with slices, followed by sliced onions, rau ram, and scallions. Add hocks to broth; bring to a boil. Ladle 2 cups hot broth with some hock into each bowl. Serve with remaining chile mixture, mint sprigs, sliced thai chiles, and lime wedges if you like (I tried one version with lime, and one without, and I honestly find I like it much better without the lime, but to each their own).
Anyway, there you have it. This is damned fine soup, but definately not for those who cannot handle spicy foods.
This recipe if from the October 2006 Issue of Saveur Magazine, p. 48.
Last night was marked by two events which, to me, seem quite appropriate when juxtaposed.
One was a party with Megan, her sister, S, and some others. We had great wine (Haut Bion '83), champagne, and a good time in general.
The other was when I was called at 12:40AM by the hotel's night auditor who was wondering why I wasn't on the schedule anymore. Today I learned I was terminated without rhyme or reason. I have a sneaking suspicion this was brought on by my interviews with the people at Hilton who, undoubtedly, called the hotel yesterday afternoon. Given the owner's rather unstable personality, it wouldn't surprise me if this was why.
Not that it's important, I had decided to quit anyway after a very unpleasant incident involving the owner's instability that happened earlier this week.
Still, it puts life in great perspective for me. One instant I am enjoying the company of old friends, great wines, and all is well. The next I am without a source of income and wondering just what they will tell the people at Hilton (or what they have already) since I really want that job, and can't fathom a tactful approach to get more info on this situation.
And now I ponder something D mentioned last night. If one needed the money, why not sell a bottle or two. I'm not in that situation yet, but I have to wonder about it. Would I sell an '82 Mouton? Or a '90 La Tache? Especially after having the splendid Haut Brion that can only begin to portend the bliss that awaits in those greater bottles?
I don't know.
There's a lot I don't know at the moment. Plans swirling in my mind. Do I contact Hilton? (I've already sent thank you cards--is more contact showing too much eagerness?). Do I take some time off, hit up the dole and decide to take the novel I've been working on since 2001 and finally force myself to finish it? Do I abandon all and travel for a bit? That wayward, ambiguous travel defined by little money and total self-reliance?
I don't know.
Oddly, I'm not discontent. Last night was wonderfully enjoyable. I have that residual happiness coursing in my veins, and as for work and money, they've never meant much to me. I've done without the latter before, and can again. But now I'm unattached. That gives me a certain temptation to go off.
I'm not sure what I'll do, but I do know I'm okay. That's what matters.
Such is life.
Lately (by lately I mean the last three weeks or so) work has felt a bit tedious. I don't mind the 60 to 70 hour work weeks (even if, with my classes, I only manage 4 to 5 hours of sleep a night), but I do mind the way some individuals are beginning to act. I won't name names, but this person has a distinct lack of communication skills and a total forgetfulness that causes innumberable problems. Said person will tell someone one thing, and then the next day will be entirely accusatory towards the same person even though they followed the instructions to the letter. They'll flash them that look of condescension, a sneer, like they're staring down at something that isn't quite human. And this person does it all the time. Everyone knows that look. And when this person interacts with guests, they're perfectly pleasant, and totally fake. I've never seen a person be more plastic in my life and I absolutely despise working with them. I've verged on quitting because of this person more than once in the last three weeks, but then I remember why I love my job.
Last night, for instance, when I was chit-chatting with Mr. and Mrs. S. in the gazebo. They're both engineers for NASA, well-travelled, and have a penchant for history. I spent several hours with them discussing everything from the Russian Revolution to the possible psychological impacts on the mind of existing in a colony on Mars or the Moon. It was fantastic. We exchanged e-mails and recommend books to each other, and exchanged invitations for dinner should they return to Fort Lauderdale, or I ever be in D.C. I was sad that they had to leave today, but at the same time I was quite happy to have had such an amazing conversation. Where else would I get paid to enjoy such intellectual leisure with not only Mr. and Mrs. S, but a whole slew of other interesting people, all under the aegis of guest services? This is why I deal with the long hours and drama. Because every now and then I get to meet some amazing people and explore interesting ideas.
And this week has been a good one for conversation (I thrive on good conversation). Last night my good friends S and D came over, with others. I raided the cellar and we sat out on the deck drinking a pleasant St. Emillion discussing everything from the current political situation in the Middle East to whether or not humanity will ever achieve a classes society.
Yeah, good times.
Across the room our eyes met in a flash of light, and in the smoke and dancing colors and bodies fluid in music, our eyes met again, like flashes of light. And the dancer took the floor and let her belly move, and men blowing smoke let dollars like leaves fall, and as I lit my cigarette she then lit hers across the room, and her eyes shone through the dancer's angel shawl, and in that flash they once more met mine. And the hours passed like bodies stalled in a flashing strobe, those hours where her and I lived in each other's eyes.
And when light filled the room and the music ceased, and all began to shuffle home at tired ease, she passed like an ocean breeze, and her eyes and mine smiled like two ships wishing well as they passed through the dark sea, and in a smile she was gone, and I longed for the flashing lights in the dark, and that distant table where she sat, looking through the smoke, and the flash of her eyes, azure orbs, and our silent discourse.
And now the vision is faded but for her eyes, nameless flashes of life in the dark.
Any store that sells wine--good wine--is a meance to my bank account. I have a love-hate relationship with my favorite shops. They all stock hard to find, excellent wines. The Best Cellar, owned by the eccentric Richard Stetler, manages to import some of the most obscure and fascinating wines from around the world, and Richard is always willing to pour a glass of his newest acquisitions. I cannot help but fall into the trap. A blissful rioja, 300 cases produced annually, and I'll walk out with at least one case.
Or today, when I ventured to the local ABC. They know me all too well. I go in to browse, to replace one of the sommelier glasses I managed to break while washing it, and inevitably the manager nudges me towards the fine wine cellar, talking about the new stock of Silver Oak to tempt me. Of course, the path to Silver Oak leads me past the 1st Great Growths. I walk out with a Haut-Brion '83 and a Cheval Blanc '89.
And then there is the Naked Grape, where Brian knows my tastes all too well, and will always slip me a glass of the new great Barolo he's just stocked, and I can't help but to buy a bottle or 6.
I can resist any purchase in any store except for wine. It is the Achilles Heel of my bank account. But then, what does it matter? Money will never taste quite like bliss.
The new semester looks to be quite promising. My American Latino Writers course and Islamic History have piqued by interest the most so far, however I do believe I'll have to drop Southern Literary Renaissance. It isn't that I dislike Faulkner (which I do), but that my professor eerily reminds me of Leni Riefenstahl. Perhaps it was the plain white button down, tucked into tight leather pants with a stainless steel belt, along with the blonde hair, blue eyes and gestures reminiscent of Triumph of the Will that did it for me. Maybe it was just the accent? I blame the year I spent studying Nazi Germany and World War II on this weird turn of fate. Yup, that class must go. I'll be far too distracted by this to pay attention.
Presidential Thoughts
As happens when I get together with my old university cohorts, conversation turns to politics and the hypothetical. Today's question was brought about by our shared disgust of the ten gallon hat we have for a president and fears of him going John Wayne on Iran (when you still have two years before you're ineligible for the draft, a military that's stretched thin, and a president who is far more Dr. Strangelove than Merklin Muffley, you worry about being called up to die for unsubstaniated causes even if the likelihood of such a thing to happen, politically, is miniscule). It was simple: If you were President of the United States, what would you do to fix eight years of ineptitude?
I thought long and hard on this--well, as long and hard as one thinks on such hypothetical questions--and when it was my turn to answer, I had formulated a pretty solid policy. Allow me to share it with you.
1. Being that our national debt is spiraling out of control and is increasingly being held by nation states that are unfriendly to American interests, I would reign the budget in by A) no longer allowing the 'cash accounting' model to be used to calculate the annual budget. The accrual model would be used instead. (For the difference between the two, look here) B) All pork would end. I know, some of you will probably argue eliminating all government pork is impossible, but I have a plan in several parts for this. Any bill by Congress that contained pork would get vetoed, regardless of what else the bill contained. I see the Presidential Veto one of the most powerful tools against pork spending in existence, the only problem is no president has had the cojones to use it for such.
Given the horrendous status of the nation's finances, the public would need to learn that it is time they make sacrifices. If the public cannot understand why projects they view as beneficial, but are ultimately pork, are being cut, the alternative will gleefully make them see the necessity of sacrificing the bacon. That alternative? Tax hikes. And there is nothing the average American despises more than a tax hike.
C) It is apparent that the United States military was and still is a Cold War relic, designed to wage strategic warfare against a powerful adversary. This Cold War mindset needs to go. Technoology and modern guerrila tactics necessitate the need for a complete revision of military (particularly the Strategic Air Command, whose primary function of M.A.D.-type nuclear deterrence is better performed by the United States Navy, and it's ballastic missile submarines). Needless to say, the days of spending billions upon billions of dollars on heavy bombers, several different multi-purpose fighter craft, and maintaining a fleet of 12 super carriers (*Note, the UK only has two, and they are smaller, VSTOL-only capable carriers. Only France and Russian maintain a full blown super-carrier, and they each only have one. 12 is overkill).
While these actions will not assure a budget surplus, they would trim the budget significantly.
2. Total Campaign Finance Reform. In 2004 I wrote a very detailed letter to Senator Bob Graham, as well as my local representatives, arguing for total government finance of political campaigns. While this may cost upwards of $4 billion dollars per presidential election year* ( but much, much less for elections like the coming 2006 Election), it would serve two purposes: lobbyist and special interest groups would no longer have the political capital (oh, pun!) to significantly influence the Congress and President in making decisions that are counter-productive to the benefits of the majority of the population (selective tax cuts, lucrative no-bid contracts, etc...) and it would also cut down on pork spending. I won't expand on this idea in this post, but I am working on a full analysis and plan for this kind of reform. This idea is my baby, and I continuously flog every rep I have with it.
3. Iraq. It needs to end. The only viable option I see for a peaceful Iraq is to eliminate Iraq, as it exists today, as a nation state. Iraq would be partitioned into three nations governed by the popular distribution of Kurd, Shi'ite, and Sunni belief and culture (as it was heading before the LoN mandate after WWI and the British mistake of making it one nation. Read more on this, and Iraq here). Yes, there will probably be squabbles over the status of Baghdad and boundaries, but it is pretty damned obvious to anyone willing to look that the Sunni, Shi'ite, and Kurd populations DO NOT WANT TO LIVE TOGETHER.
I'm going to stop before I become livid and rant.
4. A total arms embargo will be placed on the nations of Iran, Syria, Israel, Lebanon, and the West Bank Palestinian terroritories, as well as am embargo on all resources necessary to produce arms. The United States needs to take a dramatic stand to end the violence on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, not add a second front to their terrorist recruiting campaign in Iraq by blindly supporting Israel because its leaders cannot comprehend the complex social and cultural dynamics that exist behind groups it unquestionningly declares terrorist organizations. Israel is as much at fault as the Arab nations, if not moreso (since they continue to expand West Bank and Golan Heights settlements even though they KNOW the territory is not theirs, and the expansion of such settlements is in defiance of multiple U.N. resolutions (though they so readily urge compliance with the resolutions that favor them)). Both sides must be treated objectively.
The creation of a Palestinian State based on the set boundaries of U.N. Resolution 181 would be called for and enforced by force, if necessary.
The creation of a seperate Palestinian State along the guidelines of U.N. Resolution 181 would have a number of effects. Primary among those would be the removal of the single greatest reason for the existence of most militant Islamic Jihadist movements. However, and I stress this, the creation of a Palestinian State must recieve the full financial and military support of the world. It cannot simply be created and left to rot. If it is created, and given all it needs to prosper, peace in the Middle East will be one massive step closer. Nation-building can only work where it is wanted, and where it is given total support. Palestine fits the first criteria, the second is not only up to the United States, but the world.
5. On non-Middle Eastern foreign policy: Walk softly and carry a big stick.
_______________
Off the top of my head, those were the four things I argued for today. I know the power of the President does not extend itself to implementing those policies itself, but I firmly believe that if a person ascends to that office with a singular power of will to act in the best interests of the nation, and can sustain that will against the outcries of their fellow politicians (which would be massive), they will succeed. There would be no playing sides for hopes at re-election, but a sheer will to reform a broken system. I look at presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy and I know that with the right leader, will alone can move mountains (especially when it carries a distinct perceived moral advantage). I doubt I'd ever be half the leader either of them were, but I know if I ever had the opportunity, I'd do the above.
Of course, one of my friends did point out to me that I'd probably be shot before finishing my term. Not that, if I had the chance, I wouldn't try.
Now let me ask: If you had the chance to be President, off the top of your head, what would you do?
*This is based on the sum total of all money spent on campaigning for the federal office during the 2004 Election.
