Just Another Day

My four favorite words in the English language? “Previously on Desperate Housewives…” That means 40 minutes of pure indulgence have just begun, affording me the opportunity to swim in a pool of decadence, debauchery and dysfunctionality, yet all the while maintaining a Bree like code of picture-perfect morality while wearing enough designer labels to make Gabrielle Solis blush. I spent the evening yesterday toasting the diva’s with a nice glass of wine and stuffing my face full of Carpaccio pizza from Mano Mano in Brussels. I was there for the evening to hang out with Joe, who graciously and perhaps out of a deep feeling of guilt, decided not to toss the details of Barcelona in my face or show off his new and improved tan line. Oh, the occasional indulgent detail did pop out every now and again and I would let out a weary sigh while a little tear would well up in my eye giving me that puppy expression that has been known to break hearts around the globe and then I would hang my head as though in shame and adopt the posture of the weary and downtrodden.

But I am not bitter, no sir… I feel perky, upbeat and full of new reason to live. I am off to London tomorrow for an evening of drinking and dining with Nik. Hmmm… It just occurred to me that he is perhaps the most mentioned person in my blog. In case you have noticed this too, let me assure you and put your troubled minds immediately to rest by stating emphatically that there is nothing Freudian about it, I just feel he needs a lot of publicity and I am trying to get into heaven by doing a bunch of good deeds. My good deed for tomorrow? Letting Nik take me out to dinner to apologize for his recent transgressions which are still too painful to elucidate on at this moment in time. I know, it is quite selfless of me, but I pride myself on my spontaneous acts of random and senseless kindness. On Friday, Paul and I have tickets to see ‘Wicked’, a musical that I have wanted to see for 2 ½ years. Finally the London engagement has begun and I have been listening to the soundtrack so I can sing along to all my favorites. I sincerely believe that the cast will be overjoyed to have a real fan like me n the audience?

And how could I mention Paul without bringing up his stage performance last Monday evening? It was a kabuki-esque interpretation of ‘Basic Instinct’. Let me begin by saying I did not agree wit the foul language or the sexual innuendo. I thought they were irrelevant to the story in general which is about a young, virginal woman and her fondness for ice picks and bondage. They could merely have taken turns tying each other up but instead they went for the gratuitous crotch shot that Miss Stone herself had been horribly tricked into. Seriously, I thought it was amazing and it was also very exciting to see such a great and wonderful friend on stage for the first and I hope not for the last time.

And going back to my earlier topic of musicals, I have been having a few ‘My Fair Lady’ moments recently. My friend Joe lives in Brussels on a quaint little street. Not just any street, but the very one where on May 4, 1929, a little girl named Audrey was born. I had often walked down that street before, but the pavement never sang beneath my feet before and in one moment I was several stories high, just to be on the street where she lived.

There was one point this morning where I imagined I had been on the street here she lived for the very last time. In a mad dash to the train station, Joe almost got in a fight with a truck driver whose vehicle was rudely blocking the tiny street, after which he almost ran over 2 dogs that an unsuspecting old man was walking, only to seconds later slam on the brakes as the Mercedes came barreling down on us causing my very short yet action-packed life to flash before my very eyes in muted and rather bland tones of beige which I did not find at all amusing or impressive. Finally, after 5 hair-raising minutes I was deposited at the central station and violently shoved onto my train where I settled in for the long journey to Amsterdam, ready for another day at the office.