ada, or ardor, or perfect prose

le sigh!

this Nabokov tome was recommended by my best friend, aka "golden t***"' nee E.roses' beau, whom i held already in high regard. the book's subject matter is, at first glance, lecherous and degoutante. but one finds oneself lulled in the lilting narrative. it's very Proustian. very recherchez de temps perdu, but more interdit. i love details. descriptions of skin. things that don't openly ask to be perceived as beautiful. unexpected, skilled observances, vivid memories.

i really was surprised to have enjoyed it, as i did not like Lolita. at all. but given Nabokov's intellectually transcendant, oratorally sublime discertations on James Joyce' Ulysses, i had to give him another chance. Nabokov's lectures got a run for their money with Joseph Heller's (Catch 22) Skeleton's Guide to Finnegan's Wake.

Anyhoo, this poor library book was dog-eared as if it had been my own. hopefully it imparts MY affection.

sisters, real and not so real

the bad news first: i made a little girl cry today. i feel terribly about it. i took my volunteer BBBS little sister to Mountain High today-- we drove 2 hours through the desert only to arrive upon dirt patches modestly annointed with sludge. am i just a vail snob now, or did the necessity of powder occur to the people who advertise spring skiing there? so, pair the bare runs with me lifting the kid under the arms the whole way down the mountain, fruitlessly screaming "snow-plow", and there you have my day. i was raised with the "sink or swim method" and swear by it. no training wheels here. just a strong push from dad on my first bike in an empty parking lot and the words, "if you keep pedaling, you can't fall-- if you stop, you will." to make matters worse, she *insisted* upon (horror of horrors) In-and-out, where i was ogled by a man wearing denim farmer overalls with nothing undernearth while i watched traffic build, bumper-to-bumper, on the 10.

the GOOD NEWS: my youngest sister has been accepted to the UC schools to which she applied! SCORE for the westside! Hooray, my little N-dinka!

genius

over lunch at the four seasons pool yesterday, i noticed that their iced tea included iced cubes of tea.

i suggested lemonade cubes along with iced tea cubes for the arnold palmer. no dice from the management. what gives?

Swedish PBJ

Peter, Bjorn and John performed at my place of employement this morning. They're flawless. And now I know which one of the guys whistles. I wanted to enquire after the whereabouts of the girl, but didn't want to offend if one of them is the falsetto virtusoso...?

I always get in trouble for talking to the artists, but I so so tres charmante, non? Well. we were all big fans of one another...they were one of the friendlier bands I have encountered at the studio. Alas, they are heading to SXSW tonight, so no spinning at Spider Club for them.

Bummed that I will no longer be "in the music industry" after this month.

Check "Object of My Affection" and "Paris 2004"...

"Let's Make a Tent!" OR "Elk never tasted so good"

Vail: So many bumps, so little time. The powder was sick. Yes, I can say "sick" and really mean it. Big bowls of powder at 11,000 ft above sea level='s GIDDY and GIGGLY.

Our tres charmante hostesse RW, MS aka the "Smoky Svelte Elk" and I, Buffalotta, tore it up. We shall hold these memories tres, tres cher:

1) Beano's Cabin in Beaver Creek-- thanks to fond memories from R, a sleigh whisked our fancily furred forms up the mountain by night, to the warm and candlelit cottage that is Beanos. We feasted on prime rib Buffalo, elk, juicy scallops, butternut squash and apriocot sorbet. Competing with the warm glow of candles perched upon antler-chandeliers was the blinding bling of a pear-shaped diamond at the table next to us. When our cher R leaned over to admire, she was rather admonsished. Strike two against the Beaver-snoots here. While the ring was the product of a Christie's auction, she wore a scrunchie-- nuff said. With the sustenance of Colorado to nourish us, we braved our way back to the sleigh. "Let's make a tent!" exclaimed I, and the rest, mes amis, was downhill. Our silly woolen fortress was the site for many a photo as Smoky Svelte Elt played Atlas, holding up the world. This was absolutely the highlight of the trip.

2) Hot tub chez nous in Beaver Creek-- R convinced us!

3) Samana lounge in Vail-- making the boys cry, and hiding the nasty shots they purchased for us.

4) Buffalo chili-- anytime, anywhere. Move over, turkey chili at Deer Valley-- PLEASE!

5) Reading Ada, or Ardor, fireside at the Ritz-Carlton at Bachelor Gulch

Not so hot:

1) Stalkers

2) The nasty spill I took on a mogul trying to show off, ensuing in whiplash. So glad I live in the land of cheap deep tissue massages.

3) Leaving my blackberry there. (File under: Blessings in Disguise)

Shout outs go to my partners in crime-- the was the best trip in ages.

Anais and Brett duel for my soul

OK, so I'm starting a new job on 4/2. Last day at current place of employment 3/23. What to do? Anyone who knows me knows that I must have at least one trip planned on the horizon, or I become comatose and require a retinal scan and a boarding pass to revive me . Since Istanbul has become a bit problematic logistically, I've come up with the following options with the help of cher Spencer (pron: "spahn-SAY"):

PARIS VS PALM SPRINGS

(Please weigh in with comments. If you dare tell me to try Constantinople I will pinch your elbow fat very hard next time I see you).

PARIS

Pros:
- My dearest friend Ellen lives there with her fiancee, Benoist. NON, mes amis, pas de Ben-Wa!
- Imagine myself as Anais Nin in the poet's dens of the marais
- Romance? See my cher above.
- Couture
- Monmartre
- Um...find Uffie?

Cons:

- Been there a bazillion times, so I know this:
- "Paris in the Spring" is over-rated...at least in March.
- Indulge in the city's luxuries during ever-so-brief unemploymentand conveniently feign ignorance of the strength of the Euro! (On that note: file under "Pro")

PALM SPRINGS:

Pros:

- Easy
- Romance? By default?
- Dry heat + pool = ahhhh
- Sun-kissed glow
- Relaxation
- "Detox". I can say this because I live in LA. I don't know what it means, but I think it has something to do with sweating out alcohol before it gets to one's liver. (File under "dry heat", above)
- No jet lag

Cons:

- Anti-climactic way to spend 10 days
- I have porcelain skin. Glow may not be possible.
- Brett Easton Ellis nightmares

HELP!

In anticipation of ski heaven!

Oh, the delights of a winter Wonderland shall be ours in mere hours! Panoramic vistas of snow-capped mountains, sparkling villages, quaint from afar…waiting to be plundered by our cosmopolitan ways…ah, the thin air that makes us giddy, expedited by hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps, drunk in fuzzy sweaters as our cheeks turn pink! Feet sinking into pure-white snow, perhaps a snowball if our gloves are water-proof…the feeling of weighlessness as we spring from moguls with the greatest of ease! Vail and Beaver Creek in t-6 hours!