PO in the NY

Sooooo, sorry this is late. My day was a whirlwind once I got here yesterday (details below) and once I got finally back to Mari’s apartment last night, I really had to pass out since I only got two hours of sleep during my redeye and had to wake up at 9am to go to the conference. Anyway, without further adieu, the first post of my New York adventure…..

Yes, I’ve been a lazy blogger lately. Have you missed me? Really, I thought I would give Mari the chance to shine for a week or so since she’s the new New Yorker and I’ve been dominating the blog with random-ass posts. And yes, I’m lazy, too – although in my defense, the week was busy preparing for my new apartment (SOOOO excited – more details to come next week) and this trip to New York (SOOOO exciting also!).

So to get back into the swing of things, I am sitting on the plane blogging away (well, typing away and will post as soon as I come back to earth and find a wifi connection) thanks to the spiffy new battery John bought for my laptop today. But shit, it’s already half gone from watching Six Feet Under episodes!

Anyway, back to the plane….I am on my way back to New York and it’s about damn time. Right now, we’re flying into the sunrise and it’s absolutely beautiful. I have a feeling I won’t be sleeping much on this journey, just to excited to take it all in again. I feel like I’m back on the flight to New York for the first time two years ago (same airline and everything!), only this time I’m watching Six Feet Under instead of Sex and the City, my laptop is two years old, I am leaving behind a boyfriend I’m going to miss terribly for these four days rather than jonesing to experience the single life, and I am, well, more grown up I guess. I have to say, also, that with all the new apartment excitement, I am a little sad to be leaving Portland. I have come to appreciate my city more than ever over the course of the past year and I am proud to call it home (did that sound too cheesy? I think the Xanax is making me all mushy).

I went out to dinner last night with Peter Shankman, a very successful and unconventional PR guy based in NYC. He came to town to pitch the city of Portland, ironically enough, (tourism or something like that) and had never been here before, so I took it upon myself to give him a proper taste of the city (literally because the night centered around drinking and eating!). I find that I really love showing off Portland because I think its charms are so refreshing and unexpected to out-of-towners, especially New Yorkers. We went to Blue Hour for drinks (designed by Portland-based and now the talk of New York City - for his project on the Contemporary Arts Museum at 2 Lincoln Center - architect Brad Cloepfil (he also designed the Weiden + Kennedy building, very eco-friendly, warehouse-converted-into-creative-space Portland design), and then we had dinner at Gotham Building Tavern, the third gem in the crown of this brilliant young Portland couple who started Family Supper (hip dinner-party-esque gathering of strangers in a loft-like kitchen space eating dee-licious organic, seasonal northwest food, all for $25 a piece) and clarklewis (the restaurant version of Family Supper, restaurant of the year last year). Yummy – and it didn’t hurt that Peter picked up the tab (thanks again, Peter!). If you’re curious, I had asparagus ravioli with cream and browned butter and salmon with some fancy sounding sauce and greens; it really doesn’t do the restaurant justice not to know those names! Anyway, Peter had all these fresh ideas about bringing the cosmopolitan, wordly flavor (and attention) of New York to Portland to really put it on the map, maybe creating a “mini-oregon” in Central Park or something like that. I even told Peter about PONY and he absolutely loved the idea, even teased that if he used it in his pitch and he got the account, he would bring me on as a consultant. I hope that wasn’t just talk because that would be awesome!! [hint hint, Peter :-)]

Anyway, maybe it is the Xanax making me really happy and excited, but I’m feeling on top of the world, on the verge of moving into my dream apartment – vintage moldings and alcoves, walk-through closet with storage (a la Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment), burgundy walls in the living room, dark blue in the bedroom, and even a fire escape! – headed for an awesome weekend in New York, made new friends with a colleague in NYC, and well, flying into the gorgeous sunrise so full of possibility. Not too shabby.

I’m hoping this will the first of my daily posts while I’m in New York – complete with camera phone pics! – so check back often. Just as things have changed since my last time there as I mentioned above, I have updated my technogical journaliing of my experiences in the city from the low-tech mass email to the blogosphere. Hope you enjoy!

>>pictures to come later, later tonight, along with the rest of yesterday's and today's events<<