All Systems Go

Despite the fact that lots is happening in the world, lots more is happening on the home front. True, authorities finally nabbed Jonbenet Ramsey's killer, John Karr, who was discovered teaching second grade in Thailand. What's more disturbing is that Mr. Karr looks like the son of Frank Gorshin, the guy who played The Riddler on the old Batman TV series. What's even more disturbing is watching Mr. Karr being whisked through Thailand, which makes him appear to be a waifish, ghostly puppet in a polo shirt; what's yet more disturbing is that Mr. Karr -- who wrote odes to Jonbenet Ramsey -- managed to make the entire sordid saga seem even more whacked and bizarre than it already was. I hope this whole story, as well as beauty pageants for young girls, will now, mercifully, just go away.

Needless to say, there are other things happening in the world; there's still a huge mess to address in Lebanon (as will there always be), as humanitarian, geographic and militaristic issues and problems continue to grow. And it was disclosed this week that the commander of a base that surrendered to Israeli soldiers ordered his troops to supply the Israeli soldiers with iced tea. The incident was captured on video, and as soon as its release was widespread, the commander was dismissed from the army. Apparently, it's unlawful for any Lebanese citizen to acknowledge or associate with Israelis, so I suppose serving them tea is probably a no-no. And treating them as humans is likely off-limits as well. Seems about right -- it is Lebanon, after all.

Meanwhile, the main domestic stuff on the horizon is the ticket. First, we're doing a field trip to Costco this afternoon; avocados, cases of water, diet coke, tissues; frozen fish fillets (tilapia, salmon, swordfish and mako shark); frozen multi-packs of chicken breasts/cutlets; and if there is a god, we'll score another bottle or two of that bitchin' Bruschetta mix and make an Italian-inspired guacamole. The logistics are fuzzy but one way or the other we'll make it over there.

On top of that, there's a mini-get-together for Suzi, a friend who's coming to NYC from Florida for a few days; we're planning it for Saturday the 26th, and I am setting it up for about 20 or so people. Sushi and karaoke -- not in the same place -- are on the menu, so it's a question of coordinating that group of people, two separate locations, and making sure everyone is where they should be, and when. I'm looking forward to it, and despite the minor aggravation of having to juggle everyone's needs and schedules, it will definitely be fun.

Thereafter, there's another party on November 4th to plan; another friend is handling it, but he's pretty much out of pocket so I expect it will -- eventually -- wind up being mostly left to me to handle. This one, though, is shaping up to be about 150 people, rather than just 20. Based on past parties, we're guessing that people are going to be coming for a week or more if they live far from the City, so we're going to need to do some scheduling/blocking off of hotel rooms and schedule some fun stuff to keep them out of jail and smiling. And since it's a co-ed group, a dozen hookers, nachos, beer and poker chips won't do the trick; after all, some women just don't enjoy poker.

Last, but far from least, is Kaia's upcoming visit. She's hitting town on the 29th, which -- if you are relatively gifted in that pseudo-science, mathematics -- is three days after Party #1. Luckily, she'll be able to hang out with Suzi, our friend from the first party, so despite our tradition of spending our first night together, ie just us, we're going to waive it so we can all hang out before she heads back home the next afternoon.

Between Kaia's and my schedule, we're both quasi-buried with work but we're keeping up with everything in front of us. We're looking forward to spending a few weeks together, and while there are lots of things happening in the City -- street fairs, shows, concerts, etc. -- we're just anxiously awaiting the chance to spend time together. We haven't scheduled my next visit to San Fran, but I am hoping it's sometime in October; I won't head out there in early November because of the party, and while late November might be workable, traveling on or near Thanksgiving is about as appetizing as a crushed-ice enema. We'll play it by ear, but in the meantime, I'm just jazzed knowing she'll be here within two weeks. Every day I spend with her feels like a vacation, and every time she leaves feels like an eternity. One of these days I think I need to get over to the post office for some change of address forms.

Sooner, hopefully, than later.


Image courtesy CNN.com