New York City and Murphy's Law

Well,  here I am in fabulous NYC on a Saturday night and sitting home working on my computer.  Home is my daughter's apartment, a cute two bedroom located in LES  (Lower East Side) a block from Houston.

Jules 

What am I doing home on Saturday night when I am only here for 10 short days?  I am resting  after having pulled a muscle in my upper back that had me clenching my teeth to keep from screaming because when I moved a certain way, raised my arm or took a deep breath, it felt like I was being stabbed between the right shoulder blade and my spine.   Went uptown and had it looked at at Beth Israel and the doctor confirmed severe muscle spasm, probably aggravated by the cold and sent me Relafen and Flexeril.    He said I should be feeling better in a few days and told me to go home and rest.

Well, I immediately took the Flexeril (a muscle relaxant) washed down with a Starbucks latte and D and I headed over to MOMA for a couple of hours.  I was still  very stiff and in excruciating pain and should have gone home and to bed, but of course, I didn't.    After two hours, we tried to hail a cab to take us to Jules Bistro to meet some friends and it was entirely the wrong hour for hailing a cab.  It was so cold I couldn't relax, which makes the spasm worse.  We tried for 20 minutes.  We had already taken a limo to the doctor and not even they were available, so we trudged to the subway in the bitter cold.   By the time we got to Jules we were half an hour late and I was still in serious pain, but feeling a little more relaxed from the warmth, the jazz playing and especially after my first glass of a wonderful Pommard.

The doctor said I could have one as long as I wasn't driving and didn't take the pain killer too, but I had more than one and I was fine as long as I didn't move.

This was our first time at Jules and the food was good as was the company, an Israeli friend of D's whom I'd met on a previous trip and another friend who is British travel  journalist who travels and works all over the world but is back at school at Columbia getting a Masters in writing non fiction.

Some great conversation, rich comfort food, two bottles of wine and four bottles of sparkling water later, we were ready to hit the road.  It was after midnight and, as is our custom, D and I decided to stretch our legs and walk  back to the apt, as we had done the two nights before from Raoul's   It was still bitter cold and, of course, that didn't do my back any good.

We were supposed to see The Rockettes the day before, but I was hurting too much and had to cancel.

I can't figure out whether I pulled the muscle hauling around the new MacAir Notebook (yes I finally crossed the river to the promise land of Steve Jobs)  and super drive I'd bought  or stretching to pull off my clothes while trying on a sexy, black Flashdance forming string body suit from Wolford.  I loved the thing and it it works wonders under the  knit cashmere dress I wore to the art opening in Soho the night before.    I bought D one of her holiday presents there, a limited edition signed print of Andy Warhol and Basquiat.

Either way, here I am, under the influence of Flexeril and Relafen,  and content  babying myself while D went to a couple of Christmas parties.   Unlike L.A.  it is so wonderful to be able to have serious  food delivered to your door and  had  a lovely  meal from the French restaurant a few door down consisting of medallions of pork with a wonderful sauce, mashed potatoes, and sauteed leek with mustard sauce accompanied by a small french baguette and butter.

Raoul's Bistrot

Speaking of Raoul's, there was an actor sitting in the booth behind us that night and since I would not look around,     D and I played a guessing game with her giving me clues.  The funny thing is that one of the clues could have meant two different actors who were in the same movie and coincidently both had long time relationships with the leading lady of a very quirky cable TV series.     I finally guessed it after a while and D learned some more useless trivia on Hollywood hookups.   It was fun and the food at Raouls never disappoints.  Their pepper steak cannot be beat.  We had squash ravioli as our pasta course, and a wonderful salad.  I love that place.

Well, it was warmer today and hopefully tomorrow it will be warmer still.  I am looking forward to checking out the shop windows and to looking for a coat.  I've realized that even though it's nice to have a decent wardrobe, a few fashionable coats are the order of the day because sometimes that's all you see of a person when the weather is cold. I bought my warm long black wool Calvin Klein coat and my trusty yellow cashmere scarf, so I looked okay...but a warmer, more lightweight coat would be best.

Luckily  and as a consolation prize, I   managed to find a great pair of lace up black boots I'd seen in the store for 350 on sale for $200 plus free shipping and they will be waiting for me, along with all the bills when I get home.

D just walked in and I realize it's 3:30 a.m.  I'm still on L.A. time and better hit the bed so I can get drag myself out of bed early tomorrow.  Adventure and lots of good food await me in this fabulous place.  I am not sure why, but D marvels that wherever I go, I make friends with the owner/chefs and dessert is always offered on the house.  It's lovely really.    Now if I can stop this muscle spasm nonsense, I will be fine.

I'm in a "New York frame of mind" and know exactly what Billy Joel was talking about.  Hopefully I will have a few more interesting things to to recount that have nothing to do with pain and that Murphy's Law has exhausted itself in my case so it can stop  intruding on the best laid plans of mice and men...or in my case, woman.

Songs out of tune, the words always a little wrong...Canzoni Stonate