Phileosophie

Here's another poem... though to be honest, the only thing I liked about this one was the last two lines... "tell me, what is it you plan to do With your one wild and precious life?"   The Summer Day Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean- the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down- who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?...

I came across this poem today by Mary Oliver and felt a little bond with it because today I am feeling a little grey, despite Jose's best attempts to cheer me up by his endless teasing about my alarm clock story. I must think of new material so he has something new to have a yarn about tomorrow.   Wild Geese You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting - over and over annou...

These candles are AWESOME.

The funiest thing happened today. I visited Nespresso on Madison Avenue to try some of the espresso varieties they had. I would highly recommend this by the way - I haven't found another cafe/restaurant with quite as extensive a range of coffee! But the interesting part was the chocolate croissant that arrived with the coffee. I was very impressed by how delicate and delicious it was and asked the waiter if they were made in-house or ordered. At first he wouldn't tell me but then later he said they ordered it from one of the Manhattan bakeries whose name I shall withhold for now.. Later in the evening I got back home and decided to look up this bakery. As it turns out, I've been visiting this place almost every weekend but had never ordered croissants. Anyway the bottom line is, go to Nespresso on Madison. It's usually very busy but the coffee is delightful, albiet pricier than coffee elsewhere. Also, today I discovered Ralph Lauren. This is the beginning of a mag...

Popped by the Boathouse today for coffee and a read. An 82 year old gentleman took the seat next to me and eventually we struck up a conversation. As it turned out he was friends with one of the attendings I work with. Anyway, he was very nice, bought me a drink - a Savignon Blanc (Kato), told me I'd be a good doctor and said the staff were teasing him because I didn't look old enough to have the drink he was getting me. Also had breakfast at Sarabeth 's today with Priscilla and Christina from Hillsong NYC. It was very crowded and the coffee was good. I've learnt to order lattes in America instead of cappuccinos because baristas here seem to think that cappucinnos mean you fill half the cup with foam.. Anyway, the food was good but to be honest, not quite as good as the Boathouse, which has similar prices. Sarabeth's is very popular though.. the girls loved it and Jose recommended it so I assume it is very good by any standards.. the bread Sarabeth serves on the...

I felt I should write about this before I forget.. I went to Le Caprice today. It is a 'new american' restaurant located along 5th Avenue on the Upper East Side... given that the boss is in India doing important things I decided to try a weekday lunch - a luxury I haven't yet experienced in New York. What can I say? The food was excellent of course - though so rich that it is impossible to finish the meal without feeling a little sick (unless you have many hours to draw this out). I doggy-bagged the Main because the entree and dessert were sufficient in themselves and because I really couldn't take in the wonderful risotto on top of the creamy duck confit soup and decadent, impossibly rich chocolate cake. Truth be told, I cannot fault the food itself - how can I when I know that to produce the meal I had today, one must have an incredible amount of skill. But the thing is, I don't like the taste of curry unless it's in authentic Indian curry. I don'...

Still loving being here though I've been having trouble missing my alarm in the mornings. But that's really all I have to say today. That I love being here and waking up each day is pure joy.