What do Nyack and tuna stake have in common?

It rained ALL weekend, which was ok, but I didn't do anything constructive... so lets talk about last Sunday.

Last Sunday morning I decided to drive North from NYC along the Hudson River and check out some sights.

Anyway, I keep trying to leave NYC, but somehow I just keep on staying and staying, so I guess I'll have to arrange (temporarily) for some sort of semi-permanent residence. So, since Beach season is definitely over, I'll be going to check out various neighborhoods to see where it could be good to insert myself.

This Sunday I went to Nyack, NY. It is SO GORGEOUS there. I'll have to go back and take more pictures. The one above was taken from a private pier of this new condo complex that is being built. Than I went into town to browse some boutiques and it was such a lovely day that I broke down and went into Starbucks for their seasonal Pumpkin Spice Late. ($4.46!!!!!)

Bottom line I would LOVE to live there, but see, the median salary for the town is about $250K, not to mention the median age is 48. Perhaps not really for me.

To console myself, I came home and made a yellow fin tuna stake, seared in sesame oil, with spinach! I've never made this dish before but I love ordering it when out.

Of course I commemorated the moment via photographic medium!


















It turned out great, and the sauce was good too. Just one mistake on my part. It wasn't rare enough. I left it on the pan for an extra minute (while getting the plates and stuff) and it sorta cooked further. I will provide the recipe next time I cook it, with sesame seeds, ginger and the whole shabang.

Lesson kids: eat your spinach!! It complements the yellow fin sesame oil seared tuna stake perfectly. Al bacio!

PS: enjoy and relax, because tomorrow we will be doing 2006 SP's Social Calendar planning and plus, I have major "issues" to discuss...

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I can't believe what she's wearing!!!

Haha!!! My first doodling! Seriously, I forgot how to use color pencils. As you can see, I got lazy and didn't finish the boat.

I drew this from an advertisement in last year's Vogue. OBVIOUSLY! I mean look at what she is wearing!? Uggs!? So last year. And her color choices left me wondering... I mean, purple, red, and BROWN!? (Sorry, that was not in Vogue, I just had to try out the pencils.)

Also, why is she smiling? Obviously, with such choices of clothes she must have gotten dressed VERY hastily. Plus, she is alone in a boat rowing towards some forested island on a day that does not promise very pleasant weather conditions... I hope its not that she has an abusive boyfriend she is running away from...

I made her face and legs orange to illustrate another important point: Self Tanning creams if not used by an expert will make your skin orange... she needs to stick to solariums.

Poor girl, but at least she has nice hair!

Ok, I broke in my pencils, so I'll draw something for real tonight.

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It wasn't me!

I killed an artist long ago.

An artist in me that is. Well actually, I didn't kill, more like strangled or suffocated... I just kept pressing on that pretty little neck till it was OVER!!!! Ok, a bit overly dramatic, but really, that's what happened.

So I loved to draw. I started as soon as I was able to hold a pencil (according to la mamma). I would draw anything and everything. Ladybugs, monsters, illustrations to stories mom read to me, grandma, grandpa... ice cream! When I was 8 I took art classes two times a week, the other two days a week I took tennis lessons. Two completely different activities but I just loved them both.

I remeber especially during the competitions the feeling was incredible. There were moments in which the world stopped. The blood just rushed to your head drowning out any noise around giving you this moment of complete FOCUS. And than BAM, you slam that ball already knowing and visualizing where it will hit on the opposite court. You're airborne and every muscle in your body obeys your commands even before you have a chance to think them. You just KNOW your win is inevitable, you also know how to visualize that win, and there is NOTHING that can make it impossible.

I can say the same experiences took place as I held a pencil or a paint brush standing in front of a paper. I couldn't hear or see anything. All I would be able to do is visualize the painting before making that first stroke... It was like seeing who you really are. In these moments you were completely sure of why you are here and what for... And that's not the knowledge to take lightly.

But even then... to get to my art class I had to pass by the tennis courts. I would look over to see the game, and I couldn't help but feel that if one day I have to choose, I would chose sports over art.

The actual "killing" took place when I turned 14 and planned the rest of my life...
I was going to have a career in International business and there would be no room for art.

I wish I could say "I'm such a dumbass!" start going to therapy and blame my parents for everything. But no, it was my own decision and I honestly can't say I completely regret it. I chose "sport" over art. I chose to go into a career that is a constant competition, a constant training camp. As much as I complain about this and that, my previous job hopping and my forever whining about wanting to spend all my days on a beach, the reality is that I can't live without the challenge. After a week of laying on a beach I'm sure I'd sit up and start thinking about where to get a boat and organize a scuba-diving school.

Ok fine, so I don't regret choosing my career, but why is it that I have not touched a pencil in something like ten years... why have I stopped going to art museums? Why was the immediate necessity to pee the ONLY reason I walked into the great UFIZZI Gallery during my entire 9 month stay in Florence? Why have I not ONCE gone inside the Sistine Chapel during the very many times that I visited Rome? Apart from the liking to project an airy blonde, it wasn't because I'm not interested. Its because, I don't want to think about it, I don't want to even doubt that I might have made a wrong choice. And if it really was the right choice to make, why do I still feel such a strong pull after all these years of completely ignoring all things art?

But enough of this analytical nonsense! Feeling sorry, doubtful, unsure... and all those other useless little feelings does NOT happen at Sempre Primavera! Here we take action. We eat adrenaline with a spoon, then lick it clean, and ask for seconds!

So very simply: yesterday I went to Pearl Paint the most famous art store in Manhattan, the glorious 5 full story building right on Canal street in China town; marched up and down the isles, grabbed:
1. colored pencils
2. a brush set
3. a watercolor paper pad
4. a huge gum eraser
5. and an HB pencil

Then I went up to the counter... got mistaken for a student, played along, GOT a student discount!!! And walked right out. DONE!!

Ok, I won't lie it was very painful in the beginning, but somewhere between the water color paper pad and the gum eraser the pain went away and was replaced by pure excitement. I could not wait to draw. Most importantly I realized I still have it; that ability to visualize the victory until its in your hands.

Lesson children: Entrance ticket to the Uffizi gallery is 6 Euros. A damn EXPENSIVE place to use the toilet!

Here is the info: www.pearlpaint.com shop on line and world wide delivery
And in NYC: 308 Canal Street near the intersection with Broadway

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The Viking revelations

Today we will be getting personal with Viking from the neighboring Base13.

First of all, have you ever asked yourselves..."Who-IS-really-this-Viking?? Who IS he?" Well, here at SP HQ we work round the clock to bring you the knowledge (and visuals) that will help you understand...

*Disclaimer: once again this is another immature interview and while the answers to the questions are real and were in fact given by Mr. Viking, they may (and have) been manipulated to accurately achieve evil purposes.*

We will begin with a safe question... after all, this is the mighty Viking that fights godzilas and mothras...

SP: Favorite color?
Viking: Honestly, I have no favorite color. They're all the same to me. I like the right colors in the right places though-- leaves should be green, the sky should be blue, stuff like that. But out of context they're all the same.

(See,Viking doesn't compromise! Basically all the colors better be doing what they're SUPPOSED TO- or else!)

SP: If you were an animal, who would you be and why?
Viking: I'd be a wolf. They're playful and friendly, but intelligent and mysterious as well. All the things I think I am.

SP's editorial addition: wolves are also very loyal in their relationships with their mates and their pack (family). As for mysterious... hmm we'll see HOW much mystery is left after this interview!!

SP: So Viking... TELL us... do you have any special powers? What are they...?
Viking: I'm starting to believe I've got some basic ESP. I wouldn't really call it a super power, being the scientific type. It's more like an advanced awareness of my environment, like my subconscious is over-perceptive. I have a great sense of direction. I can't get lost even if I try. And I never lose anything else. Well, I lost my keys once, but I had a few beers in me, doesn't count. And actually, in the end they were under the couch cushion, exactly where I thought they were, just hiding better than I'd expected. So it really doesn't count.

SP: (AHA! In revealing us his superpowers he also revealed a weakness...take notes- he is not able to get lost... wait, that's sorta a power in a way... uff, I'm confused...and with beer loses focus....)

SP: Tell us Viking what is your favorite drink?
Viking: Coffee. I don't drink it too much these days, so when I do, I can't settle for anything but the best. I can not drink bad coffee. I've tried, but it just won't go down my throat. I don't even try Starbucks anymore. It's a shame, because there's nothing wrong with the Starbucks beans. They're great if you buy them and brew it yourself. But the losers who work at Starbucks are obviously never taught how to make the perfect brew (no offense to the losers who work at Starbucks, but I dare you to prove me wrong). So I go out of my way to find places that do it right. As for specific coffee varieties, my recent favorite is Kenya AA. It's so good, I'm salivating just thinking about it...

SP: I CAN'T agree with you more, on all counts! - Assistants!!!! COFFEE!!!! (notice, assistants- pleural)

SP: Lets talk about Brazil. Now Viking, we know you ar engaged to the beautiful Brazilian garotta, and you obviously 'like the way she turned out'... tell us, have you ever thought what you would be like if you were Brazilian? (again... using immature displacement tactics to have subject reveal more about himself...)

Viking: That's tough... It's the old "nature vs nurture" debate. Genetics vs environment. I believe we're a product of both, but our genes predispose us towards a certain personality. I think I'd be about the same. A better dancer maybe, but mostly the same.

SP: Assistants!!!! ROLL THE FILM!!


Here is Viking playing soccer... Here he is going dancing...

Yep- he does seem the same... Just different clothes, but same Viking.

...Wait a minute, why is he wearing bunny slippers??








SP: Who is your role model?
Viking: I have two that I want to mention for their moral and political stances: Mohandas Gandhi and Albert Einstein. I believe more than anything that violence is the worst possible thing we can do. Violence is nothing more than a temporary way to silence your opponents. It will never lead to peace. It will never make the world a better place.

SP: (note to self: revise my rolemodels... did Marilyn Manroe have a political stance?)

SP: Finally Viking, tell us a deep dark secret!
Viking: I don't really have any secrets... Well, there's one that I've never shared, mainly because people don't need to know it. And because nobody's ever asked. It's one of those secrets that can needlessly affect people's perceptions of you when it really means next to nothing. I wish I didn't know it myself. That is: my IQ. I'll give you a clue, that's all. It can be expressed as the sum of two cubes. Which cubes, I won't say. I just think that's neat :)

SP: Viking such a kidder! Isn't it true that ANY number can be expressed as a sum of two cubes??? (no, seriously, that's a question, numbers mean nothing to me, unless there are dollar signs in front.)

While we all call our grade school math teachers for the answer... I wanted to tell you that I KNOW Viking's deep dark secret: Its his new COAT...

Nice threads Viking! You don't have to be embarassed. And is that shirt missing a button or two?

(and you're STILL wearing the bunny slippers) !!!


**Applause *** and CUT! Assistants!!!! MORE coffee!!!!

So yes, thanks to Viking for being such a sport and giving us a few MORE mysteries to solve about him.

Now lets run through the credits really fast (my Lawers -pleural- demand it).

Cast:
Viking - played by Viking
SP- Played by Ale
Assistants and lawyers - played eachother (get it? haha played each other!!!)
Viking's make-up - Ale
Viking's wardrobe - Elanit (my 6 yr old cousin, and yes, she chose bunny slippers because Viking was too manly and he needed a soft feminine side)

*This has been another immature interview brought to you by SP Global Media LLC, ABC, EFG, Y. Because.)*

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Caption this...

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Next adventure!

Still I'm on the subject of what to do during the Christmas and New Years Eve week that I'll have off. But where? what? Remember a month or so ago I talked about finding that next adventure and not just any ol' vacation.

Well, I think I found it.

Its not a new idea, its actually something that I've wanted to do for quite a while now. I want to do a volunteering trip. I've looked into many different ones. But did you know, some are pretty expensive, not to mention require a commitment of at least two weeks. For example you can scuba dive for sea plants of the coast of Brazil with a group lead by a scientist. You can preserve dolphins or turtles... or forests... You can build a house in Costa Rica. Opportunities are endless. As for me, I'd do them ALL if I had the time. If I win 50 million dollars tomorrow, I will quit my job and just go do volunteer projects all over the place. You get to travel AND feel like you're doing something constructive.

This winter I want to go volunteer at an orphanage. But wait, before you run to call the Vatican telling il Papa' to sanctify me... (hmm... Santa Alessanra?)... I got to say that I have selfish motives for going on the trip. Furthermore, I believe that everything we do, we do with selfish intentions. Oh, but its NOT a bad thing at all. If our attempt to make ourselves happy, in turn makes others happy as well, than its a perfect situation! So yes, honestly I think I will be the real beneficiary from this volunteer project. The kids will probably end up baby-sitting me I'm sure.

Why specifically go to an orphanage? Well, I'd love to one day open one. Not because I want to sacrifice my life bla bla bla, but I feel that would actually be gaining BACK my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not planning on being poor, but I believe helping children would be more fun for me than a career in making more money for Mr (or Ms.).X. (By the way, do you know how much non-profit directors makes!!! I had many non-profit organizations as clients an they're suprisingly pretty set*.) They travel all over the world participating in meetings and events, throw parties... Plus, whenever it is that I decide to have a family, I would love to adopt. This trip, could be in a way a "research" trip.

*browse the salaries of some non-profit directors.

This weekend I already looked up some orphanages and emailed a few of them. Hopefully I will find one, and will be able to organize everything. I'll also have to get some shots, maybe even a visa... we'll see. I wanted to go to Haiti actually, but after learning more about it I realize that the little issue of political unrest... is not a joke after all.

This was the appoitment I went to on Saturday. Really last minute I decided to take a drive over just to ask some questions even though I may not be going to their orphanage (in Haiti). It was interesting to learn about some of the ways they conduct their fund raising and how they got a pretty famous architecture firm to build a brand new school campus for the orphanage. This is a lesson for me, if I want to "get involved" with the kids issue, I need not wait for a week off to go volunteer somewhere far away... there are ways to actually do something from the home front. The volunteer trip however was what got me inspired and thinking.

I'll keep you all updated, and if anyone has done any volunteering overseas or is involved in some projects currently - tell me everything! I know that Miss Vesspa Roso does some projects for Habitat for Humanity, is that correct? And Dcver volunteers over in Portugal with Boy Scouts.

Lesson kids: selfishness is not necessarily a bad thing, it can help you preserve the amazonian forests and feed the children!

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You know you want me!

Ahh, summertime... morning coffee on the veranda. How nostalgic...!
Yes summer is over. It may still be sunny and bright once in a while, but that sun will not warm yer old bones, har har. I mean, look at that picture, you can just feel the warmth, breathe in the life... By the way, my coffee is now part of the Experiment! Its a collection of coffee cups, sips, beans and kissed rims from all over the world. Whoever notices my coffee cup first gets a HUGE prize!

Anyway, lets concentrate on the good things about Fall, like pumpkins!? We are after all in October already. Uuuuhhh, you know what's good...Pumpkin Ravioli!!! Sooo delicious!! The linked recipe is rather involving, but I think if you're going to have pumpkin ravioli you should do it from scratch. It doesn't take that long anyway, especially if you're having a nice chilled white wine while you're cooking.

Gotta go kiss a cup rim now... Have you kissed a rim today??

PS: I'm going to an important meeting in Connecticut. It has to do with the "new adventure" I'm looking for, so I hope it goes well. Plus, I'm hoping to also catch some changing fall colors!

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