I heart New York

I always thought that if I could wake up every morning, go for a run, swim or yoga and then sit down to a big bowl of cappuccino, freshly-squeezed juice and crispy, brown waffles and sausages at a wonderful neighborhood street-side cafe with a copy of the New York Times and watch the world wake up, then that would be the ultimate Little Cream
Life. Well, this morning saw a slight variation. I woke up in HB's Hamptons house, went for a run down to the windy, pebbly beach in Noyack. Got back to a house that was still sound asleep, went and soaked away any aches in my knees in the salt water hot tub. Only thing missing is the breakfast and NY Times. I could try and make myself a coffee, but the Miele machine looks just a little too complicated.

Arrived in New York on Wednesday afternoon. [ooh! BM just woke up and offered to make coffee, yeah!] Fortunately, jet lag hasn't been too bad. Might be because I didn't sleep the night before getting on the 1015 flight or the morning Central Park run I did Thursday morning. Whatever it was, I've managed to stay awake and alert throughout the day since arriving.

Saw Iphigenia 2.0 (showing at Signature Theatre until 30 September) with AD & CS. I was interested because it's a modern adaptation of a Euripedes tragedy I had never heard of. AD told me afterwards that it was the second project he had to design for at Yale. He explained that it's actually quite an important play because it explains why Clytemnestra is such a bitch (she kills her husband) later on (because Agamemnon sacrifices their daughter to appease the gods so that the army can set sail for war with Troy). This version placed the story in the context of the current Iraq war. A good production, but took a bit too much liberty by changing the story to have the soldiers demand Agamemnon's sacrifice rather than the gods.

Breakfast is being served up now, so better get going...

- Sent from my iPhone

New York City Update

The highlight of my New York trip was seeing Voyage, part one of Tom Stoppard's Coast of Utopia trilogy with Ethan Hawke playing Michael Bukanin and Billy Crudup playing Vissarion Belinsky, just two of the lead characters. Tom Stoppard is by far my favourite playwright. His plays are brilliant not just because he manages to entertain, but also because he manages to dilute the mosts complicated of subject matters to a something easily digested by the average audience member with the utmost wit and humour (a great example is Hapgood where quantum physics is made entertaining when set in the context of an entertaining spy comedy). In the Coast of Utopia, the heady subject matter is Russian literature, philosophy and politics (or rather, the people behind them) during 19th century Tsarist Russia. As with most of Stoppard's plays, the topics are presented with a light touch and trademark quirky sense of humour. Can't wait to see Shipwreck and Salvage.

Aside from the play, I also had a lovely dinner at MH's neighborhood restaurant, Daniel (the lounge is much more casual and laid-back than the main dining room with the food being just as delicious), a meeting in Philadelphia with Anthropologie's home buyer and a breakfast meeting with an editor at Knopf at Four Seasons Hotel (love their breakfasts). And here I'd like to dispel the myth that editor's don't have the time of day for mere plebes like me. SW, who is the editor for such luminaries as Joan Didion, is one of the most generous people I've met in any industry. She's been a great person to chat to and gain a deeper understanding of the publishing industry. I had a pretty packed schedule, but I still managed to squeeze in a morning yoga class at Some Like It Hot, where I ran into the soon-to-be wed JK. Had wanted to check out the new Bowery Hotel (Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson's new hotel since Maritime) and Waverly Inn (Goode and MacPherson own that this too along with Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter), but didn't have time since I was staying with MH uptown. There's always next time!

I also had a surprisingly quick and pleasant visit to dermatologist Dr Marc Grossman. I highly recommended him (actually he had been highly-recommended to me from PT's aunt). I'm one of these people who dreads seeing any kind of doctor or dentist and Dr Grossman had a manner that put me at ease from the get-go. The wait in his office actually created more anxiety than the actual examination. It took him all of 3 minutes (perhaps even less) to evaporate all my melanoma fears. The rest of the time was just spent chatting and taking my medical history since it was my first visit. I suppose I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, but with so many friends diagnosed with some form of cancer over the past couple of years, one can never be too cautious.

Well, now I'm back in Hong Kong with piles of work ahead of me, which means I'm staying put until Easter.