Holiday in Cambodia... [POSTED A YEAR LATER]

[N.B. I came here to write a new post, and saw this one in my draft folder. Considering it was almost exactly one year ago, I thought it interesting. Here it is, unedited.]

I know, I know, I haven't posted in AGES. Mea culpa.

But the other day, somehow Donald Trump became the president-elect of the USA. And I've been working and playing in Japan for the past month and a half. And now I'm in Cambodia.

HOW DO THESE THINGS HAPPEN?!?!

Well, that first one, I'm still scratching my head. (For now, I'm in the time-will-tell, hope-for-the-best, but start-becoming-seriously-politically-active camp.) The Japan thing, well, that is what has kept me out on the road with Kinky Boots for over a year; I heard a rumor we'd be going overseas, and I vowed to stay til it was legit. And it was. And the experience was wonderful and hard and 50 things. And I'm EXHAUSTED.

But we had a three-week period after our Japan shows where they were sending the set back to the States, so WAAAAYYYY back last spring, I was like -- TRAVEL TIME! And I booked a 2+wk tour of SE Asia; Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Yesterday eve I left Japan and this morning I arrived in Cambodia. Tomorrow is when the tour actually begins, so today I simply wandered in a tight circle of the hotel's neighborhood, and got a mani/pedi and massage at the hotel spa. (The mani/pedi was not the best, but ALL THREE SERVICES -- INCLUDING TIP!! -- cost me less than $60. A three-hour spa day for sixty bucks. Crazy.)

But here's the craziest thing -- the thing I wish someone would have told me -- they use US dollars here, primarily. (There is a Cambodian Riel, but it's like 4,200 to the dollar. So forty bucks is over 100000 riels. ) And the icing on the cake of the cherry on the sundae is... they don't use US *coins*, so you get your "change" in riels.

Meaning, I went to the grocery store, got a bottle of Chilean Cab for $6.95, and received three US singles back, and two 100-riel notes, which together total a whopping FIVE CENTS.

Why is this so insane to me?!?!

Maybe because they're beautiful notes, and totally not worth the paper they're printed on?
Maybe because I just spent a month and a half in Japan where everything was MUY expensive?
Maybe because I'm a tiny bit ashamed that my country has a giant economic influence on another one?
Maybe because, for the first time I can remember, I am not 100% proud to be an American right at this moment?

It's probably nothing more than noticing a difference, but for now, it's hard to tell the difference. Anyway, point is, you're all getting 100 riel notes for Christmas. BEST SOUVENIR EVER.

See you Around the Edge...

HUGE Meal, TINY Apartment: The Saga of New Year's

Instead of my usual holiday one-two punch of Christmas Open House and New Year's Dinner for friends, this year I decided to put all my focus in a luxe (hopefully) multi-course New Year's Dinner Blowout—ostensibly to save a little dough, but also because my last Open House was sooooo successful, I need at least one more year to recover.

Was this a good idea? Only time will tell...

T-minus one month:
Invitations go out, to a group of varied friends. Some I am not in very close contact with or even know that well, but in my puppeteering of social interaction, I think they would contribute perfectly to a night like this. Immediately "Yes"s start pouring in. Panic descends; what if everybody says yes? Where will I seat them all?

T-minus three weeks:

Part of my prep...

Pour over my recipe cards to try and find delicious courses that don't need a lot of fussy time in the kitchen. As the pile of "ooh, gotta make THAT"s grows, I finally make myself stop at 6 courses. Six won't be too many, right?

T-minus two weeks:
Luckily some "No"s have balanced out the equation. Looks like it'll be at least five people, up to eight. I'm sad the regretters won't be in attendance, but I can handle these numbers. Move around all furniture in the living room so I can accommodate Christmas tree AND some kind of dining table.

Stickies for dish organization!

 T-minus one week:
 Final two "maybe"s have respectfully  declined; we're at six. A very do-able six.  Huzzah. Write out grocery list, make a stab at  writing out a timeline for my kitchen duties.

 T-minus four days:
 Pull out desk table from wall and drag  kitchen table in, mashing them together to  create enough dining table room for six. Spend an hour mintuely adjusting one inch this way, one inch that way, to maximize space. Pretend to eat at the spot where the tables come together to see if that will be obnoxious for my guests. Decide food will be so good, they won't notice.

The wine line-up.

T-minus three days:
Shopping day! In the morning it was pouring rain but finally stopped, so less of a slog with bags and bags of produce. And bags. Tossed and turned last night wondering where it would all fit in my TINY fridge; one step up from a dorm-room cube, I kid you not. Solution is utilizing wine fridge as well as windowsill with window open.

T-minus two days:
Spent ENTIRE day in transit and at family friend's for lunch, but managed to find an addition to giftie bags for guests. (Making them a little satchel with a coin, band-aid, pink peppercorns, and heart gift tag [today's addition] so they can start the New by bringing money, health, spice, and love into their homes.) One friend texted to ask to bring a buddy; I said no problem. The more the merrier! ...But, um, no more now, we're full up. Polished the silverware. Made place cards.

I'm prepared (tho only 2 were used!)

T-minus one day:
Cooked ALL DAY. Made the soup, coq au vin, and dessert. Wrote and re-wrote timeline for scheduling and think that it might just go off without a hitch. Set the table.

DAY OF!
Friend's buddy not able to come after all. Too bad! Re-set the table. Prepped all the rest of the food. Opened the wine and it was all sound (phew.) Texted bestie to bring me a bag of ice and would she mind toting along a cup of olive oil? I just ran out. No problem (again, phew.) Small surges of panic that I may not have budgeted time correctly so am keeping on myself to stay focused and plow ahead.

T-minus 2 hours:
Prep has taken on a life of its own. I realize I don't have enough burners to warm the buttermilk sauce but then hit upon a GENIUS idea: to heat it in the coffee pot. That way it definitely won't get hot enough to break. I'm a genius.

T-minus 1 hour:

Pot-roasted celery root
with buttermilk olive sauce

I used some bubbly instead of regular white wine for a sauce. So it's only natural that I pour myself a glass, right? I mean… it's open already. Prep stations now include top of toaster oven and windowsill. I feel good! Not in the weeds at all. I have earned my glass o' bubbly.

T-minus 30 minutes:
Bestie arrives with ice and olive oil. Celery root going in the pot. Soup on one burner awaiting reheating. Coq on another burner awaiting reheating. Salad awaiting assembly. Lamb, trimmed, oiled, and covered with rosemary in the fridge. I think this is going to work.

Guests arrive!
Everyone gets settled with bubbly and hors d'oeuvres in the living room, and I'm able to join them due to my amazing time-organization skills, thank you very much. When dinner service starts, one friend expertly assists with passing out plates and collecting empty ones at each course. (He's not even a waiter, but I think he wanted to assure he'd get great portions every time!) The timing is perfect, and I'm even able to wash a dish or two as I go. The wine pairings are SPOT ON. Everything's cooked perfectly. People are finishing every last morsel.

Green bean & fingerling potato
salad w toasted walnuts
and proscuitto

All in all, it was a SMASHING SUCCESS. (Except for one friend who told me as I was plating the lamb that he didn't eat red meat. I asked for allergies/preferences in the invite, people!!! My serving friend said it was no problem, he'd be more than happy to polish off the extra. But still, folks, if you have a preference, please let the host know PRIOR to the dinner party!!)

White chocolate-mint Pot
de Crème with white choco
ganache & candy cane brittle

We finished at the table (with only one spilled glass of wine) just in time to see the ball drop. And then a three-hour whirlwind of "Cards Against Humanity" ensued, while we all cheerfully digested. The last guest left around 3:30am, and I cleaned up for another few hours and fell into bed at 5:30am, exhausted.

In response to my question if this was a good idea, the answer is a hearty "YES!" I had so much fun with every detail, and I think my guests were happy, full, and had a great time ringing in the New. If this is how 2015 started, it's going to be a good year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, ALL!

The Best Thing That's Happened to Us Is the Worst.

I'm talking technology. This topic has been simmering for me for a while now, and this morning I actually cried in a subway station as I felt our humanity ebbing away. Not that many people would have noticed my swell of emotion; most of the faces of passers-by were buried in their devices.

Yes, yes—I get the irony that I'm thumb-typing this treatise on my phone. Although I often carry "actual" notebooks, the one I have today is buried deeper in my tote than this rectangular marvel. And it IS a marvel, it truly is. This little device allows me communicate with nearly everyone I've ever met. I can text, email, post on walls, tweet at, and call (although hardly anyone does THAT anymore.) I have more music I could listen to in a day on here. I have the complete works of Shakespeare on here. I have organizational tools, the ability to find the nearest wine bar, and baseball score sheets. I can play games galore (though not Candy Crush—it's too addicting. I kept that one only on my iPad.)

Yes, I also have an iPad. And an iPod. And a Kindle. And a mini tablet (though, to be fair, that was from a free promotion and I've never used it.) I have a portable wifi hotspot and a laptop, because, come on—who doesn't, these days, if you're moderately well-off and live in a big city? It is the norm.

And that's the problem.

In my subway car this morning, there were 14 people. 10 were plugged into their devices. Four merely by headphones, the other 6 (with or without headphones,) transfixed by their screens. No one was looking at each other, except the older gentleman sitting across from me and I shared a brief smile; cue first emotional pang.

In the station itself, I came across a string quartet playing a beautiful piece. I recognized it though couldn't pinpoint the composer. As I was running early, I stepped out of the flow of traffic (which most people walking down the street while staring at their phones are not courteous enough to do, grr,) and stood, enjoying their playing. Was it perfect? No—every so often a wrong note would bend the harmony, but like a ship in swells, it righted itself quickly. The slight imperfections endeared me to them more, as did the fact that not a single player was an old white man.

As I listened, I watched people pass by. Three people put money into the case (yay,) one group of tourists snapped a picture (cute,) and eight plugged-in folks strolled right by, oblivious. And that's when I spontaneously started to cry.

We are turning into a society of people who don't interact humanely anymore. Forget about writing a letter, it's fine to send a text with six abbreviations and an emoji. You don't need to call and have a pleasant catch-up, just "like" my status. Even when we DO meet up in person, look at all the phones on the table. We can't stop documenting our lives for all to see, we can't be away from a text alert or miss a tweet for five minutes.

WE ARE ADDICTED.

And, like many addictions, it is harming us deeply.

Am I saying something here you didn't already know? Unlikely. But if you agree with me that we are collectively heading down the slipperiest of slopes, do me a favor or two:

- Please don't walk down the street staring at your phone. Not only are you missing the beautiful day and maybe that hottie checking you out, but you might not see that errant pile of doggie doo either. If you have to check the address of where you're headed or respond to an emergency, please step off to the side. Check, respond, and then put your phone away. It's a beautiful day.

- Please take one less selfie a week, post one less check-in, tweet one less tweet, avoid one status update, commute headphones-free one day. If you recognize the knee-jerk impulse to constantly plug in, it's a step towards changing a mindless habit.

- Finally—please write a letter, call a friend to get together, take your phone off the table, make eye contact with people, enjoy the beautiful day! Wean off your dependence on these devices a bit.

We can let our marvelous technology work for us in the most amazing way, but only if we don't let it control us. It's really a futuristic sci-fi nightmare... that is actually starting to happen. If you don't believe me, the next time you're on the subway, put your phone the fu¢k away for a second and count all of the people suctioned to theirs. Count the number of people you have to dodge on the sidewalk as they drone forward, oblivious. Count the number of times a brunch companion says, "I just have to check this."

Wake up.

And by all means, PLEASE stop and listen to a lovely string quartet... I guarantee it will do far more for your soul than beating another level of Candy Crush ever will.

Okay 2014, I'm Comin' For Ya!!

I don't usually like to make New Year's Resolutions.  The word "resolution" has become fraught with an almost impending sense of failure attached to it, so instead, I make a list of "25 Things I'd Like to Accomplish" for the New Year.

A very talented musician acquaintance of mine, Julian Velard, wrote his resolutions on his blog and asked readers to send him their resolutions; he will choose different ones to post on Facebook every day, and in doing so, hopes to encourage everyone to stick with their statements.

A nice idea, though some of mine are personal enough to me that I think strangers may find them boring.  And there's no point in putting something on Facebook that's boring, I mean, come on.  But if you're reading this, you're probably not a stranger to me, so here you have it!

One last thought:

Looking back, I really feel like 2013 was a year of laying foundations.  Although I made strides in many areas of my life, I was not able to cross off a lot of larger goals from my list (some re-appear below!)  However, the journey I took in the past year feels like it primed me to be in a position to achieve a multitude of things in the New.  I hope you may feel the same!

25 T.I.L.T.A. in 2014:

- See more live music (including Julian Velard, of course.)
- Pick up my beautiful guitar more, and write music again.  It's been too long.

Palace of Pena, Sintra Portugal '13

- Read more.
- Get one, maybe two, more stamps in my passport this year.
- See my friends in person (and off fb) more.
- Get back on Broadway in a new show. (New to me, doesn't have to be original cast or anything.)
- Do a play - Time Stands Still would be a good one.
- Do Next to Normal (dream role; time to make it a reality.)
- Do shows that feel like true collaboration.
- Stay committed to being healthy and fit.  More boot camp, more yoga, more dance, more surfing, more skiing - & come up with some new things to try!  I know I love sore muscles - means I worked hard.  So lots of soreness in 2014.  :-)

Chef's jacket Dad got me.

- Cook more exciting and delicious recipes (gotta balance out the fitness, right?)
- Blog Wine Minx more frequently.
- Teach a seminar on Turkish Wines for the Society of Wine Educators.
- Do more wine dinners at NYC restaurants.
- FINISH writing my book, "All you REALLY Need to Know About Wine." Must.  Finish.  Book.
- Actually take the Certified Sommelier intro class (man, they fill up SO FAST!!!)
- Increase my income.
- A mutual, loving relationship with an amazing man who thinks I'm the $h!t.
- Less 'mindless TV watching' at night.  (I've seen all the episodes of "Friends" enough times already.)
- Strive to continue discipline like organized desk, clean house, etc.
- Continue to explore taking risks in all areas of my life.  "Do something every day that scares you" and so on.
- Make more things: jewelry, sweaters, art...
- Be a good friend to my friends and a good daughter to my parents; love the people in my life!
- Keep up with my languages (French, Russian, Spanish, Italian, German, Turkish, Greek, Portuguese,) & learn another.
- Live a thoughtful, introspective, focused and joyful life.  Don't be afraid to be silly.  Don't let fear of judgment affect my actions.  Honor who I am by being all I am.


That's a good place to start, I think.  Any of yours you're really excited about?  Leave them in the comments below!  And have a Happy and Wonderful New Year!  Bring it on, 2014!!!

80s TV Hunks Have Ruined Men for Me

I think the title says it all, I really do.

You see, lately I've been encouraging a friend to "get out there" and date, so figured I had to practice what I preached... therefore, against my better judgement I went back on an online dating site.

Oh jeepers, what a waste of time!

Mostly because the majority of men there are not remotely suitable for me, but I also realized that perhaps my formative years were spent dreaming of men the likes of which don't exist any more.

To wit:


<< Tom Selleck as Magnum, P.I.

That smile, that 'stache, zippy car and Hawaiian shirts, goofy and sexy at the same time.



Simon MacCorkindale as Manimal. >>

Yes, the man who turned into animals.  Elegant, suave, and mammalian. 


Another ringer: David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight.  Tall, lanky, saucy smile, mysterious past, helped a lot of women in silky wrap dresses or jeans and boots.  Bonus: talking car.




Let's not forget Greg Evigan as BJ. >> (And a cute monkey as "the Bear.")  They drove around in a truck.  Look at those wavy locks...

And the double whammy of Ponch and Jon (Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox.)  I wished I could drive so I could go to California and drive on the highways and get pulled over by these two.  Whether my mood ranged from ethnic w/blinding teeth to blonde good ol' boy, they fit the bill.  YES I had Ponch and Jon posters up in my room.

Another hunky duo were the Dukes brothers... no disrespect to Tom Wopat, but at a younger age I was a Bo Duke fan all the way.  Thank you, John Schneider.  My uncle met him once.  I thought that was so cool.

And finally... Scott Bakula.  Okay, Quantum Leap started in the very late 80s, but I had seen the guy play the Pirate King in the Pirates of Penzance in a theatre in my town during the early 80s, so he was a pre-TV 80s hunk.  Oh, whatever, details, shmetails.  (I would like to take this moment to bless the Gods of Google for finding me this beefcake shot.)

So that's just the tip of my iceberg... there are legions of other 80s TV hunks who caught my eyes.  Sure, today we have our own TV hunks who don't disappoint, but there was something special about these guys that made them iconic dreamboats forever in my heart.

Now off to scan the high-up channels for some re-runs!  (And scan my dating website JUST IN CASE I can catch a glimpse of a man who channels my 80s hunks.)

Summer Summer Summer Time

First of all, thank goodness that heat wave is over.  What a siege.  New York City in the dog days of summer is unbelievably gross, sticky and all-around uncomfortable; so even the warm-to-hot days when one can have one's windows open to the sweet twilight air are heavenly.

How's my summer going, though, you ask? Well...


I have been sick for three weeks with some variation of strep throat.  It is incredibly annoying and I am crossing my fingers this last bout of antibiotics wipes that bitch out.

The NYMF (New York Music Theatre Festival - the "T" is silent) has come and gone, and with it, a lovely staged reading of a new musical I was fortunate enough to participate in.

There have been long hours at my desk as I've added and subtracted and polished both my memoir - "The Definition of (Love) Insanity"- and my intro-to-wine book "All You REALLY Need to Know About Wine."

I have knocked Team #18, the St. Louis Cardinals, off my list as I work towards singing for every Major League Baseball team.  This completes my 2013 anthems, unless that woman from the As stops teasing me with "let me check the calendar and I'll get back to you" and actually gets back to me.


And I've consumed about sixty-eight gallons of wine on rooftops and in bars and on my sofa.

It's been a pretty fun summer so far, I suppose.  I would honestly rather be inside, performing a wonderful theatrical piece somewhere.  Or even in a humid rehearsal room.  Or even in a humid and un-air-conditioned audition room.  Or out on a boat on the Turkish Mediterranean - my new favorite dream vacation destination (I'm not a total glutton for punishment.)

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there has been much about this summer to enjoy.  But I am dreaming of the fall.  Of wearing a sweater.  Of "good sleeping weather."  Of colored leaves crunching under my feet.  Of returning to Indy to do "Les Miz."  Of returning to Indy to spend hours in the gym and eat really well and get fantastically into shape while I'm doing "Les Miz." Of winding up this incredible year with a bang so that I can catapult into the clean slate of 2014 laid out in front of me.





If I start running now, just think
of all the momentum
I can gain.

Meanwhile, I wil enjoy this beautiful city in all its stunning summer glory, be it hot or humid or both.

How I Became an Activist

It.  Has.  Happened:
I've turned into one of those people...

I now regularly post status updates and links on my facebook page about the situation in Turkey.

I know what this means - most of my friends (having given the first few posts a cursory glance,) will now sigh and scroll right past them.

But maybe, just maybe, they will click on a link, or they might take a second to "like" what I've posted. And that's about all I can ask of my friends at the moment...  Turkey seems like a place that is so far away, physically and conceptually, from their worlds.  I get it.

Although I have long considered myself to be an intelligent, cultivated person, I have a confession: I used to read the front section of the New York Times last - after the Arts, Sports, Food, Style and Travel sections - if at all.

Now that I have somehow become a kind of revolutionary (as one friend joked on facebook,) I immediately scan the front page for news about Turkey, to see if what is printed in a respectable media source supports what I've been obsessing about online for the prior 24 hours.

A lot of people did read my previous blog post on the protests in Turkey from a few weeks ago, and I appreciate that very much; especially as there are so many issues and causes percolating in the world right now that are incredibly important:  Marriage Equality.  GMO-free foods.  Climate change.  Civil wars.

But what is happening in Turkey strikes such a chord with me that I can not stop sharing it with the people in my world.  Why a two-week vacation in an amazing country has led to my newfound fervor is immaterial.  I need you to know some things: that the police are violently attacking demonstrators.  That PM Erdogan is, among other things, blaming international media for the situation.  (Excuse me?)  That hotel lobbies where medics were tending to the injured have been tear-gassed.  That, last night, my friend in Istanbul had to shepherd young girls away from counter-protesters who were using long sticks to reach past the police to try and beat them.

I sit here, half a world away, sick to my stomach about the violence PM Erdogan is perpetuating.  He may have done some good things for the country in the past, but this megalomaniacal behavior is abhorrent.  The people are trying to stand up to him, and he brutally swats them away like an annoying fly, following his egotistical whims.  This has become unacceptable to me.

So I go to demonstrations, and sing along to Turkish songs and chants as best I can.  I post links on Facebook.  I write this blog article.  I paint my fingernail with a crescent moon and star like the Turkish flag.  I talk to people in person.  I check my email immediately when I wake up to read my friend's first-hand account of what is happening (and to make sure he and his friends are okay.)  I scan links and try and find a working live-feed from Istanbul, and then I watch it for hours.

And I hate that I can't do more.

For some serendipitous reason, I have embraced the cause of the demonstrators in Turkey.  And if you're reading this, then I have indeed become an activist, because the actions of one person - me - are having at least some ramifications.

I am squeaking out my voice to inform.  Will it make a difference?  I hope so.

If you share this, then it might...