For ten minutes this morning all I did was try to turn my car over. No dice. It’s still sitting there, mocking me. I guess it’s better to pay a $20 parking ticket than to buy a new battery. The bus was in traffic for about 30 minutes–30 long minutes. We slowly drove by a sign that read, “Are you tired of working?” My answer to myself was yes, yes I am but as I read on, the sign didn’t offer me a viable alternative. So, work it is.
Thanks, Bob. Last night I went to see Woody Allen perform with his New Orleans Jazz Band and it was incredible. This was my birthday dinner/gift from my wife. We headed over to the Cafe Carlyle and was met by the captain or maitre’d. The first thing I noticed about this guy was that he seemed like he was waiting for me to slip him some cash or something, but I didn’t. Needless to say, he put us in a seat that was slightly behind the stage and I started to get angry. I asked him to move us, but he said that the only other seat he had was all the way on the other side of the room and that the view wouldn’t be much better. THE PLACE WAS EMPTY AT THIS POINT! It took me a second to calm down, but eventually I decided to relax and enjoy the evening. There were a lot of foreigners there, especially the French. Anyway, dinner was okay (steak was luke warm and the fries looked like they were frozen Ore-Ida fries). Around 8:30, the rest of the band is on stage and in place, just waiting for Woody. About 8:40, there’s a commotion in the back and I could see Woody entering the room. But instead of heading to the stage, he sat down at a table. I thought he was going to eat dinner or something,but I realized he was putting together his clarinet. Anyway, Woody finally got on stage and played with the band for about an hour. It was New Orleans jazz music and they sounded great. As my wife said, “I defy anyone to listen to this music and sit still” and I agree. There was a trombone player, a trumpet player, a banjo player, a piano player, a drummer and a guy playing the upright bass. After an hour, the rest of the band left and just Woody and the banjo player played for about a half an hour. Really intimate and cool setting. They did like three encores. After each encore, Woody would quickly start putting away his clarinet, but the crowd would cheer him on and eventually he’d give in and play some more. At one point I saw him mouth to the banjo player, “I’ve got to go home!” My wife pointed out an interesting fact: Woody wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. Anyway, it was a great “New York” experience and I highly recommend it to anyone living in or visiting New York. My advice: just go for drinks and the music, don’t go for dinner. It’s way overpriced and not that good. I would l like to give a shout out to Bob for giving me a forum to talk about my life, hopes and dreams. And be sure to visit www.walterkim.com. It’s not very good right now, but I’m working on a redesign!