Gift Bags Under My Eyes.

10465 Steps

Tonight I was at the Courage Awards at Gotham Hall which is a GORGEOUS old bank with a rotunda converted into an event venue. I was there for work because my company and Rosie O'Donnell's brother both got, well, Courage Awards for, well, courage. I discovered the event was for the Anti-Violence Project here in New York. All so self-explanatory it was confusing as to the purpose. BD Wong was hosting and Alan Cumming was a guest of Sundance Channel, but not at my table - I was at the kids table. BD Wong directed a play in New York that a friend of mine was in and when I saw it last month, I sat two down from BD who is also from San Francisco and I happened to crash into that friend this afternoon in Manhattan. The odd thing was I crashed into him at lunch and I thought he was in LA and here I see his director tonight. Okay, it isn't that odd like "he grew up in my mother's old house in Glasgow and then married my best friend's sister in San Francisco and now I am working with him in New York" odd. But Kevin Bacon 6 degree odd. And the woman I was sitting next to used to work for Rosie and knows my friends Cooper and PL in LA. And Daniel O'Donnell is a Scorpio and so is my mother and they are both married to guys from New York. Okay, this is crap. I must stop. But I did meet two guys who live on my same block. In all of New York they live on my same block. That is odd. STOPPPPP!

I took the subway home toting my second gift bag in less than a week. Not to sound as SHALLOW as possible, but tonight's was a case of "Good Cause/Bad Bag." I looked into it while waiting for the 1. (The train number, not the guy.) In it was a Beyonce CD single, some magazines, anti-bacterial hand cleanser and THREE different sets of Post-its. That was about all. Oh, sorry, a thing of Altoids. Last week at least I got some anti-wrinkle stuff, a cork screw set, and a jar of Dove "Energy Glow" which I hoped was chocolate, but it was skin cream. What McGiver could do with that bag, I wonder?

I want to talk about tonight's "Fall Tasting Trio" which was our starter at the meal. And I will translate for those of you who were not served this growing up:

1. Sauteed wild mushrooms with shaved pecorino and truffle oil, Porcini toast

Canned mushrooms on Melba

2. Kobocha squash salad with honey sage drizzle. Black pepper grissini.

Finely cubed sweet potato wedged in a holy water font.

3. Smoked salmon tartar with chives and citrus zest. Gauftette potato.

Diced salmon sidled up to one confused and lonely potato chip.

Do I sound jaded already or what!?!! This cannot be. Tone is so important in writing. It is hard to mock a charity event and not sound like an ass. And I don't think I have pulled it off here. I think I am tired. I think my head is thinking about other things and I am taking it out on the Fall Trio. I must sleep. I am still the happiest guy to be here, but I think I need a night off. Not gonna be...Shakespeare tomorrow at Lincoln Center. Smell me!

It was a nice time and good to get to know many of my co-workers better.