Monday, 29 June 2009

• Currently Totally Bublé By Michael Bublé see related

  Downtown.

  The past two weeks have been whirlwind! First off, I was absolutely amazed by the responses to my previous post on men.  Like, really amazed.  I appreciated those who shared their insights on the subject and those who simply offered encouragement... and to those who proposed Thank you all for contributing! :)
  
  I am working in downtown Kansas City now. It's still very much a business world... there are suits wherever I go. I absolutely love this part of the city though :) It is being completely redeveloped... old buildings restored to their former grandeur... new theaters... fabulous restaurants... stunning hotels... etc. Everything is beautiful and I'm quite happy to be working in it. I'm also two blocks away from a Starbucks which is just handy dandy. The other day, I walked there and Phillip, the assistant manager, said, "You've been in here everyday this week, haven't you?" I sighed... "Yessss... should I cut back?" He laughed... "No... but this one's on me." What a delightful bloke! And he had even started brewing the tea that I had yet to ask for but he always knows what I order so it was just perfect perfect perfect. This morning I ordered an Americano though and rocked the world off its axis. Well... not exactly but I did hear shocked gasps around me because I ordered it hot on this rather hot day but that is only because the men I work with keep the temperature at an alarmingly high degree. Once I walked my goosebumps over to the thermostat and saw that it was set to 59! Shocking. I changed it to 71. I hoped they wouldn't notice. They noticed. lol And since I don't want to lose my job over a temperature war I am now wearing sweaters all the time. I should threaten to bring in the boots...
  
  Lunch hour is my new treasured time of day. I mostly go to the grocery store just a few blocks away. It's not the type of grocery store you would normally conjure up in your mind when you hear the term. No... this is a Cosentino's Market which is a swanky place, if I may be so bold as to use that word. lol Its a lot like a Whole Foods but its much more intimate. There's a sushi bar where you can sit up there on the bar stools and order the specialties... everything is gourmet and usually imported and the staff is always friendly. Today, an employee even came up and asked if I needed anything to drink! That's like... table service almost. They have a cozy eating area, large flat-screen TV's (mostly tuned into FOX news - yay), and high-speed Wi-fi. So I snag a table and enjoy some delicious fare while I catch up on personal stuff and the news.
  
  I also work just a couple of blocks from my dad's building so we often meet up for lunch at some place unique or we just take a long walk. The nearby City Market is our favorite destination and we always have a fabulous time there. Dad must know nearly all of the shopkeepers and restaurant owners by first name. We buy our produce at the stand owned by the Vietnamese lady (she's always there)... we love to peek into the Dutch floral shop which is owned by a young lady from Holland. Al Habashi is the authority on Middle Eastern cuisine in the area and they always provide free mint tea and ample conversation. They have a grocery attached to it which is where we get our saffron. The Italian market is next door to that and they serve up the finest muffaletto sandwiches and the freshest stock of ricotta cheese. Just in case you were wondering...
  
  There are always events going on downtown in the new entertainment district. This week, there was an art fair and I was able to walk over there on a break and enjoy perusing the many booths. My favorite was this French man's collection... I was gazing at his modern take on impressionism when he came up and started conversing in his thick French accent. Of course his name was Gaston ;) He and I had an absolutely delightful chat! About travel, art, best places to tour in France, and how white I was and how I should really get in the sun more. lol Like... in Naples or something. Mhm. There was a booth across from Gaston's which belonged to an artist from Italy. He joined in on the conversation and Gaston and him went back and forth about how much better their country is than the other. It was positively hilarious... I thought I was in a movie... the best part being that I was in it for once ;) The Italian beamed when I said I was planning on going to Italy in 2010. He hails from Siena which is the BEST town in Italy. So we had a great talk about his hometown while Gaston kept inserting his Italian jokes into the conversation as well as his advice on Italians... "Watch out for those Italian boys! They're crazier than ze French!" You know an Italian with only one arm has a speech impediment. *nods* Gaston hadn't heard that one before and nearly died laughing...
  

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