Desperately Coping with Loneliness

I saw a video about this guy, Jeff Ragsdale, who in the height of the breakup-related depression, just posted flyers around Manhattan asking people to call him. He was so lonely and on the brink that he just printed a bunch of posters with his phone number and put them up across the city, hoping someone would reach out to him. Well, someone did not reach out to him - MANY people reached out to him and soon his desperate plea for companionship went viral and became a global show of solidarity. As he says in the video, a city like New York, even with all the hustle and bustle, can be a lonely place and having lived across the pond myself, I know big cities, even with all the stuff going on around you, can really feel like a lonely and empty place. I think many people managed to relate to his poster.

Now while I am not sure whether I would post a flyer around the place inviting the unwashed masses to call me, you can certainly understand the need for an ear, a comforting word, when one feels like the last and only person in the middle of a busy metropolis. And it speaks to the basic human need for companionship and solidarity.

In this case, this guy, who apparently has suffered with depression and other related issues all his life, found a lot of comfort in the voices of strangers, many of whom called from outside the United States. I am sure he is not sad and depressed today, as he has just launched a book based on these calls and the various experiences people shared with him - some consoling him, others looking to be consoled.

This entire story just highlights a couple things - people are still amazing, even as the world news, on a daily, even hourly basis, paints humanity as money-grubbing, selfish cretins; and secondly, you can make money from just about anything in the US of A. Even from a book about phone calls.

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Katie Holmes: 2012's Tina Turner

Katie Holmes - free and single in NY

The hoopla around TomKat - the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes divorce will resonate for years with people offering their own theories about the marriage and the faith that seemingly caused its birth and destruction. At the end of it all, there was a sigh of relief when 33 year old Katie Holmes, after 5 years of being married to one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, walked out of her marriage. What struck me is that she did  so, by media accounts, with a lot of guts and a very shrewd mind - using a disposable cell phone to make plans, out of the reach of his Scientology handlers, getting three law firms involved, putting them on standby, contacting Nicole Kidman for advice and going to her dad, a divorce lawyer to ensure she would get out of this thing "alive".

Not only did she get out of it "alive" but she also showed the world that she was not just a trophy wife and after years of being little more than an appendage, she rose to being her own person once more.

While there is certainly no evidence of physical abuse, it is clear that she was under the hold of her husband and his church, a kind of mental and emotional abuse that made her seem older than her years and less exuberant than the Joey Potter-esque Katie the world had known prior to the union. In the middle of all the hoopla, much is being theorised about Scientology and I have no comment on that. Instead I want to say that  Katie came out of this gracefully, with little more than a 2-week period of negotiation to settle the divorce, and not a years-long battle in courts with Tom Cruise brandishing his Hollywood and Scientology power over the little woman. Katie is the winner here and though she did not run out of a hotel room screaming like Tina did, she is a survivor. Props to her.

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Italy meets Trininista: A night at Buzo Osteria Italiana

Buzo Osteria Italiana, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Since I have been back home, I have been trying to check out some of the places that had opened while I was away, or just places I had not had chance to patronise yet.

Last night, the girls and I went to Buzo Osteria Italiana, located on Warner Street in Port of Spain. Everyone else had already been but I was going to pop my Buzo cherry. I had heard many good things and believe me, I love Italian food, so I was very excited (and how awesome that Italy is on today in Euro 2012!! woot woot!)

And I was not disappointed. The restaurant's ambience is amazing. Very modern, very chic but not pretentious. My type of place and for a moment, I forgot I was in Trinidad. There is also a great outdoor area where most of the smokers had settled for the evening but even with the disgusting cigarette smoke, it was really cosy and fresh in look and feel. The out of Trinidad feeling was compounded by the stellar service from the wait staff. So used to horrendous and just plain BAD service from local establishments, I was really pleased to not have to sharpen my tongue to answer back anyone last night. I loved that our waiter, Shannon, had an honest opinion of what he would recommend. I hate going to places where the wait staff are just like lumps who tell you "everything is good". Excellent service.

And the food? Oh the food, my lovelies. Let's just say it was as good as it looked. Five stars!

Torcelli with Italian sausages, porcini mushrooms in a light cream and tomato sauce

The lamb...in a mint sauce

The sexy looking salmon

Panacotta and the most decadent chocolate souffle

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Call Me...Maybe: Dating has gone Beserk

Forza Italia! Forza Azzurri!

Of course it is football time in Trininista land (where we do NOT say "soccer") with the European Cup, or Euro 2012, on.

These are the times a girl - well, this girl - looks forward to in life. Being a long time fan of the Azzurri, and for the non-footballing heathens, that's the Italy national squad, I will be plotting some sort of plan to be able to see that do-or-die game tomorrow, as I sit in a meeting for 3 hours!!!

But in other more disturbing news, and I felt I needed to bring this to the fore...the Call Me Maybe card.

The Call Me Maybe Card - sad

Isn't this a tad bit desperate? On the flip side, one may say this is ingenious and proactive. But I am not sure how I would react if some guy came up to me in a bar and gave me one of these. It is too obvious and too orchestrated. This guy is walking around my bar, with a card holder full of these things. Is he just passing them out like candy to anything female that moves? Am I supposed to feel special after receiving one of these ? Then he has his Facebook page listed - maybe with all his glamour shots, and what else? Testimonials? What's wrong with saying hello? Okay, maybe the girl will roll her eyes and walk away. Maybe she will laugh at you with her friends. But isn't that part of the game? lol. This just took the game from sport to creepy activity. Sorry. I mean it's bad enough that when you meet a guy these days, he does not even call. He wants to BBM you or IM you - total lack of proper communication skills. Now we have to put up with dating call cards? Really?

p.s. I don't roll my eyes unless you have gold teeth, cannot construct a sentence or you refer to me by some body part, or by my complexion. Take that as a hint as to what NOT to do.

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Game of Thrones Season Finale: Valar Morghulis

Robb Stark...oh dear boy.
Photo credit: HBO

The season finale of Game of Thrones lived up to the hype. It was going to be hard to top 1. the season one finale and 2. last week's Blackwater episode which was amaaaaaaaaaaazing.

There was deception as Tyrion learnt his own sister was the one who ordered him be killed, Theon being blindsided by his men, and also some idiotic betrayal from Robb Stark who is clearly using one head more than the other. While the season finale did not expound on this point, Robb's misguided and idealist notions of love marked the beginning of the end for him. So sad, cause he is just so incredibly hot. Robb, like Ned before him, is an idealist and in this game, doing the right thing or following your heart is not going to cut it. Even Arya - going to find her family instead of taking J-Haqen up on his offer to learn all his shape shifting, magical tricks. Really? You love them because they represent the best of men, but they also can be pretty daft. Not sure what the lesson is there...lol.

There were dragons - and while I am not always a great fan of Daenerys Stormborn, she finally came into her own. Between her dragons lighting that creepy looking man up, and her kicking the fat Xaro and her former handmaiden out of bed and into an empty vault, she showed some real balls in the finale and proved herself worthy of being in the battle for the Iron Throne.

Maester Luwin says goodbye to Bran and Rickon Stark
Photo Credit: HBO

There was death with Maester Luwin bidding farewell to Bran and Rickon after being speared by Theon's men. These little boys have seen it all now. Well, maybe not yet...

There was a douche in the form of Joffrey, whose childish arrogance and stupidity are mind-numbing. Maergery Tyrell clearly has a thirst for power that can tolerate being married to such a tyrant.

Sansa - still trying to figure out this girl and whether she is mildly cunning or just plain stupid. She has her redeeming moments but last night, there were none of those.

Bad ass White Walker from the Game of Thrones
season finale

But while the scene lasted less than 2 minutes, the arrival of the White Walkers sealed the deal for me and as the main reason this episode was a winner. What an awesome closing scene. That white rider - the visual - fantastic. I almost peed my pants for poor fat Sam. Stunning end to a stunning season of an amazing show.

Now the worst part - the more than 10 month wait for the season 3 premiere.

What is a girl to do now?

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