Close Encounters of the Stars & Fi$h Kind

Interesting (if not good or fortunate) things continued on a roll. I ran into "Brangelina" outside the Waldorf Astoria Hotel the next day. I was approaching the back entrance of the hotel and noticed four to five onlookers and a paparazzi snapping photos. Some minor celebrity is probably coming out, I thought, given the pathetic tiny crowd. But then as I approached the revolving door the couple emerged. I didn't recognize Angelina Jolie at first because of her goggle-sized shades, though her silouhette was familiar. But Brad Pitt stepped out right behind her and left no doubt who the woman could be. They walked right pass me into their chauffeured, bullet proof SUV and zoomed away. Many people and paparazzi would wait for hours and days to catch a glimpse of the two, and there I was, a random pedestrian who could care less about movie stars/celebrities, getting a good close look of this hounded duo.

Yesterday, I was strolling through Richard Serra's massive steel sculptures at the MOMA. I came out of a narrow opening of a giant installation and there in front of tiny Minnow blocking her exit was a "VBF", where:

V = Really
B = Big
F = FI$H

Mssr. Bernard Arnault, the richest man in France, the sixth richest person in the world (Forbes, 2006), is the owner of LVMH, where:

LV = Louis Vuitton
M = Moët & Chandon
H = Hennessy

I recognized his face immediately, and had no doubt it must be Mssr. Arnault given his impeccable grey wool suit and white shirt, on a day when almost everyone opted for tank tops and shorts.

No one else seemed to recognize him. It must have been a nice change for a billionaire used to being fawned over by employees and people seeking favors. Mssr. Arnault looked very happy and relaxed, a world apart from the steely cold image the media likes to project. When I left I ran into him again, leaving the building with his "VBC", where

V = Very
B = Blond
C = Companion
and
1) 25 < VBC < 35
2) VBC ≠ wife or daughter

VBF and VBC were escorted by their chauffeur/body guard to their black (and bullet proof again?) stretch limo. Again, no one but dorky Minnow took notice of the Very couple.

What does that say about me?

And what is the next positive/interesting surprise?

Melon, I am taking another class with you.

Baby step & Vanity Fair

Melon said many students told her about good things happening after they took her course. She didn't know why, but somehow Conquering Your Fear of Water seemed to open a floodgate of positive events.

That certainly wasn't on my mind when I landed back in NYC, after my flight was delayed for seven hours and I wasted an entire day stuffing myself with Orlando airport sandwiches and salads. It was past midnight when I finally entered the apartment, and there it was, a large envelope from Hong Kong, addressed to me - in my pen name. My heart skipped a beat. I slowly opened it, and there it was – the latest issue of a favorite Chinese literary magazine.

With my submission in it.

COOL.

So cool, it's freezing.

This came on the heels of an English essay coming out in a small literary magazine in NYC. So in the same month I suddenly became an international, bi-lingual published literary writer. It was a minnowish step, but small fish starts with tiny steps.

Melon, I am taking another class with you.