Thursday, July 21

2:45 am
Suite

Had to postpone my date for tonight.  An hour later than usual, since we were flying.

Athens was a great night.  A historic night.  Man, that crowd was something else.  Just on the edge of wild and unruly.  Amazing energy.  But I just couldn't quite channel it like usual.  I just felt a little off-kilter.  The show was still great, but I just wasn't in the mood to banter and go off-the-cuff like I have lately.

Guess I'm still a little wrapped up in myself.

Just got to Vienna, made it to the hotel.  A new place this time; haven't stayed here before.  This room is just un-fucking-believable.  Absolutely beautiful, and HUGE.  It's like staying in a palace.  Which I've done before, so I should know, ha ha.

When Cate Skypes I'm gonna have to carry my iPad around and show her the place.  She'll love it.  Christ, we could live in just the bathroom for at least a month.  There's a fucking couch in there!  And a giant plasma TV mounted on the wall.  Just gotta call up room service and we're set.  Ha ha.

Too bad I won't be able to entice her to jump on a plane and be here by dinner tomorrow to share it with me.

But, we're in the home stretch now.  One more week, then Cate's here. We're together for good.  Or at least until she has to go out on her next long-term Op.

Which I hope is never.

I've been thinking all night about how things will be when I get back home.  There's always an adjustment period, a month or so until my body realizes it's done with the Vampire life and the Rock Star routine.  For the first couple weeks I feel like I've been lobotomized.  My brain just won't work.  It's all I can do to put my shoes on the right feet.

Then I go through the physical breakdown; fatigue, aches and pains, lethargy.  But as much as I've been beat up on this tour maybe I've already made it through that cycle, ha ha.

Then comes the wandering-aimlessly-around-the-house phase.  When I can't quite figure out what to do with myself.  I'm not bored, I have NO desire to do anything related to music; I just have no idea how to live a day-to-day life.  The Kids' school routines used to help when I lived with them, but once I moved out I lost that normalcy.  And somehow I have a feeling living with Cate ain't gonna be much better when it comes to routine.  Her hours can be wacky; she can run off at moments' notice.

But hopefully having me home will anchor her more, make her keep the work/home balance a little more sane.  Maybe we can work more closely on some of the Foundation stuff, get into something she's passionate about.  Maybe take on more Veterans' projects.

She'd love that; the thing she did last winter with Ken was fantastic.  Wounded Warriors is a cause near and dear to Cate's heart.  Kinda like Dorothea and the Kitchen.  Everybody has the cause that speaks to them, especially when there's a personal connection.

And maybe I can slowly wean her away from that damned dangerous job, convince her to consider something else career-wise.

Like full-time Motherhood.

But I'm not gonna bring that up now.  There will be plenty of time to talk later.  After this tour, after our vacation, after she's pregnant.

And speak of the Angel... there she is, calling my Skype early.

Hello, Baby.


11:30 pm
Suite

Sitting out here on my balcony, enjoying a glass of wine and looking out over the most beautiful city in Europe.  Vienna is just gorgeous.  Another place to add to the bucket list.  Only I think I'd like to come back here in the winter, when everything's blanketed with snow and looks like it belongs in a fairy tale.

Had a nice day off today, did some touristy stuff.  Stuff Cate would love.  She's gonna be SO jealous when I tell her what Renee set us up with.

We spent the afternoon at the Vienna Riding School.  The place where they train the world's finest Lippizaner horses.  It's literally inside the Imperial Hofburg Palace, and it's stunning.

When Steph went through her horse-crazy phase back when she was a little girl Dorothea and Mom took her to see the Lippizaners at Madison Square Garden.  I remember her chattering about them nonstop for months.  And she took the stuffed horse Mom bought her EVERYWHERE.  She still has it, in her room.

Wonder if she'll take it to college?

Well, what we saw today was nothing short of incredible.  We went for a tour of the School and of the stable, and watched part of a training session.  After a fantastic lunch we were seated in the Prince's Box to watch a performance.  It was a special show, something they don't do anywhere else but here.

And it was glorious.  I swear, when they say ballet on horseback they ain't kidding.  Classical music, choreography, traditional costumes.  And those horses were something else.  Half-ton beasts that danced around like they were lighter than air, with rippling muscles and flying manes and tails.  It was like watching statues come to life.  But then after the show when we went back to the stables, those giant creatures were snuffling my pockets, looking for carrots and peppermints just like one of Bruce's ponies back on his farm in Jersey.

Incredible.

I took a ton of photos, and I bought Cate a souvenir.  It's an alabaster statue of one of the most renowned Lippizaner studs in history, a stallion that was considered to be the perfect specimen.  It's a beautiful piece of art, capturing the horse reared up, performing the courbette.  

And it's huge and heavy as hell, ha ha.  It's gonna be delivered to the hotel so we can take it on the plane.  Would cost a fortune to ship home air freight.  Plus I don't want to risk it being damaged.

I thought maybe I'd put it in Cate's new office, the one I'm gonna have remodeled for her in the Jersey house.  I thought a lot about it today, and decided I'm going to do it.  I even made the effort to email that decorator Dorothea likes so much.

That will be my project when I recover from this tour.  Designing Cate's office.  And maybe redoing a few other rooms too.  Maybe I'll take up interior design as a hobby.  Or as my new career, ha ha.

Hey, I was a pretty damned good fashion model.  I got an eye for matching stuff.  I could do it if I wanted to.

Anyway, I bought stuff at the Riding School for the Kids too.  Not ginormous statutes, but some pretty cool stuff.  A DVD of the history of the school and the performance, a couple horse and rider models for the Chuckleheads (which will probably be turned into knights or medieval warriors or something, knowing them), and a pretty crystal pendant for Steph.

I didn't quite know what to get Jess so I got him a commemorative medallion and this replica of that Napoleon-looking hat the riders wear.  If he hates it he can always give it to his brothers.  Or to Bridget,  ha ha.

I also picked up something special for somebody else.  It's the most beautiful music box I've ever seen, with a horse jumping into the air in the capriole on top, which revolves to the Vienna Waltz.  All around the base are hand-painted depictions of the Lippizaners performing the other Airs.

For my Little Roxy.  Someday she'll be able to look at it and know how much her Daddy loved her even before she existed.

So after our wonderful afternoon we all came back and got ready to go out to an equally wonderful dinner, at which I ate way too much.  I swear, everything they cook in Austria is rich.  Even the vegetables.  But it was all delicious, as was the dessert.

Grilled chicken, salad, and water for me tomorrow.  And a bunch of laps in that huge indoor pool they have downstairs.

Talked to Stephie a little earlier.  She had the day off from the Parrot, spent it on the beach with some friends.  She said it was 100+ degrees today, even by the water.  I like it hot, but that just sounds awful.  Steph said it wasn't so bad, the ocean was so warm it was like swimming in the Caribbean.

She also kinda giggled and told me there's some new guy in town, who has been hanging around the Parrot trying to talk Steph out of her phone number.  Apparently he'll be a Sophomore at NYU this fall, he's out in the Hamptons at his Dad and Stepmom's place, and he's "really funny and super-cute."

I had to raise an eyebrow at that comment.  Could it be that Brendan has competition?  When I asked Steph that she just did that embarrassed little squealy-giggly thing I think all teenage girls do.  "DAAAAAAAD!  Stop it!  We're just frieeeeends!"  Ha ha.

But now I'm intrigued.  I don't quite know what to think.  On the one hand, it wouldn't be the end of the world if Steph and Brendan broke up since they're both going off to different colleges next month.  Chances are the distance will take its toll and they'll grow apart anyway, but maybe things would be easier for them if they called it off now.  And maybe this new suitor of Steph's will facilitate that.

But then again, despite my initial reservations I've grown to like Brendan.  He's a good kid, has always treated Steph well.  And he's smart and ambitious and socially aware.  Even if I'm still not crazy about watching him suck face with my Baby Girl.  All this time I've worried about him breaking Stephie's heart.  But what if she does it to him?

Poor kid.

And about this "super-cute" Joe College who is hitting on my daughter... I don't like that idea either.  He's probably just out at the beach, looking for a summer fling or three or ten.  Wants to make my Steph another notch on his bedpost.

Yeah, I don't like this guy.  At least Brendan and I have an understanding.  I pretend he and Steph are just sweet little dance partners and he maintains a healthy fear of me.  What's that saying about the Devil you Know?

Man, all this teenage romance drama in my family is gonna turn the rest of my hair gray.

Think maybe I need to put on a nice, relaxing Vienna Waltz and pour another glass of wine.