every now and then something crazy and exciting happens in this so-called
life. it's like the theory of relativity and evolution -a sudden change that
raises the standard... and leaves expectations indefinitely higher forever
more. and that is how my story begins - with no time at all to mastermind a
quick trip to st. moritz. with a bit of multi-tasking, asking for a few
favors, and begging the big man, i was finally granted
permission to start my alpine adventure.
the actual journey began thursday afternoon i tip-toed out of the office and
made tracks to jfk. with a solitary bag in hand, tightly packed, i had the
misfortune of finding myself slightly indecisive standing in front of my
building. should i take the train, the bus, a cab? in theory all i had to do
was get there; after that everything else would be taken care of... i just
had to figure out how to get there. suddenly tires screeched to a halt in
front of me. call it a sign. maybe a coincidence. whatever is whatever, i
got in the cab.
i kept telling myself to sleep, but the cab driver and i started discussing
global politics in every hamlet from harlem to haiti. and on the plane, i
couldn't pull my eyes away from the screen playing master and commander on
the far side of the world; it was my life story... only with a boat.
as you can imagine, i arrived in heathrow very tired. i met up with the
group from the bank and we piled into a "motor coach" that took us to
london stansted, a small commuter airport outside the city - far outside of
the city. i struggled with heavy eyelids to watch green scenery and traffic
whiz by on the wrong side of the road.
within an hour we had boarded the private jet and were soaring through the
skies in a southeasterly direction. the pilot informed us that the clouds
over switzerland were not in our favor, adding that we may have to land in
zurich. it was a tough pill to swallow and believe me, i was sad to see
zurich's international airport (which was as nice and sunny as could be).
although it was not exactly the intended destination, the powers that be
made up for all of this with six fat black cars. they were waiting for us
just off the tarmac, tinted windows but not pimped out. we rolling like opec
ministers, and i couldn't be mad at that for a minute. and as i stepped in i
suddenly realized the hood ornament was a funny looking triangle -that's
when it hit me, i was stepping into a maybach.
i reclined in the back with the seat warmers on, fully enjoying the long and
twisty drive. we passed the beginning of the rhine and a mountain range
along the way, finally arriving in st. moritz shortly after dark. the town
seemed to glow like a christmas tree in the days before the twenty fifth;
brilliantly celebrating winter sports and winter shopping. my eyes, nearly
closed and over tired, suddenly lit up with excitement trying to catch
everything as it passed by. i had arrived.
we ate dinner at nobu followed by a quick jaunt to the king's club - it was
a hot little night spot but i was tired and out of it so i did not make the
most of my night out. i tried to stay in it, downing five red bulls in under
an hour, but it was clearly time for me to get some sleep. i thanked my
friends from deutsche bank and made my way up through the palatial hotel to
my room, badrutt's suite. it was all very surreal and i still wasn't sure
that i was living through all of this.
i went snowboarding the following morning with my new friend bruno from
the bank. although he was still drunk at 10 am, i wasn't doing much
better out there on the snow so i decided to take a lesson with him. we fell
a lot and caused more grief than most of our instructor's previous lessons
-i'm sure- but we all had a good time. my fingers and nose started to fall
victim to the elements (read frostbite) as it was -4 degrees farenheit. our
instructor came to the rescue, treating us to one of the best cups of hot
chocolate i ever had.... the fact that it was freezing cold made anything
remotely warm was a tremendous improvement. i should also add bruno and i
did not have any currency so our poor snowboard instructor had to treat us.
we were holding to our instructions, "all you have to do is get there - the
rest is taken care of"
we ate a typical swiss lunch at the top of the highest peak before slowly
making our way down (mostly on our backsides) to the bottom where we
prepared for dinner.
dinner was served at this place called club dracula. on the top of a hill
just off the main strip in st. moritz, this small castle-like structure was
home to a restaurant... that and an old secret society of sorts for bobb
sledders who referred to themselves as ghost riders. distinguished looking
old men in blazers with lapel pins featuring red bats and roman numerals ran
around, in and out of rooms and secret passage ways with underage women.
i reminisced over a wu tang clan proverb; cash rules everything around me.
after the six course meal, the place converted from a restaurant to an all
out club. a dj played his mix of anything and everything he could think of,
and lots of people arrived - a contrived crowd of eurotrash, girls that "work"
at night, more old rich men and women, followed by the new generation - trust
fund babies.
maybe i should have gotten over it, but the words, "it's not fair" and "that's
just wrong" kept crossing my lips as i would see old geezers looking like
dracula kissing pretty young women -young enough to be their grand daughters.
at least we had the open bar keeping my glass of red bull and gingerale full.
the night wore on, and around one or so i saw a sight that would change my
life. in this world, there are dimes and diamonds. and i was lucky enough to
spot a flawless diamond on the fringes of the dance floor. eureka! g class vvs ~ she wore a slinky black dress that was tight but still left quite a bit to the
imagination. an inch thick diamond collar was delicately wrapped around her
neck, earrings to match... the epitome of bling bling. she was 5' 8",
blonde, and on the dance floor by herself. i couldn't believe it. go for
broke, i told myself, what do you have to lose? with that thought i
swallowed hard and walked over to her.
"hey, i couldn't help but notice you dancing here.. and i wanted to know if
i could groove with you"
she smiled and then laughed. was it that crazy of a question? i proceeded,
"i'm just saying, i don't want to offend you"
suddenly she grabbed my hand and we started dancing. the man in the dj booth
took the cue and managed to get it together for a song or two. he ran
through outkast's hey ya and on to michael jackson's billie jean. and all
was well until this little man sporting one of these grand vampire pins on
the lapel of his jacket stepped in and took my honey -my snow bunny- away.
"i'll be back," she said as they proceeded to dance away from me. yeah
right!
i was bumming; i had gone from zero to hero, and then back to zero. i
returned to the group and recounted the events. and i have to be honest, i
don't know what it is, but people tend to be non-believers when i tell my
random stories. maybe it's the fact that i tend to tell my stories empty
handed.
whatever is whatever, a half an hour or so later, true to her word, she
returned. her name was annabella and she could have easily inspired sean
paul to write a song. in a desperate move to impress her, i made the mistake
of bragging. i told her that i was staying at the palace on deutsche bank's
tab. she told me she was staying in her house on the mountain. i was in st.
moritz for the weekend, she was thinking we would hang out for the next week
or so. and then, then she hit me with the kicker, "what are you doing this
summer?"
i was blank - who has a house in st. moritz? who sports enough diamonds
around their neck to cause retinal damage? who buys that type of stuff?? who
wears it out to a club??? "uhhh," i couldn't think of anything.
"i am going to be in st. tropez in july and august - you should definitely
come to visit me. i will take you out on my boat"
woah! i was sold. i had bought my ticket, cashed in my frequent flier miles
- heck, i would have given two weeks notice if it got any better than this.
i asked the bar tender to pour her a glass of dom p. i was starting to feel
like the people in f. scott fitzgerald novels or the talented mister
ripley... sans talent. oh wait a minute, i thought, i have a talent: i dj. i
pulled out a cd and gave it to her, briefly describing contents. she
accepted it graciously. oh, to be that piece of plastic in those hands!
her vampire returned and introduced himself as timo. we spoke for a while
but i couldn't really sort everything out. i mean i clearly saw my window of
opportunity closing, but i couldn't determine where he fit in. annabella was
kind enough to use the phrase, "oh, he's just a friend" - a line so opaque
it made lead seem transparent. instead of pursuing this chance at romance, i
decided to take a business angle on the situation. for once in my life, i
whipped out business cards and started talking the talk. i don't know if he
was buying into it, but it definitely made an impression. whatever, at that
point i had basically thrown in the towel anyway... which is of course the
exact moment when people choose to open a circle to you. "let me introduce
you to my friends," timo said. the next thing i knew i was talking to old
men in blazers with lapel pins and paris hilton look-a-likes. it was hot -
it was hype. i was a happy camper.
around four i left the dracula club, catching just a little love on both
cheeks (the swiss way of saying goodbye) from my dear annabella.
and maybe nothing will come of all of this, but for the moment, i am still
glowing from my days and nights in st. moritz... and if i am lucky enough to
get this incoming call or email from annabella - you better believe i will
be the bad mo' fo' who went from st. mo' to st. tro'.
i hit the slopes one last time on sunday morning as the conditions were
great; a nice sunny day, fluffy powder, and no people. it was a fabulous way
to start a twenty eight hour day. the return trip to the states was rather
uneventful, but with a corporate jet leaving direct from st. moritz, it's easy
to forget jet lag and common things like that. so, for the moment, i am still
glowing from my days and nights in st. moritz...
