Summer Insanity

After a week and a half straight of partying, I finally got some sleep last night. I woke up to some serious rain and decided that finally it was ok to sleep in. I rented out my house for the past 10 days, and I have been crashing on my friend's couch after my other apartment rental fell through. In the end though, it probably saved me money since I have basically used this place just to sleep (average bed time has been around 7AM) and shower. When people had explained to me what happens when the crowd arrives in Floripa, I was expecting a lot. However, I could never have anticipated this. There are literally people everywhere. You wouldn't even believe it. Unfortunately, with any crowd comes traffic....and I mean serious traffic. I have tried to avoid it at all costs and have been somewhat successful thus far. However, a few times I have been caught up in it and I'm having flashbacks to my days in LA on the 405 (I have, however, long forgotten road rage because at least here I can stare at chicks in bikinis while I'm stuck in traffic). I can't complain though. This has been one of the most fun weeks of my entire life. Every night is an adventure, and almost every night brings another great story. One of my favorite days of all time was this last Saturday (December 27th). My friend and I went to Cafe de la Musique (super model central), P12, Tatsuya, Pacha, and Posh all it one day. From a partying perspective, it probably doesn't get any better than this. Every place is going absolutely off, and I'm doing my best to take advantage of it because how many times in life do we get experiences like this? I've managed to meet some great people along the way from all across the world, and all anyone can say is that this is the best place in the world. I couldn't agree more, and I absolutely love it when other people agree. As for New Year's, it was, as expected, one of the best parties of my life. We went through probably 70 bottles of champagne and literally tore the roof off of the place. It was a great way to end the most exciting year of my life. After the party, I kept getting the feeling that the craziness was about to end, however, I couldn't be more wrong. It's January 3rd and the summer insanity has only just begun...

As for an update on Tatsuya, I'm happy to report that things are going great. I feel lucky to have what I call a "high class problem," which is that we are so busy that we are working very hard to keep up. People really love the concept, and I feel extremely gratified every night. As for the mayhem, the 30rd had to be the topper. One of our three sushi guys (we now have four thank God) hurt his hand and couldn't come to work. On top of that, our system went down right before we opened. We had a completely full house with people waiting outside, and we were running around like maniacs (imagine every single order being written down on a piece of paper and having to add it by hand to close out a bill). I was the barback, the dishwasher guy, and pretty much everything else. It was pure craziness and definitely a crash course in restaurant management. I felt bad for the sushi guys as only two of them were making food for about 80 people. We had a few complaints on the time it took to make the food (just being honest!) but overall it was a great night (even though I was definitely happy when the doors finally closed). There is certainly still a lot to learn, but I think all of the pieces are coming into place to make Tatsuya a long term success...

I finally get to move back into my house tonight. As happy as I am to have rented my house (thank you fellas - you absolutely rocked!), I'm really excited to get settled back in. Living out of my car and sleeping on a couch has been fun but I miss Casa 13 and Praia Mole. And hopefully now I can return all of the phone calls I missed and catch up on everyone's holiday stories. I do want to wish everyone the very best in 2009. 2008 was a very trying year all across the world but if I have learned anything, it's this: don't ever be afraid to take a chance and do something you never thought possible. You never know what might happen. A year ago yesterday I went to Merrill Lynch and told them I was walking away from a great job (and especially great colleagues!), a wonderful city, incredible friends and family and moving to Brazil. It was a chance I took and one filled with a lot of risk. However, there is no looking back now because life is just too damn short and the experiences I have had can never be replaced. Nobody knows what tomorrow may bring so you might as well live every day to the max.....and I plan on doing just that in 2009 here on the Island of Magic....