Friday, January 30, 2009

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Rude Behavior

My boss took a call from her daughter yesterday while we were meeting and promptly said, "I cannot talk right now; I'll call you back tonight." I appreciate the minimal interruption given we have limited time together.

When I worked at Amex, one of my bosses used to take calls from his wife and little kids in the middle of meetings and actually carry on lengthy conversations with them about nothing (e.g., "What did you do in preschool today, Jack?") while we sat there. Obnoxious. Disrespectful. Horrific waste of time. Standard for him.

It drove my coworker Marsha, who sat right outside his office, absolutely bonkers. So, whenever I was in a meeting with him, Marsha took to dialing "9" to get an outside line (to avoid being ID'd) and called him. The phone would ring, he would pick up, she would hang up and he would comment, "I keep getting hang-ups lately." Oh really?

Made me smile.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

No Gilt

I've been checking out the online sample sales at Gilt for awhile now. They start everyday at noon and feature designer clothes, jewelry, bedding, etc. While they have some fabulous stuff, I can't afford most of it.

Is there really an economic downturn? Either it's a resounding "no" because this stuff is selling like hotcakes or it's "yes" because it's upscale clientele who are trying to save a buck. Not sure of the demographics.

With that said, what demographic causes every unit in stock of this zebra print coat by Peter Som (at $998) to sell out within minutes but leaves this cute, crochet dress by Missoni (at a mere $298) to remain on the rack? Is the blizzard we're having today clouding judgment and making people want to wear short-sleeved fox fur? Or, once again, is it because I live in a community where fashion isn't cutting-edge that I just don't understand the appeal?



I just don't get it.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Extreme Sex

Conversation while putting the kids to bed last night.

Son #1: Mama, did you ever date any guys between that guy you married in the pool when you were five and daddy?

Me: I had dates but nothing serious.

Son #1: Did you ever play spin-the-bottle?

Me: Yes, but I never wanted to.

Son #2: Why not?

Me: Because I never wanted to kiss any of the guys we were playing with. It grossed me out.

Son #1: Did you have sex with them?

Me: Uh, no, but do you even know what "sex" is?

Son #1: It's when a boy and a girl lie in bed and kiss. It's different than "extreme sex."

Me: What is "extreme sex"?

Son #1: When they roll around in bed and kiss for like four hours.

Me: Where did you hear this?

Son #1: It's just a rumor going around school.

Monday, January 26, 2009

On Leadership

I put the following quote -- attributed to Norman Lear -- at the end of a keynote speech I wrote for my boss recently but, upon re-reading it over the weekend, I couldn't help but think of how it parallels the state of the nation today and Obama's (and our) challenges ahead.

“To be an effective leader, you not only have to get the group of followers on the right path, but you must be able to convince them that whatever obstacle stands in the way ahead, whether it’s a tree or a building that blocks the view, you’re going to get around it. You’re not going to be put off by apparent barriers to your goal. All journeys are filled with potholes and mines, but the only way we can move beyond them is to approach them, and recognize them for what they are. You have to see that it’s only a tree, or whatever, and it’s not insurmountable. Everywhere you trip is where the treasure lies.”

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Le Love

I just added another site to my favorites on the left. Check it out!

Snuggie

"Blankets are OK but they can slip and slide, plus your hands are trapped inside." Darned if the Snuggie people haven't found their own pet rock!

I have a better idea for when you're cold: put on a sweater! Or if you really want to look like a jerk but don't want to spend the money: put your robe on backwards.

But I have to give them props for awesome marketing. People all over America are probably buying the "blanket with sleeves" -- and I'm just mad at myself for not thinking of the idea first.

Friday, January 23, 2009

More Good News

My brother sent a CNN article to me yesterday which states that "a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that healthy seniors who consume light to moderate amounts of alcohol reduce their odds of developing physical disabilities or dying in the next five years by 23 percent, compared with either heavy drinkers or those who abstain."

Now that is good news--especially for him because in the study, "seniors" referred to men and women over age 50. Oh the humanity!

What's more: Light to moderate drinkers were defined as those who consumed fewer than 15 drinks a week and fewer than five per day (fewer than four daily for women).

That's considered light? More good news for me!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

New Car, Caviar, Four-star Daydream

In perusing articles for a Succession Planning workshop that we're developing, I came across the following quote in Business Week (“An Executive Recruiter's New Strategy,” January 16, 2009) regarding how Heidrick & Struggles is evolving from executive search services to heightened leadership advisory services.

“When it really [hits home] is when you look at all of these technologies today that can potentially disintermediate a search firm. Not at the high-end CEO and board level, but what's going to happen at the lower echelon of search -- in the $300,000 salary range -- with the advent of companies like LinkedIn?”

Wait. $300K is considered the low echelon? I need a raise.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Mini-weekend: Day 2

Another four-day work week! Or as my friend/client Dawn said to me, "You claim you're down to a four-day week but you worked all weekend. You're really just down to six days." Yeah, thanks buzz kill.

Plans for today include:
1) Laundry (in progress)
2) Getting my head around my Schwab account (God help me, literally)
3) Dinner with Miche at Olives

I also hope to dust, talk on the phone, read a bit, whatever.

And I finally just watched Obama's speech. I don't care what MSNBC says, I thought it was powerful.

"America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations."

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Welcome Obama!

Our hopes are with you . . . with no fallback plan for our disappointment.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Where Were You When?

I was searching for an interview that my friend Dave, who works for the AARP, had conducted with Martina Navratilova when I happened upon an article on their site entitled, “Where Were You When?” in which AARP staff members describe the ten moments they’ll never forget. Since I was not yet on this planet or too young to remember, I cannot comment on the assassinations of JFK, MLK or Robert F. Kennedy or the shootings at Kent State but some of these other events do stand out in my aging memory bank.

December 8, 1980: John Lennon is killed: I was preparing for midterm exams on the couch in my parents’ living room. I was a junior in HS and had the radio on while studying. Go figure.

January 28, 1986: The U.S. space shuttle Challenger explodes 72 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven crew members. My roommate Berrie and I were in Professor Bob Arnold’s film class at SU where he announced the news. I remember the horror not entirely registering with me until later possibly because I hadn’t yet seen the images.

November 9, 1989: Borders between East and West Germany open—leading to the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. I was sound asleep in my room at Brad and Kristin’s house on French Road when my girlfriend Meg called to wake me up. “I knew this is something you wouldn’t want to miss.” Although it was cool to watch, I would rather have been sleeping. She also called a few months later, again really early in the morning, when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. I’m still tired . . .

August 31, 1997: Princess Diana dies. I was in a cab headed back uptown having just left my friend Barton and his photographer friend down in Union Square when I heard that she had been shot, er, I mean in a car accident. The next morning, as we took the train out to the Hamptons to celebrate my girlfriend Laura’s birthday, the news of Diana's death was all over the airwaves. Two years later, again headed out to the Hamptons, I remember being at Penn Station as people were freaking about JFK Jr.’s missing plane. The worst was confirmed when we got to Laura’s house. It was almost a surreal, “how can this be happening again?” experience.

April 20, 1999: The Columbine High School massacre occurs in Littleton, Colorado. I honestly cannot remember where I heard this news. I remember watching the coverage and wishing that those boys could have had the foresight to realize that the pains of high school fade quickly upon graduation.

September 11, 2001: Attack on the World Trade Center. I was at my desk here in Rochester when my husband called. I immediately called a girlfriend who I used to work with in the World Financial Center to make sure she was okay. She actually picked up her phone in her office and chatted with me for a minute to tell me that they were evacuating the building. I heard later that another girlfriend from work had gotten off the subway in the WTC and when she saw everyone running, she assumed there was a gunman. So, instead of leaving the building, she stayed and hid behind a garbage bin. It wasn’t until she realized that there were no gunshots that she decided to run in the same direction as everyone else. She was halfway uptown when the building collapsed behind her.

What’s missing from this list?

October 3, 1995: The end of the OJ trial. Working at Draft, we all went in to the conference room to watch the verdict being delivered on TV. Wow. Talk about a collective groan heard worldwide!

Sidebar: I have been reading bits and pieces of Leonard Mlodinow’s book, The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives, which shed light on how the jury was fooled by misleading statistics. During the trial, lawyer Alan Dershowitz shared that in the U.S. each year, 4M women are battered by their male partners, yet only one in 2,500 is killed. His argument was that just because O.J. was a known abuser, the chances of him actually murdering her were slim. However, that wasn’t the relevant statistic. The opposite side of the equation, which never surfaced in court, was relevant: 90% of all battered women who are murdered are killed by their abusers. Retrial!

Pan Am Flight 103, Lockerbie, Scotland. December 21, 1988. This tragedy, more than any other, has directly affected people I know and has haunted me for years. One of my girlfriends, who was supposed to be on that flight but decided to travel in Europe a bit longer, lost many of her close friends from SU that day—along with her faith. I remember my sister calling to tell me what had happened. As a former student of the SU London Centre only three years earlier, I felt devastated by this tragedy. And 20 years later, it still makes me cry just thinking about it.

But, more importantly, what’s next?

Tomorrow: the Obama inauguration! Good luck to the man who has to pick up the pieces after “Mission Accomplished.” I can’t wait to tune in!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Mini-weekend: Day 1

Today is Day 1 of the year of mini-weekends! We'll see how long this can last. Any bets?

What I plan to do:
  1. Try to stay off Facebook for a few hours!
  2. Take a six-hour bubble bath
  3. Meet a girlfriend at B&N to plan her ex-husband's memorial service (seriously!)
  4. Return all of the stupid clothes I bought after the holidays because my brain was on fire with the 80% off sales -- yeah, 80% off an ugly coat doesn't make the coat better looking
  5. Get my pants tailored (i.e., the trials of being 5'4" in a 6' family) (a.k.a. never start smoking at a young age)
  6. Thank God for mini-weekends and other blessings
  7. Greet the kids as they get off the bus
May not sound exciting to you but it sounds heavenly to me.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Best Job in the World

Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. What will I have to do? Blog for Tourism Queensland! Hey, I can do that!

Other duties: feed the fish, clean the pool, collect the mail.

It also pays ~$100K for a six-month assignment. Hello!

What they're looking for:
  • Excellent interpersonal communication skills
  • Good written and verbal English skills
  • An adventurous attitude
  • Willingness to try new things
  • A passion for the outdoors
  • Good swimming skills and enthusiasm for snorkeling and/or diving
  • Ability to engage with others
  • At least one year’s relevant experience
In other words: ME!

I can home school the kids on the beach for six months, right? And I could hang with Margaroo when she comes to visit from Brisbane every single weekend, right?

But would I have to learn how to cook?

Monday, January 12, 2009

The Drive of Capitalism

Laurie, one of my clients, and I were chatting about how we became uber-career chicks. She was a drama major in college and still loves to sing; now she's a senior VP at a high-end, investment management firm. I was an English major with no direction or any aspirations for that matter.

For me, I had a life-altering capitalist moment. I had been traveling and waitressing in New Zealand and Australia for a number of months when I saw a cute, brown linen suit in a store window. It stopped me in my tracks. Short skirt. Little jacket with (I swear) a tiny brown linen bow on the back. I suddenly wanted to be the ultra-professional woman who had somewhere to wear that suit.

Aren't I lucky? Got what I wanted.

Laurie had what she calls a similar experience when she went out to meet a date. This person took one look at her car and said with distain, "Is that your car?" She said she suddenly put someone else's eyes on her own life and no longer liked what she saw. The life of poverty could no longer be romanticized. She wanted a brand new car.

Thankfully she's extremely good at what she does, her clients and her team love her and she is really happy. And she's in a relationship with someone who doesn't care what kind of car she drives even if it's a 2009 BMW.

Got what she wanted.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Ahhh Shopping Mall City

Son #1: I really like that one song about the woman who gets her purse stolen.

Me: I don't think I know that one.

Son #1: Yes you do, mama. The one that goes, "Ahhhhh wham bam thank you ma'am."

Me: Is THAT what that's about?

Son #1: Yeah, the guy runs up, swipes her once and misses, tries again, hits her with a thud, steals her purse and screams "thank you" as he's running away.

All these years I've been listening and never understood the real storyline. Who knew?

Friday, January 9, 2009

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

You Are a Comma


You are open minded and extremely optimistic.

You enjoy almost all facets of life. You can find the good in almost anything.

You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests.

You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time.

Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to.

(But with so many competing interests, you friends do feel like you hardly have time for them.)

You excel in: Inspiring people

You get along best with: The Question Mark

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Ticking Away the Moments that Make Up a Dull Day

Check this out:



Sure it's just a screen shot of one of the folders on my laptop but look closer. I've been at the same company going on nine years. NINE YEARS. For a chronic malcontent and known runner from all things tedious, this is a milestone. And it somehow snuck up on me. (Is snuck a word?)

Then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Wishing You Every Happiness Come

That's the sentiment on a gorgeous 2009 calendar that Margaroo bought for my mother in Japan. I love it! In fact, I've stolen it from her.

Speaking of happiness come, my boss and I just agreed on a four-day work week trial. Sure, I'll still work 50 hours (i.e., 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.); but, come one! I'll have a day off every week! I'm thinking of taking Wednesdays so I can have 104 two-day work weeks this year . . .

Hello laundry! Goodbye tapping keyboard!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Forbidden and Hidden

Yesterday's New York Times Magazine featured an article entitled "Forbidden Nonfruit," in which Joshua Yaffa describes his childhood filled with health food and abstinence from burgers leading to sugar overdoses at friends' homes followed by pizza with ranch dressing, beer and late-night cheese steaks in college. I couldn't help but see more than a bit of myself in his story -- especially as I also described last August the 1X/year sugar cereal treat that we were allowed on our birthdays as well as how our dad hid junk food from our mom. Uncanny? Or do thousands of us have similar stories of well intentioned parents?

Where the similarities end is that this author is now filling bags with spinach at the local supermarket yet I'm still a hardcore cheeseburger, chocolate cake, Smarties girl.

Which explains why I'm back on Weight Watchers for the 100th time this decade. Welcome to 2009 -- the year of cutting back. Again.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Bedtime

Moments ago, I asked Son #2, who was looking very groggy on the couch, "Monkey, are you sleepy?"

He responded, "You haven't heard the last of me."

Nothing is standard issue in this house.