There's a girl standing on the corner of East and University with a handwritten sign asking for money. She's wearing jeans, Converse sneakers, a knee-length black raincoat, big black sunglasses and a cute little black and white polka dotted kerchief/doo-rag.
She reminds me of me somehow. Pre-suits. Pre-kids. Or maybe just the weekend version of myself (sans sign).
I want to pull over and ask her what happened in her life. Simply down on her luck? Drug addiction? MBA loans too much to handle? Former AIG employee?
I also wonder if her parents are alive. They would probably be heartbroken to see her. I'm heartbroken to see her.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Ship of Fools
Why does Amazon offer free super saver shipping only to delay said shipping indefinitely? The free shipping offer instills goodwill while the postponement negates it entirely.
Case in point: a hardcover cookbook ordered for the hubby's birthday. On his birthday, March 3, I offered an apology for his missing present. Today, March 29, upon viewing the order status and noting that it still hadn't shipped, he canceled the order. What's the point?
For Amazon, it's $58 in lost revenue today but even more in lost revenue longer term. It's so much easier to shop at the local B&N and use my discount card. Now to go to B&N and buy the latest book in John Illig's trilogy, Man in the Middle, for my brother-in-law.
You would think I'd learn.
Case in point: a hardcover cookbook ordered for the hubby's birthday. On his birthday, March 3, I offered an apology for his missing present. Today, March 29, upon viewing the order status and noting that it still hadn't shipped, he canceled the order. What's the point?
For Amazon, it's $58 in lost revenue today but even more in lost revenue longer term. It's so much easier to shop at the local B&N and use my discount card. Now to go to B&N and buy the latest book in John Illig's trilogy, Man in the Middle, for my brother-in-law.
You would think I'd learn.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Native New Yorkers Can Be So Aloof!
My mom's friends are trying to convince her to get on Facebook.
Me: Mom, I love you and you pretty much know everything there is to know about me but, if you sign up, I don't want you as my Facebook friend. It feels too weird.
Mom: I don't want you, or anyone, as my Facebook friend. If you have something to tell me, call me or send me an email.
Me: But it's fun to see what people are up to everyday.
Mom: And I should care . . . why?
Good question!
Me: Mom, I love you and you pretty much know everything there is to know about me but, if you sign up, I don't want you as my Facebook friend. It feels too weird.
Mom: I don't want you, or anyone, as my Facebook friend. If you have something to tell me, call me or send me an email.
Me: But it's fun to see what people are up to everyday.
Mom: And I should care . . . why?
Good question!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Mini-weekend: Day 9
Last night, during the evening of my latest mini-weekend, I went to a Passover Seder at my girlfriend's church. In preparation for Easter, it was a tangible remembrance of Jesus' last supper and a beautiful tie to Judaism.
I feel this way at my mom's Catholic church -- especially during candlelit penance services -- there's something so powerful and moving about taking part in a God-given ritual that has been observed for millennia. At times, especially during traditional hymns, I feel a strong connection with ancient peoples as if the time/space continuum all but disappeared. At a seder, this is compounded when listening to Hebrew both spoken and in song. It's like poetry to my ears.
But my new favorite word is "dayenu" which is loosely translated as "it would have been enough for us" or "it would have been sufficient."
I drove home last night thinking:
Had He simply loved me but allowed me to live in poverty, dayenu
Had He raised me in a comfortable, loving home but given me no talents, dayenu
Had He given me talents but no outlet, dayenu
Had He given me a menial job with no prospects, dayenu
Had He given me a challenging yet rewarding job but no friendships, dayenu
Had He given me heaps o' friends but no husband and children, dayenu
Had He given me an awesome family but terrible health, dayenu
Had He given me perfect health but no retirement funds, dayenu
I could go on and on. It's such a great reminder, especially when down in the dumps, that I have been blessed beyond measure. And, even if I feel some times like I'm a slave in Egypt, it's also nice to remember that God is a redeemer. Yet, instead of wandering through the desert for 40 years, I have to learn to trust Him.
I feel this way at my mom's Catholic church -- especially during candlelit penance services -- there's something so powerful and moving about taking part in a God-given ritual that has been observed for millennia. At times, especially during traditional hymns, I feel a strong connection with ancient peoples as if the time/space continuum all but disappeared. At a seder, this is compounded when listening to Hebrew both spoken and in song. It's like poetry to my ears.
But my new favorite word is "dayenu" which is loosely translated as "it would have been enough for us" or "it would have been sufficient."
I drove home last night thinking:
Had He simply loved me but allowed me to live in poverty, dayenu
Had He raised me in a comfortable, loving home but given me no talents, dayenu
Had He given me talents but no outlet, dayenu
Had He given me a menial job with no prospects, dayenu
Had He given me a challenging yet rewarding job but no friendships, dayenu
Had He given me heaps o' friends but no husband and children, dayenu
Had He given me an awesome family but terrible health, dayenu
Had He given me perfect health but no retirement funds, dayenu
I could go on and on. It's such a great reminder, especially when down in the dumps, that I have been blessed beyond measure. And, even if I feel some times like I'm a slave in Egypt, it's also nice to remember that God is a redeemer. Yet, instead of wandering through the desert for 40 years, I have to learn to trust Him.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Mrs. Laura David
So when you're continually slogging it out at work and dreaming of downsizing to a doublewide just to ease the financial tension, what normally would make me pause and laugh, today makes me insanely jealous.
This woman is seeking $54K a week in her divorce settlement. No, that's not a typo; that's her weekly expenditure. Expenses include $4,500 for her clothing allowance where presumably she's paying her personal tailor to design an entirely new wardrobe daily and sew it right onto her body -- how else could you possibly spend over $600/day on clothes?? Especially when you have a weekly dry cleaning bill of $650? So she must "recycle" some of her clothes. Or maybe she's dry cleaning her linens.
Which leads me to: how big are her closets?
I especially love the $8K per week in travel expenses because I can see how that would actually add up. Two homes in Switzerland, private jet, hangar, fuel, pilots, etc. It cannot be cheap. However, she spends in only one week roughly equivalent of how much we spend on our annual trip to a fun, kid-friendly resort. Damn!
Lastly, only $250 on her personal trainer? What's that, one hour? After spending $1,500 on meals and entertainment, she might want to step up the exercise a bit more, no? Mind you, she does look great. I think that $1K on weekly skincare is paying dividends.
Shoot me now: All of this is on top of the $36 million he's already given her.
I'll be thinking of her as I take out a home equity loan to repair my collapsing tract house. And I'll be tracking him down shortly thereafter. Doesn't he need a new woman who can live modestly on the paltry $36 million without asking for more?
The nerve of some people!
This woman is seeking $54K a week in her divorce settlement. No, that's not a typo; that's her weekly expenditure. Expenses include $4,500 for her clothing allowance where presumably she's paying her personal tailor to design an entirely new wardrobe daily and sew it right onto her body -- how else could you possibly spend over $600/day on clothes?? Especially when you have a weekly dry cleaning bill of $650? So she must "recycle" some of her clothes. Or maybe she's dry cleaning her linens.
Which leads me to: how big are her closets?
I especially love the $8K per week in travel expenses because I can see how that would actually add up. Two homes in Switzerland, private jet, hangar, fuel, pilots, etc. It cannot be cheap. However, she spends in only one week roughly equivalent of how much we spend on our annual trip to a fun, kid-friendly resort. Damn!
Lastly, only $250 on her personal trainer? What's that, one hour? After spending $1,500 on meals and entertainment, she might want to step up the exercise a bit more, no? Mind you, she does look great. I think that $1K on weekly skincare is paying dividends.
Shoot me now: All of this is on top of the $36 million he's already given her.
I'll be thinking of her as I take out a home equity loan to repair my collapsing tract house. And I'll be tracking him down shortly thereafter. Doesn't he need a new woman who can live modestly on the paltry $36 million without asking for more?
The nerve of some people!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Lenten Sacrifice
My brother recently sent me to the site This is why you're fat which boasts the tagline "where dreams become heart attacks."
Too bad it's a Friday in Lent. I could really go for a loaf of ground Spam cubes with a Velveeta cheese center topped with a layer of hot Velveeta. Or the McGangBang: a McChicken sandwich inside a double cheeseburger. Mmmmmmmmmm.
For now, I'll have to pass on the Porkgasm and the Meat Cake. Maybe we can save the latter for my birthday.
Festive, right?
Too bad it's a Friday in Lent. I could really go for a loaf of ground Spam cubes with a Velveeta cheese center topped with a layer of hot Velveeta. Or the McGangBang: a McChicken sandwich inside a double cheeseburger. Mmmmmmmmmm.
For now, I'll have to pass on the Porkgasm and the Meat Cake. Maybe we can save the latter for my birthday.
Festive, right?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Beast of Burden
Matthew 11:25-30, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Like an ox that doesn't realize there is a stream at the end of the trail, I cannot see where God is leading me so I'm stubbornly holding myself in a bad place. And I am having a hard time remembering that God is carrying the yoke with (or rather for) me. I have to keep repeating that phrase from Matthew today to remind myself that life is only truly unbearable if I do not believe that God can refresh me, replenish my soul and lead me beside still waters.
Now to find a green pasture in which to lie down.
Like an ox that doesn't realize there is a stream at the end of the trail, I cannot see where God is leading me so I'm stubbornly holding myself in a bad place. And I am having a hard time remembering that God is carrying the yoke with (or rather for) me. I have to keep repeating that phrase from Matthew today to remind myself that life is only truly unbearable if I do not believe that God can refresh me, replenish my soul and lead me beside still waters.
Now to find a green pasture in which to lie down.
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