Gotham Gal

The Good Guy, first film at Tribeca Film Festival

Today I went to see The Good Guy.  The first film of 5 movies I have tickets to see at the Tribeca Film Festival. 

Personally, I didn't like the film.  Obnoxious Wall street guys that think they rule the universe.  We all know the kind.  I hated those kind of guys in my early 20's when I moved to the city and haven't exactly changed my tune.  The cast was pretty seasoned and nice to see Andrew McCarthy back in action but as a whole, I could have done without the film.

The best part was when we left the film.  Everyone in NYC is a critic.  It is hilarious.  From I loved that film to I hated it to what was the point of that to analyzing the screenplay.  Classic stuff.

Perhaps a not so great film but seeing the a film at the Tribeca Film Festival with a bunch of critics is worth the price of admission. 

Massage?

I have never been a big massage person.  I generally get one on vacation but sometimes not.  In the summer,  I do on occasion but as a rule, I don't seek it out. 

When I was pregnant with Jessica, I was huge ( she was 9 lbs. 4 ounces ) and I waddled when I walked.  I fell and hurt my lower back.  I managed to push through the pain and seemed fine a few days later.  But, as the years have progressed, it is something that has not only stuck with me, it has grown to create other problems. 

I have tried acupuncture, chiropractors, yoga, deep tissue massage, etc., but basically I have learned to live with it as the pain comes and goes.  Perhaps it is age but there are some mornings where getting on pants is not a smooth process.  So, when my friend told me about neuromuscular therapy, I figured why not.

My friend is a personal trainer and he studied the body.  After he went for his session, he told the guy, I've been looking for you my whole life.  So, I went. 

There is a mattress on the floor.  I wore comfy clothes.  I laid down and he basically used his feet to feel my body.  Once he pinpointed the problem, he gets down on the floor and literally does serious deep tissue movements.  Pushing, poking, prodding, pulling etc.  The idea is to open up all the tissues that cross-llink with each other and create adhesions.  These type of conditions can have a negative impact on the body.  If you open up these areas, the pains will go away.  They can obviously come back but you have to start somewhere.

After an hour, I was shattered.  I crawled into bed around 830 that night.  I have been out of whack for 2 days.  Have been drinking lots of water and still feel bruised.  But, the experience was wild and I am going back for round 2. 

Maybe this will be the answer or maybe not.

En Japanese Brasserie

En Japanese Brasserie opened up to mixed reviews and lots of hoopla.  Maybe it was the supposed scene and the mixed reviews which is why I never went.  It is certainly in my neighborhood and I have passed it many times.  This large over the top looking restaurant.  I have sort of just been waiting for it to close.  But En has surprised me because it is still standing.  We finally made our way there with 2 other couples on Thursday night.  An even bigger surprise is that the food was quite good.

Low lights, a few private rooms, a large open kitchen and a high end Japanese look.  Sort of reminds me of Los Angles, not sure why.  We had the true benefit of being with one person who lived in Japan for an extended period of time and happens to speak fluid Japanese.  We tried food that I wouldn't have even given a second thought about on the menu.  The sister restaurant happens to be in Japan. 

We started off with the classic edamame and marinated thinly sliced veggies.  We drank a drink that was a combo of vodka/sake.  Bottled like sake but not as sugary.  Our friend drank it with warm water.  Probably great for a cold but Fred and I went with it over the rocks.  Very mild yet tasty.  Interesting since I had never even heard about it before.  Would definitely order again.

Then the food came out.  The first thing looked like clear gummy worms with pieces of green running through it.  Strange looking and a weird texture but really good.  This is made of tarot.  You dip it in a sauce that is miso based, put a little bit of chopped radishes and scallions on top and pop it in your mouth.  Quite good.  We also had a miso tasting.  That was excellent.  Four different cups of miso pastes.  One was peanut butter based, one was chili based and spicy and the other two were interesting and delicious.  This is served with sliced of green and red cabbage.  You take the wooden stick and rub the miso over your cabbage.  Very light.

We had house-made tofu that was silky and tasty.  You would scoop a little bit into your bowl and then pour a dashi sauce over the top for taste.  Another way we tasted tofu was just having the skin that gels over the surface served with a citrus sauce.  Interesting.   We also had a deep fried tarot mash that sort of looked like a corn dog which was also interesting.  Chopped shrimp served like fritters with a salt to dip into was excellent.  The tiny squid served with an uni miso tasted old and weird.  That I would not go back for.  Classic miso black cod which was really well done.

Deep fried boneless chicken thighs were quite excellent.  A mixture of interesting rolls too.  Dessert came.  A mixture of ice creams.  Green tea, red bean, apple, black sesame and the best was this intense vanilla.  They also ordered a red bean tiramasu.  Strange but supposedly authentic. 

So glad we went.  Really delicious.  Our friend, who spent serious time in Japan, loved it.  Will definitely be going back.  Guess I shouldn't judge a book by the cover. 

The end of Geocities

Fred wrote a great post about Geocities which is supposedly being shut down by Yahoo.  Geocities represents many things to me.  First and foremost, it was one of the first and most successful companies in the first round on the web.  Geocities, which was started by David Bohnett, one of the nicest men, changed our life.  The profits on that investment alone allowed Fred and I to move back to the city ( where we always felt we belonged ) and buy a home.  We always referred to that house as the house that Geocities built. 

For any of you that read Fred's piece, I want to add to it by sharing how that investment changed our life. 

Flatiron Partners was also a start-up.  Jerry and Fred began the partnership with capital from Softbank and Chase.  They started to see the most interesting deals that were happening on the Internet.  They were also seeing ones that were ridiculous.  The one thing that was special about how they did business is that they really cared.  We all did.  We loved the businesses, the people, their brains, their ideas and we all wanted to succeed together.  I fundamentally believe that Fred and I are still like that in every investment we make.  It is not only about the return but the excitement and the relationships you build getting there.

We were living in the burbs.  In a house that was vacant of furniture except for the strands left over from our first post-college purchases.  We had 3 kids, all young.  I was working with Jason Calacanis at Silicon Alley Reporter and loving being in the craze of things.  Our lives were stressed as we were basically living from hand to mouth. 

Flatiron had many investments, some good and obviously some bad.  As gung-ho as we both were about the possible upsides, we were watching out bank account barely holding its own.  Fred was so stressed that when Josh was born he got shingles.  We had a lot riding on the next steps in our careers. 

One particular day, I went to the grocery store.  We always paid cash for groceries.  Our theory at that point is pay cash for things that don't appreciate over time and charge things that do such as a new car purchase.  Anyway, I went to take out cash and we had none.  I called Fred.  At this point we were both at our wits end in some ways and just praying for something to change our situation.  Fred said, charge the groceries, Geocities is going public on Tuesday and it should change things. 

I charged the groceries and needless to say, Fred was right.  After Geocities, company after company started having exit strategies.  We then had the ability to think about expanding our house, buying a new one and just changing our living situation.  Instead, we decided quite quickly that back to the city was the call.  Within 2 weeks we have a contract on a house, had our kids in a school and never looked back.

Lots of hard work and of course luck too.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about how lucky I am to live in NYC. Many times I think about Geocities and how that company ( and obviously David Bohnett ) changed our lives.  I embrace every investment and person I have had the pleasure to meet with gusto but there is a very very special place in my heart for Geocities.  I am sorry to see them go but as they say, onward and upward. 

Where is the economy heading?

One person's birds eye views is another person's ground floor particularly in terms of where is the economy heading?

I am an eternal optimist.  I am quite aware of how fragile the economy is.  Unemployment continues to surge.  Are we still on the way down or are we now feeling the large tremors from the initial shock?  I see restaurants packed and others closed.  I read that rents are stabilizing in NYC but are they?  I do wonder ( and worry ) about people in my age bracket who have lost their jobs and their jobs are never going to come back, they have vanished.  They have kids going off to college and now they can't afford the mortgage or their life.  What will happen to them?  Younger people will be able to take a step back and reassess their careers and lives.  Most people my age have a harder time doing that.

I was speaking to a guy who gives our Vespas the tune up every year to return to the road.  The nicest guy.  His shop is in Brooklyn.  Today, he told me he is moving to Vermont.  He believes the unemployment will hit 11% in the near future. So, he is leaving NYC. He has family there and is young enough to make the move and change his life.  He is concerned about the economy.  He wonders if the US will ever be able to rebound when we are becoming a country that won't be manufacturing products to export.  That is what his parents world was about and we are still living off of that but it has ceased to exist.

Where I sit, I believe that we will come back and be stronger than ever.  We will create new industries, new economies, new ways of life that are energy efficient, think about saving vs out spending our neighbor, giving back and caring more, changing the way we educate our children, etc.  I could go on and on.  I see the downfall in the economy as an opportunity to change for the better.  That is how I think. 

But after getting off the phone with our bike guy, it gives me pause and ability to look through a brand new set of eyes.  Sorry to see him go.  But, I hope that the change for him is a great one and that with him making a move to Vermont, he will create new economies for that state that he didn't even know he would or could.

Talk about entering a new stage of life

When we moved to the suburbs ( our short time in purgatory ) I figured I'd be OK.  As a rule, I am a pretty optimistic person.  A friend of mine said she knew someone who had moved up there recently and wanted to know if I wanted an introduction.  I figured that life would be fine and I'd meet people right and left so I passed.  Wrong.  After 2 weeks of loneliness, I called my friend and asked for her friends number.  I called her right away and her first response ( she had been there only 4 more weeks more than me ) was thank god you called.

We hit it off immediately.  Serious fast friends.  Her daughter was the same age as Emily.  By our second play date, that would be I saw her on Monday and then we got together again on Tuesday, we were pouring out intimate information about our lives.  Now that I know her so well, intimate information is generally not so free-flowing.  We definitely had a special connection besides pining for our return to the city (Brooklyn for her). She told me that she was married before and had a son when she was a mere 18.  Wow.

Our time in the suburbs with her and her family are beyond memorable.  We got together almost daily, drank many bottles of wine, cooked many dinners together, our husbands were pals, our kids were great together and we lived through many life events.  We still love getting together. 

Eventually we left the burbs to go back to the city and their family left that area of the burbs moving to another suburban area.  But, we have always kept in touch, and see each other in the summer at the beach.  Our daughters end up renewing their relationship 2 summers ago going on a program in Oxford together.  To us, that is really special. 

Today, I was invited to go to a surprise shower for her.  It was called a Grandmother Shower.  Her son is having a baby this summer.  Talk about entering a new stage of life.  As I wrote on the card, I can't believe it. 

I really only know a few of her friends, she has friends from many different walks of life.  Today I was able to put the faces together with her stories over the years.  It was a really nice event. 

I have barely entered the 50 year old bday party gig and here is my friend having a grand kid.  Woah.  I might be taking a deep look in the mirror when I get up tomorrow morning to just let out a deep sigh.  With Jessica going to college and Josh just becoming a bar mitzvah, I thought I was entering a new phase but the grand kid thing kind of leaves me speechless. 

The gushing mom

Jessica is interning at Style.com.  Loving the work life vs the school life.  Taking on more responsibilities daily.  Today, she got a byline which is pretty sweet.

The New Man At Nina Ricci

April 22, 2009  12:44 pm

It’s official. Peter Copping, formerly of Louis Vuitton, started at Nina Ricci on Monday, replacing Olivier Theyskens, who was let go after a remarkable Fall show in Paris last month. Copping is working on a resort collection that will be presented in late June, but it’s said that he won’t make his runway debut until next March. He told WWD he’d like to make Nina Ricci “contemporary again.” No word on whether that means contemporary price points (we sort of doubt it, but a girl can dream, can’t she?). If it in fact does, it wouldn’t be the first storied French brand to move in that direction. Rochas, which relaunched for Fall when Marco Zanini stepped into a position previously occupied by Theyskens, intends to keep its prices below designer levels. Theyskens, meanwhile, continues to be the subject of rumors about reviving the house of Elsa Schiaparelli. There’s also talk that he may relaunch his signature label.

—Jessica Wilson

Personalities

At lunch today, my friend and I were discussing our kids and their different personalities.  As long as I have known her,  I have been impressed with her unique ability to work with people no matter what their personality is.  She was fantastic at navigating the political landscape when we worked together and was happy to do it.  I, on the other hand, found it incredibly frustrating.  I was also frustrated by her ability to take it all in stride and not get ruffled and I so wanted to be able to do that but I just couldn't.  Never angry at her but at myself. 

We started out in our careers together and at one point she worked for Kraft.  There, they took the Myers & Briggs personality test very seriously.  They used them to help managers, in particular, understand the different personalities working on their brands and how to make the most of it.  One is not better than the other, it is more about understanding everyone's different thought processes.  For instance, if one person was incredibly introverted and wasn't interested in sharing information, it was important for a manager to figure out ways to check in with that person so they didn't find themselves 3 months into something going in the wrong direction.  How do you manage a person with that type of personality.  On the other hand, how do you manage someone who is so extroverted that there is so much information coming at you that it is too much. 

Think about tiny children who never say a word until they are 3 and then begin talking in complete sentences.  Those kids have the personality where they need to figure it out themself before jumping into the game.  Interesting. 

So, after much discussion, I went home and took the Myers &Briggs personality test on line.  It takes a few minutes.  The questions are simple.  Out came the results.  I am an ENTJ.  Extroverted, Intuitive, Thinking and Judging.  I read the description, pretty much hits the nail on the head.  I called my friend and she then shared with me what she thought I was.  She didn't want to tell me before I took the test.  She hit it perfectly.  She told me what she was, and I looked it up, bingo.  She definitely spent lots of time on this at Kraft so she remembered all the info.  Yet, by understanding the different types of behavior, it has helped her over the years.

There are many companies that make their CEO's take these tests.  There is something to be said for it.  Not so much to categorize people but to understand how they think or perhaps react.  Someone who is extroverted is going to be happy to share information, a CEO who is introverted might keep everything inside.  How can one work with each of those individuals under one roof will make for a better environment in the long run. 

I am going to have everyone in our house take it.  Not that I don't know who they are all but it will be interesting to see the results in black and white.  Might be helpful in having a better understanding why each of us react in a certain way.  Next time, we might take a step back and see more clearly each individuals initial reaction and get it. 

Signs of Spring

Enough already.  But today there were some serious signs of spring.

Fava beans and English peas at the market and on restaurant menus
Sandals one day, rain boots the next
Green, green, green
Birds in the morning
Erratic weather
Winter coats no longer on the street
People on the street
And of course, baseball season

What a weekend

 Saturday, Josh became a bar mitzvah.  Our youngest.  This passage just put us into another time period.  We are deep into teenagers that are exiting the nest one after the other.  Strange on so many levels but incredibly gratifying on others.

The whole day was really fantastic.  So many people were there to share in a pretty major event.  One of  activities we had at the party is a photo machine from Mark van S.  I sort of stumbled on him four + years ago.  He was doing an installation at the DKNY store on Madison Avenue.  I  was watching black and white photos rotate on a screen and thought the people looked so natural.  Wondered if it was their latest ad campaign?  The sales person told me he was there from the  the party they had the night before and to go downstairs and have our picture taken.  We did.  I was with Jess and Em.  We were all exhausted, it was late in the day and the photos were beautiful.  The concept is genius.  Not only is it interactive but its fun.  I hired him on the spot. 

He did Emily's party.  From that event, just like any good ponzi scheme, his business has exploded.  We had him back for Josh on Saturday night.  One of the best parts is the next day, when you go on line and see all the photos in the booth, you get to experience a part of the party you weren't at.  Also, people are hilarious when they are in front of a camera by themselves.

Recovering today, I went through the pics.  Hilarious.  I'd hire him again in a heartbeat.  The pictures are of Josh and Em, Jess and Josh and the girls with my nieces.  Sorry they aren't larger but they end up getting blurry when I tried to blow them up.  What I will do is go through the CD he gave me when we left and make an iphoto book.