Blonde in Manhattan

Back In NYC!

2010-05-31T11:57:00.002-04:00

Sorry for not mentioning this earlier (I guess this is what happens when you are dealing with two blogs and a twitter) but I spent the last ten days on vacation. It was mostly another Contiki (my second one-the other was in Fall 08) and it was in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was also my first real cruise (minus those mini Bahamas vacations) which meant a lot of constant drinking and running around extremely hot locations. It was pretty fitting especially since those Sex and the City girls spent time running around another hot locale recently!

I always learn something when I travel. When I went to Scandinavia/Russia right after college graduation I found myself completely out of my element and loving that buzz which made me even more motivated to plunge right into NYC. My first Contiki in fall 08-was Eastern Europe. I was more reticent around other people and realized on that trip that I deserved to connect with people.

This past trip was a very interesting one. Every single stop was a completely different culture, lifestyle, and history (hello, pyramids!). It is also completely fascinating to me how people portray you in such a short period of time. Some of the ways i reacted was a flashback to college-same scenarios but different people. I have always felt horribly misunderstood-I love my body but I am actually quite picky with it, I am smart but I love the flighty girly things. I also always want to make sure that I 'right' everything before i leave something. I was unable to do that this time around and I am sorry for that. Very few people understand me and that is not always the easiest thing to deal with. But some people are just fantastic-I will leave it at that!

Overall, it reaffirmed my desire to grow and be happy and that most importantly that I DESERVE to be happy.

I am closer than ever to that goal-coming back to NYC i feel excited for upcoming events and to go right into another work project. And if you can return from vacation and still be excited, well, thats a milestone that I am loving :)

Loehmann's Part Two

2010-04-27T18:57:00.003-04:00

This weekend I wrote an entry about a terrible experience I had at Loehmann's.

Like I said in my entry-I LOVE Loehmann's! This is partly why I was so shocked and upset with how I was treated. I always knew I would return (I mean I cannot stay away from those kind of deals!) but I definitely would have felt awkward returning especially with the usual thoughts: 'omg will the same people will be there? will they look at me and remember?.'

Corporate read my blog and ended up calling me. They were great! They were highly concerned with how I was treated and let me vocalize my concerns as well as any recommendations I had for improvements. The thing is-people always have bad days and I'm sure after a long crazy day dealing with people it can be hard to be angelically nice. However, it takes more energy to be mean than to be pleasant!

I was assured that this would never happen again and that employees would be trained even moreso to have great customer service skills! I also work in the corporate side fashion and will check up on my stores to see how employees act-it really is disheartening when you see poor customer service. I was impressed with how dedicated Loehmann's was to correcting the issue and that even if I am just one person they took the time to reach out to me.

Nothing is ever perfect but what people really remember is how you react when its not.

Johnson School Fashion Forum

2010-04-27T18:52:00.002-04:00

Last night I attended the Johnson School Fashion Forum (The Paradigm Shift: How are Consumers Changing in a Post-Recession World?). As a Cornell alumni it was one of the best Cornell events I have been to (even if technically it was an MBA school event)!

Impressive speakers, great crowd and using a café in Saks was the perfect venue! The panel discussed the impact of the recession on consumers as well as each company’s strategy to shift people from the ‘sale only’ mentality back to full priced items. I don’t believe we will ever go back to the extreme-shoppers are a lot more informed and deal driven (explosion of gilt group and factory stores).

Most of the panel stuck around afterwards to chat which was nice and not always the case in these events. There was as usual some blatent ‘please give me a job and to do this I’m going to suck up and ask lame questions’ type of people but that’s pretty expected. The majority of the crowd was very friendly and I had some interesting conversations.

I’m glad to see more interest in fashion and luxury in higher educational forums. It is too often that fashion events are just frivolous so this was a great change. I’m hoping there are more of these forums-Johnson School I'm looking at you!

Loehmann's

2010-04-24T22:01:00.002-04:00

I love Loehmann's. I was pretty much raised there by mother. I am buying there pretty consistently (hello gold member-my mother is a diamond member haha) and absolutely love looking at the 'how much you saved' section of my receipt. I also love collecting their coupons and using those for a big purchase.

Today I was there with an army of coupons and an even greater supply of clothes to be bought (a few new summer tops for work and a couple of travel things for my cruise). Before I left I got an e-mail for an additional coupon-I went out of my way to print it (I don't have a printer at my apt) since I read the fine print and it said I could combine the specific offers I was using.

I went to pay and gave my coupons. The girl said I couldn't combine both-I said I was confused because I read the coupon and it said I could. The manager came over and right away was a huge bitch. I handed it over to her so she could read the fine print-she screamed she couldn't read it. I asked if someone else could or I could read it (which I did). She then inferred that I was stupid and that she didn't let others combine them so do I deserve it? I said that the coupon says that I should be able to and it is rude that she is being nasty to me (terrible customer service). She went to find the other manager. I then heard that 'they couldn't deal with me' and had some one else just give me the discount.

I am not a bitch and I love the product there-but that service is terribly off-putting. I refuse to back down when I am not the one in the wrong. I'm sitting here with my pretty clothes but the experience was quite ugly....xoxo*

Okay here is a real try...

2010-04-24T21:38:00.002-04:00

I'm going to try this again! I feel like I am reaching a real turning point in my life and really need another outlet. I think this is the perfect place.

My new job is going well. I am restructuring my social circle. I try to be involved in a million activities but I still feel incredibly awkward in social situations. This time around I have decided to not let that stop me. I have some social events penned into my calendar (if I can't find someone else to go-I'm just going to suck it up and go). I have a cruise in mid May to the Eastern Mediterranean.

I'm trying to get the most out of life and find more ways to connect with people.

Things are happening.

I'm Back!

2009-12-31T15:46:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone,

I have decided to plunge back into the world of blogspot :)

As for NYE resolutions-I don't really have anything specific. I tend to take my personal progress one day at a time. Hope you look forward to plenty of entries in the New Year-my January calendar already looks pretty full and I'm excited!

...xoxo*

The Murray Hill Song

2009-04-03T19:29:00.001-04:00

This video is highly entertaining even though i don't live in Murray Hill (I'm a tad bit north) and I try not to go to Joshua Tree ha.

Walking is Dangerous Business

2009-04-03T15:25:00.001-04:00

I feel like life acts in opposites a lot of the time. The moment you aren't expecting something to happen/change is the moment it does. Yesterday I went to a networking event-I was at work for a while so i just walked over there straight away. This was annoying because as usual I felt like a mess after work and wanted to freshen up-you never know when you might meet someone!

On my walk over there were a few ibankers walking in front of me. One of them turned around to blatantly stare at me. Awkward. Luckily, i was rocking out on my iphone so i could well...pretend that this wasn't happening. He was staring so hard that he wasn't paying attention and hardcore tripped over a curb. His friend had to help him up. To make it more awkward-he points at me and says 'it was her fault!"..Ha. As my friend Jessie would say FHL (fuck his life).

(actually i love my boobs too much so i'm not sure how i feel about this)

Fun in Finland

2009-04-01T21:08:00.002-04:00

Finland is a country not many people really know much about. I was very lucky to have spent about a week in Helsinki, Finland after my college graduation. It was interesting, beautiful and the people were very friendly. Not to mention all the delish seafood!

Not long ago I saw Confessions of a Shopaholic where the main character claimed that she was fluent in Finnish (she obviously was not!). Later that night my friend and I crashed a party and met some Finnish documentarians (that's a whole other story!). Recently, that same friend sent me a list of unique competitions in Finland. They are:
1. Wife Carrying World Championships
2. World Cell Phone Throwing Championships
3. Air Guitar World Championship
4. Mosquito Swatting Championships
5. Ant-Nest Sitting Competition
6. Ice Swimming Events
7. World Cup in Snowshoe Football
8. Finnish Sauna World Championships
9. Kutemajarvi Sex Festival & Matchmaking Festival
10. Swamp Soccer World Championships
11. Finnish Cattle Calling Championships
12. Finnish Dialect Speaking Championships
13. Milking Stool Throwing Contests

And if you are there and none of these events are happening the just call up one of my favorite Finnish-Pamela Anderson!

oh youtube...

2009-03-29T15:17:00.004-04:00

a couple of entertaining youtube videos:

and this one is stolen from my friend Jessie's blog. it is just too good to not be posted again!

Jeeealous

2009-03-27T23:31:00.001-04:00

This season of ANTM is pretty bland but i love this clip. The best part is Tyra's reaction to Allison's comment. I am glad that in the makeover they made Allison blonde-aka a little less scary. She is actually my favorite right now!

Keep Voting!

2009-03-24T17:46:00.002-04:00

Last night I listened to Naomi Wolf speak. She is most known for her book The Beauty Myth-a feminist cornerstone which discussed the effects of beauty in all areas of life. I remember reading that book over and over again during high school. The Beauty Myth inspired me to become more vocal about my feminist beliefs which must have been a universal response to her book since her work ushered in the third-wave of feminism.

Now she in a prominent political activist-for democracy. Her current book- Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries-urges every citizen to use their voice to actively keep in check our democracy. People are lazy about politics-even with the spark ignited by the recent election many people just voted and stopped there. It is imperative to vote in Congressional elections and not be passive in community choices-no matter how small. Keeping checks and balances balanced in our system and democracy alive is an active effort that is too often taken for granted.

So take a moment today and look into your district and see what exactly is going on and how you can influence changes that will impact your everyday life. It would be a waste not to speak up! xoxo*

The Way We Were

2009-03-21T22:49:00.000-04:00

I am actually a complete hopeless romantic but i despise most dramatic, romantic movies and won't watch most of them (I haven't even seen The Notebook). However, there are a couple of love movies that i adore, one of which i watched again this past week at the Junior League. The movie is 'The Way We Were'- it is about a complicated relationship between Hubble (played by an omg drop dead gorgeous Robert Redford) and K-K-K-Katie (played by Barbara Streisand). It is completely beautiful but heartbreaking at the same time.

The end of the movie was paralelled in one of my very favorite shows -Sex and the City. Carrie compares her relationship with Big to the one between Hubble and Katie. Mostly stating that there were two types of girls in the world-the Katie girls (the complicated/interesting ones) and the simple girls. Later in the episode Carrie meets up with Big after his engagement party and she re-creates the ending of 'The Way We Were'. (Obviously their relationship ended up differently than Hubble/Katie.) Here are the two clips:

Attack of the 'Models'

2009-03-17T21:45:00.000-04:00

Oh Tyra Banks. She's a little-scratch that- completely nutty but i am addicted to America's Next Top Model. Everytime I watch that show i always say that if i was tall i would clearly go on that show and win. It is all part of my 'secret' desire to become a lingerie model. I was thrilled when I discovered that the current casting for ANTM is for 5'6" and under! I was going to drag my ass to the NYC auditions but never made it there this past weekend.

Its a good thing I didn't because well, there was a bit of a stampede.

Home is Where My Habits Have a Habitat

2009-03-11T10:44:00.003-04:00

I am a nail biter. I'm not sure when it really started but i'm pretty sure it has only gotten worse. Right now i am completely stressed out and the brunt of it has been taken out on my poor little nails. I didn't notice how horrible they were until i realized that they almost look as awful as the example of extreme biting on Wikipedia. Eek.

Then on the subway i saw this man with perfectly glossed lips and shiny well manicured nails. I looked at the nubs of my nails and felt slightly jealous/disappointed that he looked so much better than I did! I'm not sure what the cure is-less stress? Impossible! I attempted to paint gross tasting polish on them but then i just added a new habit of picking it off and then biting. Or not even biting them but peeling the nail. Gross.

If all else fails i could always go to a rehab clinic for nail biting. All I need to do is hop on a plane to Venlo, Netherlands and start my treatment.

Freeze Me out

2009-03-08T17:05:00.001-04:00

I have a huge issue with asking other people for help. My biggest and most recent example of this would be my freezer. I'm not sure exactly how it happened but my frezer rebelled and became this:

Yea that would be my freezer. I have been trying a multitude of ways to fix it but I cannot seem find the solution. My real issue is that it has gotten so horrific that I am ultra embarrased to actually get it fixed. I guess eventually i will just have to suck it up and ask haha...xoxo*

PS that yellow thing is a towel that i was using in one of my experiments to fix my freezer. it failed. and was then eaten by my freezer.

Family Guy

2009-03-05T22:44:00.000-05:00

One show that never fails to make me laugh is Family Guy. Last fall I saw Seth MacFarlane and crew perform live (they did a reading of Stewie Kills Lois/Lois Kills Stewie as well as radom songs in between) and they were fantastic.

Everytime i watch an episode (I own all the seasons yet I still dvr on TBS) I find something that cracks me up-or some nuance that I didn't notice before. Today was a rough/annoying day at work so my cubicle neighbor and i watched the following clip a million times:

It never gets old. haha xoxo*

Mother, Mother

2009-03-05T18:23:00.001-05:00

All generations tend to be a little different due to a myriad of factors-economic, state of the world, technology etc. As a result each generation of parents have varying styles parenting. Well, my mother is pretty much obsessed with the way I look (and the way she looks). I have noticed that a lot of my friends have simlar problems with their mothers.

This came to a head yesterday when my mom and I had an hour arguement because my sister tattled that I was wearing flats to an early dinner instead of heels (the average age at the Oceana restaurant at 6pm was 85 so who exactly was I supposed to be impressing?). Apparently, flat shoes make me look 'dumpy' which means i look like a hot mess which in turn means i am disappointing the family. Okay, that might sound like an overreaction but thats pretty much my mother's way of thinking. She then told me that the real problem wasn't my flat shoes but that i would not admit that i looked 'unattractive' wearing them. Whut?

Let's just say the conversation didn't end well.

It does worry me about our generation as parents-especially with a lot of girls who have weight insecurities. Do these problems get passed down from generation to generation? Sadly, I think they do.

The Bachelor Gone Wrong

2009-03-03T01:34:00.001-05:00

I am a fan of reality tv (even though i kicked my Hills habit long ago-seriously nothing happens on that show!). I have also tried to be on a couple of reality shows-those details will have to be for another blog ;). The one show i would actually be scared to go on would be The Bachelor because knowing my luck I will end up on national tv bawling in a limo.

Well, tonights Bachelor finale made me so disgusted. The poor protagonist was supposed to be Jason Mesnick who presented himself as the ultimate good guy- devoted to his son and all he wants is some amazing family. He originally proposed to an adorable Melissa but 6 weeks later changes his mind and picks the other girl. WTF. I am all for following your heart but breaking up with a fiancee and then five minutes later making out with another chic is completely classless and cruel. Thank you ABC and Jason for not having a soul.

I have an issue when i watch these shows-I feel so much emphathy for the nice girls who aren't chosen and are ripped apart by the lies they were told. I always think 'what if that was me?'. I am so confused by what has happened to the concept of relationships and engagements. If you don't want to 100% be in a relationship or being engaged DON'T BE IN ONE. Its not that difficult and any one who just stays in something because its easy or they just want to be laid is sad and pathetic. I can only pray that I never end up in such a situation.

Help Me Martha!

2009-03-02T16:51:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I saw Martha Stewart speak at Business Week's Captains of Industry Lecture Series at the 92nd St Y. I was never the biggest Martha fan but was intrigued by her career/empire.

Well, she completely surprised me-Martha was witty, funny, and seemed genuinely intrigued by everything and everyone. She was certainly quite arrogant but completely deserves it! Martha has writtten over 65 books, magazines, multiple websites, television series and a station plus a bevy of designs for Macys, Wal-Mart and K-Mart. She opened Martha Stewart's Center for Living at Mt. Sinai and is working even more expansions to her empire.

Martha was also a lot more open about her troublesome past. When asked what she has learned she said 'I learned to live with less...something that everyone is learning now.'

Now if only i could learn to wake up at 5am and take on the world every day like she does!...xoxo*

Lonely In The City

2009-03-02T16:19:00.000-05:00

There have been a myriad of articles about whether or not NYC is a lonely place. There have also been sayings and songs with the same theme: being lonely in a crowded room.

Lately, the feeling of loneliness has been hitting me harder than usual. I'm a very independent person- I go to museums, concerts, and Russia solo without blinking an eye.

However, I am starting to really tire of not having many true connections-especially in the city. I'm not really sure what else i can do to fix this...xoxo*

Communicate Me!

2009-02-17T23:52:00.002-05:00

My biggest pet peeves are pretty much the same thing: being ignored and flaky people. I'm not sure how these things happen or why it seems to be so difficult for people to be reliable. This is especially compounded by the fact there are so many means to communicate. I have my glorious iphone (call and text), email, facebook, livejournal, twitter and this blog. I realize that there are people out there who aren't as *~connected*~ but everyone has at least two different ways to communicate.

The thing that most people do not understand is that i don't really care if you don't want to do something or cannot make it but damnit respond. It takes 2secs to send a text or an email or a facebook message so just choose one and do it! Basic etiquette, people. I am extremely independent and can do 99% of things on my own but i do expect follow through!

In the general scheme of things it takes very little to make me happy: a little acknowledgment and respect and i'm good. For those who cannot manage those little things-well then, i'm done!

Hello Stem Cells

2009-02-11T23:05:00.001-05:00

A little known fact: I used to be really conservative- pro-life and all. That all changed when I had to do a report from the reciprocal viewpoint and well, totally reversed my position. I became hardcore liberal and spent the majority of high school defending that vision (which was pretty much a daily battle!). However, at closer inspection of the whole political scene I became disheartened by party lines. I understand why they exist-partly because of money but really for simplificiation purposes. It is much easier to claim a party than a viewpoint.

As a result, my thoughts shifted and became only issue based. There are two issues that are extremely important to me. The first is women's equality (obviously) which just parallels my feelings on meritocracy (still not sure why there is still a wage gap or any of that other nonesense). The second issue is something that I will never ever understand a varying opinion on and that is stem cell reserach.

The reason is highly personal- I have been a type one diabetic for 19 years. I indubitably believe that my cure will be a result of stem cell research. Douglas Melton and his team at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute are leading this battle which I follow intently. Clinicals for stem cell and other pancreatic cell therapies are getting closer to full human trials.

I cannot express what a cure would mean to me. Or to describe the weight that would be lifted to not spend every moment, on some level, thinking about my blood sugars or injections. I am lucky to have a 'tamer' disease and to be a professional at it-but its called chronic for a reason. Every day we get closer and that is what keeps me hoping.

6 Month Catch-Up

2009-02-08T22:45:00.003-05:00

It has been about six months since my last entry and so much has happened. I suppose that is expected-there is a good chunk of time invested in half a year (and closer and closer to my quarter century mark). When I try to take a snapshot of what has happened I honestly automatically just capture a blank.

Yet I have travelled to Eastern Europe (which wasn't techinically Eastern Europe but that is what Contiki calls it so I will 'trust' them on that). The most interesting part of that adventure was Poland-precedence is given to my heritage. It is always striking to go to a country and feel that you look so similar to those people-I have experienced this in Russia and Poland so I do stick true to the stereotype (and damn proud!). This was my first time travelling in a group and I am mildly surprised to say that I did enjoy it. Maybe my almost-obsession with independence does hold me back a bit.

I also joined a few volunteer committees-mostly for the cause and partially to make friends (elementary school style of course). I hit up a few concerts in the past six months (Lisa Loeb, Vanessa Carlton, Alanis, Duffy, Rachael Yamagata-yea that's right chic rock music but with solid lyrics!). One of my favorite events was Family Guy Live! -which was completely amazing- besides you can't be a crowd of FG fans.

NYE was spent happily and drunk at Tavern on the Green. It was a great way to start 2009-an enormous buffet, free flowing drinks, and kissing a couple of boys. I passed my one year mark of being an official New Yorker (even though I was UES born!) and the first 6 weeks or so of this year have really flown by.

Sometimes I feel bored-I know ironic but after discussing and uber-analyzing this I have decided that that is not true-I'm restless. So what is the cure? I will constantly move and shake, plan, go to lectures and concerts and bars, throw ridiculous theme parties with cupcakes, and plan out-of-state/country trips (I still really want to go to Iceland!). So maybe i'm not restless either, maybe i'm just really addicted to constant stimulation. And I am very much okay with that...xoxo*

It’s Like Learning to Fly While Falling in Love

2008-07-14T01:11:00.004-04:00

I despise most articles about relationships but this one caught my eye.

Honestly, I don’t like discussing relationships-I love analyzing/helping out others but when it comes to me…well, I would rather not. I feel that my ‘dating personality’ is very misunderstood and all I hear from people is how they assume that it should all be so easy for me. Apparently I’m too picky (I should be), I’m not sexy enough (that one is from my mother!), I make it obvious when I’m bored (true but faking anything is a waste of time), and my favorite: not putting out is hurting my chances (ha! because that’s a guarantee).

Yet, I have never been more optimistic about love.

How the hell did this happen?

I’ve had no luck with the relationship thing. I’ve yet to be in anything serious –usually I get into long complicated situations that never turn into anything substantial. My first kiss was a month before my 19th birthday to a guy who supposedly doesn’t remember- and whom I later discovered actually wanted to date my best friend (ouch). There have been multiple love triangles, breakups with extremely bad timing, a lot of things unremembered and unrequited. I was an over-analytical nut who wrote scathing letters and actually sent them.

Then that all just stopped. I would like to say that I met some one and it all became magically perfect but that’s not true. Part of it is that I figured myself out - finally at the point where I know I can flourish in a relationship. I am no longer afraid of falling in love and 'losing' myself. Additionally, I decided to forgive all of those guys who hurt me in the past. They were not, as I used to love to think, diabolical schemers plotting to destroy me. All of them spent a good deal of time getting to know me-and most of them did like me at one point. Timing is everything-and none of those guys at the time could have given me what I wanted and were well, still in their smutty life stage.

I’m not saying that I don’t get lonely. Or question why I haven’t managed to get into a serious relationship. But I am beginning to realize that that is all a waste of tears and anxiety.

I know I will be with my soulmate so until then I am just going to fill my life with self-adventures and trusty worthy friends. And I will certainly enjoy myself.

Word Up: A Not So Secret Word Addict

2008-07-09T16:04:00.002-04:00

Yesterday Daily Candy published:
It was a light read clearly for humor but it reminded me how much I love words.

Now that is a bizarre thing to love-but its true. I have been obsessed with words for as long as I can remember. I believe that every thought, feeling, and image has the appropriate yet unique word combination to match. This is why I find myself frequently jotting down pieces of first draft poetry on my iphone then rehashing it later, usually at 3am. I was never a huge fan of prose- sometimes it feels too bulky but words…words I love.

When I was younger I used to read the dictionary. That's right the handheld Webster dictionary. In fact that copy was crazily annotated-I checked the words I did know and had various markings for words I either completely did not know or words that had multiple meanings. Dictionary reading was a 'unique' hobby my dad and I had-something that he now mentions at dinner parties while everyone looks at me like I'm a nut. I once tried to read the encyclopedia but the pages were flimsy and it just wasn't enjoyable to me. It felt possible to learn every single word in that dictionary but memorizing an encyclopedia? Was not happening. I did, however, read a book about a man's journey to read the entire encyclopedia. It drove him (and his wife) insane- lesson learned.

People have asked me if I have a favorite word and I don't. I typically go through word phases (currently I use 'clearly' and 'fabulous' incessantly even though I don't consider them to be remarkably special). I do remember the first two SAT vocab words I really loved (verbose and laconic-apparently I like word pairs). Words that mean their own antonym (such as censure and cleave) are especially fascinating to me. 'Smutty' is also a dear favorite of mine-which was discovered after trying to IM the word 'slutty' on my iphone-instead it autocorrected to 'smutty' (a much more entertaining word).

Sometimes I worry that my vocabulary is decreasing at a rapid pace-I use such a small variety of words on a daily basis. And text messages aren't exactly helping. So tonight I will curl up with my dictionary, read a couple of chapters, and quiz my father in the morning.…xoxo*

Obligatory Introduction Post

2008-07-07T23:10:00.003-04:00

So I suppose this is where I introduce myself: I’m Natalie *waves*. I graduated college last year, traveled solo to Finland, Estonia, and Russia, then spent a few months back home in South Florida. As soon as I figured out my plan I moved to Manhattan-a dream I’ve had for years.

When I moved in December I promised myself I would take advantage of everything NYC has to offer. I would definitely not let any one else bring me down-something that happened too easily in the past. I would also push back any fears or shyness and just go for what I want.

So far I have grown more than I ever imagined.

I’ve been toying with the idea of a blog for a while now. I don’t have a theme and its going to vary from my personal journal. Mostly its going to be comprised of random thoughts/adventures I am having.

I hope you enjoy!..xoxo*