I Suggest You Do the Same...

I've been harping about this for a while. I think this is the third time I have emailed the Mayor's office about them (each time a different campaign of theirs...)

Moving On...

My apologies for the slacking off I’ve been doing with the posting. I’ve been trying to deal with my lack of satisfaction at work. Figuring out how bad I really feel like it is, how hard it is to motivate, and what exactly are the factors outside of myself compared to the factors inside of myself contributing to the overall bleak picture. It’s not quite so bad when you compare it to some of my past experiences, but three months into a new job one would like to envision a long future there instead of plotting her escape. I know that I made the right decision coming to this company and this position. I just have to figure out what exactly I need to make sure to get out of it. And what are the most important things for me to consider when making my next move –which will likely take place in another 6-12 months. But I might as well start the background work now. That seems to be the only way to avoid this happening again. So here’s the original brainstorm I came up with on Friday:

GOAL MAP

● Creative and fun work environment (couches, parties, people talk)
● Personal Interested in the product
● Cool Factor
● Able to meet salary requirements
● Experienced Supervisor with good managerial skills and specific communication talents.
● Vacation + Perks
● Balance creativity and analysis
● Work with people
● Stable/Growing company. No more buy-outs. No more layoffs.
● West Side office???

Like having things to give people -samples, parties
Inspired by interesting partnerships. Innovation.

Find companies I am interested in. Do research. Talk to employees.
Contact people from great interviews. Schedule lunches and/or meetings to just talk more and try to “figure it out”

Things are not in any particular order yet, I’m just trying to keep getting the thoughts out of my head. I’ll start organizing them later in the process. I also made a list of people whom I will be contacting and companies I should really look into.

Along with that comes the drinks date I scheduled with Mr. Music –someone I randomly met doing Karaoke one night. Not sure if it’s really a “date” or not, and I have a feeling he is thinking in the same way. I’d actually be happy to be just friends, or maybe even professional contacts, but we’ll see. I enjoy the way he expresses himself. Like how he just wrote to me:

“Hi Shana!
You know, I thought this drink was lost for good once I was delinquent in my responding and the statute of reasonable replying time had come and gone. But yes, that sounds good. I still haven't been to the Ding Dong (why does that sound like a 1920's dance tune?). Does Thursday eve work for you?”

As a matter of fact, Thursday after pilates is exactly what I had in mind.
I’ll keep you all posted on how things progress...

Instead of complaining about work...

It's not interesting to complain about work. I'm a perfectionist in my own way. Whatever. And I also could give you a review of The Devil Wear's Prada in which I comment on there being too much Chanel, Anne Hathaway being significantly less annoying than usual and an observation that this may be the one movie ever that is better than the book.

But instead I'll focus on a little present I got from Gawker. And I'll promise not to rely on them too much in the future (since this is now almost becoming a habit).

The Setup:
Rumor has it that The Virgin Megastore in Union Square had an event somehow related to the Red Hot Chili Peppers where the first however many men to show up wearing only a sock (as a tribute to FLEA) would be given tickets to a concert. Here's a sampling. Enjoy. Or maybe you'll get sick. It's hard to tell which direction one should go in...

Nice to be 3 and 1/2

I got a letter from my niece yesterday. The envelope featured a prominent signature and inside I found a typed letter and a painting. (Backround info: Elana is obsessed with Birthdays)





Auntie Shanie,
I want you to come to my home, but never blow out my candles unless you play. If you play you can blow out my candles. If you don't play you can't blow out my candles.

I painted it, some pictures for you. We must send this (indicates painting above) to her.

I love you and I want you to come to my party. Just come to my family's parties.
Love,
Elana

My Story:
Once upon a time there was a princess named Bela and she was Bela and she was Cinderella, and she wanted to dance but she was really not important to dance, she just only wanted to settle down from dancing and she did. That's all.

Dammit! This almost makes me want to pay for cable.

Thanks to the folks at Gawker and YouTube for the awesome Colbert Report Clip.


…in other news, I am feeling particularly rejected and embarrassed due to the MIA phone call from the now infamous bartender. Pluckhh! (have taken to sample sale shopping and once again spending too much money to make myself feel better. …what? It’s better than eating ice cream and/or drinking too much!!!)

Summer Reading List

Some Light Reading

And some not so light (but happy?) reading.

Fun Way to Start the Weekend

Wednesday I was cranky after pilates and so I called my sister to see if my 3 ½ year old niece was available to cheer me up. So my sister said “Elana, come give Auntie Shana a phone hug. She’s not feeling very well” and Elana got on the phone and said “Auntie Shana, you must go to the hospital so that the doctor can make you feel better. But, don’t drive too fast, just ..just drive slowly. OKAY?” …three and a half years old. Genious.

Quick update: The Bartender asked for my phone number last night. Wahoo! Now let’s see if he calls…

Philosophy

Salome has her own blog, but has asked me not to link to it on mine. So in respect to her, I will not do so. However, through that medium, she engaged me in a significant philosophical discussion recently. And since I am so stimulated and proud, both of the entire discussion and my contribution to it, I’m going to post my response below. I’m feeling the need to show a little bit of my deeper side and make use of the Philosophy course I took at NYU SCPS this past Feb-Apr.

The question at hand was examining the similarities between the human mind and machines, and whether or not there is a limit to human knowledge. There was reference to the theories of Kurt Godel, Alan Turing and his Turing Machines, and Einstein’s personal spiritual beliefs. I wish I could set up the discussion with her last two paragraphs (she has incredible way of expressing herself), and if I get the ok from her, I will re-post with them included. But here's what I had to say about it all:


I have not studied Godel or Turing until reading this blog entry. (as a side note I’ll share that looking back on my youth I often wonder how it is that I didn’t ever advance past basic algebra in my math studies. I think it was a combination of desire and placement. But if I had pushed myself or been pushed by someone else I think I could have taken some of those processes with me in my journeys)… I told you on the train yesterday that I understand the comfort and satisfaction that comes from working with the formulaic. There is an equation, an answer, perhaps a couple different ways to get there, but a guaranteed system to work in. And I have also wondered about the nature of why these systems are the ones that are “ultimately” correct and what makes them the basis of the world we live in. The simple answer seems to be “because that’s what works.” But like most significant things in our world, we have the solution before we figure out the problem. And the search for knowledge and TRUTH seems to be the supreme game of Jeopardy. Generations later humanity disproves the assumptions we were working with as constants. But the newer proofs would never have been accomplished without the previous. It seems to me that the collective unconscious works through subject matter in the same way our personal unconscious minds do. That is to say, when I am having trouble making a decision in my life I will often find clarity after a night or two of sleep. My subconscious mind will sit with the problem and find a true understanding of it and then spit out the solution. The same thing could be said for humanity. We will spend years adjusting to an understanding of the world only to be able to disprove it and move forward. History shows us that the greatest philosophical revelations come in response to the greatest mathematical and technological inventions. It is a concern of mine that our current situation will be too distracted by politics and bureaucracies to achieve that critical push forward. We are in the middle, or possibly the end of an era of extreme technological advancement- the likes of which have never been seen in our species’ past. We should be producing the philosophical counters to those advancements. But our minds are locked up in universities with the need for fundraising. And newspapers with the need for sales. And various other forums which have to cater to the leaders who will produce only what they are comfortable with and are often uninterested in ultimate truth, but more in making a buck and catering to the general population (which we all know are severely less-than when it comes to intelligence). Not to mention personal vendettas and the search for power -something that Einstein was referring to as a futile pursuit in the link you provided.

But my greatest personal philosophical crisis is of an existential nature, although closely related to yours. The “what’s the point?” and “to what end?” perspective is what keeps me up at night. We can expand our base of knowledge for millions of years, and the human mind can evolve to use 95% of its capabilities instead of the 30% we use now, and we still will not have the answer to the question of “why?” …and then the sun will explode and the planet will as well, and then one is really forced to wonder what the point of it all was. Except that nobody will be around to ask it. But I digress.

By the way I do not believe that our minds are simply computers that have an eventual limit of what we as humans are capable. But, to indulge the theory, I will say that if they do it would have to be representative of the creator. That is to say that just as the computers accomplish only as much as the human mind that created them can comprehend, the human mind as computer can accomplish as much as the creator of it could comprehend. And if you believe that the creator is a God of infinite powers, then the answer goes back to the fact that the human mind is indeed limitless.

(It saddens me to realize that after I wrote that to her I learned that the theory is that the human mind only uses 10% of the brain, and it has been proven wrong many times over. We do use the full 100%. But I can see why people would want to hold on to that idea. It gives us something to strive for.)

Madonna and a Ship

And what a weekend it was! Started off with a significant bang due to a last minute phone call Thursday evening from a friend who got corporate tickets to the Madonna concert at MSG. “Meet me there in an hour and a half.” OKAY!! Hell yeah. Here’s a review of the show.

The thing is, Madonna is absolutely incredible. At 47 years old she has reinvented herself a million times and managed to stay on top and ahead of the trends. She is one of the greatest perfectionists there is, completely devoted to her craft and her audience. And she will ALWAYS give you everything she has. No question about that. …That having been said my generous friend and I agreed that the time to see Madonna in concert was really 10-15 years ago, when she was at her physical peak and yet still old enough to add a little bit of substance to the mix -not to mention a confidence that was actually founded in something other than the combination of her youthful ego and a wish to rule the world. Today’s tour is a jumble of images that mostly go over my head (what’s with the horses?) and a woman who is known for her gift of spectacular dance but is just a little too tired to move as much. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure she’s in a hell of a lot better shape than I am, but the woman truly danced for about 4 songs. The rest was a variety of strutting and posing and maneuvering the hot gay male dancers around her. But when she does move, it’s incredible the precision that you see. And for the first time ever, I understood why her movements were so grand. I’m surprised I never thought about it before. But when you sell out a major stadium concert, even though you have screens, it is really something for the people in the very top nosebleed row to make out a blurry blond lady 10,000 feet away with moves so sharp you can see them perfectly even from that distance. Good for you Madge. Not an easy task.

Then the cruise. Wow, was that worth it! It was so amazing to be away from everything. I didn’t think about work or my family or most of my life in NYC for 3 entire days. What bliss. Just me, Karen, and the open seas. Hungry? Go get some food on the Lido deck. Wanna hit the beach your day at the Bahamas? Taxi $5. (I must confess I do like the beaches of Hawaii more). And I always forget how much I love the ocean. Growing up on a Peninsula I was so jaded. I never understood the appeal. I’ve always hated sunblock, and the sand gets in crevices and other unappealing places. But now that I never get to the beach, I just adore it. Well, it’s all about the waves for me. I love watching them. And I love being in the ocean and having the waves wash over me. Who needs a massage? Just give in to the flowing waters and your tension will completely disappear. And for you Yoga types, it is the best way to re-align your Chakras. …Other than the beach (and my ridiculous sunburn… oops!) there were delicious entrees, silly little opportunities for other guests to embarrass themselves (those are my favorite!) like the Hairy Chest contest, or the Dollar Dance contest (Cent, 5 Cent, 10 Cent, 1 Dollar.. Dollar Dollar Dollar.. grind your body shake your booty, etc), and relaxed. no obligations combined with beautiful surroundings. Not the big go crazy and party vacation, but an excellent get-away. Oh, and we were the last two passengers off the ship. That part cracks me up. We had a perfect plan for debarking based on the schedule they gave us of when breakfast ended, etc. but then they kept calling our room and knocking on our door and we couldn’t understand the big deal. When we finally got to the gangway, the guy said “ok, last two!” We couldn’t believe it. It was only 9:45!!! I asked if there was a time limit for when we were supposed to be gone by and they said no, so we were technically not doing anything wrong. It was so funny, we walked through all the empty hallways and customs areas and I kept bursting out laughing. We still got to the airport 1.5 hours before our flight. Plenty of time.

Then yesterday Independence Day BBQ on Long Island and Fireworks on the Roof in the east village.

Now I just have to get home and unpack!