virtualmom

I had a Fantasy Business Day Today

Today was a great day!  I put an ad on a popular email list that aired today and orders were streaming in ALL DAY!  Isn't that a fantasy for a business owner?  How fun is it to see orders just coming in, I mean I wish that everyday in the future can and will be like today.  I guess I can try to make this my goal.  I would be so loving life if everyday orders just came in!!!  

I guess this is what you would call the results of good PR and/or advertising?  I have a good product but people just need to know about my vases.  What happened today was better than having a salesman, I think.  Definitely just as powerful if not more.  

What is the lesson here--I've got to understand the lesson so I can have more days like today!!!

Op/Ed Project

  

 Today I spent the day at a workshop from the Op/Ed Project.  It was great and I have to thank Amy and Adelaide, the co-founders of In Good Company, for being up to date on what is important for women out there in this big old world of ours and for alerting the IGC community. I had an eye opening experience and yet I would not have known about this if Amy and Adelaide had not put it right in my face by way of their newsletter!

I took this from the homepage of the Op/Ed Project: 

The op-ed pages of our nation’s newspapers are overwhelmingly dominated—80% or more—by men. Because the op-ed pages feed all other media, the under-representation of women here perpetuates and exaggerates the under-representation of women in larger ways. For example, men are:

• 84% of guests on influential Sunday morning political talk shows on TV

• 85% of Hollywood producers

• 85% of nonfiction books on The New York Times best-selling

• 85-90% of radio producers

• 84% of congress 

In short, public debate all but excludes half the population.

And again in their own words, here is WHAT THE WORKSHOPS DO:

 Since women currently do not submit op-eds with anywhere near the frequency that men do, we target and train women experts in all fields to write for the op-ed pages of major print and online forums of public discourse. We work with top universities, non-profits, corporations, women’s organizations and community leaders across the nation. We also offer seminars open to the public (women only) in major cities across the nation. Seminar participants are added to a database of women experts, connected with our community of writers and mentors, and go into a feeder system for op-ed, radio, television and other media venues.

BOTTOM LINE:  We NEED to get more women to SUBMIT OP-EDS to even the playing fields.  I am committed to trying--you know why?  Because it's important!  

Kudos to Katie for promoting this important message and for recognizing that we can make a change!!! 

Mayor Bloomberg: Did you see the lines this morning for the High School test?

 
 
  Mayor Bloomberg, for the most part I am a fan of yours, I am not one that blames you for everything!  

BUT....I wish you could have seen the lines this morning for your NYC Public High Schools!  From what I am told, today 26,000 8th graders tested to get into the BEST NYC HIGH SCHOOLS.  Why should so many families have to be concerned to get their children into the GOOD Schools--Shouldn't all of our NYC PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS be GOOD???

I said to the mother behind me in line that I wished you could have seen this scene!  She laughed and said you are probably sleeping in on a Sunday morning! When my son went into the test, my last words to him were something to the effect of: BE SHARP!!!  YOU CAN DO IT!  The other mom said to her son, 'remember your prayers, remember your prayers.'

Maybe that is what you need these days to get into the good NYC High Schools--a blessing from the man upstairs!

Restaurant.com

 Last time we went to see Livingston Leo perform, we saw an old friend who works for Restaurant.com.  He gave us his business card which you can convert into a $25 gift certificate at Restaurant.com.  Last night we used this certificate at Il Mattone, on Greenwich Street in Tribeca(next door to Wolfgang's).  Il Mattone is a local place but we had never gone there before.  We ran into some friends--i always like when that happens.  

In any case, the food was totally not exciting, it wasn't terrible but absolutely nothing to write home about.  The bill came out to about $86 for just the two of us(only one alcoholic beverage and no dessert).  We then got $25 off which made it a little more palatable.  But with SO many restaurants in the city-there is not reason to go back.  

Cash for Gold on 46th Street (Diamond District)

 
Instead of walking downtown to watch the Yankee's Ticker Tape Parade(I am a baseball fan but I don't have a particular team) I am headed to 46th Street to get some cash for some of my old gold jewelry!

Now that gold is nearly $1,100/ounce, I think my timing is right!  

Maybe I'll use the money I get to buy Hanukah gifts this year!  

****Update:  PLEASE shop the street!!! We had to go into 4 places to find out the correct price-the buyers speak in PENNYWEIGHT( 20 in each ounce).  Our end result:  Over $5,000!  Not bad for 'found' money.  Really this was old jewelry that I had no sentiment attached to.  

I have asked the buyer we used to come to In Good Company so that members can conveniently bring in their old stuff.  
 ****Sunday New York Times has yet another article about selling gold: Inside the New Global Frenzy for Gold

George Clooney! Men Who Stare at Goats

 Saw a screening of Men Who Stare at Goats last night right before soccer.  Here is the synopsis I received about the film:

In this quirky dark comedy inspired by a real life story you will hardly believe is actually true, astonishing revelations about a top-secret wing of the U.S. military come to light when a reporter encounters an enigmatic Special Forces operator on a mind-boggling mission. 

Reporter Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady (Academy Award® winner George Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental U.S. military unit. According to Cassady, the New Earth Army is changing the way wars are fought. A legion of “Warrior Monks” with unparalleled psychic powers can read the enemy's thoughts, pass through solid walls, and even kill a goat simply by staring at it. Now, the program's founder, Bill Django (Oscar® nominee Jeff Bridges), has gone missing and Cassady's mission is to find him. 

Intrigued by his new acquaintance's far-fetched stories, Bob impulsively decides to accompany him on the search. When the pair tracks Django to a clandestine training camp run by renegade psychic Larry Hooper (two-time Oscar® winner Kevin Spacey), the reporter is trapped in the middle of a grudge match between the forces of Django's New Earth Army and Hooper's personal militia of super soldiers. In order to survive this wild adventure, Bob will have to outwit an enemy he never thought possible.
The Men Who Stare at Goats was inspired by Jon Ronson's non-fiction bestseller of the same name, an eye-opening and often hilarious exploration of the government's attempts to harness paranormal abilities to combat its enemies. 

I was so hoping to LOVE this movie, but I didn't.  I laughed out loud several times and the premise was certainly goofy and unique-BUT...something was missing.  The preview audience DID NOT APPLAUD at the end, which always happens when they like a movie.  Woman next to us turned to us and asked if we liked the film and before we could answer she admitted that she fell asleep a couple of times during it!  

The Dragon's Way Diet

I plan to start the Dragon's Way today for the 3rd time!  Years ago my friend Ellen turned me on to Dr. Lu and his 6 week cleansing fast, The Dragon's Way.  I am not the best at explaining the theory behind the fast, but you are supposed to increase the amount of Qi in your body and get rid of toxins while eating basically only veggies and fruits (and some walnuts in the a.m.) for 6 weeks.  You get some Chinese herbs as supplements along the way.

I have done the program twice and have lost weight both times, BUT the thing is that I have gained the weight back very quickly both times as well.  That is why I am hesitant to do it again.  In the meantime, i think I will show up at lunch time and see how I feel--if I want to proceed again or not.

Halloween: A View from the Subway

Halloween in New York City is a total blast.  Walking the streets and riding the subway on Halloween night is a TOTAL TREAT!  The costumes are great!  Here is a few snapshots.     
 
 
 

Funny

 
 

Matt the Electrician

 During our first summer at Camp Michigania, we met a very nice family from Mendham County, NJ who kindly invited us to a concert at their house.  We appreciated the invite and the many others that followed thru the subsequent years, but for one reason or another we never drove out there.  This year yet another invite came and as fate would have it, Ms. S. and her camp friends were invited to a bat mitzvah the same night less than 7 miles from the Sager's house.  So last night, through the wild rainstorm, we finally made it to one of their parties!

Needless to say, and as we expected, it was super to be there!  They had their friend from Austin play.  He goes by the name of Matt, the Electrician and he is playing at The Living Room tonight in NYC.  

We could only stay for the first set, but we really liked his lyrics, bought his CD and played it for the girls in the car on our ride home to NYC.  I particularly liked the song he wrote for his son Arlo about food and the track For Angela about customer service at Walmart.

Dave and Megan, thanks for introducing us to Matt's music. We realized the drive is not so bad and worth enduring to come out to one of your parties.  Keep the invites coming, we'll be there! 

***This is the third time I have seen a concert at someone's home and it is really quite special and unique. Small, intimate and supportive of the musician.