Rejection Sux

I can handle rejection pretty well. I have been rejected a few times in my life & I am okay with it. However, this is the first time I felt insulted with the rejection process. I sent an email query to a company to pitch an idea that I am dying to have come alive. I explained the idea and how I want to have it develop & see it grow. I even pointed out that it would fit in great with two of their programs. This is a sample of the letter I got in return:


While we appreciate input and suggestions from our Guests and friends, we have a very busy creative staff developing new product ideas all the time, and can't even keep up with these, let alone unsolicited suggestions from the public. Since great minds tend to think alike, it is also quite possible that many of these ideas may overlap with the ideas our product team is in the process of developing. Ideas in and of themselves are a dime a dozen. It is the implementation of those ideas that take time, money, research in order to be successful and we have our energies focused on what we already have in development.

Can you say rude? How did this woman get to be incharge of a company if this is her attitude? All she had to say was thank you but we have so many ideas we are working with right now. Good luck.

Nope--I get the boss from The Devil Wears Prada. I really like how she points out "ideas ......... are a dime a dozen. It is the implementation of those ideas..." Isn't that what I am trying to do? Implement the idea? I have the info. I have the story layout for five books. I have everything but the illustrations and the access to a publisher. That's all I need. Witch.

Our First Business Meeting

If Crau & I can run the business like this all of the time, we are going to have so much fun & get a lot of things accomplished. We drove out to Southampton today for a bit of wine tasting & lunch.

On teh way out ther we talked abuot the loose ends of our business venture & she wrote a ton of notes in our minutes. So many little things to finish but then we will be on a roll. We added ideas to the book, proofed flyers to send out, set pricings & even looked a the website. She did so much of it & there are a few pieces to fill in but it will be up & accessible by late next week! So exciting.

We got to Duck Walk & tried every wine on their list. Needless to say, we were pretty happy by the time we left an hour later. It was onto the town of Southampton itself & we ate at the Publick House Restaurant. Very cute. It's a microbrewery. I would have sampled a beer (maybe) but all of that radler in Munich has filled my beer quota for at leat a year. I don't even want a sip of anything.

Crau had a yummy looking chicken soft taco. I tried to be all beachy & adventurous & ordered a softshell crab sandwich. What I didn't know was that they bread & deep fry the crab and the whole thing (soft shell, legs, inners & all) and smacked into a bun. EW! I ate the inside of the crab, which was good, but that was it. I should have just gone for the baked potato soup & stuck with my good litle irish girl persona.

We then wandered around the two main streets going in to the little shops. I bought a tank & a pair of shorts that say Southampton. So cute!

I did manage to burn while walking outside. Leave it to me to burn in the shade of buildings. The down-side of the whole irish thing--cheap skin.

We couldn't find a Starbucks in the village itself (I know..right?) and stopped a the one with the bank on Rt. 111. That's where Crau got all businessy and turned on the laptop & we looked at the website template that she had set up. Awesome!

What a great & productive day. And to think that this is business! I love it!

Belated Birthday Dinner

I finally met up with the Ultimate Shopper last night for dinner & (what else) shopping. It was so good to see her. We haven't seen eachother since Jaunary....so tehre was a TON to catch up on.

She's well & she's shopping! We enjoyed Fridays for our meal and exchanged extremely belated presents. I got this awesome tote that will be accompanying me on all sorts of ventures. And there was one of those BIG soft beach towels inside that will be used for more than just the beach. Laying out will be perfect with a towel this size.

Dinner only lasts so long & then the stores begin to call to us. We did all of Smithhaven, as we usually do. There were so many bags by the end of the evenig that I ran out of hand & arm space to carry them all. I was lucky to find two great shirts. One says "Beautiful on the Inside -- Gorgeous on teh Outside". Oh yeah! The other is me: "Jeans & tshirts Kind of Girl". That is so true!

Anyway, we talked, kabitzed, and had to stop for a Starbucks as well. I got home six hours later. I was drained from all of the shopping & eating, but that's why my name isn't "The Ultimate Shopper"!

So Much Nonsense But All Necessary

This week is great! I have off from work, in a sense. I teach two hybrid classes & that means that they meet in the traditional sense some days & online other days. This is an online week. Yippee!!

I have so much of my own stuff to work on, though, so I am not really free. That's okay because it's for me.

Saturday was graduation, which was more like an unorganized three-ring circus. People have no tact or class anymore & the end was a shambles. I believe highschools need to start offering classes in decorum. Dn't you agree?

I was finally able to watch "Good Night & Good Luck" as well as "Born Rich" this weekend. BIG accomplishments there. I have been waiting & trying to find time to do so, and it happened.

Swarovski had their debut party for the new Luvlots line. I went after the graduation & it was so pretty. I ended up getting one of the ones I had wanted. There are three more that I like but will wait to purchase.

Crau & I went to a funeral on Sunday. It was actually the Jewish version of it but because I cannot spell the word, I am going with the first explanation out of respect.

I saw KDP last night, who has so much going on. She was offered the position of Summer School Principal for her school. She is moving by mid-June. And she joined Match and has had a few dates from it. They may have been okay, but it's better than what I have been doing, which is nothing. She has so much going on & it's all good. Congrats & good luck to her!

And, today is a business day for me. I am trying to work on all aspects of the business so we can wrap this up & start soliciting & drumming up money. Busy busy busy~~but nothing to speak of.

Sweet Surprises

Dontcha just love little surprises? I do. I am not a fan of ones where the person who is surprising you is right there & people can watch your reaction, but I like the ones that come out-of-the-blue and are just simple & sweet. I went to wrap up the seemster with one of my schools & had to clear out my mailbox. In it were a TON of papers & a gold box that I would recognize anywhere. Godiva. A small box of it sitting in MY mailbox. What could this be? I gasped because it was not just a Godiva box but it was one of those giftboxes from Barnes & Noble! Score! It had a 4-piece box of candy & a giftcard for me to spend. Awww! Two of the ladies who have taken four -- count them...four-- classes with me and will be finishing the program soon did this. They are unbelievable.

I then had dinner with Gram tonight. She is too cute for words. She had a whole chicken dinner cooked & we chatted away. She then brought out the sweetest watermelon I have had in a long time. Yummy! I had to run to Target & asked her if she wanted anything. She said no, but has been asking to try Starbucks coffee for about a month now. I reminded her that there is one inside Target. She grinned widely & said "Okay, but only if you get something too". Far be it from me to pass up a coffee, so I ran over, did my shopping, and ran back with coffee. She loved it! Her actual comment was "Ooo...I could go for this regularly." LOL That's my Gram!

What a Lulu of a Day

I can't believe the great but odd day I had. I taught.....and the class was quite nice! Shocker.

I then decided that I would rather go to a sample sale in the city than turn in grades at one of my schools. I can always do that tomorrow. So I hopped a train & bolted to the sale. Lulu Guinness is a designer whose handbags I adore. They are always so cute & have little boutiques on the front of them or some sophisticate walking a designer dog. Well, they had slim pickings when I walked in & I was a bit disappointed. But as I strolled through to kill time, seeing as this was the ONLY reason I went in to the city, three employees come out with armloads of new bags. And only one was the coveted boutique picture bag. And I got it! YIPPEE! And it was 70% off of the retail price. I couldn't believe it. So so happy as I got a starbucks & went back to Penn.

I walked to my grandmother's after getting off of the train and spent a few minutes chatting with her. I even got an invite to dinner there tomorrow. Mmmmm...can't wait!

I forgot that I was supposed to work when I got home. And, surprisingly enough, when I did remember this fact, my computer actually allowed me access to the site & I was able to post. This is a rarity with my computer. It has the pop-up blocker that does not block anything BUT the window I need. It's like a sign about my job, right?

Anyway, I was then bestowed the honor of going to dinner with my brother. We had a blast. But I always have fun with him. I even made it home in time to watch the season finale of CSI. I love that show & missed most of the episodes all season due to my job.

What a great day!

My Own Business Always Bores Me To Death...

but not this time! Crau & I are partners in our own consulting firm! I know, I know. How did that ditz start a business? With $35 and assistance in filling out a form. Listen, if Jessica Simpson can make millions off of being dippy, I can surely make something out of trying to sound like I know what I am talking about.

I am very serious--we met today & filled out the forms, purchased a webspace & domain name (under construction at the moment), had papers notarized, and went to the County Clerk. It is official. Heeheehee............this is going to be great.

You will all be receiving business cards (once we figure out what to have printed) in the very near future.

Cheers to us!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful mom (who is also my best friend)& all of the other moms out there! What a wonderful hallmarky day!

I found this poem online that seemed sweet:

Mom, I loved you yesterday, I love you tomorrow and everyday.
You were there for me my first day of school, to hold my hand and give me courage to go.
You listened to me when I needed to talk, you talked to me when I needed to listen.
You let me grow and learn from my own mistakes.
You never left my side when I was feeling down, I knew you would be there to pick me up.
I wish there was a way I could repay all the things you have done for me, but there's nothing great enough to repay the greatest mother of all.

Lunar Lunacy

What is it with people & blaming out-of-character behavior on the poor position of the moon? If you ask me, people are selfish & inconsiderate & just plain weird, but they feel the need to blame their lack of decorum on a large sphere in the galaxy. If you ask me, it's just their excuse for the evening.

KDP & I saw "Friends With Money" last night. There isn't much to say about the movie, except that it was horrible. Jennifer Aniston was so similar to her "Rachel" character. All you have to do is add a pot-smoking addiction to her & save yourself $10. It's a 90 minute film that felt well over two hours.

Anyway, it wasn't the movie that has me riled up, it was the people in the theater. The theater held about 250 people. There were maybe 70 people last night. KDP & I sat down with only four others in there. The chairs rock back & forth & KDP's went so far back she could have hit her head on the floor behind her. So we move down three seats. My new chair? Frozen in its spot. I almost pitched forward because there was no "give" to the chair & I was anticipating it moving a bit when I sat down. She asked if we should move again. I said I was fine & it didn't matter to me anyway. Minutes later, two women walk in at the opposite end of our aisle. They walk the full length of it (completely empty) and sat next to me on the other end. I mean LITERALLY next to me. Her elbow jabbed mine while my arm was on the arm rest. Why did she have to sit right next to me when there were 240 chairs left in the theater? I craned my head around to see just how full the theater was and said to KDP (loud enough, ofcourse), "She had to sit here? Right Here? Are you kidding me?"

Next up--two girls come & sit in the row infront of us diagonal from KDP. They make a fuss about sitting down and then take off their shoes & put their bare feet on the chairs infront of them. EW!!!!! Medical tests have proven that patrons should NEVER go to a theater in shorts or skirts because of all of the contamination on the seats. Why would you put your bare feet on them? A few minutes pass & an usher comes in and says to the girls that people have complained about their bare feet and that they must put shoes on and they may not put their feet on the seats. So the girls giggle a lot & put their shoes on. With that, a very TALL man & his wife/girlfriend come in and sit directly infront of the two girls. There was no way that the one girl would ever see the film because the man was SO TALL! The woman he is with has to go get something, but before she leaves they begin to make-out (disgustingly) right there. They were approximately 40 years old. Grow up! So the girls giggle again & get up & move into our row. With that, an elderly couple come in and sit infront of the giggling, shoeless girls. Keep in mind that the full 70 people are not in the theater yet. Why is everyone congregating around this area? We were at the respective end of the aisle. We were about 3/4 of the way back. I could see if we sat dead center of the theater, but we hadn't.

It's time for the movie. The women next to me talked the entire time in another language. Their phones went off at least three times that I heard. The elderly couple infront of the shoeless girls decided twenty minutes into the film that they didn't like it & got up & left. It was all so weird.

UGH~~movie over & we're out to get a drink. We walk (in my cute new shoes) to The Grand Luxe & there's a wait to even get a spot at the bar! It's 9:15ish. Who the heck is still waiting for a seat at a bar? So we decide to go to Chilis. We walk in there & it's PACKED! Lucky for us, a booth immediately opened in the bar area so we sat down. We ordered nachos & Chambord Margaritas. The nachos were fantastic. The margartias were disgusting! And while I am trying to gag this thing down, we saw six african-american guys completely skip out on their bill at the bar & two of the Chilis staff run out the door after them. We then watched a curly-red-haired woman sit at the bar with a rose & a Corona (in it's bottle) wait for a blind date. She sat there sipping this thing, looking around, and then looking at her phone. All-of-a-sudden, the phone rings, she chats, hangs up, slurps back a 1/3 of the Corona, and then giggles & waves to the bartender & hauls her happy self outside because he finally arrived.

As we left, there was still a big crowd waiting to be seated. It's now 10:45 pm and people are still waiting? This is nuts. And as we are walking out, one well-endowed woman says to another more well-endowed woman, "Aren't you cold?" The larger of the two says (right in my ear) "The Twins are fine!" (She is obviously waving her finger back & forth over her large ....ummm.......yeah.) I didn't need that. So I turn around to KDP & I know the woman heard me & said "Did you hear that. Her "twins" aren't cold. That's good. I needed to know." What is with people??? This is a public place. Families are there. And that was my ear!
Walking to the car, we saw the blind date lady drive past with a man inteh passenger seat. Good for her!

People are weird & thank goodness we have a full cycle to go before the moon is full again. I can't take all of this in one night.

XXL

My hair is pin straight. People pay good money to have their hair straightened to be like mine. Mine? Natural. I don't use hairspray, mousse, special products. Nothing. But why would anyone want their hair to be straight like this? It's flat. No oomph. No height. And it doesn't cooperate. It just hangs there. So I decided to buy some xxl volumizing mousse and use the diffuser on my hairdryer. The results? Nothing. There was no difference. And I spent an extra five minutes on this. To look the same. I asked Crau if she noticed the "height" in my hair. She giggled and said exactly what I just said. It's the same. I don't buy into all these wonder products. I'll stick to the volume on my ipod and television.

Birthdays Galore

KDP had a birthday yesterday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

And The Professional Shopper and Vinci are tomorrow! Early wishes & cupcakes for them!

Is anyone NOT having a May birthday?

Fragility

I saw a man get hit by a car tonight. I have never seen anything like this before, and I hope to never again. I was on Old Country Road at a major intersection. The cross street had the green light & what I believe was a Civic sped over the intersection. As he passed down the street to my right, I heard a "thud" and saw his car veer across the two lanes of on-coming traffic & hit the curb. At the same time I saw, what I thought was his front bumper, fly across in the opposite direction & land in the road. From where I was sitting, I could not see anything but the car in the opposite lanes. When my light turned green, there was a gray sweatshirt laying across the road. There was a man in that sweatshirt. My stomach immediately flipped upside- down and my arms have felt like weights ever since. I cannot believe it. I pray for that man & his family tonight. I will not be able to close my eyes for awhile without seeing that image.

Dates & Dilemnas

First things first:

"The Devil Wears Prada" is coming out on June 30th. Ink this one into your planner!

Nick Lachey is signing his new album on Tuesday, May 9th. You have to be on line at the Virgin Mega Store & be one of the first 300 to purchase it. Then, you are given the "golden wristband" that will get you back in at 4:00 for the signing. I'd do it in a heart beat. The problem? I have two finals to administer that afternoon. Now, a strong urge tells me to throw caution to the wind & cancel class & postpone the tests to Thursday. But, the practical self says not to. Oh drat! I hate being reliable & dependable.

OH~~Fleet Week is the week BEFORE Memorial Day. So, ladies, plan on a trip into the city!

Tribeca Film Festival

OH MY GOODNESS! I met Jamie Johnson! Wait! I'll start from the beginning.

Crau & I went in to the Film Fest today. We met at Penn where, as soon as I got off the train & entered the main lobby/ticket center, I hear "So this is what you do on a Saturday". It's a student from Farmingdale. I keep telling you all that I feel like "Where's Waldo" and need my own book. I chat with him for a minute & then grab Crau & off we go.

We wanted to grab lunch before we got on line to try & see if we could buy tickets to the film of choice. She suggested Rosa Mexicano, which was a very cute mexican restaurant across from Fordham & Lincoln Center. As we finished yummy quesadillas, we walk outside & spot David Blain...aka The Bubble Boy. You know, the guy who does those weird stunts like freezing himself for a week or burying himself alive for 5 days? This time he is in a water bubble for 8 days & then will hold his breath for 9 minutes on Monday night. Nuts. We did not walk up to him, mind you. There were lines and security all over the place. But we could see him just fine from the sidewalk. Besides, we had bigger things to do: get in line an hour and forty minutes early to try & get tickets to see "The One Percent". It's a documentary about class in America. And its creator/director is the heir to the Johnson & Johnson Corporation.

So we get on line and we are about 50 people back. Not too bad, I think. We are guaranteed to get in. We met some nice women while waiting. One in particular was from Anapolis, MD, and just took the train up this morning to see THIS film and stay the night & then go back home. So cool. She had her suitcase with her. lol. Anyway, we wait & wait & wait some more. Then a volunteer comes along & says that it's not looking too good & she does not think they will be taking many people in to see the film. So we cross our fingers & wait even longer. They took a group of people in & we weren't in it. Then she comes out & says they can take 20 more. We LITERALLY just made it in. Crau was #19. UGH! I would have had a breakdown right there on the sidewalk if I didn't get in to see the film. But we did!

The film was great & the theater was packed. I sat in the very first seat of the theater, which is a handicap row so I was all alone. Crau was behind me. At the end of the film, Jamie Johnson was there to do a Q&A. He was so nice & looks like a normal guy--not anything like you expect $25 Billion to look in person. But that's why he does these films. He wants to try and lessen the gap between the overly wealthy & the poor. He doesn't seem to appear comfortable in the role he has been handed in life & I am taking this film venture as his way out of the guilt. He's so humble. He looks like the actor, Daniel Futterman. The son from "Birdcage" & the younger brother, Vincent, on "Judging Amy". Yeah~~I love him. I stayed after to shake his hand & congratulate him on his work. I figured "Hey~i can do this. I talk for a living!" Nope. I was in awe. I became just like my friend "C" (aka~~The Professional Shopper) and started sputtering out words that Crau says were coherent & made sense, but it didn't sound it to me.

Ah~~I floated on Cloud 9 as we walked back towards Penn. We stopped for a yummy coffee treat (iced decaf. caramel macchiato for me) and then realized that our trains were in 15 minutes & that we had already missed one.

Oh I love Jami....I mean the Tribeca Film Festival!

Cinco De Mayo

Oh Happy Margarita Day! I hope everyone had at least one frozen salted treat! I had fun yesterday. Mango, lime with coconut flavor, & pina colada spritzers! Mmmmmmm.

And, I know it's a bit late, but I found out that Thursday was the unofficial "Star Wars Day". Wanna know why? It's the day you can say "May the Fourth be with you"...get it? May 4th~~"may the fourth"? Hysterical! Yes, you all know I have a corny sense of humor. Don't roll your eyes & looked shocked.

I am heading in to the Tribeca Film Fest today! Can't wait to fill you in!

One Down~~ Two To Go

One school is complete as of thirty minutes ago. The semester has ended, my grades are in, and I am DONE! For a week and a half, anyway. Then the summer classes begin. I have two more schools to wrap up by next Thursday, but those two equal the one I just finished. If that doesn't make sense to you, that's okay because I understand it.

I'm lovin' it!

Happy May

I am so excited! The end of the semester is near & that means warm weather & the time to do more fun stuff than before! Things I am looking forward to are: shopping tomorrow with mom, cinco de mayo, the tribeca film festival, three birthdays next week, graduation (because I am required to go--I was supposed to be away but I need the job to pay for the trip......), Swarovski's release of a new line (can't wait~~love swarovski), and dinner & shopping with C. This is all for now through May 20th. Can't wait!