On my way home from dance last week, at the crosswalk on 5th Ave and 9th Street, I noticed a guy walking slowly in front of me. He was weaving a little as people do when they’re texting, except he was looking down at a piece of paper and then back up at the street […]
KEEP READINGWhere were you that day?
For months after September 11th, strangers in New York talked to each other. If you were in a restaurant or a doctor’s waiting room or on the subway, you’d inevitably overhear someone talking about the attack. And you’d join in. You’d ask where they were that day, and tell them where you were. The people […]
KEEP READINGWayback Wednesday: Kids, have you seen my rubbers?
“HAS ANYONE SEEN MY RUBBERS?” My dad used to yell that through the house. I think about it on slushy New York days. By “rubbers,” he meant his black rubber overshoe boots by Totes. Instead of changing from one pair to another, you just slipped these on over your good wingtips. Or, in my dad’s case, Hush […]
KEEP READINGThe Sample Whore gets burned
You know I’m a self-loathing sample whore. I wrote a whole post about it here. I become extra self-loathing when my sample whoring backfires on me. Like at the farmer’s market, when the jam turns out to be garlic chutney. Or when I pop a piece of cut-up nectarine in my mouth, and either it’s rotten or, just as […]
KEEP READINGThis is what those flags are about.
Growing up Jewish in New York, the capitol of bagels and lox, I was never “the Jewish one.” My experience of antisemitism or even ignorance in that category was limited to a couple of moments: – One time was on a 10th-grade trip to Washington, DC. Above the hotel room that 3 of my friends […]
KEEP READINGOverheard: 7 disappointing friends, 2 stolen bathing suits, and breathtaking incompetence
The other day, I struck eavesdropping gold. I was in O Cafe, my spot on the corner where I’ve been trying to go once a day to spend some time working (gasp) outside the house. I usually stay for about an hour, which is how long you get free internet there. I like the change […]
KEEP READINGThe power of saying “whoopsie”.
Steven and I had a recent restaurant experience that really bugged me. Actually, it wasn’t all that recent – it was last spring – but it still bugs me.
KEEP READINGThe Curious Case Of The Cagey Waitress And Her Secret Steak
”Before we decide, I want to hear about the specials,” our friend JP said. He and his wife, Caroline, had been to this Brooklyn restaurant before and had wanted to come back, with us. Mostly because they liked it, but partly because JP felt ripped off that no one had mentioned any specials, and then he saw […]
KEEP READINGI deserve to be lazy. But so what.
I’ve been very deserve-y since I got back from Europe. (Sorry for that sentence. “Since I got back from Europe” is a heinous thing to say. Makes me think of my first day at my private all-girls school in 9th grade. During lunch, one of the fanciest girls in the class — her last name was one […]
KEEP READINGThe beauty of the non-niche niche
“You need a niche,” everyone screams. I get it. When you do one really specific thing for one really specific group, you’re more likely to be the only one. You get to be THE top expert who’s top of mind when someone says, “I need an online business strategist for gluten-free bakeries.” “I need an […]
KEEP READINGPath To Success: How To Spend Your First Summer After College (In NYC in 1991)
Below is a transcript of the inspiring speech I will give to a graduating university class, if ever invited. In it, I lay out a step-by-step blueprint to early success based on my own first summer after college, a time that helped shape me into the adult I am today. (Note: most of it requires […]
KEEP READINGHow to know if your idea is a winner or a dud
I keep a stash of images to post on Instagram. Sometimes, I get low on supply and say, f- it. I’ll use this dumb picture I keep passing over because it’s meh. To me, it’s the peanuts and filberts at the bottom of the nut mix when all the cashews are gone. It’s the unflattering, […]
KEEP READING20 Steps To Never Finding Your Passion
Do you suffer from FYPPS? Ever since I stepped into this online business world in 2009, I’ve noticed a pattern I found sad. I call it the “Find Your Passion Pyramid Scheme.” Or, FYPPS, pronounced “fips.” No one’s designed it as a scheme. There’s no Bernie Madoff behind it. What makes it run? Human nature. […]
KEEP READINGHate Monday? Here’s how to tear it a new one.
“You teach people how to treat you.” You’ve heard that one, right? What if you could teach Mondays how to treat you, too? If you don’t like Monday, show it who’s boss. Tear it a new one. I don’t mean “Go get ’em tiger, be an unstoppable beast.” That’s great if you can do it on […]
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