Know what I need to do? Apparently, everything. Every time I open up 750words.com, which I use as my journal, I see that I accidentally skipped a few days. I broke my streak. And I invariably start with, “I need to write more.” And then, as I continue typing, the “I need to”s multiply like Gremlins when they get […]
KEEP READINGThe Cab Driver Who Convinced Me to Have Kids
No, a cab driver didn’t really convince me to have kids. But he sure did try. As soon as I got in, I knew he was was going to be one of “those” drivers. You know: the talkative kind. My first clue was that he asked, “How was your day?” instead of asking where I […]
KEEP READINGI Can Do Happy.
Yesterday’s blog post sucked. I knew it while I was writing it. I’d had nothing to write, a state which I’ve promised won’t stop me from writing. “No time to write today” is legit; “Nothing to write today” is not. Why? Because sometimes when I’m thinking, I’ve used up all the thoughts and ideas I’ll ever have, […]
KEEP READINGBusiness lessons from the guy who tried to scam me twice
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 […]
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