My Trip to New York, Thanksgiving-style

I am thankful for the opportunity I had to go out to New York for work. First of all, who can turn down a free trip? I could be going to Milwaukee and still be thrilled. Secondly, it was great to sit in on the meetings on Monday and see what our consultants do. I am also thankful for the post-meetings dinner and drinks we had at the super-posh University Club on 5th…oh how I loved the old ladies in Chanel and men in suits sipping cocktails in a dimly lit pub.

I am thankful for sitting next to the friendliest guy on the planet on the way there. We somehow got to talking about how he grew up in foster care and became legally emancipated when he was 15 and moved out to Utah from California by himself. He has a 9th grade education and now owns a successful IT company. Such an inspiring story.

I am thankful that I got to witness an excellent verbal fight before I even left the airport. LOVE East Coast attitude.

I am thankful that my hotel was the cleanest place ever and that it was so close to everything. I am thankful that I was able to navigate around so easily (thanks to Rachel’s notes!). And I am thankful that I knew how to give directions to the one person who asked me.

I am thankful that years of retail in stilettos has given me such an immunity to painful feet. I am also glad that I always buy my boots a little big, because after 4 days of intensive walking, my normally size 7 feet have swollen up to an 8. In fact, an 8.5 would be even more comfortable.
I am thankful that I got to do everything I wanted to do. I went to the MoMA, Met, and Guggenheim museums. I am especially thankful that I got to sit and observe a children’s tour group in the MoMA—hearing those little kids discuss contemporary art was such a neat experience, it totally put me in the best mood. I am thankful that I also got to go to Sunday mass at St Patrick’s cathedral and see Gossip Girl being filmed, TWICE (is it appropriate to list both of those in the same sentence?)

I am thankful for New York being such a single-friendly place. Never once did I feel uncomfortable hanging out by myself. This also came in handy when it was meal time, as my food consisted of Starbucks, Magnolia cupcakes, hot dogs, Pinkberry, pizza, and McDonalds diet coke…no shame when you’re not worried about how you appear to other people! I am also thankful for Mike at Pinkberry, who gave me the employee discount AND upgraded my small to a large. What a gem.

I am thankful for the helpful concierge, who saved me when my airport shuttle never showed up. He made a few calls and got me on another shuttle at the last possible moment. I am also thankful for the driver, who drove like a maniac and made us play 80’s tv trivia….his wackiness helped to distract me from the huge panic attack I was on the brink of. I am also thankful for the lady at Delta who walked me to the front of the massive security line so I wouldn’t miss my plane…which I caught just as they were ready to leave. Those of you who enjoyed my open letter to the infamous Seattle seat stealer will be happy to know that I got my window seat on the trip there as well as the trip back, AND there was a one seat buffer between me and the other passenger both times—pure travel bliss!

Tourist Time

Now accepting recommendations for my very last-minute solo weekend trip to New York....

Circus

Working Girl

I get a lot of people asking what I do for a living, and apparently describing The RBL Group as "a Strategic HR and Leadership focused consulting firm" doesn't provide a whole lot of clarity. Lucky for you, my dear readers, I am in a shameless-plug sort of mood!

The RBL Group (which stands for Results-Based Leadership) does some really extraordinary work regarding Leadership. Even if you're not shooting for a CEO position at a Fortune 500 company, the concepts we talk about are still incredibly applicable. In case you're interested, check out these:
The Leadership Code: 5 Rules to Lead By
This book comes out this December and is available to pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and CEO Read. Also, visit www.leadershipcodebook.com for a chapter one preview as well as all sorts of videos, assessments, and other goodies.


One of the authors of the book, Kate Sweetman, has just started writing a blog for fastcompany.com. Kate is a great friend and a wonderful writer, and her blog is great at explaining complex ideas in a way that doesn't make your head spin. Check it out and leave some comments!

The other side of our company is the Strategic HR practice, which is one of the best in the world. Basically, we teach people how to take their HR from being a center for processing paychecks and benefits to taking an active role in contributing to the company. Read more about it here.

That's my job in a nutshell. A very tiny nutshell. And I promise my next post will be incredibly shallow and silly to make up for all the serious-ness of this one.

Sale on Aisle 3

I'm no MBA, but it seems to me that there has to be a catchier price point to advertise these babies at...

Please Note: I just realized that one of these pictures is caffiene-free diet dr. pepper. Sick. Please do not misinterpret my inclusion of this photo as my endorsement of such a foul beverage.

Janie's Got a (Staple) Gun

I can't believe I've been in my new place for so long and not posted pics-- "look at where I live" posts are all I have to make me look quasi-domestic next to all of the people who can post "look at my kid." Anyway, this weekend was a crafty one for me, so here are all of my low-quality iPhone pics of my projects (apparently I also can't compete with the "look at how I can take gorgeous pictures" blogs. *sigh*. In another life, perhaps...)

Look, Mom-- I sewed on rick rack! Just don't look too closely at the no-so-straight stitching...

This weekend I upholstered the headboard, made drapes, and painted my furniture. The 10 foot drapes are my favorites, I am in love with the fabric and they have a heavy, black lining that is perfect for a good afternoon Sunday nap.

Now if only I could keep my desk looking this tidy all of the time...

I kept the master bath super girly-- all pink and white with a fancy (ok, IKEA) chandelier.

And most importantly, did I mention the location of this dreamy dwelling? Go ahead and look out my window: Bajio, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and Happy Sumo.
Pics of the rest of the casa later, I need a few good weekends to fancy up the living room (how soon is too soon to decorate for Christmas?)

Curses!

I have this irrational fear of ancient Egypt. Which is peculiar, especially given the fact that I got my degree in art history and love objects with a past-- I can stand and stare at ancient ruins for hours, wondering how they were made, who used them, and who stood where I stand and wondered the same thing.

But mummies (or more specifically, their curses) scare the everliving out of me.

So when my dear friends Aaron and Lindsay went to the Middle East this past summer, they capitalized on this phobia. They returned with this little vial of sand from Egypt for me. wtf. The feet of pharaohs may have touched this. Perhaps some of it is dust that came from writing ancient rituals on the wall. And now it is sitting in my house.
After it was given to me (and we sealed the top on with Super Glue, which I'm sure was created for exactly this sort of a situation), we all tried to come up with the creepiest "what-if." Please pick one from below and leave it in a comment.

1. I wake up in the middle of the night to see the sand coming out in a smoke-like vapor
2. One day it is suddenly empty, although the top is still glued on, there are no cracks, and there is no sand on the counter around it.
3. The sand is replaced with a teeny tiny mummy all shoved inside like one of those ships in a bottle
4. Other