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| Wednesday, January 25, 2006 |
| Epstein’s Back: And I could care less about the reasons why |
A line from Bob Ryan’s Globe column this morning stuck out to me:
“Whatever the title, Theo Epstein is back. Let the spin begin.”
You know what? I don’t think I will.
In the coming days and weeks the Boston and national media are all going to be analyzing the Red Sox Front Office. Why Theo left in the first place. Why he decided to come back. If he and Lucchino can really work effectively together. If there’s a power struggle. Blah blah blah blah blah.
This may sound naive and simplistic to say, but I really don’t care. Seriously, I could care less why he came back. I could care less if he and Larry have issues. In the statements released by the Red Sox yesterday almost everyone, Henry, Lucchino, Theo, all mentioned that disagreements happen. This kind of stuff goes on in corporate America all the time, with the notable exception that 99.9% of the companies in America are not under the same kind of media scrutiny that the Red Sox are.
So I’ll leave it at this: Welcome Back Theo. As a fan I feel a hell of a lot better with you around.Labels: Boston, Red Sox, sports |
posted by FINY @ Wednesday, January 25, 2006   |
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| Thursday, January 19, 2006 |
| We Finally Meet |
I'm always a bit wary when people preface my intorduction to someone with "Oh my God you're going to love *insert name here*! You two are so much alike!" It feels almost like your being set up for disaster. I mean what if you don't adore this person? What if you only "like" them. Worse yet, what if you absolutely despise them and this is someone that you're supposed to be exactly similar to. Does that therefore mean you loathe yourself somewhere deep down that you don't want to admit to?
Meegan had told me more times than I can COUNT that I was going to love LizyLizy. And I believed her. How could I not? I had spoken to Lizy on the phone, we'd been emailing for about a month, and I'd become an avid reader of her blog. But still, you just never know. Emails and phone calls and blog posts are one thing, but how would we get along in person?
In a word? Famously.
No joke, I love this girl, she's awesome (and no, not just because we read the same books, love the same foods, are both sports fans and happen to share one of the greatest friends any two girls could ask for). It was just so easy! Like we had known each other for ages. I knew we were going to be fine the minute I saw Meegan and Lizy walking towards me and Lizy broke into a run before nearly tackling me with a bear hug. Yug, she's my kinda girl.
Lizy, babe, it was SO fantastic to meet you this past weekend. Anytime you need a Danny to sing to your Sandra, you know where to find me (little inside karaoke joke there).
(visual confirmation of our meeting to come. I have to upload it from another computer since Safari doesn't support Blogger that well ...)Labels: friends |
| posted by FINY @ Thursday, January 19, 2006 |
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| Wednesday, January 18, 2006 |
| I've Become Boring! |
... And save the "Become?" comments, wiseasses, I'm serious!
Ever since I was fired I eat, sleep, and breathe the job hunt. I talk about almost nothing else. Hence the reason I haven't blogged in a while. I don't want to bore you guys too.
So shoot me some ideas. Seriously, nothing is too ludicrous. Tell me what to write about and I will. Yes, this is yet another cop out, but trust me, I am saving you all this way.
Have at it!Labels: blogging, work |
| posted by FINY @ Wednesday, January 18, 2006 |
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| Friday, January 13, 2006 |
| Introducing ... The Homegirls! |
So awhile back I received an email from two readers in Boston. Kellin and Mei run their own business called Homegirls: fan gear for girls . I’d like to take a moment to pimp them out for a second. No not because I know them or have any stake in the company (though come to think of it girls, in a month I won’t have a job anymore. You hiring? :) – ok ok, I promise that’s the last time I mention not having a job anymore. At least in this post). To put it bluntly, I just love their shit!
See, it turns out that I already owned a Homegirls T-shirt before I even knew Homegirls existed. Back in July the Welshman, R, Zoe, and Meredith presented me with what is now probably my favorite article of clothing. A red T-shirt with the words “Real Women Don’t Date Yankee Fans” across the chest.  (No, that’s not me in the picture, though come to think of it now that I have a digital camera I could totally take one of myself … hmmm…). I absolutely freaking adore that shirt. Adore it. And it became even more precious to me when I was walking to a Sox bar in either August or September and who do I see on the street, while wearing said shirt, other than the hated Randy Johnson. Never in my life have I ever been prouder to be wearing a specific article of clothing.
One of the things I love about the Homegirls stuff is that it allows the female fan to wear New England sports related stuff, but doesn’t label you as a CFB. And not only do they have great clothes, they’ve got a new message board and blog. Seriously, this was an amazing idea. I just wish I had had it first. No worries though, my resume is on it’s way to Boston as we speak. (Ok, so I mentioned it again, sue me!)Labels: Red Sox |
| posted by FINY @ Friday, January 13, 2006 |
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| I'm It |
Haven’t done one of these in a while. Sethro tagged me, so here goes:
Four jobs you have had in your life:
Well this is convenient since I’ve got the list right here on the resumes I’m sending out …
Assistant Editor (though not for long)
Editorial Assistant
Intern (at the Beacon Press … probably the best job I ever had, I love that press)
Front Counter Clerk at the Daily Bread in Providence. Probably my second favorite job. That place was great.
Four movies you could watch over and over:
Holiday In
Office Space
Shawshank
Any cheesy romantic comedy
Four places you've lived:
Barrington, RI (hometown)
Boston, MA (college)
Bellmore, NY (first apartment – on Long Island, what the HELL was I thinking?)
Brooklyn, NY (current residence)
Four TV shows you love to watch:
Friends
West Wing
Gilmore Girls
Sex and the City
Four places you've been on vacation:
Dominican Republic
Los Angeles, CA
Orlando, FL
… why can’t I think of anywhere else? God my life is boring!
Four of your favorite foods:
Cheese
Bread
Pasta
Seafood
(apparently I only eat white foods …)
Four places you'd rather be right now:
In bed
Home
In bed
Home (sorry, am working on a hangover here. This is all I can think about is being home in bed)
Four sites I visit daily:
These days?
Monster
Hotjobs
Mediabistro
craigslist
Four Bloggers you are tagging:
Esther
Ari
Nacho
ItchyLabels: misc. |
| posted by FINY @ Friday, January 13, 2006 |
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| Tuesday, January 10, 2006 |
| I’ve Become The Guest of Honor At A Party I Desperately Want To Leave |
We’ve all been there. You’re at a lame party. There’s no one worth talking to. You’re guzzling watered down Jack and Cokes in an effort to make it all a little better because you’re not allowed to leave. You’ve been approached by the weird dorky guy who mistakes your polite smile and downward glance as a “I’d really love to hear about the Dungeons and Dragons conference you went to last weekend” plea for conversation. More than anything in the world you want to kick off your heels, not in an effort to have a good time, but as a way to make your sprint out the door just that much faster.
But you can’t. You’re stuck. And what’s worse, it’s YOUR party.
This is where I find myself. In the last five days I’ve realized that the key to successfully navigating my post-firing professional career is to avoid, at all costs, declining the invitation to participate in a pity party for one. However, it seems that by RSVPing to that invite with a resounding “No” I have instead become the guest of honor at yet another party. This too is a Pity Party, only it’s not for one. It’s for all.
There’s a fine line that needs to be walked when you’re approaching someone who has just received bad news. It’s a tightrope walk – being supportive is on one side, pitying on the other. They are generally caused by the same thing: feeling bad for someone, wishing you could help, genuinely caring about the person in question. But the feelings brought about by the two are drastically different.
Many, no, most of my friends, family, and blog readers (yes that’s you!) have navigated this mine field beautifully. The support I’ve received from all of you has been amazing. Be it offering career advice, similar stories from personal experiences, providing job leads, or even just offering yourselves up as a sounding board. THAT is a party that I am grateful to be a guest at. But as I walk around the office, or read certain emails, or see the looks on certain people’s faces, I just want to crawl under a rock and never come out. It’s the hushed “hello”s, the being overly nice to me, the tiptoeing around me as if I could blow up at any time that is making me absolutely crazy.
Because the best thing I can do right now is avoid feeling sorry for myself. If I remain motivated and positive it’s easier to send out those resumes. Most times it’s easy. Well, not easy, but doable. But when you see those looks, hear that tone of voice, feel the palpable vibe of “Oh you poor thing” it just makes it harder. I want to scream “It’s Ok! I am going to be Ok! Why don’t you think I can handle this?!”
But I don’t. Instead I call my Mom and cry for a minute before getting back to the pissed-off-I-can-do-this mode that I’ve been oscillating in and out of for the last few days. Which I guess makes me that girl sitting on the stairs after the high school dance, her shoes in her hand, her mascara smudged because the captain of the football team wouldn’t dance with her. And I thought I had outgrown that. Damn.Labels: work |
| posted by FINY @ Tuesday, January 10, 2006 |
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| Saturday, January 07, 2006 |
| You're Fired! ... Oh wait, no you're not, I am! |
It's funny how we define ourselves by our careers. I'm an Assistant Editor. She's a doctor, he's an actor. Upon first meeting someone one of the automatic questions is: "What do you do?" In approximately five weeks I will no longer have an answer to that question.
See, I was fired on Thursday. Or, as it was put to me, "let go". I'm not going to go into why, because really it doesn't matter. What does matter is that in five weeks (they're keeping me around to give me time to find a job – though finding a job in five weeks is going to be no small feat) I will be unemployed.
There have been few times in my life that I've felt this low. I can't sleep, each time I nod off I wake up in a panic. I've been fired. It's amazing how hard a concept it is to grasp. Coming completely out of the blue like that (and you can tell it was out of the blue from what I wrote in my update 100 Things About You post) it just still hasn't hit me. I've thought a thousand different things. Certain phrases from the meeting come back to me. "This isn't personal". On the surface I know that's true. I know none of my bosses dislike me on a personal level. But it IS personal to me. Not being able to pay my bills. That's personal. Wondering how I am going to pay my rent. That's personal. Feeling like a complete and total failure. That's personal. It's not personal to them because when I walk out the door it's over for them. But for me it will keep going. Every day. I've been fired. Over and over again in my head.
Being fired makes you reassess. Every step I've taken since the minute I declared my major as Writing, Literature, and Publishing has been to have a career in the publishing industry. Unfortunately, this is a very very small industry I work in. And a ridiculously incestuous one. So how am I supposed to go out and get a job at another college publishing house? Actually, how do you spin "I was let go" on ANY job interview?
I’ve already started looking for jobs. Today I’ll spend polishing my resume and cover letter. I’m applying for anything and everything at the moment. From jobs in publishing to event management, hospitality to an Account Executive with a sports team in NY/NJ.
And luckily, I’ve got the best support network a girl could ask for. Ten minutes after I was let go I sent out an email to all my friends in NYC. I had already been planning on meeting up with J for drinks, so it seemed the perfect opportunity to turn the evening into a “let’s drown my sorrows” event. On a good day it’s tough to get all my friends together. We all have varied schedules, events, parties, and jobs to go to. But that night, 8 of my friends dropped everything and rushed to my side. It meant the world to me. The hangover the next day was a bitch, but it was worth it. To have them all around me, knowing they loved me, helped to temper the “I’m a complete failure” feeling I’ve got going on right now. Because I’m NOT a complete failure. I have a great family, amazing friends, and soon, I’ll have a new job.
I oscillate between being sad, scared, shocked, and angry. But even during these mood changes I know deep down in my heart that I’m going to be Ok. Fuck it, this may be the best thing that ever happened to me, who knows? I just need to keep reminding myself that my job is not myself. And just because I was fired it doesn’t diminish my worth as a person. I’m still me. Just with a little less money.Labels: work |
| posted by FINY @ Saturday, January 07, 2006 |
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| Thursday, January 05, 2006 |
| Cop Out |
| Well, I'm coping out here. In place of an actual post I'm going to direct you all to my 100 Things About Me list, which has been updated. I know, I'm a loser. It's fine :) Labels: misc. |
| posted by FINY @ Thursday, January 05, 2006 |
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| Tuesday, January 03, 2006 |
| Unloading Relationship Baggage |
I am a pack rat. No question about it. And as I started my yearly clearing out of all the crap that I accumulate, I stumbled upon a box that I've always allowed myself to keep around. It was like a safety blanket that smothered me all at the same time.
It was a box that contained all the little trinkets, notes, and minutia from my last two serious relationships: The Ex, and Crazy Rebound Guy. The box was filled with the cards that had come with flowers, with a bag of "reasons I love you" from CRG, with a long piece of grass The Ex had fashioned into a ring while sitting on the Esplanade one day nearly six years ago. At the time all these stupid little things meant the world. And keeping them around reminded me that I had been loved, and that if it had happened before then of course it could happen again, right?
But tonight while looking through it all, while some of it brought good memories and fond recollections, I knew I didn't need or want it anymore. And truth be told, I'm not even sure that my change of heart had anything to do with The Twin, though I am sure my mother and friends will disagree. The Twin and I haven't exchanged those three little words, and my fear is keeping me from uttering them, but I know I will eventually. What I realized while I was looking through the box was that, while those things, those professions of love, meant so much at the time they were shared, once the love is gone, they're nothing more than pieces of paper cluttering up the space under my bed.
So tonight I uloaded my relationship baggage into the wastebasket. And hot damn it felt great.Labels: dating |
| posted by FINY @ Tuesday, January 03, 2006 |
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| Christmas Continued! |
So I got a lot of great things for Christmas. A Tim Wakefield Jersey, a digital camera, a first edition of my favorite book. All in all, a pretty good haul. But you know what I love about Christmas? It doesn't stop for like a month! For example, today in the mail I received the following thanks to a B&N gift certificate from one of my bosses:
1. The Polysyllabic Spree - Nick Hornby
"FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Books are, let's face it, better than everything else," writes Nick Hornby in his "Stuff I've Been Reading" column in The Believer. "If we played cultural Fantasy Boxing League, and made books go 15 rounds in the ring against the best that any other art form had to offer, then books would win pretty much every time. Go on, try it. The Magic Flute v. Middlemarch? Middlemarch in six. The Last Supper v. Crime and Punishment? Fyodor on point And every now and again you'd get a shock, because that happens in sport, so Back to the Future III might land a lucky punch on Rabbit, Run; but I'm still backing literature 29 times out of 30." This book collects Hornby's popular columns in a single, artfully illustrated volume with selected passages from the novels, biographies, collections of poetry, and comics under discussion. "
I absolutely adore Hornby and this book is so right up my alley subject wise.
2. Radio On - Sarah Vowell
"FROM THE PUBLISHER
What does our country sound like? There are approximately 502 million radios in America alone. Radios in cars, in kitchens, in malls, playing in elevators and beauty shops. Sarah Vowell listened to the radio for one year and wrote down her impressions."
The only one of Vowell's books that I've yet to read. Really looking forward to this one.
3. The Art of War - Sun-tzu
"FROM THE PUBLISHER
Lionel Giles' classic translation of the oldest military treatise in the world.
Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
This volume contains the introduction and fascinating commentaries of Lionel Giles, who provided the first definitive English translation of Sun Tzu's masterpiece. His copious notes and bibliography have been updated to make them more accessible to English speaking readers, and enhancing the insights to be drawn from this timeless classic. "
Not your typical gift certificate purchase, but it's one of those books I always meant to read ...
4. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs - Chuck Klosterman
"FROM THE PUBLISHER
Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman. With an exhaustive knowledge of popular culture and an almost effortless ability to spin brilliant prose out of unlikely subject matter, Klosterman attacks the entire spectrum of postmodern America: reality TV, Internet porn, Pamela Anderson, literary Jesus freaks, and the real difference between apples and oranges (of which there is none). And don't even get him started on his love life and the whole Harry-Met-Sally situation.
Whether deconstructing Saved by the Bell episodes or the artistic legacy of Billy Joel, the symbolic importance of The Empire Strikes Back or the Celtics/Lakers rivalry, Chuck will make you think, he'll make you laugh, and he'll drive you insane -- usually all at once. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is ostensibly about art, entertainment, infotainment, sports, politics, and kittens, but -- really -- it's about us. All of us. As Klosterman realizes late at night, in the moment before he falls asleep, "In and of itself, nothing really matters. What matters is that nothing is ever 'in and of itself.'" Read to believe. "
This is the one I am the most excited about. I've been meaning to pick this up for AGES.
Now the question is ... which one do I read first?!Labels: books |
| posted by FINY @ Tuesday, January 03, 2006 |
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| Starting 2006 Watching Swimming and Singing |
The year 2006 is only two days old. And in that two days I've experienced a true dichotomy here in New York. Sunday morning, January first, was spent watching crazy people, The Twin included, running into (and quickly out of) the Atlantic Ocean off of Coney Island with the Polar Bear Club. Tonight was spent at the Metropolitan Opera House watching L'Elisir d'Amore, and Italian opera written in the early 1800s. The two days couldn't have been more different, or more
enjoyable, if I had tried.
Sunday morning The Twin and I arose, surprisingly with only small hangovers, and made our way to Coney Island. The plan was for The Twin to photograph the event. I knew that was bull the minute he purchased a bathing suit and a bathrobe at Target before going out there, He was going in the water.
As we approached the boardwalk I was shocked at how many people were around. Hundreds of people were drinking coffee, drying off, dancing to the DJ, it was a regular party out there. For an area of Brooklyn that is usually deserted this time of year it was positively packed. Having woken up late we missed the mass dash into the water but there was still a crowd at the waters edge watching stragglers taking the plunge. The Twin stripped down to the newly purchased swimming trunks and in he waded, camera in hand, to photograph a group of people who were staying in the water to play catch.
The number of us who were there for emotional support of those insane enough to participate far outnumbered those who actually went into the water, but it was a lot of fun to watch. And afterwards wandering around the mostly closed up boardwalk was an interesting sight to see. All in all it was an odd, and really cool way to start 2006 (but there was still no way in HELL I was going in the water).
Coney Island is sort of the epitome of cheese. With carnival games
such as "Shoot the Freak" (with paintballs of course) and every kind of food on a stick you can think of being sold out of boardwalk stands. I was struck by how drastically different my first two days of the new year were as I approached the Metropolitan Opera House in Lincoln Center last night. The dress slacks, high heels and blazer I was wearing were on the opposite end of the spectrum from the jeans, hiking boots, hoodie, and baseball cap that had been my attire the previous day.
This was my first trip to the Met as a ticket holder and my first opera viewing experience ever. I had taken a tour of the famous opera house my senior year of high school when my choir was participating in a festival in Alice Tully Hall (walking onto that stage to perform is still one of the highlights of my life to this point). The grand stair case in the center of the lobby, the giant chandeliers, and the gracious, yet somewhat snooty crowd immediately transport you into this whole other world. The opera, L'Elisir d'Amore, was fantastic. I had been given the full rundown of the story before the curtain opened, as the lyrics are in Italian, but was also helped along by nifty lcd screens which are inserted into the backs of the chairs and roughly translate the action on the stage. I tried not to use those too much as it required taking my eyes off the stage and potentially missing some of the action.
L’Elisir d’Amore was probably a good opera to start out with. It was light, comical, a classic “boy meets girl” story, kind of a chick flick of operas, and the arias were just amazing. I’d love to see one of the doom and gloom operas one of these days, but to begin with this one really did blow me away. I won’t try to comment on the actual performance as I know little to nothing on the subject, but I did really enjoy myself.
As Missy and I left Lincoln Center and headed back towards Brooklyn I was again struck by how great my first two days of 2006 had been. Here’s to hoping it continues this way, though perhaps a bit more toward the middle of the road. A girl could get whiplash from that kind of culture shock.Labels: dating, friends, NYC |
| posted by FINY @ Tuesday, January 03, 2006 |
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