Effects of Financial Crisis on New York City
I'm not in finance and only took one class on Macro Economics so this is me talking out of my ass and just speculating. I'm thinking out loud as to how this may effect living in New York and am trying to see the bright side. According to the Wall Street Journal, about 5% of New York City's jobs are in the financial services industry but they account for 25% of wages (about 60 billion in 2006). Wow. Would be interested to see the same survey but in 2001 before Bush's tax cuts came into effect.
My predictions (some trite given the gravity of the situation)
- increase in gym members/ frequency as people suddenly discover loads of time on their hands as they look for jobs.
- increase in Kinkos use because no one has a printer now a days but people will need to print resumes.
- Starbucks/ sit down coffee places may lose money but perhaps be increasingly occupied by those wanting to get out of their apartments to look for jobs.
- Decrease in annoying articles about how rich New Yorkers are getting.
- Less focus on insanely superficial, annoyingly unnecessary luxury market such as spas for pets.
- Happier mothers/ kids as they see their fathers more often.
- Angry mistresses who may lose their kept women status and pied de terre.
- Business slow down in high end prostitution.
- Decrease in rents/ housing prices. (wishful thinking)
- Annoyingly super trendy clubs no longer all about the benjamins.
- Pubs see revenue increase as financial workers down their sorrows in booze.
- New York City bars more packed during the weekend since finance people aren't working and are in town.
that's all I can come up with for now. Feel free to add.
My Mom's Comment
"I gave birth to this?"
sorry dad- now I know where I get my sense of humor from.
Typical Lunch Break
Ran into some guy I went to high school with and haven't seen in about 10 years, saw Matthew Modine and my doctor. Just a typical day walking around the Union Square Farmer's Market. Surprised I didn't see anyone from my college.
I Like Pretty Pictures
yeah, this is an ode to my sister. I'm pretty sure I cried laughing the first time I saw the results. As a disclaimer that my parents would appreciate, we're really not that fugly- I swear.
Hmm. the Economist aye. I think I have undiagnosed ADD. I feel like The Economist is like The New York Times magazine section- you get excited about an article and then 6 pages into it are like... um, couldn't they have summed this up in 3. And I like Vanity Fair but there are only so many articles I can take about rich people. Perhaps that will be no longer after this mess.
Financial Crisis
I just skimmed through the latest issue of Business Week and put it down when I realized half the stories were old and irrelevant. And you wonder why they say print is dead. There's definitely still a market for magazines, but unless it's a summary of what's gone on that week, I don't think weeklies are entirely relevant.
Keith Oberman is Stupified
They're comparing Sarah Palin's popularity as a bubble that's about to burst, like over valued stock.
On a lighter note, I just ate vegetables on vegetables. I'm awesome. It like.. negates all the crap I ate today.
Inspiration Not to Drink at Your Next Work Shindig
This article in The New York Post Page Six magazine talks about how people in the music and fashion industries are abstaining from booze to stay ahead of the game. They realized the market is too competitive to be hung over at their desks all day. So- will the advertising world catch up to this line of thinking? I for one found it eye opening and slightly entertaining to be the only sober one in a sea of drunk people this Saturday. I enjoyed people watching but had trouble minding the motivation to take part in the debauchery. A conversation with a very cute guy didn't hold my interest mainly cause he was slurring and not making any sense. And it's quite possible that I don't know how to dance. At least not to ABBA and classic rock. Hopefully I have more moves with hip hop.
Matt Damon Speaks Out Against Palin
I don't mind when celebrities delve into politics. They have just as much right as anyone else to voice their opinion. We don't speak out against businessmen backing candidates. As long as their information is correct and they're bringing up good points then why not? As long as people are focusing on the actual issues versus the rhetoric of the candidates. And besides, more people follow celeb gossip than politics anyway.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anxkrm9uEJk&hl=en&fs=1&w=425&h=344]
Another Sober Evening Out
I literally walked a mile in the second highest, second least comfortable heels I own. But it was fun, even though I was sober at super crowded, fratatious bars. Also had a Gray's Papaya's hotdog for the first time ever despite the fact that my mother apparently dated the founder back in the 70's.
Of course we ended up at Solas where I met the craziest Irish guy ever. Couldn't understand a word with his heavy accent so somehow we ended up pseudo dancing in an over the top, musical theater kind of way to the various ABBA songs and other classics. For "Rock the Boat," he completely outdid himself, took a chair cushion, put it on the floor, sat on it, then dragged me into his lap for his rendition of rock the boat. ON the floor of the bar! Thankfully a bouncer helped me to my feet and scolded him enough so we went off to another part of the bar. Yes, trouble finds me and I suppose I don't even need to be drunk for it to find me.
And this morning, had a very good brunch in the LES and sat right near Marisa Tomei. Just another typical Manhattan brunch celebrity sighting..
Watch This
Wow.. I can totally see Les Mis for the err 4th time if it were still on Broadway. How about this for some general inspiration. One day more! That's all it takes.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3ijYVyhnn0&hl=en&fs=1&w=425&h=344]
More on the Demise of PhotoShelter Collection
Angela from Adrants delved further into the reasons for the closing of the collection. Read her article here.
Bummed is an Understatement
My favorite stock site PhotoShelter closed its doors today. We never bought anything from them but it was full of potential and I found the site inspiring, educational and interesting. It was run by some energetic, young people but unfortunately, their energy and enthusiasm wasn't enough to sustain the business. I guess they managed to have me disillusioned into thinking that anyone could sell their stock photos and introduced me to many wonderful photographers. I'll have to find another site to inspire me and fill that void. Boo. It was definitely a fantastic idea to have one website that acted as a go to for all things photography but I guess it didn't make money.
Need Sleep
I'm so excited for the weekend. I need to sleep and get back on a regular schedule. My fatigue is causing me to completely lose it. Yesterday morning, I completely forgot to wear any jewelry. Not such a big deal but as many women know, I sort of felt naked with out it. And this morning was sort of funny. I woke up at 7:30 then proceeded to hit the alarm until 8. Hurled myself into the shower, got dressed and was standing in front of the mirror about to take my hair out of a pony tail when I realized, I was supposed to wash my hair today. Hmm. It doesn't look that dirty and I've heard of people going days without washing it- I believe my last wash was Tuesday morning. But yeah, that's a new one. Never did that before.
I Shared a Subway Pole With..
So, um, how do I say this? Er.. it's quite possible I may have shared a subway pole on the uptown 4 train with no other than Ron Jeremy. Okay, I can't be entirely certain. I don't really know what the guy looks like, only briefly saw him in spoofs, etc. but either way, made sure my hand didn't touch the pole. Wait, how much would it suck to be the guy who has an uncanny facial resemblance to Ron Jeremy but not actually be him. And so, I ponder.
Rachel Zoe
Last night I saw the premiere of Rachel Zoe's new show. It was pretty decent. Interesting to see what goes into being a stylist. Definitely more than I would have imagined but still not something I'd ever be interested in and despite fashion being an art form, it's part of a superficial consumerism that I wouldn't want to get sucked into. And perfect to follow up Million Dollar Listings. Oy vey. Any who, I somehow ended up dreaming about the dang show, like I was working for that overly tired, bag-eyed lady. And woke up in the middle of the night. And generally did not get a good night's sleep. But I'm somehow wide awake, chipper and happy. Also happy that I sort of self assessed my issues yesterday and seem to have more clarity.
Insanity
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Albert Einstein
I had a long talk with my friend about a few issues that have been on my mind lately. And he brought up this quote that someone said to him at work that gave me some clarity and direction as to how to deal with some friendship issues. This quote stopped me from making a fairly large mistake in perhaps repeating a cycle that would have proven that I am, in fact, insane. So I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm going to focus on moving forward and realizing how change is constant. There's no value in being a loyal friend if the friendship isn't working or wasn't even that great to begin with. I've always had this issue with loyalty regarding friendships. It's my nature to be very loyal, to defend friends, and it always pains me when things don't work out- as if I've failed (the focus on "I"). I realize that to me, friendship loyalty is like being a member of the clean plate club. It was somehow ingrained in me for no good reason, is a habit I can't shake and only leads to excess baggage.
BUT at the same time, it seems that there are people we are drawn to. People we are meant to "get back" with, and friends that have come back into my life that I will let in. It's an interesting conflict to figure out which ones are right for us and which ones we should let go. Like Carrie and Mr. Big. Through out the show, she couldn't figure out if he was a bad habit she should break or the one she was meant to be with.
In the end, I need to figure out what and who makes me happy and separate this happiness from how long I've known them. Because it's quality versus quantity. And realize that when one door closes, another door opens.
Booo
Another sad and rainy day. Just got my college alumni newsletter and for the second time this summer, there was an "In memoriam" for someone from the class of 2008. Jeeze. Those poor kids. And for the second time, there's very little information as to how they died so I can only guess, but I can still see the 1 photo from their private facebook pages along with various obituries. I guess that's part of life but it's obviously still sad.
Towards the end of my senior year, a classmate committed suicide by shooting himself. Most of us had some idea who he was but didn't know him that well. I can distinctly and perfectly picture the night he killed himself. My friends and I saw him at our usual bar sitting by himself a table away from us. I remember feeling bad that he was by himself, and my friends and I mutually agreed that he was cute, looked nice and that we should go over and talk to him.. but none of us had the guts to do so. Of course, we were all left wondering what would have happened if we had said something. And even if our not doing so, and that loneliness was an inputus for something he was thinking of doing anyway.
