"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it." Maya Angelou
Tuesday morning I treated myself to a much needed
massage. Since July the packing up, selling, tossing out, moving, followed by a weekend on my feet
volunteering, I decided I owed it to myself, And it was spa week, good deals. I found my new favorite massage therapist right around the corner, at Serenity
Spa on 3rd Avenue. Perfect
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| Grafitti in DUMBO |
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| Brandon Stanton |
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| Outside Powerhouse Arena |
Tuesday evening I headed to DUMBO (Down
under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) for a talk and book signing at a very cool
bookstore, The Powerhouse Arena, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn. Brandon Stanton was there for the release of
his first book, “Humans of New York.” An
impressive, and cute guy! From Facebook:
Hey there. I’m Brandon. I get really
passionate about things. At some time in my life, I’ve been obsessed or
borderline-obsessed with saltwater aquariums, the baritone euphonium, reading,
piano, filming, financial markets, New York City, and photography. I studied
History at the University of Georgia. During my senior year of college, I took
out $3,000 in student loans and bet it on Barack Obama to win the presidency. A
friend heard about this bet and got me a job trading bonds on the Chicago Board
of Trade. I traded for three years. It went really well for awhile. But then it
went really bad. Whoops. After I lost my trading
job, I decided to move to New York City and take portraits of strangers on the
street. Mom wasn’t too happy about that decision, but so far it’s gone pretty
well. I’ve taken nearly 5,000 portraits and written 50 stories. And I’ve met some amazing people along the
way.
Wednesday I began my second foray into the festival world with
the Food Film Festival (www.foodfilmfestival.com)
Oh, what a time I had! The People were amazing, including many whom
I had worked with the weekend before. I
went in early and came home late and loved every minute of it. From its website: Born in Brooklyn in 2007, The
Food Film Festival sprang from the imagination of Festival Director and Travel
Channel host George Motz, the documentary filmmaker behind the award-winning
Hamburger America film and book, along with co-creator Harry Hawk. Through
documentaries, features and short films, the Festival showcases the best, and
the most memorable, of the world’s favorite foods. Along with a heaping helping
of mouth-watering films, Motz, Hawk and company serve up the food that guests
are watching on the screen for a multi-sensory, full-bodied experience.
The Food
Film Festival is a competitive film festival that presents awards in multiple
categories including: Best Feature, Best Short, Best Super-Short, Best Food
Porn, Food Filmmaker of the Year and the Audience Choice Award. The Official
Selections of The Food Film Festival are reviewed by a judging panel comprised
of esteemed members of the food and film communities.
The Food
Film Festival, now in New York City, Chicago and Charleston, South Carolina,
benefits important local non-profit organizations, such as the Food Bank For
New York City, The Good Food Project and GrowFood Carolina. The Festival works
hard to promote these operations and the excellent work they do.
Stay
informed about the Festival! Click HERE to receive updates
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| Plaza Athenee |
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| Central Park Zoo |
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| Autumn in Central Park |
Friday morning I met one of my favorite Patients at the
Plaza Athenee for breakfast, thank you very much! FP is in the wine world representing many
Vineyards from Spain. Over th years he
has spoiled me with some of this wine.
Flattery and gifts did not get you any easier appointment with me, but I
did show a lot of gratitude in hugs! FP
and his Co-worker gave me some great advice and hints on the new world I hope
to join. Since I was so close I then
enjoyed a wonderful walk through the Park (Central,that is). This Autumn has been beautiful, hasn’t it?!
Crowd control for the FFF was not an issue as it was a
much smaller affair. Most Everyone was
great. Although Friday was a weird day
for me. I was a bit off, and it was a “wine
night”. Wine people can truly be
snobs. (I love wine.) At one point I walked by the entrance where a
lovely English Lady volunteer was handing out wine glasses. A man was questioning her on the wines begin
served that night. She had no idea. At which point he began to berate her a
bit. I went into the conversation,
uninvited, and explained to man that there were six days and numerous events to
the Festival. It would be almost
impossible for Volunteers to learn everything on the fly. At which point he announced he ran lovely
beer events where he trained his staff.
I continued to “kill him with kindness” (when I wanted to punch him),
and we ended up being grand friends..not.
But, he was happy and pontificated with whoever would listen. Lovely English Lady and I became Festie
buddies for the rest of the weekend.
Much like my
love-hate relationship with walkie-talkies at the Wine Food Festival, I
developed such a relationship with blackboards at the Food Film Festival. I became the resident sign maker on huge
blackboards for the weekend, listing each day's sponsors and their menus. Who knew?
They liked my Catholic school writing, all but the beer sponsor..too
girly, I guess. I discovered a step
ladder hidden in a closet and claimed it, carrying it around on my shoulder, feeling
cool. I was given a gift on Friday a marker
like chalk that was so much easier to wrote with..but wouldn’t erase. Another Volunteer told me alcohol. We were a food Film Festival with no “alcohol”
available. Saturday morning I bought
some rubbing alcohol; went down to the theatre and cleaned all the blackboards;
and left happy. By the last day, I was given
a great tip by the Founder of the Festival, dip the chalk in just a bit of
water. The writing will start out light
but dry into a nice, crisp font. I
wanted to kiss him, but he didn’t seem the type to take to that sort of thing from
a stranger. (Although by the end of the
weekend there much much hugging. You
know I love that!)
I do believe I may be figuring out what I want to do when
I grow up. And, not just jokingly, I
think Event planning, working as a freelancer, may be in my future. I am learning so much from the People I have
worked with, and for, so far. I’m
discovering what networking means at its truest sense. I like it.
I would be great in this world. And, I guess that perhaps I made a positive
impression for myself, as I have been invited to the Chicago Food Film Festival
in November, as a volunteer. I think I’ll
go! Continue with the learning process,
and visit a city that has long been on my bucket list. Oh, and some of the People I worked with are
already talking about a reunion get-together.
(The Festival just ended two days ago..I guess we really hit it off.)
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| Alice & Friends having Tea! |
I am learning my limits in my old age, so I did take most
of Saturday off from the Festival. I
slept in, skipping Philosophy Class, which kind of bummed me out, and also made
me feel like a bit of a renegade. God, I’ve
been a good girl for so long, I love when I break the rules, even if they’re my
own! I met some Ladies for tea at Alice’s
Teacup in the afternoon. I have a network growing already. Both of these Ladies have mentioned how hard
it is to make Friends here. I am blessed. I’m finding it easy. I met one at a library class last spring, and
we’ve done a few fun outings together.
And, the other is my Philosophy class Friend. Both hit it off beautifully. Alice’s Tea Cup is yet another example of a brilliant
idea and it thrives. On weekend
afternoon there can be a two hour wait! There
are three shops scattered around Manhattan, and I luckily live close to the one
on 81st Street between 2nd and 3rd..
Saturday evening I
scooted across to, yes, Sojourn, for a bowl of their awesome butternut squash
soup and to watch the Red Sox game (great game but a loss in a weird play that
had all the Guys, and me, yelling!). I
don’t have live TV at the Hx3. Kristi
got a Roku box last year. Time Warner
blew off an appointment I had set up last week, so I’ll just keep the Roku box
with Netflix and Hulu. It’s cheaper than
cable.
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From my Nephew in California to my Mom!
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So, the last couple of days, I have literally laid low,
after another massage. Last night I went
across the street to where they know my name, Sojourn, to watch “the Game.” Kristi
joined me. We left and went to a proper
sports bar on 2nd Avenue, Johnny Foxes, and watched our beloved Red
Sox win another World Series. We ended
the evening at Sojourn with a glass of bubbly to celebrate. (I always think of my Dad on these
nights. God love Him. He never got to
see the Sox win a World Series.)
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| From The Boston Globe |
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