Poem of the Day: Twas the diet after Christmas

In bottom of a drawer that used to be my drawer, in the the back of a desk that used to be my desk, in an office that used to be my office, was found a pile of random documents, including this funny poem on the back of a sheet from the fax machine ... from 1999.

[Yes, I cleaned out that desk before it wasn't mine anymore. Yes, other people had too. We just hadn't taken the drawer out of the desk, disassembled the desk, turned the desk literally upside down, and removed the desk parts from the office.]

"Hey wait!" she said, as the pile of random papers was about to be discarded or refiled, or shredded, "I think .... I think I typed that one sheet right there. It certainly looks like a font I would've used. Can I have it back?"

Please enjoy this blast from the past. Maybe it will resurface in another 15-20 years or so.

Twas the diet after Christmas

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house

Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste

At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!

When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber.)

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;

The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese

And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt

And prepared once again to do battle with dirt --

I said to myself, as I only can

"You can't spend the winter disguised as a man!"

So away with the last of the sour cream dip,

Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished

'Til all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie - not even a lick.

I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,

I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore --

But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.

Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

Photo of the Day: March 24, 2015

Snow Diamonds over the Bronx River

March 24, 2015

~ photo by iTouch

Annual (?) Epic Brunch - January 31, 2015

January 31, 2015 horoscopes:

Aquarius

Even though it's the weekend, you still have to deal with some fiscal matters and other responsibilities. If you feel like you don't have a moment to yourself, decide which things must get done and which you'd like to do, but aren't high priority. Also, it's important to make some time for loved ones.

Don't let other people hurry you along this weekend. Keep moving ahead at your own sweet pace and everything that has to get done will get done. More importantly, it will get done correctly. Someone has to keep standards high.**

Yes, even though I have other responsibilities, I have/had decided that there are things that I have to do and they involve the high priority of making time to see friends - because it's been/had been far too many months.

One of the best parts of meeting up with friends for brunch is spending time catching up. The worst parts of meeting up with friends for brunch is that every other group of friends in NYC wants to do the same thing at the same time. Restaurants get loud. There are lines of people waiting for your table. The restaurants want to turn over the table. You don't get to really linger. Also, NYC is WAY too small - you inevitably can't do the venting you need to because someone is around, you fear someone is around, and/or you have to rush around to go on to your next appointment of the day. Because there are inevitably multiple appointments of the day, even if it's a weekend day.

UNLESS!

Unless your friend has a rare thing: an apartment with a huge kitchen with room for people to sit at a table that will fit up to 6, so you can spread out and chat. 
Unless she offers it up as a meeting place - AND offers to cook, so you make it a pot-luck gathering.
Unless you have a mutual assurance pact in place that you have all blocked off at least 3 or 4 hours to really linger, talk, and delve deep.

This was this kind of rare brunch with Ruyi and Matt - at Ruyi's Upper East Side walk-up. 
(Can I just note, her actual cooking/counter-space is just as limited as mine - and not anywhere like all those "standard" kitchens shown on HGTV, and yet, look what we produced.)

Ruyi made some kind of buck-wheat crepes (from scratch), as well as a shrimp alfredo (from scratch) - with Matt's able sous chef assistance. (Smart. Matt's done some culinary school.) We all come from different culinary backgrounds, so you never know what all we'll bring, but somehow it all coalesces into a perfect NYC brunch.

She put me to work assembling these yogurt trifle parfaits, (thank you, years of party prep from Caramoor and hours of FoodNetwork/Cooking Channel),

 

 as well as making up and tossing a side salad, assembling the salmon crostini, and putting out other "apps" like the spicy nuts and sweet rugelach I had brought, and the rest of the fruit and beverages.

 What a pretty table. 

What a yummy meal.

 What a nice thing NOT to be rushed, or stressing over orders or finances.

 Cheers to good company. 

Cheers to the chef(s). 

Pass the shrimp while it's hot. 

Let's eat!

It was really good to sit and talk. After working together at the Big J, Matt is/was the only still working there. We're all heading in different directions, so being able to connect over food, get to talk about challenges/goals, and then get to talk to Ruyi's sister about the same, AND play with Ruyi's cat ... It was a really great afternoon.

And unfortunately - it took us a WHOLE year to get our schedules to coordinate to do any kind of gathering again.

I was all nice and relaxed - but then I made a strategic error of trying to grocery shop at an UES Fairway, the weekend before the SuperSportsBallCupThingy. The line to check-out literally snaked all the around the store and out the door. By that point, (an hour in?), I was committed. NEVER AGAIN!


** This is actually evergreen advice, no matter the year. Maybe I can get it put on a needlepoint or tattooed on the inside of my arm so I always see it.

~ photos by iTouch

Photos of the Day: Snow Cap'd - January 30, 2015

Caramoor's Greenhouses

January 30, 2015

~photos by iTouch

Photos of the Day: Not the Hot Seat - January 29, 2015

 What a difference a season

and a snowstorm makes

Usually these seats are hot property

The Spanish Courtyard

Rosen House

Caramoor

January 29, 2015

~photos by iTouch

Devo Retreat: January 23, 2015

In light of the Devo Retreat for 2016 earlier this week, I remembered I hadn't share notes and pictures from a year ago - my first all-day working off-site retreat with my department since rejoining Caramoor. I had been invited to the 2014 session, but as I was in the last weeks of my Big J tenure and that department's first week of a new leader, I didn't think it was prudent to take off to go to Caramoor.

re·treat

rəˈtrēt/ 

noun

noun: retreat; plural noun: retreats

a quiet or secluded place in which one can rest and relax;

a period of seclusion for the purposes of prayer and meditation.

This was the second year in a row that Caramoor had rented a Pond House at Bailey Farm in Ossining for the day. Apparently it is used for groups like ours quite often.

 One side of this old farm house is a bit more modern, with conference capabilities, room for yoga, etc.

It overlooks the woods, a deserted greenhouse, and other scenic vistas.

But we liked the cozier, older side of the house, with vintage touches, such as:

We always pack in a variety of brain-stimulating snacks, as we worked through the day.

Of course no department gathering would be complete without food. One of our brain-break activities was decorating birthday cupcakes for Daria whose birthday was the day of the retreat. She took lots of notes so she really deserved her cupcakes.

Each of us had leadership roles throughout the day, leading discussion groups, brainstorming, identifying department goals, values, discussing possible professional and future fun activities, etc. It was intense. (These are our "thinker" poses.)

Being the introvert that I am, I strategically intended my sessions to be more introspective. Since we had been talking all day, I led writing exercises; 1) a drawing of a colleague's name for "notes of affirmation" to be distributed throughout the upcoming months, and 2) a quiet 15-20 minute of writing time for "letters to our future selves." These latter letters were saved and then distributed the week in June that we opened the Gala.

It was fun to see the flurry of affirmation notes that initially went out in the wake of the retreat. Some people maintained the practice for a month or so, while others maintained it throughout the year. The "future selves" letters also seemed to have struck a chord. A few people chose to share their letters with the department when they then opened them in June.

(I may share mine in a latter post.)

Every retreat is different. Every different location has an ambiance which affects the output. Every session leader brings something new to the mix. Every time we have one of these, there is a different dynamic, intent, and intended outcome. It's good to have them, to learn, and grow. I just wish we able to implement all our good ideas.

If there are a few things we can share, without giving away all our company secrets:

• Write anonymous letters of affirmations to your colleagues;
• Always have chips/snacks;
• Have a goals partner and check in;
• Identify non-work "do a fun thing" activities as Festival survival incentives;
• Make professional personal goals (one of mine was to write more - with mixed results);
• and ...
• Laughing/Laughter Yoga - is RIDICULOUS and you should try it.

Hohooohoooooo HAHAHAAAAA

None of us won the PowerBall to wave our magic wands to solve the biggest issues of all, so we may need to retreat and regroup and reassess, some more and more and more.



~photos by iTouch

MLK Day at the Big J: January 19, 2015

Since I was so fortunate to spend yesterday's MLK Day back at the Big J, I thought I'd share some of the random pictures from last year's visit. 

I was still getting over some weird stomach thing, so I wasn't eating much, but I still had time to sit and toast to Ms. T---'s presence for a long leisurely breakfast. (Indie Food and Wine)

Ms. T--- had to go back to work, so I think I hung about the lobby of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and used their wi-fi to set up more appointments for the day. I also ran over to the Bed Bath & Beyond, Gracious Home, and Gourmet Garage for some errands.

Lunch was with Cynthia at an Upper West Side institution I had missed, somehow, in the seven years I worked in the area.

"Big Nick's" TOO (Because sadly, I missed going to the original Big Nick's. It shuttered in 2013.)

One of those tiny, hole in the wall vintage dives which are becoming more rare on the UWS. The menu was so huge, but again -stomach ailments, so I had chicken soup, fries, and eggs, of all things. I am hoping for a redo one day. 

On the way back, we spotted one of those random things in the City that you just have to question. Cynthia and I actually turned to each other just to confirm that we were seeing what we thought were seeing. In fact, we back-tracked and crossed the street to go over and take a picture.

Um? Okay? I thought the UWS had zoning for JUST this kind of thing.

Cyn had to peel off, but I set up camp down in the tanning booth (aka under the main front steps of the Big J)

to use the wi-fi until Matt could run down and give me a hug, and/or it was time for my "coffee" break with Brent back over at Indie. (Coffee for Brent, Diet Coke for me).

I had a "tea" appointment to see Susan, but she was under the gun on a print deadline, so basically she ran out of the building on a "coffee" run (more Diet Coke) from the coffee cart on the corner and we basically power-walked around the block three times while smoke came out of her ears and we literally cooled off in the frigid January weather. 

After our "tea," I did head upstairs to the "new" suite of "off-site" offices to check in with my former boss Ed, but I kept my profile pretty low, because I like to be respectful of their working day. I plan these visits very carefully and strategically - and often make sure it's off-site.

(There is nothing more annoying than a former employee swanning in on their break while you are frantically busy working, or on a deadline, who wants to catch-up. I know. I have been one of those resentful busy worker bees.) 

One of the best parts of the day however, was getting a big old hug from some of the security guards. It'd been over a year or so since I had ducked in - and it was just like I had never left. I DID get scolded that I hadn't brought THEM baked goods.

Figures. You feed them a few times, and they think you'll feed them all the time. (I would if I could.)

~ photos by iTouch