Got to work at 8am. Started in on the task at hand. I really cooked today. And I am no longer afraid of Excel, except I have no idea how to add. I mean, IN Excel. My sister Eileen is an Excel whiz. I am an Excel neophyte. But I did use lots of pretty colors and made boxes. Look Mommy!
I got all my materials ready for my 5pm meeting with my boss which he cancelled. But it is no problem as we are meeting in the morning and I had plenty to keep me busy. Like retyping a whole month's schedule by hand for the GM who likes to see it in this format. I MUST figure out how to automate this.
Today was the first day I went out for lunch. I met my friend Tom who is the Creative Development Director at the New York bloody Times! He invited me to lunch and a tour of their new digs on 41st and 8th. This marvel has its own website! Click on "their new digs." This new, green building was designed by Pritzker prize-winning architect Renzo Piano who did the Centre Pompidou in Paris. It was amazing and Tom showed me all around. I so want to work there just to be part of the wonderful natural light. I would want my cube to have a river view.
We had lunch in the deluxe cafeteria on the 14th floor, I believe. There are "smart elevators' where you press your floor button on a panel on the wall and it tells you which car you are booked on to take to your desired floor. The elevators are choreographed to run mega-efficiently so people can move and not stop on every floor. I expected to see George Jetson being yelled at by his editor-in-chief, Mr. Spacely. It officially opens on Monday. I am going to an event there tomorrow night as Tom's guest. How great is that?
Tom and I in the lobby at the NYT. Those are all video monitor
screens scrawling blurbs from today's paper. The place is unbelievable.
On my way back from lunch I went by the Majestic Theatre. This is where my pal John who is in LA now used to perform nightly as Raul in Phantom. That is huge! A Broadway star AND from Wisconsin. What a combo.
I left work and went to a networking event for Out in Television and Film hosted by HBO Out and Newfest. It was at a cool place called HK on 9th at 39th. Another social networking situation where I go solo, sans gin and tonic and I have to talk to people. Dear God let me pull snakes wrapped in feces out of the East River instead!!! I saw my friend Basil who runs Newfest film festival here. He told me they were just talking about me today at his office. This is a good start. I was on a mission to meet this guy from Logo Network whom my old boss in LA told me to meet. Let's say his name is Mike Jones. Well I track down a guy named Mike Jane and he is a development guy at Logo. I drop my contact name and still think I am meeting the right guy, but there is a Mike Jones and a Mike Jane at Logo. I realize I don't have the right guy, but I don't let on because he works in development where I want to work and now we are going to have lunch. Here is my stumbled upon networking tip that I inadvertently used tonight: Have a "looking for someone" tactic It is fullproof, I found. "Excuse me guys, do you work at Logo? No? Oh, I was told the Logo guys were up here sitting on a couch. You are sitting on a couch. What is your name? ..." I met a lot of people this way including a guy who works in my office building and claims he makes a better cheesecake than Juniors. How DO you get into these conversations with complete strangers? I met guys from MTV, a film festival guy, a "media consultant" - HEY that was my line! - and a woman who is a lounge singer. Finally after meeting the wrong (but right guy) I left. I was two blocks away and I recognized this guy on the street as being at the event because he had a design shaved into the side of his head. We started talking and I met his friends and they invited me to go for drinks with them! He is a DJ in Boston who was visiting his friend Lisa who plays the piano. They were with a guy from HBO. I graciously declined in order to finally be home in time to pick up my shirts from the laundry and so I could watch TV for work...
I was waiting for the subway and there was a guy playing the sax on the platform. It was as if in a movie.
What a great day.
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