Why I am thankful for 2007

These are the top ten reasons that I am thankful for 2007

10. I lost my job in May. It isnt the first job I have lost but hopefully it is the last one. I now work for myself. Losing my job in May was just the catalyst I needed to put dreams of my own company into reality. The Grimes Group, LLC is open for business. And I still have a perfect record. . .I never lost a job I wanted to keep.


9. I had the time to go spend July with my two sons in St Louis. Being carefree and jobless most of the summer allowed me to spend time with my children without having to ask anyone's permission. It was really fun to have dinner every night with Tim or Stephen or both. I took my dog Berit with me on the cross country drive of 14 hours or 969 miles door to door.

8. I finally made it to Belgium in December--and got to practice my French for real--well until I figured out that the people were speaking a mixture of French and Flemish and my only option was to speak English. Never thought I would be sick of seeing chocolate everywhere--but it happened to me in Brussels. I did not make it to Leuven to see Father Damien--but that just means that I have to go back again.

7. My dog turned 3. As much as I have loved my dog at every age, I have to admit, she is now three years old and she finally listens. It is really a joy to spend every day with her. She and I are going to enroll in an advanced agility and funny pet tricks class in New York City in January. Guess I better get a movie camera.


6. My friends Suzy and Don moved away. Now this may not sound like something to be thankful for, but my friends Suzy and Don moved away to a wonderful condo. Suzy had filled every inch of her apartment with stuff--some of it she forgot she even owned. Now she has lots more room to buy even more stuff!! She also has central vacuum and I am really jealous.

5. I finally made it to Carnegie Hall. I had always wanted to go to see a symphony perform at Carnegie Hall and wouldnt you know, the St Louis Symphony came in March. So I got to see my hometown symphony playing an away concert!! Now that I make my own schedule, I often go to rehearsals at Carnegie in the afternoons...for free!


4. I reconnected with a highschool friend--and we had a great time over lunch trying to describe the zigzag path our lives have taken. Mary Ann is also self-employed and despite that she remains so vivacious and energetic and gives back to the St Louis community in remarkable ways. She promises to come visit New York!




3. Summer at the pool is boring. I would never really have believed this if I had not spent 7 weeks just goofing off at my pool. Now I know.






2. David Hyde Pierce--how nice he was the night I met him in person.







1. I am happy and healthy and looking forward to 2008. And I made it to the end of the year without any major catastrophes. But JW, I still miss your magic.



Coming at New Years-- a new rotating blog topic:
MY HOMETOWN A TO Z

Make Yourself Memorable

by Stephanie Sherman (published by the American Management Association, 1996)

This blog is one of many that will feature books from my bookshelf--and in some cases the history behind my purchasing the book. It was hard to pick the first one. . so I picked a noncontroversial, fun one.

Make Yourself Memorable by Stephanie Sherman is a book I have owned for about 10 years--and have read it and lent it out more than once. I picked it up in an airport bookstore--I was traveling 100% of the time for a pharmaceutical company and felt kind of anonymous. (I used to list my address as Marriott, USA.) So, this book caught my attention and I found it amusingly instructive. Even now, when I feel anonymous or invisible--I pick it up and see how I can tweak my style a bit--and amazingly, it usually works.

I see it listed on Amazon now as "used starting at 25 cents"--I think it is still more valuable than that!!

OK, check this out:

Stephanie's "memorable formula" simply stated is: Style x Substance x Timing.

She breaks down each formula component. There are four elements of style--Look, Speech, Presentation and Conduct. I am getting the feeling that you are already thinking differently about your "style". Doing a little mental inventory????

Lets look at her suggestions about fashion style--or YOUR LOOK. She separates the elements of successful, memorable fashion style or LOOK into those for men and the elements for women. Enjoy the similarities and differences.

At the end of the blog, I suggest a male and a female who clearly meet all these elements of style. Share your ideas in the comments section for all of us to enjoy.

Successful style elements for MEN:
1. Stay basic: conventional navy blue or dark gray suits should command your wardrobe.
2. Go natural: choose natural deslgn lines for suits and shirts. Choose natural fabrics, colors, and materials.
3. Keep it simple: Limit the number and type of accessories and jewelry that you wear. No plastic or rubber watch band, wedding ring and class ring are not to be worn on the same hand (duh) and no cartoon character neckties. She goes into tatoos--but lets move on.
4. Make it fit: Choose clothes that fit. Stephanie goes on to explain what "non-fitting" clothes may look like on you. . .pulled zippers, stretched pockets and seams, etc.
5. Keep it covered: Some things are better kept private--t-shirts and chest hair are listed as "never-show's". Basically she suggests long socks, tight collars and long sleeves for the successful stylish man.
6. Look clean and crisp: Heavy starch for shirts and slacks (OUCH!! Starched slacks???). She warns against toupees and the ever-amusing comb-overs. She recommends an "inviting smile".
7. Be calm and controlled: Moustache rolling and head bobbing are out!!
8. Stay fit

Now for the WOMEN--interestingly, a shorter list.

1. Keep it simple: Clothing should be basic and simple. No plaids, stripes, florals or plaids. Clothes that scream "Look at me" are not part of a successful stylish woman's wardrobe according to Stephanie. She makes a point that all fashion style for women should maintain a feminine look--just with discretion.
2. Keep it covered: Avoid low necklines, cleavage, bare arms or shoulders, short skirts, long slits up the skirt or pant leg, hanging slips, bare legs, cut-out shoes (I guess this means open toed shoes and sandals) and of course the ever popular, see-through blouse. (I can see that my closet is going to need some re-organizing!! :)
3. Think small: When it comes to accessories, choose small earrings--limit jewelry to wedding ring and watch--(at least she did not say no plastic watches for women--so I guess my SWATCH collection is safe!) Stephanie suggests matching your briefcase to your shoes for a together look.
4. Make it light and natural: Fragrances and make-up should be barely perceptible--natural and light. Bright, attractive smile invites intelligent conversation.
5. Stay calm and controlled: Avoid nervous habits--she lists a few fun ones--hair twirling, scratching, head bobbing and toe-tapping.

Sounds easy enough!! Take a trip to the Mall this weekend and evaluate the elements of style for the people you see--I bet you will surprised and entertained!!

So--here are my stylish man and woman picks. I cannot think of a single instance when either of them violated any of the rules listed above:








Yes, these two lovely people are definitely AESTHETES!!



Preview of next blog: Why I am thankful for 2007.

I have a Grade School Girl-like Crush on. . .

David Hyde Pierce

Although I had not seen one episode of Frazier despite all the years it was on and winning awards, I decided to go to see the new Broadway play, CURTAINS in previews last April and immediately fell in love with David Hyde Pierce. He just has a darling style about him that is immediately hypnotic--at least for me.

So when my darling son came to visit in May-I took him to the show and then last Wednesday night, I bought a premium house ticket and sat in the third row to see the show again. This is the first time I have seen the show since David won the Tony--and sitting up so close to the stage, I really got a great look at his overall acting. I was thrilled when he won the Tony as of course I have a grade-school girl-like crush on him. But Wednesday night I saw what the Tony reviewers saw--David is completely engaged the ENTIRE time during the show--its remarkable. He is more than a terrific actor--he exudes the role.

DAVID HYDE PIERCE THRILLED TO MEET NEW FRIEND
Completely in line with my grade school girl-like crush on him, I waited at the stage door for him to come out and sign autographs. Wednesday night is never a big FAN night, so I was one of about 5 people who waited and waited and waited for him. It was worth it---and he even talked to me for a few minutes--about nothing!!! How fun is New York City??? I got the sense from him that meeting me was right up there with his Oscars and his Tony. (Hey, this is my blog and I can tell the story my way!!)

HIS IMDB BIO
David was born on 3 April 1959 in Saratoga Springs, New York, USA. He is the youngest child of George and Laura Pierce (both deceased) and has two older sisters (Barbara and Nancy) and an older brother (Thomas). As a child he was very interested in music (particularly piano) and regularly played the organ at his local church (Bethesda Episcopal Church). David discovered a love of drama in high school and, upon his graduation in 1977, he received the Yaddo Medal for best Dramatic Arts student. However, his love of music was still strong so he decided to study classical piano at Yale University. Unfortunately, he soon grew bored with music history lessons and found that he wasn't dedicated enough to practice the required amount of hours to become a successful concert pianist. Instead, he returned to his love of drama and graduated in 1981 with a double major in English and Theatre Arts. He then moved to New York where he worked several menial jobs (including selling ties at Bloomingdales and working as a security guard) while acting in the theater during the late 80s and early 90s. He appeared in small roles in films such as "Bright Lights Big City" (1988) before his life and career changed forever when he landed the role of Dr. Niles Crane in the television series "Frasier" (1993). Throughout the show's eleven year run (1993-2004), David was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor each year (he won four times: 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2004). David resides in Los Angeles with his romantic partner, Brian Hargrove, and their two Wheaton Terriers, Emma and Mabel. He remains very close to his three siblings.

So there you have it. David Hyde Pierce, his Oscars, his Tony and me.


PEEK AT THE NEXT BLOG: A selected reading from my personal library.

How I spent my summer vacation

Since this was always the first writing assignment of the new school year back when I was in grade school, I decided it was the perfect way to start this new blog.



GETTING SUMMER STARTED
I am a Nurse Practitioner. Just before Memorial Day I took leave of my job of the past two years as VP, Strategic Planning for a communications agency in New York City. With leaving this job, I also left a daily train commute to the city from New Jersey--lunches at great restaurants, Chinese food lunches with my friend and cube neighbor, Joan, and just the wonderful atmosphere of life in NYC.

My career path of the past 10 years has been pharmaceutical marketing communications--what that really means is that I worked in marketing agencies that focused on the pharma industry. I have had some great experiences, participated in some greatly needed drugs coming to market to help people with poor health become well, and met some very smart and caring medical professionals around the world. In that respect, my agency-based career has had its inspiring, unforgettable days.

But the uncertainty of agency life is something I had to re-think. The hire-up--and then fire-down with the ups and downs of billable hours is exhausting. Great teams can be decimated overnight and unfortunately that has been a frequent experience for anyone in the agency world. So, as many times as I have survived down-sizing, I have also been its victim. This was a victim year. So the re-thinking began.

RE-thinking is best done poolside and I spent a rather carefree summer with two big decisions: 1. trying to figure out a career move that would be bulletproof from downsizing and 2. how will I survive financially and mentally until I figured out #1.

One of my first poolside decisions satisfied #2-- I would not carry COBRA, but see firsthand what the "No Health Insurance" experience is all about (we are certainly hearing a lot about it in the political campaign platforms). It was a glorious summer break. I have not had a break of this duration since maternity leaves and it was nice.


NO HEALTH INSURANCE EXPERIENCE

Making this decision was serious--I had to take a complete body system inventory and figure out how to stay healthy.

Here is the health-wise prescription I wrote for myself:
--feed my brain with good books, good music and watching the Phil Spector trial.
--become a vegetarian to protect my digestive system from over-exertion--eating meat weakens the immune system
--exercise every day to get stronger and protect against injury from falls or muscle strain.
--plan an encounter with something beautiful everyday--to help me stay calm and happy--flowers, art, music, sunrises and sunsets, Broadway, etc.
--join an exercise class to meet other motivated active people--and I met several new friends who are just wonderful.
--spend lots of time with BERIT, my golden retriever, learn as much about her as possible and feel so lucky to have her with me everyday.

END OF SUMMER--RESULTS OF TIME WELL SPENT

I am stronger, healthier, happier, tanner and motivated for moving forward. The summer break really worked.

I have not been sick one day since leaving my job!!! My only problem is how to spend the $2,000 in my flexible spending account before December.

Here are some of my other plans:
--participate in the Danskin triathlon next September with my friend Diane and my aerobic instructor Carolyn
--finally take the trip to China in 2008 as member of a Women's Health Nurse Practitioner Exchange team
--take a real vacation
--read the new biography of FDR by Jean Edward Smith as my wintertime book
--make my new consulting company strikingly successful

Oh, did I mention that I started a new consulting company, The Grimes Group, LLC-and have a wonderful client in the healthcare field?

So just as I left my Nurse Practitioner practice in 1998, I now have left the agency world to become my own boss. Hence the name of this blog: Going Going Grimes
Already thinking what to buy myself for Boss's Day. :)


PREVIEW NEXT BLOG: I HAVE A GRADE-SCHOOL GIRL-SIZE CRUSH ON. . . . just wait til you see who the unsuspecting guy is!!