What I Did Last Week (and what I’m looking forward to)
Saturday, I spent the entire day on the couch. The grey one that managed to survive our move from Manhattan to Brooklyn.
The rain has been never-ending in New York, but I’m also in an intense time. For the next 8 weeks, I’m training members of my Mastermind to take the stage November 16th for their TED x style talks. So for the next 8 weeks, I’m also reading written drafts, offering written feedback, and hosting in-person readings at a studio in Midtown. Behind the scenes, I’m working with the stage and the production company to film the event.
I’m exhausted.
In 2019, I interviewed once-upon-a time-gym-rat Rebecca Parekh. The founder of massage oasis “The Well” in New York City had a come-to-Jesus moment. She saw merit in “more rest” and “less treadmill” at 5 am. My mind often reverts to that interview. If I wake up, and benching weights feels exhausting, I allow myself to take a break. My friend Gino recommends this book, aptly called “Rest,” which gives the reader (ie. me) permission to play!
One day of “rest” on the couch didn’t feel like enough.
Now onto
What I Did Last Week
Friday. I did this “Make Your Own Seasonal Bouquet” class. It was play. It was a meditation. I didn’t worry about anything related to work while stripping razor sharp thorns off roses.
Saturday. While home all day watching new episodes of Lupin, I did draft up what I’m wearing in Barcelona in December for my Client VIP Day and birthday dinner. This is an act of self-leadership, because I can ‘set it and forget it.’ The other thing I have noticed is that I am not spontaneous. If I have accounted for all the planned and pleasant ‘unplanned’ scenarios, I can say ‘yes!’
Apparently I have been rolling my clothing all wrong.
Sunday. I went to Oktoberfest in Union Square with Matt.
Monday. I’m really proud of myself for pushing heavier and heavier weights at the gym. With three classes a week at Liftonic, for the first time in my life, I am pleased with my reflection in the mirror.
Friends were visiting Israel recently. We have been expressing gratitude that they are safely home. I can’t understand or comment on the 75 years of conflict that has ensued in the region, so I am reading A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy to learn what life is actually like in Israel and Palestine.
Tuesday. I was attending an event on the Upper West Side at 7pm and had calls starting at 1pm, with little window to get all the way uptown from Brooklyn. It was best to just get my butt uptown early and work from The Yard, a co-working space on the Upper West Side. Symphony Space, located on 95th and Broadway, would be host to Roxanne Gay’s book launch later in the evening. I quietly marveled at how the the landscape has changed as the bus lurched up Broadway. The Upper West Side was home to me for 16 years before Matt and I traded our Manhattan lives for a mortgage in Brooklyn. All the old familiar restaurants are all gone. One vintage lingerie store is still standing. Chirping Chicken is still standing. How is that possible? Is it a front for a visa processing operation? I never see anyone in there.
Anyway, I love being around smart women and listening to smart prose. Roxanne Gay and moderator J. Wortham on stage delivered on both counts. Their message: “Allow yourself to get messy on the page.”
Wednesday. I like to get to Dumbo House first thing in the morning. There is nothing more heavenly than the quiet of Soho House at 8 am and a delicious acai bowl by the floor to ceiling windows. Strawberries, black berries, just the right amount of granola on the pomegranate sorbet.
I worked on this newsletter, which has quickly become one of the most joyful parts of my week.
Thursday at 6 am, I worked out with a new trainer Kris Braithwaite in Flatiron. While I’m great at weight training, I’ve abandoned all cardio since I hurt my back in March. It’s time to re-introduce. And under supervision.
Earlier this week, a client asked me for tools to deal with rejection. A sales prospect had ghosted her. Diagnosed with ADHD, the act was triggering and challenged her to keep showing up for her business. In service of this request, I shared Jamie Kern Lima’s video. Kima sold her company IT cosmetics to L’oreal for $1.2 billion. At 16 minutes in, she talks about the moment she changed her relationship to rejection.
Friday. I’ll be toting my Lumina camera and my Shure microphone to the sunniest conference room at my co-work space, for a day of speaking at live events.
At noon, I’ll talk about the foundation of any business women’s success (mindset) in a Linkedin Live with Sherifah Munis.
At 3pm, I’m on a virtual panel about Fitting Travel into Our Already Busy Lives. Moderated by Gabrielle Dore of Worth Magazine. I believe that travel is less about booking the plane ticket and clicking 3400 photos of the Eiffel Tower. Travel is about permission. Travel is about a willingness to grow and change in this way. Travel is about being alone with your thoughts. If your mind is a scary neighborhood to visit, travel may be too hard a mirror to look into.
Later in the evening, I have a dinner at La Ripaille, a teeny little restaurant in the West Village with maybe 12 covers. Frankly, I love any restaurant with a fireplace. Owner Alain Laurent also picks fresh produce and always features the best wines on his menu.
What I am Looking Forward To
Saturday. An Unapologetic Evening of Outstanding Indian Cuisine! That’s the promise of this intimate dinner, which is part of the New York Wine and Food Festival this weekend.
James Beard award winner Chef Chintan Pandya and restaurateur Roni Mazumdar will be serving up unique dishes at the Dhamaka test kitchen.
I just gobbled up Chintan Pandya’s “Thandai” flavored ice cream at Van Leuwen after the flower arranging class at Hudson Yards last week. Thandai is a strange melange of like 100 things such as almonds, fennel seeds, watermelon kernels, rose petals, cardamom, saffron. Whatever, I gobbled it up. Van Leeuwen teamed up with Pandya, to reimagine the flavor into an ice cream for fall.
Wednesday. One of the members of my Women’s Leadership Lab is principal in a woman-owned construction and design firm. Aerial Design and Build builds many of New York City’s favorite restaurants, including a woman-owned beer house. With 3 locations, we visit the newest to open on Christopher Street Thursday. Owners Sara and LeAnn wanted to create a bar that catered to customers like themselves. Not just “beer-bros.” They left their jobs in tech and media to build Talea Beer co.
Afterwards, I’m excited to hear Min Jin Lee, the award winning author, speak at Symphony Space. Her book, Pachinko, is a written odyssey from Korea to New York, told through 4 generations of Korean women.
Friday Gala Season is underway in New York City. We head to Cipriani to the Orphaned Starfish Foundation Annual Gala, raising money to teach IT skills to children who may be victims of abuse in emerging market countries. Jeannette, who was on my annual Womens Leadership Lab sail this year, is on the board. Matt and I are guests at her table. The conundrum is “what to wear?” I may pair a black Iro Paris dress with a Frances Valentine jacket.
October 25th. My perfume making workshop in Manhattan with Nathan from Paris.
October 26th, So looking forward to this photoshoot for the ‘Revolutionary South Asian Women’ project with photographer Priyanca Rao. Watch this space for a behind the scenes blog post.
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