Blog: February 2007
When Did I Become Old?
I can't put my finger on what day last week this actually happened. After 37 years feeling young, ambitious, energetic and pretty happy with the way things are going, I came face to face with the fact that I am outdated.
The first tell-tale sign came from the steady stream of gray hairs I seem to find myself plucking out of my head every morning. I used to be the person who proudly proclaimed "I never dye my hair." Well, looks like I've got to have a consultation with Clairol.
Next was a conversation that I had with a 20 something up and comer in one of the departments I work with who actually told me that I'm her role model and she'd like to one day aspire to be like me. That was incredibly flattering, but it also made me feel like I was a grandmother or something. Oh, but it got better.
Last night I was confronted face to face with the fact that I am officially past my prime. My in-laws took our kids for the night so we decided to share a fun night out in Manhattan - even visiting one of my favorite old haunts - no not a dance club, but the dessert place, Serendipity. When we walked inside there was a small group of young girls wearing designer jeans, leg warmers and heels (hello "Flashdance"), hanging out waiting for their turn to be called and when my husband asked for a table for two, the obnoxious host told him it would be a two hour wait - even though there were hardly any people waiting for tables! We totally thought he was snubbing us because we weren't teenagers or twentysomethings - either way - we were pissed and decided to seek our revenge by going to Dylan's Candy Bar.
But Dylan's is unfortunately, smoke and mirrors. At first glance, the place looks amazing with every candy known to mankind - including those bubble gum cigarettes I used to love when I was a kid. When we went on line to order Frozen Hot Chocolates - which happens to be one of Serendipity's signature items - I was giddy with excitement...until I took my first sip. Turns out that Dylan's hasn't been able to steal the recipe from Serendipity's even though the two stores are about 500 yards away from each other.
And then, to top off the evening we went to go see "Music and Lyrics" with two of my favorite actors of the 80's, 90's and today...Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. I was so excited to see both of them on screen until I noticed that the film pretty much made fun of the fact that women in their late thirties (that would be me) fawned over Hugh Grant's washed up 80's pop star character. Yet he was still attractive, falling for the younger Drew Barrymore while the 37 year olds were like shriveled old ladies trying to recapture their long forgotten youth.
I know getting old pretty much sucks but why do men age gracefully and women have to be on the lookout for the latest botox treatment that won't make them look like Jocelyn Wildenstein? Well, all I can say is despite the fact that my younger co-workers and Hollywood think I'm officially over the hill, I'm going to fight the system with every feeble bone in my body. I'm in my thirties and I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up so back off kiddies and stay out of my way!
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Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Confessions on 02/25/2007
Amy Keroes, Founder of Mommy Track'd
Did you ever meet someone you've never met before and you instantly click the minute you begin a conversation? Well that's how it felt the first time I ever spoke with Amy Keroes, mom of two and founder of Mommy Track'd, a website for working moms that offers the latest news, entertainment, reviews and interviews with high profile moms from all walks of life.
In response to the recent media attention focused on professional women opting out of the workforce, Amy decided to launch Mommy Track'd on behalf of the millions of women who by choice or necessity are staying in. Amy is a driven individual, having received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and her law degree from UCLA. She was a fifth year associate at Latham & Watkins when she switched gears and took a position as Senior Corporate Counsel for Gap Inc. She then worked at Gap for six years managing the Company's intellectual property litigation and all marketing related partnerships and promotions. Amy also managed celebrity advertising deals, including the contract negotiations for Madonna, Missy Elliott, Sarah Jessica Parker and Lenny Kravitz. Amy continues to work for the Gap Legal Department on a freelance basis.
Amy partnered last year with Dawn Dobras, who was also a top level executive at Gap Inc. who, after deciding to take a summer off to spend more time with her family, chose to jump off the corporate ladder and join Amy in her pursuits to propel Mommy Track'd into a prime online destination for today's working mothers. Given their track record so far - Mommy Track'd attracts nearly 25,000 unique visitors per month - Amy Keroes is well on her way to proving that you can indeed pursue your passion while raising a family without missing a beat.
To find out more about Mommy Track'd Click Here. To return to the Role Mommy home page, Click Here.
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Posted in: Blog, Moms of Reinvention on 02/24/2007
Customer Disservice
Can someone please explain to me why it takes 5-30 minutes to get a real live person on the phone when you're trying to dispute a claim on your credit card or call the bank or the vacuum cleaner bag company that sent you the wrong bags for your outdated Miehle super vacuum? Today was a work at home day - which means I get to work quietly in my bat cave, the phone doesn't ring off the hook, I get to do some quality writing and pay some bills.
Yes, I am the official bill payer in my household even though my hubby is the one with the finance degree. I am the one constantly trying to stay ahead of the billing cycle, avoiding finance charges, not getting ripped off by unnecessary charges and making sure no one is using my credit card to go on an all expense paid vacation to Bali.
Well, today was one of those days where I had to call a credit card company, a wireless service and my bank and by the time I was done, I swear I felt like Michael Douglas in that movie where he goes berserk because people are just so damn slow and are in his way. It took about 10 minutes to get a person on the phone with the phone company - funny - isn't that what they do for a living? Another 5 minutes waiting for my bank to connect me to another person at the bank who could potentially help me and then 10 minutes waiting for my credit card company to tell me why they decided to hit me with finance charges even though I technically paid my bill in a timely fashion.
I have to say - as much as I love technology, I'm beginning to hate the fact that when there is a problem there are like 500 barriers to get to a live person. If I'm calling you then I obviously need to speak with someone. I do not want to press buttons, call out phone numbers or give you my mother's maiden name so you can verify that it's me. Dammit - who else would be calling - certainly not someone trying to rip me off...they're too busy hacking through people's credit card numbers to waste time speaking to customer service!
I finally got off the phone with my last customer service representative and am getting ready to pack up for the day and start the weekend. I think overall I must have wasted at least 1 hour of my day trying to get some customer service...and now it's time to go out to dinner where the waitress will probably be ignoring us too. Maybe I should stay in and give the credit cards a rest for a change - yeah right, like that will ever happen. Knowing me, I'll use the credit card that I just cancelled in a fit of aggravation and I'll be calling customer service to re-activate my account.
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Posted in: Blog, Undercover Mom on 02/23/2007
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