J's Moleskine

Proof that it exists:














Off to Toronto this weekend - any ideas what to see/do/eat?

Men 2.

To follow up on the previous post - no one special at all, is the answer to Mr. Fabulous' question. It irks me though because it's happened to all of us, and my friend and I were talking about it a few days ago, trying to figure out the rationale. We guessed that it's just part of the game - but we concluded that we don't like playing games.

I supposedly have a date this weekend. Normally I would be all up in arms about it- will he call? What if he doesn't call? What should I wear? Do I need to wear heels?? But he's played the game and so now instead of being excited, I'm anticipating a non-event. Problem? Not if you plan on meeting up with a bunch of old friends from Queens, and some new ones from Brazil!

So those are my 2 cents about men.

Men.

What is it with men. Men who you meet, who you have a few chats with, who seem interested, then suddenly fall of the face of the earth? It's not so much the falling off the face of the earth part that irks me, because hey, everyone does that and it's part of the dating thing, right? But it's that they'll suddenly reach out to you again; like they fell off the earth then realized the world is round, and come right back full circle. And it's not so much the reaching out to you again that irks me, because hey, that's flattering right? But it's that they will reach out - a voicemail, an email, or a text message perhaps - and when you reply (because that's the courteous thing to do, even you aren't interested), and they fall off the face of the earth, AGAIN.

Why reach out in the second place?? If it's because they aren't interested, why reach out a second time? I hypothesize that it's psychological; they want to see if they still got it. But is there any other explanation?

St. Charles, Il.

I have settled into the Q-Center in St. Charles, Il, after a slight change of plans. Instead of arriving and partying in Chicago last night, I opted for the 6 a.m. this morning to arrive on the campus bright and early instead.

The morning is so nice. Why have I been so averse to it before? Birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the day is full of potential. I could hike along the river, surrounded by this:



Or walk a mile to the small town of St. Charles and visit some "specialty" shops, as the front desk suggested.


I wanted to tell him that where I come from, a "specialty" shop doesn't always have the most chaste connotations, but spared him the "I am from New York" speech.

The campus itself has a good fitness facility, and buffets to fill me, and views to awe me:


But you know, with all that there is to do, an option that sounds great is to sit in my room on the fourth floor, read a bit of my book, and watch one of the movies that has traveled with me over 5,000 miles over the past few weeks that I've yet to watch. With all the potential there is today though, I think the one that sounds best right now is a nap.



Good night.

Secrets of Greatness

"If there's no tension, then you're not serious about what you're doing."

- Wynton Marsalis

Fortune magazine interviewed Marsalis as part of their Secrets of Greatness spread in the March 20 issue. It details the day-to-day and approach to working of some of today's top performers; Senator McCain, Howard Schultz (CEO, Starbucks), Vera Wang (CEO, Vera Wang Group), Carlos Ghosn (CEO, Renault & Nissan), Marissa Mayer (VP Search Products & User Experience, Google), etc.

A few things stuck out from the interviews:

1) These folks either don't even know how to use e-mail, or sleep with their Blackberries in hand - there is no happy medium.

2) No matter what, they are people-people and prefer personal interaction in their daily lives.

3) They all exercise - the Chief Investment Officer of Pimco (one word: stocks) has done yoga everyday for the past 30 years and his staff has only interrupted him three times; one of which was the '87 market crash.

4) They all have and rely on their personal assistants (anyone interested? I have a position to fill...).

The thing that stuck out most was Marsalis' quote. That's a truism if I ever read one - complacency and placative behavior hampers real development and success, and while it's easier to avoid temporary conflict, it's hella more difficult to fix a mistake or achieve a greater good. I write this more for my benefit - to remember to always speak my mind and do what's best, not what's easy.

PS - Yes, I used hella. Yes, I know that I am a New Yorker.

Arjun's 24.

Arjjjj,

Happy Belated Birthday, my friend.

Who has a feast at Tamarind, then skips the 1-hour wait at Taj? You do. All 6 ft 2 inches of you.

Congratulations again on Law School - any one you pick will guarantee you top pick by the best law firms. I mean, any of the top government offices you pick. Way to show us up and do something good for the world by going into the public service. Love you, ATL.

Random thought

I am hungry for sushi. And surrounded by clients, so cannot post anything more right now.

What a cop-out post for my 3rd entry. Ok here's what's on my mind right now (aside from some nice hamachi):

- I can't believe Milosevic has died in his cell. Yesterday’s NYTimes claim that he faked illness to try to get treatment from Moscow because he claimed Denmark’s doctors didn’t know what they were doing. But, to treat the bogus illness, the doctors gave him medication which reacted negatively (obviously) against his blood pressure medication.

- I <3 Bachelet

- Taxes.

Translation Malfunction

Thanks guys for leaving such sweet comments. Except the one about poop.

On another topic, the 78th Oscar Awards results
(Cue sweeping John Williams theme music)

Best Movie: Crash
Best Director: Ang Lee
Best Acress: Reece Witherspoon
Best Actor: That weird looking guy- Philip Seymour Hoffman
Best Song: It's hard out here for a pimp.
(Record Scratch)

It's hard out here for a pimp? The performance was a hilarious Oscar moment.

I'm glad I got to witness it, with my grandma, who kept asking me what they were singing...

Back by Popular Demand

The popular demand of my vast fan base (all five of you, and I'm not even joking), have inspired me to start blogging again.

That and my fear of wasting away this gift of writing that has been bestowed upon me. Oh no, wait, I take that back. Two days ago, my grandma and I were having a heart-to-heart about my Mother. She revealed to me that my Mother is an amazing writer, incredibly capable in both Chinese and English. She then completed her thought with, "She is a much better writer than you. Hm, I don't think you're very good are you? Guess it didn't pass down in the genes. Hehehe."

Nice.