Shoes! Oh, How I Heart Thee

"I’ve spent 40,000 dollars on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes." --Carrie Bradshaw

I bought a new pair of shoes yesterday. Did I need them? Probably not. Did I love them? Oh, most definitely! Did they look like something I already own? Ehh, that's debatable… But each pair is completely different and you need different shoes to go with your ensemble!

I was recently involved in a conversation at work where we were discussing comfort vs. looking good when going out. I mean I'd love to have the best of both worlds but that's not always the case right? Depending on the night, I might want to look more fashionable than comfortable. The wrong shoes can mess up your outfit!

As I was walking outside before, I heard the clicking of my own heels. Click, click, click, click. I have a steady walk, I thought. But everyone can hear me coming. That's the way it used to be in grammar school. You'd hear the teacher coming because of her heels. And when I had my own heels on in those days I felt so grown up and important. I used to love the clacky sound of my heels coming down the hall. I was cool.

It's no surprise, then, that I've developed a shoe fetish. Before last night, I hadn't bought a new pair of shoes in about a month. It's been a slow summer apparently. It was time. But I love cute shoes that really make an outfit. They should be practical though so the job is twofold.

The thought of placing my foot into a beautifully crafted leather creation is just simply fabulous to me. It can be a mood elevator and really make the day. It's just so exciting. And no, I'm not completely materialistic, though Carrie Bradshaw the, ahem, writer's quote is pretty funny. I know when I'm about to make a ridiculous purchase - or hopefully whoever I'm with will stop me. But it's just another one of life's little pleasures that makes me happy. :)

NOT an Anchorwoman

Way to make a mockery of journalism. The FOX show premiered last night and I was seriously appalled. Don't know the premise? Well, I'll recount the "reality show" for you (and you know how much I usually praise reality TV). Not this time.

This WWE-turned-Miss New York model is Lauren Jones (could her name BE any more common?). She's blonde (I don't discriminate) and completely devoid of any journalism knowledge. She also prances around in the most ridiculous outfits that are unfit for any place of work! And now she's anchoring the Channel 19 news in Tyler, Texas. Umm, excuse me, but I thought you needed to have credentials to work at a job. In an interview (and there have been loads of them in recent weeks), she smugly stated that she didn't have a journalism background and went through a weeklong boot camp before she started and that it would be a "piece of cake." What are you putting down journalism for? It's something that people study and work at. It's a craft. Are you kidding me?

So, please, let me pose a question. Could I walk into a hospital (because I'm, I don't know tall) and decide that I'd like to be a surgeon because I love watching Grey's Anatomy and in doing so I've learned the tricks of the trade? I think not. Ms. Jones said that she also prepped by watching Katie Couric for a week and studying her mannerisms. No offense, but have you seen Couric's ratings lately? She's been bombing on the evening news (which is also sad because it was a huge step for female journalism).

This Channel 19 is obviously looking for ratings. Many citizens of the town were outraged with this occurrence. But if you really stop and think about it, the news is just another television show. Sure, they present some of the facts but you always need to have a hook so that audiences will be interested in what you're saying. It's one of the first things I learned in my broadcast news writing class. There are at least four network news shows on at 5pm. Well, which one are you going to watch? News stations must do something to keep you hooked, otherwise they'll do poorly in the ratings and the big bad companies that own them will have a fit.

Ms. Jones also said how much fun it would be because she could, like totally put her own opinions in about politics and the war. Journalism lesson number one: you're supposed to be completely unbiased (which, yes, is difficult to do) and all you're supposed to do is present the news from both sides of the story. What are you thinking? She can't even write!

I'm so disappointed that journalism has come to this point. I totally understand how that poor anchor that was replaced by a model must be feeling. It's completely uncalled for.

Well, it's not me, right? I'm going to get to where I want to be on my own volition and if that means working like a crazy person, I'm going to do it. But don't think you can get by on just your looks. What's the world coming to?? It's a crazy, competitive place…

Photo: FOX

More Freelance!

Sorry to not post any fun stories, but I just wanted to share with you guys some of my other links. Check out HerFabLife.com, which is a cute website that has some fun places to go in the City and such. And click on my links below to help support my work :)

http://herfablife.com/amander85/event/different-kind-show-ballet-and-opera
http://herfablife.com/amander85/business-merchant-retailer/havana-ny
http://herfablife.com/amander85/business-merchant-retailer/sutton-place
http://herfablife.com/amander85/business-merchant-retailer/luna-park

More TK...

Identity

I wrote an article for a cool women's online magazine, called Identity. You should definitely check it out!! It's called "An Intimidating Workout." You'll have to subscribe in order to access it, but there's a ton of great info on there! So check it out and let me know what you think! :)

IdentityMagazine.net

Bleacher Creatures

The scene was set for A-Rod's 500th homerun. We stood in anticipation of being a part of history. With each passing pitch, the fans held their breath. And each time a pitch came in, we were blinded by the thousands of flashes that would go off. Everyone wanted the picture of that time A-Rod hit his homerun! It was such an amazing sight.

I'd never sat in the bleachers before. We'd always gotten tickets some way or another in the box/reserved seats. But it was fantastic!! I loved it out there. The people are crazy and they really do give meaning to "bleacher creature." I hadn't been to Yankee stadium in a couple of years and the last time I actually saw the Yankees play was last year at Shea for a subway series game (and we lost - I don't want to talk about it).

The creatures were certainly drunk and loved to scream out obscene comments, which were uncalled for because a little girl with glasses and a pink Yankee hat just stared at them, confused. That poor seven-year-old girl was probably terrified! But the police came up to calm the rowdy crowd and I just watched and chuckled as I sat in my pink (yes, pink) A-Rod shirt. Hehe.

But this game was so exciting! All the runs that came in were through homeruns, save one sac fly RBI. We beat the Chicago White Sox (who won the World Series two years ago)! Final score: 16-3. We beat the pants off of them, so to speak. (or perhaps the socks!).

Though we hit eight homeruns (by seven different players) A-Rod failed to meet our expectations, going 0 for 5. Oh well, I had the best time and left the game with my souvenir cup! :)

The Grass is Always Greener...

"We whine when we don't have a boyfriend, we whine when we do." - Cynthia Nixon as Miranda Hobbes.

They say that the grass is always greener on the other side. And ya know what, it actually is. But is that always a good thing?

I've realized that we're never actually satisfied with what we have and are always looking for ways to better our situations. Jealousy, boredom, stress, and a low sense of satisfaction all lead to the times we say, "I wish."

Situation #1: When I was in school I couldn't wait to get out into the working world. And although I love the working world, I'm actually thinking about going back to school at some point for something more. I'll have to weigh my infamous pros and cons list of course.

Situation #2: When I was in Spain I longed for my family and friends and American culture. As much as I enjoyed myself, I couldn't help but feel homesick for the familiar. And now that I'm back to that regular routine, I kind of really miss Spain.

Two songs come to mind:

The first is from one of my favorite movies, Moulin Rouge. Satine (Nicole Kidman) sings "One Day I'll Fly Away." This is a perfect song for those who long to be in another situation. Of course, she was longing for a better situation and the things I'm speaking of are really on a smaller scale (like, I wish I had bought those shoes because they would've gone great with my outfit).

The second is a better example of what I'm talking about. "Part of Your World." Yes, I speak of The Little Mermaid. It's such a great movie. Ariel wants to be out of the ocean, walking around on land, sans mermaid fins. She gets her wish by trading her voice and gets to walk around. Of course she meets the dreamy Eric and has a fairy tale ending (regaining her voice AND legs, marrying the man of her dreams, and still is able to see her family in the ocean).

But, you see, there was a tradeoff for her initial wish: her voice to the evil sea queen, Ursula. It's almost like she needed to trade in her soul for that proverbial green grass.

I don't like to make wishes mainly because, in my experience, wishes have come true in the most terrible of ways. So I don't believe in wishes. But I guess what I should think about is when I long for what's on the other side of the fence. What will I be giving up? How might I already be fulfilling my so-called destiny? I wonder about these things all the time. But I know that everything happens for a reason so instead of conquering the green grass on the other side of the fence, I think I'll tackle what's already up at bat. And maybe someday, I'll have Ariel's perfect ending.