At 11,250 feet in the Rocky Mountains, enjoying a hot chocolate with friends at Buffalo's after a knee burning run through the trees on Shangri-la in the China Bowl, life is good. There had been no snow in the weeks before our annual men's ski trip and the first two days we were teased with only a fresh inch or two. But now as we look out the window high on the mountaintop it is starting to fall... More >>

Inasmuch as this is the last day of the month and I have learned from experience that it is the day of most limited exposure, I am going to be short on the verbiage, but long on food for thought with this month end blog.

My question is: If your spouse (or partner or even mother, as the case may be) spoils you, does being spoiled (a wonderful state of being) influence or impact upon your standar... More >>

As I leafed through my morning's email (about 120 of them) I am reminded of an old job I had. It was during the summers of 74-5 that I had the fortune of working on the black golf course at Bethpage State Park cutting the greens and tee boxes among other assorted chores.

It was hard work but enjoyable. Since I had to report to work at 5a, I stayed out all night usually at a bar until closing ... More >>

As the Long Island Railroad train pulled into Penn Station yesterday morning, I reached for my wallet to retrieve a Metrocard as I considered the best subway route to my meeting uptown. But as I left the train platform, I realized that I had about twenty minutes until my meeting nineteen blocks north and two avenues to the east. I decided to make my way uptown on foot.
One of the things I miss a... More >>

Here are Conan's last words from his last night on "The Tonight Show"

"Before we end this rodeo, a few things need to be said. There has been a lot of speculation in the press about what I legally can and can't say about NBC.
To set the record straight, tonight I am allowed to say anything I want. And what I want to say is this: between my time at Saturday Night Live, the Late Night show, and... More >>

Friday morning I was driving to a networking breakfast listening to the radio. As I turned off the ignition, I heard a news story reporting an auction of an aircraft, specifically, the US Airways Airbus A320 that landed in the Hudson one year ago. There was not much commentary about the story, just the facts. But, the idea of the plane's fuselage being sold at auction had my attention.

I was,... More >>

I am not a football fan. In fact, I barely understand the game. But my husband and children are all “die-hard” Jets fans. I cannot tell you how excited my children were when my husband bought tickets for the first home game of this season. I only went along at the insistence of my family.

I have never been to a Jets game and I was shocked when my husband told me we were leaving the house at... More >>

A guest blog, by Eve Jedda:

When Donald called from Vail and asked me to write a guest blog I told him that I couldn't think of anything to write. As I hung up the phone I knew I needed to write about Haiti.

Being a news and CNN junkie, I began watching the afternoon of the earthquake. I watched as Anderson Cooper that night left to go to find a flight to the region. I watched as the day ... More >>

This Sunday will see the Jets face the Colts in the title game for the AFC Championship and the right to proceed to face an NFC team in the Super Bowl. Here's my contribution to the endless analysis for all you Gothamites.

New York Jets: Rookie quarterback, one of the best running games in the NFL a very good defense and a rookie head coach that gives a new meaning the the term sound bite

I... More >>

Last weekend, my husband David and I went to a small restaurant in Sea Cliff for dinner (“Roots”). It’s a great little place with maybe 10 tables and a small bar area. The energy in the place always feels good, warm and cozy.

We were seated in a narrow section with one table of 4 to my right and one table of 2 to my left. There were no other tables in our very small vicinity. Throug... More >>

I am packing for a long weekend trip to Portland, Oregon to visit Jeremy and Miranda. Mea and her boyfriend, Charles, will be coming down from Seattle to join us over the weekend. Next month we're going to Florida to visit Mom. Yet another aspect of the "sandwich generation" as we travel to visit children and parents. The real reason to save airline miles becomes clear.
Not sure about othe... More >>

No it's not an article about the Jets...and yes I do think I physically hurt myself from the strain of not writing about last night's historic victory in Massachusetts.

I'm writing about the anxiety building up about my favorite band, The Who playing the cheesiest of all cheesy extravaganzas, the halftime show of the Super Bowl. For years I watched all of the generationally equivalent, but tec... More >>

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly technology changes. As for me, I (happily) carry three electronic leashes -- my cell phone, my itouch and of course, my blackberry. Actually, since my parents bought me a much needed GPS last year, I suppose you could say I carry four.

Start a conversation with anyone about their technology and you will soon learn about a favorite application, game or a... More >>

Today is the day we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King. Because it is a state holiday, my office is closed and I have the day off. My plan for today was to post a blog I had written a few days ago, sleep late, and shop some of the many sales at Roosevelt Field. But, there were two speakers at my Gotham meeting last week that made me realize that there is something so much more import... More >>

On Wednesday morning I am going to cry. Max will be getting on a plane pointed for Capetown, South Africa. I looked on my globe and see that that is very far away. He will be gone for almost five months.

When he first told me that is where he might go for his semester abroad, I tried to persuade him to go to Rome, or Paris, or Vienna instead. Why not see the capitals of Europe? I prodded. ... More >>

All the furniture is gone, new curtains up, railings on the front steps done, music lined up, moldings polished and just a few more things to finish. It's kind of nice sitting here in an empty room. It's quiet and feels spacious.

This time tomorrow, the caterer will be flying in and out with whatever they have to do. Hopefully, I will just be sitting and watching enjoying a cup of green tea.
... More >>

My 9 year old grand daughter Maggie Olive Klein is a blossoming writer and inasmuch as I am on vacation this week I asked her to write a blog for me and here it is:

Well...We did it, we said goodbye to 2009. I don't know how, but I did. It's 2010 now. The first double digit. It might be a hard year to face, it might be an easy year to face.

There's a pattern in my life. In 2000, I was... More >>

As I thought about a topic for today's blog, the news of the earthquake in Haiti made all my considerations trivial and irrelevant by comparison.

The notion of an earthquake of such magnitude terrifies me.

Terra firma is fundamental to my every day existence and I am thankful that I have never experienced an earthquake. (Yes there have been rumblings and tremors ove... More >>

Sung of course in Richard Gere's deliberate nasal caucasian-dialect.

We've been engorged in recent news of circumstances where we love to be apalled by the flim flam. Or, perhaps we relish it. Mark McGwire, with tears and asterisks flying amongst the "three ring circus", apologized for being a part of the steroid era. He took responsibility (kind of) and expressed deep regret for having ever ... More >>

Do you think NBC really thought it was a good idea to give Jay Leno a show five nights a week in the 10 pm time slot? I suppose someone must have thought it was a good idea. I did not.

Frankly, this is a sad blog for me. For years, I did not go to sleep at night without watching at least Jay’s monologue. Not that I don’t like David Letterman, but on balance I was hands down a Leno fan.... More >>

As a lawyer, I could barely contain my pride when my daughter Sydney, who is a high school freshman, told me that she joined the Law Club. My fantasy of a future law partnership with my daughter was quickly destroyed when Sydney told me that she only joined the Law Club because some of her friends had joined.

Being a member of Law Club, Sydney was required to try out for the school ... More >>

There were a few marathons on TV last holiday weekend, which were especially good if you had to stay home to nurse a hangover. I enjoyed some good Three Stooges episodes, though you can only take so many "why you...." with a pie in the face. The best to watch was The Honeymooners.

Something about a fumbling, sexist, soft-hearted but short tempered man was pretty hilarious. The more or le... More >>

My sister is getting married next week in my house and the preparations are well underway. The house is being scrubbed, walls painted and of course yours truly is on a chair last night trying to attach brackets to the molding for the new curtains. (gotta have new curtains, right?).

Since my house was built around 1908 (we really don't know because the records were caught in a fire at the Sea Cl... More >>

Hard Hitting Don Bernstein (HHDB) asked last week what my New Year's resolution would be. I shot back: "To be more selfish, as that to me is the secret of being a happy self".

Interestingly, while he is wont to teasing me and piling on, he did not. He took it in and seemed to ponder it and add it to his mix, as I suggest you do also.

Taking care of number one may sound counter intuitive to... More >>

I coached a game last night. The top player on my team, only ten years old, came off the rink crying after each shift. It has been a regular occurrence since he joined my team this season. It doesn't take much to set him off, another player makes a bad play, he doesn't do well, ref makes a bad call. Last night his parents brought the wrong stick so he had to use an old one that was a little to... More >>

We have two airplane flights looming in the next two months. The first, later this month, is domestic. The second, in late February, is an international flight. I am beginning to wonder whether we will be required to fly nude.
I am pretty confident that we will be able to keep our clothing on for the domestic flight. The more-realistic concern for that trip is the possibility of a four-h... More >>

I can't believe I have to follow Rona's inaugural blog with last count at 15 . . . . The pressure is on. OK, here goes.

Last week was cold. Perhaps not as cold as this week, but cold nonetheless. Of course, the perfect time to wait on line as a family in Times Square for Broadway show tickets! When we arrived, relatively early, the line was already long, twisting and turning like a mile lo... More >>

Every year my New Year’s resolution is the same, to lose about fifteen pounds. I have lost and gained fifteen pounds so many times, that there should be a few clones of me running around. Although I still need to lose fifteen pounds, I decided that this year I also wanted to concentrate on something different. So, a few months ago I began thinking about something about myself that I real... More >>

We just passed that time of year again. The time for New Year's resolutions.

I have never been a big fan of the New Year's resolution. Anything I come up with seems small and petty, like not eating so much ice cream, flossing regularly, cleaning my desk, or being nice to small animals. These are all things I should do anyway. And simply saying them on New Year's Eve with a glass of champa... More >>

It's that time for my predictions for 2010. But before the drum roll let's see how I did from last year.

In 2007 I was 1 for 7. (my rookie year:)
For 2008 I was a perfect 1 for 1 (gutsy picking one but it was spot on)
and 2009 I was 2 for 5 or 3 for 5 depending on how you look at it (I could get about 10mm/yr from the Yanks with that). Here were my predictions:
1. The economy will turn aroun... More >>

I am looking forward to spending a very special "eve" tonight (this was written yesterday) with our good friends Ennid and David Berger (Gothamites and parents of Young Professionals Group Co Chair Jenny Berger). In addition to their compatible company, David is providing a very very special treat.

As you may know, David is a music aficionado (and aspiring Video DJ). His treat will be to "spi... More >>