East Meets West

I was a true Westerner, a Californian for more than 20 years. I enjoyed the most beautiful sunsets and thought back to the times of the wagon trails making it to the then "final frontier." But, I always had the fleeting thought that New York was the place to be. While the "trail" ended in California, I was fascinated about where it began ... in New York, the home of Lady Liberty, the house of fashion, the creative nucleus on Madison Avenue, the seat of commerce - Wall Street.

When I finally got to visit New York on business while working for Bank of America in the early 1990s, my dream was realized. I remember the thrill of landing at JFK International Airport on the United Airlines flight. As if staying at the Millennium Hilton overlooking the twin towers of the World Trade Center, visiting Wall Street and the NYSE, and the Grand Central Station weren't enough, I managed to pack in a quick tour of Central Park, The Guggenheim, Museum of Modern Art, and even pass by where John Lennon was shot and where JFK Jr and Jackie Kennedy Onassis lived.

My appetite for NY was somewhat sated and I resumed my California life. In the ensuing years, as Jackie O passed away, JFK Jr met his untimely death, and I watched with horror as the twin towers fall, I savored my fleeting brush with history. I felt connected somehow in a strange, almost spiritual way to the people who were killed or injured.

Fast forward to 2010 as I relocate with my family to Brooklyn. I get to experience a different side of New York--sans glamor, financial district, overpowering buildings, luxury, and the expanse of Central Park, but with the hustle and bustle of everyday life. In many ways, the Bushwick area reminds me of downtown Los Angeles. With a large Hispanic population, a smattering of other ethnicities, rows and rows of shops, fresh fruit.

As I settled in, I wanted to immerse myself in my new surroundings, so I could assimilate and become a Brooklyner. I learned that Brooklyn was originally named Breuckelen, after Breukelen in the province of Utrecht in the Netherlands, because New York was then called New Amsterdam because of its Dutch settlements. Other villages which were later incorporated into Brooklyn were Boswijk (Bushwick), Nieuw Utrecht (New Utrecht), and Nieuw Amersfoort (Flatlands). My birth country of Sri Lanka was once occupied by the Dutch several centuries ago, so I see the similarity in a lot of the architecture. (The Dutch lost it to Britain in 1664. The rest is ... history.)

Aside from its most famous landmark, the Brooklyn Bridge, I found out that Brooklyn is famous for nine other National Historic Landmarks, namely:

• the Brooklyn Heights Historic District,
• the Brooklyn Historical Society building,
• Plymouth Church of the Pilgrams,
• Quarters A at the Brooklyn Navy Yard,
• Jackie Robinson House,
• St. Ann Holy Trinity Church,
• Green-Wood Cemetery,
• the Wyckoff-Bennett Homestead, and
• the Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House

In the mid-19th century, Brooklyn had so many houses of worship, it picked up the nickname "the City of Churches." And, because it served as the "sleeping quarters" for people who worked in Manhattan, it was also sometimes called the City of Houses.

It turns out that Brooklyn is home to some famous brand origins as well. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Corning Glass started in Brooklyn in 1851 as the Brooklyn Flint Glass Works. The name was changed to Corning Glass when the company moved to Corning, New York in 1868.
• Bank Charge Cards were first introduced in 1946 by banker John Biggins at the Flatbush National Bank as the Charg-It Card.
• Both the single-packet serving of sugar and Sweet N'Low brand artificial sweetener were invented by Benjamin Eisenstadt, who ran a diner across the street from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Eisenstadt's company, the Cumberland Packing Company, still headquartered in Ft Greene today, was also the first to package single-serving sizes of condiments such as soy sauce, ketchup and mustard
• Twizzlers candy were developed by the National Licorice Company in Brooklyn in 1845.
• Also founded in 1845 in Brooklyn was drug company Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.
• Another drug company from Brooklyn is ER Squibb Pharmaceuticals, founded in 1858. Squibb merged with Bristol-Myers in 1989 to form Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, the world's second-largest pharmaceutical company.

Wow, with that much rich heritage, who wants to leave Brooklyn? Fuhgeddaboudit! (click link to hear Donnie Brasco explain what it means.)

Alice in Wonderland

The plush blanket of down-like snow has fallen off.
The stoic trees standing guard with icicles as fingers, now sway in the breeze.
Chirping birds are back performing their specialized responsibilities - gathering food, building nests or repairing those that were damaged in the harshness of winter.
Their soprano melodies blend with the symphony of city sounds -
the bass sounds of the trains and heavy sanitation trucks,
the paced intonation of the Latin and Caribbean conversations,
the trumpeting whoop of the ambulances,
and the other vehicles providing the octave variances depending on their engines,
with an occasional violin-like screech.

With a childlike innocence, I am experiencing life in Brooklyn for the first time,
soaking in every sensory experience
and filing it into my creative memory.
I see the philharmonic synchronization of city sounds,
the artistry in the graffiti murals
and the theatrical nuances of the subway rides.

I am a Brooklyner, a New Yorker, an artist at home in the nucleus of creativity.

Transitions

Starting all over can give one a myriad of emotions - ranging from the exhilaration of new beginnings and hopes of great accomplishments to the nerve-wracking angst of being accepted in a new environment or recognized for past accomplishments or even being acknowledged at all.

It seems like my whole life can be summed up by this quote attributed to Darwin: "It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change." My life has had its share of change all right, some circumstantial, some internal and some by happenstance. Some may look at my resume and see a transient, while others who have more of an analytic bent may see the richness of my experience and my ability to succeed regardless of the environment I am thrown into or dive into.

I am not one to live my life looking in the rear view mirror. At the end of each day, I analyze how I spent my day, what I could have done better, what I did well and then move on. Occasionally, I may visit the archives of my memory for a nostalgic walk or looking through my "internal files" for some help on solving a problem or handling a relationship. For my memory archives have been well stocked with experiences and reading and serve as a great resource.

Standing at the cross-roads once again - in a new city, looking for acceptance as an accomplished professional, I have experienced the full gamut of emotions. Something tells me that my survival instincts and optimism honed through spiritual faith will serve me well. It is patience that I still have to learn. I am here for a purpose and I must keep my eye on that horizon. I will not let the ink dry for I have portraits and landscapes to paint, emotions to evoke, responses to elicit.

Ted Kennedy's words echo in encouragement, "The dream lives on."

From Supersize to Minimize

We've all heard ad nauseum about corporate downsizing and its ripple impact on the economy. What the media has failed to report are stories of real people who have had to downsize. People who were once in the top 1% of the population with wealth in excess of $1 million who have since been reduced to the verge of bankruptcy.

"Jim and Sophie" and "Kevin and Monica" came to Nevada from Texas and Colorado respectively in 2005. Like my husband and me, they were established builders lured to Nevada by the seeming unending need for luxury homes. Jim and Sophie rode the rising tide in prestigious Roma Hills. They built and sold three luxury spec homes in three years, and spurred by their success, they built two more homes and bought two more bare lots, ignoring the predictions of a sagging global economy. After all, Nevada seemed recession-proof with the unending development of casinos and live entertainment. In fact, Wynn was about to open its second property, Encore in 2008.

Kevin and Monica built and sold their home and upgraded to a larger one and were building another spec home. Then, the financial markets imploded right before the historic US Presidential elections of 2008. As house values plummeted, Jim & Sophie and Kevin & Monica watched their personal wealth dwindle to the point that they could no longer afford the payments on their spec projects for which they had borrowed heavily to build.

In less than nine months, these couples were forced out of their homes unable to renegotiate with the banks on their loans. These banks had been "bailed out" but were in no mood to bail out small business owners who had been productive members of society, providing consistent employment to several construction tradesmen.

Our fate had been slightly better because my husband had been more astute about reading the economic signs. Our loss while great was not as significant. We were able to leave with dignity, offering our home at a loss to us, but not to the bank.

Yes, due to the uncertainty, we decided to downsize and minimize. Who needs a 7000 SF home after all and three dining room sets and five bedroom sets? And all the decorator items we had accumulated but really did not even use. It helped put things in perspective. We are luckier than most. We still own assets and we learned an important lesson. Minimalism is something to embrace. All the household items we collected for years for the kids - they don't appreciate them as much as we do. All the trouble and expenses we incurred storing and transporting them for years were in essense a waste.

Minimizing is good. It frees us to focus on the important things in life and helps us thank God for our health and family and real friends. This is true wealth - that which frees rather than encumbers.

The True Measure of Wealth

I was raised staunch Catholic. I remember the parable of the talents being drummed into me at a very early age with the saying "To whom much is given, much is expected."

I always did much with my inherent talents and time. Guided by this "guilt" I never let opportunities pass me by to learn and grow and never let time pass by. As I risked much I gained and lost too. With regard to physical wealth, my endeavors paid off and I had reached quite a high standard of living.

The latest economic "swine flu" has me rethinking what I consider my true wealth. Also guided by my Catholic upbringing, I realized the commandments are summed up "Love God, Love others." The greatest gift is love.

As I try to become unencumbered by physical wealth, I am making a list of my lasting wealth. After my sister's recent visit, I realized that the love between sisters is something that cannot be bought or traded. The similarities and differences we share are a bond that will sustain us both through good times and bad. My husband and children are an investment of more than 20 years. Like any stock, the value of my investment has gone up and down and it has had its share of "volatility." But, as any good investment manager will tell you, "Investing is a marathon, not a sprint, so never focus on each lap."

Lately, by some grace of God, I have been blessed by re-connecting with some of my close friends from school and my first job and also extended family. These precious people now scattered around the world, have all been witnesses to my innocence of youth and my open-minded outlook at all life has to offer.

Lest I get jaded by what the current economic state is, divine providence is showing me what the true measure of wealth is. And, yes, I will not ignore the teachings that I need to do something with these "talents" or "gifts" of relationships. I will not bury them in the ground like the Biblical servant who was afraid of his master and incurred his wrath for not taking risks. I will cultivate them and multiply them even if it means risking rejection or hurt. The love I will gain will be the greatest of my wealth, because that is the most enduring wealth of all.

The Red Stilettos

Forrest Gump said, "You can tell a lot about a person from their shoes. Where they've been ..."

I define myself by my red stilettos. They are stylish without being over the top. I follow trends as they apply to me, I am not a slave to fashion. This applies also to my work as a marketer - I apply trends that work for my company's situation without desperately trying to fit trends to our style. http://cli.gs/bHESq5

The heel is high while yet being comfortable to walk on - demonstrating that I am sensible with my aspirations. Setting goals that can be achieved without leaving me disappointed. After I have walked a mile in them, I can walk two miles and so on.

The toe is a round point - denoting that I am more accommodating of others than always trying to push my way. People eventually come around to my way of thinking.

My shoe is a mix of patent and suede - showing that as a marketer I mix healthy parts of creativity and analytics for the best results. My creativity is always tempered by analysis and I am creative when evaluating results of marketing efforts.

Red - the color of passion and confidence. I am driven in everything I dedicate my time to and my enthusiasm is infectious. I am confident in my abilities to succeed at whatever I put my mind to accomplish. Yet, I am not cocky or arrogant because the shoe I picked is a pump and not a sandal. My dad taught me that anything worth doing is worth doing well. I try to honor his departed memory with that dedication of purpose.

Versatility - the red stiletto I picked will work with any outfit - jeans, dress, shorts or skirt. This means I am versatile enough to fit in any environment whether it is a large corporate, start-up or small to mid-size enterprise.

My stiletto has a little red bow - indicating I have an eye for detail. My projects get wrapped up with the red bow for completion.

A red stiletto needs a good leg to carry it off. I must admit, I am blessed with the right legs!

My shoes have carried me far. I've learned from every experience in my career. I've taken good care of my red stilettos - polished and cleaned them. My red stilettos still look good enough to carry me for many years as long as my legs can walk in them.

Loss Can Be A Gain

I have heard many people complain about losses they have taken due to the economy. I must admit, I have lost too.

But in the grand scheme of things, I try to see the positive in each loss. For every relationship I have lost, I have gained immense lessons and memories to see me through. I lost my dog Pepper, but I feel I have gained another guardian angel because Pepper loved and protected my family and me during her loyal 14 years. Now she can protect us even more.

Materially, we have lost a lot of disposable income, which is forcing us to look at what is really important and what is just an encumbrance as we learn to live and travel lighter. For every deal I have lost, I have gained a new way of looking at something or presenting the value to the audience. For every argument I have lost, I have gained a new perspective.

Every time I was at a loss for words, I gained a sharper sense of hearing. It's back to the old phrase of half empty vs half full. Looking back, I can say I have lost many things, many times, but what I have gained through it all is priceless and I wouldn't trade any of it.