Bright lights, big(ger) city

[jmc_bks]

 I haven't blogged at all about the recent trip to NYC.  Mostly because a lot of it was blah, blah, blah and schmooze and chitchat about AIE and the leadership and funding challenges that nonprofits are facing.  The only book-related part of the trip was a visit to The Strand bookstore.  Oh dear godlings.  I could've spent days in there. 

Nothing new or special foodwise, although the cocktails and hors d'oeuvres were lovely at the party hosted by one of the National board members.  The gala dinner at the Waldorf?  I always feel so out of place, uncultured, uncouth and unmonied in comparison to the other guests.  Plus, I'm terrible at cocktail party chitchat.   Eh, baby lamb chops again.  (Seriously, catering staff, I'm sure people love your lamb, but the same main dish 4 years running for the same gala?  There are a lot of repeat guests and we're tired of the chops.  Try something new, please.)  

Because of the strike, no theatre -- Cyrano was cancelled and the cost of the tickets was refunded.  One of the other conference attendees recommended an off-Broadway play that her daughter was directing, which was good.  (Not that I'm a theatre critic.)  

The hotel?  Well, I declined to stay at the conference hotel; even at the group rate it was still $350/night, which I know is about average for midtown Manhattan, but that's too much for me.  Stayed at a newish hotel I'd read about in the travel section, The Pod.  Close to public transportation, close to the conference venue, clean and quiet (except for the drunken hotel guest next door who came in at 4am, singing at the top of his lungs); I'd definitely stay there again. 

I was kind of disappointed by the first day of panels and speakers:  the keynote was supposed to be about succession planning at the board and staff level.  But we ended up getting a generic speech about mission and impact, with more generic observations by HR recruiters.  Nothing really helpful.  And the afternoon was taken up by a summary of the Use-Needs assessment done by an outside consultant.  It was interesting but a rehash of the written report that was distributed prior to the conference, which I'd already read.  The demo of the new software that the network and chapters had built was awesome.  (Clear proof that the painful database-building process I've participated in at work has warped me -- I was blown away by how fast the new software was developed, how clean and beautiful it is, how user-friendly and functional it will be.)   

My complete lack of any sense of direction remains a problem, even in a city where streets are numbered.  Dropped onto a street corner without any orienting landmarks, I will invariably choose to walk in the wrong direction.  It's a rule:  if I think I should go left, go right instead. 

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, I miss the Strand. It is an amazing place. Though I was always disappointed by their lack of a romance section. I was always tempted to tell one of the workers they should have one, but it was too easy to imagine the disgusted look they would almost definitely give me.

-Jennie

Oh and a trick for knowing which direction to walk when you don't know where you are: house numbers always get smaller the closer you are to 5th Ave. That'll tell you whether you're going east or west. Unless you're in Greenwich Village, in which case you're just going to be lost. :)

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

The only thing that didn't impress me about the Strand was the lack of romance; there was a little bit, jumbled into the regular fiction and among the review copies downstairs, but not much. And the staff gave the impression that they were much, much too busy to help customers. But I tend to expect that from non-genre independents.