Is it so wrong to say so early, that 2008 is indeed a terrific year? I know, the year has just barely begun, but I am already loving it!
I spent New Years Eve with a friend at the Historic Hotel Congress at their Brazilian Carnavale bash. It was a night of drinks, dancing, and delicious fun! There was even a drum line that weaved its way in and out of the hotel, into the club and back outside where flame-throwers and Brazilian dancers entertained bleary-eyed guests.
After watching the ball drop outside the hotel, we headed over to Maloney's, the kind of bar where everybody knows your name, except they forgot it, because they were so wasted. What they did remember, however, were the lyrics to Garth Brooks' classic little ditty, "Friends In Low Places".
It was the absolute perfect way to spend New Years Eve. The only downside was at around three in the morning, I got a call from Colette. I hadnt seen or spoken to Colette since October 12, when she completely ignored my phone calls and texts, forsaking the concert we were to attend later that day. What did she want now? I knew the only way to find out was to actually press the little green phone icon on my BlackBerry, but there was no way I was letting past drama destroy my New Year Eve high.
Two days later, I got a call from Aleah, the sales director for 520Living, telling me I had finally gotten my first story. I was to cover First Fridays, an event put on by Tucson Young Professionals, and talk about how it was THE trendiest and chicest place for a Tucsonan to be. I literally had only one day to prepare to merge and mingle with the big honchos of Tucson, but I totally pulled it off like an ol' pro.
I got to meet a lot of influential people, including Jeff Sorrentino and Oleg Shishkovskiy, local distributors for Khorstya Vodka, which was the No. 1 selling vodka in Eastern Europe and the third best selling vodka in the world...and that's without having touched the U.S. market. Watch out for it...it's gonna be big. There I was, talking and drinking vodka with self-made multi-millionaires and on the inside, I was freaking out about how surreal the moment was. But according to my friend Madelaine, who I invited for moral support, from where she stood, I looked like I belonged.
With the help of my friends, including the notorious Madame D, I wrote my very first, professional column of my journalism career. It was witty, it was funny, and, if I do say so myself, it was teriffic! I would talk more about it, but instead, I'm gonna wait until the premiere issue of 520Living drops on February 1. Meanwhile, these past two weeks have been a blur and my social calendar has been filling up quite fast. People I met that night have invited me to private parties and have personally called my cell phone, asking me if I would attend the next First Fridays event. Who knew an appearence could be so demanding? Everything was going just swimmingly, until, Colette called again.
It was the middle of the afternoon, and I had just gotten off the phone with Leah Taylor, the president of Tucson Young Professionals. All of a sudden, my whole world had paused when Colette's name came up on that caller ID.
"Hey David. It's me...Colette. I know we havent talked in forever. I havent called you, you havent called me...so call me. Let's talk. I miss you. K? K."
Is it just me, or does everyone have a person in their life that comes to them at the most unexpected time? Sampson had Delilah. Scarlett O'Hara had Ashley Wilkes. I have Colette. Part of me wanted to call Colette back, but part of me didnt. I know I have a hard time forgiving people, usually because I give so many chances, that once they cross that certain line, I have a hard time forgetting what they did. Maybe this was a chance to work on that flaw. Or maybe it wasnt.
If this magazine gig continues to get big, I know I will have people calling me and asking me to use whatever connections I make for their own benefit (It's already happening. I got an invitation to a $400 plate charity ball, and people keep calling me and emailing me, asking me if I need a date. Tscha!), which means I will have to weed out the people in my life who are users. Sad, but true. But since, Colette doesnt know about my column yet, she technically isnt a user, but does that mean she still cant be weeded out?
I spent New Years Eve with a friend at the Historic Hotel Congress at their Brazilian Carnavale bash. It was a night of drinks, dancing, and delicious fun! There was even a drum line that weaved its way in and out of the hotel, into the club and back outside where flame-throwers and Brazilian dancers entertained bleary-eyed guests.
After watching the ball drop outside the hotel, we headed over to Maloney's, the kind of bar where everybody knows your name, except they forgot it, because they were so wasted. What they did remember, however, were the lyrics to Garth Brooks' classic little ditty, "Friends In Low Places".
It was the absolute perfect way to spend New Years Eve. The only downside was at around three in the morning, I got a call from Colette. I hadnt seen or spoken to Colette since October 12, when she completely ignored my phone calls and texts, forsaking the concert we were to attend later that day. What did she want now? I knew the only way to find out was to actually press the little green phone icon on my BlackBerry, but there was no way I was letting past drama destroy my New Year Eve high.
Two days later, I got a call from Aleah, the sales director for 520Living, telling me I had finally gotten my first story. I was to cover First Fridays, an event put on by Tucson Young Professionals, and talk about how it was THE trendiest and chicest place for a Tucsonan to be. I literally had only one day to prepare to merge and mingle with the big honchos of Tucson, but I totally pulled it off like an ol' pro.
I got to meet a lot of influential people, including Jeff Sorrentino and Oleg Shishkovskiy, local distributors for Khorstya Vodka, which was the No. 1 selling vodka in Eastern Europe and the third best selling vodka in the world...and that's without having touched the U.S. market. Watch out for it...it's gonna be big. There I was, talking and drinking vodka with self-made multi-millionaires and on the inside, I was freaking out about how surreal the moment was. But according to my friend Madelaine, who I invited for moral support, from where she stood, I looked like I belonged.
With the help of my friends, including the notorious Madame D, I wrote my very first, professional column of my journalism career. It was witty, it was funny, and, if I do say so myself, it was teriffic! I would talk more about it, but instead, I'm gonna wait until the premiere issue of 520Living drops on February 1. Meanwhile, these past two weeks have been a blur and my social calendar has been filling up quite fast. People I met that night have invited me to private parties and have personally called my cell phone, asking me if I would attend the next First Fridays event. Who knew an appearence could be so demanding? Everything was going just swimmingly, until, Colette called again.
It was the middle of the afternoon, and I had just gotten off the phone with Leah Taylor, the president of Tucson Young Professionals. All of a sudden, my whole world had paused when Colette's name came up on that caller ID.
"Hey David. It's me...Colette. I know we havent talked in forever. I havent called you, you havent called me...so call me. Let's talk. I miss you. K? K."
Is it just me, or does everyone have a person in their life that comes to them at the most unexpected time? Sampson had Delilah. Scarlett O'Hara had Ashley Wilkes. I have Colette. Part of me wanted to call Colette back, but part of me didnt. I know I have a hard time forgiving people, usually because I give so many chances, that once they cross that certain line, I have a hard time forgetting what they did. Maybe this was a chance to work on that flaw. Or maybe it wasnt.
If this magazine gig continues to get big, I know I will have people calling me and asking me to use whatever connections I make for their own benefit (It's already happening. I got an invitation to a $400 plate charity ball, and people keep calling me and emailing me, asking me if I need a date. Tscha!), which means I will have to weed out the people in my life who are users. Sad, but true. But since, Colette doesnt know about my column yet, she technically isnt a user, but does that mean she still cant be weeded out?
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