So lucky duck that I am, I found someone very clever who suggested the perfect job for me; the negative is trading Betsy Perry self time — sit-in-bed-read-the-newspapers-go-to-the-gym-play-with-the-chihuahua time — for serious full time badge-in-badge-out time. But it's a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say and the consulting world is too flaky right now. So while American Express and my landlord are ecstatic with my new job, Minnie the Chihuahua, whose best friend I am, sits mournfully as I rush (yes, that's what worker bees do) out the door at 7:30 and back to real life as it has become with falling stock markets, pink slips and a free floating fear virus that is highly contagious.
Am I already less tolerant of fluffy chit-chat and nonsense now? Yes, because real life has intervened at a stage in my mid-life where I had hoped to have life back to myself. While I have never stopped working totally, just a year ago, I was making pit stops at Luca Luca on Madison Avenue as I wandered downtown to visit clients. Those shopping sprees are over, replaced by my new 'hood of Times Square where Nike and Duane Reade offer a much more real view of life these days. Gone are the Manolos of Madison as I descend into mass transportation and the Grand Central Shuttle to 42nd Street.
On the first frigid day I wore my stylish but old mink coat to work only to see Caroline Kennedy in a sturdy black cloth coat and I felt so ashamed. Not only was I conspicuous to myself and conscious that I was the only one looking showy, but I felt in my head and my heart it was inappropriate as life became frightfully serious.
I also found out from smart Aaron Sigmond, Group Luxury Editor for Doubledown Media, who handles such high end titles as "Trader Monthly," "Deal Maker," and my favorite, "Private Air," that platinum is the new gold because it's much less flashy and can pass for silver. (I, however, am blond and need flash so tan, gold and flashy are for me.)
But back to my new serious persona.
The other day an interesting study crossed my desk, and in the interest of full disclosure I need to tell you it comes from Edelman, where I now work. However, as we approach the holiday shopping season, look at what the good purpose survey of over 6000 consumers found out about our shopping attitudes and this as you bundle up to attack stores the day after Thanksgiving:
Nearly 7 in 10 consumers would remain loyal to a brand during a recession if it supports a good cause and 87% feel it is their duty to contribute to a better society and environment.
And while 42% say "helping others and contributing to my community" brings them the strongest feelings of contentment, only 25% say they gain contentment from the shopping experience.
So while I was once married to someone who piled presents up as high as the waist of a fir, that's not what will make you feel good this year - or at least it better not. It's a serious time and even if you still have the money, talking about your apartment's square footage when someone has no feet at all, isn't appropriate. (And I wish Santa would make Escalades disappear though I think they're going poof along with the GM and its siblings anyway.)