A couple of weeks ago, I was working in the NYC office and decided to park my car uptown. I’ve found that certain parking lots are relatively cheaper than others and decided that by parking on 86th Street, I can save myself at least $30. On this day, I parked uptown, took the #6 subway to 59th Street and Lexington Avenue and walked to my Madison Avenue office.

I was dressed up to go to an event that evening and was thinking about all the things I needed to accomplish during the day, when all of a sudden…

I fell…

I fell flat on my face, right on the corner of 59th and Madison. About a dozen people came running over to me to see if I was okay. But all I kept thinking was, LEAVE ME ALONE! I was so embarrassed! (And who said New Yorkers aren’t the friendliest people in the world?)

I quickly got myself up and looked down. My panty hose was all torn and my knee was bleeding. I remembered that there was a store call Wolford’s on Madison not too far away. My mother in law used to tell me about that shop all the time. She would say they have incredible under garments but they were expensive.

How expensive can they be for a pair of pantyhose?

I walked in the store and asked the salesperson for two pair of pantyhose. “Do you want sheer and lightweight or heavy weight?” she asked.

I gave her a look. It was 95 degrees outside, why would I want heavy weight stockings? “I guess you want the light weight,” she said and handed me a pair. “You could go into the dressing room and put them on while I ring you up.”

I handed her my credit card, not looking at the price because how much could an expensive pair of pantyhose be? $20? $25? (Normally, I pay $5.99 at Century 21.)

I changed the pair that was all ripped up and quickly put on the Wolford pair. They were nice. Very comfortable. Very silky.

I went to sign my credit card receipt and took a second take at the price. It was $104 for two pairs of pantyhose! I shook my head and looked again — $104 for two pairs. This was unbelievable. I was stuck. I took my purchase and ran out the door.

When I spend $5.99 for a pair of stockings they usually last one or two days max. So, if I get 10+ uses out of these pantyhose, then I actually saved money. At this point, I’ve worn them twice. Eight more times to go….

Everyone is turning green. It’s the “cool” thing to do. There are the green builders, paint companies with “green” paint, law firms that say they are green by being paperless and even promotional companies that manufacture recyclable clothing. If you’re not “green,” you’re not environmentally friendly.

But don’t you think it’s a little late? When I was growing up, we had all these programs on ecology and saving the environment. So why didn’t we do something then? Why did we wait thirty years to first realize that we’ve got to go green?

There are so many people who have breathing problems. So many children who have autism, ADD/ADHD and more disorders than ever. Lung Cancer and other cancers are more prevalent today than ever before. Can all of these illnesses and disorders be attributed to the environment and global warming?

Lately, we have been representing companies that want to make a difference. One company will give half of their commissions to turning offices green. It’s a cool concept. So, for example, if I were to move to another building, and I wanted to turn the office green by putting down green carpet, putting in high efficiency light bulbs and recycling bins, this company would give me a certain portion of their commission to make it happen.

Another company we represent, is using Benjamin Moore Paints that are environmentally friendly. They paint murals on the outside of buildings, inside of restaurants and homes and on windows of businesses. Another client is putting a disclosure on all of their emails to make sure that their clients don’t print out emails to save trees.

As much as I feel like we should have been doing these things years ago, I’m glad that companies are realizing that we need to try to save our environment. Even though it may be a little late, everyone can do their part to try to save what we have so that our future generations can enjoy all of nature’s wonders that we all cherish today!

The other day I received the following emails:

Nice picture in Newsday!!! Whatever you were making, it looks delicious!

Who’s that blonde executive chef in the making?

Great photo-op in ExploreLI today!

Cooking Lessons??? Why??? You are never home!!!!

YOU WERE RECOGNIZED…BUT NOT IDENTIFIED PARTICIPATING IN THE CHEESE AND TOMATO PREPARATION, NEWSDAY, THIS DATE ABOUT 6:00 A.M….CONGRATULATIONS (I GUESS)

I also received a ton of voice mails, text messages and people actually stopped me in the street asking if that was really me in Newsday on Tuesday.

Yes, with crooked glasses and a silly smile on my face, that was me and the rest of my HJMT staff. We were at A La Carte in Lynbrook at a staff retreat. We had a great time competing with one another to see who had the best appetizer, entree and dessert. (It was all very yummy!)

The interesting and funny part of this is that we didn’t place this story, my name nor my company name didn’t appear anywhere in the article and I don’t typically cook! So to put me on the inside page of the food section in an apron looking like I was cooking up a storm was a rare site.

“I have a question,” said one of the audience members at the recent PRPLI workshop that I sat on a panel at last week. “When do you find the time to blog?”

“You know, I never blog during the day at work, I’m just too busy,” I said. “I do it at night… at 3 am, 5 am, and sometimes I even blog during normal hours – 10 pm!”

You may ask yourself, why don’t I blog during the day?

Let’s take a look at my typical day:

After the part when I make lunch, put the kids on the bus and drive to HJMT (the Westbury office because the City office is a whole other story!), I get into the office and pour myself a cup of coffee. Then the fun begins…

I set up my laptop, and within moments, someone comes into my office to tell me something or to ask me a question. My computer turns on. Another person walks in with something else. And this goes on and on like this all day. In between the phone rings and it’s either clients wanting to chat or wanting an update or it’s vendors trying to solicit me or it’s an exec from a non-profit organizations asking me for a donation. When things quite for a moment, I check my emails and approve releases, PSA’s, reports or advertisements.

Before I know it, I have to run out to a meeting, come back, check my computer and answer questions for the rest of the day before I look at my watch and it’s 7 pm. Time to go home, give the kids dinner and check the emails before bed.

When is there time to blog? Never… You just have to squeeze it in in between your sleeping time!

A couple of months ago,  HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC received a letter from DiversityBusiness.com, the nation’s leading multicultural internet website. The letter said that HJMT COMMUNICATIONS, LLC was ranked 95 out of the top 100 small businesses in the state of New York. We also ranked 65th among the top women owned businesses in New York Stte and 121st among the top 500 emerging businesses in America. We were invited to a special awards ceremony at Diversity Business.com‘s 8th Annual Multicultural Business Conference at Disney’s BoardWalk Resort in Orlando, FL in April but because we were so busy, we were unable to attend.

I just thought this was really cool and wanted to blog about it…. that’s all…. H:)