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One of my favorite things to do is to go into Sephora and get all lightheaded picking out a new perfume when I can no longer smell the old on on me anymore.  I recently switched to Pure Poison by Dior that I picked up first because, well, I judge a book by it’s cover.  I liked the packaging.  And it’s got those sexy oriental scents I’m so attracted to.  And come to find out, I don’t think the marketing is all that off.  I have reason to believe it really does have powers of seduction.  But then again, seduction isn’t making someone do what they don’t want to do. Seduction is enticing someone into doing what they secretly want to do already.*

*That quote is totally stolen and I feel it necessary to give due credit.

Peeves:

1. Labels and love are the reasons to come to New York?  FUCK.  THAT.  Had I known that - had I been looking for that - I never would have come. As far as I’m concerned, this is the most difficult place in the world to have a lasting relationship. And most of the people I know can barely afford to eat in order to pay their rent, much less splurge on thousand dollar handbags.
2. Some of the cheese just got to be too much. The “love” keychain made me roll my eyes quite a few times. Especially when it turned out to be the password to get to Big. Yuck.
3. P.S. ~ Miss Louise found her love in St. Louis and moved back to the Midwest. If you’re confused as to why this is a peeve, see #1.
4. There’s a Metrocard in Carrie’s bag when she is returning books to the library. In the entirety of all six seasons, Carrie has only taken the subway once: when she was stuck in traffic and needed to get downtown to ring the bell at the stock market (episode To Market, To Market). Why on earth would she start taking the train now when she is A. more successful and B. has Big’s driver at her disposal?
5. With said Metrocard, she could’ve gotten to Miranda’s apartment much faster on New Year’s Eve when the streets were clogged with cabs. But instead she ran 100 blocks on icy sidewalks in pajamas and heels. Cute, yes, but completely unnecessary. Though I do understand that sometimes you need those hundred blocks to clear your head and put yourself in a better place than when you walked out the door, I’m not sure this was the case here.

Loves (and these will far outnumber the bothers):

1. Theme numero 1: Happiness. I loved when Charlotte said that yes, she was in fact happy in her life every single day. It seems like so many people are content with being happy most of the time, or even some of the time. It should be every single day. Otherwise you are settling. Don’t settle.
2. Theme numero 2: Forgiveness. Carrie says to Miranda, “You’re asking me to forgive you after 3 days and you won’t forgive Steve after 6 months?” Miranda replies, “It’s not the same thing.” Carrie says, “It’s forgiveness.” Thank you, Carrie! Forgive and forget and move on with your life. You’re only hurting yourself by holding onto anger. This also means that you can never again use it against the person. Otherwise you haven’t really forgiven, have you?
3. Theme numero 3: Friendship. Obviously the whole movie revolves around this one, but it’s important. When you’re having a tough time in life, sometimes you need someone to show up with a bottle of vodka. Or make you eat when you have no appetite. Or make you get up and get dressed and get out of the house when you really don’t want to. Sometimes your friends do know what’s best for you.
4. Theme numero 4: Love. The biggest one of all (no pun intended, really). Through most of this movie I sat there thinking that I never want to get married, never even want to get involved with anyone ever again. The heartache can be so overwhelming when things go awry. The thing is, though, that you always surface from it. It takes time, but the sadness and loneliness dissipate and then you learn something. In this case, Miranda and Steve learned they couldn’t let their lives get in the way of their marriage. Carrie and Big learned they didn’t need to put on a show for everyone else when all they wanted was each other. Samantha learned she wasn’t meant for relationships regardless of how much she loved someone. And Charlotte, well I think she had love figured out a long time ago.
5. Carrie’s pink sparkly cell phone was duct taped together.
6. The whole Saint Louise thing was cute. Especially when Carrie had to turn off the movie Meet Me in St. Louis because of Judy Garland’s love song. A little bit of cynicism can go a long way in a movie about love.
7. The product placement made me laugh. All of the norms were there (ahem, Manolo Blahnik), but the Vitamin Waters on the chairs at the fashion show? Hi-larious.
8. The Vogue photo shoot. My wet dream realized.
9. The fact that Carrie wants to write about found love and how to keep it. Sequel anyone??
10. Standford Blatch and Anthony Marentino are friends. ‘Nough said.
11. The closet Big builds for Carrie. I would have sex with it if I could. It breaks my heart that she doesn’t get to use it.
12. Carrie’s redecorated apartment. Especially when she’s shopping for desks (”If you have the right desk, the words will come.”)
13. Samantha’s humping puppy. So appropriate.
14. Sushi.
15. The Cinderella thread. Carrie tells Charlotte’s daughter that things don’t always work out like that. In the end Big slips her foot into her gorgeous blue Manolos. We’ll call it Cheese Well Done.
16. The movie ended zooming out from the center of the Meatpacking District - my favorite neighborhood in this most glorious city - catching glimpses of Soho House and Hotel Gansevoort. Two of my favorite places because, in addition to other reasons, I’ve had some very awesome incidents there as of late.

I’m sure I could go on, but this is already a rather long list. There was a good portion of the movie that I sat there thinking, “I don’t like this. It’s making me too sad.” But then they made Charlotte shit her pants. I came away from it smiling. I think they did great justice to the show. Just like Carrie’s first book dedication, it’s for hopeful women everywhere.

On Thursday evening, I had tickets to an advance screening of the movie at the AMC Times Square theater. I got there over an hour early since I imagined there would be a line. Boy, was I right. The theater (there was only one reserved for this purpose?!) hit capacity long before I got in and there were still hundreds of people behind me. The issue of overbooking the theater by hundreds of people is something to be discussed in itself, but it didn’t really bother me all that much. I was in good company and we decided it’s probably better to live sex and the city rather than watching it on the big screen. We ended up going for food and drinks at HK. Sexy, sexy.

Anyway, it got me thinking about the fact that there have been countless premieres and advance screenings and parties in honor of this movie. Excuse me, hit HBO show turned movie. The hype has gotten unreal. Even my friend that lives in Corona, California (pretty small town) sent me a text saying there was a huge premiere for it with ladies everywhere decked out in pink feather boas. The hype has become huge. Bigger than big, if you will (pun intended).

Last night I downloaded the soundtrack because I had previously visited the official website of the movie and loved the music playing on it, but couldn’t find the tracks. The song I had noticed more than the others was India.Arie’s version of The Heart of the Matter. When I saw the track list I was quite pleased that it was her as it’s such a lovely version of the song and I’ve always been a fan of the soulful singer. In fact, the whole album is quite sweet from the nostalgic collaboration of Al Green and Joss Stone on How Can You Mend a Broken Heart to The Bird and the Bee’s light and airy vocals on How Deep is Your Love to Run-D.M.C.’s version of Walk This Way to the touching love song Kissing by Bliss (I could go on - I’ve even come around to Fergie’s talk of Manolo’s). After listening to the album on repeat 3 or 4 times, I decided that I needed to go see how these songs played out while the fantastic four ran around NYC trying to figure out their lives. After all, my DVD’s aren’t worn out for nothing. These girls are my friends and I want to go see how the last 4 years of their lives have been.

This morning I got up and put the album on again while I got ready to head out. There were shows pretty much every hour so I figured I’d be able to find one that wasn’t sold out without buying a ticket online. Well that was most certainly a dumb ass decision. I showed up to the theater on 3rd ave in the East Village and every single show was sold out until 11:30pm. Again, I wasn’t all that flustered since I probably should have known better.

But it got me thinking about how the craze surrounding the flick has spun it into a huge blockbuster-sized film. Why is it so big? I mean, it was a hit TV show, but still, in essence, a TV show. And then I realized that it’s really quite simple. It’s because it was an extraordinary TV show that broke boundaries and the hype is reflecting that significance. It was always relatable, but without ever going over the top. You could understand what they felt and what they were going through. The situations weren’t out there, they always hit close to home.

Walking down St. Mark’s Place on my way to the theater I passed by St. Mark’s Comics which always reminds me of the episode Hot Child in the City (yes, I know the episode name off the top of my head) when Carrie goes to get her shoes fixed and finds a cute younger man has replaced the shoe repair shop with a comic book store. Every time I walk by there I crane my neck to see if there are any cute boys in there. You see the impact this show has on people?!

Since I haven’t seen the movie (though I have seriously tried), I don’t know what happens. But seeing as it’s become this huge thing, it seems like what is called for is a blockbuster-sized storyline. If it’s not, the masses may come away disappointed because the movie wasn’t earth-shattering. However, the show was never really that out there. It was life. Maybe extravagantly dressed life, but the fashion came second to the relationships.

The point I’m trying to make is that if the movie is some crazy tragic story, then it becomes unrelatable and thus loses the thread of greatness that weaved the show together so well. I’m not really sure what to expect other than seeing the girls parading down 5th ave decked out in some expensive labels, but I hope it stays true to it’s roots: a smart show (movie) with thoughtful points made on life and love.

And so, while I wait for the crowds to die down, I’ll be out in living my life in this fabulous city. In fact, I’m going to be late to meet friends because I’ve been sitting here typing instead of living. And on that note, I’m out.

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I had planned on writing some smart essay about fonts and typography, but I’ve decided that 1. I’m too lazy and 2. I’d rather rebel against anything of the sort; I’m out of college and didn’t graduate with an English major. AKA, you can’t make me (as I stick my tongue out at you).

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I will say, however, that maybe because everything was in a different language that I most certainly do not speak that I started noticing the variety of fonts. I mean, I know New York is packed with advertisements and words and over-stimulators, but I’m used to it. And I can read it quickly. When you no longer have the subject matter to guide you to understanding, you have to try to read the voice of the typeface to figure out what is being communicated.

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And on that note, I’ll shut up and let you look at the photos. Enjoy!

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But if you know me, you know I don’t shut up all that easily…

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This last one was taken right down the block from the hostel that I stayed at in the Red Light District for four days. I have to say, the sign was actually much cooler than the shop. The goods sold were strictly condoms (rather than being a full on sex shop), and let’s face it, other than getting the job done, condoms aren’t all that exciting.

However, I’m not awarding points to either side (NY vs. Amsterdam) seeing as this was the Red Light District and there were more sex shops crammed into a half mile radius than there are Starbucks in New York. I guess some people just like buying their condoms in a shop that doesn’t also carry Deep Throat.

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This is the storefront window of a super cute boutique in Dumbo named Blueberi. Every time I walk by my mouth fills with saliva at the vision of perky cocktail dresses in gorgeous fabrics that are cut in a way that seems they are made for the general masses and not the runway (read: my 5 foot nothing frame as opposed to the walking hangers that grace Bryant Park).

I’ve only ventured into the store once in hopes that the price tags could be categorized as “splurge” numbers and not something that would send me reeling to the outer rings of hell. They fell somewhere in between. Not discouraging, but motivating. I’m hoping one will show up in my closet in time for summer drinks on the rooftop of the Hotel Gansevoort.

On another note, please excuse my reflected facial expression. I haven’t seen the sun in months and it’s a harsh thing when the grey brightens up.

As a prequel to this bit of conversation, I have to head upstate tomorrow for a family thing. Sarah is my cousin and roommate who is already there.

Amy : is it cold up there?

Amy : I have no idea what to pack

Sarah : it was 66 here yesterday

Amy : FAWK YEAH

Sarah : today it’s real nice, too

Amy : awesome

Sarah : Kait came over to help me find outfits

Sarah : because any event in our family is a fashion show

Amy : yeah but we don’t wear abercrombie like it’s our job

Sarah : basically it’s everyone vs Angela’s boobs

Angela, if you ever see this, I apologize. But it’s true. You’re the D-cup in a room full of A’s and B’s. What do you expect?

After looking at this photo again, actually reading what the hell it says, and digesting it, I’ve decided that maybe I do need to start shopping at - rather than photographing - the Union Square farmers market. I mean, I don’t necessarily need a pound of mushrooms, but a little pint of them usually costs that much in the grocery store! Even at the ghetto mart that I shop at in Brooklyn!! If this is how much mushrooms cost, there must be other great price drops there, too.

My problem is that I need to get past the massive amounts of deliciously over sized cookies and the wine tasting stand so that I might actually have a shot at buying some excellent produce that isn’t ridiculously overpriced. This is what New York does to you: most satisfaction for least amount of money. Drinking your dinner becomes preferable to eating it.

I don’t know why I like farmer’s markets so much. I rarely buy anything except maybe a cookie since they’re always huge and delicious and make me drool just thinking about them. And I always manage to make it to the wine tasting stand. I mean duh, free wine. Other than that, I don’t have much use for all the borderline Amish goodies. Contrary to my upstate country roots, overpriced dried (read: dead) flowers are not really my thing.

After posting this, I sent an email to the customer service rep at DEX explaining my dissatisfaction and including a link to the post. This is the response I received back:

I am so sorry to hear that you had such a disappointing experience on Tuesday evening!
THINK PINK! A Garden Tea Party was never meant as an event to promote DEX New York or any of its services, but rather as an event to raise money for The Young Survival Coalition (http://www.youngsurvival.org/) and to raise awareness as to how breast cancer affects so many young women - yet they are so seldom recognized.

I think I made that clear in my previous post that I understood this event was for a cause other than having a party. On that note, if you are hosting an event, regardless of the reason, you are promoting your company. End of story. Continuing on…

The women working the door were not employees of DEX New York, but rather a PR firm donating their time to the cause, though the “cute gay guy in a pink shirt” is an employee of DEX New York - probably the only one you encountered if you never made it past the door - and his trying to figure out a way to get you in exemplifies the way we want everyone to be treated here at DEX New York.

Great. Maybe he can teach these PR girls a thing or two about customer service.

There was no particular cut-off time to RSVP, to the best of my knowledge, though once the event list is filled, the people running the list must cut it off to ensure that any event is not over capacity. I am sure you not being able to get in had nothing to do with them being “selective”, just the simple fact that the list was at capacity.

If I was unclear about it before, then I would like to state now that I didn’t feel the girl was being “selective.” She was being a bitch. Her attitude was equivalent to that of the girls who work the doors at clubs. I felt that overall, the situation was handled badly.

I definitely would like to say that it is the policy of DEX New York to give every person who walks through the door the ultimate customer service experience, at all times, no matter who they may be, so I am sorry that was not your experience this time.

Best,

Briana Campbell
Operations Manager

You are correct: that was not my experience. Apparently DEX is not living up to its policy of giving the “ultimate customer service experience.”

About an hour after receiving that email, I received another email. Shockingly enough, it was to DEX from what I imagine to be the PR company that handled the event. This email also had the entire RSVP list attached:

Hi Briana and Dex,

In response to Amy Rollo’s blog, Jeannine and Aja are going to call you in a moment. Please note that Alice An, Event producer for DEX asked us to close the list at 3:36 pm on Tuesday, March 11th. We have checked through all the emails (and you can too) and we do not have an “Amy Rollo” on our list.

Also, I know you received the same RSVP’s as we did. So, I am sure you will see that this person was never on our RSVP list.

In her blog she said Going.com was “confirming” RSVP’s? Please help me understand this – because we knew nothing of it.

Even though Alice An asked us to close the list -

We took LAST MINUTE LAST MINUTE RSVPS

What I would like to address here is the fact that my point is clearly not coming across to these people. I understand I was not on the list. I understand that somehow there are 3 different times in which this list was closed (1. first post: noon. 2. first email: no known time. 3. second email: 3:36 pm with last minute RSVPs).

What I don’t understand is how all of these idiots get up and get dressed in the morning. The point is you will lose business because of some girl’s crappy attitude reflecting badly on DEX. The point is NOT what time the list was closed. The point is how the situation was handled. The point is NOT sending some faceless girl - that has already posted a bad review of you - conflicting emails and the entire RSVP list complete with personal emails (SPAM much?) to prove that she is not on it.

I get it. My RSVP didn’t go through. Why don’t you people get that THAT IS NOT THE POINT?

And so ends my relationship with DEX.

This event was a complete waste of my time. I found out about this event yesterday afternoon (the day of said event) and promptly sent my RSVP from this page at going.com. It seemed like a good cause, cool event, and I wanted to go. Now, in the invitation located above, is there any mention that you must RSVP by a certain time? Take a good look. Didn’t find one, did you?

My friend and I arrived at about 6:50pm, 10 minutes before the event was supposed to start. There were a few people lined up outside, so we followed suit. After waiting until 7:30pm - in the cold - we finally got to the door. The woman checked for our names on the list and neither of us were on it. Apparently you had to RSVP by 12pm on the day of the event. Again, where on this invitation is that little factoid?

After explaining to her that our RSVP’s were accepted and there was no notice whatsoever that the invitation portion of the event was closed, a cute gay guy in a pink shirt that was also working the event opened his mouth to possibly try to remedy the situation. But she cut him off. And told us there was nothing she could do. Because you had to RSVP by 12pm. After that there was a bit of snottiness from both parties as I told her that maybe they should have worked better with the promoters, and she informed me that she was in charge of the PR for this event. Way to do your job, lady.

Regardless, I thought this was an event to empower women. On what planet does some chick with a clipboard and a power trip turning girls away because of a flaw in the invitation promote this empowerment? I’m sorry, this is not a club where you’re trying to up the appeal by being selective. This is a free event to promote a company and a cause. A bad customer experience from one person can damage that company’s reputation. Especially if this person knows how to use the internet to influence people.

That being said, I will never spend a cent at DEX. I have no idea how well they may cut, color, and style hair, but from what I’ve seen, their staff could use a makeover. Customer experience is extremely important and they obviously hired someone that doesn’t acknowledge this.