Cashmere Mafia...again

I just saw my first Cashmere Mafia episode. And, unlike last time, I will be bashing the show after having actually seen it! For those of you who don't know about it yet, Cashmere Mafia is supposed to be a follow-up to Sex and the City of sorts. The show is about four girlfriends living in New York City and holding very high positions in some major companies.

Now, I know it's a bit too soon to be making overarching generalizations after having seen just one episode, but I will say it anyway: the show is terribly superficial and extremely predictable. If you've seen Sex and the City, Desparate Housewives and/or Gossip Girl, you would not be able to be surprised in any way. The authors seemed to be so influenced by the above-mentioned shows that at some points in the episode you kind of start wondering why Carrie Bradshow's voice sounds different. Also, everyone is like...obsessed with this Gawker-type blog...All I've got to say about that is: XO-XO. Whatever, though. We all like watching movies and tv shows that are pretty much identical copies of other things we've seen before...so no hard feelings there.

What did scare me though was the blatant sexism in the way the main characters are portrayed. OK. So they are all supposed to be these super serious, educated, insanely successful professional women and, still, they are:

1. Immature: One of the women's husbands is cheating on her. Her friends sees him making out with another woman and tells her. What does she do?! She decides that the best thing to do is get even and cheat on HIM. Well...not that I know much about script-writing but I'm thinking...isn't this what the character would do in some other show?! I mean...if she really WAS the character that she is supposed to be, she would not be acting like a snotty high-school student who wants to win over her boyfriend by making him jealous. Or...would she?!

2. Superficial: Throughout most of the episode, one of the women is worrying like crazy about ONE zit that she got on her otherwise flawless face. At some point she even considers leaving the office and going home. WTF?!

3. Pathetic: Mia, played by Lucy Liu, has been left at the alter by her fiance. We are led to believe that he had been feeling threatened by her success. After the split, they stop talking. Mia's reaction: she does not tell her parents about it for two weeks AND dedicates her first column as editor-in-chief of Modern Man magazine to telling him (The Modern Man) that he should not be afraid of the Modern Woman. Jack and I, she says, we will need to begin communicating through the pages of the magazine. I say: Apparently Modern Woman over there is stuck in the Victorian era and her shyness does not allow her to face her problems and look for their adequate solutions.

In other words, the moral of the series is simple: don't worry about it, dudes, even if some women do manage to make if very high up in the corporate hierarchy, they are just as dumb and idiotique as the rest of them. Yes, they are in the BIG office but their existance there is only nominal, because apparently they cannot get over their personal dramas and act like grown-ups.

I am so terribly sad and disappointed.

Professional Experience

A couple of co-workers and I were just talking about jobs and professional dress-codes and the kinds of things that one should keep in mind when applying/looking for a job. The general agreement was that one needs to do quite a bit of soul-searching before ever bothering to even send in a resume. One of the guys said that he could never work at a place where he would be required to wear a suit every day. I know it sounds superficial, he said, but I know myself. I would not feel comfortable, I would fidget all day, and would not be able to get anything done.

The conversation reminded me of my old friend Bill, who had a line in the PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE section of his resume, which said he used to be a Gravedigger (an actual job he held for one summer while still in college). He said that interviewers always asked him about that. And if they didn’t or if they didn’t find that hilarious, he just knew he was not interested in working for them. See, a sense of humor was something that he really appreciated in a potential employer and he knew that he would never be able to work for someone who took themselves too seriously.

It is that very same thing that I appreciate in my job. People here work, argue, bang on tables…but they are also very laid-back and love to have fun.



I don’t think I could work for an employer if they:

- Discouraged people from having Moonwalking contests in the office
- Frowned upon impromptu fashion shoots
- Demanded that everyone should keep their shoes on at all times
- And the list goes on.

I bet you already see where this is going but I will ask anyway: What are your personal (weird) employer requirements? What would make you not take a job?

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All photos by Dragon, aka Official Department Photographer. Keep clicking.

Jetlagged but resolute

Jetlag haunted me last night. I was tired but restless and could not fall asleep until 6.30 AM. Today I am skating on thin ice and hope the day is over before I create a major mess at the office. I am mostly unproductive but this strange state of zombiance is making me really look forward to a great day at the office tomorrow. I will work better and compensate for my utter inadequacy today.

Also, I thought I would take this moment of travel induced trance and make the following three resolutions that I KNOW will change my life (personal AND professional) for the better:

1. No browsing until noon, Monday through Friday.
2. Site traffic checks only once a day.
3. Get up at 8.30 each morning.

My new rules are simple but I do think that sticking with them will make a huge difference in how well I make my way through the day. I will keep you posted on how it goes. Now, I will go get me some water. Hydrate, hydrate! You too!!!

UPDATE on each resolution:

1. Did NOT browse until noon. Definitely helped me put my day in order and get on with things faster than usual. Should keep it up.
2. Too early to say. Have only look at the stats just once today, though.
3. Well...sort of...but not really.

Inspired!

Today I attended an event called Marketing Innovation Forum, here in Sofia. The conference was sponsored by Capital Weekly (my favorite Bulgarian publication) and featured 3 BIG-TIME Marketing Rock-stars: Larry Hochman, Sergio Zyman and Guy Kawasaki.

To me, the forum was an amazing opportunity to take a break from my daily focus on tasks and project plans and to-do lists and minutiae and really think about the larger scheme of things. I didn't think that the speakers would teach me how to transform the company I work for or make a million dollars or suddenly become the most sought-after professional there is out there. That is obviously a task that could in no way be tackled at such a large, cross-industry event. What I hoped for was a reminder that what sometimes seems like yet another day at the office is connected to bigger things both within and above my control. I was hoping I would be able to leave the event with just one thing that I could take back to my boss tomorrow and tell her: HERE'S WHAT WE MUST DO! Most importantly, however, I was hoping to be inspired...to think more, and do more, and ultimately be more, both for myself and for my company.

That's EXACTLY what I got at the event. The speakers were insightful and generous in sharing their experiences. They were smart, and eloquent, and relatable and FUNNY! They were an inspiration! And, believe me, I am DEFINITELY going to my boss tomorrow and telling her HERE'S WHAT WE MUST DO!!! [Lucky me, I work for the kind of company where it's perfectly OK to share your (not-always-so-brilliant) brilliant ideas with highest of management].

The reason why I am writing about this here [even though I know that many of my readers are not at all interested in marketing or management or whatever it is that I am involved in professionally] is that I just wanted to share with you how damn good it felt to be in the presence of great minds. Those people have not only done much with their lives, but are also SO good at conceptualizing their experiences and making them available to others in such accessible ways. Maybe it's some residue from my now-past life in academia, but I just get a huge kick out of people who not only know much but love to share their knowledge with others. Kudos to Capital and Intellecta (Christina Vlahova rocks my socks!) for putting together such an awesome event and bringing in such inspirational speakers!

To those of you who did not attend...who are the people that you read and trust? Who are the people that inspire you professionally? Who would you like to have as your personal career mentor? Who would you happily entrust with the management of your professional development? And...well...WHY?

Ползата от блоговете

На 14 ноември от 10:00 часа в залата на хотел “Форум” (София, бул Цар Борис III №41) ще поговорим за ползата от това да имаш блог.

Поканили сме (ние==Netage.bg) следните хора, които ще споделят своя опит, свързан с поддържането на:

Георги Варзоновцев: корпоративни блогове
Еленко Еленков и Боби Кандов (a.k.a. My Personal Jesus...е, айде, преувеличих малко) от в-к Капитал: медийни блогове.
Пейо Попов, който няма нужда от представяне точно тук: лични блогове

Формата на събитието е panel discussion, т.е. участниците ще разкажат накратко (10-15 минути всеки) своя опит и мнението си относно ползата от блоговете. След това модераторът на дискусията (a.k.a. аз) и публиката ще могат да задават допълнително въпроси на панелистите.

Вероятно ще е интересно за уеб продуценти, журналисти, маркетинг хората, които търсят нови канали за промоция в интернет. Както и за всички онези от вас, които могат да си позволят лукса да ходят на някакви подобни неща посред бял работен ден.

Цялото събитие е част от уеб семинара на конкурса БГсайт (14-16 ноември, пак там).

Ако имате въпроси, питайте. Ако имате желание, анонсирайте и при вас. Колкото повече хора се появят на дискусията, толкова по-весело. Пейо ще бъде провокативен, а аз ще бъда мила и ще се опитам да държа феминистките си наблюдения под контрол. Освен това обещавам да направя всичко възможно да няма никакви PowerPoint презентации, защото ги мразя точно толкова колкото предполагам и вие.

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Като първа крадла свих горния текст от блога на Варзоновцев. Направих така че да звучи все едно аз съм го писала (разни вметвания в скобите и пр.). В цивилизования свят на това нещо му се вика нагло плагиатсво и се наказва. По някои други земи, няма нужда от конкретизация, това е нормална журналистическа практика. Аз си измивам ръцете с това, че споменавам източника на първоначалния текст, а утре цял ден ще мисля как да му се подмажа, за да бъда извинена.