LupRocks Gossip

When it Rains, It Pours....

I'm just going to put it out there and say, this has not been a very easy month for me.  Okay, it's not been a very easy year so far.  Like everyone else, the economy has affected me, not in the "oh my God, I have to move into my mother's basement but she lives in an apartment and doesn't even have a basement!!" kind of way, but in that everything just seems so much more difficult all the time.  It doesn't help that some people, who shall remain nameless, don't seem to feel obliged by legally binding contracts which has put us in a bit of financial turmoil, not to mention April 15 hit us hard and I'm still trying to catch my breath from writing that...gulp....giant check.  On top of it, I've been hit with a romantic trial here and there, some really sad friend problems, and some mild to extremely annoying physical issues. 

But what am I gonna do about it???

While I might want to spend many mornings cowered under my covers, I really don't have that option, do I?  And besides that, experience has taught me that there is a damn good reason that when it rains it pours.  The reason is that if I continue to dwell on every little thing that goes wrong, even more sh!t is gonna go wrong.  Without fail. 

I reported here that I recently got back from a trip to Las Vegas.  So there I was; I hadn't seen real air in several days, hadn't eaten a vegetable in at least as many days, was working on an average of 4 hours of sleep a night, with several nights to go and loads of pressure to make new connections, nurture existing connections and drum up new business, I hadn't read a sentence of a book, talked to my family, worked out, or spent more than 10 minutes alone, I was missing one of the biggest Orman weddings of the century where my entire family was having a blast that they'll be discussing for the rest of my life, and frankly, my entire world felt like it was crumbling around me.  Any chance I got, I was sneaking off for a moment to cry before applying more black eye-liner and carrying on with a big smile plastered across my face.  Then I got a call from my doctor telling me I needed more tests to establish if I had a serious problem, or merely an annoying one.          

It was then that I realized...I'd been tuned into this self-pitying misery channel for far too long.  It took me a couple of hours--hours that I had to force myself to give to myself--to work my way out of this mood, off of this channel, and tune into something else.  I realized that while I desperately missed my family and vegetables and exercise and books and sleep and AIR, they would all be there waiting for me when I got back to planet earth.  And so would my problems.  In the meantime, I have a solid family that loves me unconditionally, great friendships, while possibly struggling, a thriving business with a great reputation worth fighting for, and most of all, a healthy intellect, a great sense of humor and my old reliable feistiness.  Sitting in my room (or the ballroom bathroom) crying wasn't doing me any good.  At all.  And dwelling on my problems while I was just so tired wasn't going to solve anything.

So I decided to change the channel, count my blessings, try to recognize my moments of grace, make a call to a sibling and let him/her tell me about his/her issues or tell me a joke rather than venting about the minutia of my daily existence, spend as much time as possible with people I genuinely like, and, well, hit it big at the blackjack table.  And guess what!  I ended up having a really, honest-to-God good time.

So, my dear friend Masuo, when I say "change your mindset" and you respond "Bahhh!  Change your mindset!  What the hell is THAT supposed to mean!  You can't just change your mindset!!!"  Know, in fact, that you can.     

Whatever Happens in Vegas….Never Happened?!

I’m a few days back from my annual pilgrimage to Sin City, traditionally the biggest, most stressful, most important, most miserable and most enjoyable business trip of the year.  It colors my life for months preceding and following it; basically, my life revolves around Las Vegas. 

I’ve long described Las Vegas as “The most awful, awful, wonderful, wonderful place on earth.”  The “awful, awful” part is evident.  The constant ding ding ding, the complete absence of any concern for the environment (all of that trucked in water and non-indigenous plant life!), the lack of exercise, family, reading, cooking, and any other activity that normally sustains me and my mental well-being, the stench of cologne and cigarette smoke and pumped in perfume a constant companion, the endless string of meetings, events, parties and impromptu get togethers that one is obliged to attend, making your way from the Platinum Pavilion back to the Design Center 320 times a day... 

The “wonderful, wonderful” part?  The people.  Walking through the Venetian on the way to the Sands, or walking down the halls of the more subdued Wynn, and knowing a good 50% of the people whose paths you cross, and genuinely liking many of those people?  That’s pretty crazy, right?  I typically get hit on all the time in Vegas (by non-industry people, of course!) whereas in New York City, nobody ever looks twice at me.  Ever.  I suspect that’s because in Vegas, I’m smiling 99% of the time, even when I don’t feel like smiling.  In New York City, I’m a scary scowler.  In Vegas, I’m hot! 

Okay, back to the business of Las Vegas, here are some highlights, as clearly as I can recall and in no particular order:

• The opening party of the Luxury by JCK Show—Outdoors, at Tao Beach, small, intimate crowd, good chat with Desiree over a bite, and me and Phyllis Bergman both in pant suits.
• Discovering my new secret hiding spot.  No, I won’t tell you where it is because then it wouldn’t be secret!  
• Lunch with Brooke, Talya and Jessica outside at the Wynn.  Yes, we probably shouldn’t have splurged, but it was so nice to get a moment of loveliness with those lovelies. 
• Bob Moeller—I was tweeting some of his nuggets of wisdom throughout the show, but this man is officially my new favorite person in the industry.  And his wife is a total hotty and super sweet as well….about his wife, “How did you land her, Bob?”  His response?  “Get ‘em drunk, get ‘em jewelry, and you’re done!” 
• WJA DIVA Gives back to D.E.F. press conference and party at LAVO on Monday night.  Everything went off without a hitch and Miss Africa was lovely.
• The launch of Wintour Watches at the Wynn Tower Suites.  Private appointments and a fabulous party that was a “must-attend” for industry big wigs (and Miss Africa!)
• Getting to know the folks at D.E.F.  Not only do they have an amazing mission and are really good people, but they make me feel closer to Russell…
• The five minutes of alone, ding, ding, ding-free time Matt Rosenheim and I had to chat on the back patio at the party for the newly established GenNext.  Me taking an offered sip out of a strangers martini glass on my way to the next event.  Thanks for that, random jewelry industry person, whoever you are! 
• The photographer LOS' doing a spectacular job shooting for us…..pricey but worth every penny.  No joke. 
• Bill Furman.  'Nuf said. 
• Having a relatively quiet moment with Ann and Yancy on Yancy’s birthday.
• Running into Eddie Griffin at the new, unofficial “late night lounge,” the Palazzo casino bar, and chumming around with him and his crew while he and Dave Bonnapart became BFFs (see below picture).  
• Crashing the dinner party of a large group sitting outside at Morel’s.  It was the first time I'd breathed real air in over 36 hours. 
• Running into Anna Martin, fresh off a plane from London, at 3am at the Grande Luxe to-go window.  I burst into tears. 
• The cocktail party at the Jewelers for Children gala.
• Lars and I having a long conversation while both wearing our "friend hats."  Such a welcome respite! 
• Getting a little lovin' from "Mama Kami" over at the AGTA Pavilion, just when I really needed it.
• David Brown telling me "Some black girl up in Harlem is going 'where's my butt?!' Michelle has it!!" 
• Dirty Vegas night at Casino Royale.  Tanya, Frank, Monica, Yancy, James, Susan, Lesego, Jordan, David, Mark and many others in attendance, Alex Alvarez and Amanda Gizzy were deeply missed.  My favorite line of that night was from Susan Killkenny to the dealer at the blackjack table, “I was just one over, I thought maybe you wouldn’t notice….”
• Getting off the strip for a quiet dinner at Raku with vegis and healthiness galore (well, relatively).  It completely revived me.
• Being around $400 UP on my way out of Vegas.  Sweeeeeet! 

And that's all that comes to mind right now!  Please remind me in the comment section if I've missed anything, and don't be mad if I come back with yet another installment of Vegas 2009 Adventures!

Memorial Weekend Cocktail Send Off

In light of the fact that Lup H.Q. is frantically scrambling to get ready to head to Vegas next week and all of the inherent stress that goes with that, compounded by the knowledge that our friends and family who are not in the jewelry industry are all planning on having wonderfully relaxing Memorial weekends while we are looking forward to a weekend spent hunched over our computers taking care of the work that we won't be able to do while we're in Vegas while also trying to squeeze in a pedicure and all of those last minute "I'm moving my entire apartment to Las Vegas for a week" travel needs, we figured it would be a good day for a Weekend Cocktail Send Off.  But with all that we have on our plates, we're hard pressed to actually come up with an official cocktail.  As one jewelry industry insider put it, "It's a totally wacked out, wacky scene!" and we couldn't agree more.  So to that end, we've got just the perfect drink to send you off with:

Patron Shot:
Take bottle of Patron (we like Silver), fill shot glass to the rim, drink in one gulp.  Some people like to lick salt, drink the shot, and then bite into a lime wedge but we here at Lup H.Q. take our shots without training wheels, especially after a week like this one.

 

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!

Every year for the past, well, 100 or so, I've been going to Las Vegas for the jewelry shows.  Rather than gauge my life by my birthday or the number of nieces and nephews I've been blessed with or the guys I've dated, I gauge my life by my annual pilgrimage to Sin City.  The economy goes up, it goes down, the players move from company to company, my wardrobe improves or gets worse, I work for someone else, I work for myself, we represent different clients, we have different tasks we have to fulfill....change is inevitable, but no matter what goes on in the rest of the world, some things about Vegas never change, including the pre-show stress! 

Ah, yes, the pre-show stress is as reliable as the hopped-up, diamond charged energy one feels when entering the JCK Show, it's as reliable as the smell of cigarette smoke and Wayne Newton's calogne in the air, it's as reliable as the intense desire to miss morning meetings because last night's "meeting" went a bit long (on the dance floor that is!), it's as reliable as a steady diet of passed hors d'ouevres and late-night spinach dip from the Grand Lux, it's as reliable as the house always winning.  It manifests itself in the way of snappish attitudes, short tempers, frantic jewelers calling requesting a last minute press release, clients giving no direction and expecting you to read their minds (fair enough!) and, of course, lots of "I have nothing to weaaaaaar!"

So what do we have on-deck for our Las Vegas adventure this year?  Well, we're giving guided press tours at the JCK Show to help media navigate their way through that wonderfully overwhelming place, we're working with the fabulous designer Lori Bonn promoting her collection (and we can't wait to see any new goodies she'll be bringing with her!), we're helping with the launch of a new, gorgeous collection of watches, we'll be tweeting away from the show floor, we're pulling jewelry for several upcoming celebrity appearances and shows, and of course, we've got lots of dinners, cocktail parties, and festivies planned that will help us spend some time with our many friends and colleagues and hopefully figure out ways that we can all work together. 

So, can I get a VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!!!

Top Ten ways to know you have been in Las Vegas for too long:

After surviving my first trip to Vegas for the JCK and Couture shows, I came away with a lot of gained knowledge and experience, and one very important conclusion.  Staying in Vegas for ten days is not a healthy move. What entertained me most was that even people who were there for two or three days were ready to pull their hair out. So, whether you were there for one day or ten days, whether you hate Vegas or just can’t stand trade shows, I hope you enjoy being home!

1. You begin to refer to your hotel room as home. Example: “I am just going to run home and change before dinner.”
2. You can walk from Venetian to the Wynn with out looking up from your iphone or blackburry.
3. You have to write all your emails on your way to and from the Venetian to the Wynn.
4. You start to end phone conversations with, “Sorry, I have to go. I’m walking through the casino, and I can’t be on the phone.”
5. You begin to throw around the very scary phrase: “used to…!” Example: “We used to sit next to each other in the office.” Thank god I was with a Vegas veteran who reminded me that “used to” is not that far away.
6. You stop noticing the nasty smell of stale garbage on the short-cut way (through the Sands) from the Venetian to the Wynn.(If you do not know what short cut I refer to perhaps you need more time in Vegas!)
7. You choose to order a burger from room service, rather than go to a five star restaurant.
8. The hotel employee whose job it is to check that people entering the elevator bank have keys recognizes you by face.
9. The smell of alcohol and cigarettes become a new combined smell that can only be found inside a hotel casino at 3:00am.
10. You are able to make a top ten list of reasons.