Prom Queen

   I nominate an unlikely and yet deservedly so candidate for Prom Queen, Christine Sapienza.  Heck, in my book she has already won the title.

To be honest with you I don't even know if there are Prom Queens any longer. Is this another tradition that has been phased out? I don't care either way, just wondering.

We are in the dead heat of prom season with young women searching for dresses, shoes, and accessories in a commercial market that is no longer as diverse as it used to be, and so they trek from one store to the next, one mall to the next looking at the same stock in different colors and patterns trying to find something that speaks to their personality. For many of these young women the idea of having a dress made specifically for them is an option often not considered and when it is, the idea is least likely to bubble its way up to number one when prom shopping.

In my opinion I think seamstresses are much more difficult to find these days.  With the lack of talent being passed down from one generation to the next, the discontinuance of home economics programs where sewing was a staple class and the trend over the past 25 years or so where the huge push has been focused on the cookie cutter commercialization of garmentizing, seamstresses are in less of a demand. 

So what's a girl to do if she's looking for something that screams ME?  What you do is think out of the "mall" box.  You find a seamstress, a talented seamstress, someone who is willing to work with you on your dress idea.  Someone like Christine Sapienza who has been kept busy this prom season by lots of prom goers with dressmaking and alterations.

 

There will be many young women on prom night secretly thanking Christine for keeping that dress from falling down or bunching up.  Some will glide (ok so maybe they won't glide) across the floor in an original design, others will be glad to partake in simple things such as eating, standing, and sitting comfortably. 

The Craft Box

The topic of children’s play has taken center stage in conversations with friends and neighbors. While pulling out various and random items for my yard sale, I came upon what I thought had been long gone, The Craft Box.

In stumbling upon what remained of The Craft Box I began to explain to a couple of friends that when the children very young I was in the habit of saving all types of containers, string, small boxes, paper clips, the punched out holes in the hole puncher, toilet paper rolls, Christmas wrapping paper scraps, stickers, empty 35 mm film cases, buttons and lots of the free stuff that showed up in the mail from companies/orgs looking for a subscription or a donation. All of these things plus much more went into what we in our family called The Craft Box.

My children loved to collect things. Bugs, coins, corks, tin foil, rocks you name it they probably at one time or another collected it. They also liked to imagine they were other people, animals, storybook characters, cartoons and super heroes.

The Craft Box was born one day when I heard the dreaded words “I’m bored” ever so squeaky slip out from between the lips of my oldest and then repeated like a parrot by my youngest. It was a rainy day, one of those cold and windy rainy November days. Not like a rainy July day where I could have the children put on their rain gear and we could go out for a walk and play in the rain. No this was definitely a find something to do inside the house type of rainy day.

Ah yes, and so out it came, twice. “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do”.

Now I must tell you that we did not have cable television, video games, or a computer and I am not the entertainment committee. So we went on a scavenger hunt in the house to find items they could use to make something. We deposited our treasure into an empty plastic storage tub which we later named The Craft Box. Make what you ask? Anything, I did not care as long as they were not arguing, fighting, or entertaining dangerous behaviors they could pretty much make whatever their little imaginations could dream up.

And so they did. Fabric remnants, rolls of ribbon, old hats and aprons donated by aunties, brooms, chairs and pillows were transformed into costumes and stage sets. As a matter of fact they played all day with each other off and on and collaborated in making all the fixings for what one would need inside a fort.

That was a great day and just the beginning of a book of great days to come. Because in the days, weeks, months and those few short years that were left while they were growing up and away from all of this, they built dozens of forts, museums, candy stores, igloos, swimming pools, rain forests and jungles in which they played alone, together and with friends and they all began with what was inside The Craft Box.

Their imaginations were never little and their dreams were always quite big.

Why Hire The Project Manager When You Can Get The Project Plan For Free?

Employers searching for Business Analysts and Project Managers have discovered a way to get some of their work done without paying for the groundwork.  Oh yes, these crafty little devils have included in the interview process a request for proof that you can perform a needs assessment, gather requirements, design the project plan using development tools, assemble a team, assign the tasks, establish a timeline, and identify the deliverables amongst a host of other required moving pieces.  Similar to submitting writing samples for a position where writing is the main task, some employers are requesting interviewees to submit drafts of a project plan/business solution.  I guess this would be ok, if you were allowed to submit one from your portfolio, a solution from a completed project you implemented for a former employer (and changed the names to protect the innocent). Oh but not so.

The employer provides you with the details of a "Fictitious" RFP, sort of like being given a case study to critique and you are asked to provide the business solution by fulfilling the steps as if it were a "Real" project.

The skeptic in me says the company may have one position to fill, maybe more maybe none, but of one thing I am certain, I bet these "Fictitious" RFP scenarios are quite real.  I'll bet that many of the people mapping and planning out these solutions in hopes of landing employment are providing these companies with first rate, top notch solution ideas for free.

I wonder how many people actually get further in the hiring process and how many land the job after submitting this interview requirement.

So I am asking you, my readers, how do you avoid giving away your expertise for free and remain competitive in the search?  Would you be comfortable providing a project plan/business solution in the interview process?  Maybe you don't want to pursue an opportunity with a company that includes this step in the requirements.

 

Smart Art

Oh my goodness, this is great!

Here is a shout out to Phoebe Tree and her exhibit at the Port Authority.

"SMART ART" by July 26 Twin, Phoebe Tree, is now on display through May 21 at the TerraCycle Store in Port Authority, NYC at 41st Street and 8th Avenue. Store hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.


 More info on her blog or at this site http://july26twins.blogspot.com/2010/05/smart-art-at-port-authority-nyc.html.
 

Really nice job Phoebe.

Grant Money For Film Making

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Invites Film Festival Grant Applications

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences is accepting applications for its Film Festival Grants program for nonprofit film festivals in the United States that will take place during the 2011 calendar year.

While the grants are awarded for a variety of programs, film festivals are encouraged to submit proposals that make festival events more accessible to the general public, provide greater access to minority and less visible filmmakers, and help strengthen the connection between the filmmaker and the public.


For more information http://www.oscars.org/education-outreach/grants/filmfestival/index.html

Eclectic Cafe

Introducing the latest lunch bistro in Essex County!

ECLECTIC CAFE

Carol of Eclectic Catering (website located at the bottom of this blog under Resources and Favorite Haunts) has opened a cafe in South Orange at 61 Academy Street.

The cafe is open for lunch only, Monday through Saturday 11am to 4pm offering light bites and a hearty fare.  Anyone who has sampled Carol's cuisine at a local affair, knows how lovely her dishes satisfy the pallet.  Carol assures us that she has put her own unique twist on every dish in her new cafe.

Menu can be viewed at www.cafe.ecgourmet.com; call ahead at 973-762-1332.

Bon Appetit !!!

Healing Zone

  Dear Friends of Healing Zone,

Just a reminder that this Sunday is Mother’s Day and we have gift certificates and custom packages available!
Please call 973/ 746–3334 to make arrangements to pick up or have delivered a special gift for Mom.

Best regards,
Isabel Dassinger

Integrated Medicine, Beauty & Wellness Center
One Mt. Prospect Avenue
Verona, New Jersey o7044
Tel: 973.746.3334
Fax: 973.746.8878