As someone who prides herself on being savvy regarding all things Digital Age, I am embarrassingly stuck in the Stone Age when it comes to technology. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve been dialing up and logging on since 1994 and have even been known to troubleshoot an error or two, but when it comes to gizmos and gadgets, I’ll pick a paperback over a Kindle any day. My last large technology splurge was when I saved up $50 in the third grade to purchase a My Magic Diary. That is, until I woke up one month ago and took a giant leap into the 3G world.
After forty days of courtship, I am head-over-heels in love with my iPhone. If I weren’t categorically against Facebook relationships, I would make a profile for my iPhone and describe us as “Engaged.” Because it’s got me 100% engaged.
For the first time in my life, I own a piece of technology that actually makes my world easier. My last phone had Scotch tape holding together what pieces of the keyboard still remained, the menu touted a radio feature that never seemed to work, and I could count the number of pixels in a photo with my naked eye.
These days, StationStops tells me what track to head to when catching my train home to Connecticut, Scramble 2 is so challenging that I’m memorizing vocabulary words for the first time since SAT prep, and DoodleBuddy has helped me discover an inner Picasso.
In my pre-3G days, I didn’t see what purpose a smartphone served; all I needed was a metal box that could send and receive messages and calls. Purchasing an iPhone has opened me to a whole new world of simplicity and enabled me to learn more about myself and my own interests. In short, it’s been the best boyfriend I’ve ever had!
(Note: The image above is an original work by me, made on my iPhone.)
As my MMC blog description states, I’m an “Obsessive University of Michigan Fan.” So it’s not surprising that every year since I’ve graduated I’ve traveled back to Ann Arbor. This year, I braved the cold and rain to stand outside and cheer on the Wolverines during this weekend’s Michigan vs. Penn State football game. Despite the bad weather and embarrassing game, I still had a fabulous weekend surrounded by great friends, good food, a gorgeous campus and lots of laughs. Even though years have passed, new stores have opened and buildings are always under construction, the overwhelming feeling of happiness and contentment is constant. I’m so grateful for my amazing college experience filled with a high quality education, unbelievable friendships, exciting sporting events and great memories
all of which prepared me for the real world.
As I sit in a cube surrounded by Michigan paraphernalia (including a coffee mug, mouse pad, calendar and newly acquired water bottle), a little bit of my passion for the maize and blue is brought to MMC every day. Engrained in my personality and fueled by four years full of school spirit in Ann Arbor, is an enthusiasm and excitement for everything I do. Whether changing the way society views feminine care or increasing awareness for serious health conditions such as heart disease, I take each task at hand as a challenge that, similar to Michigan defensive lineman
.I can’t wait to tackle!
As PR professionals, we strive to work hard for our clients while still having fun and loving what we do each day, an experience I have discovered is hard to find in all career fields.
One of the other great things about working at MMC is that we are involved with many activities outside of work that give us all an opportunity to give back to the community. Recently, Team MMC joined forces with NY Cares to help refurbish schools across the city. I travelled to Brooklyn, with my colleagues Jackie L. and Cathy, to help de-clutter and literally “paint new life” into The East New York Middle School of Excellence.
Our painting adventure turned into a great way to spend a brisk Fall Saturday and gave us all a feeling of achievement knowing that we had helped the community in some way.
As we near the holiday season, and the end of the year, there comes a time when we all stop and reflect and think about ways that we can give to those in need. How do you plan on giving back this season?
Forget diets, watching calories, drinking Slimfast, taking diet pills,or hiring a professional fitness trainer. If you really want to lose weight, use your noodle and think about how the body works.
How does the body burn fat? It doesn’t matter half the time what you eat. What really matters is what you do to burn off what you ate. If you burn more calories than you take in, then you will lose weight. That is just how the body works. But mind you, if you deprive your body of its fuel by dieting, you won’t have the energy to burn the calories. Drinking a lot of water is always good, because your body need hydration. But don’t drink water to fill you up instead of eating. Remember water doesn’t contain protein, calcium, or vitamins that allows your body to function. Don’t deprive yourself of necessary carbohydrates. Your body needs that stuff.
Why pay for a gym membership, hit the cycle or the treadmill and bore yourself for a hour doing cardio? Why buy Tae Bo and punch the air and kick someone who is not standing there? I have a much better idea.
The secret to effective weight lose is not a secret. It is just not utilized as often as it should be. Instead of hitting the gym, put on your sexiest outfit, call up your girlfriends and just simply go dancing. Kick up your feet, go crazy and spin around, stretch your hands out and shake your dairy
well you know what I mean. You will find that the same muscles you work out in the gym are the same muscles you use to do your favorite dance or just dancing out of control. Dance all night and you have successfully burned hundreds of calories and you did so while having fun.
Diana Littman Paige, Group Senior Vice President of MMC Well-Being, accepts PR News’ ‘Top Place to Work in PR’ award for Marina Maher Communications (MMC). MMC won over more than 1,000 entrants for its commitment to developing and motivating employees.
This past weekend I experienced an exciting milestone my 25th high school reunion in Ridgewood, NJ. Now, most of you are probably thinking WOW 25 years! That is OLD. But be forewarned: it’ll happen to you some day and it will seem like yesterday that you went to your 10th.
I started getting excited about this one right after my 20th reunion b/c I was 9 months pregnant with my son Griffin at that one. Which meant that I was very big and very sober. Two qualities I prefer not to have at any type of reunion. So this time I prepared well: hair and nails done, new outfits laid out and champagne chilling!
Our reunion was a weekend extravaganza starting with a casual event at a local bar on Friday night, a school tour, football game and finally, the big Saturday evening soiree a restaurant. I met my best friends at my parents house in Ridgewood on Friday. Mom and dad graciously offered to put us up for the night (I’m one of the few lucky ones whose parents still live in the house I grew up in). Mom took a few pix (a la the prom) and we were off. The evening started a bit slow because initially you’re overwhelmed with the prospect of seeing all of these people a quarter of a century later. You find yourself trying to keep a poker face as you read their name tags and try to remember what they looked like in 1984. But eventually I got in the groove: Oh that’s Maureen! She wore pantyhose in 4th grade and I thought she was so sophisticated. “OMG: That’s Kathy? She looks way better than I remember!” Or “I had a huge crush on that guy! He used to be a life guard yikes not any more!” We danced, laughed, reminisced and basically acting like crazy teenagers for 48 hours.
Key learnings and observations:
Make a real effort to look mahvelous. There’s no better phrase than “MB, you look fantastic, you haven’t aged at all!”
Be sure to attend with your closest HS friends rather than your significant other. Its way more fun to reminisce, assist eachother in recognizing faces and dish like crazy at the end of the evening.
Prepare ahead. If high school is a bit fuzzy to you, it will help to read through your yearbook and photo albums before attending so you have stuff to talk about.
Work the room. Don’t get stuck talking to one dud for 30 mintues. The evening will be over before you know it and you’ll be upset that you didn’t get to chat it up with some key people (like Stan, former football star, who made our jaws drop when he walked in!)
Take a lot of pictures. Me and my friends were up until 3 am looking at the pictures and laughing hysterically over who knows what!
Keep in touch via LinkedIn and FB. These people could be great business (and personal) connections for you.
And finally, don’t be self conscious. Whatever you were known for in high school: a brain, an athlete, a princess, a basket case – is history. This is your chance to show off the incredible person that you’ve become!
Most fashionistas the world over are familiar with the semi-annual residents of Bryant Park known as Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, but did you know that just one month later another fashion week comes into the Big Apple? It’s filled with Chantilly lace, hand-embroidered embellishments and fit-to-flare silhouettes yes, it’s Bridal Fashion Week. Having had experience in both traditional fashion week and bridal, I’ve seen first-hand the hard work that goes into planning these 20 30 minute shows. But this season, my team and I had the pleasure of working with our client Priscilla of Boston to help coordinate their two hour show!
Often regarded as the most anticipated show of the week, the Priscilla of Boston house of brands showcased 68 bridal gowns and 15 bridesmaid dresses this past Saturday evening to a packed house of bridal media, buyers from across the country, and company friends and family. For the second season in a row, Priscilla of Boston is also leading the way to bring the gowns that walk the runway directly to their brides-to-be by partnering with Brides.com to host a live stream of the show. But this season, brides and fashion enthusiasts alike got an extra glimpse into the planning process while also having the chance to interact with the brand through the How Does Priscilla of Boston Inspire You’ contest.
Seeing the sketches transform into these gorgeous designs and the stunning hair and makeup styles created to complete the look of each collection, I was inspired by the unique vision each designer presented and reminded that anything around you can be an inspiration. I look forward to hearing from brides in our contest about how Priscilla of Boston inspires them!
