As the 1970s flowed into the 1980s, polyester and disco replaced denim and steel guitars. ("Hotel California" won the Grammy the year I moved back to NY and "Mr. Roboto" was a hit the year I got married.) Wall Street was cool...street people were not. I was hurled from the safe womb of college life to the go-go-go rush of first jobs, singles bars, living in squalor in a walk-up apartment (with my cockroach pets, occasional mice, and my pet cat Lola -- named after the Kinks song), and dreaming of a doorman building, big desk, big paycheck and Mr. Big.
I started out in a semi-bohemian publishing career and soon "sold out" to a job in banking. I cut my hair and permed it (as evidenced by the photo). I wore floppy ties and shoulder pads. My power suits led to power jobs, and I accumulated "yuppie stuff" with my newly-earned cash. I got married at the Pierre Hotel and honeymooned in the Virgin Islands, drank mimosas with friends at brunch (and, although I never had a doorman, I got to move into a home without bugs and rodents).
I remember the day a computer was wheeled on a cart into my office. I think it was only good for typing documents, making spreadsheets and talking to other people in my company. But it was oh-so-exciting (although there's nothing quite like that formidable IBM Selectric, and I have my best literary thoughts when I'm using a notebook and black felt tip pen. I also still know how to add without a calculator!).
Speaking of technology, one of my favorite after-work de-stressers was an intense game of Q*bert at the local arcade. Then, as technology became more sophisticated, game developers decided that stealing cars, shooting enemies, and building your own society was more entertaining than propelling a weird creature up and down a geometric hill. I'm not sure I agree.
Everything you ever want to know about cockroaches
Kleinfeld Bridal (It was -- and still is -- a bridal institution. My friend Sue and I were almost kicked of the store for bad behavior. The retailer has since moved from Brooklyn to NY, but I hear they are still talking about "the incident")
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