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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Reinventing Oneself From Head to Toe

Ollie's on Broadway
Photo by myself at Ollie's, a Chinese restaurant on Broadway and 67th Street.

They have a good selection of noodles, soups and other dishes at this popular restaurant chain.

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Some of the coworkers from my old office have been envious of me. 'You can reinvent yourself at the new place,' they said. 'Just go in there and do whatever you want. They don't know you there.'

I guess that's part of what the mini-makeover is about: self-invention. You have a vision of yourself that you'd like others to share, and you put it out there. Simple as that. The concept is very modern and American. The Great Gatsby probably had the first makeover.

Of course, there's a limit to how much control you have of your image. I have to imagine that Governor Eliot Spitzer wants to change his identity and relocate, just about now. I posted about him earlier but took it down because all the news was making me ill.

For those who don't know, Spitzer is the Governor of New York. He was also a tough Attorney General, and was exposed a couple days ago for using a prostitution service. He is all over the news, over and over again. His public apology on Monday, with his poor wife by his side has been replayed to death. I can only imagine that the trashy magazine circuit is next.

No matter what I do, I can't escape the fact that I'm 5'-3 1/2", that I have a distinctive giggle, or that my desk quickly becomes an organized chaos. Likewise, Eliot Spitzer can dye his hair, change his shirts from white to pink, and start wearing jeans and tennis shoes. Whatever he does, he can't escape himself.

Eventually, Spitzer will be remembered for the good stuff he did. But not for a while.

8 comments:

BrianC said...

Ooooo, I love Ollie's, especially the scallion pancakes (which have been voted the best in the city in years past). I usually end up at this one, but the one on the UWS and the theatre district are fun too.

The news about Spitzer . . . so depressing, but ultimately not surprising given the propensity of politicians to unzip their pants.

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Fredrik said...

Nice photo! Guess it's a colorful restaurant in more than one way. The Spitzer story has spread around the world and was debated here yesterday. The analysts mean that this scandal, not only will hurt Spitzer, but also Hillary Clinton, since they are close. What do you think?
Also, thanks for your comment. Yes, we are surrounded by an amazing landscape here. They often compare this region with Provence in France or Tuscany in Italy.

Kitty said...

Hi Brian!
Ollies is great. They get away with charging a lot for their food. You can get a similar meal in Chinatown for 75% the cost.
Yeah, I don't think Spitzer can recover from this one. How humiliating for all involved.

Hi Fredrik!
I'm not too savvy on the political front. This may stir up speculation about sex and politics in general, which is a touchy subject in the Clinton camp.

I can see how Hillary might want to have her own last name at this point!

Kizz said...

Ollie's steamed veggie dumplings = food of the gods.

Spitzer = stupid

Melissa said...

I'm not a big fan of Ollies :( I want to be, but on my first visit to the one on 67th I got wonton soup where the dumplings tasted a little off, like the pork had gone bad, and then my sesame chicken was made with dark meat which I wasn't expecting... lol

I know silly, but the two right on top of each other kind of put my off.

A friend of mine goes to the one on Broadway and 84th all the time and loves it, I've gotten vegetable dumplings there and like them, but I can't bring myself to go the one on 67th... silly, I know.

fishwithoutbicycle said...

Today's news, tomorrow's chip paper so the saying goes in Britain, where we are so used to our Tory politicians being embroiled in sex scandals that this one seems tame in comparison.

I do hate the fact that they always wheel out the poor wife. I find that very low.

I.M. Bitter - I'm with you on the Ollies, I didn't have a great experience at that one either.

Ha Ha Sound said...

I kind of feel badly for Spitzer. What he did was very stupid and will have repercussions not only for himself, but for his family also. But he made so many enemies by being an effective reformer that a lot of people seem to be gloating right now.

Kitty said...

Well put, Kizz!

Hi Bitter, long time no see! I'll have to check out your blog.

I personally think it's overhyped. I love the restaurants in Ctown and there are several others that don't get the foot traffic. My theory is the interiors, which make it look more upscale than it is.

Hey Fish!
How funny that the Brits have more entanglements? I'd rather know less than more about people's sex lives. Geesh.

Hi Ha Ha!
I feel badly for Spitzer, too. I mean, who can take him seriously now? Except the guy is loaded. He doesn't have to worry much.