Career Advice from Mr. Stevens

The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro, won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1989.

And the film, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, was nominated for eight Academy Awards.

So...

It's good.

I decided to read the book, initially hoping for insight into how to be professional while remaining true to my personal ethics.

And, Mr. Stevens did have some interesting theories on the subject.

Basically, he believes that...
"... our professional duty is not to our own foibles and sentiments, but to the wishes of our employer."

And,
"I believe strongly that this 'dignity' is something one can meaningfully strive for throughout one's career."

However,
"Continentals - and by and large the Celts, as you will no doubt agree - are as a rule unable to control themselves in moments of strong emotion, and are thus unable to maintain a professional demeanor other than in the least challenging of situations.

In a word, 'dignity' is beyond such persons."

So, being a "Continental" myself, particularly a "Celt"...

I'm doomed.

But, Mr. Stevens' advice is...
"There is little to be gained in growing despondent, however."

So true.

But, I can't help thinking about where I went wrong.

I can pinpoint the exact moment.

I was in college, and my advisor called me into his office, asked me to close the door, and said that I couldn't leave until I'd declared a major.

(He was right to insist that I declare a major - I think by that time I was a junior - had he not issued such an ultimatum, I might still be in college.)

But, I panicked. I took him very literally.

So, rather than take up permanent residence in his office, I thought back to the Eddie Murphy/Dan Aykroyd movie I'd seen recently, and thought...

Finance!

I didn't know anything about Finance - until that day, I'd been taking mostly literature, philosophy and psychology courses.

But, I was (and remain) a very practical person, and knew that with a degree in Finance, I could "figure it out later". I mean - there are so many different areas within finance (banking, personal finance, corporate finance...).

And to date, I've tried them all.

And hated every last one of them.

But, according to Mr. Stevens...

"... when with the benefit of hindsight one begins to search one's past for such 'turning points', one is apt to start seeing them everywhere.

But what is the sense in forever speculating what might have happened had such and such a moment turned out differently? One could presumably drive oneself to distraction in this way.

But that doesn't mean to say, of course, there aren't occasions now and then - extremely desolate occasions - when you think to yourself: "What a terrible mistake I've made with my life."

And you get to thinking about a different life, a better life you might have had.

After all, there's no turning back the clock now. One can't be forever dwelling on what might have been. One should realize one has as good as most, perhaps better, and be grateful."

And most importantly...

"Don't keep looking back all the time, you're bound to get depressed.

You've got to enjoy yourself.

... adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of my day. After all, what can we ever gain in forever looking back and blaming ourselves if our lives have not turned out quite as we might have wished?"

Sheep, Wool, and So Much More!

Last weekend was the Sheep and Wool Festival, held annually on the 3rd weekend of October in Rhinebeck, New York (approximately 2 hours north of New York City).

There were sheep...



There was wool...



But, also... goats, llamas, alpacas and rabbits.

Basically, if you can make a sweater out of it, it was there.

Like this...


How cute are those ears?


And this face???


In addition to the sheep and wool, etc. there are workshops, lectures, sheep dog trials... and people from all over the country selling everything from yarn and supplies (stuff I never knew existed!), to the finished product.

It was a beautiful fall day...


If I'd just remembered to bring my checkbook, it would've been perfect!

I Left My Heart...

here!



Not actually in Vesuvio.

San Francisco!

(And, I didn't quite leave my heart there, but I did really like it!)

I stayed at the Palace Hotel, which is a gorgeous, historic hotel that opened in 1909, after being devastated in the 1906 earthquake. Since then, the list of people who've stayed there includes Kings, Queens, Presidents, JPMorgan, John D. Rockefeller, Mark Twain... and Bob Sagat.

And now me!

The hotel is lovely...

Garden Court


until you get to the rooms.

My advice would be - go for drinks at the Pied Piper, or get Sunday brunch in the Garden Court (it's "only" $68).

Just don't actually stay there.

The carpet is dirty and the walls are thin.

(Sorry Palace Hotel.)

On my first night in town, I walked to North Beach, to the famous City Lights Bookstore.

I'm not a big "that book changed my life" type of person. But I will admit that Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" did get me thinking.

So I immediately headed upstairs to the Beat section, and ended up buying The Awakener, A Memoir of Kerouac and the Fifties.

After leaving the bookstore, I walked through Jack Kerouac Alley (inscribed with the quote from On the Road: "The air was soft, the stars so fine, the promise of every cobbled alley so great..."),



which leads into Chinatown. As I was walking down one of the many alleys (Ross Alley, to be exact), I noticed the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.

I love fortune cookies.

So, I went inside, where they gave me hot cookies right out of the oven.



Of course I bought a giant bag of cookies (that got crushed on the way home but still taste great!).

On my way back to the Palace, I walked past City Lights Bookstore again...

and Vesuvio, which is right across Jack Kerouac Alley.

I don't drink much these days, and don't usually go into bars by myself, but this is Vesuvio!

Jack Kerouac hung out here!

Obviously I had to make an exception.

So, I decided to go inside.

... just for ONE beer.

... just to see what it looked like.

But, just like Jack Kerouac when he blew off Henry Miller in 1960, I ended up staying for hours.

The next day, I did all the touristy things I could handle.

I started at Coit Tower, which Lillie Hitchcock Coit had built in 1933, in honor of the firefighters that she loved (who doesn't love firefighters?).

The walk up Telegraph Hill to get there is... strenuous. But with views of Alcatraz, the bridges (Bay and Golden Gate), and beyond... it's worth it.

From Coit Tower, it's a short walk to Fisherman's Wharf, which is very close to Ghirardelli Square. I hear there are good crabs at Fisherman's Wharf, but it is so crowded.

So, I didn't get to find out...

(I did however, get a delicious crab cake at Le Central later.)

On Saturday morning, I walked down Market Street to the Ferry Building.



Outside is a farmer's market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and inside are shops and restaurants.

Later that day I met up with a good friend who recently moved to the San Francisco area.

We were taking a needle felting class at Urban Fauna Studio.

But, we couldn't find it.

We walked and walked and walked.

Finally, my phone told me we were close. We followed the directions, which took us to... Bar Jules.

I don't know why my phone told us to go to Bar Jules, but I'll be eternally grateful!

The Scrambled Eggs with Parmesan were delicious! And, the Hayes Valley neighborhood is probably my favorite area in the city.

We liked it so much, in fact, that we came back later that day!

But first, we found Urban Fauna (which is nowhere near Bar Jules!) and our needle felting class. Three Hello Kitty Band-Aids later...



and we were back on the street.

After walking for a while, I looked over and saw Haight Street. I knew that if I followed it long enough, I would eventually find the famous corner of Haight and Ashbury.



The Haight still attracts a lot of hippies, but it also has cute cafes and shops. We especially loved Ambiance on Haight Street.

Not far from the Haight district is Alamo Square with a view of the Painted Ladies.

And then we were back in Hayes Valley!

Cary Lane has great vintage and designer samples. And the prices are incredible - my friend got a pair of Stella McCartney jeans for $50!

We both bought cookies at Miette. (Although what I really wanted was one of these cupcakes!)



Instead of cupcakes, though, we had dinner at Absinthe. The food was delicious. We both ordered French Onion Soup Gratinee...



and shared the Garlic Pretzels with Vermont Cheddar Mornay (delicious!!), and Grilled Cheese and Tomato Sandwich, with arugula and macadamia nut-basil pesto (best grilled cheese sandwich I've ever had!).

The only thing that wasn't great was the service.

From the maitre d' to the bartender, everyone was so rude!

But the food was great!

The next day, my friend & I took the Caltrain out to Menlo Park, to see her family and new home. After a quick tour of Palo Alto, just a few miles away, we spent the afternoon walking around downtown Menlo Park (which is very cute!).

Then it was back to San Francisco for the night and on to New York in the morning...

I'm home now, but wish I was still here...

It was Inevitable

Everyone who knows me knows I love to read. (I've read 17 books already this year.)

So, I really don't know what took me so long.

But, better late than never...



I thought I would miss having a book.

But, I don't. (At all!)

In fact, after only 2 days with the Kindle, I might already prefer it.

I love being able to highlight sections I want to remember, and look up words I don't know - without having to reach for a pen or dictionary.com.

And, the Kindle keeps track of my progress for me! I no longer have to look at how many pages are in the book, then calculate how far into it I am.

(Doesn't everyone do this??)

The inaugural book was....

The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro.

One of the reviewers asks, about this book, "What is the meaning of professionalism in today's society? How much should one sacrifice in order to remain true to his own personal ethics? ".

These are questions I ask myself constantly. I've never been able to just keep my mouth shut and do what I'm told.

Maybe my life would be a little easier if I did.

I'll see how it works out for Mr. Stevens first.