Vinyl is the only way to listen to John Coltrane’s “Favorite Things.” It’s the closest thing to buying satisfaction in a bottle. Thinking about lending advice on Sexy Jobs and dream careers, Gato wished everyone could feel like that song in their future life.
Hope and nostalgia were vying for attention. Wisconsin, the greatest state in the Midwest, was soon going to just be another favorite thing in Gato’s nostalgia. “Wisconsin, not Madison, Wisconsin,” Gato reminded everyone. “I have to go back east because living in Chicago is just a cruel reminder, surely rendered by Zeus himself, that I can’t make it big and live in a small Wisconsin town.”
Because his new friend Caroline was also moving to New York Megalopolis from Milwaukee, the two decided to get spontaneous, jump in an Enterprise rental car (Enterprise because they rent to people under 25, have great deals and pick you up) and do all their favorite Wisconsin things.
“Stop it! Stop singing ‘Memories’ by Barbara Streisand over and over!” Gato said to Magda, grinding his teeth in restraint. At that point, Gato asked Magda to pull over and took over the wheel and CD player without a driver’s license.
“Jail or Streisand, it’s a tough choice,” Caroline remarked.
After making it to O&H in Racine for kringle right before they closed, the party of friends headed for a place sanctified by St. Jackie Kennedy and St. Dean Martin — the Hobnob at 227 Sheridan Road in Racine (262-552-8008). Overlooking one of the most serene stretches of Lake Michigan, Hobnob is a dying slice of post-war prosperity — an authentic supper club, not some retro remake, complete with live Burt Bacharach-era piano and vocals.
A short sprint down the road is Cortese’s Italian Supper Club (1300 Sheridan Rd., Kenosha, 262-553-9469). Four stars? Even better, forgettaboutit. Pizzas on the menu aren’t even in English, just Italian. Besides Spiaggia in Chicago, which is northern Italian, food this authentic, with subtle tweaks of flavor not overwhelming saucy-spice heaviness, cannot be found outside the New York-to-Philly corridor.
Salivating for anchovy and herb pizza, Cortese’s is where the party of friends ended up. Gato was also happy that he didn’t need to explain to the bartender how to make coffee and sambuca.
By the second bottle of wine (no one was driving that night), Caroline reminded Gato that he promised job-hunting advice for her adventure in starting over. “Didn’t you say something about the consulting-by-conference industry?” she asked.
Consulting is such a nebulous word that it deserves two pages in the dictionary, certified by William Safire, so no company can ever misuse the word to conflate a muckity-muck position.
Consulting by conferences is quite the opposite; it’s a great way to mingle with the elite of a particular industry, and those looking to move up in New York know that the difficult but rewarding job of conference producer is a good way to build executive-level contacts.
Two companies, IIR (www.iir-conferences.com) and Strategic Research Institute (www.srinstitute.com), dominate the industry and are always looking for new talent.
Both produce events in industries ranging from entertainment to life sciences to marketing. The conference producer’s role is to coordinate an agenda of speakers on topics that VP’s and CEO’s can act on to keep them ahead. And at $5,000 to $10,000 for a three-day event, this isn’t a motivational speaker circus.
Conference producers are paid a more-than-reasonable base salary and sizeable commission for each attendee. Residual benefits for the producer role come in building direct relationships with the kind of folks most people just read about in Forbes.
Best of all, travel is a must. Conferences are held around the world and at the best U.S. resorts, often with a day dedicated to golf for Wall Street pow-pows.
Because the job takes a lot of dedication and creative grunt work without a big staff below you, the industry is always looking for new talent.
Gato then asked Caroline if placement agencies were a dirty word to her. “That depends …” she said, swishing her Chianti.
Multi-media is a big part of classroom projects, and if the only immediate goal you have is to hang out in a dingy hipster neighborhood and look like you belong in a band, skills you used in putting together that film theory presentation will come in handy. Wall Street turns out presentations like McDonald’s flips burgers, and presentation production jobs through agencies start at $25 an hour. If you have a good grasp of the software, sign yourself up at a placement agency and put off being a real adult at night.
Prospects are more golden for people who actually plan to go into creative fields. Gato’s friend Nilda at the BBC related that she has friends making $1000 a day doing freelance Final Cut Pro editing.
For graphic, animation and marketing work in Manhattan, Gato recommends CGR (www.cgr.com). Carlene Mahanna is the contact there. She was once Gato’s “Aw, you can crash on my floor,” Lower East Side scenester big sister. Having worked as a designer at Geoffory Beane, she knows New York’s artistic community in the realm of fashion and beyond.
For those headed to Chicago, contact The Buzz Company (www.buzzco.com), especially if you’re looking to freelance in advertising. Nationwide, the largest creative placement agency, Aquent (www.aquent.com), can’t be beat for Fortune 500 contacts.
Finally, Caroline asked about social networks. “It’s called making friends!” Magda yelled in a grappa-fueled rage.
Wisconsin has a pretty active alumni association in New York that picks bad places to watch basketball games. For urban mixers, sign up for events held by Urbanlatino.com (hint, celebs like Rosario Dawson show up at UL parties).
Gato’s favorite events are mixers held by Judios Latinos (Latino Jews) through Makor (judioslatinos.org or www.makor.org) “Latino men — who are also Jewish?” Lillian asked almost falling on the floor.
The world makes magic on its own if you give it a chance.
For more listings, tips, fashion news not written in third person, (except Chanelgate) — go to gatotoninas.com.
