Breakfast At Tiffany's

"I'm crazy about Tiffany's..." ~ Holly Golightly

I have breakfast at Tiffany's every morning.

Okay, well not exactly.

I have my $1 cup of coffee from the (breakfast) cart located (at) the left of the (Tiffany's) on Wall Street each morning. The man in the cart also sells rolls that are made to look like bagels but taste exactly like rolls and donuts with lots of sugary icing and sprinkles sitting on paper towels absorbing the oil. I just get the coffee because it is really strong and really good with two Splendas and skim milk. He wraps the coffee in a brown paper bag and twists it, so it looks like I am carrying a bunch of flowers instead of a cup of joe.

The Tiffany's at 37 Wall Street has been there as long as I have: one year. I went from Sesame Street (a teacher) to Wall Street within a year as I left my twenties. There is no going back, and I do not want to go back. I loved my work as a teacher, but not even a wall could keep me away from Wall Street now.

Trinity Church is always the first image I see when I walk up the beaten steps from the 2,3 subway line. Oh, the irony. I feel no guilt here, folks. Each day I work hard to maximize your pensions, retirements, trusts, and 401 (k)s. In case you were wondering, my bank is the New York Bank, and I am proud to say we self-regulate like a pious Christian on Friday during Lent. I do not want to hear about the "fat cats" on Wall Street, because I happen to work for some of the kindest human beings out there. I love my CEO because he is a down to earth guy that puts his kids first and whose wife still drives a mini-van, thank you very much.

After my corner turn off of Wall Street towards Water, there is a lull of quiet that I relish before getting to the trading floor. Yes, I said trading floor. Over 200 traders and sales people on that floor with four screens a piece, lots of shouting about currencies, CNBC blasting all day, phones ringing, big pockets of laughter, and the best people in the world I say good morning to each day. My first view is right of the Brooklyn Bridge when I walk in and go sit down at my desk that I have come to feel like a home away from home.

I do not love all the work I do daily, but I love work. It is my ticket to write. Within one year I worked up from administrative tasks to now writing feature articles for our intranet site, being sent out to conferences with the marketing writing team, and editing monthly sales reports. It may not be the most glamourous of writing, but I still get to be creative and one day you will see my name on Bloomberg reporting the latest headlines. That I assure you. I am going back to school next autumn for a marketing degree on the bank's dime, and as much as it would pain me to leave the trading floor, I know there will be a desk for me as a writer in the corporate writing department soon enough.

You may know me as Thursday Next, blogging based on Jane Eyre and Bronte's words from my favorite novel. Here is the truer version of me now. I prostituted myself to the corporate world as Holly prostituted herself and I honestly have no regrets. I get the mean reds from time to time and am after the same rainbow's end you are. I drink plenty of cocktails like Holly but would kill to as thin as she is...though that could land me in Sing Sing. I am in love with an extremely complicated man who could definitely get a novel published and housed in The New York Library if he really focused on the task at hand.

Though not much of me has really changed. I still love to read, write, cook, and spend time with my family (and my nephew Jack is still the apple of my eye). That photo is one I took two weeks ago during my lunch break (I do not get an hour anymore) and I am still in awe that I work in such a great place. I did go into Tiffany's that afternoon and looked at rings...sapphire rings with diamonds on the side. If you are going to own Tiffany jewelry, one piece should be blue, shouldn't it? One day I will buy that ring for myself and engrave it with the words "Dream Maker."

So, this new blog is about dreams being made...