Profile: Norman Steisel Deputy Mayor
Saturday, January 17, 2009
People are interesting. Not for who they are, but for what they've achieved. Norman Steisel Deputy Mayor of New York City (1990-1994) is a man who became interesting through everything he's achieved. He has extensive private and public sector experience. His work in the city government made him known as a effective manager and savvy leader.
To quote his resume, Norman Steisel Deputy Mayor holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Pratt Institute and Master of Science degree from Yale University. He has taught courses in public policy analysis and decision-making at Yale School of Organization and Management, Harvard Kennedy School for Public Policy, Columbia University, New York University School of Law, and Baruch College, CUNY.
He is best known for his excellent term as the Commissioner of Sanitation in NYC from 1979 - 1986. He worked for the City Government from 1979-1986. After leaving the city government, he joined Lazard Feres & Co. - an investment banking firm where he was attached to the firm's environmental corporate and municipal project financing activities. He also served as an advisor to several municipalities, counties and international firms dealing in waste disposal, sanitation, water treatment etc.
In 1990 he returned to city government and was named the First Deputy Mayor of the city of New York. He remained in that office till 1994. From then onwards till 2003, he founded and served as the President of EnEssCo Strategies Inc.
Norman Steisel Deputy Mayor is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Philadelphia Stock Exchange which was bought by the Nasdaq OMX Group in 2008 and is now part of the Nasdaq Transaction Services US Group.
Posted bySamar Owais 3 comments
What is going on?!
Friday, January 9, 2009
I got 25 new posts about 'fake prada bags' and 'gucci sunglasses' under samarowais.blogspot.com (which was the blog address of this blog before). The url doesn't exist anymore. I changed it to blogging-opinions.
Does anyone have any idea? My blogger account hasn't been hacked. I'm not going to link to the page that opens because I'm not sure if it's safe. Plus I don't want to give that fake site a legitimate link.
But seriously, it was such a relief to come here and see that everything was in order!
Posted bySamar Owais 0 comments
Not a Man in Sight in 'The Women'!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
I went to watch 'The Women' today. Granted, Meg Ryan was the pull for me. What I didn't realize was that when the caption read 'It's all about The Women', they meant it! There wasn't a man in sight in the entire movie!
Even Debra Messing's character, who had three kids, had all girls. Meg Ryan had a daughter too. Jada Pinkett Smith was gay (funny how the word lesbian never once materialized in the movie), Annette Bening was the the hardcore single career woman, and Eva Mendes was the other woman.
The characters were people we all know and they don't offer anything new. And most of us would identify with either of them. It's a classic tale of the reawakening of a woman and how she realizes her own power. The theory being that she wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for the support, love and presence of her girlfriends. Meg Ryan's character wasn't a challenge. I got the feeling that I'd seen her play this role time and again.
The poster above is an excellent summary of all that female friendship is about. It's a classic chick flick, and a must watch for the good times we've all had with our friends.
Posted bySamar Owais 2 comments
My Love for Shoes, Makes Me a Girl Through and Through!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
For all my no nonsense ways, I'm a girly girl at heart. Show me shoes and I'll even like pink! My saving grace is that I don't hoard shoes. Nor do I buy them simply because they strike my fancy. I see shoe buying as an investment. They have to satisfy the fashionista in me, they have to be comfortable, and they must also be endurable.
Then there's my love for the Indian/Pakistani Kohla Puri's. They're the ultimate foot wear! You can walk around for hours in them and they'd be ask comfortable as any pair of joggers. Naturally, you just can't run in them! I know their level of endurance because I've spent hours browsing through bazaars hunting for bargain whenever I had cash to spare.P.S: If you don't know what Kohla Puris are, you're missing out! They're slippers made from leather and come in intricate designs with embroidery and/or sequence on them. The plain leather kind is for casual wear, the sequined and embroidery kind if naturally, for formal wear.
But their beauty is that they look good on all kinds of feet. And you can wear brighten up a casual attire with a formal Kohla Puri in an instant!
Posted bySamar Owais 1 comments
Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
I'm a day early. But I'm excited! It's the new year! Do you know how many plans I've got for this brand new, almost here year? Way too many, naturally. I don't believe in making resolutions but I do believe in making plans.
So if everything goes according to plan - which it never does - I'll be:
- going to India in April for two weeks.
- losing about 15 lbs.
- going home for my sister's wedding in the summer (I love monsoon weddings!).
- hauling myself to the gym to get some exercise.
Very achievable plans don't you think? What are you plans for the New Year?
P.S: One change I've made to the blog is opening comments and changed the 'About this blog'. The new year is going to be all about conversation and interaction.
Posted bySamar Owais 0 comments
Love for Chocolates
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Chocolates are universal. There are no boundaries for chocolate lovers and there certainly are no seasons. We all love them, eat them and crave them. They're also our choice of food during happy and sad times. How many times have we bought a box of chocolate for a friend who's just had a baby? Or emptied an entire box after going through a bad breakup?
My best chocolate memory is of my sister's baby shower. Her chocolate cravings were the butt of all jokes during her pregnancy, yet everyone brought some for her favourite chocolates at the shower. She didn't know whether to rubs her hands with glee at the mountains of boxes in front of her or cry at everyone's thoughtfulness. Needless to say, amid all the laughter and tears the pictures came out great!
With the holiday season so close, chocolate companies would be anticipating an increase in sales. In fact, they're running plenty of Christmas offers and sales. Displaying beautifully wrapped gift packages in shops, enticing people to buy them. We might not admit it but many of us would even buy them for ourselves!
Posted bySamar Owais 0 comments
Christmas is Just Around the Corner!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Christmas is a festive time. Christmas carols, santas at almost every corner, shopping for gifts for our loved ones and of course, Christmas decorations and the parties! The last two take the most time and effort. If you're attending one, there's no hassle; if you're throwing one then it's a whole new ball game. The decorations have to be perfect, the food mouth watering, the wine stocked, the entertainment up to par, the invitations sent out well before the time so that people don't cancel because they'd already confirmed their attendance at some other party - the list goes on!
If you're creativity handicapped like me or too busy to organize and figure out everything yourself then you can do with all the help you can get. A party planning company like Celebrations.com can be a real occasion saver. You can get party ideas, plan your party and share memories afterwards. From designing invitation cards to Christmas decorations, they seem to have covered everything. There's even a list of Christmas party games that are bound to make any Christmas party tons of fun!
Those who're the perfect hosts and great party planners can also benefit from their ideas about Christmas decorations and games.
Posted bySamar Owais 0 comments
