focus.

so, i spent last night participating in a focus group in midtown manhattan, making my mark on the new york professional scene (ha!). i was part of a small cross section of bright young things called upon to give their opinions about a proposed organization for social and professional networking. it was interesting, though i suspect that i was asked to participate in order to add color to the proceedings-i was the odd man out in the following ways:

1. i was, professionally speaking, the underdog. most of the crowd in this group had cushy jobs at notable ad agencies, where they'd been since their careers began--i was the lone hardscrabble case, relatively speaking. for the purposes of this exercise, i was the voice of all young professionals who decide midway through their twenties to try something new, something for which they're untrained and untested, and get there by hustling, busting their ass, and basically being too fucking determined to take no for an answer.

2. coincidentally, i was also the only person there who lived in an outer borough.

3. which might explain why (depending on who you ask) i also had the biggest mouth in the room.

go figure.