Sometimes, You Just Have to Wing it! (Part 1 of 3)

Happy Monday Fellow Blog Readers,

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend even with all the crazy weather. Besides being out and about all weekend, those howling and gusting winds surely kept me up the other night. It's great to be in a city with all four seasons. With that said, oddly enough, all four seasons can occur at any time of the year in this part of the states. You need to be prepared for anything. That's exactly how I take on every day in life. I try to plan for any situation, but I also plan for the unexpected and just go with the flow.

For the past month, I was RSVP'ing for several events that I planned with some friends. Here was the schedule as planned:

• Thursday, March 31st, 2016: UJA Russian Division Signature Event at the The Bowery Hotel, NY, NY (Drive Home post event and sleep at home)
• Friday, April 1st, 2016: Pop Up Mob's Tropicana Black Tie Party at the Diamond Horseshoe, NY, NY (Sleep over at a friend's apartment in the city)
• Saturday, April 2nd, 2016: Day of Rest, Working Out with my trainer, and Recovery (Sleep at home)
• Sunday, April 3rd, 2016: Brunch party for my Brother and his wife's 1st Wedding Anniversary at Parlor Steakhouse, NY, NY (Drive into the city with my parents and grandfather)

 I can tell some people are reading this and thinking, "Whoa, that seems like too much." Well, I am an Energizer bunny who can pace myself and just keep going and going. I was so excited the weeks leading up to this particular weekend. It was all about outfit planning and organizing my schedule to give myself time to do everything and enjoy it. My friends offered me a place to sleep at their apartments in the city so I would not need to drive each night. Everything was accounted for. Time to just get dolled up and enjoy mingling and networking as a single entrepreneur in the city.

Thursday evening, I had went with one of my girl friends to the UJA Russian Division Signature event. It was hosted at the beautiful Bowery Hotel. (SHOUTOUT: The Bowery Hotel is a hidden gem in the city. It is away from most of the tourist trap areas like Times Square. Their 10,000 sq. foot venue space with terrace has everything you need to host a great, elegant event any time of the year. The Hotel Lobby Bar is a relaxed oasis to grab an excellent crafted drink regardless of an event. You can spot many celebrities hanging out here as I have a few times.)

Terrace venue space at The Bowery Hotel

The Bowery Hotel Lobby Bar

This event was geared towards the young professional and philanthropic people of the Russian Jewish community. It is about coming together to continue to give back to this sect of the Jewish people. With many nonprofit Jewish organizations, it's all about networking. But, there is always an underlying goal for them to have single individuals at the event to meet up. I happen to be quite involved in several Jewish organizations. I find it important to give back to organizations that you feel most tied to. If you cannot give back in monetary value, give back with your time and volunteer for things that you have a passion for.

When I attend such events, I happen to know many people since we all attend many of the same functions. My friend and I worked the crowd. I introduced her to several people I know on the UJA board as well as those in attendance from other organizations. The drinks that evening were flowing as we got to know the bartenders more so through the night. My personal evening ended up more focused on networking and connecting with various people in different fields than just mingling and being a single girl in the city. (I was hoping for that more so than the networking aspect. You have to be able to blend the business schmoozing with the single schmoozing every day in any situation.) I had several people come up to me and mention that they follow my blog and couldn't wait to read about the next story. Some connections I made were focused in the healthcare field for business opportunities, while other connections were focused on the Hotel staff for future visits. I was also able to catch up with some acquaintances and heard about their own solo travels throughout the world recently. (It's giving me the travel bug to jet set soon.)

My friend on the other hand was game for everything that evening. While we started the night with red wine, we eventually decided to change it up and began ordering their yummy Martini's. (Bowery Hotel is one of few places in NYC that make a fabulous Dry Vodka Martini). As we were ordering our next round, a gentlemen that I had seen before but could not remember from where, had approached the two of us. (I then realized I had seen him on the dating apps that I swipe on. Small world). As I saw the attraction and attention sparking more towards my friend, I had to change gears and be a great "Wing Woman" for my dear friend. This is a delicate role to play for anybody. As much as the conversation may have involved all the individuals in the circle, you have to know when best to excuse yourself from the area to give them the opportunity to chat more directly. And so, I did as I know best. (I use going to the bathroom as a means to excuse myself, because you can always freshen up in there.) I kept my distance when I returned back to the party so they didn't feel like I was hovering/"COCK-BLOCKING" because no one wants to have "THAT" friend. But, I was close enough to see if there would be a need to rescue her while I chatted away with other people. At the end of the evening, I met back up with my friend to head out. She had told me they exchanged numbers and agreed to grab dinner sometime soon. (Winning!)

The night was a great success all around. It's all about being social and conversational, so you're ready for any topic of discussion. Though fraternizing with singles wasn't in the cards for me that night, I was informed of several events coming up for the Passover holidays geared towards young professionals in the NYC community. Time to fill my calendar with more great nights.

Stayed tuned for Part 2 and 3 this week on the rest of my Weekend Winging adventures.

Besos,

Ilana