Tag: Dancing

Flash Mob

Published on by Molly2 Comments

Last week we received an awesome email from the Senior Vice President of Programs at Robin Hood. It is important that I try to characterize this man for you all, or else this won’t seem as funny. This man is an very accomplished researcher who graduated from MIT with a PhD in economics and served as a former New York Times editor. He is, for lack of a better word, a little nerdy. He developed our system of “metrics” which is used to measure the effectiveness of our poverty fighting programs through a series of formulas (basically he did for Robin Hood what  Theo Epstein did for the Red Sox). We all love him, but he certanily isn’t a wild and crazy type guy.

Below is the email we received:

“I’m not exactly the sharing kind when it comes to identifying new waves of popular culture.  But someone has to step up now that Jim is leaving.  I hereby lay claim to moving to the forefront of the culture battleground. 

One week from tomorrow (Tues., Oct. 25 at 1 p.m.), I will accompany my 95-year-old mother-in-law,  to Union Square where she will participate in a “Flash Mob.” [My Times style manual betrays me.   What’s the proper verb: does one participate in a flash mob; do a flash mob; perform a flash mob?  perform in a flash mob??}  In any case, I have inside information that there will be a “wardrobe malfunction” as part of the routine.   Imagine.

 I’ll be standing toward the rear with a hood covering my face, worrying that I will be accused of contributing to the delinquency of a nonagenarian.  My wife will be up front studying her Mom’s every move, preparing for 30+ years hence.”

So on Tuesday, the entire Robin Hood staff ventured outside to Union Square to witness one of the greatest flash mobs in history. And thankfully, it went off without the wardrobe malfunction!

Grandma and Grandpa – you’re next!

The Power of Being a Bridesmaid

Published on by Molly4 Comments

This past weekend I had my first experience as a bridesmaid. I will be honest, while I was very honored to be asked to share this special day with my college roommate, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Well let me tell you, it was awesome. I am ready to become a bridesmaid full-time. I am not sure what Katherine Heigl’s problem was in the movie 27 Dresses.

The day began with 5 hours in the hair salon. This probably sounds like an awful experience, however with mimosas, bagels, coffee and gossip magazines things can ONLY be good. I have limited experience with hair styling; it would be a good day if I did something other than a ponytail. Because I was always swimming, I never felt like the efforts of blow drying my hair were ever worth it… in a few short hours I would be tucking my hair underneath my cap and diving into the pool again… So, it was a great think that my hair stylist had the creative insight to think of something to do with my tresses.

When I originally received my dress, it was a little tight. I then spend the next few weeks obsessing that I wasn’t going to be able to get my dress zipped up on the day of the wedding. I had this vision of myself walking down the aisle on the big day, with the front of my dressing looking ok, but the back being unzipped and my back hanging out. But when I put the dress on, a took a deep breath and my friend zipped it up all the way.  I don’t think I took another breath until the end of the wedding.

The ceremony was beautiful and I felt so honored to be standing up next to the happy couple. It gave the entire wedding experience a whole new feeling. I was a part of their vows, a witness to the awesome promise that they made to each other. Their happiness became my happiness and we all walked out of the church with huge smiles on our faces.

During the reception, we were instructed to create a 25 second dance move to go along with our grand entrance into the room. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have exactly one dance move: jumping. And to make things worse, the groomsman that I was paired up with was a 19-year-old, 6’4″ boy who wasn’t the world’s best dancer either. Well, after much thinking and not much result, we finally came up with something. Matt’s friends do a move called “the jump rope” where they “swing” a pretend jump rope and have people jump/dance in it. Let me tell you, it is a huge crowd pleasure at the bars, so I thought it would be an even bigger crowd pleaser at a wedding. Well, I was certainly correct. I am confident that we kicked the wedding off to a good start. Who would have thought that Matt would have delivered me a winning dance move.

As the evening progressed and the dance floor heated up, I experienced the awesome power of the bridesmaid dress. I could dance in the middle of the dance floor, dance with the groom, dance with the bride, dance with the groom’s dad… anything I wanted to do was perfectly acceptable because I was a bridesmaid! Who knew the power that came with being in this elite club of 5-6 girls with matching dresses.

By the end of the evening, I was exhausted, had completely “danced my hair out” and was so happy for the newly weds. Thank you to Moffat and Casey for including me in this special day. It could not have been a better weekend and I could not be happier for you both.