party maven

back when i worked at dnr, i used to have to go to parties filled with celebrities and interview fashion directors at department stores and i was lucky if half a quote got in our one-page party section called "the circuit." my main job was to show up, gab with the important people and gawk at the eye candy they brought to draw sad sack reporters like me to the party in the first place. if i was lucky i got some free apps and a complimentary glass of wine. this is how i got to meet jeremy piven and how i stood in the same room as the cast from mad men (minus jon hamm, sadly) and how i got to watch maggie grace attempt to eat a hamburger much too large to be considered finger food. however, i was happy being the wallflower. i didn't actually have to speak to the celebs so i could just gape a bit, wipe the drool from my mouth and make an early getaway.



but shortly after being dismissed from dnr, i managed to use my experiences as a party reporter to talk my way into being a party reporter for that snarky mag about town, new york. they hire reporters ("stringers") to attend key parties, talk to big players, ask silly questions, and then provide witty banter for their blogs and "intelligencer" and "party lines" pages in the magazine. although the idea of it freaked me out, i finally decided to take the plunge and cover a party on monday night.

i schlepped down to the west side, stuck my tape recorder in everyone's faces and got some pretty good quotes. i met russell simmons and asked him about spitzer's hooker for crying out loud! highlight of my career.

anyway, after the party i had to return home and write up my transcript, which took me several hours for about 30 minutes of tape. there's nothing like blasting out your eardrums trying to hear an interview over the din of a recorded cocktail party at 2 a.m. its pretty frustrating. i was up until about 2:30 transcribing and typing up my notes, and i woke up at 7:30 in order to edit and file it all for my 10 a.m. deadline. one of the blogs did pick up my info -- and you can read the result below. i have to say, i'm pretty proud of this clip, and i'm going to try to do more and more of these things as the weeks go on. but i can't imagine doing more than one every couple of days. its exhausting work for someone who is absolutely not a party animal.

check it out: Robin Givhan Feels 'Disgruntled' by Fall's Eighties Comeback via the cut on nymag.com.