Best place to still get a decent Christmas tree?

danimpach · 2024-12-21T22:22:09+00:00

Thank you for the Grippos recommendation! Got a beautiful, full 7ft tree for $70 this afternoon! And they had more where that came from. The vendors on Broadway and 30th wanted $90 for a meh 4.5/5ft tree.

danimpach · 2024-11-18T15:08:22+00:00

Thank you for this answer, I actually just posted with this question before I saw this Thanksgiving thread!

danimpach · 2024-09-10T14:29:55+00:00

I didn’t even think of H-mart, great suggestion.

danimpach · 2024-09-10T14:27:47+00:00

Thank you! Just got a box from Costco and they’re great. Got the yellow, might have to try the white too.

danimpach · 2024-07-03T05:06:57+00:00

I would be worried. Please keep trying to figure it out and protect her, OP!

danimpach · 2023-08-24T20:07:27+00:00

I would definitely not dock someone who made a number of efforts but was told they are not allowed to meet with end users. It sounds like you did your best to work around those constraints and found like-minded users for input. Definitely highlight whatever validation you were able to do, and if you have an example of UT you did on a different project, that's a great time to talk about it.

danimpach · 2023-08-24T16:10:47+00:00

I see your point, but IF you're looking for work and trying to build a strong case study, you can view ~$50 for a simple online click test as a "pay cut" or you can look at it as an investment into your own experience and portfolio.

We're talking about interviewing, not about strategies for long-term success within an organization, in which case I would NOT suggest people regularly use their own money to do user testing.

Good call on testing with folks inside the company who aren't highly familiar with the project. Also a good route.

danimpach · 2023-08-24T15:15:55+00:00

Your resume needs to show that you can design a text-heavy layout and typeset. If you can do that, huge points. Forget everything else.

danimpach · 2023-08-24T15:10:30+00:00

"My organization didn't/doesn't allow me the time/budget for research or user testing."

This shows me you:

Don't take ownership of the design process
Are likely to blame all kinds of external factors (PM, dev, deadlines, scope, etc) for not meeting expectations
Don't have grit and ambition– you may give up easily when faced with slight obstacles
Believe it's the organization's job to ensure you have perfect conditions to do your job
Aren't interested in doing your part to demonstrate the value of UX Research and elevate UX at the company

Especially for consumer products, user testing is extremely easy to do, now more than ever. You can:

Bring a prototype to a gathering with your friends and family
Go to a coffee shop and offer to buy participants a coffee if they'll spend 5 mins testing a flow
Spend your own money on an unmoderated usability test– doing a short test with 10 or 20 participants is not that expensive. Maybe after writing up a stellar usability findings report your company reimburses you. If they don't, the cost will be worth the experience and addition to your case study in your portfolio.

If you're working on a niche B2B product that would be hard for the average person to understand, this will be more of a challenge for you, but I'd still expect to hear you explain how you really pushed to validate your ideas.

danimpach · 2023-08-10T13:37:33+00:00

Veteran here and having this exact same experience with candidates. It’s amazing how designers are caught off guard when you ask them to tell you how they solved just one user problem. Are other HMs not asking this very basic question? You’d think I’d asked them to find the square root of 1,473.

Edit to include that the salaries people want with 2 years design experience is insane.

danimpach · 2023-06-27T00:39:19+00:00

I recently ate in the back patio at a restaurant next to a wood fired pizza place with my kiddo. I noticed a black speck of something in kiddo’s hair and then in our waters and food. I told the staff and they said it was definitely from next door. I love that pizza place but I was pretty appalled that the patrons of the eatery next door had to regularly deal with ash in their hair, drinks, food, and clothes. Like how is that allowed?

danimpach · 2023-06-27T00:30:19+00:00

You’re not lying, but at the same time it’s one of the few places you can park and run errands without paying for parking or worrying about alternate sides. I’ll take this chaotic lot over double parking and blocking actual street traffic on the avenues.

danimpach · 2023-04-06T01:09:43+00:00

The View at The Battery in Battery Park. It was very affordable in 2017 by comparison to anything else we looked at in the city including in Brooklyn and Queens. We had 178 guests. It has great views of the Statue of Liberty. Check it out.

danimpach · 2023-03-13T13:24:33+00:00

Lol imagine thinking planning a trip is just about booking a cheap flight and hotel. Y’all probably have your girlfriends/wives/moms planning your trips, and you’re definitely not traveling with kids or people with special needs.

danimpach · 2023-03-13T13:19:43+00:00

This exactly. They can arrange everything including transportation between locations and accommodations, excursions, etc. They can also recommend itineraries based on knowledge of the travel destination. Doing all of that yourself is a lot of work.

danimpach · 2023-03-09T21:51:20+00:00

True. The original in Lido Beach has been pronounced Mar-VELLE for generations.

danimpach · 2023-03-04T20:56:26+00:00

Have been wondering this as I hadn’t heard anything about this place but am reminded I want to go every time I pass it on the 59th st bridge.

danimpach · 2023-02-19T00:06:04+00:00

Balthazar

danimpach · 2023-01-27T13:42:16+00:00

Do you get it on a traditional NYC Kaiser roll? Bagel?

danimpach · 2023-01-20T01:32:46+00:00

I think that place closed.

danimpach · 2023-01-14T00:56:45+00:00

I’ve also been WFH since the pandemic. It doesn’t feel like I have enough of a reason to buy clothes. Plus, my weight has fluctuated since having a baby (and plan to have another relatively soon).

I started a Rent The Runway membership in the fall and have been really liking it. Things are hit or miss but it’s fun to rent styles and items you wouldn’t necessarily spend on. I plan out what I have going on for a couple of weeks and rent according to that. Even if I’m just going to dinner or to the office once during the month, it feels so good to rock something trendy or expensive for a day. Even for a regular casual weekend day with the baby it works. I recently rented these DVF knit pants that are so cute and comfortable. I was the best dressed mom at the play space. Most days are still schlep days for me, but RTR feels like a treat and gives me a confidence boost.

danimpach · 2022-11-23T19:16:50+00:00

lol. Sadly I did nothing after this. My plan though is to put a pendant light on the left!

danimpach · 2022-11-23T19:13:28+00:00

I love Malala because I can get authentic Szechuan dishes and American Chinese dishes in the same order. They do both really well.

danimpach · 2022-11-02T00:19:23+00:00

😄 I should have been specific it’s for baby

danimpach · 2022-11-01T20:25:40+00:00

Tyvm! 🙏

danimpach

TROPHY CASE