Re: Tweets/Facebook Updates - Discussion - Thread #5

[Reidiscool]

Her parents live in a very wealthy suburb here in Chicago and she's friends with the Lettuce/Melman family that Jed is also friends with so she's around a lot, and I've seriously never heard a kind word about her.

JP is so much better off with a sweet, nerdy girl who doesn't care about his money and jumps around squealing when she's happy. LOL. They're both very lucky to have found each other. :nuzzle:

LOL. I'm shocked about JA's reputation. Not!

That doesn't sound crazy at all! I think I get him a lot better now -- even though I think he has many layers we haven't yet unpeeled (ala Ames' onion metaphor) e.g. UMich times, Australia months? years? in his life... but one thing is for sure his $6000 price tagged Cartier watch makes a LOT more sense along with his wardrobe particulars though I do think he's truly down to earth and genuine

I'm completely curious now about this whole DABA 'type' girls in NYC -- maybe it may give more context for how JP is like if you all familiar with the NYC scene can tell us a bit more (gotta admit I find it very fascinating to learn about such a sub-culture if u will 8) )

Just keep in mind I'm biased, and also I have NO idea whether this woman is typical of the women JP's dated or how significant or insignificant she may've been in his life.

For some people, Manhattan has this allure of sophistication. The high end shopping, the old money families, and so on and so forth. The "scene" starts with some of the younger generation in those old money families, your prototypical socialities. Think Tinsley Mortimer, and people like that - rich, attractive, young, urbane, not currently married. The doings of the socialites are usually part of what makes the New York gossip columns like Page Six in the New York Post. The old money socialites have friends (people they picked up through prep school and maybe college, generally of similar family pedigrees and money) and of course there are also the wannabe friends/hangers on, people who'd like to gain the social status of being in that circle. None of these people are really national celebrities, this is pretty much limited to New York. There's a sense of rarified air in that these people's exploits are deemed worthy of being covered.

That scene interacts with the finance scene in that you have young, wealthy, ambitious guys (it's usually guys) who have good educational pedigrees and of course money to spare, and often a desire for a well connected significant other and somebody respectable who presents well. You can see where the comfort level might be on both ends at least for dating purposes.

There's a 3rd element, the internet: the great equalizer. Ever since Candace Bushnell (author of Sex & The City) got famous, there've been a number of women who've used the internet to document their love lives, daily trials and tribulations in Manhattan to try to get book deals, movie deals, and the career path she's had. Julia Allison's the most "famous" among them. I think she worked for Star magazine (the tabloid) at one point or another but she made more of a name for herself through her blogging about fashion and herself. Was there anything about her that was more interesting than the next person? No. She was a young, attractive, single girl in New York and she was able to talk about her Manhattan life in a way that got people's attention. A LOT of it was negative attention that but that almost raised her status. New York City blogs like Gawker would mock her latest blog but it almost became a badge of honor that people even noticed what she was saying. She actually got enough status to start getting coverage in the same Page Six columns that cover national/international celebrities and New York socialites and I think she managed to worm her way into that whole socialite scene, which gave her access to well connected people (including well connected boyfriends) and even more to write about. Based on the story Laney Crowell and her friends were doing something similar except they came up with this concept of the "hard times" of women dating bankers and blogging about it. The concept is the same in that they all know they're being shallow and vapid but they're also being snarky about their shallowness and vapidity and so that makes it funny and OK. They were able to draw a lot of attention to themselves and again, a lot of it was negative but there was enough attention that there was the possibility of a book and movie deal.

But there's also a coldness and calculation associated with the scene and it's one that chew up and spit out the people who aren't cut out for it. Some people get sucked into the scene because of where they work and who they meet. It can be kind of interesting to be on the outskirts of it and just get a taste of how it works. When you're in your 20s too and you're young, single, and you've got some money in Manhattan - you feel like you ought to be living it up and this scene knows how to live it up.

Let me say this about JP - Roslyn is a very nice town in the suburbs on Long Island and his family seems classy, respectable, and well off. But Roslyn is not Manhattan and JP's public school education would not naturally fit him into this scene. He seems like a little more of a wanderer than the scene would allow. But for an outsider who's grown up close to Manhattan like JP, I could see why he might find a woman from that scene attractive - there's a sort of big city allure, the snarky, cynical humor about life in the big city can be really attractive at first. So I can see where he may have found his way into it but I can also see where he was ready to get out of it and wound up on the B'ette.

A fascinating read. Thank you.

[ironcat]

It's not 6 years. He said his last long relationship was when he was about 30 and it lasted 2.5 years. He had just turned 34 when the show started filming. So that relationship, that broke his heart (and I doubt it was with Laney) ended over a year before the show began filming.

[Shelby]

would be interesting to know if his break up is recent or not

[Shelby]

It's not 6 years. He said his last long relationship was when he was about 30 and it lasted 2.5 years. He had just turned 34 when the show started filming. So that relationship, that broke his heart (and I doubt it was with Laney) ended over a year before the show began filming.

can you direct us when it was said that please?

[Alanna]

Awesome synopsis, cfck!! You're so good! I would add the new internet boys (David Karp, etc.) to the list of the finance guys too.

I think Laney meant that JP had "unrealistic expectations" in that she thinks he's "naive" about love and how relationships are supposed to be. I think he's found the perfect candidate to be "naive" alongside him in love though so good luck to Laney finding a jaded dude if that's what she's after. :greenman:

[Shelby]

Awesome synopsis, cfck!! You're so good! I would add the new internet boys (David Karp, etc.) to the list of the finance guys too.

I think Laney meant that JP had "unrealistic expectations" in that she thinks he's "naive" about love and how relationships are supposed to be. I think he's found the perfect candidate to be "naive" alongside him in love though so good luck to Laney finding a jaded dude if that's what she's after. :greenman:

Was it said somewhere that he is the partner in his construction company?

If so, he may need to do charities and be part of the NY jet set... then of course same kind of jaded spoiled girls

Ashley must be a true breath of glade fresh air IMO

[jelle]

As far as any of us can find, JP is not partner with anything. We think he works for The J Companies.

[Chacharo]

CFCK, thanks so much for writing that post. I'm totally fascinated by you New Yorkers! Mind you, I 've lived in Kansas all my life so it all seems so ...... foreign to me.

I also find that whole DABA thing fascinating. The internet sure has contributed to blurring the line between fantasy and reality.

Thank you, again, for taking the time to post that.

[klarson79]

Great post, cfck2222. I'm from the midwest and now live in the city and having seen SOOO many of the people you have described, I found myself nodding the whole time reading it. New York...is fascinating. I love it, but have found myself taking a step back from all it has to offer as I've gotten older. More than anything...to save me from myself!! LOL!

[Shelby]

As far as any of us can find, JP is not partner with anything. We think he works for The J Companies.

ok. you are right. I watched again his M&G intro and he says that he works for...

He also mention: If I meet the right girl, I do not think there would be anything I could not do for her..........

[ironcat]

It's not 6 years. He said his last long relationship was when he was about 30 and it lasted 2.5 years. He had just turned 34 when the show started filming. So that relationship, that broke his heart (and I doubt it was with Laney) ended over a year before the show began filming.

can you direct us when it was said that please?

He and Ashley discussed it on their first date, before they put on their pajamas.

[mnmhughes]

It's not 6 years. He said his last long relationship was when he was about 30 and it lasted 2.5 years. He had just turned 34 when the show started filming. So that relationship, that broke his heart (and I doubt it was with Laney) ended over a year before the show began filming.

can you direct us when it was said that please?

He and Ashley discussed it on their first date, before they put on their pajamas.

I love the way that sounds. Too funny!

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