Melissa Richardson Banks

Our trip to Sacramento was planned to the minute. From LAX, my client and I would arrive in California's capital and go immediately to his planned interview with CBS. However, once the plane landed, I discovered that everything was cancelled and we had two hours to spare. What to do? From this, I learned a LESSON IN POWER. The POWER of "celebrity," the POWER of "knowing people," the POWER of "experience," the POWER of "figuring out what to do," the POWER of "confidence," the POWER of "trusting yourself." My client is a celebrity. I represent his interests in art and culture; which has included creating and currently touring an exhibition of works from his world-renowned collection as well as producing a companion documentary film based on the featured artists. Back to the story (and the LESSON IN POWER): Minutes to spare, needing to act fast. Using who I knew and who he is, I was able to finagle getting an audience with th

I give up ... there isn't someone out there who can share my life. When you read those online personals, everyone sounds the same: they all go to the gym, visit the beach at sunset, manage a company, travel to Europe, drink wine, eat in fine restaurants, etc., etc., etc.! Blah, blah, blah, blah, bleech. I'm unconventional and do have conventional elements in my life due to professional obligations and goals. It just seems that everyone has become so "strip mall" ... blocks and blocks of sameness. I'm bored. I'll miss living downtown when I leave ... I'm on the path to moving by the end of the year. I can see the writing on the wall. Little Tokyo is slowly losing its character: Office Depot, Subway, Quizmo's, and Starbucks prevail while Japanese-American owned businesses fall by the wayside. Century-old industrial buildings are either torn down with stucco-clad apartments in their place or transformed into tiny, anti-artist "loft-described" cl

Earlier this year, I received two front-row seats for a presentation by Dan Rather on January 27 at Disney Hall (my guest and I also got to meet him afterwards during a private reception). One thing that he shared was, while he doesn't make New Year resolutions, he does take the opportunity at the birth of a new year to reflect and to ask himself one simple question: "Do I still have time to become the person I was intended to be?" I have thought of that often and recognize that we do not come into this world with a guarantee of living 80 years or so. Every day is a gift.

The first word that pops into mind is "stretching" as in "stretching beyond my comfort level." Relationships with my ex-husband of nearly 11 years and a 6-year relationship that recently ended were ones that made me "stretch." The first one inspired me to travel, think creatively, cook more interestingly, appreciate quality, and to continue my education that later led to my post-graduate degrees. The second one was also instrumental by example in moving forward with my business even after my best friend died. Also, I learned through this relationship that alcoholism is indeed a disease -- unfortunately, we both shared the experience of loved ones who had not successfully sought help. For years, I realized that I had secretly harboring anger toward my brother, my sister, and my ex-husband for being "weak," not truly believing in my heart until later that they were simply ill and needed to find help on their own. In short, I learned a lot and remai