Gremlins, pugs, rice, peanut butter, and Tolstoy

"Did you know that gremlins are based off pugs?" she remarks. Only moments before I sat on a straw stool by the bar in a chic restaurant, waiting for someone who I only knew by name and occupation: Kathryn Reimann, Citibank lawyer. I looked at the menu to pass the time, and failed to notice the blond woman in the striped blazer checking in under a name that sounded vaguely familiar.

"Hi...Alejandro?" she asks. I shake her hand, unsure of what to expect out of the lunch meeting. We sit and look at the menu for a moment before asking each other what we are ordering. "Paella, cold soup, and pot de creme..." I tell her. "That is the same thing I'm ordering," she reveals, and I only hope that it's a good sign.

"During law school, I learned to live off of rice and peanut butter," she explains as we talk about her law school experience at NYU. We wander from subject to subject, eventually settling on some like our favorite books (we are both avid readers) before drifting to other ones like the family tree of gremlins that includes pugs and Yoda.

By the time we reach our typical days, I am eager to ask if I can shadow her at work. "I don't know if it would be too much to ask, but maybe I can go with-" "Shadow me at work, of course." I walk out with her in the blazing summer sun, and we walk a couple of blocks before saying goodbye. She smiles before continuing down Lexington to an afternoon full of meetings, and I turn around to return to New York Center thinking about the next book I would like to read: Anna Karenina, her favorite book.

In a city like New York, there are just so many 'worlds,' as she described it, and it is reassuring to know that two people from completely different ones can meet and realize that there are similarities, connections that bridge seemingly foreign lands. More importantly, it is comforting to know that these p55 mentors are invested in building a commited relationship with their mentorees. Thanks P55 staff!