New York Magazine – one of my favorite publications – has a questionnaire that they give to celebs and other well-known figures featured in the magazine. I decided I should take it…
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Name: Sandra Heikkinen
Age: 32
Neighborhood: Chelsea
Occupation: PR chick
Who’s your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Jon Stewart.
What's the best meal you've eaten in New York?
It’s a toss-up between Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of friends in Brooklyn a few years ago – which involved an absurd amount of amazing food (cooked by a guy who has worked in some incredible restaurants) and more than a bottle of wine for every person who attended – and my first experience at Gramercy Tavern, which was…well, incredible. One of the best meals and dining experiences I’ve ever had, anywhere.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
How about one word: Communicate.
Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
Wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
What's the last thing you saw on Broadway?
Billy Elliot on Broadway, The Toxic Avenger off-Broadway.
Do you give money to panhandlers?
Here and there, sure. Not as much since I've moved to my current place (I had a homeless buddy who sat outside my old local grocery store).
What's your drink?
In the morning, chai. During the day, water (super-cold, if possible). In the evening, I’m a beer or wine girl. Prosecco is amazing.
How often do you prepare your own meals?
Almost never. Work feeds me three meals/day (and the food is awesome), so there’s no point in cooking during the week. And on the weekend, I like getting to spend time with my friends over food and drinks.
What's your favorite medication?
Ibuprofen is amazing. Claritin is my hero at the beginning of allergy season.
What's hanging above your sofa?
(Illustrated) birds on a wire, on canvas.
How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
I don’t know where I’d top out (I think I pay around $160 for cut/color now), but I feel like good haircuts are worth a lot, since I wear my hair every day and it’s one of the things people likely notice most about each other; having a good haircut/color really does a lot in terms of how people can present themselves.
When's bedtime?
Weekdays, between 12-1 a.m. Weekends, probably between 2-3 a.m.
Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
I like the fact that the new one has fewer cars/less traffic, but there was something fab about the old one…
What do you think of Donald Trump?
Full of hot air, but knows what he’s doing in terms of stirring up enough controversy to stay in the spotlight.
What do you hate most about living in New York?
Um…not sure I actually hate anything about living here, but I find it annoying as hell when people let their dogs pee on the sidewalk (enough dogs and it STINKS).
Who is your mortal enemy?
Not sure I have one, really – Bin Laden? The evil people in Darfur?
When’s the last time you drove a car?
In December, when I was in Michigan for Christmas.
How has the Wall Street crash affected you?
I know people who have been laid off, and I think everyone is a bit nervous about the idea that their job isn’t as secure as they’d hope. I’ve become better about what I spend, I think.
Times, Post, or Daily News?
New York Times, although I get a kick out of the headlines in the NY Post.
Where do you go to be alone?
My apartment. Sometimes, to sit by the water or in the park.
What makes someone a New Yorker?
Someone is a New Yorker when they fall in love with the city over and over, and find it hard to imagine living anywhere else. I’ve felt like one since the day I moved here -- and maybe even before that, actually.
