Watching hockey is, for me, a lot like watching lacrosse, which is what my sons play. It’s a fast-paced, thrilling game of skill and strategy. I have a strong “first memory” of hockey: I was glued to my television during the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, when the U.S. Men’s hockey team defeated the Soviet team and then went on to win the gold in the final game against Finland. (In fact, our family watches that often, in the form of the 2004 Kurt Russell movie, “Miracle”. I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it!) Believe it or not, I have never, ever actually attended a hockey game, live and…
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And This Is Why He’ll Probably Never Work For The FBI.
Years ago, our neighbors bought a bicycle for their son Julian, who was celebrating his eighth birthday. It was his first bike, and they asked us if they could hide it in our garage so they could bring it out at his birthday party a couple of days later. We were happy to help, and Jim hid it in the back part of the garage. Jim told our boys, then six (ish) and nine (ish), that we were storing the bike for Julian’s parents, for his birthday. On the day of the party, the boys were playing outside while Julian’s parents were finishing up the decorations and other details. Eventually…
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The Hotel Diaries: Part Four
Just joining me? Read Part One here, Part Two here, and Part Three here!Although I was again seized with anxiety about picking up and moving, especially after being in Texas for only two years, the move to Knoxville in general was very exciting for our family. My dad got a job as the General Manager of the Holiday Inn near the UT Campus as the entire city was preparing for the 1982 World’s Fair, whose grounds happened to be walking distance from the hotel. (We got Season’s Passes and were regulars at the Fair. I may have to blog about that sometime. It was amazing. In fact, the UK pavilion…
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It’s The One Day On Which You MUST Show Yourself. It’s The Law.
I’ll have the final installment of the Hotel Diaries up for you later today (I’m a little behind since I–unfortunately–went to see the midnight premiere of “The Green Hornet”), but for now, I wanted to wish you a Happy Delurking Day 2011! You know what Delurking Day is, right? If you read my blog but never show yourself via comment (okay, and even if you do!), today is your day to shine! Leave a comment to say hello! Or leave a comment to tell me who should win the Golden Globe for best actress in a television show! Or leave a comment to tell me how your New Year’s resolutions…
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The Hotel Diaries: Part Three
Just joining me? Read Part One here, and Part Two here! It was great news that my dad got the job managing his own hotel, but I didn’t like the idea of moving very much, especially to Texas. It seemed just so…far away! I hated the thought of starting over someplace else, having to make new friends, going to a new school, all of it. (I still, to this day, resist change. Ugh, I hate it. But once the change process is over? I’m totally fine.) My dad’s new hotel was the Holiday Inn in Hurst, Texas, just outside of Fort Worth. We moved there in the summer before I…
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The Hotel Diaries: Part Two
Just joining me? Read “The Hotel Diaries: Part One”, here. After working at the Ascot Hotel, my dad got a job at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza, where he was the assistant manager. I really liked this hotel; I thought it was very cool that I had to ride an elevator just to get to the lobby, which was (and still is!) on the fifteenth floor. The lower floors were, I believe, offices and conference rooms, and there were shops at street level. Since my dad wasn’t the Big Cheese at this hotel, my sister and I weren’t yet at the point where we got “whatever we wanted” from the…
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The Hotel Diaries: Part One
Growing up with a Dad who was in the hotel business was pretty awesome. My sister and I were the lucky recipients of certain perks that made our friends pretty envious. I thought I’d share a few hotel stories over the course of a few posts, if you don’t mind, starting with the earliest hotel. Dad was on the management team (I can’t remember for sure but I think he was first the Front Desk Manager and then the Assistant Manager) of the Ascot Hotel on South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, right across the street from Grant Park. The Ascot doesn’t exist under that name anymore, but the building is…
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Thank You. And You. And You.
I’ve been working on something exciting for the last four hours: the Acknowledgments section for my book. It has been difficult for me, not only because there are so many people to thank, and not only because there is no possible way I could list every single one of my friends, and not only because I hope there are no hurt feelings about that fact, and not only because my brain is a jumbled, thankful mess at the moment, but also just because I’m having a hard time editing myself. I mean, I’m just not the type of person who can write, “To so-and-so: thanks for everything!” I have to…
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It’s Likely That The Only Bigger News Would Be That I’m Pregnant.
Bite your tongue. Oh wait, *I* said that. I’m not pregnant, but I am now expecting something this year: the publication of my second book! I know. I can’t believe it myself. I’ve worked on this labor of love since 2005 (with the bulk of it at the top of my priority list for the past two years), and the fact that it will be out there this year totally blows my mind. The last fourteen months have been an interesting (and frustrating) part of this journey. When I sent several proposals out to publishers in November 2009, I proclaimed to the universe how badly I wanted this to happen.…
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When “Sorta” Means “Totally”…
Yesterday was my long day: I now work at the salon from 9:00 a.m.- 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. Yesterday was also the younger boy’s last day of freedom before school started back up again*. Freedom is a great word for it, too: his brother went back to college on Monday, and Jim was back at work. This lucky teenager had the whole house to himself, ALL. DAY. LONG. Being my mother’s daughter, I decided it was only right that I leave him a list of chores to complete. You know, since he had an entire day’s worth of free time and all. I didn’t load him up too much, though:…