Valentine’s Day Irony
When I filed for divorce, my then-husband signed papers that released him from having to appear in court. I appeared before the judge by myself and she finalized the divorce. It turns out that I can divorce my husband that way, but to separate our AT&T cell phone...
Second Blog!
As of today, I'm the proud owner of two blogs. Some say blogs are over, but I think people have just changed the way they consume them. It used to be that people subscribed to a blog and read everything posted on it. Now apps or newsletters deliver links to various...
Feeling the Bern
Yes, I'm glad Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire Democratic primary. I plan to vote for him in the Illinois primary on March 15th because I'm a leftist hot-head and I tend to back the candidate who is the farthest left. What Bernie has said about universal health...
I’m 49 1/2
Next July 24th will be my 50th birthday. It falls on a Sunday, which is actually the day I was born back in 1966. I considerately arrived in the daytime, so my birth didn't wake anyone up or keep anyone awake into the night. I admit that I made my parents miss church...
Gray Rhinos
Now that I'm an entrepreneur, I do a lot of networking and meet brand new people every single week. Last week I met a woman whose book is about to come out called The Gray Rhino: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore. Michele Wucker has intrigued...
“Young lady??”
I was waiting for the bus and struck up a conversation with one of those men who stands with a kiosk of brochures about God, life and whatever religion he is. He was an African-American gentleman who looked like he was in his late 50s or so, and he addressed me as...
Discouraged
In the fall I began a business that provides services to non-native English speakers who came to the U.S. as adults. I help with communication skills, American social skills and American business culture. It's going well, but any new business takes considerable...
Post-Holiday Peace
After my year of austerity (drastically reduced sugar, dairy and grains), I totally indulged last week when I visited familia in Houston, Texas. I ate cookies and cupcakes and pie. I also had grain-y foods like pancakes and tamales because I wanted to take a break...
Houston International Airport, 27 Dec 2015
I think what I like about being at an airport is that it's a kind of limbo. Right now I'm at IAH, where I was booked on a 7:28p flight back to Chicago O'Hare Airport. Instead, I'm now waiting for a 10:45p flight because my other one was canceled. So I sit, pace, eat a...
Review of The Lyric Opera’s Bel Canto
In 2012, work began on the impressive challenge of turning Ann Patchett's novel Bel Canto into a staged, modern opera. Now Bel Canto is playing at the Lyric Opera through January 17, 2016. I heard about it at the beginning of December and, even though I'd never been...
The Shine Is off Christmas for Me
Now that I spend more time with people who weren't born in the U.S, I see American culture differently. I'm fascinated by the things such people identify as being good and bad about us. I have new appreciation for our American never-say-die attitude and the way we're...
"Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"
[I originally posted this January 5, 2006.] What's Christmas without tradition? The Christmas tradition for my blog is the annual posting of my summary of the History Channel's Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas. I find it extremely relevant to the annual...