life

The next time.

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Last week, a former coworker of mine, Regina, passed away from breast cancer. She was 34. I can’t say that we were especially close, but we were more than acquaintances. Friendly acquaintances, I guess. After I moved away from NYC, I saw her once when I visited and we exchanged Facebook messages as recently as a couple of years ago. By that time, I knew she had been diagnosed but was improving. She invited me to her walks and events, and I watched the “Rally for Regina” messages and photos pour in through Facebook. I got updates on her through our mutual friend every so often, but I had no idea that her condition had become so dire.

So when I got the email about her passing, I was surprised and sad. We tend to say typical things when someone dies: “She was kind.” “She had the biggest smile and the biggest heart.” “She was the life of the party.” “She would do anything for anyone.” But, really, Regina was all of those things. I can still hear her booming laugh and voice as clear as day, five years later. The tragedy of Regina’s passing didn’t truly hit me until this morning, when I read her obituary. I remembered that we were fellow Geminis, and bonded to some degree over that. But when I saw her birthdate, it came into focus — I am exactly one year and five days older than Regina. That’s how much more time I’ve been allotted. Continue reading →

Obsessions: Pinning!

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It’s been awhile since I’ve had a true obsession. But it’s back. The grip has once again taken hold.

I. can’t. stop. pinning.

On Pinterest, that is.

I remember the exact moment I learned of this thing called Pinterest. I was at a holiday party, and one of the girls was trying to describe to us how to tie a winter scarf in some innovative way she’d seen online.

“Wait,” she said, and sat down at the computer to pull up the photo entitled “50 ways to tie a scarf.”

We oohed and aahhed and gazed at the screen in amazement.

“It’s on Pinterest,” she explained.

And so began my downfall.

After waiting a couple of weeks to “be invited” after requesting access to the site, I signed on. And once I got the iPhone it was all over — I can pin from anywhere. In line at the grocery store. While watching television. Before going to bed. At my desk. At a stoplight. During dinner. In the middle of a conversation. (No, I really was looking up that website while I was talking to you. I promise. Sort of. Ok, not really.)

What is this whole Pinterest thing, you may be asking yourself?

Such goodness awaits you! And you don’t even know!

Pinterest is an online bulletin board of sorts — where you can electronically “pin” your “interests” from websites and from other users. Like Facebook and Twitter, you “follow” people, so you can review pins from your friends or others you’ve decided to follow. Or you can break off on your own like a rebel and “explore” what other Pinterest users may have found. Or you can even be a trailblazer and pin your own items from websites you visit — if the site doesn’t already have a built-in Pinterest button to make that easy, you can download a “Pin it!” item that goes into your browser menu. Makes it a snap.

Well, you won’t believe the cool stuff I’ve found. Great photographs of places I want to travel, neat ideas for craft and DIY projects, all kinds of inspiration in home decor, and food. THE FOOD! Seriously beautiful food porn photos of delectable sweets, creative appetizers, refreshing drinks, luscious entrees and inventive casserole and crock pot creations.

Here are a few of my recent Pinterest favorites:

  1. Cupcake liners as drink covers: punch a hole in a cupcake liner, turn upside down, stick a straw through and, voila!, you protect your drinks from bugs during outside, summer parties. Well, duh. Sometimes Pinterest can make me feel so stupid.
  2. Mexican casserole: Mix together some cream cheese, salsa verde, rice, canned beans and chicken, roll up in tortillas, cover in more salsa verde and cheese, then bake. Crazy delicious.
  3. Organize your drawers: double fold t-shirts and pants, and stack them vertically to save space and allow you to see what you own. Again, duh. I actually did this in my drawers, and my life will never be the same. No more rifling through a 10-layer deep pile of t-shirts to find the one I sort of remember wearing last summer.
  4. Fantastically breathtaking photos, of my favorite places, or places I want to see.
  5. And, the best for last. Mongolian Beef: in the style of P.F. Chang’s, this dish has only a few ingredients, was a cinch to make and is literally one of the best things I’ve ever cooked. It’s ridiculous. I froze then slightly thawed my meat so I could shave off the thinnest pieces. Try it, you won’t be sorry.

Then there’s so much else that awaits. Like red velvet cheesecake brownies, nutella hot chocolate, salted caramel cheesecake and this incredible chocolate cake concoction.

Bestill my heart.

**Beware of spam, it’s on Pinterest too. If you click through to a website and it looks funny, it was probably a dummy photo to lure you to some spammish website. Quickly close.

Life with a scaredy cat. Um, dog.

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I don’t know about all of you but it’s been storming here like crazy. Thunderstorms every day at 4:00 p.m.

Not that I’m complaining, because it must be keeping Charlotte out of The Great Drought of 2012 that’s gripping the rest of the country. And I do love a good thunderstorm. (When inside though, not running through it with sopping shoes and clinging, wet hair while lightning cracks above me and hail pounds the pavement. Hey, we’ve all been there at some point.)

It’s been raining cats and dogs, you could say, which brings me to Oliver.

Oh, Oliver, love of my life. (Sorry, Raleigh). He came to me at a time when I needed something and someone to take care of, and though he keeps me on my toes (and money flying out of my purse), he’s made life funnier, more joyful and so full. I love coming home to his wiggly, crazed-with-energy little body, and I love snuggling with him while watching TV or going to bed.

(As I type this he is fully laid out across my lap, holding one of my arms nearly immobile in a way that makes typing difficult and pushing the laptop away with his sprawled limbs. Apparently I am inconveniencing him.)

He can be sweet and loving, and he can be an emotionally unpredictable handful. Either way, he’s worth it.
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It's a small world after all.

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Small-world coincidences always throw me for a loop. I don’t know why. I suppose it’s that it seems outrageous that in this world of nearly 7 billion people, we can be connected across cities, states and continents, that the theory of six degrees of separation is true. Maybe I’m way too independent and comfortable with anonymity, and such connections are a tap-on-the-shoulder, wake-up call that I’m really not as detached as I think.

But they’re also neat when they happen.

For example.

Meet Dave.

Dave and I worked together at my first job in NYC — along with fellow hard working, hard playing 20-somethings who were taking the NYC PR scene by storm (so we thought). The lines between life and work constantly blurred, which brought an inordinant amount of drama, as you can imagine. But it also forged possibly life-long friendships. I was on the periphery of the main, inner circle: friendly with everyone, invited to the parties, but since I was younger (and more junior), I was slightly removed.
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Making God laugh.

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Pardon this interruption in the middle of the London recap, but I heard the best story today.

For the past two months I’ve been training to take over duties for a coworker while she’s out on maternity leave. We are kindred souls in that she’s a details person and a planner just like me, though she might take organization and scheduling to a whole new level. In the middle of our training sessions, we’d stop to chat about her daughter-to-be, Kayla, and all the cute gifts and clothes she’d just received at  another baby shower. As the due date approached, the nursery was painted lavender, the toys were cataloged and the pink onesies and polka dot sundresses were arranged in the closet … everything in place to await Kayla’s arrival.

I was a little worried that my coworker would go into labor while I was in London, but Kayla decided to be late. She was born on Wednesday night, which is joyous news … except that she is a boy, and her name is Michael. With all of our prenatal technology in 2012, including multiple exams and ultrasounds — even in 3-D! — it turns out that we can still be surprised in life.

My mom always says that if you want to make God laugh, go ahead and make your own plans. Well, I think he got a big belly rumbler out of this one.

Hot town, summer in the city.

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I don’t know if you are aware, but the city I live in is quite happenin’ right now. Yes, as of 2012, Charlotte is officially “on the map.”

I mean, it’s already home to Bank of America headquarters, whose front door has been on the news every night for the last four years, and who’s constantly in the running for “most hated company in America.”
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Over my dead body.

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I’m nearing the end of another one of those crazy periods in life, full of stress and errands and little sleep. Which, with the dust storm and the new job and some unexpected medical issues of Oliver’s, is probably understandable. (Oh, how quickly I forgot those fleeting days of retirement.) And last weekend was the culmination, the prime reason I had cleaned for weeks and shopped and chewed all my fingernails off.  I graduated from business school.

My family descended on my barely-cleaned home to witness my walking across a stage in a cap and gown one more time and to celebrate such an accomplishment. It was three and a half long, yet still quick, years in the making, and during the weekend I reflected often on the friends I’d made, the classes and people who made me want to pull my hair out, the lessons I’d learned, those stressful times where I’d barely known my own name, my South Africa trip, and ultimately all the fun I’d had. It’s the end of an era, which is always bittersweet.

The best news is that, while it was unnaturally hot in early May, it was my first graduation ceremony ever that wasn’t affected by rain. At my high school graduation, the downpour on the coliseum’s tin roof completely drowned out all the speakers. And the douse of big, fat rain over the outdoor stadium before college graduation just made everyone mad and uncomfortable. So, it was a miracle that we had a clear, if a bit steamy, day this time. And all the scheduling went smoothly — everyone arrived on time and was able to secure decent seating, I didn’t trip over my robe or otherwise embarrass myself and dinner was a big hit.
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Living the high life.

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My friend Melanie once told me that, being a Gemini, I can easily find myself bored. That I constantly need stimulation — people to see, places to go, projects to do. Now, I am a person who relishes laying around watching TV for 15 hours, but it’s true that I thrive with structure and purpose and fall into slovenly behavior when those are absent.

Well, it’s officially been 7 weeks since the layoff and I haven’t been bored once. I’ve actually been enjoying my mini-retirement, keeping a schedule and even tiring myself out with all that I need to accomplish. It makes me wonder how I survived when 40+ hours of my week were claimed elsewhere — did I sleep? Did I have a social life? Did I ever carry through on anything? And let’s not even think about the MBA I somehow completed.

The past few weeks have been incredibly full — I’ve had uproarious dinners/lunches/brunches out with friends, I’ve volunteered my time to good causes, I’ve stayed in touch with my b-school folks and prepared for graduation in a few weeks. Keep reading »

Suffering the effects of too much sleep.

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This morning I awoke at 5:16 a.m. As I type this, it is now 7:02 a.m., an hour at which I try never to willingly be awake, unless it is pre-slumber.

I have to confess that I may have buried the lead in my post a few weeks ago — I alluded to some earth-shattering news I had received just before I was to go out of town for the weekend. Well, I was laid off from a job I’d held for two days shy of 7 months. In truth it was a relief, since it was just not the right fit … an absolute square peg in round hole. But, it’s the first time I have ever left a job not of my own volition: clean out your desk, hand in your badge, leave when you’re done, the whole bit.

It’s been a rough past four years in our workforce, so I know my story isn’t unique or special. I also understand that it had nothing to do with me personally or my performance — the cuts are wide and deep for everyone. But the immediacy of such a turn of events … arriving at work expecting to spend your day/week/month/year a certain way … to have that yanked from you is quite jarring. On the plus side, it was clearly a “meant to be” for me — I wasn’t happy spending 40 hours of my week or life that way, and my family obviously needed me over the ensuing weeks. Now that drama has cleared, and I’m staring at an unknown, yet wide open, future. What in the world do I want to be when I grow up?

(If you figure it out, let me know?)
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Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth.

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I was watching television on Saturday afternoon when I heard some sirens that sounded a bit louder than those we hear from the main roads. I wondered, but didn’t think much about it. About 30 minutes later, Oliver and I went out for a walk. As we climbed the hill up to the main street, there they were:  at least five fire engines, three police cars and countless onlookers.

One of my neighbor’s homes was on fire, seemingly from the furnace in the attic. I felt really uncomfortable about obviously gawking at it, so we walked around the back way to another courtyard, where I ran into some neighbors I knew. That put me in direct view of the fire, though, from about 50 yards away. Disaster clearly brings people together, as I met at least five more neighbors standing there. One even brought out snacks while we all watched the firemen try to save the house.

The whole time I had a really sick feeling thinking about the family that lives there. I don’t know them directly, but I’ve heard about them and know neighbors in common. I suspect they were the ones huddled with another group in chairs on the lawn immediately in front of the house. Fire is just about my worst fear — so much so that I often run back upstairs (and even turn the car around) if I think I might have left the iron, the stove, the coffee pot on. So to watch my neighbors’ home be destroyed was gut-wrenching. I steered Oliver toward home, but stopped to talk to another, elderly neighbor who had come outside to watch. I was turned away from the home, until she exclaimed, “Oh, there it goes!” The entire roof was seriously ablaze, and flames were shooting out of the attic vents, threatening even to jump to the roof next door. That was it — more than I could take, and we headed back to the safety of our own home. Keep reading »