Category Archives: pure gold


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Face Lift

The theme for the last thirty days was travel and reinvention.

I visited my family in Massachusetts for the Thanksgiving holiday and my niece’s baptism. Cousins I hadn’t seen in years guest-starred in the holiday festivities. It was fantastic.

It also got me thinking about family and how I can better balance my desire for independence, my guilt for ‘abandoning’ them, and my longing to play a larger role in their lives. I haven’t reached a perfect plan, but I’m working on it.

After five fun-filled days of family love, I returned to DC and focused on work. I managed press at two big events, edited a newsletter and finished a direct-mail piece.

I also started dissecting how I spend my time and reevaluating my priorities. When I’m in ‘work-mode’ — it’s all about the client, the job and deadlines. And when an assignment is completed, I’m all about celebrating and fooling around.

Same goes for exercising – I’m either all about the workout… or completely M.I.A. from the gym. There is no happy medium, only extremes.

So I took a break from contemplating life changes and squeezed in a trip to Manhattan – all play and distraction.

Christmas focused on the baby. Little kids make the holiday so much better. I was in heaven, rocking my 6-month old niece to sleep in my lap. I spent a small fortune on presents this year…. but like my mom always says, “you only live once.”

In the midst of all the festivities and travel and frantic last-minute shopping, I found time to do a little winter cleaning and give the ol’ blog a facelift.

I hope you all enjoyed a memorable holiday and are looking forward to the new year. I’ll be with a few friends at an intimate soiree this New Year’s Eve — a welcome change from the usual crowded black-tie bash.

What do you have planned for New Year’s Eve?


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I had a secret

Giorgio’s

This tiny unassuming pizza joint made the best grilled chicken salad on Earth. That’s right – on the entire planet.

I’m addicted to Giorgio’s grilled chicken salads. Two, three times a week, I’d call in my order for pickup.

One grilled chicken salad, no olives, extra peppers.

My mouth is watering just thinking of it.

Two weeks ago Giorgio’s closed. I think. The number rings and rings. But it doesn’t look like they’re closed. There isn’t an official sign that says they’re gone forever. Cans of soda still sit in the refrigerators along the back wall.

It’s like everyone went on vacation for two weeks. And forgot to tell the neighbors a.k.a. customers.

But it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t get my salad.

Now I’ve tried others. I ordered the Shanghai chicken salad from Cosi – which was alright. I went into DC Cafe and ordered their version of the grilled chicken salad, only to be sourly disappointed. I’ve tried California Pizza Kitchen and Bertucci’s.

Then I went upscale… to Levante’s, to Daily Grill, to Spezie. But alas, none compare to Giorgio’s.

To all the Washingtonians out there…… can anyone recommend a place to get a good grilled chicken salad?


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Fragments of a night out

spy museum

I drifted in and out of sleep from about 3:30 a.m. til the phone rang at 10:00 a.m. It was Casey, my best friend.

“You were in rare form last night.”

“Well good morning to you too.”

“You grabbed some guy on the sidewalk and dragged him to the Irish Channel.”

“WHAT?!!?!!”

“Don’t you remember?”

<MALA groans into pillow and tries to disentangle self from sheets>

“Wait – we met him at DC Chophouse.”

“We weren’t at the Chopper.”

“Oh yeah… we were. We went there after Poste. And then it all gets a little hazy.”

“Well, you met that guy Daniel on the street.”

“HOW did I just meet some guy on the sidewalk?”

“Not sure… he came out of the MCI Center…. some game.”

“Did I give him my number?”

“Uhhhhhh… yeah you did – Hahaha – but you wrote it down with the spy pen.”

“Invisible ink? And he didn’t notice?”

“You folded the napkin into a tiny square and we ditched him before we got to Fado.”

<Groans loudly as memories from Fado flood murky mind>

“Your brother’s friends were all there.”

“Oh yeah.”

“We acted like asses.”

“We went dancing at midnight.”

<GASPS>

“I blame it all on those martinis at Zola.”

“Right. So. What’s on deck for tonight?”


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Idle hands are the devil’s tools

apocalypse

The phone has been ringing off the hook all day. My poor mom is convinced that these are the end of times.

Today has been especially stressful.

The first phone call came in at 8:00 a.m. I just assumed it was some family emergency. She never, ever phones me that early unless there’s some sort of bad news.

“I don’t have to work today,” she says.

“Well, ummmmmmmm, that’s good ma,” I say, as I stuff reports and steno pads into my big black bag.

“Don’t you want to know why I don’t have to work today?”

Uh oh – did she get laid off? Was the car totalled? Did she win last night’s lottery?

“Ummmm… is everything okay?” I ask.

“A ten-foot wall of water is coming our way. So they figured it would be best if everyone stayed home,” she replied. My mom was refering to the wooden Whittenton Pond Dam . Because of all the extra rainfall in the northeast, the poor dam is about to burst.

“Well mom, I hope you enjoy your day off. I’ve got to run,” I said. “Love you.”

Not three hours later I get another hysterical phone call.

“Have you heard about Baltimore?” she asked in greeting.

“No mom, what’s going on in Baltimore?” I ask as I type “Baltimore” into the Google search.

“There’s a terrorist threat. They’re closing everything,” she replies as I pull up the first story about the tunnel closings. “You’re not safe.”

“Mom, I live in DC, not Baltimore.”

“You go there for baseball games.”

“It’s FORTY MINUTES AWAY.”

“Close enough. If it’s a nuclear weapon, ABC said forty minutes was close enough.”

I sigh. There is no arguing with a mother’s logic.

“Mom, I’ve got to go. I have an important lunch appointment.”

“Okay, call me tonight.”

I sigh repeatedly.

An hour later. It’s her again.

“Why don’t you come up to Massachusetts for a visit?” she asks. “You can leave right now.”

“Mom – you need to turn off CNN and step away from the television. Listen to yourself. Get a grip. You want me to leave my perfectly safe city, to travel towards a terrorist threat, in traffic backed up all the way to Maine, so I can finally pull into the driveway only to find the entire neighborhood drowned in ten feet of water.”

Silence.

“Goodbye mom.”

“Don’t forget to call me tonight………”


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Happy Birthday

 birthday

My birthdays have always been a time for reflection. Usually I think about all I didn’t get to the year before and move those items to “the list of things I want to accomplish this year.”

But last year was different. I started a company. I became an auntie. I traveled with my grandmother to our homeland and learned much of what it means to be a part of my family.

I learned about what it means to be ME.

So I’m starting from scratch with this year’s “Things to Accomplish List”:

1. Travel more

2. Write daily

3. Cherish family and friends

4. Save some cash

5. Love more

That’s it. That’s my big plan for year 33.


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Oh my aching head

headache

Some of you were curious and wanted an update. It’s been two weeks since my last cigarette and gulp of caffeine.

The first three days were awful because of the headaches… a dull throb that lasted all day. The first few nights I popped a Tylenol PM to fall asleep. By day four I was considering drinking a can of Diet Coke or grabbing a cup of coffee when the headache miraculously disappeared.

So then I started craving cigarettes… all psychological mind you. Just about everyone smokes in DC so I’ve had to change my habits quite a bit. I’ve been avoiding bars like the plague. Instead of meeting friends out for a cocktail, I’ve talked them into going to Teaism or catching a live performance at the Kennedy Center.

Last Friday, I did go out for a happy hour with work colleagues. I had one drink and left. I knew if I stayed I’d swivel in my seat and ask one of the three gentlemen smoking behind me if I could bum a cigarette off them.

And I don’t want to do that because I’ve been so good.

Quitting cold turkey isn’t for everyone, but it’s worked for me. The caffeine withdrawal was brutal… but the headaches only lasted three days. And I’m hoping by November, I’ll be able to stroll into my old haunts and not be bothered at all by the folks smoking around me.

Good luck and best wishes to those of you thinking of quitting a vice or in the process of quitting.


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Quitter

smoking

I woke up today and decided to eliminate all caffeine and nicotine.

Cold turkey.

Not that I’m a huge smoker…. more like a few Marlboro Ultra Lights when I’m out with friends or grabbing a Pumpkin Spice latte from Starbucks. But I have been a social smoker since college. A long time – too long.

Now the caffeine is an issue. I usually drink two to three tall/large/venti cafe lattes or cappuccinos per day AND a few cans of Diet Coke for good measure. My body runs on caffeine.

So here goes nothing.