Archive for Sip and Go Girl

Death And Memory: Kriss Kross Makes You Jump

13 May 2013 / / One comment

Why do we connect with celebrities’ deaths?

It’s the memory the famous people stir within us.

This question popped up when my cell phone signaled an incoming text this week. The phone is set up to receive breaking news text alerts from NBC News and from one of the TV stations where I used to work.

Chris Kelly (aka Mac Daddy) of the 1990s rap group Kriss Kross had died. They were best known for their 1992 song “Jump.”

My dance class was preparing to leave after our practice and I told everyone “Hey one of the guys from Kriss Kross died!”

Each dancer and the teacher looked at me blankly. No one had heard of Kriss Kriss. I then began to, of course, jump jump and to sing the song.

Still they gazed at me blankly.

Poor Mac Daddy. He’s dead way too young.

Within hours, coincidentally, my friend and TV news colleague Mike went on to Facebook to give what he described as a rant.
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Say Goodbye And Thank You

7 May 2013 / / One comment

Saying goodbye and thanking people is so important that I actually become anxious when I don’t do it.

My 2nd grade teacher at the Seattle-area school I attended was named Mrs. Haydon. She was smart and thoughtful. She encouraged me scholastically and I represented the entire 2nd grade during a school-wide spelling bee. Most of all, she exposed me to different cultures. Mrs. Haydon’s family was Japanese.

Mrs. Haydon’s second grade class in the Seattle, WA area. Sip and Go Girl is in pic.

I didn’t like doing art projects in general, but we did neat crafts in her class. We put a pile of wet ink on white and pink paper and by blowing gently threw a straw, I would watch the ink flow and wiggle into delicate and graceful shapes.

I loved Mrs. Haydon. She was so unique.
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If You Got Up, You Can Get Down

6 May 2013 / / 2 comments

People worry about cats stuck in trees. But, really, have you ever found a feline skeleton dangling from a branch? No. They find their way back to the ground.

When I first moved to my current apartment, my cat Saffron adapted quickly. He spent a few days crawling in and out from under the bed to nap and hide, but it was just a tiny bit of time before he was staring out windows and watching birds.

Saffron checking out plants on the balcony in March 2011

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One Thing That Won’t Impress The Ladies

30 April 2013 / / One comment

My friend and TV news colleague Mike has advice for the men seeking to impress the women:

You want to impress your date? Be a gentleman. Treat her like a lady. Be chivalrous. Compliment her. Don’t be a douche and try to pull stupid stunts.

Here’s the news story that sparked Mike’s wise words on Facebook:
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A Single Moment

29 April 2013 / / One comment

I logged into Facebook this week and read words in the newsfeed that made my heart pound heavy in my chest. Tears sprang into my eyes.

My graduate school colleague Lanette lost her middle child Ian in a car crash. The Texas A&M student was killed as he headed home to Austin.

Everything can all change in a single moment, my friends. One moment.
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Falling In Love On The First Date

23 April 2013 / / One comment

Going on a date is not a big deal. And it bugs me when people make it a big deal.

It’s a gathering of two people to talk and see if there’s a romantic spark or at least the ability to tolerate each other enough to do it again. It’s not an occasion to send out a press release.

Those who think the first date is a HUGE deal are on their way to Taylor Swift Town. This is the “town” where people get way too invested in the outcome of the date and make the relationship a bigger deal than it needs to be.

Please stop singing about someone you barely dated, Taylor Swift. You’re making dating seem like a HUGE deal.

I was reading message boards in the last couple months as singer and songwriter Taylor Swift started getting a lot of press coverage for her autobiographical songs that focus on some man (or boy) who she supposedly dated.
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Tales From Sip And Go Girl: “Scotty”

22 April 2013 / / Comments Off on Tales From Sip And Go Girl: “Scotty”

One gentleman featured in a Tale From Sip and Go Girl entered my life as the subject of a television news story I wrote and produced.

Scotty was a military veteran. I had heard about his work fixing cars and donating them to vets in need. I was in charge of a series of stories in which I would profile people doing good deeds. I did an interview with Scotty, wrote the story, and it aired during a newscast. I actually was so impressed with his mission that when my own car died and was unfixable, I donated it to his organization three months later.
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It’s My Birthday And I’ll Be Happy If I Want To

22 April 2013 / / 8 comments

The last two years, I have had special birthdays. In 2011, the celebration lasted two weeks. I received a surprise party, a work party, cards and gifts including a scuba dive tool (aka knife I strap to my leg like a pirate). Later that month there was a huge birthday dinner during a scuba dive trip. Then on the boat, my fellow divers dumped chocolate syrup and masa flour over my head. I smelled DELICIOUS.

Last year, my sister Renee’ and her husband Eric took me to Las Vegas for dancing, ziplines, yummy food, and good times.

This year, I had nothing planned. And the best thing was that I didn’t care. In the past, I would have been sad and lonely about that fact. I would have taken my lack of plans as a sign that no one cared.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYJyVEUaC4

Oh how silly of me to think that. I realize now the only person responsible for me is me.
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Life, Death, And A Calling

16 April 2013 / / 6 comments

The letterhead from a Giffords press release

The deadly explosions at the Boston Marathon triggered my memories of another horrible tragedy that killed a child, injured dozens, and stopped a community cold.

January 8, 2011.

This was the day of the shootings at a Tucson, Arizona grocery store.

That was also the day Sip and Go Girl began materializing because I felt a calling toward more writing and also focusing on communication and relationships.

I was sitting in a Starbucks paying bills and reading when a customer walked to the counter, ordered a drink, and told the worker there had been a shooting at Ina and Oracle.

I paid little attention but marked the words.
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People Love Their Little House On The Prairie

15 April 2013 / / 4 comments

Melissa Gilbert gets makeup. Courtesy: Bryan Pierson

It’s not often that an article on www.sipandgogirl.com starts an obsession, but apparently people love their Little House On the Prairie.

The Ingalls family in real life spent several years living in Minnesota. I was born in Minnesota along with countless family members going back to the 19th century.
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