Posts Tagged ‘[-intimate-]’

I was so young when I lost my Mom that it’s sometimes a challenge to hold onto the memories. I mostly remember her through stories my Dad and Niles have told me through the years.

Mom always had a way of making life a little more sparkly. Presents would be wrapped in unexpected ways using comic books, photos, feathers, flowers, glitter, balloons — and they’d be hidden or hanging from the ceiling.

On April Fool’s Day she’d send me to school with a cardboard sandwich in my lunchbox, a note written backwards: “yad sloof lirpa yppah” and three yummy desserts.

On Halloween we cooked an entire orange dinner together: pumpkin soup in a carved-out pumpkin, carrot bread, paprika fried chicken and orange popsicles.

A Contest She Knew I’d Win

One of my best memories is our flower planting contest. I think I was about four.  I definitely remember going to the nursery and buying my own gardening gloves with yellow flowers printed on them and picking out a bright yellow watering can and a rake that was just my size. Read the rest of this entry »

basic instinct

Yes, I saw FIFTY SHADES OF GREY and yes, I read the books – all three of them.  Now I’m reading the email alerts and headlines about the almost 70% female audience helping to break records and movie-success-myths.

I’m no movie mogul, but my advice to you if you are is: If you’re “scouring best-seller lists looking to find the next Fifty Shades of Grey,” consider the fact that the “almost 70% Female Audience” might be flocking to the film not because it’s about SEX but because it’s about ROMANCE.  (Wouldn’t the Audience be a higher percentage of Males if the main focus was SEX?)

HOPELESS ROMANTICS

As a female (who likes sex, btw) in the target audience, it seems pretty obvious to me that at the core Fifty Shades is really about a shy, smart girl trying to get a handsome, unattainable guy so she can have her happy ending (the old-fashioned kind, ahaha.)  It’s wish-fulfillment we all can relate to.  I can! Read the rest of this entry »

we’ve all got ’em

Life deals us HUMPS.  No one can escape them. No one gets off scott-free (even Tony Scott of Scott Free.) Some humps are kept hidden — like they were for Robin Williams. Others are out there for all to see — like for Gabby Giffords. Yep, struggles, challenges, humps are part of the human experience. The only alternative to giving up is facing them as best as we can.

Volunteering in the ER is an up-close-and-personal view of humans dealing with humps:  scary tests,  bad news,  challenging outcomes, embarrassing situations, and PAIN: Physical pain, emotional pain and the anxiety of waiting, waiting, waiting which is a pain in the ass. Oh and don’t forget the pain you get in your bank account when the hospital bills arrive… and arrive… and keep on keeping on.

Dealing with Pain —

facing fear

I’m amazed that so many people can handle humps with acceptance, grace and even humor.

Like –

• The 85-year-old grandfather now without quality of life thanks to an operation gone wrong, stuck with two long tubes coming out of his kidneys, rushed into the ER by paramedics after he tried to slit his wrists.  As his daughter tries to explain to police officers interviewing him that he just got bad news, the old man cracks jokes — (“May I borrow your gun to finish the job off?”) (“Not now Dad, they’ll have to lock you up!”)
• The 90-something great grandmother who suddenly discovers she has lung cancer with 3-6 months to live — (“It is what it is, guess I can go off my diet now.”)
• The Teen surfer disappointed when he learns his broken leg will keep him out of the water for the rest of the summer, who suddenly grins at me — (“Think I can drum up some sympathy sex?”)

Read the rest of this entry »

sweet memories

Still feeling jet-lagged and a little devastated after my tearful adiós (well actually adjö) to my summer fling,  Jorgen. Yep, my gorgeous Swedish Architect was just what I needed to temporarily block out unrealistic thoughts of closed-off Dr. Crush, memories of ER screamy-meamies with yucky bodily fluids, and the drought of summer auditions, ugh.

Jorgen taught me about art at Madrid’s Reina Sofia Museum, 70’s architecture and hippie style in Ibiza, and toured me through the Gaudi Cathedral and Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona.

Sipping Spanish wines in between sweet kisses, we dined by candlelight under a gazillion stars in Ibiza, and ran barefoot through the sand under the moonlight (ahhhh…)  And though my stomach had a few issues (I’ll spare you the details) the Spanish food was ultra-fresh in that European way, beautifully assembled and muy delicioso.

First stop, MADRID —

Bar Tomate – Open from 8:30 am till midnight (2 am Thursday, Friday and Saturday) is casual hip and hopping, serving maybe the yummiest tapas I had the entire trip. Maybe my senses were intoxicated because Bar Tomate was where Jorgen and I met (on my first night in Spain.) Then… every night that followed was absolutely dreamy… yes, DREAMY! Read the rest of this entry »

one, two, three, you can do it!

Oh.My.God!

Tonight was epic! Life-altering! Out-of-body!

I witnessed a BIRTH! Not in the movies. Not in my imagination. It was almost in the Hallway! Uh-huh, things were happening that fast!

Rewind —

Earlier on my ER Shift it’s busy-busy — but there are four Volunteers (including Mira and me) so no one seems to mind when I wheel a moaning OB Patient up to Labor and Delivery and never come back.

When Duty calls…

“Red” the OB patient (with ridiculously curly red hair) wobbles in from her Uber, nervous, excited and very much ALONE! In one swift move I grab a wheelchair, plop her into it and ring L & D to let them know we’re on our way up —

In the elevator Red starts blowing in through her nose, out through her mouth –”oooooou, aahhhhh” when the elevator operator asks “When are you due?”

Red’s face scrunches, reddens, she looks like she’s about to burst and WAILS  —

Now—-owwww! Ow-ow-owwwww!

Read the rest of this entry »

Is FOREVER AND EVER a figment of my imagination?

Is he someone I can’t have, so that makes me want him more? Or is he in my heart deeply, purely, completely because we’re meant to be?

Are we just a romantic moment? A true love story? Best friends? Soul mates? Two simply in sync?

Or is he a drug zapping me of sense of time and consequence? Do I experience withdrawal because I’m I addicted to the fantasy?

looking for “the one”

Am I a physical attraction that will fade from his romantic sunset? The chase that’s no longer exciting, once he catches up?

Will he slay dragons and swim through shark infested waters through sickness and frustrating life-sucking situations? Will he stick with me when I get crabby, stomachache-y and emotional monthly? Read the rest of this entry »

what drives you?

What do you thrive on?
What’s the air that you breathe?
What needs to be part of the mix, to keep you interested?

In ACTING we figure out our character’s “Motivation.” Have you ever tried that exercise in real life with the people you know? Have you ever tried it with yourself?

APPRECIATION
Mira, my good-karma gal-pal at the ER, will do anything and everything, as long as it’s appreciated.  She thrives on smiles, “thank you,” and people who say, “you’re an angel” (even when she’s not wearing wings). But take her for granted, and she’s instantly over it – ready to move on— done, NEXT!

LOVE
There’s an Actress in one of my Acting Classes (I can’t name-drop) who is always falling in love. Se throws herself completely into each and every new relationship. Sometimes her love connections last two years, sometimes two weeks. But no matter what, she’s never discouraged in her search for a soul mate. She’s certain he’s out there. She’s so totally open to “romantic possibility” and baggage-free, I envy her. Read the rest of this entry »