Last Thursday, I was on a cross-country flight from EWR-SFO. Less than a third of the way into the flight, somewhere over Indiana, the unthinkable happened: my sweet, charming boy had become the vomiting preschooler. In an instant, we went from being the subject of smiles and waves to being that nightmare in-flight story. By…
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Tags: apologize, apology, crisis, douglas adams, empathy, flight, hhgttg, hitchhiker's guide, Kindle, panic, Toyota, travel
Traveling with a 3-year-old son creates unique complications. I had tons of downtime in the hotel at afternoon naptime and after he was in bed at 8:00 p.m., but I was confined to the hotel room because there’s nobody else to watch him. Add to this the fact that Philadelphia rolled out the red carpet with…
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As I look at the date of my last training post — May 8! — I wonder how 10 days have passed so quickly. I have been training plenty, although not in the last two days while I’ve been traveling solo with the boy. Some highlights from the past week: Three kickboxing classes, including the…
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When you start with a 6:30 run and end it with an 11:30 phone call home, it makes for a very long day. Some highlights from Sunday: After Google Maps listed only Starbucks locations that were behind locked doors in office buildings, I assumed that I would have to order room service to get a…
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A couple of weeks ago, I had a fairly successful (read: balanced) trip to Chicago. I ran every morning and stopped at Starbucks for oatmeal, a much healthier start to the day than a giant pastry from the continental breakfast. Because of the success of that plan, I decided to scope out the nearest Starbucks…
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It has been an unusual week. I don’t know when the professional karma pendulum swung my way, but I received more requests for proposals in the past week than I did in the six months prior. And these aren’t just returning clients; a full two-thirds of them are new clients referred by existing clients. I’m…
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It was a 100% work-free day (with the exception of the time I spent jotting down ideas into an email on my iPhone at the A’s game… yes, I have problems). Every Sunday I wake up with the intention of going to kickboxing at 9:00. The problem with that plan is that it interferes with…
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Tags: 40 days, balance, baseball, books, coffee, death, kickboxing, Peet's, reading, tea, travel
It’s not easy to take care of yourself on a business trip, and this one was no exception. But the weather in Chicago was gorgeous — 80 degrees! In April! — which made sunrise runs seem a little more reasonable. I woke at 6:00 AM both days and found myself sharing Lakefront Trail with hundreds…
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Tags: 40 days, Chicago, conference, family, healthcare, Larabar, nutrition, pilates, running, Starbucks, workout
Coming to the PRSA Health Academy conference in Chicago was a mostly last-minute decision, but I decided that as long as I could get a cheap flight (thank you, Southwest) and a decent price on my hotel room, it would be worth it. The conference is being hosted at the Hilton Suites near the Magnificent…
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There should be more weekends, or maybe just longer ones. There’s nothing quite like a weekend — even one that involves work — to reset your perspective on things. I’ve been juggling furniture all weekend long. My son’s new “big boy” bedroom furniture arrived on Friday, requiring a complete clear-out of his old furniture (given…
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Tags: Chicago, Creative Freelancer Conference, dyana valentine, farmer's market, Freelancer Forum, furniture, Ilise Benun, lymphoma, office, organization, pilates, PRSA, storage