Bemused
C’mon. Admit it. You wanted to be a rock star. Is there anyone on this planet who hasn’t at some point fantasized about how he or she would look on stage in skin tight pants made of material that ought not to be worn by any human, all while perfecting the art of strumming eighth notes on the guitar?
Rollergirl
I’ve never been good at sports. I’m just not athletic at all. But there was a time when I thought I had found my one athletic talent.It all started at a roller skating rink in New Jersey. It was in the early 80s and fluorescents were all the rage in the world of fashion. Michael Jackson had just begun his ascent to becoming The King of Pop and Steve Perry was trying to make a name for himself as a solo artist (yes, I'm old).
Reservations for One
Maybe someday soon there will be vacation packages for singles, the snowman will return as our beloved holiday mascot and maybe, just maybe, “working people” will become the new political catch phrase.
MisMatch.com
This is the first edition of my ongoing report about online dating woes. But before I continue, I should admit that I met my boyfriend of a year online. I had given up on the whole online romance thing. In fact, I think I had just about given up on romance entirely. However, after being somewhat coerced by a friend of mine (to whom I will owe a lifetime of favors should my relationship work out), I finally struck gold.
Ground Rules for Gluten Free Living
A few years ago, I won an entrepreneurship competition and launched a gluten-free “Pi” business, defined as anything that had an outer shell and a filling. That business didn’t survive, but the collective wisdom of its founders did.Converting your home kitchen so that is safe for gluten-free eaters may seem daunting.
Betty Has the Ball
A couple of months ago I went to visit with my family to celebrate the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah. While I was visiting for the Rosh Hashanah holiday I was able to go watch my friend’s daughter in her soccer match. I showed up expecting to join a crowd of adults who couldn't wait to cheer on the fearless little athletes.
Disability Policy
CDC reports from 2005 indicate that roughly 22% of Americans had a disability, and disability-related costs for medical care and lost productivity exceeded $300B. The most common cause of disability is arthritis or rheumatism (MMWR, 2005). These disease categories typically do not produce visible signs of a disability and individuals suffering from them do not benefit from standard structural work accommodations.
Managing Managed Care
A few years ago, I sat down with a friend of mine who was faced with a perplexing problem. After years of battling Lupus and a host of other health complications, which prevented her from being able to find regular employment, she found a promising new job. But there was one problem: she was going to earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. So she asked me to take a look at the plan that was being offered by her new employer to help her determine if it was manageable, or to see if we could find a better option. As I met with her, I found myself using terminology that wasn’t familiar to her, and I was reminded that the vocabulary I learned after years of advocating for myself isn’t something that is part of our regular vernacular. After all, our insurance system isn’t exactly user-friendly.
Ode to Cookies
There’s a reason Cookie Monster was my favorite Sesame Street character when I was a kid. As a child, I hated eating. I just never had an appetite. (Oh, how things have changed!!) As a result, I often resorted to eating junk food because it was the only thing I could stomach. Except that I couldn’t really, because I always had an upset stomach. My parents once cautioned me that if I continued my junk food diet, there would come a day when my body – that was already fragile – would revolt. And that day came.
