I have always felt uncomfortable with my name – Nelly. It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, it’s hard to understand over the phone, it’s almost always misspelled (is that with a Y or IE?) and people often think I am an 80-year-old white grandmother. And don’t even get me started on “Little House on […]
Posted inMile-High Club
Where my gays at?
My transition from downtown Chicago journalist to suburban Chicago consultant has been relatively smooth so far, but there are things I’ll always miss about working in a newsroom and being in the Loop, so to speak. One of those things? Gays. Visible, out-and-proud, urban-dwelling homos. Men in freshly pressed Ben Sherman shirts and women in, […]
Posted inPluck
Confessions of a mother faker
I have spent a considerable portion of my life feeling like a faker. Sometimes I do it professionally as a performer, and other times just recreationally, like when I administer my own creative haircuts, or plan the garden based on feelings rather than appropriate growing seasons or a reasonable understanding of space. In both categories, […]
Posted inPluck
No baby penises allowed
My buddy, Allison, and her son, who’s about Teddy’s age, lives in Hyde Park. Allison and I were pregnancy buddies, meeting through a friend when we were just in our first trimester, and since then, we’ve hung out nearly once a week, with babies both in utero and out. Yesterday, we decided to take the […]
Posted inEssays Archive
For the love of Coffee
I’ve always thought I had a great last name. It’s Coffee. Like the drink (or as some say, like the bean.) Growing up, the kids would try to tease me about my name, but I remember scoffing at them because their jokes were never, ever original. I figured if you’re gonna make fun of someone, […]
Posted inEssays Archive
Why We Combined Our Last Names
When my husband and I got married, neither of us automatically assumed that I would take his last name. We are both progressive thinkers with rebellious tendencies, and the whole idea of the woman sacrificing her identity for the sake of patriarchy didn’t sit well. Plus, I liked my last name and there was something […]
Posted inMile-High Club
Viva media diversity
Greetings from fabulous Las Vegas! I wish I could claim that I’ve spent my time here Cirque du Soleil hopping with showgirls, but I’ve actually spent the last four days looking at the same four, beige walls. I know, I know, woe is me. This is a work trip, of sorts. I’m volunteering for the […]
Posted inReviews
‘Ruby Sparks’ weaves magical tale of 1 imperfect writer’s perfect woman
“Ruby Sparks” bears a more than superficial resemblance to the 2006 movie, “Stranger Than Fiction.” Both feature previously renowned authors in the midst of a prolonged slump who suddenly find their newest creations are a little more substantial than ink and paper. Both write on typewriters in austere white rooms free of clutter. Both are […]
Posted inPluck
Of band-aids, badassery, and finding a break
Ida is starting preschool this fall. In preparation for this momentous happening, we are spending a considerable portion of our summer slogging through a shit-ton of paperwork and fulfilling a plethora of inane background checks, tuberculosis and blood tests, and lead screenings. I won’t keep you in suspense – we both passed on all counts […]
Posted inMile-High Club
I’ll never fall in love again
I recently ended an eight-year relationship, and I’m still having mixed feelings about it. She wasn’t always good to me, it’s true, but she was mine, and we’d been through a lot together. It was a long, painful and ultimately pricey goodbye, and I’ll always be nostalgic about our time together. I’m talking, of course, about […]