One of my favorite events since moving to Charlotte is Speed Week. For my group of friends and me, it means a week of activities – culminating with Sunday night’s big race, the Coca Cola 600. I’m working on my Race Week blog post. It will include some fun surprises including the definition of “yupneck,” a portmanteau we created. That post won’t be ready until midweek due to travel back to Boston and work. For now I give you a preview. This is video of our neighbors at Charlotte Motor Speedway setting up camp. It’s 8 minutes of video condensed into one minute. Enjoy!
Archive for May, 2010
preview race
Monday, May 31st, 2010past proms
Monday, May 24th, 2010Last week I got to see my nephew off to his prom and it inspired me to look back a few years (several) to my own. Then I thought it would be fun to get other folks’ prom pictures.
Let’s take a look. Here’s my senior prom picture. What do you think of the gold lame’ and red satin? I actually wore gold shoes.
The year before, I went to my then-boyfriend’s senior prom. I don’t know what I was thinking to be honest. White velvet and blue satin with gloves? Really?! The saddest part, I designed both dresses (along with many others). My mother is a seamstress and for every dance I’d pick the material and tell her what I wanted. These, sadly, were what I came up with. As my friend Tim once told me, leave the designing to the professionals.
These are hubby’s prom pictures. I actually contacted his old girlfriend from his Facebook page and asked for them. When friends saw the pictures, they thought he and his date looked like siblings with the feathered hair. Please also notice the gloves he’s wearing! Nice touch, right?!
This is a picture of my friend Alicia with her date, Shawn, at the senior prom. Shawn remembers way more about that night than I do. He reminded me that, “We had pre-game at Alicia’s, post-game at the Anaheim Hyatt, and we played Pictionary with you and Josh.” I remember the Pictionary. I want to say Josh and I won, but I could be totally making that up!
Beth sent me this one and said, “I can’t believe I had that much hair – but Dominic looked so dapper! We went to the prom together even though I was dating James.”
This is Penni with her current boyfriend. She said, “This was pre-prom dinner at my house. He wasn’t my date, but we starting dating, probably, the next day.”
Here’s what Tom remembered about his prom, “We left my crazy friend in charge of getting the limo, and this awful limo pulled up. We called it the Cruella Deville limo because it had 2 spare tires on the side of the limo for decoration like Cruella’s car. I also remember hooking up with my friend’s prom date while my date hooked up with some other guy. Years later I hooked up with my original prom date… and did for years after that… I always thought that was ironic. After the prom we went to my grandparents’ old beach house and partied all weekend. It was awesome, and it was the last time all of us were together for the most part before we all left for college.”
Erinn took us back to 1999. She said, “Gotta love the foil stars on fishing wire backdrop. The photographer really went all out on that one!”
Katie went to her junior prom in 2001 and senior prom the following year. She then married her high school sweetheart!
Here’s Heather at her senior prom with her then-boyfriend. She said, “We dated the middle of my senior year of high school to the middle of freshman year of college. He was a year ahead of me so already out of school. The first time I saw him, I thought he was the best looking guy I had ever seen. He won’t talk to me now.”
Here is an assortment of other prom pictures! Gotta love pubescent fashion! BTW… It’s not too late to send me your prom pictures. Click here!
my first article
Thursday, May 20th, 2010I didn’t get my book published (yet!) but I did get my first article published. I have to tell you, I’m pretty jazzed! It’s about how I fell in love with NASCAR when I moved to Charlotte. It was such a neat writing experience. I wish I could have used more exclamation points to express my genuine enthusiasm!!!
Anyway, here’s the link to the online version of the article and here’s the link to the online version of the actual magazine (go to page 44). You can pick the format. And of course you can just pick up a hard copy, that would be fun too!!!
Warning… in creating this video… I changed out of my work clothes (suit!) but forgot to remove the work make-up (a heavy coating!). I also realized, after the fact, I placed myself in front of a blank wall. Rookie mistake that I know has my photographer friends cringing!
prom
Monday, May 17th, 2010Update: Send me your prom pix! Click here to submit a picture. Be sure to include some details or a back story. I’ll post them along with my old prom pictures that will likely give you a good laugh!!!
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“Which one is your child?”
It was an innocent question posed by a 15 year old. Her sister just boarded a limo along with my nephew and 14 others. They were headed to the junior prom. I was in my sister-in-law’s kitchen with several other parents and younger siblings like this astute 15 year old and my niece. We were all distracting ourselves with food and beverages.
“Which one is your child,” is a fair question. (Though, it is frightening. It means I could have a 15, even a 17 year old!) But why else would I be here?
The truth is I adore my niece and nephew. I came into their lives when they were four and six. They’re from my husband’s side of the family. But they’ve been generous enough to make me their aunt for almost nine years. And today, it was my 17 year old nephew’s junior prom. I wanted to be part of the crew of parents, grandparents, and godparents who sent him off to the prom. I wanted to gush with pride at his rise to semi-adulthood. I’ve long fashioned myself the “cool aunt,” so it shouldn’t be problematic. But this weekend, without notice, the title was gone.
It started a couple of years ago when my nephew no longer wanted to hang out with his sister and me. It was sealed when, as he and his date approached, upon seeing my camera, the once jovial look in his eyes was replaced by horror. I know I didn’t help matters, when in true “me” fashion, I carried on, relentlessly probing him with questions and capturing every move of his momentous day with my camera.
While I felt slighted, I was undeterred. I snapped away, taking pictures of the scene, the chaos of parents and prom-attending teenagers, the awkwardness of new shoes and clothes, and what looked to be the teenagers’ quiet uneasiness as they were elevated into a new station in life. They were this much closer to adulthood, freedom. I imagine it would be an awesome feeling were it not for the uncomfortable shoes and the scratchiness of tuxedoes and gowns.
Prom, it’s like spring, it rejuvenating. You see hope and promise in youth. You imagine uninhibited joy. You envision the future.
“None of them. We don’t have children. I’m LJ and E’s aunt.” I won’t lie. I was brimming with pride. I’m a minor player in their lives but I got to see one of them off on a memorable day in his life. My “cool aunt” status might have diminished for my nephew but I’m hoping I can still keep the title for a few more years in my niece’s eyes.
marathon anita
Thursday, May 6th, 2010There are some people in my life who leave me in awe. One of them is my friend Anita. She’s an operation room nurse (which is pretty awesome in itself) but she also likes to run. And she’s fast! She enjoys the solitude of sole to pavement, the sounds of nature and peace that come with a swift breeze across her face. By the time I finally saw her run the Providence, RI marathon last weekend, she had already conquered 18 others.
Her personal record came in October of 2002, when she ran the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 10 seconds. She’s an amateur runner who can finish 30 minutes behind the recent female winner of the Boston Marathon. She basically sprints for 26.2 miles, crossing each mile marker in 6:48 minutes. I can tell you with absolute certainty, I cannot do one mile in that time, let alone 26.2.
But 19 marathons and a personal best that ranks up there with champion runners was not enough for Anita, her new goal, to run a marathon in all 50 states. She leaves me breathless, if only because I’m trying to catch up to her speedy pace in life.
playing cupid
Monday, May 3rd, 2010I love to play cupid. I get so excited when people are together, happy, and in love. And when people find their lobsters* – it’s a thrill.
The reality is – I’m not a very good matchmaker. It’s not for the lack of trying. (Hubby likes to say, I am very trying!) Really, anytime someone mentions they’re single my mind starts churning to the other single folks in my cerebral Rolodex. Then I instantly start texting, emailing or calling to see what, when and where we can get the two together. Hubby and other close friends tell these kind folks to run but some don’t. Some have actually let me set them up on dates.
I’m usually working off a short list of folks I’m constantly trying to match. They’re usually my favorite people. Recently one of my favorite guys, Scott, married a wonderful girl, Cara, I set him up with. Which officially gives me two successful matches that have married. Don’t ask about the failures… I’m focused on the positives.
*(A reference to a Friends episode.)