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Lamenting Bucktown

I was standing in line at DeBlancs on Friday waiting to get my prescription filled and fanning myself furiously as my hot flashes have bordered on demonic, when a friend in front of me was waiting for her HRT script while the woman in front of her was getting birth control pills. One of the five clerks was going through a file of restaurant menus because the pharmacist was saying she was so hungry she…

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Her sey çok güzel olacak

F put out a spread last night at the Turkish party complete with a musician playing Turkish background music. As the party cranked up, so did the musician and the girls wrapped scarves with coins tight around their hips and the men raised their arms to the air Turkish style and we began dancing. Y called out in guttural yells as we all joined hands and danced in a circle. The music, the food, the…

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Eurovision, Greek Fest, Bayou Boogaloo, and…

The Turkish party – party of the year as it was called by a fellow Turk – at Fatma’s house! A weekend jammed packed with more fun that one human can endure. I’ve yet to walk just two blocks over to the Boogaloo – a free festival with music, food and art market. I’ve not gotten over to the Greek Church for the Greek Festival, although I heard this year it is bigger than ever!…

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Work expands to fit the time allotted

Enough says the chair I have been sitting in. Enough says Loca on her back, paws straight up in the air. Enough says the bells at Cabrini ringing the 6:00 chimes. Enough say my dry eyes. Enough says my brain that can’t process or hold one more data point. HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND! Bayou Boogaloo began about an hour ago outside – bands are playing, food is being served, people are walking around with cocktails.…

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T minus 9

The Turks say “Whoever the heart loves, she is the beauty.” But what they neglect to say is that the lover makes you feel beautiful too. I remember my encounter with the mesmerizer – because no emotion was fed back from it, I wondered if there was something wrong with me – too fat, didn’t shave my legs, too eager, not eager enough? But when someone loves you, you feel strong, and beautiful, and brave.…

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Ottoman wisdom through the ages

T cited a Turkish saying the other day – “the guest wants the other guests to leave” – I thought of that last night when Bam Bam was hissing at first Loca, who was crawling guerilla style trying to charm him and then Arlene, who was content to stare through Bam in her geriatric way but was doing no real harm. I scolded Bambushka and said, dude, stop it, you were last in. The actual…

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Oh to read again…

I’ve been lamenting my lack of time in reading – I used to consume novels – now I am still reading the same novel T gave me for my birthday – two pages a night – and that requires rereading the page I left off on when I dozed off – so that is actually one page read and one reread each night. My sabbatical is whetting my appetite for books – four weeks –…

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The LaLa Zoo

Welcome to the LaLa Zoo – there are no zookeepers – there are only assorted inhabitants who all converge in one room to sleep and then all disperse when they wake up to separate areas of the compound. Everyone gets fed from their own plate but it is a requirement that you sit down to eat – only Bam Bam doesn’t adhere to this rule. We speak many languages and even within our normal native…

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Eurovision – Round #2

Check out this blog on Eurovision round 2. Did you know that Eurovision has been around since about 1956 or something like that? The Israeli, Boaz, is still one of the top picks. Here is another blog following – love the tag lines – Eurovision: Ukraine (bondage). Croatia (septuagenarian rapper). Albania (slacks). Iceland (Dr Alban). Georgia (silver boots). Denmark (two first names). Sweden (proper diva). Latvia (pirates). Turkey (surprise surprise). Portugal (upholstery).  

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Why integrity matters in a connected world

A friend writes after reading my blog entry on integrity about a book I might be interested in reading on the topic. See below – very intriguing. I ordered it today.         Success no longer lies in what we do; how we do what we do now matters most. In a world where information flows and technology connects us instantly around the globe, the rules of the game for business today have changed dramatically.…

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