Author Archives: JJD
I’m getting awesomer
I did this last night in yoga class. In the eight years I’ve been doing yoga, it’s the first time I’ve managed a freestanding headstand. Not that I’ve been trying to all those years — not every instructor leads the class through headstands,and every time I did try it in class, it was extremely uncomfortable and I […]
New York – Done?
At 3:00am last night (this morning?) we discovered that we had finally — FINALLY — reached the what looked like closure on all of the transaction documents on this crazy, never-ending deal. All that remained to be done was secure a few outside approvals and sign the dang things. It was a weird moment. The […]
New York – Deja vu all over again
Welp, I’m back in New York in that conference room where I spent most of the month of December. This deal isn’t done, you see, and the client decided it wanted to get everyone back in the room for more face-to-face negotiations. They’re getting nervous that they’ll lose the deal if they don’t sign it […]
New York – Trojans and a hot tin roof
I. How do you survive a five-and-a-half hour opera? By eating a hearty breakfast immediately beforehand . . . Quiche lorraine, Greek yogurt with rawnola (a.k.a. birdseed)with a side of Victor Hugo and by sneaking a handful of granola bars into the opera house to be eaten during the third intermission. It was odd to […]
New York – No man is an archipelago!
The opera tomorrow starts at Noon and runs for five-and-a-half hours, which means that I have to spend both Friday night and Saturday night in New York: There just aren’t any trains that would allow me to come up in the morning before the show or to leave and go home after the show. What’s […]
Playing catch-up
So it’s been, what, a week since I last wrote? Argh. If it had been just an ordinary week, I wouldn’t worry about it — one of the biggest stumgling blocks (at least for me) in journal writing or blogging is feeling like I have to capture all the Big Moments that I missed writing about before I […]
Utah – Roots
What Tara is to Scarlett O’Hara, Huntsville is to my dad’s family. The little brick house where my grandmother was raised remains in the family and has become a sort of spiritual home-base for her children and grandchildren. My grandfather currently lives in the house (alone, since Granny’s passing a few years ago) and my […]
Utah/Idaho – Over the river and through the woods
Once upon a time there was a boy (hint: it’s me!) who grew up in the mountains and liked snow and had no idea that the continental breakfasts served by Comfort Inn were not delicious. Then that boy grew up and moved to the Big City and got corrupted by the Michelin Guide and sometimes wore nice leather driving moccasins. One day […]
Denver – Christmas Spider
Getting out of Denver was kind of an ordeal. My flight was supposed to leave at 8:00am, but when I tried to check in I learned that it had been canceled (surprise!). “Not to worry,” said the agent comfortingly, “we’ve already rebooked you for the first flight out on Friday morning.” Her benevolent smile evaporated […]
Denver – Christmas Day
I awoke with a start in the wee hours of the morning — I had forgotten that there was a videoconference scheduled in my bedroom for exactly that time, and if I didn’t hurry, I would be caught sleeping in bed when everyone else dialed in to resume negotiations. I scrambled out into the living […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 