Earlier this week I finished reading The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer.

It’s a beautifully written memoir of a young boy who learned how to become a man (in more ways than one) inside the dark, smoky walls of a bar.

The book had me laughing one minute, crying the next.

If you’re looking for words and a story that satisfy, The Tender Bar is for you.

I’m always hungry for new writing. Can anyone recommend any good blogs?

Say hello to my lovely new Franco Sarto sandals, discovered today over my lunch hour — and on sale — at Von Maur.

How can a pair of strappy sandals make my heart go aflutter? It’s probably best not to ask questions but just go with the feeling.

This just in: Jenny Lewis is Omaha-bound for an Oct. 1 show.

This means I now have less than two months to select the ideal outfit to wear to this One (Amazing) Woman Show.

Can’t wait to see (and hear) you, Jenny.

From WOWT.com:

Heavy rain is expected late tonight across Eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa. 2-4″ of rain can be expected with higher totals possible in areas of training storms. Temperatures will be held down on Tuesday because of the rain and clouds.

Upon laboring for seven consecutive days at the 2006 Cox Classic, I have ascertained the following:

A new appreciation for golf. Before the tournament and my job with Cox Communications, I knew nothing about golf. That changed when I was surrounded by terms such as Pro-Am, birdie, back nine and tee off. I began asking questions so as not to seem completely clueless (although I was and still am, to some degree).

A new appreciation for manual labor. I hauled boxes and boxes and more boxes around the course. I walked up and down countless flights of stairs. I lugged chairs and tables and cans of soda. I moved boxes of cardboard fans and bags of ice. And my body ached every morning because of it.

A tan. I haven’t been this golden brown since my childhood days spending hours in the summer sunshine. Skin cancer be damned, I look good.

A renewed love of Budweiser. Nothing tasted better after a nine-hour day at the golf course than a cold can of Budwesier, which I also learned is often referred to as Bud Heavy. (Who knew? Me, apparently.)

Filth. I have showered twice daily — once in the morning and once at night — from my work at the tournament. It goes back to the said manual labor mixed with Nebraska’s lethal heat/humidity during the summer. When you add 24-hours of nonstop rain showers, however, you get quite the mud pit with which to slop around in. With that, I give thee my muddy tennis shoes.

Mistaken identities. While zooming around in a golf cart this week, I had an older gentleman stop me, stare at me for a few seconds and say, “Oh, wait. You don’t do karaoke for a living do you? You look just like…” He wasn’t joking. Apparently I resemble a karaoke singer he saw “perform,” most likely while downing a can of Busch Light, taking drags on a GPC and spanking women on the tush.

Free! Free! Free! People go nuts for anything they can get for free. Food, drink, paper fans, you name it. If it’s free, it’s as good as a Golden Key to a magical world. (I must admit I’m just as guilty. I stopped by the Garbo’s Salon vendor tent on more than one occasion just for the free samples.)

Clothes make the woman. It is absolutely impossible to feel the slightest bit feminine while wearing an oversized golf polo.

Ashley is my cousin! {Information from Omaha.com, the Web site of the Omaha World-Herald.}

# # #

“Meet the Artist” with Ashley Vak, 7-10 p.m., Benson Grind, 6107 Maple St., 932-4040
• “Meet the Artist” gives everyone the opportunity to meet the creator of this month’s exhibition at Benson Grind. Ashley Vak will have black and white prints and original fine art T-Shirts on display. Vak is a student at UNO.

These little links can help organize your life, your work and your DVD collection.

Enjoy.

http://www.delicious-monster.com/

http://basecamphq.com/

http://www.tadalist.com/

http://www.writeboard.com/

http://www.backpackit.com/

http://www.37signals.com/

Devoted readers, I do apologize for my lack of updates. The reason for my temporary absence can be blamed upon the Cox Classic. I have done little else than prepare for and work this massive event.

For someone who knows next to nothing about golf, it has certainly been a learning experience.

Take today, for example. I learned that golf carts have a rather wide turning radius. If one’s not careful, one will find herself breaking off part of a wooden fence when cutting a corner much too closely.

And doing said turn in front of professional golfers and golf fans can be a most embarrassing experience.

A recently published article I wrote — not to mention the issue’s cover story — in the UNO Alum magazine: “High-tech Connections”.