Earlier this morning, the world quietly celebrated the 25th anniversary of Matthew Thomas Coppola’s entrance to the world.

And the world, quietly, rejoiced.

Happy birthday, Matthew. I love you!

I was at the mall over my lunch hour when I discovered that many of the schools were off today. That means kids overtake the malls on said days. It was so annoying, I could’ve screamed. They were yelling, in groups of six and eight, at one another across the wide expanse of the mall. They wore too-short skirts and carried their tiny pursues crammed with cell phones, body glitter and lip gloss. The boys wore their saggy jeans and walked with an “I don’t care” air about them.

Good news: I found a pair of jeans, on sale!

Matthew and I are suckers for fine dining. On a special occasion, we have no problem dropping $100 on dinner for two.

Last night, however, blew us both away. We celebrated Matthew’s birthday early with a magical meal at The Flatiron Cafe in downtown Omaha. I made reservations for 6:30 p.m. They were a bit crowded, as Opera Omaha performed last night and several music lovers wanted a bite to eat before the concert.

We were invited to relax on the outdoor patio, sipping cocktails while our table was prepared. Shortly before 7, we were seated. The host, who was fabulous, said he was pleased we were there for dinner, using the phrase “my young lovers” to describe us. I blushed!

The meal, again, was fabulous. I had the grilled salmon special, complete with bock choy, veggies and Asian rice noodles. Matthew had a fantastic pork tenderloin with asparagus and purple potatoes. He started with a glass of wine during dinner; I sipped water.

Into our meal, the host stopped by our table and gave us both a free glass of wine. Matthew had a red wine, while I had a chardonnay. The host chose these wines based on our meals. Fabulous!

We ended the evening with two desserts: creme brulee and berry cobbler. Delicious!

On our way out, the host (again: fabulous!) thanked us for our patronage. He then, in a flurry, grabbed my face and kissed me on the check. He aggressively shook Matthew’s hand as he said, “This is YOUR restaurant. We love having you here.”

This could’ve been the host just doing his job; or he really was happy to have our business. Either way, we’ll be back soon.

Second day this week for a workout at the Y. Ran 25 minutes on the treadmill; walked 10. I feel so good :-)

I was hired by Leslie Kline Lukas & Associates in March. Just before Christmas last year, I interviewed for a writing job in the marketing department of Company B. Turns out Company B recently hired LKL&A to assist with its internal communication. And, as luck would have it, I was put on the account. I attended a meeting last week at Company B with a handful of their employees, one of whom I exchanged emails with about the writing job. He remembered who I was, which was awkward. I’d wish he would’ve forgotten the whole situation, but he hadn’t.

It probably wasn’t as uncomfortable as I recall it being, but it was a moment to remember, nonetheless.

I picked up two awards at the annual Nebraska Press Association banquet last month. Here’s the story from the Bellevue Leader.

Published Friday
April 29, 2005

Leader captures awards at state press banquet

The Bellevue Leader has been named the state’s best weekly newspaper in its class.

The Leader was presented the prestigious General Excellence Award sponsored by the Nebraska Press Association at Saturday’s convention in Kearney.

The award came in Class D, the largest circulation class for weekly newspapers.

Judged by the members of the Kentucky Press Association, the Leader picked up first-place awards in the following categories:

– General excellence. Judges commented, “Strong design, appearance, reproduction throughout and solid writing. Consistency of layout, design and writing inside makes the difference.”

– Feature series by Margaret Stamp for her three-part series on children with developmental disorders. Judges commented, “Nice photos and good writing elevated this effort.”

– Youth coverage that was judged on Wendy Townley’s stories about the Bellevue East High School chess club, the Outreach Program for Soccer for children with Down syndrome, and twin artists Matt and Mick Glebe. Judges commented, “Lots of good entries in this category.”

– Use of computer graphics created by Jason Keese for a front-page depiction of the “tools” worn by Bellevue police officers. Judges commented, “Great idea, well-executed. High relevance to readers. I was certainly interested.”

– Sports section under the direction of Sports Editor Eric Taylor. Judges commented, “Very visually appealing.”

– Photo page by Tony Miceli of last year’s Sarpy County Relay for Life. Judges commented, “This was easily the winner. Great use of a dominant photo supported by a handful of other solid photos. This was the best packaging of all the entries.”

– Use of Color in the news section. Judges commented, “This paper just kept getting better.”

– Super Sarpy Classifieds section (which also earned second- and third-place awards). Judges commented, “Very easy to read. Design keeps the readers’ attention.”

Second-place awards went to Taylor for sports columns, Ron Petak for sports writing, and the Leader’s editorial page.

Third-place awards went to Townley for personal columns, Keese for spot news writing, and Keese for news writing.

I didn’t have time this weekend to read what other Mac users are saying about Tiger; that’s on the to-do list for this week. I hope to get my hands on a copy of Tiger sometime in the coming months. I’m lusting after Dashboard like no other.

Went to the Y this morning after a week’s absence. I’m down to 124 pounds. I feel great!

I think I’m going to do a little jean shopping over my lunch hour today. My Gap jeans have both salt and bleach stains. And, to top it off, they’re falling off me. Even with a belt, the jeans are a big too saggy for my taste. My sister had a cute pair from American Eagle. I may slip on a few pairs of AE jeans later today.

When Google and Snoop Dogg became friends, the world was blessed with Gizoogle.

“You betta run and grab yo glock.”

It’s Friday already and I still feel as though I have projects that needed to be completed on Tuesday. Oy!

Last night, the School of Communication at my college, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, celebrated its annual awards dinner. Scholarships were presented, as well as the Best of Gateway awards. Despite the evening running well past three hours, it was fun. One of the speakers said it best when he described the evening as more of a reunion.

Today will certainly be catch-up day at work. I also have a number of free-lance articles I need to wrap my arms around before next week.

I’m falling behind on my issues of The New Yorker. I can only “blame” the new job. But they’re all still here, neatly stacked on my bookshelf, waiting to be read.

My sister is in town from California this weekend. Tonight, we hopefully will head to The Homey Inn. Champagne, anyone?

Unlike yesterday, I was able to fall back to sleep after Matthew awoke at 3 a.m. to be at work by 4 a.m. I feel much more rested and refreshed this morning. I didn’t, however, awake in time to make it to the Y this morning.

Have I mentioned how much I love my new Web site?

After months of hard work and decision making by my good friend Jonathan Patton, the new and improved shaggy-money.flywheelsites.com is alive and well!

I am literally in love with the layout and design. Everything is right where it should be.

After a few minor glitches are taken care of, the site will be at full strength.

Hooray!