Chicago in Winter Just Like Caribbean!

To you, Chicago, IL in winter may not be your idea of warmth. For me, however, this week brings me to the point that winter in Chicago makes me want to slap on some sunscreen and dip my toes into the surf. Let me explain..

Sunday night, severe icy weather in my hometown of Tulsa, OK put me smack dab in the middle of the worst power outage in Oklahoma's 100 year history! At it's peak, nearly 600,000 customers (read: households, businesses, cities, etc...) were without power. At this writing, the numbers in the Tulsa area remain around 150-175,000 without electricity...and that's just from ONE electrical provider!

Should you find yourself reading this in the next few days after it is published, try this link to find out the latest: TULSA POWER OUTAGE.

My house (no, that's not my house or car in the picture) is somewhere near the intersection of the four "quadrants" of the city...which likely means it's effectively in "no man's land" until each quadrant is sufficiently restored to "normal". That means it may STILL be 3-6 more days before I have electricity restored!

On the bright side, my car is safe (currently at the local, off-airport secured, covered parking garage), my house is looked after, my next round of utility bills will be cheap, and I can finally toss that lasagna that had become a permanent fixture in my freezer when I moved into my bachelor pad after my divorce was final two years ago.

So you see, warmth is where you find it! Thanks, Monster.com's Making It Count Programs for sending me on the road this week to a hotel with internet, electricity, and a bed I can sleep in - sans sleeping bag.

Early tomorrow morning, I return home....likely to finish cleaning out my fridge.

Cheers!

Read more...

Go Ahead and JUMP!

Earlier this year, I had the chance to meet the founder of Skydivergirls.com. KFC, as she is known in both the virtual and real worlds, is truly an inspirational gal who lives her life as an adventure. (Here's a pic of us in the Dayton, OH airport.)

Whenever I speak to audiences, it's often on the subject of overcoming failure. One way to win back control of your life is to challenge yourself to take on a task you have always wanted to tackle - but something was stopping you. KFC says "just get off the couch and DO IT!"

Here's a recent TV spot featuring KFC. Check out skydivergirls.com and see even more really cool footage, interviews and more!
Online Videos by Veoh.com

Read more...