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I just want to give a shout out to Nancy Colasurdo.
She writes a column for FoxBusiness.com.
We had a wonderful conversation last week about picking up the pieces after losing your job.
She turned it into a great column that you can see here.
Two and half years later, it does my heart good to look at how well something has turned out for me, something I would've never picked for myself. Funny how life works out that way. :)
And as a long-time CNN gal, I always gets a kick out of being featured on anything Fox. :)
So I have this great joy. I love it when my people meet my people.
You know that opportunity when you connect and introduce two people who you know from different parts of your life?
I also know when I've met my people.
Such was the case a couple of years ago. I stopped by ABC to do some interviews promoting DarynKagan.com.
My interviewer was a spunky young woman named Heidi Jones. She's a weather anchor on WABC-TV in New York. And she helps out on the network side whenever she can.
She did a great interview. Clearly got right away what DarynKagan.com is all about. You can see that interview here.
Once the lights and cameras were turned off we had a chance to gab about a shared passion: running.
I've often told you how it is my drug of choice. Apparently, it's the same for Heidi. She's taken her running to the next step, forming a team of not-so-experienced runners to help spark inspiration in life.
They are a great and varied group and very inspiring.
You can meet them in today's featured story and follow Heidi's journey of leading this wonderful group on her blog.
I'm sure you'll be able to tell right away why she's such a success on TV and you'll want to have her as one of your people, too.
So, my people meet my people!
There's no getting around it.
I felt naked this weekend.
And not the good kind of naked.
Or "nekkid" as we say here in the South.
I was naked because I was without my cell phone.
This was not a planned separation, rather instantaneous.
Happened as soon as I dropped it in water.
That dreaded splash sound and we were instantly more broken up than Jon & Kate Plus 8.
Being as I'm one who likes happy endings, I'm going to fast forward to that part first.
And being as this 2009, a crisis happens, who ya gunna call? Well, Twitter, of course, which in my world is also connected to Facebook.
Here are my actual tweets from immediately post-splash:
funny thing about Mr. iPhone- doesn't like getting dunked in water. tips for iPhone dehyradration CPR? Or is there a new 3Gs in my future?
New 3Gs? Coincidentally, Apple came out with a new iPhone last week, one that has a sweet video feature that has definitely caught my eye. One tweeter suggested I dropped my iPhone in the water on purpose!
@jabberjw you could be right! Would be the ultimate freudian slip..when iPhone "slipped" into water, I tweeted back.
Actually, I swear I didn't do it on purpose. The dreaming about the new iPhone was more a defense mechanism. What else you going to do when you break up? You instantly start thinking about the next one and that one might be better than the one who just broke your heart.
Before I could start making designs on what I would do with a new iPhone, the suggestions started pouring in.
Like this one from my buddy, Steve Scott at WCBS radio in NYC.
SteveScottWCBS@DarynKagan I've heard that packing a wet phone in rice can help dry it out. Seriously. Don't know if it's a wive's tale...or really works.
Dry rice?
Never heard of that one, but figured I'd give it a try.
Out came the box of good ol' Uncle Ben's. I poured a generous portion into a paper bag and buried Mr. iPhone.
Gotta say as Saturday faded into Sunday, separation anxiety set in. Forget how new and shiny the new iPhone sounded, I just wanted my old one back!
Things were looking too good. Met friends for running, then brunch, then pool, all without having any access to my phone, mobile email, games, text messages, AOL Radio, music.
Egad! I'm shaking just thinking about it! Now you know what I mean about feeling naked!
I thought I could be all brave and give the phone a week to dry out. By the time I got home from the pool, I was done, weak, conquered and broken. Went online to see how late Apple Store was open. I had to remedy this tonight!
Just to see how bad things were, I dug Mr. iPhone out of the pile of rice and turned him on.
Hmmmm….that black screen seemed just a bit brighter than it did last night. Could it be? I was now able to check voicemail.
I plugged headphones in to see if the iPod function worked and bam! All circuits were a go! I pushed all sorts of different icons and everyone worked just fine.
Hooyah! It was if the doctors on Grey's Anatomy brought him back to life!
I am so happy and relieved that we are back together. For those in my immediate circle, I am now call-able, text-able, emailable, just generally over all reachable!
To all you in the Twitter and Facebook universe who talked me through the crisis! Thank you!
And for all you with slippery phones that might soon take that unfortunate splash—remember: RICE! Dry, uncooked rice. My cooking never tasted so good!
Do you have an awesome grandparent in your life?
If so, Grand Magazine wants to know about them. Grand is the online magazine for grandparents and the grandkids who love them.
Along with Humana, they are running the Grandparent of the Year Contest. They want to hear about that unconditional loving bond between grandkids and grandparents.
It's pretty simple. Nominations will be accepted from everyone: grandchildren, daughters, sons, husbands, wives, neighbors, friends. Simply write 150 words and tell them why your nominee should be the 2009 GRANDParent of the Year.
There will be 10 finalists and the winner gets a 5 day/ 4 night trip to Orlando. Four people get to go.
So fire up those computers and let the world know about the special grandparent in your life.
You can enter here.
Just want to send a "shout out" to all the old friends I saw in Phoenix this weekend.
KTVK-TV, the station I worked at in the early '90's decided to have a reunion.
I'm so glad I flew back to Phoenix to catch up with old friends.
My friend, Lisa, likes to say that everything has a good and a bad side.
Truth be told, those were some challenging years in Phoenix. KTVK was a station where if you were blonde you were the news anchor. If you were brunette, you were the reporter.
Er, not a big leap to figure out what my job was.
Even though I never got the big time anchor job or promotional billboard on I-17, I can look back now and realize how important those years were.
5 ½ years of really learning how to be reporter at one of the best local news outfits in the country. I've long known that's what got me ready to be a news anchor at CNN and also prepared me for what I do now with DarynKagan.com.
More importantly, this weekend was a great reconnect with all the special people I got to work with in that time. The other reporters, anchors, photographers, producers, editors, and yes, even the bosses.
Good stuff. Great people. So nice to be part of what we will always call, "Arizona's Family."
June 11, 2009: How Sweet It Is
A little reminder for all your kids of all ages out there. Father's Day is coming up next weekend.
I'm reminded once again this year about an awesome way to celebrate dads and some special families.
Wendy's Restaurants picks this time of year to do a special promotion to support adoption.
Founder Dave Thomas was adopted and spent his life encouraging others to give kids the family they crave.
Once again this year, Wendy's will donate 50 cents to the Dave Thomas Foundation For Adoption for every Frosty purchased over Father's Day weekend.
And they have a new fun feature they've added this year. They're making it possible for you to send your dad a Frosty Card. It's an e-card that lets you send your love directly into Dad's inbox. They have some celebrity inspired designs to choose from. And for every free Frosty Card sent, Wendy's will donate 25 cents to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
Talk about winners all the way around! Dads, kids looking for great homes, and Wendy's for supporting such a great cause.
Now there's an inspiring headline, no?
It is, if you have a big business dream, but not the cash to make it happen.
Mark Burnett wants to hear your pitch.
Yeah, that Mark Burnett, as in the guy who brought us Survivor and The Apprentice.
He's about to take to the airwaves with a new show called, Shark Tank.
He is now on a nationwide search to discover the next successful – and possibly wealthy – entrepreneurs, inventors, businesspersons, dreamers, promoters, creators and innovators.
In each episode of Shark Tank, budding entrepreneurs are given the unprecedented chance to make their business ideas come true.
This is what Burnett's casting agents are saying:
If you feel you have a lucrative business idea but just can't seem to secure the financial backing to get it off the ground, then "Shark Tank" is just the show for you. Casting is looking for aspiring entrepreneurs who can pitch their breakthrough business concepts, products, properties and services to moguls in hopes of landing investment funds. If selected, five real-life, tough investors could be willing to part with their own hard-earned cash and give you the funding you need to jumpstart your idea. But the investors, also known as Sharks, aren't just out to invest, they too have a goal: to own a piece of your next big idea.
Apply now for your chance to enter the "Shark Tank" and see if your idea survives. Email us at SharkTankCasting@yahoo.com. Be sure to include your name, age, contact info, a recent photo, and a brief description of your idea.
Good luck!
With great apologies to all the cardiologists out there, I want to be the first to wish you, "Happy National Donut Day!"
It's true. It's really today.
Apparently, it's not just some newly created marketing holiday. A little research shows me there's a great spirit behind the day.
National Donut Day, after all, started in 1938 as a fundraiser for The Salvation Army, to honor the Salvation Army "Lassies" who served donuts to soldiers behind the front lines in France during World War I. The non-profit organization created the memorable observance to honor the work of Salvation Army volunteers who prepared donuts for homesick soldiers. The donuts were reportedly an instant hit, with soldiers visiting Salvation Army huts for the sweet treat.
In that spirit, Basha's Markets in Arizona will donate 10% of today's donut sales to the Salvation Army. They're also delivering dozens of fresh-baked donuts to police departments in the Phoenix area.
Across America, Dunkin' Donuts wants to share the love with you, too. Participating stores will give you a free donut today when you buy a beverage.
Gets your donut wheels spinning, doesn't it? Makes me wonder, what is YOUR favorite donut flavor, shop, or memory? We're sharing over in our social online community.
Come see mine and I'd love to hear yours, as well.
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