Fall Into October With Dana!

Ladies and Gentle-readers, It is my pleasure to introduce you to the WINNER of our very first Tinger's Corner Contest!!  Dana Holcman!!  Dana... this is your post!

Here are two photos of Dana with her big brother, Brad.  One, from childhood, and the other, from when they are all grown!! 

 

As you can see, they are loving and loyally devoted siblings and have been all their lives.  

Also, they are Michigan graduates and remain big fans!  Go Blue!!

Dana and I met and became good friends during our days at Walled Lake Western High School, where we both actively participated in Student Council.  Dana was also a member of Ski Club and was on the Tennis Team.  Here, I shall recall a conversation I once had with Dana about playing Tennis:

Nania: Hey, Dana.  You're good at tennis, right?

Dana: Well, I mean. I'm okay.

Nania: Cool.  I really want to learn tennis.  Will you play with me some time?

Dana: No.

Nania: What? 

Dana:  No.  

Nania: Oh.  Why not?

Dana: Because I like to actually play.  When you play with someone who doesn't know what they are doing, you don't actually get to play.  It's boring. 

Nania: Oh. Well, I thought you just said you're only "okay" at tennis.

Dana: I was just being modest.

Nania: Oh.  Okay.  See you in Calculus.

Dana: Cool. See ya. 

Dana, you may not recall this conversation, but it is quite possibly one of my favorite high school interactions, and I laugh quite a bit whenever I think back on it. My readers who don't know Dana may be thinking, "Oh.  This Dana girl is kind of mean!"  You couldn't be more wrong!  She is actually exceedingly nice, good-humored, universally well-liked by everyone who meets her... just straight-forward.  This is one of my favorite things about Dana... she is refreshingly honest, goes directly from point A to point B, and you always know where you stand with her.  I mean, if Dana hadn't just come out and said, "I don't play tennis with beginners," she and I would likely have gone through a series of awkward phone conversations and hallway interactions where I persistently asked her about playing tennis together and she persistently changed the subject.  

And if we ever did end up playing, Dana would have likely stood there patiently as I ran to and fro without being able to return a single serve, dodged tennis balls, and then tired-out after 20 minutes.

Instead, we were able to devote that time to doing things we both enjoyed.  Like eating delicious food, doing stuff for student council, and calling each other names. 

Nania Lee-Head Pee-Head, is one of my favorites. 

Dana currently lives in Chicago, IL, and works at a.... job.  I would tell you what she does, but despite the fact that she dedicated a good amount of time explaining it to me in clearly and with visual aids (I'm not kidding), I'm still not exactly sure what it is.  It's very fancy, businessy, and I guarantee she is excellent at it.  She also enjoys playing on an intramural kickball team called, "Kicki-Longstocking."  Her former team name was "Greenorrhea." Hahhah. Personally, I like the former better.

Here are some more pics of Dana:

Having a Good Ski.

Enjoying Las Vegas with Toni Braxton.

Getting Called Out for a Knock-Off Purchase.

And of course, here with Doogie Howser.

Now, I would like to introduce everybody's favorite Maltese Poodle Mix.... ROOKIE!!  Whoo!!! This is Dana's dog.  I would go on and on about how adorable and hilarious he is, but I shall let the photos speak for themselves. 

DOGGIE SPECS: ARF!

Full Name: Rookie Holcman

Date of Birth: December 12, 2004

Age: 5, soon to be 6. 

Place of Birth: Long Beach, CA.  As you can see, he has Long Beach in his blood -- as he is very chill and summer-loving. 

Oh, Rookie is also cleans up nicely.  (Notice the round-headed grooming that Dana has selected for him.) When he is not out enjoying the cool breeze of an afternoon car ride, he is quite chic and sophisticated:

Rookie's Hobbies: Eating Dingo Rawhides, playing fetch, hanging out with his doggie friends, and also playing with his favorite Monkey, Meshugeneh. (Sound that out.  Ma-shoog-in-uh!  Ha.) In the photo below, Dana seems to be under the impression that Rookie is "playing" with his friends.  Clearly, she walked in on some sort of Doggie Council Meeting and they are just trying to play it off.

I can basically guarantee you that the little dog up front is sitting on a note pad of some kind. 

Finally, here is Rookie's Senior Picture.  Senior from what?  I'm not sure:

Hail to the Victors, Rookie!!

I shall end this post with some very pressing interview questions that I posed to Dana via email.  That way, she will get to end this entry in her own words!  

(So as for me, I'd just like to once again thank Dana and all of the kind participants for entering this first Tinger's Corner Contest!  There will certainly be more contests to come!  Happy Friday!)

1. Dana, what is your favorite Television Show? This is tough. I love TV. When I was younger, Saved By The Bell. College years-Dawsons Creek. Now-Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother, Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, So You Think You Can Dance.

2. What is the most delicious meal you've eaten recently?: Actually last week when my Dad was here. We went to Mercadito-wonderful tacos and guacamole. Then the next night had an amazing 9 course dinner at Sunda. We particularly enjoyed their crispy cauliflower side dish and crispy brussel sprout salad. 

3: Would you rather have a bellybutton that dispenses ketchup or a nostril that could sharpen pencils? Easy-bellybutton dispensing ketchup. Who uses pencils these days? Plus, I have chicken scratch handwriting so they'd be of no use to me. :)

4. Since this is a writerly blog, please tell me....what is/are your favorite book/books? The Bible. Just Kidding! Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, Eloise by Kay Thompson & Angelina Ballerina by Katharine Holabird, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon and right now I'm reading The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein which I'm loving so far.

5.  When you were 10 years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? I believe it was a bus driver - no joke.

6. Finally, anything else that you would like the Nan Stoppers to know about you? I feel blessed to have such great friends and family in my life and can't wait to be an aunt in January. Oh! And, my birthday is April 27- gifts are welcome.

-NL