Pink sharks wearing red lipstick

If you were in a certain hotel in downtown fort worth this weekend, you may have wondered why the hell this bizarre icon was worn by many women.
if not, well then i feel like a horse's patoot.

the cute shark icon was worn not just by any women, but women in journalism. women in journalism who are icons themselves. women in journalism who are icons and generously pass all they know and who they know onto the less-experienced women in journalism.

so there you have it.
a bunch of kick ass chicks wearing pink sharks with lipstick helping other chicks who aspire to also kick ass.

but ahhh, they're so much more. not only do they know how to practice journalism in its truest form, they know what personal problems girlies like me have--guilt, resentment, fear, anxiousness, thrill--about our careers, kids, partners and ultimately the person we were, have become and are becoming.

we've all got obligations. whether by default or choice. the secret we all want revealed is how to balance them against the cut-throat, back-stabbing, demanding environment of a newsroom, or any other office for that matter.

those who give up their personal lives get the chance to shine.
and oh, how you want it so bad.

-leave your best friend's wedding reception just before you're expected to make a toast.
-don't go home to your family or children--instead, work from 8 a to 10 p. solely for the glory of righting society's wrongs (or so you think).
-promise your grandparents, who drove 8 hours to visit you, that you will see them at dinner at 7...and never show up. or show up at 10.
-tell yourself to make that stop at the assisted living center to visit your ailing [aunt, mother, brother...] during your lunch break, but instead work through lunch...and break...and dinner.

the gals gathered in Funky Town gave more practical advice:
-work your ass off during regular hours. call it quits when it's quittin' time.
-have a 50-50 partnership with your significant other. teamwork ALWAYS. whether it involves kids, housework, family member, domestic/financial issues.
-know that you can kick ass. do it if you can. and don't 'have something to prove.'
-be honest with your kids/family/friends... if you can't do it/make it, or know you'd rather work late on a possible breaking story, say so.

one whole day to myself and i spent it with the women i most admire.
the weekend started out incredibly rocky and drenched in tears.
i decided i wouldn't get happy on saturday.
one hour in a room with these women and not only have my puffy red eyes returned to their normal color and size, i'm smiling.