A kicked-back Christmas
In the hubbub before Christmas Eve last week — 
I can’t believe it, but I forgot to post a link to my Sarasota Herald Tribune column After Hours — where I gave tips on how to have a kicked-back Christmas out on the bar scene over the Christmas weekend.
Well, here it is — A kicked back Christmas.
And, I had one, thank you very much. Maybe not out at the bar scene, but just a quiet kind of Christmas, mostly at home. Hope yours was quiet and happy. I was deluged with presents — not sure why I received so many this year — must have been either very good … or very bad!
Girls gone wild — Sarasota Style
In my After Hours column in today’s TICKET section in the Sarasota Herald Tribune — I offer my opinion on what one thing you must do tonight — if you want to have fun — check out the girls (and boys) gone wild members of the Lazy Fairy Improv group —
Girls Gone Wild -- a few members of the Lazy Fairy Improv
I also dish the dirt about the mousy martinis at Hyde Park; and I take a swipe at Sarah Palin.
You can read my column on page 7E in print; or click here: MC’s Must-Scene
MC Coolidge in today’s St. Pete Times opinion pages!
Yippee!
Back in ’92, I remember working briefly as an intern at the Concord Monitor newspaper in New Hampshire and hearing about the St. Pete Times and the Poynter Institute back in my home state of Florida. The St. Pete Times was talked about almost as the holy grail for newspaper hounds like myself. And, now, a gazillion years later, I’m super happy to be appearing today in that paper’s opinion pages in the Pinellas edition of the paper.
You can read my guest column online at The Pen is Mightier than the Email, Tweet, and Text or in print if you live in the Pinellas County area.
It’s a big thrill, and an honor, to appear in my home state’s largest newspaper, which also happens to be one of the most respected print publications in the country.
If you read the column and are so inspired, you can post a comment and/or write a letter to the editor at http://www.sptimes.com/letters/ letting them know that you like (or dislike — though I hope not!) seeing a local writer from Sarasota in their pages. Who knows? — maybe someday they’ll be inspired to have a regular “weigh-in” in their pages from a Sarasota writer!
This column also appeared in yesterday’s Sarasota Herald Tribune op-ed pages — I’m always grateful to appear in my hometown paper — and of course, it would be a long-held dream come true to have a weekly print opinion column in those local pages — but until that happens, I’ve got to keep trying to land work in any and all print pubs!
Oh, well, got to run — headed downtown to find the St. Pete Times! 
MC’s bar-hopping Saturday night
Yes, I’m normally curled up in my PJs, snuggled up to the remote control on Saturday nights — watching murder and mayhem on 48 Hours Mystery … but after last Saturday’s Sarasota Holiday Parade down Main Street, I ventured out for a night on the town … checking out a few bars, listening to some music, flirting my way past the bouncers … .
You can read all about it in this week’s After Hours column in yesterday’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune TICKET, page 7E, or at the newspaper’s website at Drink Dine & Dance Post-Parade.
One of the places I stopped at was Owen’s Fish Camp in Burns Court — wicked cool! 
If you haven’t been, you’ve got to go! Good food, good vibe, and for all you men out there — gorgeous, female bartenders and servers!
Being here now … yoga with Gary Halperin — special offer for Reality Readers
When I got the green light from my doctor a few months ago to ease slowly back into exercise, taking classes with certified professional-level Kripalu Yoga teacher Gary Halperin in his beginner yoga class was the first thing I did — and am still doing … .
Boomerang demonstrates the Back-Sprawled, Paws Akimbo Cat Pose.
As a little gift for readers of this blog, throughout the rest of December, new visitors to any of Gary’s classes pay only $5 for the first class visit — if you mention MC Reality Online when you sign up or show up. This is a great way to try out yoga — especially with Gary who has a fantastic reputation in Sarasota; and it’s also a great way to give yourself a treat during the month of December, which can way too often feel way too harried and hurried.
Classes are normally $12 each, and he offers day and evening classes Monday mornings and Tuesday and Thursday nights — centrally located and easy to get to, at the corner of Tuttle and Ringling. You can contact Gary to sign up for a class, or visit www.feelbetternowyoga.com to learn more. Read more about Halperin in this magazine article — Being Here Now. In the classes I’ve been taking, there are men and women — all ages.
I’m way too often an all-work, no play/no relax kind of gal, but Gary’s classes are teaching me (despite the fact that I’m a slow learner), that I can make and take the time — in fact I deserve to do it — in my life to feel mentally more clear, emotionally more satisfied, psychologically more calm, and physically more comfortable. I find that by doing the simple yoga stretches and poses, combined with the act of just “being here now” in class and listening to my body and being aware of how it feels — has reaped rewards not just physically, but personally and professionally.
I have more energy, more clarity, and more energy throughout my work days in general, even on the days that I’m not taking his class. And more importantly — I’ve been sleeping dramatically better since I started the yoga earlier this fall.
But one of my favorite parts of the class is simply listening to the calm, focused, nonjudgmental “instruction” from Gary. In a way that’s almost uncanny, at the very moments in class where I feel most challenged or conflicted about being there (because I feel I should be working or doing something on my “to-do” list) or even when I’m just feeling insecure about how my body looks while holding some “let it all hang out” pose — Gary inevitably speaks to the class in a way that seems to address precisely what’s going on in my head. And he brings me back to what matters. Just being and accepting the “here” — right where I am at that moment — right now.
It’s a valuable lesson for the rest of my life outside of yoga.
Get your holiday groove on
My Sarasota Herald Tribune TICKET column today gives some fun outdoor stuff to do this weekend — starting with some very cool reggae at O’Leary’s tomorrow night. Might be brisk weather, but we can always generate some body heat by dancing!
You can read the column online here Get Your Holiday Groove On or by flipping to page 7E of today’s TICKET.
I LOVE this weather!!!
‘Noles take the Gators in MC’s football fantasy predictions
In my “After Hours” column appearing in today’s Sarasota Herald Tribune TICKET section, I lay down m predictions for today’s football wins, tell you where you can get out of the house and catch the games on a big screen, and then …
weigh in with a prediction on Saturday’s big game between FSU and UF.
You can read the full column here: MC Predicts the ‘Noles will Trounce the Gators!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Best of the Suncoast … four years running!
I really can’t thank the readers of this blog enough for voting for me in this year’s Creative Loafing Best of the Suncoast contest! Merci Beacoup! Grazie!! Danke!!! … um, just plain … thanks a bunch!
This is the fourth year I’ve nabbed a Best of nod from CL readers/voters — in the Best Reporter, Best Columnist (grrrrr … that darn Tom Lyons … he’s the 2010 winner in that category! 😉 )and Best Blogger categories.
It’s a true honor and I appreciate every one who took the time to go online and cast a vote for my little patch of blogospheric reality.
Where the mind goes … martinis must follow!
MC’s After Hours column in today’s Sarasota Herald-Tribune TICKET — Where the mind goes … martinis must follow!
If you’re looking for stuff to do in the coming week that will engage your brain — read this!
Heat Bomb to Explode in Sarasota …MC Coolidge launches new print column!
What’s black and white and read all over? I sure HOPE it’s my new column!
After something like two and a half years — TWO AND A HALF YEARS, folks! — I’ve finally landed a regular print gig again. I can’t believe it. But here’s the proof: Heat Bomb to Explode in Sarasota (more…)