That's Entertainment

I've been holed up in my apartment for the past couple days battling a wicked cold.

You would think the quality time to myself would be full of book and magazine reading and the indulgent spa treatments filling my bathroom closet.

It turns out those options are too draining for someone in my condition.

I'd much rather lay in bed and watch tv or surf the 'net.

So I've done some blogging, created a hot avatar for Second Life and am just discovering the hilarity of Arrested Development thanks to hulu.

Today wasn't intended as a sick day - I was scheduled off Friday in exchange for working last Sunday (thankfully the last Easter Sunday I will ever work in light of my pending departure from television news) but I have spent more time recuperating and loading up on fluids - the water/cocoa/tea variety, not the gin/beer/merlot variety.

I did manage to pull myself together (read: take shower, dry hair, brush teeth) for my monthly hair appointment - my flaxen strands look decidedly more golden after Brigid decided I was straying from my familial assignment as the "blonde" sister.

Unfortunately I missed my friend Sasha's last day at Local 12/WKRC.

Sasha Rionda was brought to Cincinnati's CBS affiliate to launch a Spanish-speaking news program, Nuestro Rincon. I believe Sasha is the only person I've ever worked with to have her own IMDB profile, a nod to her role in an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie and also some professional work she's done in other pursuits.

Sasha is moving on to Atlanta to continue working for CNN as a host for a program covering lifestyle trends and entertainment news.

Sasha started working at Local 12 one year before me, and for a while we didn't know each other because we worked completely opposite shifts - I was producing the morning show and she was working regular "dayside" hours. I remember seeing her around the newsroom as my shift was ending and her was beginning, and I was always horribly intimidated by her. Sasha is this stunningly beautiful woman who is always dressed to the nines. She doesn't look like the kind of girl you'd know in "real life" because her beauty comes off as very glamorous and Hollywood.

If only I had known Sasha's heart is far more beautiful than her appearance.

Sasha and I have commiserated over time about the demands of local news and how those challenges have a way of changing people - making co-workers more abrasive, egotistical and arrogant.

Sasha and I supported and encouraged each other, what with our mutual appreciation for respect, kindness and courtesy.

I am glad I only have to survive one week in the newsroom without my ally - I will finish my own career in local news one week from today.

I am even more happy about the fact that Sasha is moving back to her American hometown of Atlanta - a place I visit several times a year to see Brigid, Steve and Maevey. I know I will stay in touch with Sasha and look forward to celebrate with her the many professional triumphs of the future.

Sasha was sent off from Local 12 with the traditional goodbye cake. I wish I had been there to share it - I imagine Sasha will never forget the misspelled humor written in icing.

The news director's assistant tells me she is going to try and get a refund from Kroger for the unusual message written by the cake artist.