How To ... cont. 2 | Article Archives | Arts & Entertainemnt | Cleveland Magazine

Issue Date: February 2009

How To ... cont. 2

Look fabulous at 5 a.m.

NewsChannel 5’s rise-and-shine anchor Kimberly Gill is not a morning person. It takes four strategically placed alarms to rouse her from sleep, starting at 1:30 a.m. Gill’s feel-fabulous regimen is more preparation than primping. “The biggest challenge is getting there,” she says. Here’s how Gill does it:

> 6:30 p.m. (the night before) “The biggest tip is to get in bed before the sun goes down.” Gill shoots for seven hours of sleep.
> 1:30 a.m. The bedside alarm clock sounds. Gill presses snooze and contemplates what to wear. “I keep a journal of what I wear each day in my nightstand. ... I decide what to wear based on how I’m feeling when I wake up.” On tired days, she’ll reach for a brown outfit. But she usually goes for brights.

> 1:50 a.m. Gill dresses quickly. “I might have on a great outfit, but my shoes are flat and comfortable — or really warm boots with fur inside so my feet are comfortable.”
> 2:02 a.m. “If there is anything I must do in the morning, it’s brush and floss — and use a tongue scraper. I know that sounds gross.”
> 2:05 a.m. Gill departs for work.
> 2:30 a.m. Gill arrives at the station and starts preparing for the newscast.
> 4:25 a.m. Gill brushes her teeth again.
> 4:30 a.m. Makeup and hair at the studio. “Our makeup artist isn’t there in the morning, so we are forced to learn how to do that for ourselves.” Gill isn’t a perfectionist. “I try not to let a horrible hair day determine how I’m going to perform in terms of my energy.”>
> 5:00 a.m. Gill is on the air.
>Weekends “I sleep really late, and I call ‘really late’ 9 a.m.”

Survive a Pub Crawl

Charles Peirce is the Cleveland Barhopper. He operates an online bar and restaurant finder at clevelandbarhopper.com. You select desirable features (eye candy, ritzy, karaoke, good A.C., patio), and the Web site will produce a list of local establishments. Or simply turn over the keys to Peirce. His mystery barhopping bus tours visit five pubs a night. “The way to survive a pub crawl is to not drive place to place,” he emphasizes.

Tip 1 Clear your schedule the day after. Then “there’s no reason you can’t do it up more than you ordinarily would.”

Tip 2 Eat before you bar hop. Don’t nibble. Eat. “Skinny girls who don’t eat are the worst.” Choose something substantial, but not too heavy. Mexican fare is a good filler. Pizza snacks in between bar stops soak up the booze.

Tip 3 Wear comfortable clothing, but not your sweats. “A little risqué is fun, and I think the girls who dress up and get noticed have more fun. So do guys who wear a funny shirt and get their picture taken.” About those photos, “Remember, your picture can follow you around for a while.”

Tip 4 No stilettos, ladies. “People get kind of clumsy when they drink.”

Tip 5 Don’t drink shots, “even when people try to convince you.”

Tip 6 Don’t lose your group. “Set a meeting place for the end of the night and an intermediary meeting spot, so if you get split up you don’t have to go home.”

Tip 7 Don’t puke on the bus. “Know when to say when.”

Make a Perfect Jell-O Shot

Jell-O shots are festive, fruity and pretty hard to screw up.Brian Lanigan, general manager at Dive Bar, which serves up $1 gelatin shots for special events, offers some pointers on making them like the pros do.

1 Plan ahead and give gelatin the sweet time it needs to solidify. Ideally, make them the night before.

2 Think accessibility when choosing shot cups. “Paper ketchup cups are nice, because people can tear the sides.” Or try plastic 3-ounce shot cups with ribbed sides — they flex so drinkers can squeeze out the Jell-O goodness.

3 Do the math when mixing ingredients. Lanigan’s tried-and-true recipe is 1 cup of boiling water and 1 cup of liquor for 1 package of gelatin mix.

4 Don’t overpour the alcohol. “If you put straight liquor in, the shots won’t set up right.”

5 Sweeten the deal by using flavored vodkas and liquors. “Mix your flavors as you would when making a drink.” Lanigan likes strawberry Jell-O and 99 Bananas Liquor, or melon jello and Malibu coconut rum.

6 Make extras because, as Lanigan points out, “They go down easy.”

Dance the Polka

> Step 1: Pick the right music.
The type of polka you choose should fit your mood, says Cleveland Polka legend Paul Wilcox, who for 27 years hosted the Polka Varieties television show. It ran locallyand was eventually picked up and broadcast in syndication on 30 stations across the country. We asked Wilcox (who can’t dance the polka) to describe the main styles in Northeast Ohio and give us a good Cleveland band to dance to:

• Polish: Fast, brassy and loud. Listen to Joe Oberitis.
• Slovenian: Soft and smooth. Listen to the Vadnal Family.
• Italian: Frisky, practically a Tarantella. Listen to Ed Cifani.

> Step 2: Dance
Stan and Carol Jenovic of Wickliffe can be found polka-ing in Northeast Ohio several times a week. Stan, 72, shares a few tips:

Before you start: “First of all, you need to listen to the beat of the music. Each band has its own style.The drummer sets the tempo.” Hold your partner like you would in a waltz —there should be some tension in the arms.

First Step: "You’re up slightly on your toes when you’re dancing. Lift your heels just a little bit, just a hair. That helps keep it smooth.”

On the hop: Start your turn on the hop.

On the step after the hop: “I always carry a little container of wax with me, and I rub a little on the soles. It makes it much easier to dance.”

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