Dating and Hand Grenades

The Ultimate Blah, Blah, Blah...

Cartoon Caption: "I've adapted the tag line from the diaper commercial: "Live. Learn. Then get love."

Sneaking Behind the Romantic Red Curtain

She's the relationship humorist and illustrator of the explosive hit column "Dating and Hand Grenades." She's also the veteran cartoonist of "TOUCHE'!" comics--as seen in PLAYGIRL Magazine. And occasionally, she teaches kickboxing. Fun with people. Good with comedy. Drawing both pictures and conclusions. So how did the petite Italian with a French name like Che' (pronounced Shay--like the stadium) sucker punch her way to earn the Ruskie moniker, "Czarina of Comedy?"

Most people can count on five career changes in a lifetime. But Che's not like most people. She's worked her way across a vast employment food chain--laughing much of the way. From kissing up in corporate culture, to unglamourizing the 24/7 rigor of entrepreneurial life, she's almost reinvented herself more than media mogul Madonna--for a few billion less.

In her laborious past, Che’s worked behind the scenes in the film and t.v. biz as a lighting grip and production assistant. She’s even managed her mom’s health food store. Eventually, she parlayed her experiences from a one-liner cartoonist to a 1000 word columnist, appearing in a major newspaper. Along the way, PR consulting, marketing, graphic designing and class instruction helped subsidize a life of bringing humor to others. Not to mention the usual rounds of temp work, retail and a short stint as a bad waitress.

Now a longtime Colorado dweller, Che' still resonates a born-in-the-Chicago-'burbs nasal twang, with a hint of sarcasm. After a post-collegiate San Francisco stint, she traded her California car plates for the cool mountain ones she likes best. Throughout a life of various work and living conditions, Che' has entertained a personal plethora of amusing relationships. From the mundane to the semi-dramatic, she might even hold the world record for blind dates.

So how do funny ideas detonate into Che's pyro-comic writing? Possibly a past-life librarian or just a journalism vampire, Che' feeds her creativity with mounds of media. Battling "info-guilt" overload and press junkiehood, her input includes beloved books-on-tape, plus print books, broadcast, videos, DVD’s, newspapers, internet, and minimizing a mass of Viagra e-mails. She also dabbles in foreign languages. (Great for dating espionage, since some of her best ideas come from eavesdropping in bathroom stalls.)

Living and constantly questioning. That’s how Che's niched her comedic spurs into such juicy relationship humor for over 17 years. In 2002, after compiling her dating “intelligence” and cartoon experience, she jettisoned into The Sunday Denver Post as the Colorado version of writing character Carrie Bradshaw (of Sex and the City fame). Thus "Dating and Hand Grenades," the column, was born, accompanied by her colorful New Yorker-style illustrations. In 2003, she launched a separate "Dating and Hand Grenades Q & A" column.

Che' stays constantly tapped into a G.P.S. network of hot relationship experts and embedded field agents. She deciphers trends and observes life from in and out of the love zone. In "Dating and Hand Grenades," various guru theories meet reality.

Whether hamming for cartoons, writing, radio, television, speaking or art show gigs, she's a sure hit to sparking lively cocktail conversations. As Che' continues shining the interrogational bare light bulb on shadowy relationship issues, she consistently proves that relationships of all kinds are both a universal uniter and igniter. Here's to navigating the romance minefield with minimal casualties! TOUCHE'!

Rank Details:

Special Ops-
Bachelor of Arts degree with honors, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL in Communications-T.V./Radio/Film, with minors in Dance and Business. Certificates in Graphic Design, Red Rocks College, CO and Commercial Design, CU Boulder, CO. Ongoing seminars and meetings with cool people, accumulating pictures rivaling Forrest Gump's collection.

Alliances-
Colorado Alliance of Illustrators past and current president, Denver Press Club volunteer, past board member and PR committee. Affiliations with Denver Woman's Press Club and Colorado Independent Publisher's Association, Colorado Press Association and others.

Special Forces-
Newest exotic in the repetoire of pursuits: Belly Dancing. Also into martial arts (4^th degree black belt-Jeet Kune Do), dance, theatre, movies, music, her pets and perhaps using her ski gear for a 3rd time.

Future Target-
"Dating and Hand Grenades" humor book with cartoons and illustrations plus leaking key elements of a separate fiction title to the press.

Allocations and Budgeting Subcommitte-
Ché supports her "career habit" with a regular job that also takes up an insatiable amount of time...the family business: El Rancho Trading Post gift shop of the Rockies, with biz partner mom. Web site, on site, PR, marketing, supplies gathering, errand running, jewelry/hatband/dream catcher/and whatever else-making creative gal of all trades.