The In's and Out's of my life

Commuting fun!

2008-08-20T13:02:00.001-07:00

Last night I was heading home from my trapeze staff fly, and the subway I normally take (the F train) was having issues. There were extensive delays, and the announcements were suggesting that we use an alternate route if we could. So I headed over to the E train. And in a way I was kinda glad that I was forced to go there. Because the subway station on the E line at 14th Street has these really cute brass sculptures. I’ve seen them before, but this time I actually had my camera with me. So I started snapping away! I got so caught up in it that I actually missed my connection! Oh well! That just gave me more time to take photos!

Bicycle rides

2008-08-17T08:02:00.000-07:00

I've always like riding my bike. When I was a kid growing up in the suburbs, all the neighborhood kids would be out riding their bikes every evening in the good weather, and all day on the weekends!

As a young adult in college, I had gotten a bicycle that was more of a racing type of bike. I used to ride a lot back then. When I lived off campus, I'd ride to classes in the good weather. But since I went to school up in Buffalo, NY, there were more months of bad weather than there were good. So for me, "good weather" when it came to bike riding was where the streets were clear of snow. And since Buffalo is known for having lots of "lake effect" snowstorms, the city plowers were very good at clearing the streets. So, in the middle of the freezing cold winters, I'd be riding my bicycle, all bundled up like a yetti!

A couple of years ago I purchased a new bicycle. It's a Huffy "cruiser" bike. The old fashion ones that people used to ride for fun. I decorated it as well. I added metallic gold pipe-cleaners to the spokes, threading them in and out, and making the spokes look like a cobweb. I wrapped the handlebars and the main support bar with a long string of green sequins. I still have to finish wrapping, but need to buy more of the stringed sequins. I added a basket to the front of the bike, and recently another basket on the back. And I have on the handlebars a horn (sounds like the clown horn from the circus) and a mirror. I love my bike!

And so does my dog!!!

Yes, that's right, my dog and I go for bike rides together. I put her into the front basket, clip her in to a hook I rigged up in there (oh, and I also rigged up a "floor" and some "walls" to the lower part of the basket, so her toes or tail won't fall through and get caught up in the front spokes!) She wears her "Doggles", so that if something flies up at her, it won't damage her little eyes! And off we go!!!! She loves the wind in her hair, and all the sights and sounds and smells!

Well, it's Sunday today, the weather is really nice, and I've got no other plans. So I guess we'll go for a nice long bike ride today!! Have a good one, y'all!

Back to Turks!!!!

2008-04-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

Turks and Caicos is one of my most favorite places on earth!! I have been there about a dozen times. I always stay at the same resort (Club Med), because it is an all-inclusive which actually includes the flying trapeze! Although, I guess it’s not really an ALL-inclusive, since there is an extra charge for some things, including scuba diving. But for the most part, you don’t have to worry about having to pay for food or drinks or most of the activities.

For the first 5 years that I was going to Club Med Turquoise, my main activity was the flying trapeze. But then in May 2006, I had a trip planned, and ended up throwing out my back a couple of weeks before I was heading down. I was so upset! If I canceled the trip, I would end up losing out on a good chunk of the money I had paid. If I went, I wouldn’t be able to do trapeze, and I would be bored. I’m not the kind to sit on a lounge chair and soak up the sun.

Then a friend suggested I try scuba diving. I could learn to dive right there at Club Med. Sounded like a plan!! So when I arrived, I spoke with the scuba staff, and decided to try the PADI Scuba Diver certification.

I also went to try the trapeze to see how my back would do with it. It was actually great!! I guess the trapeze acted like a traction mechanism of sorts. By the end of the week, my back was all better!!!

Anyway, since that May 2006 vacation, I’ve been back to Club Med and have gotten fully certified in Scuba. I’ve been on a number of dives since then.

And now, I am heading back to Turks … TOMORROW!!!!! I will actually get my Advanced certification in scuba while I’m there!!! So my days at Club Med are now even more jammed packed! I’ll wake early to head to the Scuba dock, and dive all morning. Then I have a few hours of relaxation time before I head over to the trapeze for the afternoon session! And of course, nights are for parties!!

As usually, I’ll come back needing another week off to rest up!!! Heck, I’m already tired!!

Look for the post-vacation wrap-up blog!!

Weekend in Boston!

2008-03-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

Last week I was sitting at work, really needing a vacation, because work has been pretty difficult lately. And then I'm thinking about the fact that I had Friday off from work. So I went online and did a little digging. I found a trip to Boston that included the flight and 2 nights at a very nice, historic hotel right near the Commons. And it was all for less than $300 per person!!!

So off we went for the weekend!! We fly up on Friday morning, check into the hotel and head off to have lunch at Faneuil Hall.

After a lunch of New England Clam Chowder ... or should I say .... Chowda, we walked part of the Freedom Trail to the Old North Church. You know, the church of the "One if by land, two if by sea" fame! On the way we passed Paul Revere's house. Decided not to go in, but peeked in the windows. You've seen one historic house, you've pretty much seen them all. After going to the Old North Church, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant that I've eaten at before. It's really good!!!!

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped into the theater where "Avenue Q" was doing their touring performance to see if we could get tickets. Well, lo and behold, they were actually holding a ticket lottery as we got there. We entered our names and as soon as our slips of paper were in the box, the guy closed the lottery. Well, I'm sure you can guess what happened ... third name called!!!! Yup, we won two tickets in the lottery. So instead of paying what normally cost $87.50 per ticket, we got 6th row orchestra seats for $25 each!!! We went back to the hotel to relax for an hour and a half and then went to see one of the funniest musicals I have ever seen!!! If you haven't seen it ... GO!!

The next day we slept late and then headed to the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum. This was the museum that had 13 very famous paintings (by Degas, Manet, Rembrandt and Vermeer to name a few) were stolen. They've never found the theives or the artwork. The museum actually has empty spaces where the paintings used to hang. Sad! http://www.gardnermuseum.org/information/theft.asp

After the museum we were hungry, so we headed over to the Prudential Center to eat at The Cheesecake Factory. I LOVE The Cheesecake Factory. We're hanging out waiting for our table, when we started to notice a lot of people dressed kinda strange. More people were coming in, so I finally asked the waitress. Turns out, there was an Anime convention going on that weekend, and the convention was being held at the Prudential Center. We walked around the mall after lunch, checking out the Anime participants more than the shops.

Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, and since we were tired from all the walking we had done, we decided to just stay in on Saturday night.

Sunday morning, we slept late again (I love sleeping late on the weekends!) and got ourselves ready, checked out of the hotel, and headed off to the Science Museum for the day. We got to play with the hands on exhibits, saw a few presentations,
even saw little chicks hatching from their eggs.

We headed back to the hotel, picked up our luggage and headed to the airport. All in all, a nice little getaway!

Ghosts from the past.

2007-11-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

A little less than a year ago I was hanging out with this guy, and back then I basically knew he was an alcoholic, although he wouldn’t admit to that. He and I broke up. I got fed up with the constant drama, and the constant lying. So I walked away. It was an ugly scene, actually. He had bailed on me at the last minute on a VERY important night, and I just lost it! It ended with me basically telling him that I wanted nothing to do with him ever again. That I was so much better than him, and that he in no way deserved to have any contact with me.

A few months later, I had become friends with this girl who had been friends with him, but also had gotten fed up with the lies and drama, and had to walk away from him too. She recently heard from him again, so what I now know, and what’s been on my mind this week, I heard from her. But, through my new friendship with her at the beginning of this year, I learned that it wasn’t just alcohol that was an issue with this guy. He apparently was snorting cocaine as well. It seems that the “signs” were there, but not really knowing much about cocaine abuse, I had no clue these were signs. I did know that he also was abusing Ambien. Couldn’t sleep, so he’d pop those almost every night, along with the alcohol he’d down. It’s a wonder he’s still alive!

Ok, skip to earlier this week. From what I knew after I dumped him, he had met another woman (actually, he probably met her while he was still with me, because that seemed to be his "M.O.", since he can't bear to be alone), and they got VERY serious. From what I've been told by my friend ... he has now, finally admitted to being an alcoholic and a drug abuser. Not sure what that exactly means, since with him, you never really knew the full story. I am fairly sure that he has joined AA. From the info I have, I guess his new girlfriend must have dumped him too (probably had her last straw too), and that's probably what prompted him to admit his problem and to seek help. He had been trying on his own to quit, and supposedly that wasn't working too well.

Now, you may be thinking this is all a good thing. But, here's the thing. As shitty as this sounds, I really, honestly do not think he'll end up staying sober. He's got MANY, MANY, MANY demons that he tries to avoid dealing with. He has always placed blame of every situation on other people (for example, it was his ex-wife's fault that the marriage ended, not that he cheated on her almost daily, and lied, and drank and all that other crap. No, in his mind, she was to blame, and she’s the bitch. Not that he’s the f’in asshole!)

On top of that, he has always had trouble sleeping without either being passed out drunk, or popping an Ambien (with alcohol most of the time too!) He gets through his days by snorting coke, because even with the alcohol and Ambien, he'd still have insomnia. He has nightmares without the substances. And he can never admit things may be his fault. He's always been against AA. When he and I were together, he said it was trading one addiction for another (even though I had pointed out that even if someone is "addicted" to AA, isn't that better than being addicted to some substance. But he wouldn't agree). From the girl who was speaking with him, I found out that he doesn't like the "counting" aspect of AA (having to count how many days, weeks, months or years you've been sober). She tried to explain that it's about accountability, about being responsible for your actions. And how if you drink, even a sip, you have to start all over from scratch.

But the biggest obstacle I see him having in staying sober … the guy can’t face his faults. He avoids them. He’s warped in his view of what really is happening. He sits there spouting out about what a great father he is … calls himself “Super Dad”. But the thing is … he’s NOT a good Dad. He gets his kids all of 6 days a month. Yeah, they can have fun together. But when the summer comes and the weather’s nice, he’ll dump them off on his sister or mother so he can go ride his motorcycle. It’s a big friggin’ SIX days a month, and he can’t even drop everything else to spend the entire time with them? If his kids are good kids, it’s because their mother has them the other 24-25 days of the month!! NOT because of him. No, in spite of him!

He had once told me a story about how his father (who was an alcoholic) would pass out in the entryway of their apartment building when he was a kid, and how embarrassing it would be to have to drag his father’s drunk ass into the apartment. Then not even a month later, he’s telling me about this time that he had been watching a movie with his kids, and ended up passing out on the futon (blamed Ambien, but the form of substance abuse isn’t the issue, it’s the abuse itself). He said he woke up to find that his kids had covered him with a blanket, turned off the TV and put themselves to sleep. Yeah, good kids, but how does he not see that it’s basically the same story as his finding his dad passed out in the apartment building’s entryway? Yeah, this was in a private home, none of the neighbors saw. But the kids did!! Super Dad, my ass!!

Anyway, I just don't think that in the long run he'll remain sober! There’s WAAAAAAY too much for him to have to face, and he’s not one for facing things. Plus, the only reason he probably is trying to stop is to try to win back this girl. You can’t stop for someone else. It has to be for yourself!

And with a "success" rate of only approximately 30% of people remaining sober (btw, congratz to those who are in that 30%), I just don't see him being one of the fortunate ones.

Now, all this said, here's the real issue I'm having with all this. See, as I said in the beginning of this blog (long one, isn’t it??), I had told him I wanted nothing more to do with him, ever again. But, with his having joined AA, and if he does make an honest attempt to go through the program, eventually I will end up hearing from him. You know, that "Amends" step of AA. This is one part of AA that I totally do NOT agree with! Yes, it is important for people to take responsibility for their past actions. Yes, it may be a good thing for the person who was "wronged" to hear an apology. But what about those of us who don't want to hear it?

My feeling on this is that I will be "forced" to hear from this asshole, and the only thing I want is to never have to hear from him, or see him, again! It's not like he can change what he did in the past. It's not like an apology will mean jack shit to me. I know this will sound really, really shitty, but if he disappeared off the face of the earth, I'd actually be happy! I feel this guy is a waste of space and a definite waste of good oxygen!

Yes, I know I can refuse to forgive him. But that's not my point. My point is ... why should I even have to deal with hearing from him again in the first place? I’ve already had to deal with him more than I should have (I wish I never met him).

Some may not agree, but I feel this "Amends" aspect of AA is a very self-centered thing! Not everyone wants to hear from the alcoholic they've removed from their life!

To make my point … and I know this is not the same thing, and I'm in no way thinking that my situation is as horrible as the scenario I'm going to put here ... but, what if someone enters AA, gets to the "Amends" part, and then contacts the person they had raped, or beaten up, or done some other HORRENDOUS thing to. That victim of this alcoholic may have struggled for years to get to the point of having been able to move past that horrible thing, and now it's being thrown back in their face by the very person who was the perpetrator of the horrible thing, and sends them back to being effected by it all. I just find it wrong to have to put the "victim" into this type of situation of having to be forced to have any contact with the person that did this to them! Yes, I'm being extreme, my situation is nowhere near this extreme, but I'm trying to make a point.

Anyway, I know eventually (unless he goes back to drinking before he gets to it) that he will contact me. He told the girl I am friends with that he is not ready to contact me just yet. Not sure what that means. Could be that I'm not that high up on his list of importance, or it could mean that he's not strong enough to admit all the shitty things he did (most of which I was able to figure out on my own, anyway). Or maybe it’s something else altogether.

So, what do I do? Do I avoid his calls? Do I delete any email I may get from him without reading it? Deleting emails is easy enough. I can also avoid the calls. But what if he keeps his number as "private", then I'll never know if I'm avoiding him, or someone I actually WANT to speak with. And, it’s still allowing him to have an effect on my life. And THAT is completely unacceptable to me!!!

Man, I can't stand this asshole, even now, a year later, when I don't have anything to do with him! I’ve moved on! And he was someone else's problem, and that was fine with me!!!

Ok, that’s off my chest! Now, I can go on my vacation and not have to deal with thinking about this!

Made with Passion

2007-08-31T06:35:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was taking my shower, I looked up at the plastic bottle of Body Shop Coconut Shower Gel (I LOVE this shower gel, because it makes me think I’m in some tropical island) and noticed that written on the bottle was “Made with Passion”. This made me think … what job could I have that would make me feel passionate? Don’t get me wrong, I like what I do for work. But, it’s still just a job to me. I definitely don’t feel passion about it.

I think the majority of people are not passionate about what they do for a living. I feel that many people actually don’t even like what they do. I at least like what I do most of the time, so for that I’m thankful. I don’t wake up with dread each morning, nor go to sleep with dread each night. I do think I’d like my job better if I didn’t have to be in until 10 a.m. and could leave by 3 p.m., but I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.

I read recently that nowadays, if you want to make more money, expect to work much harder, and many more hours. To me, that defeats the purpose of making more money. You end up with less time to enjoy what money you make, and are more tired during your free-time hours. So is it worth it to try to earn more?

But, back to the original thought … what job could I have that would make me feel passionate? If money weren’t an issue, what would I truly LOVE to do for a living? Or for a LIFE is probably the better way of putting it.

Run a doggy daycare center? Hmm. Being around animals is a passion for me. But, it’s still a retail operation, and a 24/7/365 one at that! Plus, on a day where I have a headache, the barking and whining would probably get to be too much!

Do something “circus” related? I love flying, and would love to be able to do that more often, but to work at a trapeze school … it’s HARD work and you aren’t really FLYING so much as teaching others to fly. And to be a trapeze artist that performs in a circus … well, I can’t see my high-maintenance personality living out of a trailer, traveling from town to town for too long. Plus, again … if you’re a performer, and you have a headache or body ache … not good.

Oooh, I know … maybe be a writer for a travel magazine!! Get to go to all these interesting, fun, exotic locales and come back and tell people my thoughts on that. But that would only be good if I can turn down trips that I don’t want to take. Like to places I would consider dangerous, either by virtue of the place being a terrorist haven, or not being considered a healthy place to travel to. And then again, having to take all those different types of inoculations, like for malaria, etc. Maybe not as GREAT when thought out fully. But still, it could be fun. As long as I could bring someone with me each time. Because traveling alone can be lonely!

The thing is, no matter what the job, even if you are passionate about it, it’s going to have its good points and its bad points. I guess the trick is to find a job that has more good than bad, and to concentrate the PASSION of your life to the times outside of work!

Bringing you up to date … AGAIN

2007-08-01T09:20:00.001-07:00

[Note: this blog will be edited to include more photos and possibly some videos at a later time]

Well, it’s been a little bit of a while. Lots and yet nothing much has happened since I last wrote.

I got my first Netflix movie. It was Music and Lyrics, with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. It was ok. Didn’t LOOOVE it, but it was cute. The next one is arriving tonight. Ocean’s Eleven. Yeah, yeah, I know … old movie. But I never saw it, so I’m doing catch-up on the ones I need to! Heck, why do you think I have over 75 movies in my queue, without even blinking an eye?

Last weekend was rather packed with things to do. First, on Friday after work we had another softball game. And yes, we won again! We’re doing SOOOO much better than we did last year. We’re very close to a playoff spot! This game was a close one. 10 to 9. But we managed to hold the other team off! Next game is Monday night.

After the game, nobody really wanted to go out. It was a Friday night, in the summer, and most people try to get the hell outta Dodge … or NYC, if you want to be specific. So I headed back to Queens and met up with my Mom. We took Anoush and walked about a mile to go to an outdoor café for dessert. But they wouldn’t let us sit down with Anoush. Which was annoying, since we planned to sit at a table that was next to the “fence” that divided their outdoor section from the rest of the sidewalk. Anoush was on the sidewalk side, so she wasn’t really even on their property. So, we walked back towards our homes and to another place that’s actually closer to us.

The next morning I woke up early and took Anoush out for a long walk. I knew I’d be gone most of the day, so I wanted her to get some good “outdoor” time. Then around 10:30 a.m. I picked up my friend Julie and we headed out to the trapeze for our class. Nicole joined us in class (along with others) and we did our flips and twists and other fun stuff. During catch time, I threw three different tricks and caught them all. Granted, they weren’t the best I’ve thrown, but I’ll take it!

After class, Nicole, Julie and I headed back to Nicole’s house. We hung out in her pool (and Jacuzzi) all day. The weather forecast was supposed to be for rain, but there was hardly a cloud in the sky! Go figure! We ended up staying at Nicole’s until late in the evening, and had watched Little Miss Sunshine. I’d seen it already, but Nicole and Julie hadn’t. Sad, but funny, but SAD movie.

Julie and I headed back to Queens and after I dropped her off, I was really looking forward to hitting my pillow. I was almost all the way home when I heard a cell phone ringing. It wasn’t mine! It was Julie’s. She had accidentally left it in my car. So I turned around, and headed back to her place. Luckily we don’t live too far from each other, so I got my head on that pillow within just a few extra minutes!

On Sunday we had a family gathering. My cousins who live in New Jersey came to my parents’ place. We had a fun day, catching up, playing with the little ones, and eating lots of food! Even Anoush had a good time. My little cousin kept picking her up and carrying her all over the place. She’s not used to that!

Then it was back to work on Monday, and the week is now halfway through. My company actually rang the bell on the New York Stock Exchange this morning. I was invited down to the exchange, but was not one of the ones selected to go up on the podium for the actual ringing of the bell. Next time, maybe. The only really sucky thing about going down there, I had to wear a business suit, and it’s going to be in the 90’s today!! BLECH!!!

Tonight I’m having dinner with my friend Shelly at one of my favorite local restaurants. Then I’ll watch Ocean’s Eleven, so I can send it back tomorrow and get my next DVD by the weekend!

Time to pop the popcorn!!

2007-07-25T08:32:00.001-07:00

I joined Netflix! I'm going for the unlimited, but one at a time, membership! I'm very excited! I currently have 18 movies in my queue! But, if you have a suggestion for a "MUST SEE" movie, please post it in the comment section! I'd really appreciate getting opinions on what's good out there!!

What comes around, goes around

2007-07-23T03:41:00.000-07:00

I was told a story by a friend who has another friend who's acting mean and spiteful. My initial reaction was to tell my friend that it's all about karma, and that the mean and spiteful will get "negative" back for the negative they put out.

But that got me to thinking about karma. I always say "I believe in karma" when negative things, like what happened to my friend, occur. But do I really believe that?

Well, no, I don't fully believe that. My friend Tracy has a son. Actually 2 sons and a daughter. But it's her youngest I am talking about. Colby. At the age of 9, Colby was diagnosed with AML (high risk Leukemia). He had to go through six months of chemo and all the other horrible things those with cancer deal with. He was one of the lucky ones. He survived. He's now 5 years older, and still doing great! FIVE YEARS, people!!! That's so great!!!!

But the fact that he even went through all this ... the fact that there are many people, from the tiny little baby to the senior citizen, who are going through horrible things, yet are good people and don't deserve to have to have these things happen to them! People who are so good in their hearts and their actions, who are not putting out negativity, and don't deserve to get that back at them.

So, I guess I don't "ALWAYS" believe in karma. I guess it's more that I kinda hope for it, and that those who are mean spirited, who knowingly do things that are negative to others, who are spiteful and underhanded, will only find negative things in their own life as payback. Yes, I am vengeful. But maybe it's more that if these people know that negative things await them, they will think twice before being negative to others. (unless they're a sociopath, and don't care about the negative consequences)

Though, I DO believe that if you have a negative attitude, that you will only end up seeing the negatives in the world around you. There IS so much good, and that's what we need to focus on, and when confronted with the negative, try to change it!

Lovely butterflies!

2007-07-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

Today after getting home from trapeze class I took Anoush over to a local park to hang out.

She's such a good dog, that I can actually let her off leash and she won't go too far. So, while I was sitting there reading a magazine, I noticed a butterfly flying close by. It kept aliting on Anoush's back.

And then I noticed that it was also landing on me. It would land mostly on my hat, but also landed on my hand and arm several times. It stayed on the back of my hand for a few minutes before fluttering away.

A guy walking by was amazed by this, and actually told me that there were two butterflies that kept landing on my hat. When I could I took out my cell phone and snapped this shot of it on my hat! What a very cool experience!

Old friends, good times!

2007-07-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, time to catch up. Last I left you, we were moving to our new space at work. Well, I’m fairly settled in. I like the space. It’s a little “busy” in that a lot of people end up walking past me, but I will get to used to that.

Over the weekend, I ended up hanging out with some friends. The friend from Florida is in town, and a bunch of us went out on Saturday night. I saw people I haven’t seen in over a year!

And we had such a great time!

I didn’t get home until 3 a.m. and ended up having to get up at 7 a.m. on Sunday to take care of things (like taking Anoush to the playground to play (check out the video)) and get ready to go to trapeze class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MglOuMppyC4

In class I was actually really tired from only getting 4 hours of sleep and it showed in my performance. I worked on my layout during the practices, but never got fully there, so I ended up having to catch one of my fallback tricks (my back-end split). Even those were a bit lame!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8vCJtXniBw

After class two of my friends and I went out for lunch. It was a really nice meal at The Cheesecake Factory. Then one of those friends and I went swimsuit shopping at Macy’s. Well, I am not exaggerating when I say that I must have tried on almost all of the bikinis in the entire swimsuit department! SERIOUSLY!!!! And I hated how I looked in all of them!!! I did buy one, as a motivation to get my body back in shape. And it didn’t help that my friend was trying on suits too, and she looked fantastic in all of them, especially with her tan! It’s gonna be hard to be laying on the next lounge chair from her when we go on vacation together in November. I’ll probably never get noticed! Luckily I love this friend so much, so I can’t hate her about this! :-)

On Tuesday my entire department at work went out for a bowling party after work. We had two teams (not that I agree with everything being a competition, but I’m only one person). Each team won one game. I, of course can’t bowl to save my life, so I didn’t add too much value to my team. Luckily the rest of my team was good enough! We had food and drinks and it turned out to be a really fun night.

Then I woke up this morning and it was raining. No, strike that … it was POURING!!! It was raining so much, I should have started to build an ark! I got myself ready, and went to head into work. My first attempt was the subway, but there wasn’t any trains running on my line into the city. So I went back home, got in my car and started to try to drive in. I had to wade through rushing water that was flooding our basement and into our garage. I slowly made it out of the garage but I didn’t get far, before I hit bumper to bumper traffic and lots of flooding. So I turned back around. I got back home, waded through the shin deep water in the garage, back to my apartment, went online and saw that trains were running from the stop after mine, so I decided to walk over there and take the train from there. Of course when I was about to walk out, it started POURING again. So I waited that out. Then I headed over to the station. I waited on the platform for 10 minutes and a train finally arrived. We all jammed into the subway car and waited again. But at least there was air conditioning on the train! We waited another 20 minutes. Then came the announcement …. ALL SUBWAY SERVICE ON THE E, F AND V TRAINS IS SUSPENDED DUE TO FLOODING CONDITIONS ON THE TRACKS. THIS TRAIN IS OUT OF SERVICE. PLEASE LEAVE THE TRAIN.

So I headed outside, and called my Dad who had left a voicemail saying he was heading for the Long Island Rail Road instead of the subway. He told me that he had gotten to the platform, and that there were so many people on the platform, that if another person had entered, the person at the platform edge would have been pushed onto the tracks. He waited at the back of the platform for a while, but no trains arrived. He decided to head home and give up.

I called into work, filled my boss in on everything. His response was to try again in a half an hour. Um … ok. But a half an hour later, it was once again POURING!

I kept checking the website, but the trains didn’t start rerunning until well into the afternoon. So I just worked from home. Hopefully nobody was too annoyed with me at work.

I was supposed to actually head up after work today to Rhinebeck, NY to see a trapeze show with my friend from Florida. But because of the rain, we didn’t. I also was going to end up taking tomorrow off, but now I’m going in.

One last note … there was a steam pipe explosion this evening in Manhattan. So far there were 11 people injured, and one of which has passed away.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19838095/

It’s somewhat near where I work. And it is where I would have had to walk past if I had been in the city today and had brought Anoush in to daycare. I hope that this doesn’t effect my commute in tomorrow, because my boss is probably already annoyed that I didn’t come in.

Moving day!!

2007-07-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

TIME TO PACK!!!

Since I started at the company where I work (over 6 years ago), I have had to move my desk, move to different floors, and move to entire new buildings. Well, the moving continues. Right now our company has the entire 10th floor and 1/4 of the 11th floor. But we're quickly outgrowing the space. People have had to work in conference rooms, and they've created "desks" where there really aren't supposed to be desks. So we've now leased half of the 19th and 20th floors. We're giving up the 11th floor, since it's so small. The plan is that my department and the Administration department are moving up to the 20th floor. While we're up there, the 19th floor will be completely demolished and rebuilt to fit our specifications. Once that's done, those of us on the 20th floor will move down to the 19th floor. They will then renovate the 20th floor. When that floor is done, my department will move back up to the 20th floor, the Admin. department will stay on 19, and the marketing department and another small research department will move up to fill out the rest of the space on the two floors.

My desk looks so nice and clean!!

So, when all is said and done, in the ... what will be 7 years at that time this is all finished ... that I will be with the company, I will have had to pack up my desk and move ELEVEN times.

I'm excited about the first part of the move, because where I am going to be sitting is a huge space, and I'm going to be able to position my computer so that I'm facing the offices opposite me, which have floor to ceiling glass walls, so I'll be able to see outside easily. I think that's going to make the work day a lot more pleasant.

Not everyone is happy about the move. My boss is annoyed, because there were 3 large offices, and then 5 smaller ones. He got one of the smaller ones, but another attorney who has only been with our company for about a month got one of the big ones.

It's almost time for mid-year reviews. I should probably hear next week. No money is discussed, but I am definitely interested in what he has to write about me. All the points he made (some valid, some not) in my year-end review, I've worked on improving on. Made a definite concerted effort. So, if the review is not a good one, well ... let's cross that bridge when we get there.

Yesterday I went to Duane Reade with my friend David from work (pictured here). While I was there I picked up a new lipstick. I'm wearing in the photo of me. It looks a LOT brighter in the photo than it looks in person.

But the funny thing about the lipstick ... it's by the company "Black Radiance". Who would figure that a blonde haired, green eyed, freckled white girl would look good in makeup made for a black woman?!?! (oh, and the green headband was a birthday gift from Lisa in California. Thanks Lees!!!!)

Last night I went to Target with my Mom. I bought her and my Dad a DVD player for a combination Mother's Day and Father's Day present. While I was there, I decided to look into a new clock radio alarmclock. My old one was not very reliable. The volume dial was very finicky and would readjust itself from time to time, so that I sometimes would never hear the alarm go off.

Well, I found this gem! As you can see, it has a nice big screen that shows the time, the date, and the station it’s playing. Plus, I can dim the backlighting if I want, so it’s not going to be disturbing when the room is dark.

It’s all digital, and has 6 presets for stations for AM, six for FM – 1 and six for FM – 2. Yup, I can pre-program in 12 different FM stations to skip to at the touch of a button. My old alarm clock had a dial for tuning to different stations. I can also hook up my MP3 player to it as well (and it came with the connecting cord). And to top it all off, it has 4 preset nature sounds! I can wake to those as well. There are the ocean sounds, a tropical forest, birds, and wind chimes.

There’s also a sleep timer as well, so I can go to sleep to music or nature sounds, set to play for either 15, 30, 60 or 90 minutes. And, even better, I can set the volume on the sleep timer and the volume on the alarm to be different, so if I want to fall asleep to low sounds, but wake to louder sounds, I can!

Last night I fell asleep to the sound of the ocean. Tonight, perhaps the sounds of frogs or the sounds of birds??

A winning streak!

2007-07-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

We had another softball game last night. And we, yet again, won! They have me playing catcher, so my legs are a bit sore today. All those darn squats. But I just keep thinking about how great my butt and legs will look, so it’s not too bad.

The game started out with runs on both side, but we were down by one run after the fourth inning. I had actually scored one of those runs, believe it or not! I was not “antsy” on the plate and let the pitcher actually walk me. My strike zone is apparently microscopic!

We scored two more runs in the fifth, but the other team scored another run in the top of the sixth. So we entered the bottom of the sixth inning down by 1 run. In softball there are only 7 innings. Plus, because the games are only one hour long, each batter starts out with a 1 and 1 count (one ball and one strike), before even getting the bat on their shoulder. It makes the games go quicker.

The first batter was thrown out at 1st base. Then I was up at bat. I did my “wait for a good one” routine, and ended up walked again to 1st base. It’s actually better for me to do that for several reasons. First, with my bum shoulder, it’s better to not swing. But more importantly, even when I do end up making contact with the ball, I don’t get it very far, and end up being thrown out at 1st anyway. So, since we’re not dealing with any Cy Young’s, I may as well take advantage of the possibility to be walked. The next batter comes up, and I advance to 2nd base. Then the next one comes. He lobs one out into the outfield, but short, and most of the other team’s outfield was too far back. So I run my patooty off to third base. When I get there, I hear “Lisa, come home!!!!” So, as fast as these little legs can carry me, I booked it to home! Yes, that’s right, I score TWO runs in the game! And, I had tied us up as well. But, then my teammates went on to score ten more runs that inning!

So, we started the top of the 7th (the last inning) up by 10 runs! We only needed to hold the other team back from scoring 10 runs. Pretty easy, but then, you never know! Well, they didn’t score any runs! So we not only won, but we slaughtered the other team! I’ll tell ya, the drinks after a winning game do taste sweeter!!

On a sadder note … when I got home I read news from my friend Lisa, in California. It seems that a mountain lion had gotten into the pen where she keeps her female goats at night (she has goats and chickens and other farm animals). Two goats, including her favorite Stella (pictured when she was a baby and in a photo taken of her just the other day), were killed. A third goat was badly injured, but is alive. I feel so badly for her! Her goats are to her like my pets are to me! My condolences go out to Lisa in this time of loss for her!

Stella as a baby.

Stella, on the day she was killed.

Hazy crazy lazy (not really) days of summer...

2007-07-07T15:20:00.000-07:00

Today I went to trapeze. I am just getting back into it, and am spending each class going over one old trick, since I haven’t flown since last year. Last week I worked on my back-end split. This week was the back-end straddle whip. I had 4 practice turns and 2 catches. I caught both catches, but didn’t get the return bar on either one. Although I ALMOST got it on the second catch. I’m starting to actually “work” my return. This means I’m not just hanging there, but actually doing the moves I would need to do if I didn’t have the safety lines on in order to make it back to the bar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIJdZPeJBGY

I would have had 3 catches, but after the second one, I could feel that the skin had ripped on my hand, although it hadn’t completely come off. Instead it formed a pocket, and all this goo came out. (Sorry, TMI) So I decided to skip the third catch and save my hand! There’s always next weekend!

Tomorrow will be a relaxing day at the pool. I have a friend coming up from Florida on Friday (not staying with me, but may come by) so I have to spend tonight cleaning this place, and doing laundry.

I finally worked on getting the calcium deposits off the back end of my car. When it rains, it leaks in my garage, right over my space. So now I have a tarp over my car. But that was only AFTER the leak put these ugly calcium deposits on the back door and the back windshield. It’s a lot better now, but not 100% yet. I’m going to keep working on it. Windex and compound are my new best friends!!

It’s crazy hot today and will be even hotter tomorrow. I’m not taking Anoush out for a walk until the sun goes down a bit more. Instead, for now we’ll just take a nap!

WE WON!!!!

2007-07-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

We played softball tonight in our corporate league! And we won! We were down 8 to 1 in the first inning, but came back to win it 16 to 11!! I had one RBI. Which was good, otherwise I would have felt like a waste to the team!!

Anyway, I'm soooo ready for a shower! :-)

Is this a cool thing ... or disaster waiting to happen?

2007-07-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

I’m not sure how I feel about what I found out today. I was chatting with this girl from work and she mentioned that she will be going to Club Med the same week that I’m going to be there!

Now, she’s a very nice person. She’s not one of the ones I’ve had “issues” with here. If it were one of them, seriously, I may have re-evaluated going that week.

I’m sure she’ll be cool. But it may be awkward to be in a place where I basically let loose, and don't worry about my "professional" image, and to have someone from work there witnessing that. Not that I am all that crazy and wild. I don't really do anything that I would be ashamed of or that could be posted online as one of those "Priceless" things. But will this make me more conscious about what I do or say or how I act??

I don’t want to assume that she and her friends will expect to hang out with me and my friend. Although it may be cool to hang out. But it can create an awkward situation. Am I making too much out of this?

I've invited her to come over some time to meet my friend that I'm going with on that vacation, and to see some photos and videos from past trips. I guess I'll know more of how things may pan out after that little get together.

First Blog

2007-07-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

First blog post. Should it be noteworthy? Should it be awe-inspiring? Should it make the reader well up with tears of emotion??

Naaaah!!!

Welcome to my blog. I probably will post nonsense and stuff like that. Hopefully some of it will be enjoyable to read.

(the photo was taken with my webcam. I thought it was appropriate because it's me at my computer, and the blog is me at my computer)