Randomness again… & Happy Friday

Things I’ve thought & saw today so far..

1.  When my train pulled into 30th Street Station.. a man was getting dressed right on the platform.. he was shirtless and he looked like he was drying himself before putting on a clean (?) shirt..  V. interesting…

2.  City Hall.  It’s amazing how clean the building looks now…  It’s such a beautiful piece of architecture. 

3.  Another Starbucks opening @ 12 & Walnut.  So, instead of walking 3 blocks for my occasional cup of overpriced coffee, I now only need to walk 2 blocks.

4.  I have new respect for the NY Yankees… still can’t stand them…but to win year after year says something… Paulie from the White Sox said… “it felt like last year and this year melted together to become one long year” (or something to that effect)… and, yea…  to me also…  It just seemed that the White Sox were totally worn down after finishing baseball at the end of October to start Spring Training in Feb.

5.  Has anyone else noticed how good network TV has been getting lately???  All of the shows I watched last night…  The Office.  Grey’s Anatomy.  ER (yes.. ER still!!).  You just feel such pity for Michael Scott.  He’s the boss you are glad that you’ll never have..but at the same time… you feel sorry for him because he just gets it a little bit.. that he’s not popular & is made fun of.  Please watch if you haven’t.  Steve Carell is hilarious.

6.  This past week at work has been really, really hard.  “The Elephant” involved Deans, Assoc Deans, my boss, me, IT dept, lawsuits, threats of losing our jobs, etc.  It has calmed down a bit…  but it’s still pretty tense.  My co-worker has been throwing up pretty much all week because of the stress.

7.  I’m thinking about switching my heart care from HUP to Jefferson.  Since I work at Jeff, it just makes sense.  Also, my cost out of my pocket will be less.  I’m meeting with the Dir of the program here & will probably grill him about the strength of TJUH’s program.  HUP is one of the best in the nation…but it’s also one of the largest.  I’m starting to feel like a number & not a patient… not a good sign.

Ok… I’ve written enough today. 

Enjoy your Friday.

I laughed for 22 minutes straight… and then cried..

I laughed throughout last night’s episode of “The Office”  … this has to be one of the funniest shows on TV right now… It’s snappy, witty, sincere, and then there is that “ouch” factor whenever you hear Michael say something he shouldn’t have…which, truth be told happens about every 90 seconds…

I cried when I realized that the White Sox are done with for 2006.  A whopping 9-0 loss to Seattle sealed the coffin and put it in the ground. 

Looking to next year.. my beloved White Sox will be touring the state of Pennsylvania first with at stop in Philly for 3 games & then off to Pittsburgh for 3…  In July they will be traveling to Baltimore and then onto Boston.  My goal:  to see them in each of the four places.  Definitely in Boston.  Definitely.

My white sox are definitely blue today.

Getting things off my mind…

1.  I have officially given up on the White Sox this season.  Don’t care.  Not one bit.  How such a good team can collapse is beyond me (but, maybe I should ask any Red Sox fans out there.. they know what I’m going through).

2.  I have slept on my couch the past two evenings… Why?  There is a cricket in my bedroom… and I’m totally freaked out that it is going to jump on my bed while I am sleeping and enter my mouth.  Just thinking about it gives me the shivers.

Ok.. nothing else that exciting to report.. except I was able to not give into the magnetic force that is Starbucks this morning!!!

Ooh… I almost forgot

Tonight on NBC @ 11.30pm… Clay Aiken will be on the Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno.  I can’t wait…  I’m such a Clay Aiken fan.  Yes, I know…it’s bad post-Idol music.  But, but, but… he’s soooo good.  How can one NOT like Clay Aiken.

In other news… Zach Braff is single again…  Jamie & Suzy… do you think I have a chance???

Rainy Friday…

It such a blah morning… no one was talking on the train so maybe it was more than just me having the blah feeling.  Thankfully, tomorrow is a no alarm day for me…which means instead of getting up at 6.. I’ll wake up at 7am.  I hate not being able to sleep in. 

Nothing too exciting planned this weekend.  This is a good thing… the next few will be filled to the brim with things. 

Work has been hectic.  After I leave here.. I collapse in the nearest fluffy chair or sofa and watch some show on TV…  and get up the next day and do it all over again. 

No vacation this September… it’s just too busy here.  Maybe I’ll do London in the Spring?  Who knows.

Commentary by Gov Pataki of New York

A commentary posted on cnn.com regarding 9/11.

“The attacks of September 11, 2001, reshaped the face of the nation and the course of history. Our lives and the lives of those to come — not just here in New York or the United States, but around the globe — have changed forever.The date, September 11, will forever evoke recollections of unimaginable tragedy, of lives callously lost and brutally cut short and of unspeakable horror and sorrow in the hearts and minds of all of us. We must never forget the depths of inhumanity to which terrorist fanatics are willing to sink in the name of their depraved cause as they seek to destroy the very principles of freedom and democracy on which this great nation was founded.

That is why each and every September 11, we as Americans pay tribute to those who lost their lives that fateful day. We gather in unity and dignity to honor the freedoms that we have fought for in the past, the freedoms our loved ones have died for, and those freedoms that we continue to fight for today.

Remembering that day is not a choice but our solemn obligation — on September 11, 2001, there were 2,749 heroes lost; seven buildings destroyed and, with their collapse, 30 million square feet of commercial office space was lost or damaged; 60,000 jobs disappeared; 65,000 commuters were dislocated by the destruction; five subway lines and 12 subway stations were affected or closed; and 1.6 million tons of smoking debris filled the World Trade Center site.

In the following months, lower Manhattan continued to suffer additional losses. Commercial and residential occupancy rates dropped drastically, tourism evaporated, and the quality of life plunged. Lower Manhattan looked set to lose both its residential community and its position as the financial capital of the world.

But today, a mere five years later, Lower Manhattan continues on the path to renewal. Lower Manhattan has not only retained its distinction as the financial capital of the world, but has become the fastest-growing area in all of New York City. We are making significant investments to position it as the premier 21st century central business district — a mixed-use community, vibrant day and night — where companies want to locate, families want to live, and visitors come to enjoy.

For the first time in more than five years, the city’s economic growth rate has exceeded the national growth rate, there are 10,000 more residents downtown, tourism is at an all-time high, and financial and insurance industries, which suffered the worst losses after September 11, are now leading the growth downtown.

On the World Trade Center site, all of the signature elements of the brilliant Libeskind Master Site Plan are under construction — the Freedom Tower, the Memorial and the WTC Calatrava Transportation Hub, and we recently opened 7 World Trade Center, which is nearly 60 percent leased.

The Master Site Plan, shaped by an unprecedented public process, is on its way to bringing cultural and commercial space to the previously devastated site where state-of-the art transportation infrastructure is being created with a vast and fitting memorial as its centerpiece. A memorial that future generations will look at with pride and honor, knowing that we rightfully and respectfully paid tribute to all those lost.

As you recall September 11, always remember that we were attacked not for what we do wrong but for what we do right. Remember the spirit of that day — the day America showed what makes us a great people and a great nation; the day the true character of our nation triumphed over unspeakable evil; the day that freedom and democracy prevailed yet again over oppression and tyranny.”

  

5 years later…

I’m listening to the CNN live feed of the events as they happened on 9/11/01.  It seems like it was yesterday instead of 5 years ago. 

You see signs and full page adverts saying “Never Forget”… My question… how can we forget?  Airplanes crashing into buildings was a thing of movies.. not real life.  In about 24 minutes the first WTC tower will collapse.  I watched some of the CBS special last night.  It was the French documentary that was supposed to be about a new firefighter in NYC.. their film turned out a lot differently.  During the documentary you would hear “thuds” every so often… these were people jumping to their deaths rather than be burned alive in the buildings. 

Again…how can we ever forget something like that?

Life Lesson # 423 1/2…

when storing disposable razors…make sure the safety caps are on them.. lest you almost slice your finger off when grabbing for other bathroom essentials.