Tripping along

Picking up and Moving on

2006-06-02T14:11:00.000-04:00

I have set up my new blog at:

vivace.wordpress.com

Please change all of your links, as this site will eventually be deleted.

Thanks!

I've been called many things ...

2006-05-30T21:31:00.000-04:00

This is a new one. In response to a question posted on the Boar's Head Tavern (BHT), I emailed a suggestion to the author. Figuring the response would come back on email form, I was rather surprised to see it on the BHT's website.

Pleased to see that my thoughts were worthy enough of a post. Not sure what to make of the "Lurker" status now assigned to me. Could be worse...

Frustration

2006-05-10T12:09:00.000-04:00

*clearing throat*

AAAAARRRRGGHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wasted the last two hours trying to resolve an outgoing email issue for the office (incoming is fine). No one will admit responsibility for the problem, nor will anyone propose a decent solution. The ISP is passing the buck to our office website host, the website host is passing it back to the ISP.

The ISP now claims that the default email address (set up when we got the service) was cancelled back in September due to non-use. When asked who cancelled it, the ISP says they did. I asked them to re-activate it and now they're saying that only the boss can make any changes to the account since his is the only name on the account.

And he hasn't been in the office yet today and is nowhere to be found.

Manila Drive: The Semi-Pelagian Narrower Catechism

2006-05-05T13:02:00.000-04:00

Over the course of the last few months, I have spent some time digging into some of the "isms" present in theology. My conclusion? Our God is SO much bigger than any system of theology man can create. He can (and often does) defy human logic.

On a lighter note, I just found this:

Manila Drive: The Semi-Pelagian Narrower Catechism

It's funny and it hurts at the same time. All too often, we function as if Christianity were a formula - if you take this, add this, subtract that and multiply, you will have salvation/redemption/pick-any-"tion"-you-want. Kudos to Manila Drive for giving us the opportunity to laugh at ourselves and think a little harder.

Doing the Deed the Right Way

2006-05-04T14:00:00.000-04:00

There is often a lack of thought behind some people's actions - the bankrobber who writes his "give me your money" note on the back of his own business card, the teen who spills gas on himself while siphoning from someone else's vehicle and then chooses to ignite a lighter to see how wet he is ... - well, you know the type.

I do not endorse criminal or "potentially" criminal actions, but there is a certain amount of satisfaction derived when someone really puts some thought into what they are going to do.

Where Does the Time Go?

2006-05-01T15:00:00.000-04:00

I just realized I haven't posted in a month and a half. Sorry! I am not dead (yet). A number of things happened, all in rapid succession, which kept me otherwise occupied.

While it didn't look it was ever going to show up, spring has finally come to stay in PA. The birds are back, bringing friends with them to our birdfeeder. The assortment is rather impressive.

Something the my husband & I have been praying for is finally happening. We are finding people to hang out with that are just as crazy as we are, if not more so! We :

are relatively intelligent (rather geeky, IMHO)
love to grapple with questions that may not have a "pat" answer
have an endless stream of random thoughts and questions on a variety of topics
hold nothing so sacred or unmentionable that it cannot be discussed/laughed about

That last item is the rock in the gears. By and large, we have been able to identify with various folks over points 1-3 at the churches we have attended over the years. However, it takes a special breed to handle point #4. We've been looking for folks that we can have a deep conversation with about a toilet or a silly laugh-fest about some of the church's (universal, not necessarily local) "sacred cows". The 2 couples that we went out with last Friday night most definitely fit the bill. There's another couple that we have yet to spend time with socially, but we've got a pretty good inkling that are of that "breed".

God is good.

God Whispers

2006-03-15T10:48:00.000-05:00

Today started on a really rough note.

When I got to work, I was greeted by Boss #1 and the bookkeeper. The words after "Hi" were "There's a mystery to solve - $xxxx is missing. Do you know what may have happened to it?"

I very nearly had a heart attack (yes, $xxxx is a four-digit amount). The person that did my job before me was fired because she stole from the company (in more ways than one). I would like to believe, over the course of the last year, that I have earned the trust of my employers and co-workers. In a situation like this, however, I couldn't help but feel that I was not only in the hot seat, but also under a microscope.

While everyone else was in a staff meeting, I ripped my desk apart, hoping against hope that I had somehow put the envelope in a "safe place" (you know, the one where it's so safe that even you can't find it again), mentally crying out to God to show me where I had put it. I found nothing. Anywhere. Boss #2 came up to my desk, wanting me to hold some money that he was returning to a person. That was the last straw - my eyes welled up with tears and I started to cry. Poor guy - he thought someone had died on me. After choking down the sobs, I explained the situation and he assured me that no one thinks I'm a thief and wished me luck in finding the lost money.

He left and I had to calm down. While washing my face with cold water in the bathroom, a thought came to me. "Didn't I give something to Boss #3 once to hold because I didn't want to be responsible for it?" For the life of me, I couldn't remember when it happened - it could have been months ago. Boss #3 gets out of the staff meeting and I ask him. There was a blank look on his face - no, he didn't remember me giving him anything. Ever. Great, my mind is making stuff up. First I lose the money and now I'm trying to make someone else responsible for the problem.

Bosses #1 & 3 left the office for appointments and I continued ripping my desk apart. The bookeeper came up and checked on my progress. I told her about my thought and Boss #3's answer. Frowning, she went into his office and started to dig through his desk. There it was - in one of the drawers- the envelope with all of the money!

I couldn't help but think of Elijah at Mt. Horeb - all ready to have a pity party, expecting God to show up in the noise of the wind that shattered rocks, the earthquake and the fire. Instead, God showed up in a gentle whisper.

I know that God whispered the right thought into my head - there was no way I was thinking clearly enough to come up with that on my own. He also whispered through one of the other secretaries. After the money was found, she told me that she had gone back into her office after hearing of the problem and prayed for me. It is an honor and a privilege to work with fellow Christians - they uphold you when you're too flustered to even think of asking for support.

Giving Thanks

2006-03-08T10:34:00.000-05:00

Just as an update to my medical issue, I went and got the testing done yesterday. According to all results, there is nothing of any concern anywhere. Praise God!

While I know that He would have been able to sustain me through anything, my human state took over and, in my overactive imagination, I had myself on the surgeon's table with all sorts of complications.

I wish there was an "off" button for my mind.

Random Thoughts

2006-03-01T13:34:00.000-05:00

I don't have anything in particular to write about this time, so I'm just going to post some things that have been floating around in my head:

After a routine visit with the doctor, something came up that needed to be addressed. As a result, I will be going for some diagnostic testing next week. Pray for me - although it could be nothing, my mind concocted the absolutely worst of the worst case scenario. Hollywood has nothing on my imagination. My nerves are completely wrung out and I'm not getting more than 4 hours of sleep each night.
Interesting to see that Dan Brown has been dragged into court by the writers (Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh) of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" for supposed plagiarism. I wonder if Baigent & Lehigh ever considered the quandry their action has created. According to them, HBHG is not fiction, but rather a well-thought out and researched work of non-fiction, a type of alternate history.

This is the problem: You may be able to plagiarize an author's analysis, opinion, or thoughts on the topic, but you can't plagiarize the history itself. There are hundreds of books written on the Civil War, but no one is suing anyone else for plagiarism because they all wrote that the first shot was fired from Fort Sumter in 1861. If this is history, as Baigent & Leigh claim, then there was no plagiarism. Dan Brown did not copy, word for word, something from HBHG and inject it into The DaVinci Code, passing it off as his own.

The lawsuit is about the theft of ideas, that Dan Brown took the framework of HBHG, used it for his own and now is about to make millions more because of the movie that is due out in May. The only way to logically make this assertion is if HBHG, in fact, is fiction. You can't have it both ways. So which is it, boys - is HBHG fact, as claimed, or fiction?
OK - now for something completely random and typical of me. Folks around me at the office have been complaining that they are slowly losing their "gray matter", bit by bit, and can't remember the simplest of things. Something about how their mind used to be a steel trap...

I've developed a new theory. What you think is earwax really isn't earwax at all. It's the burned out, liquified remains of your brain, slowly leaking out, bit by bit. This explains why you know and retain so much in the younger years and the mental grasp on things diminishes as you age. Again, just a theory.

The Flaky Danish and an American Port

2006-02-21T17:46:00.000-05:00

The news in the last few days makes you really wonder what is going on.

The rioting over the Danish cartoons has caused a lot of folks I rub elbows with to ask what the fuss is all about. It's just a cartoon, right? Unfortunately, no. To understand the fuss, we need to understand their mentality. While their religion is a big part of who they are, it is just a part of the Arab culture historically. For centuries, they were a nomadic tribal people. "Clan"-ism is what kept them together. If your clan was somehow wronged, it was understood that retaliation was an inherant right. Frankly, if you were the perpetrator, you went into your course of action with the full awareness that somehow, some way, some day, there would be retribution. An "eye for an eye" doesn't even begin to describe the lengths to which the clans would go to restore balance and avenge a wrong. Without an understanding of this basic "right", the riots make no sense.

The riots aren't about the cartoon - it's about a wrong that was perpetrated against their clan (the "clan" being defined as Islam) by the Westerners. The cartoon just happened to be the mechanism this time. Next time, it could be something else. From what I understand of the situation, they did attempt to make things right the Western way (asking the powers that be to retract the cartoons), but to no avail. They then did what is "normal" to their culture - retaliation. Unfortunately, their scope of Westerners isn't just the Danish media who would not listen. Their scope is broad enough to include all Westerners, regardless of their country of origin. While it may seem irrational to our minds, it is the way retribution has been doled out for centuries.

In the midst of this, another report hits the news. This time, we're finding out that the day-to-day function of several American ports is about to be handed over to an Arab-owned company. Who let this happen? Better yet, who's idea was it in the first place to let a company from any other nation run our ports? Granted, the Brits are typically on our side and (to my knowledge) pose no security threat. But still, Americans should be running American ports. In an attempt to assuage American outrage, the "powers that be" are telling us that security had always been under the direct control of the Coast Guard and other American defense organizations, even when the Brits were running things. You dig a little deeper, however, and their definition of security is shaky. As per an article on CNN's website:

"...Each country has its own port security systems in place but most of the containers that go in and out are unchecked. Security has more to do with theft..."

Oh, yes - that makes me feel a whole lot better. Does this mean that, as long as no one attempts to steal a container, then it's considered beyond the scope of "security" to ascertain the nature of the imported cargo in the container?

This kind of stuff really makes me think that it's an outright miracle we haven't been attacked again since 9/11.

Flowering Personality

2006-02-17T11:39:00.000-05:00

One of my father's hobbies was and is gardening. As a result of having grown up with this, I have learned to identify more flowers than I would have cared to know otherwise.

I came across a personality quiz ("personality", as a term, used loosely).While I don't usually try these types of things, I couldn't resist this one. Oddly enough, I came up as my favorite flower.

Drop me a note in the comments section and let me know what kind of flowers I have in this garden.

Which Flower are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Organizing the stuff

2006-02-17T10:13:00.000-05:00

It was bound to happen.

I read The Davinci Code about 2 years ago when my previous boss gave me her copy to read. Someone had given it to her and she had no intention of reading it - she was concerned that it may "rattle" her faith. On the other hand, I am drawn to material that makes me evaluate what is truth, what is half-truth and what is outright false. I have been accused of playing with fire. I disagree. Perhaps if one is new to the Christian faith or has not had much experience discerning truth from falsehood or right from wrong, then "playing with fire" may be an apt description. God has placed people throughout the course of my life that have encouraged my questions, taught me well and helped create a firm foundation for my faith - a faith which engages my heart and mind.

That said, my mind has been in overdrive in the last month or so. My husband and I have been attending one of the many adult Sunday School classes offered at our church. The one that caught our interest this semester dealt with how a Christian can use the DaVinci Code to start conversations with those that wouldn't normally discuss religion. We've dug into the truths, half-truths, facts, half-facts and outright fabrications. We've had to read two of the Gnostic Gospels, Philip and Mary. This class sparked the research bug in me. I have spent so many hours researching gnosticism and its variations, goddess worship, history and apologetics. Quite frankly, I have amassed a sizeable amount of information.

In conversation with my husband the other evening, I commented that I was unsure what I was going to do next. I could very easily research this until "the cows come home" with the end goal of research itself - I possess an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and/or information. He suggested that I write a paper, just to get all of the information and the consequential thoughts into some type of cohesive format. (?!?!?!?) The last research paper I wrote was in the spring of 1993. But, I think I can and will do it.

Stay tuned. In all likelihood, I will post it here.

Day of Wine and Roses

2006-02-14T09:52:00.000-05:00

Yup, it's that time of year again when florists, jewelers and wine shops make a killing - especially off of those folks who waited to the absolute last minute to buy something and then were willing to spend any amount just to get their hands on it. Please don't misunderstand me - gifts from your "honey" on Valentine's Day are a lovely thing. I just happen to think that it's a little sad that we've lost so much imagination that we can't find a way to demonstrate the depths of our love other than by running to the store to buy a product manufactured by a company who has no knowledge of the uniqueness of your significant other. But I digress.

I honestly don't want any"thing" from my husband. Stuff accumulates and then you have to find somewhere to put it or get rid of it. I'd rather collect experiences - a nice dinner out, a movie, working on a puzzle, playing PS2 together, debugging computer code (yes, we are on the nerd-ish side). Time spent with him is a joy that nothing else can bring, no matter what it is that we're doing. Here's to all of our sweeties who know us sometimes better than we know ourselves!

The white stuff

2006-02-12T14:33:00.000-05:00

From what we're hearing, NYC and the surrounding areas were slammed with approximately 24 inches of snow. We have about a foot and, yes, we had to get up early this morning to find out if we needed to go to church. Yes, it was cancelled and we went back to bed.

On a related note, we've never had a porch/deck before, so we never seriously considered letting the cats check out the funny looking white stuff. Tessa was too freaked out by the harness and lead, so we didn't even bother with her. Minuet went outside and promptly began crying in an extremely pitiful voice to be let back in.

Tabitha had the most exposure. She wouldn't go out at first, because I was behind her. Once I got outside, she slowly wandered onto the snow-covered porch and began to explore. Some of the snow was 4-5 inches deep at the outer edges of the porch and came up to her belly. Her curiosity won out over the urge to shake all of her paws at every step.

After about 3 minutes, she insisted on coming back in as well. She was rather upset with us for trying to clean and warm up her paws. Apparently, only she is capable of doing it properly.

Family news

2006-02-11T18:36:00.000-05:00

Two major happenings in the family:

1. Bob's brother-in-law was completely fed up with the way his company was treating him and the other sales guys. He decided to go for a career change at age 40-something. Brave man. After much discussion with various folks, he chose to pursue a real estate license. (He could sell ice to an eskimo.) He took the prerequisite classes, took the test and passed with flying colors. Way to go!

2. Last Sunday, we got a surprising announcement. Bob's brother gave one month's notice at his job in VA. They (brother, wife & kids) will be packing up the house, selling it and moving up to our neck of the woods. Since their daughter is in her last months as a senior in high school, they won't move until after graduation. Still, it's becoming a family invasion into this area of PA - first, Bob's sister & her family about 8 years ago, followed by Bob's parents about 4 years ago. Then it was us a year ago and now Bob's brother. Let the conquest begin!

Watching and Waiting

2006-02-11T18:13:00.000-05:00

We did our shopping last night and ran some minor errands early this afternoon. Now we're just sitting around and waiting to see what happens next. The nor'easter that the weather forecasters have been promising us began in our neck of the woods about 3 hours ago. We've been promised anything from 6 - 12 inches (if I had such accuracy at work with that type of "plus or minus" margin, I would no longer have a job. Maybe I'm in the wrong business).

Church might be cancelled in the morning, depending on how much falls overnight. The annoying part of this is that they won't post the final decision on the church's website until after 7:15 am tomorrow. There's no chance of sleeping in - we have to be up at 6:30 to get ready on the off-chance that church is still being held. *sigh*

Yes, I'm still alive ...

2006-01-26T15:44:00.000-05:00

The last few months have been rather hectic. Now that things have seemed to settled down into their "usual" pattern (there is nothing "usual" about my life), I just noticed that I haven't posted in a long time. Just a few things I've been up to:

knitting
cross stitching
reading
renting the old Pink Panther movies

I'd have to say that the most interesting thing I've been doing is reading blogs that delve into apologetics, Christianity, culture and philosophy. Recently, my brain has been craving meat to chew on. While I enjoy a good sense of humor and like to read about how other folks have come up with solutions to their everyday woes, I've been needing to do some deep thinking. I think that some of this grew out of recent cogitation on the subject of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Good fun and a great piece of fiction, but it is just that - a piece of fiction. If someone is willing to change and/or base their entire system of belief solely on statements in a fictional novel without even a modicum of research, their problems are far deeper than any misinformation you can find in the Da Vinci Code.

That said (please excuse the beginning of a rant), these are some of the blogs that I have been reading:

They all have content that makes you go "hmmmm". Even if I do not particularly agree with everything that is said, it makes you think and evaluate you own positions and presuppositions. Kudos to these folks for sharpening my faith - "as iron sharpens iron"....

Off we go into the wild, blue yonder...

2005-11-14T10:27:00.000-05:00

Due to ongoing sinus issues, my doctor prescribed Allegra-D. He suggested that I take it in the evening for two reasons: a.) congestion occurs more frequently overnight and into the morning hours and b.) the decongestant in Allegra-D has been known to make people jittery - if I take it in the evening, I'll should sleep through most of the jitteriness.

I took my first dose of Allegra-D Saturday evening. Sunday morning was a choir morning (they sing every other week at both services). As a tribute for Veteran's Day, the choir was singing a piece that included all of the "hymns" from each branch of the armed forces. The 8:30 service went off without a hitch.

During Sunday school, about 45 minutes before the next service was supposed to start, the jitters hit. Hands shaking, legs all jumpy - the whole bit. I was able to find the choir director before the second service and explain the problem. She started to chuckle and told me that she would take things a notch or two slower so that if I sped up, the choir wouldn't be racing to keep up.

It was OK until we got to the middle of the piece. In general, it takes some concentration to switch time signatures because you've been so used to the one you've been playing in. Add to that the effects of the medication and things got really interesting when I had to switch from the 4/4 timing in the Coast Guard hymn to the 12/8 timing for the Air Force hymn. Somewhere in the transition, I sped up, lost a few notes and ended up a half measure ahead of the choir director. Fortunately, I was able to cover up the mess and get back on track when the choir was came in singing "Off we go into the wild, blue yonder ...". That phrase now has taken on a completely different meaning for me.

Of Butterflies & Bats

2005-09-14T18:09:00.000-04:00

I'm typing this, hoping it will calm some of my nervousness...

First night of choir rehearsal, and I will be attending as the new accompanist. I thought that the piece I did this summer made me nervous. That was nothing. I am quite queasy at the moment and I have to leave in a few minutes. Yipe!

The Interdictor

2005-09-07T11:53:00.000-04:00

Bob introduced me to this site. Apparently, DirectNIC.com hosts many, many webpages and did not want to leave anyone in a lurch, so they stocked up on diesel fuel for their generators, food, other necessities and hunckered (sp?) down for the long haul. This is their blog, from inside of New Orleans. It's interesting to see how their observations at times confirm reports we hear in the media and, at times, diverge from what is being reported.

BTW, the entry titled "Last Night" made me laugh until it hurt. Make sure you don't have anything in your mouth when you read this ...

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/

Goodbye, Peter

2005-08-09T22:40:00.000-04:00

I was deeply saddened to learn that Peter Jennings passed away this past Sunday evening. He was as much a part of my childhood as were Legos, street hockey with the guys and the ice cream truck. The TV was turned on at 6:30 every evening to see what had gone on in the world that day. If we weren't done with dinner by then, it was the only reason I was permitted to eat dinner in front of the TV. Dad & I shared this ritual.

He was intelligent and asked the tough questions. He was passionate, yet objective while covering world news, not just US news. His goal was to report and educate on various world issues from a wider world view than most Americans had (or currently have).

Somehow, you always were left with the impression that he cared, truly cared, about what was happening in the world. This became extremely evident on 9/11. He maintained a marathon pace in an attempt to help us understand what had occured.

His was the only newscast I could watch that day. All of the other networks kept re-playing footage and re-stating the facts in a very clinical manner. The manner in which he presented the facts educated you, but not for education's sake. It managed to create a safe place from which you could view the destruction. You knew that he cared and it somehow brought stability in a very unstable situation. The human side of him really shone through when he almost "lost it" while he was describing how he was able to contact his family. He was able to ascertain that they were safe and was able to reassure them that he was as well. Despite all of the journalistic mantras demanding total objectivity, he was anything but objective for that moment. And no one could fault him for it.

He will never know how much his drive for excellence, quest for understanding the world and passion for the truth influenced me.

Goodbye, Peter, and goodnight.

Musikfest 2005

2005-08-08T10:14:00.000-04:00

Musikfest has been held in Bethlehem, PA for a little over 20 years. They take one week out of August to host musicians of every genre, popular and "just starting out", food from a lot of nationalities as well as craftsmen and give them all a week to do their thing. It's like one giant street fair, but stretched out over a couple of miles.

Bob & I spent most of our free time this past weekend at Musikfest. Besides taking in the sights, sounds, smells and tastes (oh yeah!), we stayed for several perfomances. Our favorite, btw, was the Arrogant Worms. Here's who we saw:

Moscow Nights : can't help it. I'm half Russian. This stuff stirs my blood. I haven't heard a balalaika played in almost 20 years. I needed a fix ... They were very good and added some comedic twists to a very traditional folk music concert.

Lynn Marie & the Boxhounds : Ok, can't help this one either. Have some Polish blood in me too. Polka music gets me grinning. We stayed around in the "polka tent" (festplatz) to listen to some other acts too. Inevitably, the Chicken Dance, Beer Barrel Polka and Pennsylvania Polka were played. The Chicken Dance is good fun, especially when you're out on the floor in August heat with a few hundred other people and a lady on stage dressed like a chicken, leading the whole thing.

Synergy Brass Quintet : Instead of being on a stage, these guys were among the street performers on Main Street. This was their first year at Musikfest. What a show! In another few years, they'll be giving Canadian Brass a run for their money. If you like brass ensembles, their music is well worth the purchase.

Cast In Bronze : Never saw anything like this before ... this is the only mobile carillon in the world. Most carillons these days have been automated, so to find a live performer is rather rare, much less one that travels with his own 70-ton set of bells. Incredible performance, though I must say that his theatrics were a little overdone.

Arrogant Worms : By far, our most favorite performance. These guys hail from Canada (which might explain a few things ...) and are extremely funny. We were headed toward that particular stage (Liederplatz) to hear Moscow Nights and wanted to get there early. We caught the last 15 minutes of the Worm's show and decided that we had to come back on Sunday to see the whole performance. Their harmony and musical talent is amazing. Add to that their flair for making fun of anything that exists and you have the makings of a side-splitting evening. Some of the songs we heard were: "I Pulled My Groin", "Rippy the Gator", "Jesus' Brother Bob", "Carrot Juice is Murder" and "I Am Cow". We couldn't stop laughing - the music alone was hysterical, let alone the antics on stage. Would highly recommend that you see them if they're in your neck of the woods...

Just an example of their work:
Rippy the Gator - Given, Raffi, Barney the dinosaur and a whole host of other kiddie song promoters, the Worms wanted to get into the act. The two criteria for a good children's song is 1.) a cute animal to sing about and 2.) a catchy, sing-along chorus. Since all of the cute animals were taken, they chose an alligator. The chorus will get stuck in your head. Is it a children's song? You decide ...

Lyrics to I Am Cow:

I am cow, hear me moo
I weigh twice as much as you
And I look good on the barbecue
Yogurt, curd, cream cheese and butter’s
Made from liquid from my udders
I am cow, I am cow, hear me moo (moo)

I am cow, eating grass
Methane gas comes out my ass
And out my muzzle when I belch
Oh, the ozone layer is thinner
From the outcome of my dinner
I am cow, I am cow, I’ve got gas

I am cow, here I stand
Far and wide upon this land
And I am living everywhere
From b.c. to newfoundland
You can squeeze my teats by hand
I am cow, I am cow, I am cow
I am cow, I am cow, I am cow!

Of pianos and inferiority complexes ...

2005-08-02T16:17:00.000-04:00

For those of you who know me well, the following will not surprise you. For the rest, well, welcome to the murky waters of my psyche.

Piano lessons were foisted upon me by my parents when I was 5 years old. It was not a choice - lessons were mandatory in our household until junior high, at which point you could choose quit. I did not and continued on through high school. My middle sister continued on into college and graduated with a degree in music education (after years of teaching ingrates, she's seeking gainful employment in another related field). All this to say that while I do have a degree of talent, I run short on technical perfection. I do well with what I have and have no drive to become a concert pianist.

I have always been a pretty good accompanist. I sight-read well, can change timing and keys with relative ease, and can generally "go with the flow" (ask the soloists I've accompanied that have gotten themselves "lost" in a piece of music). My downfall is the area of solo piano. My nervous system can't handle the overload. Forget about butterflies in the stomach - they become bats with 6-foot wingspans. I'm a disaster prior to the solo. While I can pull it together to get through the solo (with much difficulty, I might add), the aftermath is even worse than the precursor. Best case scenario is a dazed state. Most often, I am found in a quiet corner, far away from everyone, sobbing my heart out and physically shaking. It's not because I fouled up - usually, the piece was near-flawless. I'm just one big case of nerves when it comes to solos, which is why I typically only do 1 per year.

I received a phone call about 2 weeks ago, asking if I would participate in a praise concert at our church, scheduled for this past Sunday. The music director wanted to know if I was planning on becoming part of this church's music ministry (which I was) and thought it would be a good idea for me to join in on the concert. After several days passed, I called her back and told her that I'd gotten a group together and I would accompany them (Bob, his sister and her husband).

I was getting very nervous once Sunday rolled around. This was unusual, given the fact that I was accompanying, not soloing. Several factors were working against me: this was my first time playing for a new congregation and the congregation is at least 3 times as large as our previous one. To top it all off, about an hour before the program started, a visiting college student was "tinkering" on the piano and broke out into various Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Liszt pieces. This guy was a concert pianist! This added a megadose of fertilizer to my pre-existing and growing inferiority complex (this complex is far better fed than some grapevines).

By the time I had to get up to the piano, my breathing was erratic, my hands were shaking and I had significant difficulty focusing on the music. I am told that I did well, but I can't remember any of it. While I did not break into tears, I did get lost in a dazed state. I was so wrung out that I was asleep by 9PM (normal is midnight) and slept straight through to 7 AM Monday morning.

It is now Tuesday and I'm still feeling the effects. I'm waking up very sleepy, as if I haven't had any rest at all. My mind has difficulty focusing on just about any task. Worst of all, I'm feeling like I never want to touch a piano again - from the sense that I've sustained some sort of trauma and from the sense that I really don't play well enough to be doing this at all. My inner voice keeps telling me that there are plenty of others that are far more qualified than I am to do the job, of which there are a quite a few in our new church.

This is where I'm at.

The Half-Blood Prince

2005-07-20T11:45:00.000-04:00

Bob had a "playdate" (don't ask...) this past Saturday back in NJ. While I don't get involved, his friends are fun to be around, so I typically go along on the trip. I knew I was going to need something to do, so I was among the crazy individuals who went to Barnes & Noble last Friday night for the midnight release of the new Harry Potter.

Never having done that before, it was a sight to behold. One would have thought that BN was giving away the books. I was astounded at the sheer number of people in the store. So much for the thought that people don't read much anymore ....

I have been a Harry Potter fan since before it was popular to be one (if I recall correctly, book three started the media frenzy). This latest release does not disappoint. Having taken their O.W.L.S. at the end of the last book, the new sixth-year students are just receiving their test scores and are now making choices that will affect their future careers in magic. Teen hormones are beginning to kick in, with Ron and Hermione sparking each others' jealousies. Draco is sneaking around, leading Harry to suspect that something foul is afoot. Snape, as usual, is loathsome.

There is another fatality at the end of the book (gee, there's a surprise...). However, I have suspicions that all is not as it seems, based upon some of the details given in scenes leading up to and after the "incident".

I started the book at 2 PM and finished it, all 650+ pages, at midnight on Saturday.

What a Strange, Long Trip It Has Been

2005-07-12T21:29:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday night, Bob's grandmother (father's mother) passed away. After some research, it was determined that there was no way that we could afford two last-minute plane tickets. We opted to drive. Fortunately, Bob's brother Rick, in VA, was in the same boat and offered to rent a minivan to make the family pilgrimage. The plan was for me, Bob and Carolyn (Bob & Rick's sister) to leave from here, drive to VA, spend the night with Rick & family and leave VA early Friday morning for FL. We all had to be back to our respective homes by Monday evening because we all had to be at work Tuesday (today).

Thursday: did not leave until 9 PM, due to Bob having to work until 8:30PM. We didn't get to VA until 1:30 AM because we were driving through the remnants of hurricane Cindy. Pouring rain and darkness did not make for ideal driving conditions.

Friday: Had to be up at 5:30 AM to pack minivan (4 hours sleep). The plan was to leave by 7, but were delayed until 8 because of some minor things. Most of the day was uneventful. Then, 4 PM came. Thankfully, I was reading at the time the "incident" occurred and not know anything until it happened. Otherwise, I would still be having nightmares ...

We were traveling in the leftmost lane on I-95 in South Carolina. A vehicle two cars ahead of us swerved suddenly. Rick was driving and tried to move over into the next lane, but could not because there were two other cars in the way. Apparently, there was a "road gator" (we learned that this is what the police in SC call the re-treads from tractor trailers) - not the flattened type, but the full round. As the vehicle swerved, they clipped the gator, pulling it from the left shoulder near the median and into the roadway. The car in front of ours had no choice but to drive right over it. As the car passed over it, the gator flipped up, became airborne, hit our front hood, bounced up onto our windshield, bounced off and flew over our car. The windshield was smashed, completely destroying visibility.

We had several folks praying for our safety on this trip. I can honestly say that their prayers made the difference between an inconvenience and a deadly disaster. Had the gator not bounced off of the hood, it would most likely have gone straight through the windshield instead of bouncing off of it. Fortunately, Rick had incredible reflexes and managed to slow the car and get us off of the road and onto the shoulder without involving us in an accident with any other vehicles. (car photos taken after 10PM)

Due to the force of the impact, the top center of the windshield detached from the frame and hung inwards. Glass went everywhere. Rick (driver) and Bob (co-pilot) were covered in glass. I was on the bench behind them along with Jaymie, Rick's 17-year-old daughter. While Rick and Bob received more nicks and cuts than we did, none of the injuries were serious.

After we managed to get to the right shoulder (yes, all the way across I-95), Bob & Rick got out and removed their shirts. We have to wash them down with many bottles of water to get the glass shards off of them. We also called 911 and started to empty the contents of the van onto the grass along the highway. Bob ran back up the road, waited for traffic to pass, and proceeded to pull the gator off of the road, which had been knocked towards the rightmost lane by this point in time.

The police showed up in two vehicles. Bob and his sister went with one to town to see if a deal could be worked out with the local rental place (long story short: no). In the meantime, those of us remaining on the side of the road decided, since we were going to be sitting around in the grass for an extended period of time, that we should move our stuff another 50 yards up the road into the shade. After schlepping stuff to the new location, we began to open up some sleeping bags to sit on. However, on her last trip back to the new location, Jaymie inadvertently stepped on a red ant hill, thereby angering its occupants. We had to pick up our stuff and move it again a few more yards, but not before we sustained bites from the ants. (photo:Jaymie removing sock and inspecting foot; Rick on cell phone with rental agency)

Ultimately, we were able to procure another rental vehicle, but it was another hour away. The police arranged for a trip to a local agency not affiliated with the company we were doing business with. The company we were working with (local division) sent a 12-passenger van to pick us (and our stuff) up. We traveled to their office, filled out paperwork, loaded the new minivan and went on our way. It wasn't until we were most of the way back to I-95 that Bob realized he had left his glasses in the dashboard of the damaged vehicle. We had to track down the lot that it had been towed to and went there. That's when the car photos were taken. We lost a total of 6 hours and didn't get to our hotel in FL until 5:30 AM Saturday morning.

Saturday: unloaded new minivan and headed to bed at 6AM. The viewing was at 2PM, followed by the funeral at 4PM, so we only had 4 hours or so to sleep until we had to get moving again. By 5 PM, the funeral was over and the church had graciously provided a dinner meal for those of us attending the service. Just as dinner was starting, the outer bands of hurricane Dennis hit. The tin roof on the gymnasium we were in made a racket and all you could see out the windows was sheets of rain. Fortunately, the worst of it was over by the time dinner was wrapped up and we were ready to head out. We spent a couple of hours at Bob's aunt's house with the rest of the family, but called it quits around 10PM. We went back to the hotel and got the only 8-hour night of sleep the whole trip.

Sunday:We couldn't leave as early as we had wanted to. When we rented the new minivan from the local division in Charleston, SC, they made it clear that they expected the vehicle to be returned to them in SC. So, we had to rent a second vehicle from the national division, the closest branch being in Orlando, but it wouldn't be ready until 11 AM. Hence, we left a little after 9AM. After losing time leaving the main highway to get to the rental agency (almost 2 hours), filling out paperwork, transferring luggage (again!!), and working our way back to the highway, we were finally on our way to SC with 2 minivans. We lost another 2 hours leaving I-95 to return the one minivan. We made one more stop, for sanity's sake, and ate at a sit-down restaurant (as opposed to the fast food junk we had been eating the entire trip for time's sake). That was another hour out of our time. After leaving our hotel at 9 AM that morning, we did not get to Rick's house in VA until 5 AM Monday morning.

Monday:slept from 5:30 AM until 10:30 AM. Bob, Carolyn and I got up, pulled ourselves together, and were back in our car by noon. We were home in PA by 4:30 PM. After a quick dinner at Carolyn's, we came home and were in bed by 8:30 PM.

The accident and the ensuing dilemmas were a hassle. Thankfully, it was not the deadly disaster it could have been. I have to admit, though, that I would do the trip again. Bob's family is crazy (a "good" crazy) and we did nothing but laugh, both before and after the accident. We never lost our sense of humor, despite circumstances that would have made even some of the bravest souls into lunatics. As a side note, we did some tallying and found that we had packed and unpacked our stuff a total of 11 times during the course of this trip. We are now experts in the art of packing a minivan.

We are thankful to God for His protection and deeply grateful to family and friends who upheld us in prayer before, during and after the accident.

One day at a time ...

2005-06-30T22:36:00.000-04:00

"I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once." - Ashleigh Brilliant

I had grandiose plans as to how and what I was going to accomplish this week at work. Sadly, someone turned on the blender and what is left is a mushy representation of the original design. The plan :

Monday - Due to July 4th coming up, all advertising deadlines were moved to Monday. Need to do all advertising (3 companies) in one day, with the last deadline at 3PM. Order new computers for office. Clean out storage area for catalogs and phone books.
Tuesday - Organize storage space behind desk - wires and other assorted tech stuff is out of control. Resembles some type of wire orgy. Order supplies from Staples, including some networking supplies for new computers
Wednesday - Enter new listings (I work in a real estate office), help new agents get all of their paperwork in order.
Thursday - Reorganize supply closet to accomodate new (and bulky) supplies coming from Staples, track down networking problem in one agent's office.
Friday - Start copying files from old computers to put onto new computers when they arrive late next week.

What actually happened:

Monday - Started advertising. Constant interruptions from: phone (3-4 lines at a time), many agents seeking assistance with stuff they either don't know how to do themselves (despite multiple previous explanations from me) or waited too long to start and now can't do by themselves, two bosses going away by week's end and suddenly have "emergencies" that they can't handle by themselves. Barely met deadlines, ordered the computers, but never got to cleaning out catalogs and old phone books.
Tuesday - One boss asked me to work on a major project all day (he's known about it for weeks, but waited til the day before it was due to do anything about it). Had to nix organizing wires/tech stuff and put off Staples order til Wednesday.
Wednesday - Was dragged into an agent staff meeting to discuss new internet-based real estate exposure. Managed to accomplish listings and help new agents with their paperwork, but amidst crazy levels of incoming phone calls. Still no closet cleanouts and no Staples order. Found out that computer order had shipped and should be arriving early next week (uh ohhh....)
Thursday - phone would not stop ringing and people would not stop coming into the office with questions and/or problems. UPS shows up with all of the computers !! Had to drop everything and start moving things around. Spent the rest of the day trying to set up computers in their respective locations, troubleshooting network issues, loading office-specific software and copying files for transfer while juggling phones, "walk-ins" and agent requests. Couldn't retrieve phone calls fast enough - multiple lines ringing while checking messages (mental note - good thing Alexander Graham Bell is already dead, or I would have killed him. He has NO idea what a monster he created!). Had to have two agents help with phones. Finally got around to handling agent requests - they asked at 10am, started fulfilling requests at 4:30 PM. Stayed at work til 6:45 PM - had to place Staples order because computers were here and networking equipment was not. Staples promised delivery on Tuesday (2 business days, excluding Monday because of holiday).

Tomorrrow is Friday. File copying, due to circumstances, was started ahead of schedule. Not all computers were set up today and I still have to get to one old computer to copy its files. Computer boxes and paraphernalia is everywhere. Storage areas still need to be cleaned out and organized. Cannot see the top of my desk. However, it has to be there - all of that stuff can't be spontaneously levitating above the floor, the whole 8-foot length of it.

How much does anyone want to bet that Staples will show up tomorrow before I can clean out the supply closets?

99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall ...

2005-06-28T12:31:00.000-04:00

My goodness, it's been a while since I've last blogged. It's hard to believe that it's almost 7 months since we packed up our stuff and moved to PA.

This past weekend, we spent an afternoon back in NJ with friends my husband made while playing on an online world. There were about 20 of us there at the cook-out, some from NJ & PA, and others came from as far away as Boston and Canada. We were truly a group of geeks - gamers to the "nth" degree but with careers such as biomed engineers (one Ph.D. and one Master's), computer consultants, doctors, etc. But, as everyone knows, geeks will eventually rule the earth (think of how many kids tormented Bill Gates and Steve Jobs when they were in school together - now the tormenters' children are probably gainfully employed because of Microsoft and/or Apple).

The truest sign of geekness emerged late in the afternoon. One of the Bostonians was recounting a college memory of being on spring break and imbibing a significant amount of beer with a couple of friends. You know how you can line up the cans and make a pyramid wall? Well, they took it one step further. They created an entire square pyramid, 10 x 10 as the base !!

Usually, the next question that follows such a pronouncement is something to the effect of, "how bad was the hangover?". Not so with this bunch. "Gee, I wonder how many cans there were?". A couple of guys pulled out their cell phones to start calculating while others were trying to concoct a formula. I sat there, played with numbers in my head for 30 seconds or so and said, "somewhere between 380 and 390". A minute or two later, one of the guys makes his announcement - "385". I got a couple of interesting looks. Can I help it that I liked math and science as a student (and still do...)?

A brief moment passed, followed by another question. " Well, if you want something to think about, what would the total be if you added up every number that was mentioned (each time it was mentioned) as you sing 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall?" ...

Germany invaded by crocodile

2005-01-19T14:25:00.000-05:00

I happened to come upon this information during a conversation with my 13-year-old (going on 40+) neice, who happens to be taking German as part of her junior high course of studies. Apparently, a little girl, age 4 or 5 (reports are varied), had sung a cute song about a crocodile. Her aunt recorded it on a tape player and uploaded the audio on the family website - a high tech version of hanging up your child's painting on the fridge. Someone got wind of this cute little song and it has now taken over the top hit charts. You can hear the dance remix in many of Germany's dance clubs. Go figure!

There is also an animated music video. The song gets into your head and you can't get it out...

www.schnappi.tv - official website - go to the heading "Horen und Sehen". On the right side bar, the Sehen box will play the video for you using Real Player. Very addictive!

His Eye Is On The Sparrow

2004-12-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

Having unpacked a sufficient amount of stuff, we finally created space to put a matress into the bedroom as well as space in the apartment through which to maneuver said matress. Elated by our prospect, we made arrangements with Bob's brother-in-law to borrow his truck while he and his wife were away overnight at a function elsewhere in PA. The truck is a Ford F150, double cab and is quite comfy for four people to ride in. Because the extended cab takes away from the bed of the truck, we brought rope to tie down the matress with, as soon as we could find a suitable one.

It was Bob, his dad and me on our shopping venture.The first stop was to the local Wal-Mart to pick up a few necessities. From there, we proceeded on to the matress store. We were 500 feet from the entrance of said store when things went awry. A vehicle (two cars ahead of us) had to stop suddenly for some reason or another, forcing the minivan in front of us to stop. We stopped as well. A few seconds elapsed. The driver behind us, however, plowed right into the back of our brother-in-law's truck. He hit us with enough force to push us forwards a foot or two, into the rear of the minivan.

The interesting thing to note here is that, while inspecting the documentation in the truck (registration, insurance), we saw that the truck with no load weighs approximately 4500 lbs. This means that the driver that hit us with his 1994 Mercedes sedan had to have been travelling at a significant clip to have been able to move us that far in a stopped position. Furthermore, no one can recall hearing the squeal of tires on the pavement prior to impact, indicating that he most likely hit us full force.

The drivers of the three vehicles got out to inspect the damage. The minivan had sustained a miniscule scratch on its bumper from the front end of our truck. Our truck had barely any signs of trauma. The Mercedes, however, was most likely totalled. Both airbags had deployed and his front hood was crumpled. There was a hole in his front grill in the shape of the trailer hitch from the back of our truck. His radiator had cracked open, spilling all sorts of fun fluids onto the roadway. Thankfully, there were no reported injuries. We caused such traffic! By the time all the police and fire department personnel positioned themselves, only 1 lane was open on a 3-lane roadway - all on a Saturday evening during the Christmas shopping season.

The driver of the Mercedes was a 20-year-old (this raises an awful lot of questions in my head) who had his girlfriend in the car along with another passenger. He had the typical surly attitude of an individual representing that age group - "nothing is ever my fault". His girlfriend had a more responsible-looking demeanor than he did. The first question out of his mouth? "Do you think my insurance will go up?" The rest of us involved in the accident, ages 30+, looked at each other, trying not to laugh in this kid's face. When the police were questioning the drivers, this kid had the audacity to tell the police that he must have been travelling about 15 - 20 mph since he was "already slowing down". No one, not even the police office taking the statement, believed him. To my knowledge, the laws of physics have not changed since I studied it 10 years ago in college. The damage to his car alone attested to the fact that he was lying through his teeth.

Afterwards, Bob had a quick conversation with the police officer. Although he could not legally say much, he stated that the whole situation was "black and white" to him.

I am extremely thankful that this accident happened while we were occupying my brother-in-law's truck. Had we been in my Honda, Bob's or his dad's Toyotas, we would have been pancaked with significant injuries. Other than the usual stiffness, we're none the worse for the wear.

As a side note, since we were only a short distance from the store, we went in and bought our matress. Since they had it in stock in a different location which had already closed by the time we walked in, we have to go back today to pick it up. This time, my brother-in-law gets to drive the truck.

O Little Town of Bethlehem ...

2004-12-08T18:55:00.000-05:00

Well, the great move did not go as smoothly as planned. Due to a significant shortage of help on the NJ end of things, it took us nearly 12 hours to pack the truck, instead of the estimated 4. By the time we got to PA that night, it was 10 PM and there was no way we were going to unpack that evening. We had to be back in NJ for church the next morning (choir piece had a brutal piano accompaniment - guess who had to play it?), so we got up at 5:30 AM the next morning, drove back to NJ, went to church, packed the loose stuff into our cars and drove back to PA that day. In the meantime, a crew of 10 guys unloaded our truck for us into our new apartment. It took them only 2 hours !!!

To make a long story short, we are still bunking out at Bob's parents' place in Bethlehem (15 min. from the new apt) due to the fact that we have not yet bought a new mattress and have not yet found a place to put it, had it actually been purchased. There is a path from the front to the rear of the apartment, along with some small side paths here and there. Although Verizon promised to connect a line the day before the move, to this day our phone does not ring (service call is for 12/9). Cable just came and we have TV and cable modem connection (yay!). Once we are able to occupy the apartment, my blogs should become more frequent (am using in-laws' computer in between everyone else trying to use it). Now, if we could just find the floor ...

All in all, it hasn't been too bad. Bob loves his new job. Mine is enjoyable as well - really nice people. There was an odd situation with a Microsoft Word file that I managed to untangle in about a half hour. Every since then, I've been dubbed the "computer expert". Everyone with a computer problem is being told to see me, because I can (apparently) find or fix anything. While I do know more than the average person, I am by no means an expert. Trying to explain that to them, however, is another matter.

Sleep well, everyone!

The Twelve Pains of Christmas

2004-11-23T23:32:00.000-05:00

"The Twelve Pains of Christmas" currently depicts those various portions of Christmas preparations that can drive one insane (i.e. stringing up the lights, 5 months of bills). Someone needs to develop a version that describes the unique ways in which customers drive retail employees up a wall with their less than desireable behavior.

While I do work for a chiropractor, I needed to pick up a second job (due to costs of living in NJ) to make ends meet. I love people, in general. They are fun to watch and even more enjoyable to interact with - even the "difficult" ones. After an evening at the women's clothing store which has employed me for the last 7 months, I still like people - I just despise the general public. Job positions in retail ought to come with a warning label. I have noticed that women, over the age of 40 in particular, allow themselves certain freedoms in a store for which they would most certainly crucify their immediate family members if said family members emulated their behavior at home (i.e. opening and unpacking entire contents of 10 shoeboxes without cleaning up after themselves followed by trying on 36 separate pieces of clothing in a dressing room only to leave said clothing on the floor).

This past Saturday was an exercise in patience. The smallest inkling of trouble began around 5:00 PM, followed by several others situations in increasing levels of intensity, until it finally culminated in the need to call the local police to address a half-crazed customer. To trim that evening down, I will recount only the first and last episodes.

The first involved a woman trying on considerably more than 36 pieces of clothing. As she emptied her stash onto the "return rack" outside of the fitting rooms, we kept taking the clothing off and putting it into a stack in the back of the store, just out of curioisty, to see how much one person can possibly try on. An hour and a half later, she was finished. The clothing stack was approximately three to four feet tall (mind you, there were no bulky sweaters to inflate the stack height). Total item count? 63, not counting the 10 pairs of shoes she left on the floor prior to commencing the fitting frenzy. In the meantime, two girls, approximately 12 - 14 years of age were waiting for her to finish. We naturally assumed that these were her children. My manager had just finished cleaning up this woman's shoe disaster when the two girls came back by the fitting rooms and proceeded to open up shoe boxes and try on a whole gammit of shoes, emulating the mother by not cleaning up after themselves. My manager, thoroughly tired, went back there to do some cleaning again and politely asked the younger of the two girls to put the shoes away when she was done. The girl's response? "I'm the customer, you're the servant." Completely appalled, my manager replied, "excuse me, but who do you think you're talking to?". The girl, now realizing that her response was completely inappropriate, attempted to cover up by saying that my manager had misunderstood her - she had only been playing a game with the other girl (yeah, right - and pigs fly). My manager waited until the mother completed her destruction of the dressing room and approached her at the sales counter. It was then that she found out that the one girl was the woman's daughter. The other one, with the attitude, was the daughter's friend. My manager complimented the woman on her own daughter's behavior and proceeded to recount the behavior of the friend. Again, the friend lied and the mother bought the story and even defended her!

The final episode that evening involved a ticking time bomb in the shape of a 50+ year-old woman. She thought that she would pull a fast one - use two coupons and get the item for free. The first coupon gave her 20% off one item and the second coupon stated "$15 off of your purchase of $15 or more". Essentially, the first coupon was going to bring the price of the desired item down to $15 and the second coupon would render it free. Nice try! My manager tried to ring her up on one register, but the register wouldn't apply the 20% discount. Figuring that the particular register may be acting up, she tried to ring up the same item on another register. Same story. She then inspected the coupon to find out in the fine pint that the 20% coupon could not be applied to sleepwear. Of course, that was the only item that the customer had come to the store for. My manager underlined the fine print and showed it to the customer, who proceeded to get annoyed. She insisted that my manager should manually override the system and force it to accept the coupon. Mind you, this customer had to have pulled this stunt on other managers in the past - get loud and obnoxious and the manager will do anything to get you out of the store. The problem with this situation was that she was messing with the wrong manager - this manager plays by the rules. If the system says "no go", my manager stands behind it (not to mention the fact that she could get into a lot of trouble with the corporate office if she tried to override it and they found out).

The customer got louder and louder, cursing out my manager while at least five other customers in line behind her looked on in amazement. The customer accused my manager of being an idiot and, as a side note, commented that she could not possibly be a manager because no company could possibly hire someone that stupid to be a manager (faulty logic - just walk into some stores and you know what I mean). My manager kept her mouth shut. The customer carried on and then demanded to speak to a superior. At that point, my manager gives her the office phone number of the district manager but noted that, since it was already after 8 PM on a Saturday night, there would be no answer at that number until after 9 AM Monday morning. The customer became livid, threatened to come in and harass my manager every day until Christmas, and demanded my manager's name. My manager wouldn't give it to her. After significant ranting and raving on the part of the customer at that answer, the customer turns around, item under her arm and heads towards the doorway. When asked where she was going, she shouted back that she was leaving with the item unpaid for and that my manager would have to call security and the police. When the police would show up, then my manager would be forced to reveal her name.

With that, she stomped out of the store. About 10 feet into the mall walkway, she saw security running in her direction. She threw the item back into the store, but they saw her and marched her back into the store to question her. She fed them all sorts of lies. In the meantime, my manager called the district manager's cell phone and asked what to do. The district manager told her to do what the customer wanted - call the police. But, she added, press charges. So the police were called and they sent three officers. One initially took the customer's statement. When another came to take my manager's statement, the customer kept inching closer and closer in an attempt to cut in on the conversation. My manager took the officer into the stockroom to continue the conversation uninterrupted. They came back out 15 minutes later and the officer went to the customer and asked her to turn around and put her hands behind her back. Thoroughly shocked that her plan had not worked and probably realizing that she had played her game too far, she tried the only other thing that she thought would work - tears. I don't know if men are able to distinguish one type of crying from another, but it was obvious to every other woman in the store that this customer was crying crocodile tears for effect. The arresting officer looks over to his colleague and his colleague approaches my manager and asks if there is any way that charges would be dropped. My manager pondered this for a few moments and then replied that she would if the customer never showed her face again in the store. The police took the news back to the distraught customer and marched her out of the store. It was actually kind of funny - not only did this customer's tactics backfire on her, but she never did get my manager's name. By this point, it was well after 9PM and the mall closes at 9:30. Security personnel continued to stand by our doorway until we dropped the gate at closing time.

Because of the various fiascos that evening as well as the volume of customers up until the time of the half-crazed woman, we had not been able to maintain the store's appearance. We were there almost until midnight cleaning up the store. And this is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Thankfully, it's off to PA for me in a little over a week to a job in a nice real estate agency - no more retail for me!

Taking our cues from Billy Joel

2004-11-16T20:51:00.000-05:00

"Who wants a house out in Hackensack? Is that all you get for your money?"

Good question. A small 3-bedroom home with 1.5 baths on a 100X60 lot will cost you in the $300k range. Taxes are in the $5k range. Auto insurance for two adults (married) with clean records, driving 10+ year-old vehicles will run you about $2k per year. Add to that a job that you no longer like (translation - an employer that you would like to do away with), constant traffic, perpetual road construction, road rage as well as a terrorist target in your backyard (NYC) and it becomes a recipe for expensive living, both economic and emotional.

To cut all costs, we started looking for work in PA in June. Dead silence for months. Finally, a glimmer of hope, which became the light at the end of a very long tunnel (one must always confirm that the light is not the headlamp of an oncoming train):

My husband, while looking for positions in the IT field, saw a posting for a printing company in PA. Since he's already in the printing field, he figured it wouldn't be a bad thing to apply anway. So he did - at the end of September, maybe the beginning of October. He totally forgot about it.

Wednesday, 10/27/04:
Husband decides to stay home from work, not feeling too badly, but not feeling well enough to deal with nonsense (ulcer from stress at work). Sleeps in, munches on oatmeal, pets cats. Around 11 AM, gets a phone call from aforementioned company. They want him, and they want him quick. How quick can he come for an interview? Sets up 1st interview for Friday, 10/29/04 at 3:30 PM. Goes to work anyway, tells boss that medicine finally kicked in. Figures that showing up for work would help when he asks for Friday afternoon off for an unspecified appointment. First fleece: prayed that interview would go extremely well and the results would be encouraging.

Friday, 10/29/04:
Husband drives out to PA for interview. He is asked many questions, including slalry range. Interviewer likes him so much that he immediately arranges a second interview with on-site manager. Drives 30 minutes to job site. On-site manager likes him so much that W-2 form is filled out and he's sent for his whiz quiz (translation: drug test) and is told that they would contact him Monday with an offer. Husband? Very happy. (So far, fleece looks good)

Monday, 11/1/04:
Husband receives phone call at 5:30 PM. Song and dance about how much they like him, etc. Then, they low-ball him, offering a figure less than the lowest he said he would take. Husband? Not so happy now. Told them that if they liked him so much, they would show him by coming up with at least his lowest figure. They said they would call back. Second fleece: if this is where we belonged, they would come up with the money.

Tuesday, 11/2/04:
No phone call. Husband? Discouraged. (Fleece looking pretty bad).

Wednesday, 11/3/04:
Phone call at 5 PM. Lowest figure OK, but he had to take a different shift. Husband? Wants to get out of current job and willing to take it but knew I was in agony. Not sure what to make of the fleece. Needed to pray, using another fleece. He left the decision in my hands (yipe!)

Thursday, 11/4/04:
Can't think of third fleece. Was it right? Was it wrong? Main thought: if we were going to make a mistake and ignore God's will, it could just as easily be done here rather than moving to a different state to do it.

Friday, 11/5/04:
Took my boss to airport for early flight. Still no fleece. Prayed for one of two things: either total peace if it was right or unbearable unrest if it was wrong. In a matter of minutes, it was total peace. Called husband at workat noon, told him to "go for it". Now, had headache and needed to lay down. Phone would not stop ringing for hours (if it wasn't him with another question, it was someone else). Around 3:30 PM, got phone call from father-in-law. He heard of a position opening up for me in a real estate firm. Faxed my resume to office, thinking that I wouldn't hear back til Monday. Ten minutes later, another phone call. Firm calls - how quick can I come for an interview (sound familiar?). Set it up for following Wednesday (11/10/04) while my boss is away. Husband comes home from work and says we need to go to PA that night to look at apartments in the morning. Quickly pack bags, go to PA and spend night with his parents.

Saturday, 11/6/04:
After much weeding out, found apartment that we liked - would take us and our three cats for under $800/month. A 850-sq. ft. apartment with dishwasher, garbage disposal, central air, balcony and washer/dryer (they pay water, we only pay electric). Also have use of clubhouse, swimming pool, tennis/basketball/volleyball courts and exercise room for no extra fees. Also, they only wanted $500 security deposit. We took it!

To shorten the rest, I was offered the position at the real estate firm on the spot. Apartment check came through and we are approved. We are moving on 12/4/04 to the Allentown, PA region.

"... and we're living here in Allentown..."

Oh, be careful little tongue what you say ...

2004-10-26T14:26:00.000-04:00

“A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything – or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony into chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.” Jas. 3:3 – 6 (The Message translation, E. Peterson, NavPress Publications)

During health class, we all were taught about the tongue, the taste buds and the ability to distinguish between the categories of sweet, salty, sour and bitter flavors. We might even remember the tongue maps that showed the various tasting regions of the tongue (sweet near the front, bitter towards the back, etc.). Studies have shown these maps as inaccurate. While it is true that the taste buds in certain areas of the tongue may be more sensitive (allow me to call it a predisposition) to specific tastes, all taste buds anywhere on the tongue are capable of distinguishing between the four major categories.

Why this throwback to health class? My point is simple: Sweet, salty, sour or bitter – the capability for all categories exists on one organ known as the tongue. What gets picked up depends on the predisposition. I find it interesting how James brought this out in his third chapter, well before clinical testing in multiple laboratories was even conceived of. The tongue is capable of the good, the bad and the ugly.

In a class I have been attending on peacemaking, the most recent lesson addressed the examination of one’s self before peacemaking with others is attempted. If we are honest with ourselves, we know that our thoughts, actions and words are more predisposed towards the sour and bitter than the sweet. Sweet requires God’s divine assistance as well as a whole lot more effort on our part. You can’t facilitate peace if you have no control over your own tongue.

It is essential that we understand the repercussions of engaging our mouths before we engage our brains. It’s not just about timing and delivery or keeping ourselves from spewing forth the bad or withholding an uplifting word. Sometimes, the most innocuous comment, neither harmful nor beneficial, can wreak havoc – the “careless word” that James referred to. I have friends and loved ones. I certainly would not want to find out that I, carelessly or intentionally, was ultimately responsible for the physical death or dismemberment of one of them. However, through careless comments, it is possible to dismember or even murder a loved one’s spirit – sometimes, without even knowing that it’s been done at all. In all honesty, I, like most, do this on a day-to-day basis. How important it is to guard against that! Wisdom, in part, is knowing not only when and how to say something but also if it should be said at all.

Peace is constantly sought out in this chaotic world. It has to start within each of us, willing to ask God for help in controlling the deadly weapon hidden behind our lips. We can't be peacemakers if we do not guard what comes out of our mouths.

NYPD Blue

2004-10-21T14:06:00.000-04:00

Some things are not worthy of an opinion. Others demand a response. Such is the case with the following commentary I wrote back in late August 2001. Anyone who lived in the NYC metro area (short of being in a coma, literal or otherwise) could not miss the news reports of a certain Joseph Gray, a very intoxicated NYPD officer who took the lives of several members of one family. In retrospect, it is interesting to note that the only incident that completely removed this story from the headlines occurred one month later, 9/11.

Actions, Consequences and Responsibility

“I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty” - J. D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Since August 4, no one in the Tri-State area has been able to turn on the evening news and not hear details regarding Joseph Gray, the New York City police officer who ran over a pregnant mother, her son and her sister. During his first public statement since the accident, he was asked if police officers should be held to a higher standard. His response? “For certain things it is, but I think police officers are human too. We are human beings, we have families, we have feelings. For certain things it is not fair to hold us to a higher standard. We are human beings.”

Yes, they are human beings. Yes, they have families and feelings. However, his logic is flawed. Not everyone is permitted to carry a firearm, nightstick, handcuffs and a whole host of other things that police officers regularly carry. After passing a battery of classes and tests, graduation from the Police Academy bestows upon the individual the right to carry those things as well as the responsibility of a higher standard. Had similar behavior occurred while he was at the Academy, immediate dismissal would have been the outcome. The Academy holds its recruits to a higher standard. The purpose is to clearly demonstrate that, if a position of authority is desired, a recruit’s character and behavior is required to be above that of anyone else. The general populace will lose respect for any authority figure that behaves in an improper manner–drinking binges, driving while intoxicated and hanging out in a strip club. Without respect, authority has no foundation and crumbles.

One may question whether or not Joseph Gray had the right to drink. Since he was off duty at the time of the accident, “What he wants to do on his own time” is the common thought. To a degree, that is correct. Nevertheless, had he had stayed home to engage in the alleged drinking binge, none of the events that followed would have happened. He may have imbibed enough and would have passed out on his floor, making himself a danger only to his family, as they tried not to trip over him. He chose, however, to drink in the parking lot next to the precinct. To further compound the issue, he drove – first to an “off-limits” strip club (which is another issue in and of itself) and then was, allegedly, on his way back to work. Police officers are not above the law. Driving while intoxicated is not an option. If Joseph Gray, as a police officer, didn’t obey the laws that he is supposed to enforce, why should he expect the public to obey? It becomes another case of “Do as I say, not as I do”. There is no room for double standards.

Joseph Gray is not a monster, as some have said. He is a human being with flaws- flaws that have been captured and elaborated upon by the media. However, imperfection does not dismiss accountability. When he chose his actions, he chose the consequences. It’s that simple. No one made him drink indulgently. No one made him drive afterwards. He made those choices. Therefore, he chose the consequences of DWI and manslaughter charges, potential loss of his job and loss of respect. In his choices, he consistently disregarded any sense of responsibility and directly caused the loss of lives.

It is now the responsibility of the NYPD as well as the justice system to demonstrate to the public that such behavior, especially in a police officer, will not be tolerated. If these entities fail to hold Joseph Gray accountable for his choices, they will undermine the foundation of respect upon which their authority rests.

... and you turn yourself about ...

2004-10-21T10:38:00.000-04:00

Forget the classic philosophy 101 question "How do I know that I exist?". I noticed this pendant in a catalog. I may need to buy it:

What if the the hokey pokey is what it's all about?

Let's start at the very beginning ...

2004-10-21T10:20:00.000-04:00

Hey, all!

Several people had suggested that I might enjoy blogging, so here we go ...

It's October and it's beginning to get chilly. I love this time of year - I have no use for hot weather. Frankly, I also enjoy a really snowy winter (but don't remind me of that at the end of March while we are experiencing the 22nd snowstorm of the season).