A Sad memorial 9/11

 

 

The world underwent significant change twenty-four years ago.   People were killed, buildings destroyed, war broke out. The events of September 11, 2001, commonly referred to as 9/11, were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks carried out by the extremist group al-Qaeda against the United States. On that day, 19 terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two of these planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing both towers to collapse within hours. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, in Arlington, Virginia. United Airlines Flight 93, intended for a Washington, D.C. target, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers confronted the hijackers.

The attacks resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people and caused significant destruction and emotional trauma. After 9/11, U.S. policies changed significantly, launching the War on Terror and creating the Department of Homeland Security.

I was at work when it happened, and although I tried to remain composed, I was concerned about the situation.   I kept calling Mom who was in the state buildings, in Hartford for meetings.  She was probably annoyed but understood, eventually.  Jim was at his office in Philadelphia as he worked at the Federal Railroad Administration.  He was fine.

I remember hearing that the Secret Service came to pick up President Bush’s daughter Barbara who was attending Yale at the time.  I recall that we convened in one of the aisles, where our Executive Director at the time assured us of our safety. For those with colleagues or family members working or traveling in affected areas, permission was granted to leave early if they felt uncomfortable.   Of course I stayed.  I would never hear the end of it from Mom at the time.

I remember going home that night and watching the news reports.  I was very glad the media chose not to repeat the planes crashing into the towers.  I seem to remember people complaining they felt differently. 

I recall a mix of increased kindness toward others and a sense of suspicion toward outsiders.   To me that was not good.

Travel 24 years ahead and yesterday there was a senseless murder

and attack.  Throughout the day, I reviewed several articles regarding Charles Kirk.  He was assassinated in Utah.  Until Yesterday I had never heard of him.  Many of my Facebook friends and associates posted comments that, while intended to be non-political, contained some political elements. They remarked on how several people in their networks responded to the man's death with humor or jokes.  I agree it's incorrect.   

 

While that was going on there was a high School shooting in Jefferson County   Colorado.  I hope the link works.   There are a lot of WTFs and anger also on social media as well.  Three individuals, including the shooter who died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, lost their lives.  I bet this will be the focus among all the 9-11 memorial reports.

I need to go and take care of some tasks before the day ends.   I need to call a repair guy for the dryer.  I need to get the tires done and get to the gym.

 

Will need to be careful

I will need to be careful today.  I have been up early and had a few cups of coffee and already put my foot into situations.  Even though team Lead Pat reassured me it wasn’t just me but several factors going on.  Short story-during a meeting I interrupted Super Bob while he was explaining something.  I wasn’t the only one but that’s not the point.

The staff meeting today was basically about the move.  There was another incident in which an employee called police on another employee.  It wasn’t our team and he commended us for that but reminded us that space in the new building will be tight and to keep it professional and respectful.

I found out later in the day what happened.  It involved two people that I have a lot of respect for.  The team lead put work on the other person’s desk and said person returned it with the word bitch written on it.  Team lead reacted strongly and instead of going to the supervisor or HR they called the police.

There was clarification regarding who was going to move personal items.  It was established we (staff members) will have to before the move.  The movers will move our phones, machines, stapler etc.

I haven’t gotten as much as I would have liked done.  I have spent some time roaming and chatting.  Something I promised Supervisor that I would cut back on.  Got to work on that one.

I chatted via text with Sis and bro and they are fine well.  Sis and BIL are still not feeling great.  L seems to think she has a cold and of course N’s slowly recovering from bronchitis.  It’s their wedding anniversary this weekend so they will be celebrating quietly.

Another save the date this time it’s for our Holiday party at Woodwinds? Its December 12, 2019.  I heard about it yesterday and will definitely make plans to go.  It didn’t go into great details but I am sure it will come eventually.

I have been chatting with Sideri in the last couple of days.  I showed her the latest email with the move in dates.  She said we will have a welcome lunch together once I get over there. J

Oh great…the ride home was a bit stressful.  I ended up going on route 34 and down Racebrook Road.  It was much longer.  I wasn’t that late.

Roberta was in the dining room doing some work for Aggie.  Aggie went to drop off her granddaughter and came to work with her more.  So while they did that I took a nap. After a while I got up and got on the computer.  I wasn’t sure I would be able to because Roberta accidently messed up the remote and I had to reset it when I got home after dinner tonight.

Aggie joined us for dinner with Dave. I let Dave know.  I didn’t say anything but I was a little uncomfortable with that because I had read something about inviting others to a party and or out to dinner when you are not the one who did the original inviting.  Was that convoluted enough?  It turned out alright though.

The major discussions were of course the decluttering.   They were giving advice, telling me what I should be doing (which annoyed the living shit out of me) regarding the move, the decluttering, that I will have to make some repairs.  I am following the advice of my realtor.  If one more person tells me that my niece should be doing something different and or reducing the fees she is charging me I am going to scream.  They knew I was getting angry about it.  I also felt bad about it.

We talked movies, and other things.  We got home a short time later and now heading to bed.

Dear Friends

October 25, 2013

Dear Friends:

I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning.  I kept ignoring the alarm and the subsequent snooze button ringing.  When I finally did get up I managed to read some emails, watch TV and iron the clothes I wore to work..  I left before 7:30 and had little to no problem with traffic. except for the sun glare in the morning.

I spent the first part of the morning  doing re-address mail and when Lockbox came I worked on that. until the next round.  The volume seemed light to me and it was light yesterday but making sure I catch up on stuff is what made it seem a lot.

I heard from Nancy this morning.  She was hoping I could watch the dogs for the night as she and Patrick were invited to dinner out of town..  I explained to her I had previous commitment..  I felt bad for her.   I hope she got someone.

We had our wings and cake for Regina’s Birthday today.  Amongst their moving to new desks.  It apparently was a bit stressful as they also had to work I would imagine.

WEll I have to get going.  I will try and chat with you before going to bed after the retirement party.

Kate

Dear Friends

August 31, 2013



Dear Friends:

I wasn’t sure my birthday would be any great shakes.  A couple of days ago (Thursday night) Mom and I got into another one of our angry arguments over one of our favorite subjects.  I didn’t like the way she was talking to me and I asked her to stop and she responded rudely to me and for almost two days we barely spoke.  That is until I got home from my hair appoint determined to change things again.  We are speaking and talking about the subject in a less angry manner.  We got interrupted by a call from Jim.

Jim sent me a Birthday Text Message at some ungodly hour this morning.  I heard it come in but checked a couple of hours later.  I chided him for it when he called.  He explains he got up early to eat and do things then goes back to bed.  Much like the rest of us in the family.  I asked them about the kids and the one person I did really ask about was Kristina!  As soon as I write this I am going to send him an email. 

The weather is going to be a mixed bag today.  Its been mostly cloudy and humid.  Maybe that’s because I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off.  There are thunderstorms predicted for later on today.  It sounds like it will be that way the entire weekend including Monday. 

Work was good yesterday got everything done including some of the re-address mail.  JF asked me about it a few times yesterday and told in all honesty I get to it every day.  The team is going to celebrate my birthday on Tuesday,  I am not sure if it is breakfast or lunch.  I think it will be lunch.

Hey did anyone notice that some of the trees are starting to change colors?  I noticed a few along the highway in Orange, and some of the side streets in Milford this past week.  What other things have you noticed?

Well I have a few things to do before going out shopping with Mom (grocery shopping mostly) so I will see you later.

Kate

Beginning to get that feeling again

Over the last few days I have been looking at pictures of various family gatherings that I have attended and not one has included pictures of me.  Liz took pictures of the Ladies night and I was there.  She hasn’t posted them.  She hasn’t posted the pictures of me with Sweet James.  The recent engagement party.  There are pictures of the couple with friends, and with Mom and Ethel.  I get the feeling they are ashamed of me in some way.  I am really gonna be upset if they post the picture of the cousins and second cousins (my first cousins) and left me out.  AS i mentioned to EH today its hurtful.  It may not be important to anyone else but it is to me.  I did mention to Diane and Rogier that I am looking forward to the pictures and they seemed willing.  When I spoke to Momma TMJ today she said to give it time.  If they don’t post them in another couple of weeks say something.  

I was quite surprised that when i told Mom she didn’t say I was being silly or what not but she reminded me that she and Bob and the family have embraced the Filipino way.  She understood what I was feeling because she has felt it too.

Work went well.  I had gotten a lot done and making progress on stuff like the re-address stuff.  I am confident it will be gone soon.  Just in time for more to arrive.  I still have some online training to do I just have to make some time for it.  I am pretty much expecting to not do any OT this week.  I have a few things to do this week.

The weather was not bad but not perfect.  It was cloudy and humid at work and rained on the way home tonight.  Milford had the 70’s mixed sun and clouds.  It is supposed to rain overnight.  probably showers most likely.  I do have to say the sky tonight was beautiful with the clouds.

Good news on the driveway incident.  Mom called Neighbor Susan and apologized and rectified the situation and Susan understood and told her to park there as long as she needed to.  Its a good thing I basically stayed out of it or it would have been much worse.  Perhaps.  

I heard from SIs last night she sent me a couple of pictures of her Rhode Scholar trip.  She sent some more tonight and heard a lecture on Victorian Women and their roles in the community and it sounds like she loved it.

The other day I sent a message via facebook to my niece Emily complimenting her on her beautiful prom dress from last month.  I heard from her today.  She looks so so grown up.  She is looking forward to seeing me.  I almost said tell your sister to a graduate but I didn’t.  I am really hoping to go down at the end of the week.

Well I am going to watch Return of the Jedi before I get too tired.  Have a great night...

The Weekend ended better than it started

Well up until Sunday afternoon it was rather unpleasant.  Friday Mom and I had a fight over miscommunications and attitudes (mine mostly) and we hadn’t spoken until noon today.  I will not bore you with the details but it is on the road of normal again.

My activities that I spoke of on Friday went successfully.  The carnival at the Nursing home went smoothly and bingo went very well on Sunday.  As in years past Palm Sunday services were long (not really complaining) and crowded. 

The weather was windy most of the weekend.  Temperatures were in the high 40’s.  Saturday was rather cloudy and on Sunday sunny.  By late evening the clouds rolled in.  The southern part of the state was expecting snow while the northern half and snow flurries all weekend. 

This coming week should be fairly busy.  I have a few doctor’s appointments and meetings (maybe one overall).  I want to get as much OT as possible as it seems to be dwindling to nothing.  WE have Good Friday off too.

My nephew John is coming in to town with his GF tomorrow and is on leave for a week or so.  We are getting together for dinner tomorrow night and we all are getting together for Easter next Sunday. 

I need to get some Easter Cards this week and get them out by Wednesday the latest.  I am not sure how successful that will be but who knows.

A regular mail day

Even though today was a federal holiday and the post office was closed the mail volume seemed to be like any other Monday. It was mostly insurance and legal correspondence. The US mail was from the clinics and lower in volume. I was able to get that all done and the lobby mail from Friday and the weekend. I kept checking with Finance to make sure all the mail was available to me and it was.




I was talking to Joanie today and talked about how concerned I was for my job. I don’t like conflict and I was trying very hard today to stay out of SR’s way and not give her any ammunition that could cause problems with it. I even gave her a “what if” scenario. What if Gayle was no longer working here or could no longer work? I didn’t want to let on that’s exactly what was going to happen come the autumn. I did get a little teary eyed and Joanie gave me a hug and told me not to worry.



DK and RW both came back today after their bout with the Stomach flu. They both know and understand it wasn’t my fault and reassured me. Apparently DK’s hubby has it bad and his immune system is worse than mine. I spent a lot of time with DK. We went to Paula’s for our lunch and late in the day I went with her to see her Mom over in Registration. I explained I was trying to stay off SR’s radar today. She understood.



When I finished the priority mail I worked on the readdress mail leaving the postage and bad address tallies for another day. I would like to say I made a small dent in it but there is still much to do. I don’t think I will be able to get to it tomorrow but I will try. I just have to remember to ask for help because I already know its going to be lots.



I met with Debra and that session was very informative. I told her about the long and stressful week since our last session and how I was feeling anxious about work and about the future and I also talked about my finances how I don’t know if I will be able to do well. She said to focus on work and ask for help and that all of it will work out. You have been there before and you will do it again. She also says that on the weekend focus and plan on doing the taxes to help pay the bills. For tonight just have a good meal and watch TV and sleep. I was beginning to get anxious that I started to cry. Debra reminded me that I have nothing to worry about. She told me I could pay when I asked if I could pay it next week. I felt some what better when I left.



When I got home I found Mom in her pajamas watching TV. Dinner was cooking in the oven. She had a few minor complaints and I told her I would be aware of it. I was a complete chatty Cathy through dinner and even after. I even talked with her about how things are kind of going right now with work. She listened and asked a few questions and it was amazing. I even told her I know I have to be a more patient and open to views of others and she wasn’t critical or even judgmental about it. She did say because I love my job that I will find ways that will help to get the job done (or reaffirmed it to me because I told her that’s what I do all the time and what I usually do about the job).



Now that is after 9:30 I think I better get to sleep. I think everything is going to be alright again.

Full Moon

I swear there is definitely a full moon out. I have seen it twice. This morning I passed out the flyer that Gayle made last night as an FYI about Terry’s husband. Well some jack-hole noticed some spelling errors and criticized it. They suggested that who ever wrote it up should use spell check. Said Jack-hole was on the elevator with me a while later and asked me who wrote up the flyer and I looked at her and simply said yes Sharon I heard you the first time. She then asked if I wrote it up and I looked at her and said no. Who the fuck cares? I told a few people and all agreed it doesn’t matter. One shared a story on how “Jack-hole wrote notes in to various accounts she was working on and they were very poor in spelling. When I heard that I laughed so hard.




The little girl (she is probably 18) that I have taken a dislike to came to work in really short shorts. Gayle noticed it too. She ended up changing later on she was in a dress when last saw her. Now that I think about it I didn’t see her for a good part of the afternoon. I have a feeling they may have placed her elsewhere because the boys (the two Jordan’s) had their shifts changed.



The volume of mail was light and that was a good thing. I was able to work on other stuff and get it out of the way. As expected I got a large stack of authorizations to mail out. I knew it was a matter of time before I got it. I was so hoping I would get the small pile I have been working on done first. It never happens that way. Anyway the mail was completely done and I hope tomorrow is the same way so that I can relax for the afternoon. I have two Dr. Appointments and I want to be able to leave knowing I don’t have anything to do Saturday except scanning.



I found out today that Susan will be on vacation for the next week. I am not sure where she will be but she will be out of our hair for the week. We can work on getting our new two day goal done without her breathing down our necks. It would be nice if we could be all caught up by next week. Gayle would like it too. She really has a lot on her plate.



People started contributing to the collection for Terri. Niamba will be doing some thing from the Team while I will be collecting from the entire floor. So far we have $18. I need to get a flyer started. I also have to find a florist she likes in East Haven. Maybe we will have more people contribute tomorrow.



I stayed until 5:30 and got a chance to see Gayle’s Daughter Maria and Granddaughter Gabby. Her birthday was this week. I couldn’t believe how much Gabby has grown since I saw her. They have a lot going on and Gabby was arguing with her Mom about something. I decided right then to leave for the bus. I was so tired I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay much longer. I did catch the Milford Bus. I was home ten minutes earlier then usual. I got to see the Dalmatians and their parent Chris.



I was planning on doing some banking today (closing out the accounts and moving them to the Credit Union) but I just didn’t have time. I will have to make time next week. Maybe do one account at a time. The other reason is I have bills to pay right now and they are somewhat big. Speaking of bill paying I better get to them. I have one due the beginning of next week.



It really is another beautiful night. I think I will get into some warmer pajamas then the shorts and t-shirt. The moon is big and full again. Okay I will see you all tomorrow.

Family Update

Hello and Happy Mothers Day to all of you. I hope you had a wonderful day today. I know I did. As in the past I spent the morning playing bingo with the residents at the Nursing home. The rest of the afternoon was enjoyable. We had hot dogs and hamburgers at My sister’s and BIL’s home.




Things for me are going well. I had some Doctor’s appointments in the last few weeks and they were fine. I continue to make progress with the WW @ work program. My last weigh in was on Friday and that was very successful. Each day is a progress and I am enjoying it.



Work continued to be a little hectic as I had to change my vacation plans around when a co-worker had some serious health issues come up and we were a little understaffed and of course heading to end of FY. I have been taking long weekends to use up excess vacation time I need to use before the end of the year. The volume of work for every one has tripled. We have some challenges ahead as we get new billing assignments and new methods of doing the work.



I have been procrastinating these last few weeks at getting my passport renewed. Even though it’s only a few documents they seemed to overwhelm. I got the pictures taken Friday and submitted the application at the Post office Saturday. I am supposed to go to Niagara Falls in the late summer early part of fall.



The Woman’s club is planning on doing a fashion show at the West River Healthcare Facility here in town. WE are hoping to do it some time in June and July and we hope the residents will enjoy it. We have elections coming up in a few weeks as well as other year end activities. We are still planning on some summer activities before we start up in the fall so we should be fairly busy. Our Girls Volunteer Club was a finalist in our towns “Mayor’s Youth Award presentation and we are incredibly proud of them.



The DTC (Democratic Town Committee) has some really exciting activities and fundraisers coming up. Our State organization is having The 2011 Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner in May. I have been invited a few times. It basically is a get together of all the democrats and has a good time.



Locally we have an awards banquet and auction fundraiser. WE also continue to prepare for the municipal election in November.



Mom is doing okay. She did have some back issues that caused concern but she is much better these days. She received news late last month regarding my Aunt Rita. Her youngest sister and it isn’t good. She had been losing weight and not eating and various other signals. Sadly it was discovered she has Advanced Stage Pancreatic Cancer. Mom left here on Wednesday to visit. She returned on Saturday.



Bob and Ethel and their daughter came for dinner on Easter Sunday. It was a lot of fun. Bob is finishing up the semester teaching. I don’t know if he will be doing it during the summer. I think he would like to but it depends on the colleges will need and pay him.



My talented and wonderful niece and her boyfriend moved into an apartment in Brooklyn NY together last month. They are having a great time putting it together. I am not sure when she starts touring with the King and I. Her Boyfriend is awesome and we like him a lot he is from the Netherlands and they have been together (dating wise) for a few years now.



We-or I should say Mom got an email from John last month. He has been very busy in Korea. He has informed us he will be transferred to Washington State in September 2011. We are very relieved.



Rob has been kind of quiet. He has been posting now and then on Facebook. He is working still.



Jim was hoping to bring the kids up for Easter. He has been working steadily most weekends. That is until this past couple of weeks I guess the temporary assignment came to an end. He is trying to get them to hire him part time. The kids seem to have colds this past week. Jamie started Lacrosse but was sidelined for a week because of a minor strain.



Liz and Nelson and their family are doing pretty good. Liz has been a Dossier at a local museum and Nelson just graduated from Citizen’s Police Academy in Milford. Liz was nominated or asked to organize our family reunion recently so she is jumping into that with both feet.



Each of their children is doing well. The eldest Cheryl and her family are preparing for her youngest son’s HS Graduation in June.



Nelson and his wife Lisa are enjoying their baby son immensely. They have had visits with the in-laws and are both working.



Rich continues to work in construction and doesn’t bartending when construction is slow. He is a great Uncle to all the younger kids of the family.



Chris continues to work as a cook/chef at Quinnipiac College in Hamden. He spends time with his kids as much as possible.



Adam moved into an apartment in town and continues prepare for his October wedding with Olga. They have been having been spending time with their families as well.



Well its time for me to close out I am hoping you enjoyed this and if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Mom is home

Mom has been home now just over three hours. Her flight got in around 5:30 and it took her about an hour and half to drive home. We talked while she took a look over the mail and the newspapers. She was very impressed with how tentative and caring the family was to Rita (she was especially impressed with Carol). I asked her what the area was like. She really enjoyed meeting Rita’s neighbors. Both Frank and Carol did things for Mom in preparation for her trip back home. She did get to see Michael and spent time with Ryan who was a bit overwhelming at times with his constant hugs and kisses. So much so that she had to tell him to stop kissing and hugging her. I have a feeling that will bite her in the ass in the future.




After she looked at her mail and checked emails she got changed into her pajamas and had tea and watched TV. I bet if I got up from this chair I would probably find her sleeping in the back room. She did say her neck was bothering her right now.



She did say she wasn’t sure how long Rita has left because things or situations would change from hour to hour. She was lucid for a long time and then it would change. She loved the card I picked out for Rita and encouraged me to send it ASAP as it could be anytime soon.



We talked about WW, my getting the passport completed and I gave her the remaining picture. I certainly don’t need it. I figure I can show my passport to everyone else when I get it.



Well I just checked on Mom she had a snack and was watering the huge flowers that have bloomed in the last few hours. She is also watching news programs on CNN.



I told her about the trip arrangements and that I am already thinking about wardrobes for that time of year. I told her that Rose will be joining us on this four day trip.



I left her to watch the news program and me to get ready for bed. I have to clear off the bed first.

April Fool's Day

Well I think we got our April fool’s Day joke weather wise. Even though it was cold there was no snow. All we go was rain. The temperatures for most of today seem to get no higher than 40*F. I didn’t see or feel any highway powerful winds. I am looking out my back window right now and the trees seem calm.




Today was supposed to be the day where I had all the readdress mail taken care of before I left. Both Janet and I worked our asses off doing our various duties. Janet is now doing the whole batching process. We found out yesterday that Frank’s assignment for now was over. So now she is not only doing his job (all the other stuff she was doing) and now mine (along with trying to help me with the readdress mail). Today this magazine came for all the doctors. I still have a box and half left of the stuff from previous weeks. My goal was to have a better turn around. Let’s just say everything I touched didn’t work out that way. I was getting stressed over getting a few documents to Janet. Annette has offered to stream line them for me the next time.



I did manage to get the mail that was for the other floors to their correct or semi correct occupants. I was getting a nasty headache by the time I left. I apologized profusely to both Janet and Annette and they seemed to understand.



I don’t know what to expect when I return on the 18th. A part of me is afraid I will be written up and reprimanded and another part of me is thinking it will be alright because SR seemed to be okay when I told her there was still stuff and that I got the magazines.



It was raining when I left and the drive home seemed it was taking forever. I was holding my head and begging for the people ahead of me to drive. I wasn’t sure if I going to be sick or not. Happily it wasn’t the case.







Mom was starting to get dinner ready when I got home. I told her I needed to take a rest before dinner and so she put off dinner for a bit. We talked about WW. I have her reading the material that we received today. I am really excited. They have as a goal for me to loose up to 22 lbs (at least that’s how I understand the process).



I got into my pajamas and we had dinner Salmon and vegetables. We discussed tertiary plans and I urged Mom to read the “getting started” booklet we got today. I am really excited about this. This will be a team effort for the both of us. She wants to know what she can make for meals so that it will be helpful.



I may start doing laundry tonight but then again I may just relax. Tonight like I usually do.



I am going to sign out for now. Love to you all.

Exhausting night

Several of us from the office went to Wicked Wolf for dinner. Some of us got appetizers along with our meal. Man did I eat a lot. I had coffee because it was so cold out. While we were there two men from a union from Hartford were noticing us. They were waiting for the rally to begin. It wasn’t supposed to start until about 6:30 7 pm. It was being hosted by this organization: http://local.we-r-1.org/weareone/events/show/16 . Almost every labor organization, community organization came out to this rally tonight.




The meeting was held at the Church on the Green. We had several votes to take both for financial reasons and labor reasons. It went pretty fast. If you want to read more about it here and it will explain the reasons for the rally from the perspective of local labor. After the meeting we joined all the other unions including or sibling local 35. We marched across the New Haven Green and on to City Hall. For the next half hour we listened to chants, speeches, and froze my butt off. I was happy to be there because not only was this to support labor but I was happy to see people I hadn’t seen in quite some time.



As the rally drew to a close I caught up with my band of people that I had dinner with and we walked back to our cars. It was so cold that I couldn’t wait to get home and have some coffee.



It was dark by the time I got home Mom was sleeping in the chair so I got the garbage and recycle stuff out. You know I am looking forward to getting the new recycle bins (they will look like garbage cans) but not at the expense of the people losing their jobs. The bins we do have are old, cracking, and almost broken. The new ones will have a lid on it and hold more stuff. We are supposed to get them in June some time.



My cousin LC from NJ called tonight. He calls now and then to chat with Mom. They were catching up on family news. It’s amazing what time does because up until this past year he didn’t do that. I don’t know if it is because his mother is ill or because our family is getting smaller. Actually it’s the family on Mom’s side. I don’t know. What ever the reasons are I am glad he does it.



I got the minutes from Thursday’s meeting done tonight. Mom looked them over and except for one or two lines she thought they were great. I emailed them to Phil for his final approval. I should hear from him tomorrow morning. I will send them out after that.



I did make the attendance sheet for the meetings. It looks better then the first one I did a few months ago. As soon as I learn how to use the thumb drive I will save the documents. I am tempted to put last month’s minutes on the hard drive and then probably ask Mom for the ones I don’t have anymore. That will have to wait until tomorrow.



It’s almost midnight and I am tired. Have a great one and be careful out there.

Nothing is ever Easy

Good news the big UPS envelope was my American Express Card for Costco.  Bad news they are a pain in the ass to get my card activated.  I was going to do it on line but Mom's name and stuff is on the sight and I don't want to change it on her.  I tried to call and at first my phone disconnected.  I tried a second time and had to speak to someone who was condecending to say the least.  I didn't have this problem before!  They wanted to know who the primary card is..ah duh?  I explained my name is on it but it is linked to Mom's card.  I got so frustrated I hung up.

I am also aggravated because the pains in the side seem to be acting up big time tonight.  Read it here.  Right now its fine but then in a while if I move or breath deeply it will hurt.

No news on the Computer front really.

Mom went to the reception for Congresswoman DeLauro this evening then she went to the DTC.  I joked that Congress would not appreciate the whole CT Congressional delegation being sick and sharing with the rest of the members.  Mom didn't think it was funny.  I did.

Late Night Musings

It is nearly 1 in the morning. I haven’t been to sleep yet. After posting nearly a 3 page family update entry to most of the journaling lists and here I have been trying to empty out one of the mailboxes of the journaling emails. It also has one of the NCIS lists as the one I wanted to use had been banned from my visit there a few years back.

As I had hoped things with Mom are significantly better. We cleared the air (in every sense of the word) right as she was going to sleep. At least I hope we did. I will find out later on today. She brought something to my attention and she wanted confirmation as to whether she was off base or not. I basically told her that I should know at this stage in our lives she wouldn’t tell me things just to be hurtful but helpful.

Edited to add the previous passage had gone beyond “Too much sharing” and I didn’t want to embarrass anyone

So I have also been updating my birthday list. I have been getting the info from Facebook at least the dates. I expect to have a very long list sometime. It is already three pages long.

I have taken the ibuprofen and Tramadol again as the fingers and hands are still a little stiff. I had a small amount of baked potato chips from Kirkland. I don’t really pay attention to myself at times. They may have been baked but they still are made with salt.

Okay well I am going to check some more forums and then see if the Tramadol will make me sleepy enough to get some rest.

I slept Late

I can’t believe I slept so late this morning! It was quarter of nine when I got up and I had to be at the nursing home by 9:15. I had taken some Nyquil last night and it must have done the job because I put my head done and went right to sleep. I had a weird dream that I( was back in the 70’s and Mark Harmon was there and I saw my Aunt Rosalie. That’s about all I could remember of it. Anyway I quickly showered and dressed and heard Mom call me. I called back to her and said I was coming.

When I went down I explained what happened and she asked if I was even dry yet. She shrugged and said it happens. I told her when I would be back and what I would be doing. She called out and said have fun.

I drove quickly to the nursing home and looked around and some of the residents were already in the recreations room. I started serving the coffee and got some hot water for tea. I chatted with the residents and a short time later Natalie was there. It was about then when I discovered a resident who had been playing bingo a long time ago had passed away. Her name was Lois. Soon Nicole and Jillian came to help out and they got some more of the residents. We had a full house today. We played for an entire hour. We even got a chance to say hello to Natalie’s beagle Benjamin. I haven’t seen him quite some time. It was great.

After Bingo I stopped and saw Millie and Margaret. They didn’t come down for bingo this week but I am going to make sure they are down next week. Margaret couldn’t see very well so she didn’t want to come down. I am not sure what Millie’s reason was. I think it was to keep her friend Rose from being lonely. I went to church late of course.

When I arrived at church Father Cronin was finishing up his homily. I don’t think have been that late in such a long time. When I looked around I saw Marisa and her family in the same row. I hugged them and said hello. We chatted outside afterwards; we promised to call each other for lunch sometime and then left.

I called Liz and Nelson to see if I could come over and they said of course. They had just finished making home made ice cream and were outside playing with neighbor kids. All three of them came to me and hugged me…I ecstatic that Audrey did it without any coaching and pleading. I had tea and chatted with Liz while Nelson waited for hiss brother Tom to go on a cemetery historical walk. We chatted with Mike and David’s Mom about the political ads.
I left before 1:30 as I needed to be at Democratic Headquarters for some envelope stuffing. All of them said goodbye to me and I loved it. When I left I headed over to the headquarters.

I found Kyle and Maureen the only ones there. I told them I was there to work and so Maureen put me to work on envelope stuffing. It was for Gayle Slosberg. I did have to get a soda and I had some chips and then for the next hour and half stuffed and stamped them.

I asked Maureen how things have been going and asked if she was disappointed in the way it was going (there was a low turn out for help among the DTC)) and she thinks Gayle will win but barely.

When I left around 3 I headed to LensCrafters to finally get my eyeglasses fixed. The tech said I was right that I had put the lens back in wrong when it fell out. Now it is fine. He was also afraid I had ruined the glasses with Krazy Glue. While I was there ran into a co worker Javonne. She works in the Anesthesiology Dept for YMG. I haven’t seen here in a couple of years. It was great catching up with her.

When I got home Mom was still baking. She had just put a key lime pie together to be cooked I guess. She had made bread pudding too. She also made Clam chowder as well. We had that for dinner and it was great.

Mom wanted us to take the door to her office down to make more room. We couldn’t do it. I am not sure what we will do with it next. It’s an old door that has been painted. I think Mom was a little disappointed but I am quite certain she will get it off.

Right now Mom is talking to my Aunt Stella from New Jersey. Its amazing as things haven’t been really all that great between them but now they seem to talk every couple of weeks and I have good feeling about that.

Well I am going to go empty my inbox some more. I am leaving those that have a lot in so I do the smaller amounts first. I know that doesn’t make sense but if you saw it you might understand. Since I fell asleep early last night I want to get some more done today.

I did it!

Today was very cool. I got up early and started getting ready for breakfast and the walk. Mom was having breakfast for her self and then realized she had to get ready for the birthday party. I called Liz for some directions for Mom and had a few moments to chat with Liz.

Dave came after 9 and we headed to Cracker Barrel Old Country Restaurant up by the highway and we were seated promptly and ordered our pancakes. Dave had blueberry and I had plain with cherries on top and whip cream. I had juice and coffee. We had some time to catch up on some things and we even chatted with waitress who waited on us. She was quite nice.

After we ate it was about 10 and we headed to Killingworth and to Chatfield Hallows. We arrived about 11 or so despite our not paying attention to the GPS. However it got us back to where we needed to be and we began following the huge sign that said “Chatfield Hollows” this way. We registered and chatted with the organizers Genovese Salvatore (my friend from DTC), and some other committee members and of course got a chance to talk with Tessa. We decided to walk back to the car (plenty of places to park closer but we stayed where we were)with our goodie bag filled with information and samples of food that was allergen free (gluten free as well).

As the time for the walk grew near many more people arrived. Some had large teams that were on behalf of family members who had food allergies. They were from all over the state and were so nice to talk to and learn how they had to deal with this incredible disease. It isn’t like other allergies (like pollen, and all the other known allergies) food allergies could literally kill them. If you have family members with food allergies and want to know if there are organizations in your area then The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network Walk for Food Allergy: FAAN Walk for Food Allergy . I am pretty sure there are support groups as well. We were entertained by a group called the Elwood’s from Milford. There were various corporate sponsors and of course Senator Chris Dodd and his beautiful wife were also there. They have a daughter with food allergies and they were not certain she would make to age 9.

The walk started at 1 and was about an hour along the main road and was two miles long and around the lake there. There was a beautiful water wheel and covered bridge and part of the walk was over this long walking bridge. There were other people there walking for their selves and picnics. We finished the walk about an hour later and then had a raffle. After all that we headed home. We got back to the house by 3:30.

Mom was home working on some reports for this week. She got home around 12:30 from the birthday party and she said it was wonderful. Chris my nephew (and the kids’ father) was there with a girl friend. Apparently they live in Devon together. Stephanie (the mom) had her boyfriend there as well. It was a little odd for Mom (and I think it would have been for me too) but Mom says she though Chris’s girl friend was really nice.

The rest of the afternoon I took a nap (trying to get rid of a headache I had through out the day). I am not sure why I had it but I survived it. It could have been the chilly air or what ever. I watched TV and had a late dinner.

Mom had a few phone calls from Brother Jim. He had just returned from a weekend retreat and Mom wanted him to help her with the report/speech for tomorrow night’s annual meeting. They talked about the party, his weekend and some family stuff.

This week I have two meetings and a dentist appointment and next Saturday the finance conference for Women in Hartford. I am really looking forward to that. It starts at 7:30 and lasts until 2 pm and I am going up with my friend Telka.

I probably will work OT for most of the week. I don’t think we have anything major happening except Month end activities again. This past weekend was the 200th Anniversary of the School of Medicine. They had lots of stuff going on Saturday. I hope they had a good crowd. Despite the weather (it was very windy)

Okay well it is after 9:30 and I need to get ready for bed. The headache is completely gone so I don’t expect to have any problems tonight.

St Patrick's Day 2010

Today is the day in which everyone is Irish. They dress up in green and have fun. I am no different. I dressed up in my green and black suit with the hat I won in the raffle at the woman’s club meeting last week. I was told I was a tall Leprechaun and very cute. People smiled and laughed.

There were a couple of co workers who really were annoying today. In the morning it was LG but it stopped and then BM. I am not sure what the problem with him was but I spoke to several people and have said that if I did or said something to someone then that person needs to come to me and say “Hey I have a problem with what you (said, did) to me. Not this silent treatment. Of course they may not feel like it that moment so that’s understandable.

One thing I did was to clear the air with the Administration staff in another department. It’s on the 9th Floor of our building. I told the woman that that I sensed we got off on the wrong feet last week and that if I offended you I apologize because I am not usually like that. All she said was Okay. Now a part of me was waiting for her to apologize back to me but it didn’t happen. I am not surprised. As I said to Dolette not everyone has to accept another’s apology right away. It was clear she felt she was wronged.

I didn’t stay for OT tonight. Dolette needed a ride and quite frankly I was a bit tired. I was clearing out my files since everything else was done. I just have to put them in the files in the cabinet.

I got home a little after 4:30 and hung out and watched TV and did some snacking thinking that Mom wouldn’t be home til six. Well that was almost true. She got home by 5:30. She got the tickets and had her meeting. Now she was going to cook dinner.

We had spaghetti with clams. It was delicious. I had alfredo earlier in the day so I was rather full. I had that along with the cookies and 2 pieces of cake and coffee. Yeah a little much I know.

I am going to go empty the garbage and recycle stuff so that I am not doing that at 10 o’clock.

A Long Day

Well today is my first day back from my long weekend. It seems like I have been away so long. It is great to be back. I had gotten a phone call on Thursday Gayle and text message from Cami looking for the combo to the records box so I text Cam and called her back after that to make sure it worked out okay. Stephanie did the mail and as usual she did a good job. There was still a lot left for me to do so I put it today’s mail.

Susan wants Claudia to “shadow me” so that they know what needs to be done. I told everyone there was a book on the desk with notes. Stephanie told me she had some notes but still had a hard time remembering where certain things went. Claudia says we will start tomorrow.

I worked on the mail from today and the rest of Fridays for most of the day but didn’t finish it. I will work on it tomorrow along with the mail for tomorrow. I was really hoping I could get it all done by the time I left but it wasn’t to be.

There was some excitement. The one section of Temple Street was blocked off and evacuated due to a bomb scare. There were police and I saw Jamie Muro from Channel 8. He was staring at me for some reason (I probably was talking very loudly on the phone to people). I called Cami and Annette to let them know if anyone was coming in that direction to avoid it. After the calls I asked someone and they didn’t know what was going on.

I went on to Debra’s office and headed to the waiting room. I made a couple of calls for the Woman’s Club and talked with another girl waiting for her appointment to begin. WE talked about the bomb scare and then we both went to our appointments. I wasn’t in Debra’s office for more than ten minutes when the fire alarm went off. Debra sent me out to the hallway and she told me to go on down. I went and I was a little bit nervous I didn’t know where it was going to lead (it ended up outside on Chapel Street.) and she followed. I called Mom who could hear me but I couldn’t hear her.

While everyone else waited under the glass roof we walked to a park bench and had our session. I told her about everything that happened last week. How the trip to PA went and how the conversations went. How the trip back went and how the rest of the weekend went. When I went to pay her I discovered my ID holder was gone. So now have to mail it to her.

After the session I went back to the office to find the badge holder I couldn’t find it. I talked with Annette and Gayle and told her what was happening at the Omni. After a few minutes I left and walked out with Sally T. We chatted about the weekend and about the events at the Omni. She walked up to her car and I took the elevator.

I left the garage by 5:30 and was home a short time later. I was a little worried about losing the badge holder and was trying to think where I had put it. I decided I would still look in the office again tomorrow.

When I got home Mom was getting changed. We talked about the Bomb Threat and about dinner. She wasn’t hungry so I got something for myself. WE were both very tired.

The rest of the night I made some calls and have gotten online. I watched been watching a little of the NCIS marathon and now I am going to bed

It was beautiful out today

Aw man you should have been here in Milford today. It was absolutely beautiful today. It was sunny and in the mid to upper 40’s today. I think it was in the 30’s at the beginning of the day and when I started for Mediplex it was a bit chilly but when I came off the highway after church the sign read “44 degrees” when we drove by it again later on it read 47. That’s almost 50 degrees. I even went without a coat for a short time.

Today went well despite the fact there were some annoying moments with Mom but I will get into that later. When I left here in the morning Mom asked me about an email with information about the benefits of Bingo or something. She wanted me to share with Natalie. I haven’t yet. She started to criticize and get all pouty because I didn’t. This didn’t bode well for me and I knew it.

When I came back from Bingo/church she wanted to make her weekly complaints. The first was not rinsing one of the containers before putting it in the dishwasher. The second was leaving a messy bathroom (I am leaving it at that), When I tell her how many players we had and how many I like to have or can handle she sits there and tells me-I mean actually tells me I can handle more. It drives me right up a “hall”. (yes that was deliberate and for any of you NCIS fans I hope you get it)

When Mom ever needs help with documents or anything with the computer I forget that I have little or no patience with her on this, For one thing she doesn’t freaking listen to me when I tell her to do something at a specific moment. Instead she is doing something else. She insisted that she could edit any document while it’s in email status. That’s great but her freaking attitude (along with mine) isn’t helping and I get really pissed off. So yet again she is pouty and short with me.

At some point the atmosphere changed and we were fine. We went shopping at Lowes late in the afternoon for a programmable thermostat. As I am writing this Mom is reading the instructions for it. WE also were trying to get some sort of “Bach splash tile for our bathroom sink. Mom saw Liz’s new stuff in her bathroom and she wants to have it for ours because it looks better than it does now. Unfortunately we didn’t see what we wanted so we didn’t get it.

After we left Lowes we headed over to Trader Joe’s to get some stuff. Mom wants to put a “care package” together for John. So we got him cookies, pop-corn, and some other stuff. We also got some stuff for ourselves (kettle popcorn) and bread for our dinner this evening.

We had pork and potatoes for dinner and it was delicious. It was kind of ironic that all the cooking shows we watch (at least three of them) on PBS were all doing something with pork. I couldn’t help but think there was an Easter theme to it.

I really should be working on minutes for the meetings last week but I am tired and I think I will go to bed. I have another long day tomorrow.

Mom will have an even longer day. She has to be up by 6:30 and out of the house by 7:30. She has an early meeting at Bridges and then the funeral for our Friend Tony V and then later on in the day she has a bunch of meetings and has to appear before the finance committee tomorrow night.

I have been having a hard time trying to conquer the LJ cuts (for text and tag names). I cold do it on the first one but for some reason can’t do it with the second one. I want to work on the text stuff but not sure it will work.

Well I am going to check out some stuff and then try to go to bed. Have a great night and TTY tomorrow.

President's Day

Yesterday was President’s Day. It was designated the day all the President’s that were born in February are remembered and celebrated for their accomplishments in our history. Some places have the day off (Yale doesn’t). There will be no mail (just like I mentioned yesterday) banks will be closed as well. Many families will be or have already for things for the kids to do for the day. Many students have off this week.

Work was going along pretty smoothly. We all got a big scare shortly after Gayle arrived. She became ill and we were not sure if it was a stroke or what. I was so upset because I felt guilty I didn’t do enough when she walked in. I could sense something wrong. She was taken to the hospital and checked out and by the end of the day was released from the hospital. By the end of the day I was exhausted.

I went to my session with Debra and we discussed that and the previous week’s events. The session went by quickly. When I left it was after 5 and the sun hadn’t set yet. It was cloudy as the storm was coming in. I called Mom to let her know I was on my way home. I also told her I wasn’t feeling well.

Mom went ahead and had dinner without me so that she could go to an event our friend Bruce B was hosting. I stayed home and had dinner and watched TV and then went to bed. Mom came home probably a little after 9.

That’s when the latest snow storm began. It lasted until mid morning today and then another one came in around 12:30. That one finished up about an hour ago. This will probably make tomorrow’s commute rather dicey. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t stay for OT tonight.

Today was a very energetic day. We had a diversity meeting with Administration and the diversity office. The session before ours seemed very volatile and the energy washed over us like a huge wave.

Gayle decided to stay home today and rest up. She called to ask me to help her with setting up her fax from home. It worked. She apologized for scaring me. A part of me was a little embarrassed because that was really the last thing I wanted for her to worry about.

She will be coming in to work tomorrow. Hopefully she will take it easy. I will be spending the time finishing up today’s mail. It came late and because I had the diversity meeting everything was thrown off course.

Now right though I have to run around my room and get it cleaned up for the Energy Auditors visit tomorrow. Mom neglected to tell me it was this week. I really am tired and want to go to bed.