KateP's musings

Yesterday was the union protest at the commencement.  It was discussed on the news all weekend but by the time I left for work is when I found out it wasn’t going to be just a silent vigil.  IT turned out to be a long march from the union office all the way to Broadway and then back where we greeted the graduates and applauded.  Quite frankly I am annoyed because this is not what we were told and we should have been told.  By the end of the day my ankles were swollen and my legs hurt.  There was a de-briefing  lunch at the union hall today.  I decided not to go because i could still feel my ankles against the shoes.  It took me awhile to get home yesterday too.  I don’t remember that happening last year. For the record 20 minutes in the garage and 15 to get out of the city.   Last night was the creative writing contest reception at City hall.  Before I got there I had to stop and get more cookies and get gas or I would not have...

Commencement week has finally arrived and will begin Sunday on the Old Campus with Yale College Class Day.  I always wondered what the difference was between the two activities and now that I know it is basically what high schools have.  All the awards and presentations over the years and to celebrate underclassman.  Well maybe not the exact same way high schools do.  Ambassador Sara Power will be the speaker at Class Day.  In the small blurb in the email we got yesterday she is a Yale Graduate and is a member of President Obama’s cabinet. After the Commencement Alumni Weekend begins a couple of days after that.  I suspect we will see an increased volume of traffic and people that week not so much during the commencement since it will be closer to the city.  OF course if one tends to go out at lunch time they may get to see some activity but collectively we don’t get much around here. Yesterday was pretty good.  Mama R came around 8 and stay...

The Celebration of Life/Memorial for my friend’s Mom was lovely.  “N” ‘s father sat on the back deck and greeted people as they gave their condolences.  There was a book to sign in and eventually the service began.  ‘N’s father welcomed and spoke at first of their lives.  I was amazed how much he  remember (he is at least two years older than his wife).  There was music, poetry and tributes including one from the Mayor (their nephew).  At one point you could hear Preston barking from his chair upstairs.  It was surprising to see many people i recognized including my neighbor “P”.  She was friends with “N” ‘s late sister. After that celebration I headed to my niece and Nephew’s home in North Haven.  It took me about 40 minutes and the ride was not bad on the Merritt.  Dinner was just getting started so I quickly said hello to as many people and grabbed my plate.  I sat with my sister and BIL and chatted with a friend of the ...

Well the weekend is here.  Friday went very well.  I was able to get almost everything off my desk.  I have  a small pile to do (so far) for MOnday.  I was able to get my office cleaned up before leaving.  We did say goodbye to our friends in the Collections department as they packed up and started moving to their new location in WH.   The WEather was absolutely beautiful it was in the high 70’s and the sun was shining.  It made the house itself very warm so the windows were opened.  It was especially warm in the bedroom.  The ceiling fan went on and cooled off the room.  It is overcast now as I write this but by the end of the weekend we are supposed to get some much needed rain.  Parts of the lawn really need it. While I was busy with the scholarship presentations I discovered that one of our neighbors moved out.  It would seem the owner of the house has decided to move back from NY and gave them a month to move o...

The end of last week and the beginning of this week saw the resolution of the “family drama” at least between my brother and I.  I shared the emails and texts that came and my therapist put the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of my siblings.  I am not sure they would appreciate it but what they don’t know won’t hurt them.  Unless.... Work is going pretty well.  I am catching up on some stuff that has been accumulating since I had been out sick and trying to catch up.  It was actually spoken about today and I am pretty sure it will be caught up by Friday.  The University had its commencement ceremony weekend and we had VP Biden  as guest speaker for Class Day.   Security was tight from what I understand and of course there were certain streets closed off for various reasons.  Starting Friday and all next week is Reunion Week and that should be interesting seeing former students come back and visit the campus.  Some proba...

Mom tells me we get connected to the new sewer system today.  I wasn’t sure when it was going to happen but its been in the works for a while now.  Kim and her family started getting connected probably earlier this and so did Don and his family.  Kim posted pictures earlier and she and her daughters were tearing up her side yard a couple of weeks back in preparation for it.  I really don’t know what the next step is.  Is there some sort of mechanism that turns it on?    All I know is we will start getting sewer bills.  Is it weird that I am looking forward to that? Telka emailed us about dates for June meeting it looks like the girls have finals and need to study for them. She also asked about the picnic and I said any date but the weekend of June 21st as that’s the weekend of MIke and Ashley’s Wedding.  I can’t believe our meetings will be ending for the summer.  We still have the creative writing contest reception later this m...

As I was sitting at work yesterday working on  the mail my thoughts were drifting to Macungie where my nephew was sitting through his graduation ceremonies.  I wondered if they were indoors because of the rain.  It was pretty likely that was the case there are venues that big for it.  I was having flashbacks to the day I met him.  He was just two when Jim and Claudia brought him home and he had a limp for a while.  He was shy at first but by the fourth time I saw him I think we grew close.  Over the years I watched him grow he was a smart young man.  Any time they came for a visit he always helped Mom make breakfast.  As he got older he didn’t do it as much.   As he got older and his parents divorced he spent a lot of time with his father.  He also had his friends and his sports but he made sure he spent time with Jim.  That might change now that he will be attending Blair Academy in the fall.  I spoke t...

Ah Monday what a lovely day?  It is overcast and a little windy this morning.  Commuters have to deal with the repair process in Bridgeport from Friday night’s train crash and this will take a few days according to sources. Work went well today we were happy to welcome back a coworker who had been out on leave and she looked great.  We had celebratory breakfast of treats and delights. Elsewhere on campus there was a shooting over the weekend.  It was very close to the office .    It is a way I walk from Debra’s sometimes. Graduation continued on campus.  Traffic was a bit heavy throughout the city I am told.  I have to admit I didn’t really have any problems coming home today.   Most of the activities were over by then anyway.  Memorial Day weekend is Alumni Weekend and that will be as crazy if not more.  As of right now this will be the entire schedule for the week. I may not have had a difficult driv...

If this had been a regular work day I would be in serious trouble, I woke up around quarter of three. I did some web browsing and updating journals and replying to friend’s comments and all. Speaking of Blogs and journals there was an update from LJ indicating they will take into consideration many comments that have been made about the linking of LJ to Twitter and to Facebook. I did go back to bed but I am not sure I slept very long. I could hear the NPR morning edition start around 5. I finally got up around 8. I went back online for a bit and then went and talked with Mom for a bit. For most of the morning we did our own stuff. I watched TV. WE had a visit from our Neighbor Sean who had been clam digging and gave us some clams. He was going to give it to few others but they didn’t want it so we got it. Around Noon we left for shopping. We started at Talbots Outlet store in Orange and got a couple pairs of pants and then headed to the Trumbull Mall. It was about then when w...

It is afternoon now and I have been home from work bout 20 minutes. Mom was out back watching the Democratic State Convention in Hartford. I told her that our friend CT Bob ( http://ctbob.blogspot.com/ ) wrote about last night’s festivities in his blog. I will be reading it later. I haven’t gotten a call from Milford Delegates to attend so I don’t think I will be there this year. Mom seems to think it’s too late. Work went well. I am not sure just how many of us were there probably 8 or 10 at our end and more towards registration. I did get online and checked out my favorites and even checked some blogs. I have to say I didn’t have any problems getting into work or finding a spot but it was clear in some areas of the city that commencement weekend was in full swing. People were walking around there were more cars around in one section then there were in others. Well it is almost 5:30. I have been home since a little after 4 from the salon where I watched a young girl get read...

I had received a weird phone call around midnight today. The person calling identified themselves as a police officer (after asking them twice) and asked to talk to my son and I told them I don’t have a son and what is this in reference and they wanted to talk to him about harassing phone calls. Then they asked to talk to my boyfriend. Again I told him I don’t have one. Now they would have asked for the guy’s last name or wouldn’t they have at least known who they were calling? Now I am wondering if they will continue to call me and do the harassing phone calls. You see I have lost my license and the id holder (again). I called Stop and Shop last night to see if anyone picked it up or reported it to the customer service. I am wondering if I am setting myself up for problems. I hope not. Okay let’s talk about the last few days. Mom had her surgery on Thursday despite the fact it had a late start it went very well she in Recovery by 3. The Doctor called just about then and told me she di...

Yesterday was wonderful. We got to Liz’s just before 8:30 but they were not ready. We left after 8:30 and were meeting Cheryl and her family at their street in North Haven and driving caravan style to the Law School. The ride was lovely. We drove by a local weekly flea market at an old restaurant. The ride up wasn’t bad and the sun was shining. It was nearly 10 when we hit Hartford and stopped at Adam’s apartment on Girard Street. It turns out he was literally two blocks from the school. It is also in a bad section of Hartford. Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers was the main speaker for more 230 students receiving either a juris doctor or master of laws degree. Mrs. Rogers, who became Chief Justice in 2007, was previously a state Superior Court judge, with assignments that included serving as the presiding judge for juvenile matters in Bridgeport and being assigned to the regional Child Protection Session in Middletown. She also had a long career with Cumming...

Morning everyone it is after 6:30 and i am just about to hop in the shower and get ready for Adam's graduation. Mom is downstairs waking up but once she has done that and gotten ready for the graduation we are meeting Liz and Nelson at their house and driving to Hartford with them. The Graduation starts at 10:30 and i pray to God not long. Although I will be occuppied by seeing my little Jason and beautiful Audrey so that is the consolation. ;) Of course i get to see their parents as well so that's even better.

I have been thinking that this May will be pretty busy: May 1st, is the DTC Cocktail Party at Stonebridge that will cost me $50. They always have great food no matter what. May 5th, is Lorraine M’s Retirement Party at Brazi’s Restaurant over on Long Wharf. Long to be excellent next to the theater. It is easy on easy off the I-95 Highway. May 10th, is Telka’s Graduation. I don’t know if I can attend the graduation at the Harbor Yard Arena but I believe she is having a party when she is finished. May 14th, is the Woman’s Club General Meeting. May 18th, is Adam’s Graduation and I believe a party for him at Liz and Nelson’s. That’s the vibe I am getting from Mom. May 20th is the Creative Writing Contest Reception at the library. May 23rd-May 26th is the weekend for Miriam and Ben’s wedding. May 30th is the Living Treasure award Ceremony for Mom. There are my sessions with Debra and the two DTC meetings. My Chore list for tonight: Laundry Write letters Resend the budget to Beverly (tri...