Big People Job

Thanks to everyone for their well-wishes about my grandfather, he is no better but we will continue to pray for him and put his health into the hands of the good doctors. I guess that is all we can do, no?

Now onto the day to day trials of my life, my immediate boss and I are no longer speaking. That is not good. He got upset that I had accused him of misplacing material. I guess I should have tread lighter on his ego. I guess I was just madly frustrated; he keeps my material and than doesn't tell me about it...so guess who gets egg on their face with the director. Its beyond upsetting! He is suppose to be helping me but instead I feel like he is working to sabotege me.

Back in non-descript airlines we had our fair share of office politics, but nothing like this. I went from a big company with 30,000 plus employee's to now an organization with 30 people. Its like navigating a mine field when it comes to everyone. You don't want to upset anyone. Really for me, I feel like Fred Flintstone, I just want to clock in, do my work and clock out. This job is not my life. If I could I would talk to no one, alas that is not to be.

Suddenly I feel like that old ad - "Calgon take me away!" ; )

Humanity

This week has been one of those times when I could really use a big vase of flowers. I saw a bumper sticker on cafepress.com the other day that says it all, "I'd rather be in Denmark." It reminded me off all my beautiful flowers, while living in Denmark - they always made me smile!

Don't ask, I couldn't even tell you why I'm feeling blue - if only it was that easy, no? I think a lot has to do with my grandfather being very sick. I am very close to him. I can't imagine my life without him there. So much of my childhood is linked with him, amazing, great, fantastic memories - like getting so excited when he and my grandmother would come visit from India or the joy of my family and I getting on a plane to go to India and spend the summer there with him and my grandmother. Good times! I was so close to him as a toddler that whenever I would go to India or he came here, I would sleep cuddled up with him. Even today, he and I can stay up for hours into the night, chatting. Sigh, I am praying he gets better.

I was going to post about those tea-party people, freaks as far as I'm concerned. Hey if you don't want to pay taxes fine, get off my roads, don't call my emergency systems and when some natural disaster strikes or you're in mortal danger, don't call my military. Did you know Americans only pay 9% of their income to federal taxes. That is nothing - for all we get in return. Also I find it hilarious that the Republican party is screaming about deficits now, umm..how selective is their memory, who caused us to get into this deficit - Bush and his war! Remember Clinton left us with a surplus!

Also I am disheartened about all this revelation of our (America's) use of torture. I don't care how horrible the prisoners are that we have in our capacity, when we do what they do, we become like them. I would hope by not engaging in those same activities, we are separated from those same people who perpetuated the Holocaust, the massacres in Burma, the genocide in Rawanda....when did we lose our humanity? There is a reason our WWII Vets are called the Greatest Generation - this stuff was just not done. Let's return to that honor.

Vote for an Animal Shelter to get a makeover!

Hi all!

I saw this in the USA Today and thought I'd make a mention here. This website zootoo.com is having a voting contest.

The animal shelter with the most votes will win a million dollar makeover (and all the candidate shelters are desperately in need of makeovers). There are ten shelters in the running. You can read about each shelter on the website and there are even testimonials about the places as well.

Voting starts April 13th and runs till April 19th. You have to register on the site to vote, but I haven't gotten any spam since registering. Besides which if you are an animal lover, this site is very pro-animal - with a sidebar of animals to adopt etc.

I've been voting for the shelter in Covington, Louisiana because they are a no-kill shelter. I think they are in fifth or fourth place right now. To vote go to:
www.zootoo.com/vote

Vote for whoever you want but (HINT, HINT) the name of the shelter in Covington, Louisiana that I've been voting for is St. Tammany Humane Society.

Sweepstakes

I am endeavoring to enter one on-line sweepstakes a day. Why, you ask? Well...hmm...because I guess I need a pick-me-up, something out of the ordinary. I could really, really, really use a nice vacation (which is 80% of these contests). Plus entering these online contests doesn't cost me anything, just more spam and since I already get a ton as it is, whats a few more???

But, has anyone ever heard of someone winning these contests? Are they legit?

A peep diorama for this holiday. It is quintessential Washington DC - Eastern Market!

Last year was my first time really understanding the whole holiday of Easter, because of my attendance at church in Copenhagen. I enjoyed the entire lent season. It reminded me much of Ramadan - the church would have special events during the month leading up to Easter, study sessions, special services (just as at the Mosque we have special evening prayers, study groups etc). I learned so much about the events of the last week of the Prophet Jesus's (pbuh) life. Also what I thought was interesting (and also typical of Ramadan) is the increase in church attendance during this holy time. Heck, even the colors of the alter changed each week, way cool!

I miss going to St. Alban's of Copenhagen, Denmark. Best to all those celebrating this holiday this weekend!

Queen's IPod

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;

President Barack Obama's gift of an iPod to Queen Elizabeth II came loaded with 40 songs from popular Broadway productions, including "The King and I," "West Side Story" and "Dreamgirls." The iPod was given to accompany a rare coffee table book of songs by composers Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, which Obama also gave the queen.

I think this is a great gift for the Queen. Actually I'm enjoying the new technology forward gifts the Obama's have been giving (they gave Great Britain Prime Minister Gordan Blair a collection of 50 plus dvd's), gone are the days of stodgy gifts, that let's be honest were totally useless (can we say re-gift anyone).

Here is a list of the song's that the Obama's loaded on the Queen's IPod:

"Oklahoma!"

"If I Loved You," Jan Clayton, "Carousel"

"You'll Never Walk Alone," Jan Clayton, "Carousel"

"There's No Business Like Show Business," Ethel Merman, "Annie Get Your Gun"

"Once in Love with Amy (Where's Charley?)," Ray Bolger

"Some Enchanted Evening," "South Pacific"

"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend," Carol Channing, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"

"Getting to Know You," Gertrude Lawrence, "The King and I"

"Shall We Dance?" Gertrude Lawrence, "The King and I"

"I Could Have Danced All Night," Julie Andrews, "My Fair Lady"

"I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," Rex Harrison, "My Fair Lady"

"The Party's Over (Bells Are Ringing)," Judy Holliday

"Maria," "West Side Story"

"Tonight," "West Side Story"

"Seventy Six Trombones," "The Music Man"

"Everything's Coming up Roses," Ethel Merman, "Gypsy"

"The Sound of Music"

"Try to Remember," Jerry Orbach, "The Fantasticks"

"Camelot," Richard Burton

"If Ever I Would Leave You," Robert Goulet, "Camelot"

"Hello, Dolly!" Carol Channing

"If I Were a Rich Man," Zero Mostel, "Fiddler on the Roof"

"People," Barbra Streisand, "Funny Girl"

"On a Clear Day (You Can See Forever)," John Cullum

"The Impossible Dream," Richard Kiley, "Man of La Mancha"

"Mame," Charles Braswell

"Cabaret," Liza Minnelli

"Aquarius, Ronald Dyson, "Hair”

"Send in the Clowns," Judy Collins, "A Little Night Music"

"All That Jazz," Chita Rivera, "Chicago"

"One," "A Chorus Line"

"Tomorrow," Andrea McArdle, "Annie"

"Don't Cry for Me Argentina," Patti LuPone, "Evita"

"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," Jennifer Holliday, "Dreamgirls"

"Memory," Elaine Paige, "Cats"

"The Best of Times," George Hearn, "La Cage Aux Folles"

"I Dreamed a Dream," Aretha Franklin, "Les Miserables"

"The Music of the Night," Michael Crawford, "The Phantom of the Opera"

"As If We Never Said Goodbye," Elaine Paige, "Sunset Blvd."

"Seasons of Love," "Rent"

That is a pretty comprehensive list of Broadway hits.

If I was allowed to contribute I would have added "Summer Nights" from Grease.

What would have you added, if anything?

Good-bye ER

Call it, time of death, 11pm, EST, Thursday April 2, 2009. One of my favorite shows, ER, is over. I am sad. I am very sad. I am very very sad.

I have been watching ER from the beginning. I remember exactly how I got into the show, it was my senior year of high school, in AP Biology, my first period class. My lab partner, Samantha was a big fan of the show. She would talk about the last night episode, the next morning. She wanted to be a doctor, which is how she got into ER. With so much of her praise I couldn't help but be convinced to give the show a try. The first ER episode I watched - "Loves Labor Lost." A powerful moving episode that had me crying in the end. I was hooked.

I went off to college and formed an even stronger bond with the show, how I made friends in my first year at Mary Baldwin College (this mutual love of ER), I would block off Thursday evening for this Must See TV, going downstairs from my third floor room, to watch in a crowded second floor lounge. My friend H and I would not miss any episode. It was like that for the four years we went to MBC together, us watching the show together in whatever dorm lounge we lived in, arguing over characters (she didn't like Kerry, I did, I was in love with Dr. Carter, she was not) and crying over the patients that died.

This television show has been with me through thick and thin. I have watched it every single year, following the characters, their lives. At times watching ER was the only thing I had to look forward too on a Thursday. I loved how by 10pm, everyone in my house would be asleep and it would just be me downstairs, in the soft lite family room, curled up on the sofa, with a cup of tea and a warm blanket, immersed in this imaginary world of a fictious Chicago hosiptal.

There are so many memories I will take with me, with this shows passing, the crying over Dr. Green's death, the laughing at Gerry's antics, the shock of the season finale when Dr. Carter and Lucy the intern are stabbed, the disbelief at Abby getting kidnaped by some gang, the being moved by Kovaj's foray into war torn Congo, the hilarity of Dr. Morse's love life, the cuteness of the new Australian doctor and Ray, the jealousy of them both being Neela's love interests and the craziness of all the hundreds of stories the filled up the fifteen years of episodes of ER, from the brother honor killing his sister to the prostitute who uses ginseng which negates her birth control, all outlandish, weird, bizarre, suspenseful stories. And through it all I knew ER and its writers would keep me on the edge of my seat every Thursday night at 1opm (even in those last few seasons when I could call which patient would die at the start of the show and how I would vow not to cry and inevitably those damn ER writers would get me again in tears at 11pm at night).

Goodbye to you my old friend, you will be missed.