A New Home Sweet Home?

Well, here is my cubie at my new job. It was decorated for me and I got a new plant out of the deal! Day three is done and so far, so good. My commute is about 4 times the distance and twice the time of the commute to my part time position. Oh, and the office temperature is about 20 degrees warmer!

Right now my head is spinning, but I know that in time, all will be second nature.

A Journey Back in Time...An Eerie Familiarity

This morning Russ and I were scheduled to take a three hour class instructing on the proper things to do if you're being robbed while working in the bank. The course is given by the Colonie PD and held in the Town of Colonie Community Center. This building used to be the Colonie Village Elementary School. I went to kindergarten and first grade there.

It was a bit eerie walking into the building. I pointed out to Russ my kindergarten room as we passed it. And I quickly did the math....53 years ago! A flood of memories coursed through my brain: the first day of school when that girl looked up at me as I was standing on a stool to get some drawing supplies and said, "I hate you." And seeing the little tables with six of us sitting around each of them. Asking Mrs. Baker, my teacher, my voice quivering, "What's the nurse going to do?" after finding out that we were going to have a medical examination. (Future post: Good-bye Tonsils!) A memory of my mother sitting over near the windows on the day that parents came to visit. Seeing Mr. Rich sitting on the table and talking to us about the plane crash that afternoon, just up the street.

The hallway seemed much shorter today than it did back then. Our class was in the room next door. And if memory serves me correctly, that was my first grade class with Miss King. Although I had not had thought of my time in first grade in YEARS, on entering the room, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of familiarity. The wooden doors over the coat racks and the supplies looked unchanged. The counter and sink area also looked as if it was the same. Even the windows and the three rows of hanging florescent lights were so familiar, and rightly so since my eyes had beheld them many times before on a daily basis.

Before the class started, I figured I'd better take care of some business because I didn't know how long it would be before we would get a break. As I walked back into the hallway and headed towards the boys/mens room another memory smacked me right upside the head!

We used to have "bathroom period" back then. We would all line up...boys in one line, girls in the other and we would parade down the hall to the lavatories. One day during this process, I didn't have to go. I went in and came right out. No problem. Shortly after we returned to our classroom and began the next lesson, uh oh....I now had to go! I was too embarrassed to go up to Miss King and ask her if I could go...and I thought she would be mad at me. I remember standing at the desks of a couple of classmates....asking them what I should do. Well, nature couldn't wait. The front of my pants were all wet! The next thing I remember was Miss King holding me by the arm and rushing with me down the hall to the boys room. A phone call was made to my Aunt Mary's house (we didn't have a phone back then) and my cousin Eugene drove my mother to the school with a clean and dry pair of pants!

But I didn't feel all that bad though. There was a set of twin boys in my class and one of them pooped in his pants on several occasions. I have a big black and white photograph of my first grade classroom, with all of the kids sitting at their desks. But, I'll be darned if I can find it to include in this post!!! But....if it does turn up, I will re-post this!

The Feast Day of St. Joseph!

What a surprise I had when I got home tonight! Today was my first day at my new position at the credit union. The day went super fast. I met a lot of nice new co-workers and was welcomed with my cubie decorated with balloons and streamers and stars and a schefflera plant! (Pic to be added.) I think I'm going to like it there!


The day started out sunny and bright. But by the time work let out, it was snowing and gray. I came home and was eating my dinner (leftover pizza) when the door bell rang. It was my good friend Joe. He was celebrating St. Joseph's Day and in his family tradition, was delivering gifts to close friends. He brought me a rose and a box of Italian pastries from Villa Italia! My favorite! Included in the box was a vanilla pudding a zeppola and a canolli cream a zeppola and two chocolate mice...filled with chocolate mousse! Needless to say, I'm in heaven!

He brought a card and a story that a friend had sent to him. I like it a lot and am including it here.

Sand and Stone

Two friends were walking through the desert.
During some point of the journey, they had an argument,
and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything
wrote in the sand:
"Today my best friend slapped me in the face."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis where they
decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped
got stuck in the mire and started drowning.
But the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning,
He wrote on a stone:
"Today my best friend saved my life."

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend
asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand
and now, you write on a stone. Why?"

The friend replied,
"When someone hurts us we should
write it down in sand, where winds of forgiveness
can erase it away.
But, when someone does something good for us,
we must engrave it in stone where no wind
can ever erase it."

Learn to write your hurts in the sand
and to carve your benefits in stone.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person,
an hour to appreciate them,
a day to love them,
but then an entire life to forget them.

Take the time to live!
Do not value the things you have in your life,
but value who you have in your life!

You are valued!!!

So, to my friend Joe, and to my son Joe and to all the Joe's out there:
Happy St. Joseph's Day!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes . . .

It's that time again. A shift in the fabric of time. Well, maybe not quite that dramatic. This past Saturday morning was my last day as a part time teller at the credit union. Tomorrow I begin my new position as an "Operations Specialist" in the "Operation Center". I know I'll do fine. It's just saying good-bye again, to one tiny phase of my life to move on to another.

I loved the crew I worked with. It was one of those rare times when it seemed that everyone 'clicked'. We had fun at work and had fun when we got together socially. I'll miss seeing them every week. I'll miss setting my alarm clock only one day a week. I'll miss those two days off during the week. I'll miss having Mondays off. I won't miss working Saturdays, even though it was my shortest shift (about four and a half hours).

This will be my first time in almost 5 years that I've had weekends off. That I will love. I will love accumulating leave time faster. I will enjoy the increase in pay. I will enjoy the luxury of being able to take vacation days and having Monday holidays off. (Since I wasn't scheduled to work for my part time schedule, I missed out on those paid days off!)

The big downer? Having to set that alarm clock 5 days a week! Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

I had to start with a greeting of Erin Go Braugh! When I was in the sixth grade, our class put on a St. Patrick's Day play with Miss Becker's second grade class. I played McNamara and wore a plaid vest sort of like the one in the above illustration. I paraded around the auditorium/gymnasium, leading a rag tag band of second graders. (Should I add that I probably wasn't much taller than they were?) And, I got to dance the Irish jig with the washer woman!



Because of the snow storm hitting the area last night and this morning...some events were cancelled or postponed. Among them was the St. Patrick's Day parade in Albany. Of all year's, when the holiday falls on a Saturday...what a perfect time to celebrate! (Actually, for many, any time is a perfect time to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!) So now we have next Saturday (and some balmy weather) to look forward to celebrate the drink fest, er St. Patrick's Day yet again. Aretha Franklin was to play at the Palace last night and that was to be rescheduled too.



Today was also my last day at my part time position at the credit union branch. I have been there for exactly one year and one week. On Monday I start a full time position in the operation's center of the same credit union. I will be going from setting my alarm clock on one morning a week to five mornings a week. WHAT was I thinking???



I had to set my alarm clock for 6:30 am this morning to allow me enough time to clean off my car and dig it out. Luckily, this storm wasn't as bad as the Valentine's Day Massacre, er Storm. Now, the joy comes in watching it melt! My next door neighbors are in Florida for the month of March, and they told me that I could park my Jeep in their driveway if I couldn't find a spot nearby on the street. Usually I can find a spot right in front, but with the street still awaiting a good clearing, I figure I'll take them up on that!



Well, I hope you enjoy your day. I'm off to eat a big bowl of Lucky Charms!

Feast, Famine, Withdrawal and More Snow

I was so happy when LOST came back with new episodes. And I was 'lost' without my weekly fix of Ugly Betty and it's great to have Betty and her posse back.





I found myself laughing out loud last night...that Claire Meade is a riot!







But now Heroes on hiatus??? What's with this? Whattaya mean I have to wait till late April???








Oh, and I'm just soooooooo happy we're slated to get more snow!

Christmas in Spring

I took this picture this morning. My Christmas cactus seems to bloom whenever it seems fit. I think it may have to do with my watering and attention schedule, but that's just a wild guess. Some years it blooms at Christmas, some years it blooms at Easter. This season, it bloomed at Christmas, around the winter solstice, and now it started blooming again, just in time for the vernal equinox. (I'm really trying to see how many times I can use the word 'bloom' in this post.)

So....Season's Greetings! Seeing these blossoms does make me anxious to see the snow melt and the outside flowers come to life!

Bridge Over Troubled Generations

Talk about an awakening. I was out the other night with some friends at a local karaoke night. While sitting there, another singer got up...and the screen lit up with the title of the song choice and the music began... the singer sang, "When your weary...feeling small..."

I heard someone say "Clay Aiken", and then I said to one of my friends who is 27, "who do you think did this song?" to which he replied, "Clay Aiken." I asked him if he ever heard of Simon and Garfunkel. He said, "Who?" I replied, "Sounds of Silence?" Blank look. "Scarborough Fair?" "The Boxer?"

Oh, and at one point the DJ (is that what the preson hosting is called?) asked, "Does anyony know who Perry Como is?" I just put my head down and cried. Am I THAT old?

"Time it was and what a time it was it was. A time of innocence, a time of confidences. Long ago it must be, I have a photograph. Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you."

Where in the world is . . . ?

So . . . where's Betty???

Great shows on Heroes and Lost this week. But my upbeat entry was again missing in action last night.

Am I activating my credit card or having phone sex?

I just had an interesting experience when trying to activate my new credit card. Being one to always follow directions (or at least I pretend to do that) I picked up my cell phone, the only phone I have, and dialed the number on the little sticker which said "call from your home phone number". I pressed the little buttons, 8 0 0 2 5 5 x x x x and was a bit surprised to hear this sexy female voice mention something about being horny, and to stay on the line. "I don't think this is Bank of America" flashed across my mind! Opps! Did I dial 800? Oh! It's 888. Ok, let's start over again.

Moral of the story.....pay attention.

WHAT is going on here?

Is this a familiar scene to anyone else this year? These are the phone books I put out in the recycle bin tonight. Prior to this I think I put out 4 or 5 or 6. I've lost track. At work today, after noticing the pile of 4 phone books in the corner on the back counter, I casually asked my co-workers if any of them had gotten way more phone books than needed. And they all replied, "Yes!" Someone said that they get paid by how many books they deliver. I wonder if that's why? And all I have is a cell phone...no land line in my apartment.

I think it's all a plot. And do you know who I think is behind it?

And the Oscar goes to . . .

What an amazing roll Jennifer Hudson has been on! Voted off the island . . . to all of these major awards. Talk about rags to riches! And talk about feeling overwhelmed!




Don't get me wrong. I am very excited and happy for her. But it brings to mind a similar excitement I felt many years ago (eeek! 46 years ago!) when two of my favorite new stars won the supporting role Oscars.








It was 1961....I had just seen West Side Story at the Hellman Theater on Washington Avenue. I was 12 years old, just about to enter my teens. The Jets and the Sharks! Forbidden love. (Several years later, 1968 to be exact, some upstart stole this whole plot idea and made a movie set in an earlier time....Romeo and Juliet....can you believe it!) I fell in love with West Side Story. I think that's when all this crazy movie line quoting began. But anyhoo, I digress. West Side Story carried over into my daily life. We LIVED West Side Story. Only it wasn't on the West Side and it wasn't much of a story. I really wanted to get one of those leather wrist bands the Sharks wore. I never got the wrist band but I did repaint my 24 inch Rollfast bike to reflect my alliance to the Jets. I painted the shark and the word "Sharks" on the chain guard. Can you imagine if I actually had ridden that on the West Side? Uh hum. And as an aside, it would actually be another 3 years before I even step foot on the isle of Manhattan! Smoke on your pipe and put THAT in!


Which brings me to my two favorite winners of the Best Supporting roles Oscars. Anita and Bernardo. Whew! Talk about passion! I think 'America' was my favorite number. And boy was I on the edge of my seat when Anita went into Doc's to give Tony's message to Riff! But I guess that set the whole tragic end into motion. I remember when the movie ended, there was a lot of sniffling going on in the theater. And I remember all of us in our group were saying, "I didn't know anyone dies in this!" What a shock to our young and impressionable systems!

So, as I congratulate Jennifer, my heart goes out to her, and I hope her future continues to be bright. Rita Moreno went on to do a lot of television and movies. I seem to remember her the most from Electric Company when my kids used to watch that. As for George Chakiris, he seemed to drop from the face of the earth, although he didn't, but went on to do television and movies too. But, alas....neither went on to greater roles in Hollywood. And, my Rollfast bike never got to ride down the West Side. It's probably on the bottom of some trash heap, or maybe some kid is still riding it and wonder what kind of chowder head likes fish enough to paint one on his bike. Kids sure were weird back in the Sixties!

How I Spent Presidents' Day

That old cliche goes, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Well, when life gives you snow and ice and freezing cold, make a cozy habitat. I didn't want to waste the day away huddled on the couch, so I decided to make the most of an arctic situation.

Here I am in the construction phase. I'm sure glad that the sun was shining.







After it was completed, I wanted to make it warm and inviting so I decided to light some of my Yankee Candles. I figure "Jack Frost" would be the perfect fragrance and provide the ultimate in ambiance.




But then I committed a faux pas. I went to heat up some milk for hot cocoa and left the candles burning unattended. And when I returned, to my horror, this was the scene that awaited me.

So the moral of the story is: "Never leave a burning candle unattended, even in an igloo." (I have to thank my one arm neighbor for that lesson.)

Coinkydink? I don't think so!

I think someone is cheating on Hiro! And I think some writers are having some fun with us!

In "Seven Minutes to Midnight", episode 8 of Heroes which aired on November 13, 2006, Hiro and Ando stop in a diner and Hiro meets Charlie. She has her own strange power. Charlie thinks Hiro is "sweet" and Hiro falls for her. True love! Jayma Mays is so lovable in that role.

Well, on Ugly Betty this past week, in episode 16, "Derailed" Betty meets Henry's girlfriend from back home. And guess what? Her name is Charlie! And who do you think plays Charlie? Yes! It's Jayma Mays! Coincidence? What do you think?


And! Do you know where I think she's going to turn up next? My guess is that she will be Hurley's girlfriend Charlie in a flashback.

Before the After

OK. Since my post about my new exercise program (see Sweatin' wi da homeys ) I have been inundated with requests for me to post a 'Before' photo so that a base line can be established. I know that readers out there (my blog hits are closing in on totals normal on Paris Hilton dedicated sites) will so want to know how I succeed or fail or "whatever dude".

So . . . here I am in all my slob-iness. Notice I cleaned up the drool?

Well, now I guess I'd better get to work. As soon as I finish this Danish and, er, frog.