Tonight my dad visited en route between Richmond and BWI and we went to dinner at Benihana. Mmm. Anyway. We were sitting a table with three guys about my age, a woman, and her five-year-old daughter. After the guys left, the woman turns to us and tells us what her daughter said about the guys: "They were annoying. They thought they were being cool, but they were just annoying." For a five-year-old, that girl is very smart.
Point: I am not bitter about my excessively single state. I just found that very amusing.
Current song in my head:
"Brick" by Ben Folds Five
So I took a sick day on Friday. It was totally legitimate--I didn't feel good on Wednesday and Thursday, and by Thursday Krishni was like, "It's okay to take time off! Please don't infect the office." So I slept that vast majority of Friday and now I feel a ton better. So it's good
Docent training is going very well. We got these massive staff handbooks, and when I work there I have to wear a lab coat. How professional! Well, it would be if the lab coat didn't have designs and stuff all over it. So if anyone wants to see me in action, go to the Hands on Science room (1st floor, West Wing) in the National American History Museum on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month between 12 and 5. I'll be there.
In other news, did anyone see the first new The Daily Show with Jon Stewart since the attacks? Jon Stewart is so my boyfriend. Well, he has been for a while, but his monologue that night was excellent. Very moving. And I also thought Saturday Night Live did a good job last night.
Anyway, happy week! Premieres of Buffy and The West Wing! YAY!!!
Current song in my head:
"One Week" by the Barenaked Ladies (damn car commercial)
It's nice to know that certain aspects of my personality just don't change. Like the aspect that makes me procrastinate. My first article for my class is due tomorrow. Have I written it? No. Have I started it? No. Have I had a good chunk of the afternoon to work on it, thanks to the company picnic that I left at 3? Yes. Will I be able to spend a lot of time on it tonight, time before the time I usually go to bed? Um, not tons, no. Oh well. It'll get done. It's not like this grade means anything, right?
Anyway, there are things that are happening in this country that make me nervous. Namely, the restrictions on liberties because of our situation. It makes me very uncomfortable to read in the paper that immigrants are being arrested and kept in jail without trial or any real legal justification. And I really don't like that you can't criticize President Bush without being called "unpatriotic." I mean, I think he's doing a good job with this, and that was a great speech last week, but for that, really, I credit his advisors and speechwriters, not him so much. I give him a ton of credit for choosing the people he did to surround himself with. I think he did a great job with that.
But I look back and recall what Bush was like on the 11th and 12th. And I compare him to Mayor Guiliani and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Their reactions and statements and actions moved me. Bush's didn't so much. I think Bush has gotten a lot better since then, but overall, I'm a lot more impressed with his speechwrite than I am with him. My question is, when did presidents stop writing their own material? Or did they ever? Even George Washington didn't write his own material.
But the criticism people get for not being like, "Bush is the greatest! I'm so glad he's the president!" is rather upsetting. I was reading a forum on (where else?) MBTV and someone made a comment that she still thought Bush is, overall, a yutz. And man, did the bashing begin? Criticizing the president doesn't make someone unpatriotic. Because you know what? Bush still isn't my favorite guy in the world, and I'm willing to bet that any other president's approval ratings would be in the 90s if he was president right now, too (well, if he had the same kickass speechwriter; again, kudos to Bush for that choice). But I support the Office of the President 100%. And if that doesn't make sense...tough.
And...HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARRIE!!!
Current song in my head:
"Soon It's Gonna Rain" from The Fantasticks
This is definitely a tense time for the country. I had gotten to the point where I wasn't feeling too shaken up anymore. The video for "Hallelujah" was no longer causing tears. I've basically gone into overload. Last night I passed over Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report for the special issue of Entertainment Weekly about Friends.
But this morning, when my alarm went off, no noise came out of it. It had been tuned into a radio station, but this morning I wasn't woken up by the voices from my radio. I just happened to be awake and noticed a slight humming noise. I spent the entire time I was getting showered and dressed trying to convince myself that the lack of sound was because my clock radio is 15 years old, not because there had been another attack on D.C. But it wasn't until I opened up the shades and saw traffic, and turned on the television to see the same stories as before that I felt better.
Anyway. I'm really enjoying my writing class, except that it means work. A lot of work. And more time with Suzanne. Who called last night when I was trying to watch Big Brother, and who is grating on my nerves more and more each day (why does she have to say, "How's it going?" every time she sees me-even if she just asked me 20 minutes before? Argh!).
I'm looking forward to this weekend. No plans, yay! I just hope we hear about that townhouse soon. Just let us know, dammit!
Sorry, thoughts a bit scattered. This is what happens when you spend almost 2˝ hours in a meeting. Gack.
Current song in my head:
"Have Fun, Go Mad" by Blair
Life goes on. It has to. It seems that on Tuesday, the world stopped. The world stopped and turned its eyes to a city that doesn't sleep. To the building that defended our country. To a field in a rural county.
On Wednesday we started going back. Back to work, back to school (though not around here). Our thoughts were elsewhere, but we took those first few steps to normalcy.
It's now almost a week later. But each time I get into downtown Bethesda, I think, "This is where I first heard about it." My mind replays standing in the hallway, listening in horror. I tear up watching video tributes on VH1 and MTV, to songs called "Hallelujah" and "Overcome."
I bought two flags from a guy selling them on the streets of D.C. I went for docent training at the Smithsonian and had to have my bag searched. The Mall was deserted. The museum was eerily quiet.
Almost a week later, and life is slowly returning to normal. I'm getting my crowns done today--an appointment originally scheduled for last Tuesday. I'm doing homework. I'm working. We hide in shows like The Brady Bunch and movies like Beach Party. It's amazing reading on the forums how many people watched The Brady Bunch in the last week. We're hiding in an idealized past, where the horrors of Vietnam were glossed over into concerns of whether Greg sold out by ditching his brothers and sisters and becoming Johnny Bravo.
We were forced onto a path last week and we don't know where it will end. But we've come together. We may have different opinions on many things, but the solidarity shown in the country is heartening. There may be dark days ahead, but we'll get through them with help from our friends, our families, and the kindness of a lot of strangers.
Yes, this is my day of blogging. I just felt the need to separate that first rant from the rest of my ramblings.
It's a very odd feeling now-48 hours later. Work yesterday and today has been pretty much normal. It's bizarre to be sitting around discussing book sales, knowing what else is going on, knowing that people are searching around rubble, hoping against hope and praying to God that there are still people alive. We talk about normal things, laugh and joke, but at the same time I feel bad. How can I be laughing when there's all this pain in the country?
But then again, this is part of the recovery process. If we put our lives on hold, if we stop everything, if we huddle in our houses and apartments, afraid, then we've only given the terrorists what they wanted. We can't live in fear.
Though it's still weird. I had my class last night. The school is in Foggy Bottom, right downtown (not far from the Kennedy Center, I guess). As I walked to and from the Metro, I saw a number of military police, just patrolling the streets. Flags are everywhere. Though this may be one of the lowest points in our nation's history, I look around and am very proud to be an American.
Oh, and on a separate note, for class we had to practice interviewing people out on the street. At Suzanne was interviewing some girl, I noticed a cute guy coming towards us. I smiled; he smiled back. So I interviewed him. He was tall, and cute, and smart, and well-spoken, and nice, and he had given blood that afternoon. He had been at a symposium in the building next to the State Department and apparently there was a car bomb there-he said he felt it. Alas, he is from Chicago. Joe Napoli, if you ever move to D.C., call me. Because dude, this was the perfect guy.
God help me, I'm going to quote Gordon Haaland (esteemed president of Gettysburg College). Well, I'm going to quote whoever wrote this speech.
“These events may be unfortunately, part of the price we pay for our freedom. We have the freedom to move about; we have the freedom to say and think what we will. Here in Gettysburg, we have a special understanding of the cost of freedom because it was here that Lincoln said the test of this battle was nothing less than a test of whether a nation dedicated to principles of freedom could long endure. We have not only endured as a nation, but since Lincoln’s day we have thrived to become the most prosperous and powerful nation in the world in part because of the principles of our founding days which he understood and enriched.
“We also cannot help but think about justice. Those who perpetrated these acts should be brought to justice. We can only pray that our leadership has the wisdom and patience to correctly identify the guilty. Justice and retribution must be consistent with the principles which created and maintain our freedom. This nation was built by people who came from elsewhere, whose beliefs were diverse. In our anger, we cannot afford to wrongly judge the innocent because of religion or national identity.
“It is more difficult to think of mercy. Any retribution puts innocent people at risk in an exacting justice. We diminish our freedom and justice if we do not temper our outrage and demand for justice with mercy and understanding.”
I just want to start off by saying that I consider myself to be very patriotic. I cry at the Olympics when an American wins the gold and they play the National Anthem. Last night on the radio they played "Proud to Be an American" and I had tears running down my face.
However, this morning I was listening to the radio, and a woman called up to the Jack Diamond Morning Show and said that on Monday, nobody in her son's class stood to say the Pledge of Allegiance. On Tuesday, her son gathered the courage to stand and say it, and was joined by about 10 other students. They speculated that today, probably everyone in the class would stand and say it. This is all well and good, and the shows of patriotism I've seen since the attacks have really touched me.
However, this discussion led Jack and the rest of his crew on a very passionate, emotional tangent. Their main thought is that people should have to say the Pledge of Allegiance. That if someone is in this country, and is taking advantage of all the offerings of the United States, that they should be forced to say the Pledge. They talked about how this country was made up of immigrants and how people should be grateful and on and on and on. They were getting very emotional and crying out against how people who come to this country should be grateful, dammit! And if they don't want to say the Pledge, they should just get the hell out! Stop using our resources and leave if you don't want to pledge allegiance to our country!
It got to the point where I couldn't take it. I had to change the station. They often express opinions on that show that I don't agree with (most dealing with entertainment issues), but this bothered me beyond belief. To force someone who didn't want to to say the Pledge of Allegiance would go against what this country stands for. I've had discussions with a number of people lately about how we don't understand these religious conflicts because we've always been taught tolerance; freedom of religion, freedom of speech-the Bill of Rights. People come to this country because of our tolerance. And once we start eclipsing small liberties, the medium sized ones are next. Then big ones. It's a path we can't start down.
I don't remember the exact quote, but Benjamin Franklin once said something to the effect that people who would give up freedom for safety deserve neither freedom nor safety.
I know some restrictions have to be put in place. But as soon as we start going off the handle, that's the end. And that sort of knee-jerk patriotic reaction is exactly what we need to prevent from happening.
Current song in my head:
"'Till We Reach That Day" from the musical Ragtime
Well, I had been meaning to blog all about how I'm once again taking too much upon myself and how I suddenly find myself needing 7 hours of sleep a night...but, well. I find myself rather preoccupied, along with basically the rest of the nation.
I was just about at work when I heard news on the radio that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. But then I just thought it was a twin engine and an isolated incident. I got to work, and we realized how much more it was. We stood around in the hallway, listening for updates on the radio. It was just astounding. I think it started to hit me when the dj's were using words they would definitely not on normal shows--"Jesus Christ" and "Godamnit".
Our executive director, Joe, called a meeting and said we could go home. So I did. There were soldiers in camoflage outside a military hospital. Someone had attached an American flag to a stop sign. Then I saw a bus that had a message on its front, rotating with its destination--"Good morning." It was just so bizarre seeing that, because it was anything but a good morning.
I'm still in shock. I've gone through tears and just shaking my head "no." I don't know what that was responding to--no, this couldn't be happening; no, nobody could have done this; no, this is just so wrong.
I'm happy that my friends and loved ones are safe, and my thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
One year ago today I started my job here at the American Occupational Therapy Association. And here I still am-and don't see myself leaving at any point in the near future. It's good. Career-wise, I'm moving right along. Today Krishni talked with Suzanne and I about working more with the magazine (OT Practice) in the future; we'd be copyediting some pieces, and eventually start writing. Plus, the company is paying for me to take a course. True, they're also paying for Suzanne to take the same course (grr), but with me, they practically forced me to ("You're going to take a course and we're going to pay for it! Find one! Now!"). I get the feeling that Suzanne was like, "Can I please take a course and have you pay for it?" They may pay for hers as well, but they like me more. Plus, we went out to lunch, and Krishni paid. Woo!
Note to Spanky: Get well soon! And thanks for the card.
Current song in my head:
"When It's Over" by Sugar Ray
I'm a little upset right now. I'm going to be volunteering at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in the Hands on Science Room. So I have to go through a bit of training for this (understandably). One of the dates for training is September 29, which happens to be Homecoming at Gettysburg. At first I thought I could get out of it by going to a session on Monday, the 24th. I'd miss work, but whatever. Then I saw that going on Monday would only get me out of the morning part of the session on the 29th. So I won't be leaving downtown D.C. until 3 on Saturday afternoon...which means I won't get to Gburg until 5 or 6. And won't be there Friday night. Yes, I'm bitter. Grrr.
It's nice to know that there are some honest people out there in the world (despite Becca's recent experiences). This morning at 6:30 came a very loud jarring noise. At first I thought something had fallen. Then it came again, and I realized that someone was knocking on my door (and man, can that little knocker make noise!). But who would be knocking at 6:30 a.m.? When it came a third time, I stumbled out of bed and opened the door, to find a maintenance man, who pointed out that Carrie's keys had been left in the door. I hope I thanked him for pointing this out. It's nice to know that a) they were still there after being out like that since 10 the night before, and b) someone was concerned enough to point this out to us.
Anyway, so this morning I had a dentist appointment. Just a routine cleaning. The dental hygienist said that I've been doing an excellent job with my home tooth care. She complimented me on my flossing and brushing habits. However, I still have to get 2 crowns and a couple of small fillings. That's another $900 down the hole. That means by the time this is all over, I'll have spent almost $2000 on my teeth. Argh! On the positive side, instead of just saying "You have weak teeth" and ending it, the hygienist told me why: I didn't brush when I had braces. So plaque and stuff just built up for years and decalcified my teeth. Now they're weak. But she says if I stick with my dental regimen, I should be okay. Once I get all this stuff done to my teeth. At least everyone in the office was very sympathetic about it.
Tomorrow my writing class starts. And yes, I am nervous. But it'll be good for me. I just wish Suzanne wasn't in it.
Current song in my head:
"How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?"