Tuesday, September 25, 2012

A Tribute to my Brother

Yesterday, September 24, 2012 would have been my brother Jon's 55th birthday.  Sadly, he didn't make it to 55.  He died on October 21, 2009 of heart failure due to complications from pneumonia.  I'll never forget getting the phone call from my other brother, Mark informing me about Jon's death.  It was just so shocking for all of us!

Jon was a maverick from a very early age to the day he died.  He always marched to the beat of his own drum, even if he got punished for it, which was often the case both at home and in school.  The nuns at school used to send him out to sit in the doghouse with the Convent's dog.  Our father used to whip his butt continually, but his maverick spirit could never be broken.

When we were kids, he and I fought pretty fiercely and he always brought out the beast in me!  I hated it when I was young, but my early dealings with Jon taught me how to be competitive and defend myself and others, which has served me well in the male dominated field in which I work. He and I got along much better when we got older.

Happy 55th Birthday, Jon!  I hope that you are at peace, wherever you are!


Now I'll play some Herbert Albert in your honor and memory:




Rest in peace, my brother!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

A Trip to Virginia

I flew out to Virginia this past Monday to attend a 3 day class in Fairfax.  The trip out there wasn't the greatest as both the flight from Dallas to Houston and the subsequent one from Houston to Dulles got delayed due to airplane mechanical problems.  I'm  not very impressed with the way that United Airlines is heading business wise and it isn't likely that I'll be flying with them again.  I ended up getting to my hotel after 11:00 PM.

I stayed at the Hyatt House near Dulles Airport and it is really a nice place!  Here are a few pictures that I took in the hotel:

My very comfortable bed!

The Desk and Coffee MESS Area
The Chaise Lounge

A Pretty Sitting Area in The Breakfast Area

The next morning, I drove to class at the CC Pace Center in Fairfax.  The class was well run and we were treated very nicely.  They had drinks, snacks and lunch for us daily, which made everybody feel comfortable and welcome.  Right after class, I hit the road and headed for Eldersburg, MD to join my children, son-in-law, stepdaughter and her daughter at the Osaka Restaurant. The traffic was so bad on the Capitol Beltway (495) that it took me 2 hours to get there, but I finally made it!  I visited some with Nicole, Brandon, and Justin at their apartment and then we headed over to the restaurant to meet Anne and Cassie.

We all cut up and laughed and had a great time!  In my opinion, the Osaka has the best Japanese and Hibachi dinners that I've ever tasted!  Here are some pictures from dinner:

Anne, Cassie and Justin having Miso Soup and Sushi

Anne, Cassie, Justin, Me, Nicole and Brandon at Dinner

Nicole and I sitting at the Hibachi Table

Justin, Nicole and I back at Nicole & Brandon's Apartment

We went back to Nicole and Brandon's apartment for a while and visited some more, and then I did the hour drive back down to Virginia, which was much better on the way back because there was no traffic!  So, I got settled in and went to sleep and then it was up again to go to class the next morning.

The next morning I got up, showered and dressed and then went down to breakfast. The hotel has a very nice complimentary breakfast, with scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage, danish pastry, cereal, toast, juice coffee, etc.  I enjoyed breakfast and then headed off to class.  After class, I went home to freshen up for a dinner date with a Facebook friend named Keri at the Cheesecake Factory in the Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax. We ended up eating at a table outside and the weather was just gorgeous!  It was a great meal with good conversation and company!  She's a very lovely lady and we had a wonderful time!  I hope that Keri and I can meet up again sometime.

It turns out that another Facebook friend named Donna was in the DC area that day, but she ended up leaving that day to go back down south.  It's a shame that we were in such close proximity but didn't get to meet.  I really would love to meet her one day!  

After dinner, I drove back to the hotel and got settled in to sleep and then got up the next morning for my last day of class. 

The last day of class was good and everybody traded business cards and said their goodbyes.  I went back to the hotel and relaxed and waited for Nicole and Brandon to come and visit.  Brandon goes to a university in Sterling, so he dropped Nicole off at the hotel and went to straighten out some school business.  Nicole and I had a nice long visit and then Brandon joined us.  We visited some more and then headed to the Macaroni Grill in the Dulles Town Center for some dinner.

Here are some pictures of us at dinner:

Nicole and I outside of the Macaroni Grill at Dulles Town Center
Brandon and Nicole across the table at dinner
Me, right before dinner

We had dinner and since wine was 1/2 price, two bottles of wine.  After dinner, we went back to the hotel and visited some more, then they headed home.  I went to bed as I had a very early flight the next morning.

The next morning I got up and had to leave the hotel at 4:00 AM to return my rental car and get to the airport on time for my 6:00 flight. Both the flight out to Houston and the subsequent one to Dallas were on time and I got home in the early afternoon.

I'm really glad I got to go to Virginia!  The trip provided me with some much needed peace and solitude as well as the opportunity to visit with some of my family.  It was also very nice to meet my FB friend for the first time!  I hope to get another opportunity like this one again soon!






Saturday, September 8, 2012

The Passing Parade

I remember being a young girl, lamenting about some nasty thing that some "friend" at the time had done to me (pre pubescent girls can get extremely nasty!).  My mother always told me that there are very few true friends in life and the rest are just a passing parade.

Well, as usual, mom was right!  I've had a number of people come and go in my life (the passing parade), with some of the departures being very painful and unforgettable!

I was looking around on Facebook today and noted that a very charming FB friend posted a beautiful video on to their lovely wife's wall, probably because their wife may have recently lost a friend or somebody else and is feeling sad about it:.


Here is the video:



This video spoke directly to me, as it is quite applicable to my life right now and in the past!  I've had some new friends come into my life recently and somebody who wasn't exactly a friend pass away in the latter part of August.

I ended up sending this video to a FB friend who appears to be going through a major life upheaval at the time.  She seems to have these upheavals on a fairly frequent basis, with numerous people coming in and out of her life each time. I really wish that I could help her in some way.  I hope that she can find peace, stability and some roots soon.  She deserves it!



Friday with the Facebook Sorority

Just a note for anyone reading this blog or any of my other ones,  I will not use any of my Facebook friends' real names in my blogs in order to protect both their privacy and mine.

I went to work for a half a day today and then headed down the street to pick up Angie so that we could make our way to Jordan's place in downtown Dallas.  Angie and I had a very nice chat on the way downtown and got to Jordan's without incident.  Whew, it was hot as hell in Dallas today at over 100 degrees!  Needless to say, we gathered what we had in the car and got into Jordan's house quickly, where it was nice and cool.

Jordan looked very good today and is feeling much better than when I saw her in the hospital last Friday.  I brought her some clothes that I've never worn because I have too many clothes hanging in my closet!  She tried them all on and modeled them for us.  They fit perfectly and look absolutely lovely on her!   We  enjoyed the fashion show!

Jordan's place is a good bit better than I thought that it would be.  She has a nice Living Room and a decent Kitchen there.  We had plenty of space to sit comfortably in the Living Room.

I brought her an AT&T Laptop Connect so that she could get onto the internet.  I think she's been getting a little stir-crazy from being disconnected.  Her and Angie are really nice ladies and I'm glad to call them friends!  I just wish that our Canadian friend could have been there with us, but she's too busy driving her rig!

Angie and I headed back towards my work around 3:15 PM and I dropped her off at our rendezvous point.  I'm hoping that we can have our "sorority" meet ups at least several times a month!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Lean on Me

I'm glad to say that I got to meet another Facebook friend this past Friday.  I'm going to call her "Jordan" in order to preserve her anonymity. I've been talking with "Jordan" for the past three months or so and several of my other friends have become friends with her as well.  Her marriage ended last year after she accelerated her M to F transition.  She's had some pretty rough times since, and just recently had her home foreclosed upon by the bank. I find this very upsetting because she had several people living with her who weren't giving her anything in return for their room and board.  However, when she lost her home, none of them were around to help her. She also had her beloved car repossessed, so she didn't even have a ride to take her on her one-way ticket to nowhere. 

I'm very happy to say that one of our mutual friends "Angie" (not her real name) was kind enough to go all the way to Oklahoma to pick "Jordan" up and take her to Dallas, where she's now staying in a duplex furnished by the VA.  There were problems along the way, i.e. the VA wouldn't let her into the duplex until she went through mental and physical examinations and got her name changed on her military records.  As such, she had nowhere to stay for several days, so "Angie" paid for her hotel room and food during that time.  Now that's what I call a good friend!

"Jordan" had some health problems earlier in the week and had to be admitted to the VA Hospital, which is where I visited with her on Friday.  It turns out that she's having problems with her heart enzyme levels and the VA is going to give her some medicine for that condition as well as several others.  She ended up getting discharged from the hospital not long after I left and is back in her duplex.  I hope that she can get straightened out and get back into life again. What she truly needs right now is real friends . . . ones with no ulterior motives.  She's been used terribly throughout her life.

The way that's she has come into my life is a strong sign that I need to be there to help her in any way possible. This goes the same for all of my friends . . . lean on me, when you're not strong and I'll be your friend.  That's the true meaning of a friend.   Here's a perfect song for this blog:



The day that I started writing this blog was the 15th anniversary of Princess Diana of Wales' tragic death.  I'll never forget the day that she died.  She was such a sweet and giving woman!  As I was writing this blog, a very fitting picture popped up on Facebook:

Amen, Princess Diana!


This said so much about how I feel about helping others!  This picture was definitely a sign to continue down my present path.

09/15/2015 Update

The past few years have reinforced the fact that while it truly is a wonderful thing to help others, this needs to be done with some boundaries.  First, the people that one is helping need to want to help themselves.  Helping somebody who won't help themselves is just enabling them. It is also important to set limits on the amount of help given.  Not setting limits is a good way to get used and abused. Lastly, one needs to watch out for entitlement issues.  Anybody who thinks that the world owes them a living needs to be left in the dust!