Feb. 26, 1993

I had returned from Guatemala two weeks earlier and was working in a doctor's office in Manhattan. The first report we got that Friday afternoon was that there had been a terrible fire at the World Trade Center.

The bombing of the North Tower was not immediately linked to a bigger plot. The link to Al-Qaeda was not immediately made. Many of the documents confiscated were not prioritized for translation.

Ramzi Yousef got advice on the bombing from his uncle, none other than Khalid Sheikh Mohammed- the guy who planned the 9-11-01 attacks. His reason was our friendly relationship with Israel, as well as our meddling in Middle East affairs. Captured in Pakistan in 1995, he was brought back to Manhattan for trial with his co-conspirators in custody.

The trial of those responsible was overshadowed by O.J's, which occurred at the same time. Yousef will be in jail for the rest of his life.

We should remember the over 1000 people injured  and those who were killed that day:

Monica Smith age 35, a secretary, who was seven months pregnant.

Monica's unborn child

Bob Kirkpatrick, age 61, a locksmith.

Bill Macko, age 47, maintenance worker.

Stephen Knapp, age 48, maintenance supervisor.

John DiGiovanni, age 45, a dental products salesperson.

Wilfredo Mercado, age 37, a receiving agent .                                                                

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peace Corps Week 2013

Peace Corps Week 2013 will take place February 24 – March 2, 2013.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship.

The Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals:

1.Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.

2.Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

3.Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

PeaceCorps.gov 

Some facts for you: Over 200,000 individuals have served as Peace Corps in 139 countries since March 1 1961. We live and work at the grassroots level, making a difference in ourselves while serving others. I am proud to be a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. Click on the links to learn more:

Help volunteers fund local projects

Not Your Parents' Peace Corps

Digital Library

Biggest Loser, Round 3

Joe is doing our Biggest Loser round again... We started in January, and Monday was our first weigh-in. I avoided penalty pounds but need to work harder to win the big money... My Fitness Pal will keep me honest, after my blow out splurge at a French restaurant last night. Scallops, mussels (another new thing for the year) and a mac and cheese with truffle juice- Just amazing. (But this was a night out celebrating a favorite colleague who is moving to a new department in the hospital…I will really miss her.)

MyHealthPath, a program through my employer, helps me track the good healthy things in my life, and as I already have over 1200 points, I will get a significant rebate on my health insurance...

MyFitnessPal helps me track my meals and exercise, which helps me meet my 1260 calories a day target.

Now I am just waiting for the pounds to disappear.

Sign up for: myfitnesspal

Mr. Right...

Today is Valentine's Day, and for each of my children I got a small token of my love. I have been pondering love for a while now. I have not been in a relationship for over two years and really wonder about if there will be a next time... and what I really want.



Worship: Who or what does he worship in the shrine of his heart?

Words: Do his words (spoken and written) build others up or tear them down?

Character: Who is he when no one else is looking?

Personality: Who is he around other people?

Interests: What kinds of things does he do to recharge?

Feelings: Do you feel better about yourself when he’s around?

Attraction: Is your attraction to him centered around something that will stay over time?

I read this list a long time ago, but am no longer sure where it came from. Today I decided to revisit the list. It is pretty sound advice- but you know me, why take sound advice the first time it is offered...

After spending  a good deal of time with some gentlemen who were, in many ways good men, but did not fit me, I dusted off the list.  I have dated a number of these men (Yes, I dated a few not good men as well, no need to bring them up...) None of them stood the test of time.

So now I am trying to be on my own, and remind myself that what I am looking for, and what I deserve, is a man who has God in his heart and is kind in both word and deed to everyone in his life. He is always a man to be respected and admired because he is rightous. He will have things that make him happy and have buddies who care about him and share his interests and he will welcome me into that world. I will be a better me when he is a part of my world because I will feel safe, loved and honored. And what I will love will be the things that are hard to put into words...

I hope to live up to all he deserves from a loving partner.

And here's to hoping we run into each other at some point and live happily ever after... or something like that...

Happy Valentine's Day

The Pope resigns...

(From CNN) Pope to resign -- Pope Benedict XVI on Monday said he plans on resigning the papal office on February 28. The following is the full text of Benedict's declaration:


Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

I am speakless... it is predicted he will retire and disappear into a quiet life of prayer and solitude... he will not vote for the new pope or have a role in leading the faith... Not since the end of the Western Schism....   Hard to imagine...   And we will have Pope watch begining February 28th...

The Year of the Snake

Today is the first day of the Chinese Year of the Snake.

At the end of the last Year of the Snake, my son was born. I was born early in the Year of the Goat and my daughter was born during the Year of the Rooster. So what would that all mean?

So the kids, according to the second trine conquer life through endurance, application, and slow accumulation of energy:

They are geniuses in the art of meticulous planning.(My kids?!?)  They are hardworking, discreet, modest, industrious, charitable, loyal, punctual, philosophical, patient, and good-hearted individuals with high moral standards. They are also natural leaders, and are better natured.

According the forth trine I strive for the aesthetic, beauty, and a more philosophical, and intellectual approach in life:

They are artistic, refined, intuitive, intelligent and well-mannered. These souls love the preliminaries in love, and are fine artists in their lovemaking.  They have been bestowed with calmer natures and are compassionately aware, yet detached and resigned to their condition. They seek beauty and a sensitive love. They are caring, unique, self-sacrificing, obliging, sensible, creative, empathetic, tactful, and prudent. They can also be naive, pedantic, insecure, cunning, indecisive, and pessimistic.


Not sure I am buying it, but you can look up yours on Wikipedia too. Good for a laugh, at least.

Groundhog's day

Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted an early Spring, but it has been snowing here all morning.

My doctor shut down any hope of my Polar Plunge... "Against medical advice" and such things were thrown around... so I planned to stay home. I do not like being under the weather and it has already made me miss two of my 45 new things... so I am grumpy.

After my son's dental appointment, I cleaned up an bit and settled in with a good book to wait for the Dish Newtwork guy. We were getting TV service put in and the window was between 1pm and 4pm. We had been a week without TV after problems with Cincinnati Bell, and tried to have Dish come out, as we were happy with their service in the past, but after screwing up the time window AND my order, I cancelled the order.

At least Direct TV acknowledged I had ordered internet.

217 pages later, my phone rang- the Direct TV folks promise a call 30 minutes before the tech is meant to arrive- and the woman explained she had not been able to reach my tech... I asked why she was calling... "Well, you have the option of rescheduling..."

I declined as that would mean another week without service, and I just didn't think my kids would survive it on top of not having internet- which is being installed next weekend.

It wasn't until the tech arrived at 4:20pm that I understood the issue.

Tomorrow is Superbowl Sunday. He had 4 service calls on top of the 4 installs he had scheduled.

Direct TV sent in urgent service calls to be priority added to the tech work load. Which put me and my install at the bottom of the pile. Because heaven forbid you not be able to see the Superbowl...

So Danny, the BEST TECH IN THE WORLD, corrected the mistake in my order (do not get me started) and began the project. I had to cancel plans for dinner and a movie with John  and his friends as the install was going to be 3-3.5hrs, not the 2-2.5hrs I had planned on, which made my son an unhappy boy.

And now we have DVR power in 4 rooms, and free movie channels for 3 months and we will have movies on demand Saturday when the internet is installed.

And it will be a fortune and right this minute, I do not care. Sherlock Homles 2 is on in a few minutes... and I can't wait.

Smoking

20 years ago this month, on learning that I was expecting my first child, I stopped smoking.

While I struggled with the flu this year for weeks and started to wheeze and couldn't catch my breath, I thought about what an idiot I was to have ever started in the first place.

I was diagnosed with asthma over seven years ago, and when I get sick, my asthma makes things so much worse. And yet every cigarette contributed to the problem.

My father in law died from a recurrence of lung cancer.

My friend's mom died the same way.

At least they had the excuse of not knowing better when they started.

I did.

I knew better.

Yet during the stressful years of college, I let the habit develop. I traveled to Ireland and increased how much I smoked.

The day I found out I was having a baby, I stopped.

Not that I haven't slipped over the years. Had one or two, here and there.

And I know better.

So to all of you who struggle, I will pray for you. It is a battle. But please, please do all you can to stop. You will never regret quitting.

Good Luck!