Locked Out

On my daily commute to work each morning, I often have these random thoughts go through my mind. This morning, I was reminded of the time I locked myself out of the house. This happened about a month or two after we moved in. M had already left for work, and I was getting ready to leave myself, but it was garbage day, so I decided to do a little cleaning in the backyard. Fall was starting to settle in, and some branches had fallen onto our lawn. I cleaned up all those dead branches and took the garbage can out to the front. It was only then that I realized I had locked myself out. In my haste, I had slammed the door to our garage shut without remembering that it locked from the inside.

So there I was... stranded outside our house. Coming from New York and raised with a sense of paranoia, there was no chance any of our windows or other doors would be unlocked. I had no choice but to go next door and introduce myself (embarrassingly) to our neighbor. Fortunately for me, they are retired senior citizens and usually home most of the day. The wife was there and welcomed me in with open arms. I explained my situation to her, and asked if there was anything sharp she can lend me to try to pick the lock. Soon after, her husband returned home, so he went out to the back of the house with me and watched as I jabbed the sharp object into the keyhole. After a couple of minutes of unsuccessful picking, we went back inside their house, and they gave me the phone book to call a locksmith. The first guy I called, he said that he would only come if I had proper ID to show I was a resident of the home. I told him I locked myself out of the house; any ID I had would be inside the house. In addition to that, I had just moved in recently, and hadn't even had time to go to the DMV yet to change my license. I told him my neighbor can vouch for my identity, but he refused to budge. I was speechless; I couldn't believe the locksmith wouldn't come. My neighbors suggested that I call the police, so I did. The cops told me there was nothing they could do, and for me to call the locksmith. I told them I did, but they refused to come b/c I wouldn't be able to provide them with proper ID. The police gave me the name and number of another locksmith to call, so I proceeded to give them a try. Luckily, this one was not as stringent as the first locksmith, and didn't have any problems making the trip out. I waited at the front porch of my neighbor's house while he kept me company, all the while sharing his war days with me, and giving me a brief history of our neighborhood. The locksmith eventually came, and it took him about 15 minutes to pick my lock. I was $75 poorer at the end, but a small price to pay for my stupidity. Ironically, the name of the locksmith is called "BK Locksmith." Right before he left, the locksmith told me it stood for "Burglar King." Needless to say, we had our alarm system installed soon after that.

Passport Renewal

The time has come to renew my passport. Unfortunately, I don't think M and I will be taking that last-minute trip to the Canadian border to fulfil my passport stamp obsession. I still have a few blank pages left, but given all the places I've gone to - the 6 continents and 30+ countries, I can't say I'm all too disappointed.

I printed out the passport renewal forms earlier in the year, before our trip to Costa Rica, and had put it aside since my passport was still valid for the trip last month. Well, now that I only have two weeks left before it expires, I don't think there's any chance of me leaving the country, so I figured I should probably get the process going and mail everything in so that I have an updated passport just in case we do decide to go anywhere this summer. I dug up the paperwork this morning, and to be on the safe side, also looked on the US Department of State website. Of course, with my luck, the fee had gone up in a span of two months. What thieves! I guess that's incentive for me to submit everything soon before they raise the price again.

Since my old passport had my maiden name on it, I also need to send in our original marriage license with the application so that they can verify the new name. I don't understand why they won't accept copies - it's not as if they wouldn't be able to verify my identity through other governmental agencies. But I suppose it's the government; we just can't expect them to work all that efficiently. I'm always weary about sending original documents through the mail, but guess I really don't have a choice in this matter.

Oh, and the last piece is providing the dreaded 2x2 picture that always looks terrible no matter how well you prep yourself for it. I just have to get myself to developing that awful mug shot. M took a picture of me with the white background last week. We're going to develop it as a 4x6 and cut it to size. It's $0.19 vs. $5.00 (or however much they charge to take passport photos) - the savings is worth the time and effort it takes to transform the photo into a 2x2 yourself. I admit, it's ghetto, but the way I see it - you're already paying enough to get the darn passport. Why incur the extra expense of paying for a passport photo that's going to look horrible anyway?

Remembering Christ's Death

For those lucky people who have the day off today, I hope they remember why it is they don't have to wake up early, get ready, and drag their butts to that place called "work." Today is known as "Good Friday," or "Holy Friday" and "Great Friday" in many other countries. It is the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, when we commemorate Jesus Christ's crucifixion and death on the cross for us.

Why is it called Good Friday, one may ask? From the words of Rev. Ken Collins:
"I’ve read that the word good used to have a secondary meaning of holy, but I can’t trace that back in my etymological dictionary. There are a number of cases in set phrases where the words God and good got switched around because of their similarity. One case was the phrase God be with you, which today is just good-bye. So perhaps Good Friday was originally God’s Friday. But I think we call it Good Friday because, in pious retrospect, all that tragedy brought about the greatest good there could be... if we call it Good Friday... we are confessing the Christian hope that no tragedy—not even death—can overwhelm God’s providence, love, and grace."

Amen to that! I hope you all have a wonderful day.

If Money Wasn't An Issue

A good friend recently asked what my dreams are, what I'd be doing with my life if money wasn't an issue, what I'd want my day job to be. To be honest, I haven't really thought about it. If money wasn't a factor, I suppose I'd travel a little more, perhaps pay a visit to that last continent on my list, do some missions work overseas, maybe take some courses to be able to work with kids better. But I don't think I can actually pinpoint a day job I'd want to have. It's hard to define something like that without ever having experienced it. The grass is always greener on the other side, and once we find ourselves working our "dream job," we may come to realize that it's not all we thought it to be.

With that being said, one occupation has left a deep impression in my heart - I have great admiration for those who work with handicapped or underdeveloped children. It's not an easy job, and one that can be very challenging and frustrating at times. My company partners with United Way to engage employees in volunteer work. Last summer, my department spent our "Day of Caring" (as we call it) at the Lakeview School, a facility dedicated to caring for children with disabilities. It was such a humbling experience being there, watching the staff interact with these kids in wheelchairs, showing their love for them, showering them with endless hugs and kisses, only to yield blank stares in response. I wouldn't be able to do that day in and day out. Maybe I'd be able to do it if I was built differently, but being the person I am, I think I'd end up feeling too defeated and too emotionally drained going home each day.

So I guess I really didn't answer the question about my dream day job, huh? Maybe one doesn't exist out there for me. Regardless, I think we should try to make the most out of the day jobs we do have. And if that doesn't work, then it's time to pursue other avenues.

The Bolt Bus

Anyone want to go to Washington DC for cheap? It's only $1 on the bolt bus. You get first class service, and it's legit, unlike the poorly-maintained, overcrowded Chinatown buses that charge $15 or $20. Service begins March 27, 2008, and will make eight trips daily between NYC and DC. I think the peak time departures cost more (like $10, which is still inexpensive), and it's $1 for all the other times. The buses are all new, equipped with additional legroom, are handicap accessible, and include free Wi-Fi and power outlets for those with laptops and/or portable DVD players. They'll soon be launching daily departures between NYC and Boston too, so check them out if you're planning a weekend trip close by. Can't beat the price!

SC & JG's Wedding

I think I'm pretty much recuperated from all of Saturday's events by now, although my feet are still a little sore from standing in heels all day. I wouldn't say the wedding was without glitches, but the bride and groom were still smiling and glowing at the end of the night, and that's all that matters. Here's a picture of the happy couple with their entourage in front of the rented hummer:

Some highlights from the day:

• Great teamwork with the bridesmaids in the morning. We managed to finish making the bride's bouquet and 40+ boutonnieres before heading off to the salon to get our hair and makeup done.
• The hummer arrived at the salon and dropped off the dresses for us, but forgot to pick up some of the bridesmaids to head up to the church. That didn't go over very well with the bride, but everyone eventually got to the church in one piece.
• It was a lovely ceremony. I got a bit teary-eyed watching the bride come down the aisle with her father, but managed to hold it in and not smear my makeup. JG was positively glowing; his love for SC was really evident that day.
• Preparing for the banquet was a bit chaotic, to say the least. We had no seating chart so we didn't know where each table number went, seating cards were missing for many guests, and in some cases, more people were assigned to a table than it would fit. The guests were great though - many offered to help. Too bad I can't say the same for the restaurant. They were dragging their feet to get everything ready, and weren't very responsive when I asked multiple times for them to bring out glasses for the bar.
• George Gee Orchestra was there to kick off the night. Having a live band really does liven up the event. The bride and groom looked awesome showing off their swinging moves.
• Towards the end of the night, KF thought she was off the hook with giving the maid-of-honor toast, but when it came time to cut the brownie cake, she, along with the two best men, were called up on stage. KF didn't have her speech with her, so she winged it. She did a fantastic job at it too.

Let the Good Times Roll

Saturday is SC and JG's wedding day! I am so happy and excited for them! Having met some of SC's previous boyfriends, I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about JG. But when I met him weeks later, I was pleasantly surprised and told M I had a really good feeling about him. =) Lo and behold... here they are a year later, entering into holy matrimony!

I've known SC for about 19 years now. We go way back to the days of junior high school in the upper east side of Manhattan. She was one of the first friends I met in 7th grade, and being assigned to the same homeroom, we kind of stuck to each other (or maybe it was just me sticking to her). Ah, the good ol' days... We'd go out for lunch every day, and sometimes opted for pizza at Vincent's across the street. She was lactose intolerant, so she'd always wipe the cheese off her pizza. Not wanting to see food go to waste, I'd salvage the cheese and add it to my own slice. That was pretty much our ritual for the next three years. I remember she was the only person I knew who took the bus to school. I used to wonder why, since all my other friends boarded the local 6 train from Chinatown, as I did. Her response was that it was a shorter walk to the bus stop than the train station from home, despite the fact that it took almost double the time. Even two decades ago, she was not afraid to take the road less traveled, not afraid to deviate from the norm.

Unfortunately, we drifted apart once we entered high school. I blame it on the fact that we were no longer assigned to the same homeroom. Going from a school of a couple of hundred kids to one with over 3,000 students made it close to impossible to see the friends we once knew. I don't think I shared a single class with SC throughout our three years in high school. Thus, I bonded with some other classmates who I did see more often. In retrospect, that probably wasn't the wisest thing to do. But alas... we live and we learn. I suppose if it weren't for the many mistakes I made in high school, I wouldn't be the person I am today. And the people in my life wouldn't have impacted me the way they did.

It wasn't until senior year of high school that my friendship with SC re-materialize. And I can honestly say that was all b/c of God's doing. She's the one who helped lead me to Christ, so I have a lot to be thankful to her for. I still remember taking a road trip with her and TY down to Pittsburgh during spring break to visit CMU. At that time, I was the only one out of us three who was seriously considering CMU as a college choice. Ironically, I ended up not going to CMU, and they did. Nevertheless, the road trip was fun.

So much has happened since the days of junior high, high school and college. I'm glad my friendship with SC has sustained the ups and downs we've gone through in our own personal lives. In two days, she will be crossing another major milestone in her life. I wish her and JG nothing but the best! Let the good times roll!

Forbidden From Dying

I heard some odd news a couple of days ago. A mayor of a small village in southwest France ordered residents who do not have a plot in the cemetery (and who wish to be buried in the village) not to die. Apparently, the already-overcrowded cemetery has no room to fit any more bodies, so the 260 villagers are forbidden from passing away. He stated that "offenders will be severely punished."

I just found that comical. How can you issue an edict to prevent someone from dying? What is he going to do as punishment? Apply the death penalty on them? I don't mean to make light of the matter, since I'm sure the people there may not find this to be the least bit amusing, but for someone on the outside looking in, it just sounds ridiculous.

I was curious, so I looked up this village (called Sarpourenx) on the map. It's directly south of Bordeaux, and doesn't look like it's too far from Agen, where I was for an audit a couple of years ago. If the village wasn't in such an obscure hard-to-get-to location, I wouldn't be surprised if this news suddenly attracted more visitors.

Daylight Savings Time

It's only the beginning of March... seems strange to me to have to bring our clocks forward this early in the year. At least it'll be nice to leave work and still have daylight outside. That, and the fact that this is an indication of spring being right around the corner, is why I've always liked daylight savings. The only downside is losing the hour of sleep into Sunday, but I can live with that given the extra sunlight in the evenings for the next seven months.

A study was conducted that shows daylight savings time actually raises our utility bills: http://tech.yahoo.com/blog/null/83073. I'm not so sure about the merits of the study, since it appears to have been concentrated in Indiana, where the entire state finally went to daylight savings for the first time in 2006. A study on one state is not representative of the rest of the US, since the use of heat and air conditioning (or lack of) would vary depending on which part of the country you're in. I don't have an opinion either way on whether daylight savings actually conserves energy, but I'm sure a study in the south or the northeast where there are climatic differences from Indiana may have yielded conflicting results. In any case, don't forget to turn your clocks forward this weekend. Have a great one, my loyal (or perhaps bored) readers!

Caffeine Deficiency

This is the second day in a row that I've woken up with a splitting headache. My head was spinning all day yesterday, worst at certain times than others. I resisted from taking any medicine, which was probably why it stayed with me until today. M thinks it's the lack of caffeine intake. He made coffee (it was more like expresso) for us on Saturday, and it was pretty strong, using coffee beans we purchased from Brazil three years ago. I didn't drink any coffee on Sunday (or Monday), and he believes that that's the reason why my head is throbbing. I finally gave in and got a cup of coffee at work this morning, and now I'm feeling somewhat better, but still have that tiny nagging feeling in the back of my head, as if warning me not to make any sudden movements if I don't want the pain to return. Great... now I have to slowly wean myself away from my daily dose of caffeine.

No early meetings today, so at least I was able to sleep in a little later and take my time getting ready. The morning actually goes by so much faster that way. I strolled in at close to 9:00am, was fairly productive this morning, and now It's almost lunch time. Maybe I should come in later more often.