A Sign of Life

Yes, friends, I am still alive. It has been too long, much too long, since my fingers graced a keyboard, typing a blog entry on the VOC. I apologize, but I have not yet, purchased a lap top or desk top. Somehow I've been caught up in a whirlwind of activity, mainly at work. Yeah, story of my life. Truth be told I was getting kind of bored for a few weeks -- well, that is no longer the case! I've got about enough information to download and process -- I think my internal celeron or pentium processor up in the 'noggin is about to go bezerk. I kid you not, really.

Anyway, just wanted to say hello. Breathe a sign of life.

A short update: I have a new intern at work, which I absolutely adore. Jiri is so detail oriented and brilliant it makes me want to jump for joy. Seriously. If there is one thing I've come to learn is that not everyone is as obsessive compulsive and attentive to detail as I am. He's only been here a week and I am able to pass things off to him with confidence. That is something every manager would like to have in his/her employees, but sadly it is not always the case. In case you are curious, Jiri is also a chess player and student at university in Prague. Okay, maybe that is another reason we get along well. Except for the fact I told him today his country had a disfunctional government.

Moving on, tomorrow I'm off to a PENN alumni event at Haines Point. I am going to be a mentor to young Penn students spending the summer in DC. I really love working with younger students and building them up. But don't be fooled, this is my first official foray into an organized program. We shall see.

To one of my most loyal readers, thanks for your call! Unfortunately this past week has been a bit like working in a NYC lawfirm. Alas, it is Friday and if there is enough day light left -- I'm going to try to get a jog in.

Godspeed.

Silent Bob R.I.P.

Friends, it is with great sadness that I share the news Bob, my Dell Inspiron 8150 laptop, passed away on Monday evening. We spent nearly 5 years together. Bob was solid. Some liked to think of him as a brick house given his construction and weight. But, for me, Bob was consistent. He harldy every failed me. He traveled to Prague, California, and Binghamton on multiple occasions. And, now he is silent. Well, not if you attempt to turn him on. The optical drive -- what I believe is the hard drive -- is kaput. I came home on Monday night after a lovely dinner out to find the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH. You can imagine my stomach dropped and my eyes grew two sizes. I ran to Bob and saw the fatal words ... beginning dump of physical memory. This was the beginning of the end. On Wednesday night I saw my friend Jess who does IT stuff at Georgetown University. Well, after several attempts of trying to read my hard drive from an external hard drive Jess gave me the doctor out of the operating room read out: "Maam, we did everything we could, but unfortunately Bob didn't make it."

So, I've been a little sad, a little under the weather, to be honest, a little stir crazy without an internet hook-up. Man, are we ever dependent beings! In case you are wondering, I'm writing now from Jordana's new laptop.

For now, I'm contemplating next steps. Considering a new lap top or even a desk top. If you have any recommendations I'm all ears - figuratively, of course.

In the midst of my mourning, I know life will go on. I'll mooch from my roommate for a while. I'll educate myself about the horrors of Windows Vista and I'll eventually make a decision. And, just perhaps, not being an online addict will be a good thing. Time away from the computer will allow me to do other things, most important carry on life in the real world. It's a bit scary how many people spend more hours in the cyber world than in the waking world.

Well, a jog on the mall is calling my name.

But, before I leave you, I'll share one self-deprecating story... I was at a friend's picnic today and got roped into playing some stupid game called "Izzy Dizzy". It basically takes you back to grade school - not necessarily a bad thing - but in this case, yes ,it was. You run down to a pole, put your forehead to the pole and rotate 8 times, then you attempt to run back to your team and the next person goes. Well, I somehow (in my old age) did not believe that dizzyness could overcome my body. I warn you - turning around a pole 8 times will most certainly make you dizzy and temporarily incapacitate you from walking in a straight line. The debacle of my afternoon is that after I turned around 8 times, I fell flat on my face, bent my glasses out of shape, gashed my forehead, and brazed the skin below my elbow. If there was ever a sight for sore eyes, it was me!! I could hardly stand up after I fell, and when I did, I could not walk straight. For some reason unbeknownst to myself, I had to walk/run to the right and into the tree line. Well, after a whole lotta mind over matter will power, I made it back to my team. The last two people on my team got to go, but the game was well over. My dear friend Anita, horrified at the blood on my forehead, the sight of my twisted glasses, and the blood on my arm volunteered to clean me up. What a friend! Now I'm home after a quick trip to Pentagon City Mall where I got my specs fixed. Thank the good Lord! They were fixable, and I can see again.

Dizzyness is not where it's at. That sums it up.

PS: I hope you all watched the National Spelling Bee on Thursday!