Survey...for my girls!!!!

Slodivegirl — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:51:02 GMT

Four jobs I have had in my life: 1. Donut shop in High School 2. Fruit cutter in the fields of Suisun and Fairfield, CA 3. Waitress @ Denny's in college 4. Jr. and Sr. High School Teacher Movies I've watched more than once: 1.Gone With the Wind (its an American thang) 2.The American President 3. A Christmas Story (honestly, I laugh til I cry every time at the end!) 4. 3 Days of the Condor (just watched a coupla weekends ago...so intense...and still true) Four places I have lived: 1. Kaneohe, Hawaii (Oahu) - born there 2. New London, Connecticut 3.Reno, Nevada (2 years of my college career) 4. Yuba City, California (7 years) My daughter was born there Four T.V. Shows that I watch: 1. the news, what ever channel I can get 2. Antiques Roadshow... I LOVE the stories!!!! 3. TCM - I love old movies 4 House - I only watch intermittently cuz I actually don't watch much TV.... But I hit on this in its first season.... its not as good as the first season. ;-( Four Places I have been: 1. Barcelona and Madrid Spain 2. Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico (and Cabo San Lucas too) 3. Key West, Florida 4. Roatan, Honduras Four people who e-mail me: 1. Debra (from MySpace) 2. Roisin 3. Debra my dive buddy from Monterey 4. Andrea my daughter! Four people I wish would email me: 1. Dan (more often.... he's busy) 2. Yolanda - she's busy being a power broker in her executive job ;-) 3. Roisin - just more often.... we go long periods of time... mainly cuz we're both pretty busy!!! 4. Paul - my brother... although he does pretty good for a guy!!!! Four of my favorite foods: 1. Butternut Squash soup 2. Asparagus 3. My homemade gourmet veggie (fresh) pizza! 4. Artichoke Four places I would rather be right now: 1. I would like an honest love relationship with Dan, but he can't right now 2. Diving in California 3. Diving in Grand Cayman (2 more weeks...with Dan!) 4. With any of my close friends (stole this from Roisin) Four things I am looking forward to in the next year: 1. Excelling in the leadership role given to me by my Sr. VP on a global project!!!! (should lead to some better things!) 2. Remodeling my 80 year old kitchen 3. getting clarity on my on and off relationship with Dan 4. Planning another vacation Four people who I think should take this survey 1. Debra Paynting 2. Gecko 3. Michael (my space) 4. Joe

Life can be so tenuous

Slodivegirl — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:54:58 GMT

Nov. 14, 2007 I am sitting here at work and crying. My heart hurts so for my friend Patt. She is the one who encouraged me to come to McAfee years ago. Patt and I are a lot alike. We are single. She has been going through a very tough breakup from her common law husband of 12 years. We've both gone through divorce and we are the mothers of an only child...daughters. I had her join my bunco group to get her out and socializing. We would kibbitz about work and our careers, our lives, our (lost) loves..... Patt recieved a call yesterday from her daughter's college (back east). Her daughter had fallen (or been pushed or possibly jumped) from her high rise dorm to the ground. She lay there undiscovered for some undetermined amount of time. She broke her ankle, crushed her spine, a rib tore through her lungs and her brain was suffused in blood and not emitting any brain waves. She was discovered not breathing. Patt has flown back east. They will conduct tests to prove the brain is dead. OH MY GOD...please watch over her as she goes through this. I am......hurting so bad for her. I would not be able to function, think, act. You would have to lock me away. I just canNOT imagine the pain, the reality of losing your only child. PLEASE GOD...WATCH OUT MY CHILD. KEEP HER SAFE, KEEP HER FROM HARM. AND FILL HER HEART WITH MY LOVE. AMEN ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ November 25, 2007 So, the past 2 weeks have been an exercise in learning, supporting and reflection. My friend Patt's daughter died by suicide (you don't say "committed" as the support groups have told me because it has a connotation of a crime). Anyhoo..... Patt will never be Patt again..not as I, we, knew her prior to this event. Her only child... a bright intelligent girl of 18...went off to school at Penn State (wow....ivy league) and had a hard time making new friends and got paired with a couple of party girls (nothing wrong w/party girls.... if they are good matches as a roommate) who immediately moved out on Taylor (Patt's daughter). She went into a deep depression and jumped out of her 8th story dorm window. The notes she left to her parents and friends are heartbreaking and of course the collateral damage is backbreaking. I flew out to Wash DC area last Tuesday to support Patt (at her request) through the funeral and burial. It was very tough stuff. I flew home Wednesday because my mom was visiting from California and I was cooking Thanksgiving dinner. I invited my friend Debra to dinner cuz she was going to be alone. We had a good time. Life does go on. But it gets shaded. I talked at length with my own daughter about how close to home this felt. It is good that Andrea and I are able to talk about "things". But would she come to me in crisis? Who knows. I'd like to think yes. I went to her in crisis earlier this year and she was of tremdous support. Life does go on..... not because of uncaring, but because we are human and need to move forward....SO!!!! to that end... I've hauled out all my Christmas decorations, bought a tree and will be decorating all day today. The dilemma is (for someone who LOVES Christmas and has an "obsene" amount of decorations) where to put things? I'm in a new house and have NO nails in the walls because they are plaster...not sheet rock and I'm totally spooked to put nails in the walls, afraid the walls will crack and chip and come crumbling down!!!! But this is my dilemma du'jour. ;-) I will not hang lights outside. I used to to hang lights on my old house in Nipomo...but it was easily reachable from the ladder.... straight and no peaks... not this house!!!! So no lights (poo). Maybe next year I'll hire someone to put the hooks in and hang lights. We'll see. So, I'm looking forward to the holidays. I will be baking goodies to take to work. I'm hosting an "event" with Meet in Portland.....goody exchange at my house...cuz its just fun. I've tickets to the Portland Jazz Orchestra...will go see the Nutcracker (old family tradition from when I was a kid).......try to go to the Gospel Christmas (w/Oregon Symphony)...which is spectacular. I am flying to Orange County for Christmas with my best friend. My daughter and her BF will come down for a day or two. And life will be so good. For New Year's Eve... I got tickets (OMG so spendy) to see Pink Martini. We did this last year... a ton of fun. I bought a ticket for Patt to come with me and Yolanda.... I haven't even asked or told her... but just think she needs to do things not associated with any memory. Is that being too pushy? presumptuous? I just worry that the holidays are going to be so tough and she needs to create new memories, new traditions...not because she doesn't love her daughter and miss her, but because she's alive and needs to live life. Reach out to someone and be kind.... hold their hand...it may be a lifesaver to pull them out of their mindset.......

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Survey...for my girls!!!!

Life can be so tenuous