Happy Birthday, Dad

"I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you"

-Paul Simon, "Father and Daughter"

Lyrics of the Day

Merry Christmas, Sis.

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight"

-Sung by Judy Garland, from the movie "Meet Me in St. Louis"

Lyrics of the Day

"Sunday Sun, when you're round
Get to feelin' like I wanna smile
Weekday strings, tie me down
But this one day, baby, I can fly"

- Sunday Sun, Neil Diamond

Up Next...

I have three vacation days coming this week.

It's that time of year, when I catch up on all the things I haven't done and think about all the things I want to do next year. On tap: a dentist appointment, dinner with co-workers, haircut, pedicure, gym, pay bills, gym, vacuum, gym, dust, try and defer jury duty, plan 2009 travel plans, find one new class to take in Q1 (I'm thinking photography), work on the book...

"The thirst for adventure is the vent which Destiny offers; a war, a crusade, a gold mine, a new country, speak to the imagination and offer swing and play to the confined powers."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quote of the Day: 20 Years...

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

-- Mark Twain

Working for the Weekend

Sing it loud, sing it proud!

"Everybody's working for the weekend
Everybody wants a little romance
Everybody's goin' off the deep end
Everybody needs a second chance."

-Loverboy

Lyrics of the Day

"Here you are in the ninth
Two men out and three men on
Nowhere to look but inside
Where we all respond to...Pressure."

- "Pressure," Billy Joel

Wisdom of Dr. Seuss

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"

--Dr. Seuss

Quote of the Day

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

--Mark Twain

Quote of the Weekend

"Why is it men are permitted to be obsessed about their work, but women are only permitted to be obsessed about men?"

-Barbara Streisand

Quote of the Day

"It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can."

-Yes We Can, by Black Eyed Peas' Will.I.Am

Quote of the Day

"Life's too short to drink bad wine."

-JW, Frogger's friend in Chicago.

(Shocking) Quote of the Day

In the meditation session tonight, The Coach reminded me that while breathing is important, and reciting my mantra will help calm the mind, it's important to remember that walls do exist and it's important to acknowledge those barriers in order to break through. 

“You can't change what you don't acknowledge.”

She said, and then gave acknowledgement to Dr. Phil, who coined the phrase (which is why it's shocking, because I think a lot of what he says is bologna).

Quote of the Weekend

I promised myself a weekend to "me" and that's just what I got. I took myself to the movies, watched brain-numbing TV, made a nice dinner, went for a 4-mile run and indulged in my favorite Boston brunch with a friend. I feel rested and somewhat renewed. The world can be complicated, but if you call a time-out it's a little more manageable.

"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even our troubles."

-Charlie Chaplin

Quote of the Day

"It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics
To set you on your feet again"

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John

If You're Going to San Francisco...

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair...

I'm heading west at the end of the month for work -- I've never been to San Francisco but I hear I'm about to fall in love.

"All across the nation such a strange vibration

People in motion

There's a whole generation with a new explanation

People in motion people in motion"

-Scott McKenzie; Lyrics - San Francisco

Monday Morning...

"Six o'clock already I was just in the middle of a dream
I was kissin' Valentino
By a crystal blue Italian stream"

-The Bangles, "Manic Monday" (or, as my sister used to call it, "Man Named Monday")

Lyrics of the Day

"In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone"

-Simon & Garfunkle, Sounds of Silence

Quote of the Day

"Eighty percent of success is showing up."

--Woody Allen

The Great Depression, or the Great New Year?

Today marks the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It's the day we remember the year gone by - the mistakes and the proud moments - and we look ahead to a new year with new possibilities. I spent this New Year with my parents in their new home, in a new city, in a new temple. I wasn't overly moved by the temple, but I appreciate the generosity it showed the citizens of the area by not charging for high holiday services (one seat usually goes for $100) and offering free meals and snacks to the community. 

The rabbi seemed to be a nice man with a heart for the seniors in his community, which seemed odd since my parents are nowhere near senior, but also warming since the rabbi's elderly parents live in the area. He spoke slowly and calmly, and everyone joined in the prayers at their own pace. When it came to his sermon he spoke of a prediction he made about six months ago. "America will wake up from the bad dream it's currently having," he said. And today, I believe it did. The Dow sank 777 points and America was officially in a financial crisis. 

But the rabbi offered a piece of advice: Stop and think about what matters to you.

How many of us were raised to believe that a good job, a big house and a large retirement fund were the measures of success? Maybe today - as we watched our money disappear at the click of a mouse and the pound of a gavel - is the day we rethink what matters to us.

L'shana Tova (for a good year)