Monday, October 19, 2009

It's Personal: A Public Apology and Some Other Stuff...

I had a few ideas for tonight's post. Maybe something about musicals. Or about another of my friends; I haven't done a 'How I Met...' post in a while. But then it came to me; it had to be a random smattering of stuff that has made an impression on me in the past few days. Why? No reason.

And the public apology.

I woke up at 3:30 this morning. Cleo had decided to scratch herself or the crate or some haunting apparition at great length. I went into the room and stared through the crate's front door. She stared back at me like, what? Thanks Cleo.

Went to Safeway this evening to buy the food that Joseph would make for dinner. Walked across the parking lot and towards the front door. A short African woman, her head fully covered, crossed in front of a dented and dilapidated minivan. Suddenly, the driver's door opened and a rather rotund black woman yelled obscenities at the oblivious African woman. Why didn't she roll down the window to speak her mind? The plastic and electrical tape, methinks.

Literally 30 seconds later, we proceeded down the pasta aisle. What looked to be a 12 year old boy sat in a carriage while his mother spoke on the phone. Had no idea where she was planning to put the food since he more than filled the sagging carriage. Joseph shook his head and said a little too loudly, 'That's a damn shame.'

In case you haven't noticed, I generally avoid writing about work. It does no good, let me tell you. I made a mistake in this regard recently, however. Yes, the apology's coming.

Called my grandfather yesterday right after church. 'The Giants are killing me,' I hear from him. Still in the first half. We talked. I hung up. Next was Uncle Mark. 'They can't stop anything,' he explained. Indeed they could not. Called the Old Man. 'You better have some good news,' he says sometime during the third quarter. Called my brother later. 'The Giants looked like the Danbury freshman team,' he commented (paraphrased) well after the game. Danbury's 0-6. My brother's the coach.

Reading The Economist recently - a birthday gift from my mother - and am in the middle of an article about smart grids. Pretty cool stuff. I recommend investing in the up and coming technology. But that's not investment advice. Don't want to get myself in trouble.

Church was beautiful, as usual. Ended with an Ave Maria sung by the woman's choir and accompanied by the pipe organ. I sat to pray the rosary and was approached by an acquaintance who plays in the softball league. 'What are you doing here?' he asked. I chuckled and repeated the question back to him. 'Waiting to be hit by lightning,' he explained. 'I come to church about twice a year. Just randomly.' An October 19th is pretty random. 'I attend mass every Sunday,' I explained. 'Really?' he asked, surprise evident in his wide eyes. It hit me at that moment that there are so many gay men out there who want to have faith... Never mind gay men. Just people, period.

Almost ready for this apology. Almost...

Spent three hours taking the practice GMAT on Saturday. Bug-eyed afterward. Not a big fan of standardized tests. I understand the basic need, but I'm not convinced they are particularly effective.

Talked to Jared yesterday. He got married a week ago Saturday in Massachusetts. A very small wedding. And he decided on the passage from John regarding the money changers. 2:12-25. So Jared. Good talking to him after such a long time.

So, I've made Steve wait long enough. The Mets and Jets fan who relocated from New York to the Seattle area by way of Korea and God knows where else. He's the Operations Director at the company. And he reads this blog...

So, those of you who read this blog know that I posted an 'It's Personal' story just after my birthday. And within that post I made the comment, 'About 10:30 a.m. Tara comes in and tells me there's a problem with a client. That she needs to see me in Steve's office immediately. I roll my eyes. There goes my day. I exit my office and walk towards Steve's.'

After he read the post he 'demanded' an apology because I rolled my eyes. His most recent 'reminder' came by way of text on Saturday. And thus I formally offer an apology for the commentary. I rarely roll my eyes when forced to go to Steve's Cave. Nor do I just walk. Rather, I joyfully saunter - we mutually decided on the language. In fact I generally make that my first stop in the morning after I pour myself some tea.

At which point I more often than not offer condolences for the Mets' and / or Jets' latest loss(es).

And there you have a public apology and some other stuff...

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