Way Back When-esday

oops, this was still in drafts...

Have You Forgotten (Daryl Worley)

I hear people sayin', "We Don't need this war."

I say there's some things worth fightin' for.

What about our freedom, and this piece of ground?

We didn't get to keep 'em by backin' down.

They say we don't realize the mess we're gettin' in

Before you start preachin' let me ask you this my friend.

Have you forgotten, how it felt that day?

To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away

Have you forgotten, when those towers fell

We had neighbors still inside goin through a livin hell

And you say we shouldn't worry bout Bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

You took all the footage off my T.V.

Said it's too disturbin for you and me

It'll just breed anger is what the experts say

If it was up to me I'd show it everyday

Some say this country just out lookin' for a fight

Well after 9/11 man I'd have to say right.

Have you forgotten, how it felt that day?

To see your homeland under fire

And her people blown away

Have you forgotten when those towers fell

We had neighbors still inside goin' through a livin' hell

And we vow to get the ones behind Bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

I've been there with the soldiers

Who've gone away to war

you can bet they remember just what they're fightin' for

Have you forgotten

All the people killed

Yes some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field

Have you forgotten

About our Pentagon

All the loved ones that we lost

And those left to carry on

Don't you tell me not to worry 'bout Bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

Have you forgotten?

Have you forgotten?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I haven't forgotten. It was a clear blue beautiful day. I was at the public library when I heard about it. All of my high school friends had left for college but my move-in day was still 6 days away. I remember watching the television coverage. It was all so unreal. The events of 9/11 changed our lives forever. How quickly people seem to have forgotten the American spirit of unity that was displayed in the days and weeks following the attacks. Today's college freshmen were only about 11 years old... they barely even remember the events if they were allowed to watch any of the footage.

9/11/01 - Never forget

seriously?

Ok, first things first, I'll get around to a 100 things post... it just isn't going to appear as my 100th post as that is now and you are not going to read 100 things... maybe 100 words ;-) before I check out for the night.

Tonight was the epitome of random spontaneity!! I called a friend to see if she'd had dinner yet... which she was eating when I called. Instead, she came over for left over birthday cake from my cousin's birthday celebration over the weekend. Incidentally, the intrigue over the cake was that it was a mudslide cake... chocolate Kahlua cake with Bailey's Irish Cream icing. It turned out to be quite a tasty morsel! Anyway, I realized it was Monday which could possibly mean Big Bang Theory on TV. I turned on the tv and low-and-behold Dream Girls was on... not that I haven't seen this movie about 7 or 8 times (or more) and also seen the School of the Future's stage performance... but I get sucked in every time! To make matters more ridiculous, it is a long show without commercials... then add commercials and Oh my! Enter new roommate, returning from a grad student reception where they served wine, but very little food. C. enjoyed roommate's "glowing happiness." While many funny/crazy things transpired, I'm kinda tired so I'll leave you with C's descriptor for me for this evening... "you're a weirdo-face".

Yes, thank you, I certainly am! ;-)

G'night!

Dear Blog,

Dear Blog,

I'm sorry for the recent neglect. I didn't mean to abandon you for weeks at a time but I've been very busy. I have a new roommate who has now returned from a traveling expedition. I've been to Knoebels with my dad for our yearly excursion... so much fun - just a bit soggy. I've survived hundreds of spiders at work and expect that I will see many more in the upcoming weeks and months. I've gone swimming a few times at mom-n-dad's. I've sung for a number of polka masses and a polka lutheran service. I've tried out some tasty new recipes. I've found a type of karaoke that I actually enjoyed... thanks church choir! I've colored many notecards for a friend's music students. I've eaten at some tasty restaurants. I've worked many more hours that I expected. I sang in a chorus concert. I did a back flip on a windy day through a burning hoop... ok, perhaps I imagined that one ;-)

As you can see, Blog, I've had a few things on my schedule. I'll try to visit more often in the near future!

Love,
BECA Hawkette

Seven Quick Takes on Friday (vol.2 - work)

1 - There are killer spiders all around me (how they get to the middle of a river puzzles me!)... I've decided I really hate spiders!

2 - I can usually work a whole shift w/o using the porta-potty... except when the option is taken away - then I have to go :-O

3 - 90 degrees isn't so bad when there is a swift breeze... it's horrendous when the breeze goes away!

4 - don't ask Walmart staff where to find a barometer - they have no idea what that is.

5 - rivers can flow in two directions

6 - shade is very precious

7 - Friday is the new Thursday (at least when your jobsite works 6 days a week).

Big Day...

Before...

and after...
http://www.locksoflove.org/index.html

Flashbacks...

Here's a little video I put together about a month or so after I moved to my apartment. It's a bit choppy/bouncy as I was walking around with my laptop using my usb webcam at the time... how far technology has come since I did this!

Home Sweet Home!

the toll of death rings on...

John 12:27-36

Jesus Speaks about His Death
"Now my heart is troubled - and what shall I say? Shall I say, 'Father, do not let this hour come upon me'? But this is why I came - so that I might go through this hour of suffering. Father, bring glory to your name!"

Then a voice spoke from heaven, "I have brought glory to it, and I will do so again."

The crowd standing there heard the voice, and some of them said it was thunder, while others said, "An angel spoke to him!"

But Jesus said to them, "It was not for my sake that this voice spoke, but for yours. Now is the time for this world to be judged; now the ruler of this world will be overthrown. When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to me." (In saying this he indicated the kind of death he was going to suffer.)

The crowd answered, "Out Law tells us that the Messiah will live forever. How, then, can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?

Jesus answered, "The light will be among you a little longer. Continue on your way while you have the light, so that the darkness will not come upon you; for the one who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Believe in the light, then, while you have it, so that you will be the people of the light."

Do I/we act as people of the light? Can others tell through the actions of our daily lives that we believe in the light? Or, do I/we walk in darkness? Can we believe without seeing? Is our faith strong enough? Would we have had the courage to believe if we lived when Jesus did? Would we have been confused and afraid? Would we have turned our back on the Messiah?

(Today's reflections apparently turned into a laundry list of questions! However, they seem like good questions to ponder during this season of Lent... Happy thinking!)

V is for Victory

tonight's reading comes from Psalms 20:1-9

A Prayer for Victory
May the Lord answer you when you are in trouble!
May the God of Jacob protect you!
May he send you help from his Temple and give you aid from Mount Zion.
May he accept all your offerings and be pleased with all your sacrifices.
May he give you what you desire and make all your plans succeed.
Then we will shout for joy over your victory and celebrate your triumph by praising our God.
May the Lord answer all your requests.

Now I know that the Lord fives victory to his chosen king;
he answers him from his holy heaven and by his power gives him great victories.
Some trust in their war chariots and others in their horses,
but we trust in the power of the Lord our God.
Such people will stumble and fall,
but we will rise and stand firm.

Give victory to the king, O Lord;
answer us when we call.

So, the one thing in particular that comes to mind as I read this is that God does answer all of our prayers. Those times when we think He isn't listening or hasn't heard us are the times when the answer to our prayers isn't quite what we think it should be. The answer to our prayers is not always a 'Yes'. Sometimes God has another plan for us. Although we may not see it or understand it at the time, His answer to our prayers is what is best for us in His plan for us which is far greater than any plan we may have for ourselves.

on the streets of Philadelphia...

Tonight's reading is from Revalations 3:7-13

The Message to Philadelphia
"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
"This is the message from the one who is holy and true. He has the key that belonged to David, and when he opens a door, no one can close it, and when he closes it, no one can open it. I know what you do; I know that you have a little power; you have followed my teaching and have been faithful to me. I have opened a door in front of you, which no one can close. Listen! As for that group that belongs to Satan, those liars who claim that they are Jews but are not, I will make them come and bow down at your feet. They will all know that I love you. Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you safe from the time of trouble which is coming upon the world to test all the people on earth. I am coming soon. Keep safe what you have, so that no one will rob you of your victory prize. I will make those who are victorious pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my new name.
"If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!"

Well, this one hits home quite literally (well, maybe a different continent). Anyway, perhaps more of us in Philadelphia should listen to what the churches have to say. Perhaps if more of us did, we'd have less violence on the streets and in our communities. Perhaps we would not have to bury six police officers in sixteen months! Perhaps we'd have more brotherly love in this "City of Brotherly Love."

A box of chocolates... and a fire extinguisher

My first attempt at candy making (if you haven't guessed already) nearly ended in disaster! Please explain to me what would cause a wooden stirring stick in chocolate to spark?! There was smoke coming out of my chocolate... OY! I didn't actually have to employ the fire extinguisher, but I might have if I hadn't been standing in front of the microwave peering at the melting chocolate.

While I'd love to show you a picture of my box of cordial cherries, the batteries in my camera are not charged and I don't know where I put the transfer cable when I cleaned my room (it certainly didn't go back to it's usual home). So for now, you'll have to imagine my foil wrapped cherries covered in dark chocolate, white chocolate, and milk chocolate.

I've made myself hungry... hmmmmm...

St. Nicholas Day...

Well, it's St. Nicholas day... for those non-Catholics who may have stumbled upon this blog, you can read about St. Nicholas here

What does/did St. Nick bring at your house? At my house, St. Nicholas brings each child an onion and an orange along with some other treats. The orange is for how good you were and the onion is for the bad things you had done. We always compared the sizes of our oranges and onions to see who had been better :) We were comforted by the fact that our onions went into the Christmas soup to give some extra flavor.

Please do share your traditions with me... I'm very curious :) Last year St. Nicholas day fell on a work day so each of my co-workers received a small stocking with an onion, an orange, a pack of tissues, and a few pieces of candy. I really enjoy holiday traditions!

In case you were wondering about that last post:
I have no idea why the picture caption that should have read "You're a Mud Pie" did not show up in the post... yes "Katholil" you got your pie right! :)

Backlog... or shall I say BackBlog

The blog has apparently fallen off of the radar of tasks that "absolutely must get completed." Anyway, just to let you know that I haven't forgotten all 4 or 5 of you who actually visit this site (plus the few random passers-by from other countries... yes, I recently added a hit counter that tracks locations) I have compiled a list of posts I wrote intend to write in the near future.
Posts to come in no particular order:

- baked goods... something to do when you can't sleep/feel like baking

• Banana-Coconut Cream Pie
• Merengue Cookies aka what to do with the egg whites after you make a cream pie
• Boston Cream Pie
• Smores Brownies

- Max's reflections on the place he called home (I might have a guest blogger on this one)

- The Phillies Parade of Champions

- Follow the Yellow Brick Road

- Christmas Countdown

- You Bet Your Dupa (haha, I don't have subject matter in mind for this one yet... suggestions welcome... you never know what I might write about!)

WORLD SERIES 2008!!!!!!!

PHILLIES WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and the city goes WIIIIIIIIIIIIIILD!

Indian guys...

if you're startled by the topic, stop reading now... lest you think me to be racist...

tonight I have only a simple question (with a potentially not simple answer)...
why is it that everywhere I go, Indian guys stop to speak to me?! Seriously!... even at a bar in Bethlehem of all places... not that I was super-surprised tonight here at Drexel (where I'm pretty sure majority of the students (esp on the grad level) are either ABCDs or straight off the plane)

I swear I'm going to start wearing my "You bet your dupa I'm Slovak" shirt everywhere!

A flurry of commotion...

Well, it's been a long time since I posted an update! Work has been keeping me busy... VERY busy! One of my projects is on a very tight fast paced time table. At any rate, it keeps me out of trouble.

Since my last post, my cousin Ted also celebrated his 25th birthday, and my cousin Maria celebrated her 23rd Birthday... Happy Birthday wishes!

In other news, JB moved out of the city. He is temporarily living out of boxes at his parents' house until he moves into his own place (which he hasn't purchased yet). Today is going to be a house hunting day with his older sis... hooray for female input! :-D Geegee is going to have a great time with her grand-babies while JB and Aimee go house hunting with the realtor. JB has discovered that his commute to the office takes nearly 2 hours... good thing he doesn't have to go in every day! So, now everyone/everything is about an hour away... my apt. to my office (~1 hr), my apt. to JB's parents' (~1 hr), my apt. to my parents' (~ 1 hr), my office to JB's parents' (~ 1 hr), my office to my parents' (a little more than an hour), my parents' to JB's parents' (~1 hr). Seriously, everyone is an hour away... except for my cousin... he moved closer. He's only 10 minutes away... merely a hop, skip, and a jump relative to everyone else!

Went to an oldies dance this weekend... that was a blast! It was nice to take a break from life for a few hours! ZZZzzz... OK, I'm out for the night...

Birthday wishes...

Happy 25th Birthday to the bestest roommie ever!!

I know she wants to ignore it (something about being old), but surely a quarter century is something to celebrate!

Happy Birthday Theresa!

Lest I miss my opportunity...

4 months till Christmas!

(and yes, I remembered to wear my Christmas shirt and earings to work today)

Keep Christmas with you all through the year!

The Last Thing you Want to See While Gracing the Throne...

Although I have been unsure if this is a blog-appropriate story, it is certainly an amusing story to look back on... now anyway ;-)

While my roommate and I strive to keep a relatively orderly, well, clean if not orderly apartment, our building mates in addition to Drexel's apparent obsession with construction projects chase the occasional uninvited guest into our place. I returned from my lovely week at the beach for a few brief moments to drop off some stuff that didn't need to go to my parents house and pick up one or two things (i.e. the dirty laundry basket... it's so much cheaper, not to mention easier (a post for another time) to do the laundry at mom-n-dad's). At any rate, since we had stopped off there, I took the opportunity to use the facilities. While gracing the throne, I heard something... enough of something to make me turn my head -














just in time to see a roach making a b-line for my unprotected bottom wandering across the floor. Yelling and screaming commenced. As if the bugger could sense my fear, it came straight for the throne. After falling off as it attempted to scale the clean porcelain bowl it decided to check out the rest of the bathroom. Meanwhile, I continued yelling about roach spray in the kitchen. Luckily, my cousin, T.E. had come to the apt. with me so I was not left alone to fend off the invader. Unfortunately, here I was closed in the bathroom with the invader and an exposed dupa... and T.E. was on the other side of the door with the can of death. He threw in a bucket for me to attempt to catch the intruder, but the darned thing moved too quickly out of my reach.

J.B. to the rescue...
Lucky for me, J.B. came in just as the roach made a move for the door. By this time, I had managed to snag my bath towel from the rack to use as a curtain so as not to expose my poor dupa to my roach killing heroes. J.B. threw open the door and drowned Mr. Roach in a pool of spray! Phew! With the door closed again, I was able to resume finishing my business in peace... or so I thought...

the roach had wiggled it's way over to the wall and was in the process of using the wall to regain its running stance when it caught my eye. *yelling resumes* So, I don my towel curtain again and J.B. attacks with the spray. Mr. Roach ran out of the bathroom, across the hallway, straight into my bedroom... with J.B. in hot pursuit. He was finally able to catch the bugger, or perhaps give him a heart attack. What happened after that was somewhat of a blur, but I decided to place dead invader in a zip-top bag as proof for the exterminator that I do not exaggerate about the size of my roaches. Hopefully we won't see any more of his kind... EVER!

oh, by the way, I think we may now have a mouse... oh, the joys of living in the city, near construction, in a building built in the 1800s... ahhhh

the moment you've been waiting for...

all two of you... since very late last night... yeah, I guess I was very good at building the suspense on this one...

drum roll....

....

...

...

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's....

Christmas tshirt day...

5 months (or 153 days) till Christmas!

Merry Christmas in July folks!