Sep 15, 2011
Daily dose of hilarity
If you haven't read the following post by The Bloggess, you really should jump to it now. I laughed so hard I cried! Hysterically funny,and nothing any of us haven't thought towards our husbands before. I even had my husband read it and he laughed tearfully too. You really must read it NOW!
5 question friday...ahem, wednesday...ahem, Thursday
In my brain it's still Wednesday, but I suppose it's technically Thursday by the clock. I'll start 5 question on Fridays next week. This week Friday is going to be CRA-ZY! Happy Purple Friday in advance! ;)
1. What ringtone do you have on your cell phone?
The TCU fightsong. Rah Rah TCU!
2. What is your favorite memory from this summer?
Watching a glacier calve as I stood on the topmost deck of a cruise ship. Flippin' amazing!
3. Paper books or ebooks?
Okay, so 99x out of 100 I'm going to say paper. I love the feel of a book, the smell of a book, but I have to tell you that after sitting in a chair nursing my Bean and holding an ebook reader in one hand and not fumbling....I'm sold. Nook, here I come!
4. If you could have one home upgrade what would it be and why?
Can I not pick the entire house?! I suppose for now it would be the master bath...due to the little mold problem we are having. Oy. Plus, whatever architect built our "custom home", must have flunked actual architecture school. Seriously, who puts one electrical outlet in a master bath?!
5. When was your first serious boyfriend/girlfriend?
6th grade. He was the coolest skater boy in school. We wrote notes to each other every single day. It'd be fun to read just one of those all these years later.
1. What ringtone do you have on your cell phone?
The TCU fightsong. Rah Rah TCU!
2. What is your favorite memory from this summer?
Watching a glacier calve as I stood on the topmost deck of a cruise ship. Flippin' amazing!
3. Paper books or ebooks?
Okay, so 99x out of 100 I'm going to say paper. I love the feel of a book, the smell of a book, but I have to tell you that after sitting in a chair nursing my Bean and holding an ebook reader in one hand and not fumbling....I'm sold. Nook, here I come!
4. If you could have one home upgrade what would it be and why?
Can I not pick the entire house?! I suppose for now it would be the master bath...due to the little mold problem we are having. Oy. Plus, whatever architect built our "custom home", must have flunked actual architecture school. Seriously, who puts one electrical outlet in a master bath?!
5. When was your first serious boyfriend/girlfriend?
6th grade. He was the coolest skater boy in school. We wrote notes to each other every single day. It'd be fun to read just one of those all these years later.
Sep 11, 2011
Remembering 911: A world changed
On 9/11/2001 I was 25 years old, living in Lewisville, TX. I'd recently lost my job due to reorg and was working as a manager at the Ann Taylor Loft in the nearby mall. That day was my day off. I'd intended to sleep late and then work on a grad school project. However, my store manager scheduled a 9am meeting for that morning. I was slightly irritated to have to get up so early on my day off. My alarm blared in my ears at 730 am. Groggily, I got out of bed after hitting snooze once, and turned the radio on. The DJs were frantically talking about a building that had been hit by an airplane. "In Dallas?" I thought. No, in New York. I ran into my living room to turn on my TV. Just as I did, I watched the second plane hit the south WTC building. Was I dreaming? I was paralyzed. This was frightening. I couldn't move. I just stared at those two buildings in flames. Somehow, I managed to put on clothes and pull my hair into a ponytail. I raced up to the store and into the back room where my store manager and the other assistant manager were standing in disbelief, staring at the TV. We hugged and stood in silence. Not one of us moved or said a word for the next 15 minutes. Then we saw the south tower fall. I remember saying, "Did that tower just fall?" It was unbelievable. How could this happen? How could a building that size crumble like a sandcastle? I immediately was frightened for my family. My parents worked for the national laboratories, on national defense projects. Who was to say that an attack wasn't focused there too?! I immediately grabbed the phone and dialed my Mom. For one whole hour I couldn't reach my parents. With the fall of the second tower, and the report of the plane hitting the pentagon, a very loud announcement came through the mall. So loud we could hear it in our back room. They were evacuating the mall. It was shutting down for the day, maybe longer.
On September 11, I'd only known Brad for 10 days. We'd only been dating for a week. He did call me, to make sure I was okay. I think he could hear the fear in my voice. I wouldn't talk to him again for several days. I spent the day glued to the TV. When I laid down at night I was petrified. I was so scared that terrorists would storm my apartment and kill me. I remember lying in my bed and crying. I'd never been so scared in my entire life. At 2 am I got up out of my bed, grabbed my dog, ran to my car, and drove to my sister's house 5 minutes away. She let me in and just held me as I sobbed. I slept on the futon in her spare room for the next week and a half. I only returned to my apartment to drop off or pick up my dog, and to get clean clothes.
Brad took me on a date to see the Stars play at a very new American Airlines Center. I remember being scared of being in large crowds of people, for fear something would happen. I let my entire family know where I'd be, for fear that if there was some terrorist action at the game, that my family would have no question about where I was.
My nieces were 4 and 5 at the time of the attacks. They were at school when it happened. They had no idea. I remember having hushed conversations with my sister and my brother in law. What did we tell them? What didn't we tell them? How do we explain this? Why am I staying at the house when i live 5 minutes away? They were my solace in that time. Their innocence was a breath of fresh air. I spent hours watching them play and laugh, completely unaware of the devastation and fear all around them in the world. It was difficult to put on a brave face in those first few weeks, in front of my nieces. We had to make sure they were not scared.
There was a moment in the few days afterwards, when I was outside with my dog, and I realized that we lived in a whole different world... a world that had lost it's innocence. A world where we had to be cautious at every turn. A world of people who were uninterested in the value of human life. Perhaps these were always true statements, but they were blaring me in the face every second after 9/11. We ceased to live in a world where an airplane ride was something fun. Now we lived in a world where you looked at each and every face in the plane. Who could be a potential terrorist? If something happened, who would be willing to get up and fight? And it seemed to me that politically, the country had developed a deep chasm between liberals and conservatives. Had the terrorists succeeded in dividing the country, causing a war on our own soil.
My children will never know the pre 9/11 world. The norms as they are now, is what they will always know. It makes me very sad. I will never ever forget the events that unfolded. I will never forget the brave men and women who risked their lives to save others. I will never forget the sacrifices that the first responders made, or the tough decisions our president made to lead our country in the hours, days, weeks, months, and years following. I will never forget the soldiers who courageously went to war to secure a safe world for our country. I will never forget 9/11 and what it means. I will never forget the way our country banded together amidst the hurt and sorrow and shouted to the terrorists that we would not sit idle and be scared. Collectively we yelled, "Let's Roll!"
On September 11, I'd only known Brad for 10 days. We'd only been dating for a week. He did call me, to make sure I was okay. I think he could hear the fear in my voice. I wouldn't talk to him again for several days. I spent the day glued to the TV. When I laid down at night I was petrified. I was so scared that terrorists would storm my apartment and kill me. I remember lying in my bed and crying. I'd never been so scared in my entire life. At 2 am I got up out of my bed, grabbed my dog, ran to my car, and drove to my sister's house 5 minutes away. She let me in and just held me as I sobbed. I slept on the futon in her spare room for the next week and a half. I only returned to my apartment to drop off or pick up my dog, and to get clean clothes.
Brad took me on a date to see the Stars play at a very new American Airlines Center. I remember being scared of being in large crowds of people, for fear something would happen. I let my entire family know where I'd be, for fear that if there was some terrorist action at the game, that my family would have no question about where I was.
My nieces were 4 and 5 at the time of the attacks. They were at school when it happened. They had no idea. I remember having hushed conversations with my sister and my brother in law. What did we tell them? What didn't we tell them? How do we explain this? Why am I staying at the house when i live 5 minutes away? They were my solace in that time. Their innocence was a breath of fresh air. I spent hours watching them play and laugh, completely unaware of the devastation and fear all around them in the world. It was difficult to put on a brave face in those first few weeks, in front of my nieces. We had to make sure they were not scared.
There was a moment in the few days afterwards, when I was outside with my dog, and I realized that we lived in a whole different world... a world that had lost it's innocence. A world where we had to be cautious at every turn. A world of people who were uninterested in the value of human life. Perhaps these were always true statements, but they were blaring me in the face every second after 9/11. We ceased to live in a world where an airplane ride was something fun. Now we lived in a world where you looked at each and every face in the plane. Who could be a potential terrorist? If something happened, who would be willing to get up and fight? And it seemed to me that politically, the country had developed a deep chasm between liberals and conservatives. Had the terrorists succeeded in dividing the country, causing a war on our own soil.
My children will never know the pre 9/11 world. The norms as they are now, is what they will always know. It makes me very sad. I will never ever forget the events that unfolded. I will never forget the brave men and women who risked their lives to save others. I will never forget the sacrifices that the first responders made, or the tough decisions our president made to lead our country in the hours, days, weeks, months, and years following. I will never forget the soldiers who courageously went to war to secure a safe world for our country. I will never forget 9/11 and what it means. I will never forget the way our country banded together amidst the hurt and sorrow and shouted to the terrorists that we would not sit idle and be scared. Collectively we yelled, "Let's Roll!"
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