Security was everywhere. After passing through a heavily guarded door, removing my jacket, watch, necklace and shoes and passing through a super sensitive metal detector I managed to redress myself for the second time that morning and begin the fascinating exhibit which is that of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia PA.
The unique design of the building gives the illusion of flowing water and it carries visitors along the path of the creation, use, intent and history of this Bell which serves as an icon of Liberty and Freedom for all. After reading about the repairs to the crack in the bell which then became a "gap" due to the repairs not being properly performed; I stopped and watched a short video about the impact the Liberty Bell played in Women's History and Susan B. Anthony's use of the Bell for the speech given in 1915. Exhibit after exhibit detailed the history of the Bell and the history of our country. Both the good and bad were brought to light and served to illustrate how a nation even though it is being torn asunder by such tragedies as the Vietnam War can still rally around a monument and unite in the cause for Freedom.
Following the Liberty Bell I toured the entire Historical District and saw such famous sites as Betsy Ross' House, the Carpenters Building and the statue of the "Signer". After such an enjoyable morning/afternoon of sightseeing I stopped off at a tiny little pub called "The Happy Rooster" for a little libation and a quick check of the football scores. An Anchor Steamer later (brewed in San Francisco since the 1800's) and I was well versed in the Notre Dame vs Washington game but had no idea as to any of the other scores. A few hours more of window shopping and a very enjoyable visit to Barnes and Nobel bookstore and I was ready to call it a day just as the sun was setting in the evening sky.
After resting my weary feet awhile I ventured out for a sushi dinner which while good wasn't on par with Goro's, Ichiban or Mr. Sushi. Isn't it sad how we develop favorite spots by which all other things are judged!
Today has been quiet and unfortunately while today is dull, tomorrow is going to be brutal. The day starts at 9:30am and will not be ending until 4am the next day. Wednesday then will resume at 9am and run until 8pm....so in all likelihood this will be one cranky, exhausted and bleary eyed individual by the time Thursday rolls around.
So Ca la vie until later mes amies.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Pubbing
Friday night fun.
After hours and hours of working but not really doing anything productive because I'm just observing others not actually doing my own work (yeah and if you can follow that you deserve a medal)....the individual I was shadowing invited me out to a local Irish pub to unwind from the day. A little background might be necessary at this point. The individual who I had the pleasure of working with on Friday is from Philadelphia but her parents are from Ireland. She herself has dual citizenship and has spent many, many summers in Ireland etc. Her fiance is authentic Irish who has only been here for about a year--and it is a little hard to understand him due to the accent. But nonetheless they are a great couple. So anyhow we all got together at the hotel along with another girl from the Sales department and headed over to this Irish pub called "Fado" on Locust St. for a couple of drinks cause Meagan's sister works there.
What a blast. Inbetween trying to figure out what Georgie was trying to say and then formulating a suitable response and us laughing our heads off about various topics it was indeed a fabulous night. We laughed, talked and even did a little dancing -- although Irish men don't dance and this proved that statement true. It has something to do with jigging, and keeping the upper body perfectly still while their feet go mad---Georgie and Meagan tried to explain it to me but I was laughing too hard at Georgie trying to dance for it to really sink in. Meagan is my age and when the songs from "our era" were played we showed the youngsters (Georgie and the Parisan lady from the Sales dept) how it should be done.
But this pub is indeed a little taste of Ireland in the States. Dark beams, soccer on the televisions and more Irish accents than you can shake a stick at. It was very interesting. Makes me want to visit Ireland soon for a lengthy vacation. Very cool people in a city that is shaping up to be quite fun.
After hours and hours of working but not really doing anything productive because I'm just observing others not actually doing my own work (yeah and if you can follow that you deserve a medal)....the individual I was shadowing invited me out to a local Irish pub to unwind from the day. A little background might be necessary at this point. The individual who I had the pleasure of working with on Friday is from Philadelphia but her parents are from Ireland. She herself has dual citizenship and has spent many, many summers in Ireland etc. Her fiance is authentic Irish who has only been here for about a year--and it is a little hard to understand him due to the accent. But nonetheless they are a great couple. So anyhow we all got together at the hotel along with another girl from the Sales department and headed over to this Irish pub called "Fado" on Locust St. for a couple of drinks cause Meagan's sister works there.
What a blast. Inbetween trying to figure out what Georgie was trying to say and then formulating a suitable response and us laughing our heads off about various topics it was indeed a fabulous night. We laughed, talked and even did a little dancing -- although Irish men don't dance and this proved that statement true. It has something to do with jigging, and keeping the upper body perfectly still while their feet go mad---Georgie and Meagan tried to explain it to me but I was laughing too hard at Georgie trying to dance for it to really sink in. Meagan is my age and when the songs from "our era" were played we showed the youngsters (Georgie and the Parisan lady from the Sales dept) how it should be done.
But this pub is indeed a little taste of Ireland in the States. Dark beams, soccer on the televisions and more Irish accents than you can shake a stick at. It was very interesting. Makes me want to visit Ireland soon for a lengthy vacation. Very cool people in a city that is shaping up to be quite fun.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The post that should have been posted on Monday.
The time in Dallas has come to an end and this evening marks my last night in Texas until the 30th. I spent the day looking at houses in Sherman which was so fun. I never realized how much a house literally “speaks” to you when you first walk in the door. I saw cute houses, not so cute houses; one that made me want to run screaming for the hills and another that was a complete throwback to the 60’s-70’s. It was a fun day and following my house-viewing time in Sherman I had lunch with John and Mary which quickly became a two hour lunch as we sat and chit-chatted and enjoyed the afternoon.
Saturday eve a friend and I went to my favorite sushi restaurant in Dallas where I satisfied my seemingly insatiable craving for sushi which had been haunting me for weeks. I then dragged my poor friend to the chick-flick of the season “The Holiday” with Jude Law, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. It was cute, funny, had a happy ending and yet only marginally entered into the land of smaltzy sappiness.
Following the movie I faced the dreaded task of packing for Miami, Philadelphia and Minneapolis. What to wear, what to leave behind, how much can I fit into these poor suitcases and how can I pack enough clothing for a month of very varied social settings. By 12:30am I was packed, the hotel room was cleaned and I was beat and the shuttle was going to arrive at 8:30am to pick me up for the airport run. As I was trying to fall asleep I kept thinking about a great line from the movie that I had gone to that stated “If nothing else a girl should be the leading lady in her own life.” I kept thinking how that statement was so true. We only have one life and each person is the leading lady of their own life if they chose to be.
That line has been with me for the past two days now and it keeps running through my head each time I think I’m bored, as I was waiting at the airport for ages and ages in the vain hope my plane would bored sometime this century, as I waited in line for lunch (at the airport) and waited in line for dinner (at another airport), and as I did some serious thinking last night. While I haven’t reached any concrete conclusions about what I am going to change in my life I know that something will be changing. I should be the leading lady in my own life. Not wondering what others think of me, of my work, of how I look. Not worried about money, my car or a zillion other inconsequential things that take time away from the important things.
So now I’m here in beautiful Miami, where the palm trees have Christmas lights and it is green like spring. Unfortunately, I’m bored outta my ever-loving mind but that is how it goes. I’m shadowing someone for Monday and Tuesday and it is consisting of hours spent working on our own respective laptops. He gave me the rundown of what he is doing and now he is doing it. So I’m sitting here working on some work stuff, checking email, and writing my blog entry in a Word document cause I can’t blog while I’m in the office. And I’m bored……so what can I do to turn this around and take charge of the situation? Not much at this point….but I’ll keep thinking about it.
Saturday eve a friend and I went to my favorite sushi restaurant in Dallas where I satisfied my seemingly insatiable craving for sushi which had been haunting me for weeks. I then dragged my poor friend to the chick-flick of the season “The Holiday” with Jude Law, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. It was cute, funny, had a happy ending and yet only marginally entered into the land of smaltzy sappiness.
Following the movie I faced the dreaded task of packing for Miami, Philadelphia and Minneapolis. What to wear, what to leave behind, how much can I fit into these poor suitcases and how can I pack enough clothing for a month of very varied social settings. By 12:30am I was packed, the hotel room was cleaned and I was beat and the shuttle was going to arrive at 8:30am to pick me up for the airport run. As I was trying to fall asleep I kept thinking about a great line from the movie that I had gone to that stated “If nothing else a girl should be the leading lady in her own life.” I kept thinking how that statement was so true. We only have one life and each person is the leading lady of their own life if they chose to be.
That line has been with me for the past two days now and it keeps running through my head each time I think I’m bored, as I was waiting at the airport for ages and ages in the vain hope my plane would bored sometime this century, as I waited in line for lunch (at the airport) and waited in line for dinner (at another airport), and as I did some serious thinking last night. While I haven’t reached any concrete conclusions about what I am going to change in my life I know that something will be changing. I should be the leading lady in my own life. Not wondering what others think of me, of my work, of how I look. Not worried about money, my car or a zillion other inconsequential things that take time away from the important things.
So now I’m here in beautiful Miami, where the palm trees have Christmas lights and it is green like spring. Unfortunately, I’m bored outta my ever-loving mind but that is how it goes. I’m shadowing someone for Monday and Tuesday and it is consisting of hours spent working on our own respective laptops. He gave me the rundown of what he is doing and now he is doing it. So I’m sitting here working on some work stuff, checking email, and writing my blog entry in a Word document cause I can’t blog while I’m in the office. And I’m bored……so what can I do to turn this around and take charge of the situation? Not much at this point….but I’ll keep thinking about it.
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