Sadly, I've got to work, so attending the AHL All-Star events is out of the question. FYI, I sure do wish the PHANTOMS had relocated to AC.

GRRRRR... we're entirely out of black ink. What crummy timing. @*#$&@*#&$

Working/listening to a decidedly frustrating Phantoms game (we're down 4-0). We have 20 mins left; there's time to make things interesting.

Ran across Funny Girl on TV. Hellooooo, Omar Sharif. I'd forgotten what a looker the man is. Mama mia.

Interesting: How the US lost out on iPhone work: http://ping.fm/2jlZp

Titanic?

I just heard that, at the moment the Italian cruise liner hit the rocks, Celine Dion's hit song from the movie Titanic was playing in the ship's dining room.

Seriously? They freaking played a song from Titanic on a cruise ship? What nitwit thought THAT was a good idea? Isn't that kind of like playing a plane-crash movie as an in-flight film?

The captain's excuse for why he abandoned the ship long before the evacuation was complete was that the ship tilted, causing him to fall overboard and land in a lifeboat. Yeah, right. Maybe he can fall into a prison cell next, along with any other officers who helped themselves into a lifeboat and left the passengers and crew to their fate.

I admire the Coast Guard chief, who managed to limit himself to only two expletives while in the process of tearing the captain a few new orifices and order him to get back on board the ship. I assure you, I was thinking way more than two unprintable words when I read the transcript of that conversation. The order he gave the captain, which translates as, "Go back on board, you [bleep]!" or "Get the [bleep] back on board!", was the top trending topic on Twitter in Italy. I suspect that we won't have to worry about that cruise line inflicting any more unfit-for-duty officers on an unsuspecting public, because they're likely to be sued off the face of the earth by the thousands of survivors. Which, if you ask me, is a fate they richly deserve.

Mini DESPISES snow. I had to carry my wee pup out the door for her walk, as she dug her tiny paws in at the threshold and refused to budge.

It's 14 months to the day since my surgery. To celebrate, my incision is itching. :-P :applies lotion:

Incoming work emails means one thing: fire up the internet radio, roll up my sleeves, and get to work. :-)

Watching (actually, "listening to") the Flyers on TV, while creating a Conflict of Interest Policy document.

Ping!

Twice so far today, just as I completed the last outstanding item in my work inbox, "Ping" went the email program, and another assignment came in. Yay... gotta love it. :-)

Work + Internet Radio = <3
http://ping.fm/Kp3Yl

I just got an email from AADB. They cancelled their 2013 convention.

My response to that development is, "@#$@*&#?$!!!"

Rats.

Yes! Work = Inbox Zero! Go, me. :-)

Working and Internet Radio. Perfect together. Thank you, WNYQ, for putting your stream back online! :-)

YAY... the sun is no longer all the way down when I walk the dog at 5:00 PM. I like seeing clear evidence that the daylight is returning.

Working and listening to WNYQ http://ping.fm/M58Su , the Phantoms flagship station.

Captain AND Mini are both snoring. So I'm hearing kitty snores on my left, and doggie snores on my right. :-)

Good thing...

I'm glad that I finished working on the meeting minutes for the Italian Museum on Sunday evening. Because as Sunday night rolled around, I got a batch of work emails that are going to take me into tomorrow to complete. So be it.

I never mind seeing work come in, no matter how much or how little. I have some travel plans for later in the year, and I'm going to have to save up in order to do it. Every work email that comes in means some pin money is getting set aside toward that goal. So yeah, let those emails keep coming! :-)

Since for once, I'm home and NOT working, I'm using some free time to print meeting minutes and the IRS 1023 (non-profit application) form.

Here comes an annoying hour. Thank God I rarely get Niaspam-induced itching and flushing. But tonight is not my night. :itch: :itch: :itch:

Just... wow. Really disheartening to see this...

I posted yesterday that several area elementary schools, including the one I attended growing up, are about to be merged into a regional school.

I've also posted in the past about the bullying I went through for years under that particular roof, to the point where I describe the experience as having gone to Hell-imentary school. So I'm no stranger to things like rejection, ostracization... you name it.

On Facebook, groups have sprung up to try and combat the Archdiocese's decisions. Someone who I graduated with, who is a FB friend of mine, added me to the group that's dedicated to my former alma mater. Even though I went through misery there, I let the addition stand rather than unsubscribing from the group. Which is how I managed to see this post from a former classmate of mine...

has anyone thought of when all these schools merge, that our children will have to deal with rif-rafe from other areas that were never in our school? and that they are not used to??? Who will care for them amd protect them like Patty???? I cannot understand this whole decision to merge and take us away from home????

Riff-raff? Really? Did I just see someone call Catholic school kids "Riff-raff" just because they attend school at a different parish? What if THEY treat OUR kids like they're the riff-raff? How do you think that'll make our kids feel? Are we so freaking xenophobic that we can't stand the thought of our kids associating with other children from a few blocks away?

There's a protest rally next week. I think I'll pass on attending. I can't bring myself to see people whose stance is as narrow-minded today as it was decades ago. I'm just not up to it.

AAAAAAHHHH SCOOOOORE!!!! Phantoms win! Woo hoo!

A

HOLMSTROM SCORES with 20.8 seconds left! Happy Freaking New Year! :-) OT here we come!

DOOOOOP DOOP DOOP The Phantoms tie it!

Phantoms radio just said they got a sneak peek at the attendance: 45,653. More than double the previous record of 21K.

LOL... Good old Spongebob Squarepants theme! Some things never change.

Litts <3

When Jonesy got hurt, one of his fill-ins was Phillies announcer Dan Baker. It's come full circle: Jonesy is announcing from Baker's booth.

Ahhhh... The voice of longtime Phantoms announcer Keith Jones. How I've missed you!

48 schools will close/merge in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

CLICK HERE for the list of school closures/mergers

The parish where I grew up, the one where my first apartment was, and the one I live in now will all be affected by a merger. Not a particularly happy day for Yours Truly.

I understand the economic realities. When I graduated 8th grade, we had 124 kids in my class. Now some of these SCHOOLS are lucky to have that many kids in them. So yeah, I do "get it". I just don't have to LIKE it. And I don't.

Sigh. Oh, well.

ANOTHER gas explosion in Allentown? How old ARE those gas mains? :-( I'm not griping anymore about the detours and dug-up streets down here.

Mike Leighton will start for the Phantoms on Friday at CBP, making him the first goalie to start both an NHL and AHL outdoor game.

Working and listening to Radio Manilow. http://ping.fm/MmVEi Ingredients for having a Good Day. :-)

We found yet another Amish buffet. Dienner's Restaurant in Ronks, PA is To Die For. I wish someone would open an Amish buffet in Philly.

L

OMG. I'm seeing work emails arriving in my inbox. Um, those will need to wait a few hours. I'm preoccupied with my Flyers. ;-)

I bless the inventor of hot chocolate.

There is at least I e other game worn Phantoms jersey

Working on the Italian Museum Committee minutes in between watching String Bands on TV. Gotta do 'em now in what little free time I have.

Happy New Year! I set up a Flickr folder with my NHL Alumni Game photos: http://ping.fm/YMQh8

Happy New Year!