Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Tigers Baby!!!!

This is getting nerve racking!!! Yesterday the Tigers split a day/night double header with the Twins. With their win over the Twins today, the Tigers now lead the AL Central division by 3 games. If they win tomorrow they can clinch the division.

Go Tigers!!!

And... The Lions snapped a 19 game losing streak last Sunday...

~AKO

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Holy Crap!

The last day of September is next week! Holy Crap!! Where did 2009 go??? A month from yesterday I've been married for a whole year! HOLY CRAP!!!!

Anyway... so I realized I typoed some information in my last post. The Yankees magic number of 1 was to clinch a playoff spot, which they did this week. If they sweep the Red Sox this weekend they can clinch the AL East.

Like true form the Tigers got beat by the White Sox last night. The Twins beat the Royals so they are still 2 games behind for the AL Central. If the Tigers don't take the AL Central they most likely don't have a chance at the AL Wild Card since there is no way they can catch the Red Sox or the Yankees.

ALDS 2009


In National League news it looks like the St. Louis Cardinals are close to clinching a playoff spot as well.

BTW... Football season start a couple weeks ago. All the Lions need to do this year is win 1 game to improve on last season. 0-2 after the second week...

AND... next weekend I put up my Halloween decorations!!! I'll have photos :)

~AKO

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

12 Days....

Until post season! The Detroit Tigers just have to get through one more 4 game series against the Minnesota Twins and two more 3 game series against the Chicago White Sox. There is some concern since, for some reason, the Tigers are pretty close to incapable of beating the Sox. Both the Tigers and the Twins won tonight keeping the Tigers 2 1/2 games ahead in the AL Central. Anything can happen and every game counts in the last two weeks of regular season play!

In other news, the magic number for the New York Yankees is 1. A Yankees win or Texas Rangers loss will clinch the AL East for the Yankees.

~AKO

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Dear So and So... Seriously... Enough Already!


Dear So and So...


Dear Clients,

No I will not call you right now and I will not respond to your questions today when you send an email at 4:00 in the afternoon. Remember I've got other things to do as well and cannot drop everything to work on your problem. AND I will not be escalating your non-production issue request.

Regards,
Your Project Manager's Boss

~~~~~~~~~~


Dear House,

Please proceed with your cleaning. I've done enough and would appreciate that you finish the job yourself.

Thanks,
Tired House Renter

~~~~~~~~~~


Dear Homies on the Corner,

Really? Are you that deaf that you need to play your music that loud? I can hear it so I'm assuming you can hear it too. I hope you are enjoying my afternoon with Garth, Alan, Jodee, Carrie, Madonna, and NKOTB. And, yes, I'm the one who called the cops!

*sigh*
Dialing 311 in Brooklyn

~~~~~~~~~~


Dear Detroit Tigers,

Please get your act together! It is really getting old when you blow it in the last two weeks of the season... every year! There is no reason why you shouldn't clinch the AL Central Division this year. You've now lost 3 in a row and MUST beat the Twins today to stay in it!

Sincerely,
Nervous Tiger fan in NY

~~~~~~~~~~


Dear C-Lo,

Yes, you are cute and furry :)

Love,
Mommy


C-Lo


~AKO

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

In keeping with my spider post theme :) I found in my archive a photo from 2001 when they had spiders in Rockefeller Center.


Spiders in Rockefeller Center


~AKO

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

So Close...

We are sooooo close to my favorite decorating holiday! This holiday is even above Christmas! HALLOWEEN!!!!! Freddy has drill this week so I will be left unattended. It is only a month and a half away. It's not too early to put out my Halloween decor... is it? No one around here is going to tell me no :)

In celebration of the greatest holiday of the year, I would like to introduce you to my new friend who has built himself a house on our front porch.


Spider


~AKO

Friday, September 11, 2009

9/11

As I went through my daily routine today of documentation, conference calls, trouble shooting, emails, etc at work today, it was impossible to not remember that day 8 years ago when the lives of the entire nation changed forever. That day that I remember as clearly as if it were yesterday...

Pre-9/11
8 years ago, I was a naive 25 year old living in Manhattan. Still a fresh faced Midwestern transplant who had only lived in the big city for 10 months. In July 2001, my mom and sister had just come out for a visit. It was the first time my mom had visited me in the city. In September 2001, my two roommates and I had just found a nice apartment in Washington Heights and were slowly finding ourselves with new jobs. I was working in the corporate office of a popular retail store full time. Their office was on 38th Street in the shadow of the Empire State Building. On August 20, 2001, to earn some extra money, I started working part time in the evenings with a payment processing company. Their office was on Dey Street, which was across the street from the World Trade Center. When arriving to my evening job, I would exit from the Cortland Street subway station, which brought you into the lobby of one of the World Trade Center towers. There was a cool Halloween store near the exit that I wanted to peruse in the coming weeks. On September 10, 2001, I was offered and accepted a full time position with the payment processing company. I left work at 11:00 pm...

September 11, 2001
It was a Tuesday and a beautiful fall day. The temperature was comfortable, the sun was out, and not a cloud in the sky. Around 8:50am, I exited the subway on 42nd Street and 6th Avenue. As I walked down 6th Avenue, a thought popped into my head... the next time my mom comes out to visit I should take her to the World Trade Center.

By the time I got to my desk on the 8th floor, it was just after 9:00 am and the second plane had already hit the south tower. Of course this was the topic of conversation for everyone. I had a little radio on my desk so I turned on the news station to try and follow what was going on. Not long after we heard about the plane that hit the Pentagon. I immediately started to try and call my family in Michigan to let them know I was ok. The first person I could get a hold of was my sister. She was at work in a retail store and they hadn't heard what happened yet. I quickly told her what I knew and for her to let people know that I was ok. I was then finally able to contact my mom. One of her co-workers had a child who worked at the Pentagon so they were both trying to figure out what was going on. I assured my mom that I was ok and to let everyone, who had been calling my mom all morning, know that I was safe.

Like so many of the companies in the WTC towers, my company told us to stay in our offices. After both of the towers fell, my thoughts turned to my co-workers at my second job. Their office was across the street. Were they ok?

Eventually I was able to get a hold of one of my roommates, Michelle, who worked 4 blocks north by Grand Central Station. My third roommate, Nicci, was scheduled to work a second shift at a bookstore that day and safe at home. By this time Manhattan was on lockdown. No one was entering or leaving the city by any type of vehicle. This included the subway, which had stopped running.

Since we lived over 140 blocks north, we decided we might as well start walking toward home. We had some friends who lived on the way that we stopped to make sure were also ok. When we got up to 102nd Street, we heard the subway running again and were able to take the train the rest of the way home. It wasn't until we were able to watch the news reports on TV that evening that we really realized the extent of the damage and loss. I did not lose anyone, but I know many people who did lose a friend and/or family members.

The Days and Weeks Following
The rest of that week was a blur. My company closed their offices on Wednesday. On Thursday, we were evacuated around noon because of a bomb scare. On Friday my company closed their offices again. The next week I finally heard from my other employer. They had been able to relocate to a temporary disaster recovery location in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. A few weeks later I started working there full time as planned.

The city was very jumpy for a while. A box truck was stopped and search on the George Washington Bridge because there was a suspected bomb threat. Two months later, a plane destined for the Dominican Republic crashed in Rockaway, Queens shortly after take off from JFK airport. Manhattan immediately went on lockdown again.

It only took 6 months for the crews to remove all of the debris from Ground Zero. In 2002 we moved back into our Dey Street office. New York got back to normal... with the exception of a big hole in everyone's minds and hearts.

8 Years Later
Today, I am 33 and still with that payment processing company. Although we've gone through some changes over the years and are now a part of a publicly traded corporation. We've relocated to the East side by the Brooklyn Bridge. I am now married and live in Brooklyn. Two of my grandparents have passed away. Friends have married and had babies. I have more of an awareness about me. But that day will always stay the same. The day that changed our nation forever. The day that started the journey of so many men and women sent overseas to defend our freedom.

I was there that day. I was proud to be an American before 9/11 and I am still proud to be an American today.




God bless the U.S.A and keep our troops safe!

God Bless the USA!


My thoughts and prayers are with all 9/11 survivors and their families and friends.

~AKO

Sunday, September 6, 2009

The Pennant Race is On!

We've officially entered the most exciting time of the year for us Baseball fans. There are only 4 weeks left in the regular season which means the race for the pennant has begun! Now, living in New York, I unofficially root for the Yankees. I know... I know... the team everyone loves to hate! BUT, being a true Michigander, my official team has always been, and will always be, the Detroit Tigers. I even told people I was a Tiger fan that year they lost 119 games in 2003... one game away from have the worst record in MLB history. That record belongs to the 1962 New York Mets, who lost 120 games that season. But, if you really want to get technical, the worst record in baseball history belongs to the 1899 Cleveland Spiders (now the Cleveland Indians) who lost 134 games. But I digress...

As of today, the Tigers are in first place in the American League Central Division. Their current record is 75-61 and they are only 7 games ahead of the 2nd place Minnesota Twins. The magic number to clinch the AL Central division has not been release yet but you can bet I'll be watching for it! Of course, there is still plenty of baseball left in the season.

The Yankees are in a similar position over in the AL East Division. They are currently in first place with a record of 87-50. The Boston Red Sox are only 7.5 games behind so anything is possible!

With that, I will leave you with some baseball memories I have collected over the past few years.


Comerica Park - Home of the Detroit Tigers

Comerica Park

Comerica Park

Comerica Park

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Detroit Tigers in the 2006 World Series

2006 World Series

My little Tiger!

Go Tigers!

The Hubby at a Mets Game... it was a little chilly :)

New York Mets

The New York Mets at Shea Stadium

New York Mets

A hot dog and a beer... what more do you need at the ballgame?

New York Mets

The new Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium

New York Yankees


~AKO

Friday, September 4, 2009

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - School Pictures

Wow, I'm gone for three days and so much to catch up on here in blog-land! I was on a business trip down in our Charlotte, NC office this week Tuesday - Thursday. Charlotte is very nice and would definitely be someplace I would consider to relocate to should the opportunity ever present itself.

Anyway, since I've missed the last couple, I'm participating this week in "Show Us Your Life" which is hosted by Kelly's Korner.

This week's topic is school pictures. I don't have anything from elementary school since they are all at my mom's house. I do, however, have some nice ones (she says rolling her eyes!) from when I was in high school. I was very heavily involved in the band program during my high school years. I marched piccolo and played flute in the Wind Ensemble. I was also involved in Winterguard, Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Pep Band, and the High School musical Pit Orchestra. Our band program was competitive so we were able to participate in many competitions each year.

My best friend Holly and I posing after one of our Winterguard competitions. Winterguard, for those of you who don't know, is basically taking the colorguard (flagline) from the marching band and performing in a gym. This was taken in winter 1992. I'm the short one :) Our show that year was based on the Spanish celebration where the dead come out and have a little party with the living. I was one of the living.



I don't remember who, but a few of us got together for someone's senior picture and did a friend shot. I'm the flutist in the front.



I'm totally going to date myself here, but the next couple are from my senior year in 1994.

This is a photo of me and my younger sister after the Memorial Day parade. It was my last parade :( My sister is two years younger than me and marched the Mellophone, which is the equivalent of a French Horn. She played the tumpet in concert band.

How awesome do we look in those polyester uniforms!!!



My Grandma & Grandpa Sargent and I at my high school graduation. My grandma only brought out her white purse after Memorial Day :)



And last but not least... my high school senior picture...



I definitely don't miss high school. What I do miss is being involved in with the band program. Many of us were in it for the entire four years, in addition to our 7th and 8th grade years, and were pretty close. There are a lot of great memories from the trips, performances, practices, and... of course... BAND CAMP!

~AKO