shenae.com

No, I am not going to apologize for not posting.  I am still going through the application process for the loan on the Money Pit.  One of my married friends just announced she was pregnant.  And Rachel on Friends is pregnant, so my uterus is all upset.  Yes, I said my uterus.  I have been working the second job, even though it is slow at the restaurant.  And don’t get me started on the dating thing.  I have made of list of the men that I have dated and the type of men I have yet to date.  The second list is WAY smaller so here it is:  engineer, fireman, director, producer, professional baseball player, professional football player, taxi driver, sanitation worker.  If you have any one of these jobs, I can date you. No, I’m not bitter or anything.

There is total silence across America now.  Even the big cheese at our company recommended gathering together under the flag in front of our building for a silent prayer.  Money is being thrown everywhere for donations.  The Red Cross has had more volunteers in the last few days than any time in the past few years.  So what does it all mean?  Where do we go from here?  I have come to the conclusion that it starts from one person or a group of people.  People want to hurt or kill any Arab or Pakistani they see.  Unfortunately, this is part of the motivating factor in the events that led to that horrific Tuesday: hate. These are not the same extremists that hijacked a plane and changed history; they are Americans.  They feel our pain.  And to make matters worse for them, people from their homeland are re-enforcing the stereotype and building up the suspicions and hate. It is not their fault, and it pains me to see people hurt them or injure them just because they are Arabic.  So start by doing just what Mayor Giuliani said: don’t take it out on anyone.
It is ironic that a group of people with such a large amount of hate for Americans and what we stand for, lived quietly and received training in the US for over year. Fascinating.
We bitch and moan about standing in the lines for check ins and having to empty our pockets for security. But I should say that I have seen security people not pay attention to packages going through the x-ray machine.  I know they get paid next to nothing per hour.  They need training.  I see nothing wrong with armed guards in the airport.  I see nothing wrong with security people searching my luggage and looking at my underwear. If it saves lives, so be it.

I have finally come to terms with the fact that my life sucks.  I have a fraction of a social life. I am not even going to open that Pandora’s box I call my “dating situation.”  The second job is bringing in extra money, but not as much as I expected.  It has gotten to the point now where three people are sent home almost every shift.  The only thing that keeps me going is the faith that I will buy the Money Pit.  I talked to a home ownership counselor today.  If I don’t qualify for this first-time-home-buyer-special-loan thing, the following actions will take place: I will cry, yell, maim and kill everyone associated with the home buying process, including all the banks in the tri-state area.

I got back from Ocean City just fine.  And then the hijacking started.  Since I live in Baltimore MD, which is about 45 minutes from DC, all our traffic, phone lines and cell phone lines are jacked up.  Laura from IL called me, frantic, asking if I was okay.  It took her close to an hour to dial through.  My NY relatives are safe and sound.  I panicked because I didn’t hear from my mom and she works in a DC suburb, but goes to DC often for meetings and stuff.  My mom was able to get home from DC in one piece, thank God.  A friend from college was scheduled for a business meeting at 10 am at the World Trade Center.  He saw the second plane crash into the tower.  He is okay now, but we are all a little shaken up.