New York

I love the city of New York. I think it is one of the best cities around because of the diverse amount of things to do and see. I have been there on layovers for work. I recently went in November to take my daughter to the American Girl store. This time I took my husband without kids for 3 days. My husband has never been so it was exciting for him to getaway and have me all to himself. I could not of asked for a better trip.It started with being treated like royalty on our flight by two of my fellow co-workers. They moved us up to the crew rest seats which recline and hooked us up with lots of snacks & adult beverages. We arrived on a Sunday and began by checking out the city by foot. We had a hotel in the theatre district, which is my favorite area of New York. I showed him Rockefeller center specifically the Lego Store and Times Square specifically the Toys R Us store. 

On Monday we took a venture out to see the beautiful Statue of Liberty. Then a trip by water taxi to Brooklyn. A college friend of mine has a cozy cafe there that I was invited to come visit. What a treat that was. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was just amazing. Leisah and her partner Monica are just the most awesome people and we felt so blessed to have spent the afternoon with them. That night while walking around the city and getting ready to just relax in our room we spotted a marquee for a show called "Shatner's World". I inquired at the front desk if it was showing and he said yes in half an hour. So we quickly went back out and to the box office to buy tickets. My husband is a huge William Shatner fan and was excited to see his one man show which is only running for 3 weeks in New York before going on tour. I personally did not think the show was that great. It wasn't that funny. I found it to be a narrative of his life for the most part. After the show we waited in the cold for almost an hour to catch a glimpse of him. When he finally exited the theatre he stopped and shook my husband's hand.  I missed the Kodak moment but it still was a mission accomplished!

The next day I wanted to see the 9/11 memorial. I fly for American so I have a connection to those crew members that died on flight 11 that day. I went to their names and when I actually touched their names which have been inscribed on the stone I broke down in tears. It could of been any of us that day on any plane that was flying. It just happened to be theirs. It always puts perspective on the fragility of life when I think about that day and how our days are not promised. 

That evening we went to see "Spider-man turn off the dark" musical. I wanted to take my husband because he is a marvel comics fan. I wanted to see it because it has been a logistical nightmare and encountered numerous  problems with the production. It also cost a small fortune to produce. I can probably bet the show will never tour either because it is so complicated. I found it to be a definite theatrical experience with spider-man soaring through the theatre over patrons heads. Definitely a feat I have never seen before elsewhere. The songs were not that memorable but I'm glad I saw it. As we were walking back we passed by the theatre that was showing " Anything Goes". I spotted Joel Grey who is currently starring in that show and asked him for a photo which he graciously said yes. It was a pretty cool random sighting for me since Joel Grey is a huge theatre icon. I was a theatre major in college so I appreciated the chance meeting.

We flew home the next day with lots of memories and so thankful for all of it.

Whitney's Funeral

I watched the Whitney Houston funeral today because I knew her funeral would be a wonderful celebration of her life. She started singing in church as a young girl in Newark, New Jersey and today she returned home for her final church service. A moving tribute to an amazing singer. I was most touched by Kevin Costner's speech. I loved the emotion when Stevie Wonder, R Kelly and Carvin Winans sang. Carvin has this falsetto that is just out of this world.

Yes it is always sad when a life is cut short, but really what is considered short? it's all relative. 48 is not young but it's also not old. She lived a life with many successes. She used her God given voice to touch the lives of many. She was a mother to a daughter. She lived a life that many of us can only dream of. If she had not gotten into drugs she probably would of lived longer but it wasn't meant to be. The life of a star so bright often burns out before it should. Many of the greats have fallen before their time. The pressures of staying on top. The stresses of keeping grounded midst the craziness. Pills to stay awake, pills to go asleep, pills for anxiety, pills for  depression. Pretty soon you don't know what you've taken or when you've taken it. She didn't mean to die that day. It was a chain reaction of errors. I don't think anyone ever wakes up thinking today I'm going to die. It just happens and eventually to all of us. We are not promised a tomorrow so let us rejoice in the life she lived.

Content Magazine

Last night I had the privilege to attend the launch party of a new magazine called "Content". It has a been a labor of love for it's creator Daniel Garcia. Until recently it was only a digital magazine but last night they were celebrating the first print edition. It was a fun soiree at the San Pedro Market Place. There were models in beautiful gowns standing on podiums. Lots of food provided by various restaurants that are located on San Pedro St and a hosted bar was flowing with beverages. A hundred or more people were in attendance to show their love and support for this new magazine which will feature the people of San Jose. I love the idea. I love the focus of it. I subscribed and hope it is successful. It's good to support people who are trying to make a difference.

Here is the link if you would like to subscribe  http://content-magazine.com/welcome/?page_id=6485

Wish Upon a Wedding

Today I decided to take a leap of faith. I have accepted a position with the organization Wish Upon a Wedding as their fundraising chair.. I say I am taking a leap of faith because I have never (a) been on a board of a non-profit (b) been a fundraising chair (c) been told I need to raise 25K in funds. I have done a lot of in-kind donation asks for my work with the American Cancer Society's Courageous Kids day but it is nothing of this level. I think I am capable of taking on this position and with the help of my board and be successful. Here's to a new opportunity and living life fully because not everyone can.
you can check out their website and their mission at http://wishuponawedding.org/

As a nationwide 501(c) (3) organization, we celebrate the courage, determination and spirit of couples in love during their most challenging times.

Former First Lady Laura Bush

Yesterday on my flight from San Francisco to Dallas I had former first lady Laura Bush in first class. We were informed of her soon to be presence on our flight before we went down to the plane. She had 5 federal agents and an assistant with her. Three of the agents were in coach, one in first class and the other in the cockpit. She was one of the last to board the flight. She was as pleasant and as classy as I expected her to be. If I wasn't trying to be professional and keeping her presence low key I would of asked to take a photo with her.

I found myself pondering how much of our tax payer dollars go to making sure she has security when she travels. I mean once you're a presidents wife you can never go back to just being a normal person again. I guess she must have a certain level of security for the rest of her life. Then I found myself thinking what about those federal agents. What an interesting job that must be just following people around who need to be possibly protected. Sounds pretty cush to me.

It made for an interesting work day and for a story to tell. I'm always happy to report when someone I see in the public eye is nice in person. I guess to some degree they should be since they chose to be in the spotlight. Living life....

We are all Terminal

I had a blog long long ago. It was so long ago that I don't even remember the name and I was unable to find it. I am assuming it must of been deleted due to lack of use. My hope is it that I will use this blog and make a point of posting now that I have created a new one.

Where does the blog title come from? We are all terminal. It's just a fact of life. We are all terminal in the sense that we are all going to die from something. We are terminal in that our life has an end and therefore we will all terminate.It's just a matter of when. I find that by addressing this fact of life enables me to live my life more fully and with more intention. I know that I have a finite number of days and I need to maximize my time before my days are over. Morbid you say? no not really. When I die I want my life to be well lived. I want to feel I lived my life with purpose and that I lived it fully even in the craziness of this world. I can't control what others do or what is happening in the world but I can control how I let it affect me and how I choose to react to my circumstances. I hope that this blog will help me keep everything in perspective. To be thankful in all things and know that it could always be worse.