Tag Archives: Leonard Bernstein

Time to Pretend

After a beautiful weekend weather wise, it’s a definite downer today. Sheets of rain again. It’s supposed to be like this until Wednesday, with the drying out (or so they say) on Thursday.

Last night Bill and I watched a documentary on Leonard Bernstein. Bill had never seen it before, for me it was the second time I think. Bill told me his father had issues with Leonard Bernstein and really had problems with West Side Story.

He felt it was demeaning towards Puerto Ricans, which is too bad since the message is quite powerful and the music of course is still amazing 50 years later.

Then it was bedtime for Bill and eventually me. We never go to bed at the same time.

Didn’t want to wake up and go to work, not in this weather. But I had to of course. Bill was up and running as I shuffled past, making my way into the shower. He was out the door by the time I got out. Had some coffee and cereal and was smart enough to wear an rain coat.

Rode to work, almost done with last week’s New Yorker, making me almost up to date.

After a good talk with my sister yesterday about job security, I decided that picking up used tissues is not beneath me, especially if it means I will still have a job.

So for me, it was picking up snot rags and washing coffee cups that people couldn’t wash for themselves with a smile on my face. I had to get over the fact that the used tissue in the empty tissue box stayed on the conference table most of last week, and the one who put it there simply could not see the two trash cans in the same room.

Yep, that’s how it’s going to be until February 28, 2010.

Casey Chasm was due in today and it was a good thing I cleaned up the conference room. Casey invented something and got it patented. Such a thing it makes you wonder, why hadn’t anyone invent something like this before?

I told Vivek about it a few weeks ago and asked if he’d be interested in meeting with Casey. Vivek said yes, Casey was into it, so it was all about trying to pin Vivek down. Today was the day he was able to be pinned.

I didn’t have any clear idea on what would transpire. Perhaps Vivek would pull out a check book right then and there. That didn’t happen.

What Vivek did was give Casey some good advice on marketing and business presentation. Good advice for free. There is still more work to be done for Casey but he now has an idea in the direction he should be headed in.

Now I’m trying to get Casey together with a former co-worker who has some good ideas on marketing. I’m just putting them together, hopefully they could work things out.

Also today was the Boston Marathon, which my niece Meghan ran in Hooray for Meghan De Carlo, my niece who finished the Boston Marathon with an Official time of 3:19:31! Excellent time, much, much better than I could ever do. Perhaps riding my bicycle I’d keep up, but without wheels she would leave me in the dust.

The whole family is proud of her for this accomplishment. If she runs in the New York City marathon, I will be on the sidelines, egging her on.

All in all, an interesting, out of the ordinary day.