Cassie's 16th

Today is Cassie's Sweet 16. Of course, I have to say how beautiful and talented she is, and talk about how much better our lives are with Cassie in them.  But, becoming 16 also means that she is becoming an adult.  So, I had to ask Cassie what she wanted me to say about her.  I am first supposed to mention art.  Cassie is exploding with talent and this year, she rediscovered her love of art.  This is the first time that she's been able to take an actual art at school.  She's been sketching, painting, and sculpting.  Cassie wanted me to include that next year she will skip Art 2 and go directly to Advanced Portfolio Preparation.  She also loves the intersection of art and chemistry and occasionally thinks about pursuing a career in chemistry.  Here are a few of her creations.  

Cassie still loves her violin.  This year she was able to participate in the high school orchestra.  She is in "Sinfonettia," which is the highest orchestra.  She also played with "the pit" when her school performed "The Wiz."  She said that she plans to carry the pit orchestra in next year's performance!

Cassie in the pit

Of course, Cassie continues to love ballet.  This year we allowed her to audition for some out-of- town summer programs.  She was accepted to several, and decided to attend the Gelsey Kirkland Academy in Brooklyn.  Here are a few photos to mark a year of ballet.

Cassie and Mr. Vadim rehearsing

At Philadelphia for the Youth America Grand Prix

    

The Nutcracker

The sisters after the show

Here's another "post show" photo.  Even though she was

exhausted, she was still smiling!

The Bluebird costume

A few minutes of quiet reflection before an audition.

And, a few more pictures of our sixteen-year old!

At the ball park

Shopping

Sweet 16!

Making Fun of Myself

I don't write many blog entries anymore because the girls are worried that I might embarrass them.  But, writing is still cheap therapy for me.  So, here's a story about me and why I recently ran across a parking lot carrying a stranger's purse.

The story starts about a month ago when the door handle on the driver's side of my car broke.  I could get in my car with no problem.  But, to get out I had to roll down the window and reach outside to pop the door open.  This wasn't so hard except that because the windows are electronic, I had to keep the car turned on in order to close the window again.  At first, we all thought this was pretty funny.  When I got home from work, I'd sometimes call Lacey to come and let me out of the car.  Then, when I forgot to close the window and it was open all night, the situation started to get a little annoying.  However, it's difficult for me to be without a car.  So, I waited until I needed to have an oil leak fixed and the brake pads replaced before getting the door fixed too.

Monday evening I dropped my car off at the dealer and picked up a 1-day rental car.  Tuesday afternoon, the mechanic called and said it would be another day.  No problem.  They would cover the full cost of the rental car.  My schedule for the evening was full.  I dropped Cassie off at the dance studio and went to the gym for an hour.  My next stop was the grocery store.  As I was checking out, I reached for my wallet and discovered that it was missing!  I explained this to the cashier and dashed out to my car.  Using my handy phone flashlight, I searched the car.  I found my lipstick and some food wrappers under the seat.  (Seriously, girls, food wrappers?  I only had this car for 1 day!)  In a panic, I ran back to the store.  Just in case this ever happens to anyone else, even if you have a teacher's badge with  your photo on it and know your American Express number, you won't be allowed to purchase groceries.

I called school and confirmed that my wallet was in my desk drawer.  I called home and told Les to start digging through the freezer to find something for dinner.

Ninety minutes later, I picked up Cassie in Manassas.  We were halfway home when the Amazing Shelby called to tell me that I had left my purse at the dance studio.  Only she didn't quite know how to tell me that my wallet was missing!  Yes, I explained.  That was because I had left my wallet at work!!  I turned the car around and headed back to Manassas.  What was wrong with me?  First my wallet and now my purse?!

On Wednesday afternoon, I went to retrieve my car.  I waited in line, and when it was finally my turn, collapsed in the chair at the Customer Service desk. I glanced down at my feet and my eyes landed on a strange purse.  OH NO!  The woman in front of me had forgotten her purse.  To the surprise of everyone in the garage, I grabbed the purse and dashed out to the parking lot yelling. 

The purse's owner was grateful, but embarrassed and apologetic.  Neither of us had time for me to explain why forgetting her purse was an acceptable behavior.   And, she would have though I was really odd if I had explained that I was probably more grateful than she was.  I drove home happy to have my car back and relieved to think that maybe there was nothing wrong with me after all.

Customer Service

A few weeks ago, our Internet service went out.  On the first day,  we did not call to report the outage.  We told ourselves that it was just a community-wide problem and would be resolved soon.  In reality, we were afraid to call customer service.  On our second day without service, Les called.  He spoke with three different agents and was unable to convince the Comcast representative that we had a genuine problem.

On the third day, we were still without TV, Wi-Fi, and regular telephone service.  I was worried that all those 1-800 callers might discover my cell phone.  So, I fixed a cup of coffee and called the Comcast help desk.  

First, I had to deal with the robo voice that kept asking me what was wrong.  When I responded, "NO INTERNET.  NO PHONE.  NO WI-FI," the system couldn't understand.  The recording kept advising me how to recover my email password.  After getting disconnected and calling again, I finally got through to an agent.

I first had to verify every detail of my account including:  our home phone number; street address; billing address; customer account number; email address; an alternate email address; and the number from which I was calling.  When the woman next asked for the number on the back of our modem I told her that she would have to give me a few minutes while I crawled around on the floor to find it.  She told me not to worry and asked what the problem was.

Me:  We have no TV, no WIFI, and no phone service.

Woman:  Are you sure?

Me:  Positive.

Woman:  Well, let's run a system's check.

Me:  I used the app on my phone and ran a system's check before I called.  It shows all our systems are "green."

Woman:  Well, let's reset your modem.

Me:  We called yesterday and had that done three times.

Woman:  Are you calling from a cordless phone?

Me:  I'm calling from my cell.

Woman:  Oh.  But, is your home phone cordless?

Me:  One of them is.

Woman:  Do you have a dial tone?

Me:  No.  That's how I knew to tell you that we have no phone service.

Woman:  Uh huh.  So, there's no dial tone on all phones.

Me:   That's correct.

Woman:  And, may I ask, did you receive your modem through the mail or did a technician install it?

Me:  Honestly, we've had it for so many years that I don't remember.

Woman:  I see.  May I ask how old the modem is?

Me:  You have my account information in front of you.  Maybe you can find that information.

Woman:  All right.  Let's reset the box.  And, by the way, there's an app that you can download to check the status of your service.

Me:  I've done that. 

Woman:  Are you near the modem?

Me:  On my way.

Woman:  And, what is the modem doing?

Me:  Uh. . . nothing?

Woman:  Let's give it one to three minutes.  (Pause)  Okay, may I ask what's happening now?

Me:  Well, the power light is on.

Woman:  Okay, let's give it one to three minutes.  (Pause)  May I ask what's happening now?

Me:  Uh, the power light is on?

Woman:  Okay, let's give it one to three minutes.

I then began wondering how long I would have to engage in polite silence with this woman.  To fill the time, I grabbed a piece of paper and began scribbling all this down.

Woman:  May I ask what's happening now?

Me:  The power light is on.  And, may I ask, are you a real person?

Woman, chuckling:  Yes, and may I ask if it's improving?

Me:  How would I know?

Woman:  Have any other lights come on?

Me:  No.

Woman:  How about now?

Me:  No.

Woman:  Our system has diagnosed that nothing is working.  We need to set up a service appointment.  If this is a Comcast issue the cost will be covered.  But, just to let you know, we have a service protection plan.  Would you be interested in purchasing it?

Me:  No!

Woman:  And, what is the best number for the technician to reach you?

Me:  It depends on the day.  When can the technician come?

Woman:  And, what is the best number for the technician to reach you?

Me:  It depends on the day.  When is the next available appointment?

Woman:  Tuesday, between 3:00 and 5:00.

Me:  So, we have to wait spend another three days without service?

Woman:  And, what's the best number?

Of course, I gave Les' number.  I certainly wasn't going to go through this again.  I thanked the woman for her help and said goodbye.

Woman:  We at Comcast value your business.

Me:  Thank you.  Goodbye.

Woman:  And, we want you to know that you are a valued customer.

Me:  Thank you. Goodbye again.

Three days later a technician discovered that our outdoor box had been struck by lightning.  This was deemed a Comcast issue and the cost was covered.  About a week later, our cable went out again.  I let Les call.

Lacey's Gotcha Day

Today we celebrate Lacey's "Gotcha Day," the anniversary of her adoption.  She has now spent six years, or half her life, as a member of our family.  One minute we were three, and the next minute she became ours for good.  At age six, Lacey brought many experiences, hopes, likes, and fears that were all unknown to us.  Because of the language barrier, these things weren't easily shared.  We had to wait to discover the person that Lacey is.  The journey of discovery has changed all of us. 

We are constantly aware of how Lacey has changed.  Friends and family notice too.  She's grown so much!  Her English is great!  She's a great student!  She's so happy!  She's so kind to the other kids!

We have all changed too.  Here are a few examples.  Because of Lacey:

• the house is never quiet;
• we are all addicted to cooking shows;
• we are all really competitive;
• I started riding a bicycle again;
• I'm learning to fly model planes;
• Les has to share his tools; and
• Cassie has frequent asthma attacks from laughing!

Finally, here's Lacey perspective, presented in a poem she wrote in school.