Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in suzicpa's LiveJournal:

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Monday, November 23rd, 2009
4:50 pm	happy thanksgiving everyone! :):):):):):):):):):) (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
8:25 am	Twilight Zone Radio When I was coming home from work today, I turned on AM radio to try to hear more about Luke & Erin (our mayor and his wife announced they separated last night, he performed John and my wedding at city hall)..... First I heard about the traffic on Lakeshore and the Eisenhower, and I think it must be Erie, PA then they talk about the tristate area.....and gave a call sign for Chicago.... Seven and a half hour drive from Pittsburgh to Chicago Then I turn the dial.... Then I hear about how the weather is clear in downtown Hamilton and does a advertisement for something automotive in the 905 area code. I am thinking it must be a small city in West Virginia or Ohio...I just looked it up, Hamilton is by the Niagara Falls on the Canadian side..... Five and a half hour drive from Pittsburgh to Hamilton Ontario Then I turn the dial and hear about a minority boy with Asperger's missing for 13 days being left on the subway for 11 days,...the name Craig Allen the weather in downtown Manhattan.....WCBS radio 880 am..... Six and a half hour drive from Pittsburgh to NYC You are probably thinking that is nothing scientifically special about this, but it has really freaked me out, in a good way.....TOTALLY COOL! Suzi (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
12:06 pm	G-20 Well, the countdown has begun. I feel really weird writing this as an American. In 79 1/2 hours, Wednesday night at 8pm, all of downtown Pittsburgh will go under lockdown, and in the security zone, martial law will take effect: 1. Restricted vehicle traffic, including horrendus commutes. 2. Security checkpoints with metal detectors and needing IDs 3. Curfews 4. Schools, including universities, (as in send kids home) and other businesses closed, except for some restaurants to feed the participants, and all of our hotels booked. With my husband on mandatory three day vacation. 5. Our three rivers will be shut down to boat traffic. 6. Planes taken out of our skies. 7. Amtrak trains and Greyhound busses are not going to stop in Pittsburgh. 8. Massive numbers of protesters likely to show up. 9. Local big businesses targeted for vandalism because they are the "man". 10. Our local police department for our needs will be going down to a skeleton crew, all of the rest of the cops will be working the G-20 event. FBI, Homeland Security, Secret Service, National Guard, PA state police, Allegheny County police, local police, borrows from police forces from Eastern Ohio, Eastern PA, probably from West Virginia and western Maryland. Over 4000 cops without the Federals. We have already had Whole Foods targeted, with someone putting something into the salad bar. But we are going to be vigilant, they wont get by with much more than that....Starbucks has already shatterproofed their windows. We are ready. Come and Get US. Suzi Steelers 4ever. Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
8:34 pm	Farrah Fawcett Considering how much grace and class she and Ryan handled her illness and death, I am declaring that Farrah and Ryan are my heroes. Not my "Hollywood" heroes, my real heroes. Suzi (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
1:19 pm	"Are together for eternity....40,000 men and women everyday" this! Today I took part in the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Race for the Cure.....When I did it in New Jersey last, I think there could have been maybe 5,000 people. in 1997, the race I went to in New Jersey maybe had like 135 people..... FOR THIS ONE IN PITTSBURGH THIS MORNING, THERE WERE EASILY 40,000 PEOPLE WALKING. In the end, for this 5k, I must have walked seven miles, including looking at the booths and going to and from my car. The traffic was crazy..... It was beautiful to see..... (Asking for donations is not the purpose of this post. It was about the heart growing pleasure of seeing all these people care, but I think I would be remiss in not putting in a link to donate so here: https://secure2.convio.net/rfcptt/site/Donation2?idb=1060245860&df_id=1300&FR_ID=1080&PROXY_ID=1526242&PROXY_TYPE=20&1300.donation=form1) I felt my friend Tom, walking with in spirit. I really miss him. I am proud of my grandmother for surviving it for ten years. But it is nice knowing how much people care. Suzi Edited to add: When I was there, I asked how many people were participating, and they said that 38,000 registered online to participate, and that about 3,000 more registered that morning. Now the newspapers are saying 33,000. So of those 38,000 people, 8,000 didn't show up? I dunno. Maybe that is life too. (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
5:41 am	Last May we had our house entered and stuff stolen from our house. I posted about that. Yesterday, one of the cops, Stephen Maylhe, that responded to our call was gunned down by the nutcase here. Strange when you actually met someone in the news like that. S. (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 29th, 2009
7:03 am	Rest in Peace, Andy...... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Hallett (Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
5:40 am	As a CPA, I have to say something..... There is a lot of press now about how the bailout money for the brokerage houses went to outrageous bonuses for the people who made the decisions that caused the economic crisis in the first place. There is a lot of cross fingerpointing going on in Washington. First, the biggest problem isnt the bonuses. It is from AIG and the Brokerage houses putting as their first priority for those funds paying off the counterparties to the credit default swaps and other such contracts that basically transfered your money into the hands of some very rich people to begin with, virtually intentionally bankrupting the country. Over a hundred years ago, the likes of Andrew Carnegie and JP Morgan had unbelievably extravagant life styles while the common person suffered. (Like being able to host into the wee hours of the morning lavish dinner parties that included such things as gold sandbuckets, gold shovels, sandboxes with jewels hidden inside) Then the great depression hit, and the working people of the country rose while such people faded. This is now that in reverse. Second, the money isn't gone. Those rich people to begin with are now just even much richer. On your tax and investment dimes. Third, the people that made up those bad contracts, didn't have any reason to care that they were making such bad contracts, still dont have any reason to care. Fourth, those mega rich people the money went to are not just Americans. Alot of your bailout money is going to rich folks overseas. Fifth, even though I am not a lawyer, I can tell you straight out. The government did not have to take any responsibility for putting any funds towards honoring those bonuses or extravagant contracts. They could have written the funding provisions to keep the hooks for those onto the backs of those brokerage houses and AIG. Just think about every grant they ever gave any company. If they gave a grant to a company would they be okay with the grant money being spent on other purposes than what the grant was supposed to be used for, even if the company was going to go bankrupt otherwise? Sixth, if anyone in Washington didn't have the smarts to know the above they are so deficient in their knowledge of how business works that they shouldn't be in Washington with any say with about any of this. The above is just commonsense in the business world. They should be held responsible for knowing. Every politician who had any part in the bailout process is guilty. Why should I know about these things? Because I have been an accountant for over 13 years, and have seen some of these things first hand. Suzi (Comment on this)
Monday, December 29th, 2008
6:00 am	HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! :) (Comment on this)
Monday, December 15th, 2008
12:07 pm	PLEASE DON'T HAVE THIS HAPPEN TO YOUR JOURNAL FRIENDS I have talked before on this board about my friend Tom and his battle with breast cancer. This summer we got indications that the end was near, and I asked him, what is going to happen if something happens to you? How will I know? He said that he had given his executor a list of all the people to contact to tell them that it was over, and that I was on that list. The last time I spoke with him was on October 17, when he said that he was too tired to talk to me and that from then on, he would call me based on how he was feeling. And then I waited. I tried calling him back, first his voicemail answered, then his phone was shut off. I started assuming that he was too sick to talk, probably moving in and out of hospice to hospital, with comas, etc, then at the beginning of the week I started writing an email to his executor asking how he was. And I didn't send it, thinking that a bother to his executor, that if there was news he would tell me. I had been friends with Tom since 1992. For about three years alone, 2005-2007, we would talk on the phone for about forty five minutes plus each night at 8pm. He helped hold my hand through being on my own for the first time, because he had a lot of experience with that and I held his hand through the problems he had with being a full time caregiver for both his grandmother and his father, because I had a lot of experience with that. (Although he was having that at the same time as having raging cancer in addition). To make a long story short. Tom died on October 28. And I only found out incidentally yesterday. Because I trusted too much, I guess. Even though we had provisions made, and someone dropped the ball, please don't let this happen to your friends here if something were to happen to you. THE BOTTOM LINE: PLEASE LEAVE PROVISIONS WITH SOMEONE IN YOUR PHYSICAL LIFE TO MAKE A POST IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO YOU. IT IS HORRIBLE TO MAKE SOMEONE ASSUME AND WONDER. Thank you for your attention to this message. Current Mood: disappointed (Comment on this)
Monday, November 17th, 2008
4:37 pm	Happy Birthday Masq The group you gave me in All Things Philosophical and here have really given me things to think about and grow on. Thank you for bringing everyone together. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 12th, 2008
3:23 pm	Whats in a name.... Over the course of my childhood, I saw copies of my birth certificate, gotten out for various reasons, with my name as Sue Ann. When I was a teenager, I saw my original birth certificate, the handwritten one from the hospital, with my name handwritten clearly as Sueann. Because I was snooping where I shouldn't have been, I didn't ask my parents about it until much later, wondering for a while what my real name was. But then they explained that the lady made a mistake on the handwritten one. No big deal. My grandfather dies, and I see a copy of his death certificate, expecting to see his parents names of Anna Anderson and Karl Lund, as my granpa was a Lund. But instead I see Karl Svendsen. Turns out that in 1909, my family was still using the old Scandinavian standard of Karl, Svend's son, and that my great grandfather chose the name Lund for his family when he went to the new standard of a set surname. Interesting to know that my great grandfather's name was Svend, but otherwise still ok. Well, my Aunt dies yesterday morning, and my uncle and cousins get out her birth certificate to go to probate with, and well, evidentially the woman I knew as Aunt Ruth for the last 36 years of my life was really Aunt Augusta Anna....And well, I wouldn't be so surprised if I was the only one that was surprised at that....My father never knew that, evidentially my uncle her husband since 1949 never knew that, nor her kids. We are even wondering at this point if she had ever opened her own birth certificate to find out her own real name..... WIERD.... Suzi (Comment on this)
Friday, September 26th, 2008
7:01 pm	Out on the Town! I am off to go to an Obama Rally, to watch the debates.....! Hope you are having as good of a night as I think I am going to have! (Comment on this)
Sunday, July 20th, 2008
10:02 am	Barnes and Noble: A lesson learned You might be savvy to this, but I wasnt, and I think there is a chance that some of you might not be either, so I am posting. Yesterday I bought two books to read from the new paperback releases shelf at our local Barnes and Noble. I was looking for something new to read, if I had wanted an old book, I would have gone to those shelves, or even the library. I get one of the books home and it turns out that it is just a reprint from 1989. And from the storyline of the book, a very dated story at that. The other book actually is new. But I think that is deceptive practices. Maybe on the part of Barnes and Noble, maybe on the part of Bantam Publishers. Be aware to look for the copyright dates. Suzi (Comment on this)
Saturday, May 31st, 2008
1:55 pm	My Meme 1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times. The Sixth Sense 2. Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in the theater. The Lion King 3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie. Kristin Thomas Scott, Philip Seymour Hoffman 4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie. Tom Cruise, Jude Law 5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from. Field of Dreams If you build it they will come. 6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs. Grease 7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with. Grease...youre the one that I want...:) My fair lady 8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see. The Passion of Christ....if for no other reason historical purposes. The Quiet Man with John Wayne The Inn of the Sixth Happiness with Ingrid Bergman On the Waterfront 9. Name a movie that you own. The Name of the Rose, Brigadoon, The three Musketeers, The Handmaids tale. 10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting skills. Barbra Streisand 11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what? No. 12. Ever made out in a movie? Yup. 13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven't yet got around to it. Insomnia (cause it is norwegian like my mom) 14. Ever walked out of a movie? If I could have gotten home some other way, I would have left dumb and dumber. 15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater. Deep Impact. 16. Popcorn? Of course. 17. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)? 1 or 2wice a month. 18. What's the last movie you saw in the theater? Iron Man 19. What's your favorite/preferred genre of movie? Superheroes. 20. What's the first movie you remember seeing in the theater? A seventies flick called the Abominable Snowman when I was about five. Sometimes my dad wasn't that bright, had nightmares for weeks. 21. What movie do you wish you had never seen? Highlander the Source....I wish I could get those hours of my life back. 22. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed? Spy Kids, Flash Gordon, Heman and the Masters of the Universe. A fish called Wanda I liked Howard the Duck too. 23. What is the scariest movie you've seen? The Sixth Sense 24. What is the funniest movie you've seen? Blazing Saddles, Anything with the Muppets. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
2:33 pm	A lovely prison....and sleeping with big soup cans In case odd folks are reading this, what I am about to write applies to my personal life only. I am a lot more together in my professional life, as many can attest. Right now the biggest issues of my life are my lovely prison and my big soup cans. Living with John has been a little tense sometimes. It is strange going from a life where I tell myself what to do, to a life with more structure. John is providing me some discipline, which is a good thing. If I could, I would vege out all the time and never get any housework done, like I often did when I was living by myself. Its a much better thing to not have the laundry pile up and dirty dishes in the sink. I was even able to organize my clothes into piles of what I can wear to work and not. It turns out I have twenty five pairs of panty hose, forty pairs of knee highs, and 87 pairs of white socks (which I can't wear to work, but is good for wearing around home). (I think I got so many pairs of white socks because I kept buying them and never worn them out in the last twenty years or so) But I don't always like him coming after me to get things done, even if it is in my best interest, so sometimes I feel like this is a lovely prison. My second big adjustment is that sleeping with John is like sleeping with big soup cans. His body is hard like soup cans, and make a deep indentation on his side of the bed like big soup cans so that I am always sleeping on my side on a tilted mattress against something hard. But I guess it is a small price to pay for someone who has so many muscles that he can lift heavy things for me. Funny of the week: I got a box of sample knitting from my grandmother who died. Her knittings were in moth balls. I tried to gently wash some of her sample knittings in with my underwear, so my underwear smells like moth balls now. Hope I wont have a problem with that at work. Hope all is well, and happy new year. Suzi (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, December 28th, 2007
10:27 am	Christmas and Eye Exams I have a lot to do today, so I can't write a long post.....Had a lovely Christmas with John, and our friends Karima and Theresa. On Wednesday, I almost failed my Pennsylvania drivers eye exam because I am almost blind in my one eye. But can see quite fine enough with the other eye though.... Gotta bolt. Hope all is well, and I will you all a Happy New Year, and a Gute Neu Jahre for my German friends. Suzi (Comment on this)
Friday, December 21st, 2007
1:37 pm	A friday post Well, I am finally here in Pittsburgh, my new life. Last Saturday my father and my best friend Amy came by and finished packing my boxes for me, I am only now starting to get over my bronchitis that I can trust my voice, but my energy levels still aren't quite what they should be. At my new job, which I visited twice now, a woman named Rhonda also has what I am getting over. I have forgiven my parents for kicking me out of the house in 2005 when I was sick, because they really came through for me now. I have also forgiven Chris (my ex) now, because I know that when I was told that I couldn't take care of myself it was bullshit. I proved that in the the two years I was at RK. I 'got my rocks back'. Life came full circle. After I left my parents cleaned out my apartment so I can probably get my deposit back. The moving truck came on Sunday, it took about three hours for them to pack up the truck, and they were off. My parents then treated me to lunch at my local diner in Livingston and at another table was Dick Codey, the former Governor. I then drove to Pittsburgh, at one point on the trip it looked like a blank page in a coloring book. All outlines filed in with white, even the sky was white. Then when I was about an hour and a half from my new home, it started to blizzard. When I finally got here, the movers were impressed that I got here first. On Monday my father had come out, and took a look around. He said my place had character. My new place is old and a little run down, but at least John is here. On Tuesday, the cat and I almost had a "cat" astrophe...The cat got out, and when I tried to pick him up, he seriously hissed at me. Then he spent three days apologizing, by nuzzling etc. On tuesday my friend Theresa also came over to help me unpack. She works about four miles from where she lives and walks to work there for fun. She is also a bit of a drill seargent. But that is more about me needing to get into shape to be able to keep up with her. On Wednesday, I cried sick to John and basically watched TV all day. (Don't tell him I was faking it, please). Yesterday and today I went into my work to orient myself. First I misunderstood my instructions from Mapquest and went the wrong way down a one way street (I need to get a garmin for this place). I am glad I am not dead. My new co-workers and job seems nice, but not like RK. Maybe like RK was about twenty years ago, but less rich and glitzy. They are just now for the first time going paperless. They are just learning how to code reference in Adobe. They are going for training in the new Risk Based Standards on January 7th. My desk is about fifteen years old, and I am in a particitioned (sorry for spelling) off corner of what I think should be a conference room but they do say that they are going to redesign the offices this next summer. They have a lot of clients here, mostly small businesses, and some mom and pops. My firm has about thirty employees, including the principals. I hope that I can apply what I learned at RK and really help them. I got another job offer for a job with Federated Investors, doing tax returns for Mutual Funds, like being in RK's tax department. But I think that I will stay with the small firm instead. I might be able to help them more there. But I hope I won't be hurting my career too much because Markovitz Dugan is so small with only thirty employees. I don't know, what do you think? Luke's inauguration went well, but I decided to stay home and rest instead. No use in seeing fancy people, just to see fancy people, and John was so busy working the room that he wouldn't have any time for me.... Well that is it. Hope all is well for now. Take Care, and If I don't hear from you, Merry Christmas. Love, Suzi, CPA (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, December 17th, 2007
6:14 pm	"There's a new girl in town..." Well I have now moved to Pittsburgh PA to be with the man that I love. So now I live about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to the Cleveland hellmouth. But then again, that is about the same distance as I used to live to the Blue Hole hellmouth in Camden County NJ, so maybe that is not much difference. I hate this moving stuff. It really sucks. I am exhausted. And John keeps his place much colder than I am used to. I used to keep my apartment about 81 degrees. John keeps his place around 66, but now he put it to 69 due to me getting over bronchitis. But I love him so I am still happy, and I slept better last night than I had in the last three years (even if he did come over in the middle of the night for some cuddling), because I feel so safe. I am going to talk to John now about going to the mayor's inauguration on Thursday. I am going to do a longer post tomorrow about how life comes full circle some times. (Cause I still have off) Hope all is well my friends. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, September 17th, 2007
7:54 am	I want to say it first.... The Sopranos didn't deserve it, for that ending... Sally Field should have been allowed to have her say... Suz (Comment on this)