I noticed that my last entry had been in October 2010. I apologize but with the new job and other things in my life my blog has taken a back seat. With the new year, comes new challenges, opportunities and much to discuss.
First, let me start with, what an eventful year this is starting out as. January 1 started with the opening of Waterbury CT's City Hall. After an extensive renovation of a building designed by Cass Gilbert, the City Hall had its dedication on January 1. All the local politicians were there in their glory. Cass Gilbert's granddaughter was there and spoke about how proud she was of the renovation work that was done. About 500 people showed up to see what had been done with their tax dollars to the building. Sad in a way that only 500 cared to come down to the festivities considering the City of Waterbury has over 100,000 people. Anyway, we were able to tour the building which was magnificent. Breathtaking is probably a better word. It was brought back to the glory it was in the early 1900's when it was built with original colors as well as clean white marble and shiny brass. This is truly something for the City of Waterbury to be proud of. Truly something for my husband on the Board of Alderman who worked very hard to get done to be proud of. Congratulations Paul!
On January 5th, I had the honor to attend the Governor's Inaugural Ball. It was a ball (ha, ha!). It was fun to see all the dresses, men in tuxes, and the various politicians out doing their thing.
On January 7th in New England we had a snowstorm that was predicted to dump 1 foot of snow in areas around Connecticut where I live. It was predicted to start in the afternoon. The forecasters said once it started it would get heavy fast. They were correct. Streets were shut down, I-84 came to a stand still, people were stranded, people abandoned their cars on the highway, and overall it was a mess. We simply did not heed the warnings. We laughed because school was cancelled but when I look back about the time that the first flake came down, the youngest group would have been getting out of school. In my city, we have large hills with narrow streets. This means that buses have to negotiate cars and other items to get around. Imagine doing that in the snow with a bus full of 5 to 10 year olds that are not your kids. I think it was a smart move.
Now, move to January 8th. I get a bizarre message from my son "Daddy was close but he is fine". I was very confused so asked what he was talking about. Before he answered I got my answer from the Washington Post. Congresswoman Gifford was shot by someone in Tucson. My son text me that it was at Oracle and Ina close to where my ex-husband lives and some very close friends of mine live. Immediately, I made a phone call to Tucson to make sure they had not been to Safeway as I know they go there from time to time. Thank God for my friends, this was not one of those days. Unfortunately for many, they were not so lucky. My prayers and thoughts are with them and their families.
After receiving this awful news, we were on our way to a Gala at the newly renovated City Hall. This was to raise money to continue to keep up the gardens and other aspects of City Hall. This City Hall is probably one of the most beautiful in the country, if not the most beautiful. The Gala was lovely and my hats off to Cathy Smith and her team for a lovely evening. It was like having cocktails in a palace.
Now move to January 12th. Another big snowstorm has moved up the east coast and paralyzed the State of Connecticut once again. This time Governor Malloy has requested all non-essential personnel stay at home. State employees now have a day off. The City of Waterbury has closed down. The City of Danbury had declared a level 3 emergency which means if you are not essential personnel you will be arrested if you are on the street. That is in effect until noon. I would definitely be considered non-essential personnel. I cannot imagine what an MBA can do to save the world!
So in 12 days, there have been snowstorms, balls, galas, openings, shootings and only God knows what else. I can only imagine what the rest of the year holds. I am exhausted already and the year has just begun. I hope I can catch my breath this weekend before another round starts.
Happy 2011 folks!!!
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