Bellagio: Chorus Line

The Bee, The Headless Driver, and Miss Universe

Otherwise known as a day in the life of Kira. I had four random things happen to me today:

1. The Bee: When I walked out to my car after work I discovered a dead bee and a leaf laying in the backseat. I've had leaves before but never a dead bee. I disposed of it as quickly as possible, namely brushing it out of my car and into the parking lot. Sorry bee.

2. The Headless Driver: Then, while I was driving home I got behind the world's slowest driver. I tell you we weren't even going 50 mph, and I couldn't change lanes because everyone else was zooming by. The funny part was I couldn't see the driver's head, and it looked like no one was in the drivers seat. When I finally got over I couldn't resist taking a peak, and sure enough it was a little, old lady hunched over the steering wheel with black sunglasses covering half her face! (Come on, it was pretty funny.)

3: Miss Universe: This morning at work I had to go up to the 5th floor, and on my way back to my office I ran into two of our custodians. Now, I am a firm believer in making friends with the custodial crew because you never know when you might find yourself locked out of your office or have the dehumidifier overflow and need their help. So, one man I've known for almost 3 years, and the other has been on our floor for about 10 months. The latter rarely says a word, and our morning coversations usually consist of me saying "Hi," and "Thank you," when he stops by to the empty the trashcan.

Rewind to 7:45 am and picture me staring at my closest trying to decide what to iron today. Girls, you'll understand when I say, I had nothing to wear! Nothing was making me happy, but I finally found a floral sundress with matching scarf I usually tie around my waist. I grabbed a brown suede jacket (in case the office was freezing like usual) and headed out. Back to this morning. I'm walking toward the stairs and Mr. Silent says, "Wow, you look like Miss Universe. You look so beautiful." I'm not sure what shocked me more, the fact he spoke to me or the fact he put two sentences together! It was really funny and gave me a much needed boost!

4. The Key: This isn't necessarily funny, but I got locked out of the office. I never, ever take my key to my Pilates class because someone is always there when I get back. Well, today this was not the case. Why did everyone decide to take their lunch break at the exact same time, I ask? Fortunately, there were familiar faces staffing the reference desk and I was able to get back in. The moral of the story: don't leave the office without your key.

Day Trip: Rodeo Drive

On Saturday my best friend and I hit Rodeo Drive. It was great fun, and we went in various shops (Dolce Gabbana was awesome!), took pictures, and generally enjoyed in the sights. Unfortunately, we also made a couple of mistakes...such as parking in the first garage we came to and being way overcharged. It made perfect sense. Instead of wasting time driving around looking for a decent rate only to realize we should have parked at option #1 we decided to save time and just do it. It took us less than 30 minutes to discover we shouldn't have been so hasty. Then, we did the same thing for lunch. We found a cute, but as we discoved later mediocre cafe and stopped to eat. If we had kept looking we could have found a more satisfying option. We did stop in Sprinkles cupcakes (after I left directions in the car) and had to guess at how to get there. (yes, I know we could have just asked someone, but that would have been far to easy) I couldn't recall the name of the street Sprinkles was on and vaguely remembered surrounding streets. So, I guessed at which way to go and ended up taking us the looooong way around. Our feet hurt so bad by the time we left! However, I am happy to report the cupcakes were delicious, particularly the dark chocolate. :-)

In honor of those who served

Remembering Normandy

Today marks the 65th anniversary of D-Day, forever immortalized as the date that altered the tide of World War II's European Theater. We honor the countless individuals who served, who suffered, and who died on this day in and the 2 1/2 month liberation campaign known as Operation Overlord. I salute you and thank you for your sacrifice made to the betterment of mankind.

Below is an excerpt of Pres. Reagan's 1984 D-Day speech:

Something else helped the men of D-Day: their rock-hard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we’re about to do. Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: “I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.” These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.

High Flight: A Poem

I rediscovered this poem at work today while editing an oral history interview, and even though I've heard it before, for some reason it really touched me. Most of us probably recognize it from President Reagan's eulogy for the crew of the space shuttle Challenger, and I had always associated it with that time. However, somehow today it took on a new meaning, and I wanted to share it with you.