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June 23, 2004
A Special Person
There are people who enter our lives daily. Some are there for a fleeting moment. Others make a lasting impression. Some are mere acquaintances, others the closest of friends.
But every now and then, someone enters your life and you know they are a special someone. The mere mention of their name makes you smile. And the longer you go without direct contact, the more you crave it.
Last Summer I met just such a person. We dated for the three weeks she was in town, and then we tried a long distance relationship. She expanded my mind. Hell, she blew my mind.
She showed me that I could love again. She made me see that a long distance relationship should not be feared. She was a challenge to my routine, in the best way possible. She was astonishing. She was "crazy fun".
Why do I bring this up? Well, I was having a shitty day. Nothing seems to be going right in a lot of ways. Then, out of the blue, someone IMs me to tell me that we know someone in common.
They make me guess at who it is, and eventually I figure it out. And this person mentioned that she had been talking about me, saying nice things about me, recently. We've been out of touch, and apparently this conversation happened when we hadn't talked in months.
I know it is silly and strange, but this cheered me right up. I everyone can have someone like that in their lives. Someone that brings a smile to your face at the mere mention of their name.
Thanks 'A'.
Posted by Samer at 09:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Pancreatic Cancer
I found out yesterday that my uncle has pancreatic cancer. I'm very saddened by this news.
I just wanted to share a great site, which has helped me as I learn more about this type of cancer. It is the Pancreatic Cancer pages from Johns Hopkins Pathology. The site really has a lot of very good information for those who need it.
I'm keeping my uncle and family in my thoughts.
Posted by Samer at 12:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 11, 2004
Potential
A piece of paper
A slice of nothing
Wood, pulped and bleached
Thinner than a millimeter
Wider than all of history
Longer than the breath you take
Ink slices the white
Laying down the path
The story begins
The paper holds it all
Every possibility
Every feeling
You ask me
What I see in you
Why I love you so
You are my paper
I am your ink
The potential is great
Posted by Samer at 10:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 07, 2004
Joy and Sorrow
Gibran Khalil Gibran is probably best known for writing The Prophet. That book, and his others, are very moving, spiritual books.
What most people don't know about Gibran, though, is that he was also an artist. A painter. In 1997, I made the pilgrimage to Bsharri, where his museum is located. There, I saw his manuscripts, his artifacts, his tomb. But what struck me most was his art.
It was striking and beautiful and disturbed. It was obvious some of it was done by a man in love, maybe broken hearted. Or, just possibly, I was trying to read something into it. One particular art work resonated deeply with me.
The painting is called "Joy and Sorrow". It features two people, a man and a woman, sitting on a rock, a boulder. The sky is a mix of blue clarity and grey cloudiness. The earth is made of the darker tones of blues, blacks and browns. The two are possibly on a beach.
The woman sits on the right of the rock. She faces us, comfortable on a reddish blanket. She leans on the man, her right shoulder on his, her red hair almost touching his head. She is mostly white with some grey in the shadows. She is smiling, happy as can be.
The man sits on the left side of the image, looking crowded onto his sliver of rock. His left shoulder faces us, his face looks down with a sad expression. The dark brown hair is the most color this man has seen, he is more grey than white. More sad than happy.
The two of them are bound together. Tied at the wrist. Joy and Sorrow, Sorrow and Joy. Inseparable. That hit me like a ton of bricks.
Today, I look at that painting every now and then. It mirrors how I feel often. Chained to the red headed "Joy", waiting for my stint as "Sorrow" to be over. Those bonds will never break, but I keep hoping that joy will find its way to the other side of the rock.
But does that mean sorrow will have to move over, as well?
Posted by Samer at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 06, 2004
The Good Doctor
My good friend 'L' did her dissertation defense on Friday and she passed.
For the last few weeks, I have been helping her with her data and giving her constant encouragement. I've seen her become giddy with joy when some complicated test on her data resulted in something unexpected. I've seen her become morose when she would see the enormity of the task ahead of her.
But I believed in her. I knew she had the data, she had the knowledge. And I knew she could put the two together. I stayed up with her, sometimes until 5a, sometimes until 8a. I wrote programs for her, encouraged her. Many a sleepless night ensued.
But all of it was worth it. Worth it to see the text message saying "I passed!". Worth it to know I had a small role in helping a friend conquer a big challenge. But what really made it worth it was talking to her the last couple of nights. She not only thanked me for the help with the data, saying that words cannot describe how much she was thankful for my help and for me being in her life.
She told me she could not have done it without my help. As flattered as I am, I doubt she's right on that count. But then she said the most unexpected, most emotional thing. She told me that she took strength from my encouragement. That she was able to continue when she thought all was lost, in part, because I believed in her.
I don't know about you, but that is a powerful statement. That's something amazing to me. Someone, my friend, on the verge of giving up, took strength from what I could offer her. That's just too powerful for words.
I wish, still wish, I could have been there on Friday. She did a great job without my being there, but I wish I could have witnessed it. The culmination of 28 years of education.
Congratulations, Dr. Van. Congratulations, my friend.
Posted by Samer at 11:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 03, 2004
Googlewar/Googlefight
When you search with Google they tell you about how many results there are. Well, there are two sites that take that information and let you find out the winner between two choices.
Who wins between Googlewar and GoogleFight? Why don't you go and find out...
Posted by Samer at 09:52 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 01, 2004
A Giant Has Passed
I found out today that Joe Rizzo passed away May 27.
Joe was the News Operations Manager at WTTG's "Ten O'Clock News" when I was working for Fox News Network. When Fox laid us off, Rizzo, as he was known, immediately offered to hire me as a freelance editor.
He was a joy to work for: sarcastic, funny, a great teacher and occasionally hot headed. He took pride in helping out people new to the world of television, guiding them and bringing out the best in them. Rizzo, more than anyone, taught me how to get it done under pressure.
He was a master at everything he did, winning a couple of Emmys as a producer. He started his at WTTG when it was still part of the DuMont Network and worked there for over 40 years. He produced, he edited, he kept that station on the air through sheer will power.
No one who knew Joe could imagine anything going wrong that he could not fix. I thought of him often, though I've not talked to him in years. He was a great force in my life, and I will miss him.
Posted by Samer at 11:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Hives
I'm covered in hives. Apparently an allergic reaction to something. No clue what that something is.
For food, I had pineapple, cashews, mint chocolates and a fried chicken sandwich. I ate pineapple all last week. Cashews I love and eat regularly, but this was a new brand. The same thing with the chocolates, never had these before. And I have that chicken sandwich once a week from the same place.
I also had a couple of Advil because my back hurt like hell. Not been a good day for me.
The doctor said it does not have to be something I ate, but I can't imagine what else it might be. There's nothing that I can think of that is different in my atmosphere. Or anything that I came in touch with that I've not been in touch with before.
This is a miserable way to spend the day.
Posted by Samer at 10:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack