This Sunday's service at our church was dedicated to Godparents and their Godchildren.
Naturally, I thought of my Goddaughter, who lives far away in sunny Orlando, Florida.
We had brilliant sunshine today, which reminded me of Orlando and combined with the snow still on the ground, made it necessary to wear sunglasses when driving. That is where our similarities ended however, as our high temperature will struggle to get to 25F (-4C), while in Orlando the high is expected to reach 60F (16C).
I also thought of my childrens' Godparents - one lost her life in a car accident many years ago and the other lives in faraway Cyprus. Godparents have a special bond with their Godchildren and are tasked with stepping-in to perform parental duties should their Godchildren need them.
Godparents are like an insurance policy for their Godchildren and those who have them are lucky indeed.
Thoughts also turn to all the children orphaned from the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti. There are reports in the news media of young children surviving on their own, of gangs trafficking in children and of orphanages being overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of orphaned children. One hopes these children had Godparents and somehow these surrogate parents may have survived and can assist them in this hour of dire need.
My dearest Goddaughter, I love you and am here for you, should you ever need me.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Moving
Monday was Martin Luther King Day, during which government offices, Banks, the Post Office and the schools were closed (but of course most people, myself included, were working).
Tuesday, Jan. 19 -- this morning we learned that a plane-load of orphans from Haiti arrived at the Pittsburgh airport, where they were greeted by various politicos (who were working today).
The orphans had been transported from Haiti in the pre-dawn hours on a military flight, which took them to Homestead AFB in Florida and from there a chartered plane brought them to Pittsburgh.
From the airport they were whisked to Children's Hospital (downtown), where after undergoing physical exams, several were picked-up by various adopting families that came from all over the U.S. to pick them up, while the remainder were placed in foster care.
These were 53 orphans whose adoption process had begun months, or for some, even years ago and whose adoption was accelerated by the earthquake in Haiti, which resulted in the collapse of their orphanage. A happy ending to cap the sadness they experienced up to now in their young lives and the misery and terror they experienced the last few days.
The news reports indicate there are approximately 900 such pending adoptions of orphans from Haiti, which are at some stage of the adoption process.
One only wonders however, how many more children were added to the ranks of the orphans in Haiti by the earthquake from a week ago and when they might experience their own happy ending to the nightmare they now find themselves trapped in.
Tuesday, Jan. 19 -- this morning we learned that a plane-load of orphans from Haiti arrived at the Pittsburgh airport, where they were greeted by various politicos (who were working today).
The orphans had been transported from Haiti in the pre-dawn hours on a military flight, which took them to Homestead AFB in Florida and from there a chartered plane brought them to Pittsburgh.
From the airport they were whisked to Children's Hospital (downtown), where after undergoing physical exams, several were picked-up by various adopting families that came from all over the U.S. to pick them up, while the remainder were placed in foster care.
These were 53 orphans whose adoption process had begun months, or for some, even years ago and whose adoption was accelerated by the earthquake in Haiti, which resulted in the collapse of their orphanage. A happy ending to cap the sadness they experienced up to now in their young lives and the misery and terror they experienced the last few days.
The news reports indicate there are approximately 900 such pending adoptions of orphans from Haiti, which are at some stage of the adoption process.
One only wonders however, how many more children were added to the ranks of the orphans in Haiti by the earthquake from a week ago and when they might experience their own happy ending to the nightmare they now find themselves trapped in.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Catalyst
The last few days the attention of the world has been riveted on the impoverished island of Haiti and the unimaginable degree of death and destruction caused by the earthquake there.
Shocking as it might seem, it was reported that the initial emergency responders could hardly land on the single strip of the airport that no longer had any air traffic control tower - and once they landed, they found it very hard to maneuver in the streets, which were clogged with debris and bodies, further complicating their rescue efforts.
I heard one appeal that asked not for emergency relief supplies, but for cash donations, as the island's infrastructure was so badly damaged and the logistics for moving materiel so complicated, that the relief agencies preferred not to have to sort and distribute donations "in kind".
The relief agency donation mechanisms also seem to have entered the 21st century, with widespread adoption of $10 donations performed by sending a text message to a special number. The Red Cross was reporting that they were receiving millions of dollars in donations daily through this mechanism.
The mind starts to wonder why a nation sitting on a major tectonic fault did not have a more robust engineering standard for their building construction. The counterargument I heard was that this is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere and demanding such building codes was a bit too much to ask for.
I can understand the poor trying to skirt any potential building codes that might have existed as they attempted to create a roof over their heads any way they could. When I see the symbols of government, such as the presidential palace, and of the church, such as the national cathedral, when I see hospitals and the UN offices destroyed by the earthquake however, I wonder why these important buildings were not built to a higher standard.
As the days grind on and the relief supplies slowly arrive and get distributed to the survivors, as the medical care slowly reaches the injured, as the people of Haiti absorb another massive catastrophe and begin rebuilding their lives, I hope the rest of us take a moment to reflect.
The lives of every one of us are in a balance more delicate than we care to admit. It might be a violent act of nature, or an act of man, and we could find ourselves facing the same, or worse, fate as the people of Haiti. Maybe the events we witnessed over the last few days will act as a catalyst to make us ask the important questions:
- Are we proud of the way we have lived our lives?
- Have we made a difference?
If we do not like the answers to these questions, we should strive to improve ourselves.
Shocking as it might seem, it was reported that the initial emergency responders could hardly land on the single strip of the airport that no longer had any air traffic control tower - and once they landed, they found it very hard to maneuver in the streets, which were clogged with debris and bodies, further complicating their rescue efforts.
I heard one appeal that asked not for emergency relief supplies, but for cash donations, as the island's infrastructure was so badly damaged and the logistics for moving materiel so complicated, that the relief agencies preferred not to have to sort and distribute donations "in kind".
The relief agency donation mechanisms also seem to have entered the 21st century, with widespread adoption of $10 donations performed by sending a text message to a special number. The Red Cross was reporting that they were receiving millions of dollars in donations daily through this mechanism.
The mind starts to wonder why a nation sitting on a major tectonic fault did not have a more robust engineering standard for their building construction. The counterargument I heard was that this is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere and demanding such building codes was a bit too much to ask for.
I can understand the poor trying to skirt any potential building codes that might have existed as they attempted to create a roof over their heads any way they could. When I see the symbols of government, such as the presidential palace, and of the church, such as the national cathedral, when I see hospitals and the UN offices destroyed by the earthquake however, I wonder why these important buildings were not built to a higher standard.
As the days grind on and the relief supplies slowly arrive and get distributed to the survivors, as the medical care slowly reaches the injured, as the people of Haiti absorb another massive catastrophe and begin rebuilding their lives, I hope the rest of us take a moment to reflect.
The lives of every one of us are in a balance more delicate than we care to admit. It might be a violent act of nature, or an act of man, and we could find ourselves facing the same, or worse, fate as the people of Haiti. Maybe the events we witnessed over the last few days will act as a catalyst to make us ask the important questions:
- Are we proud of the way we have lived our lives?
- Have we made a difference?
If we do not like the answers to these questions, we should strive to improve ourselves.
Friday, January 1, 2010
DIY Fun
I bought the house we are living in in 2000 when we moved to Pittsburgh. It was a new construction.
Now after 9 years, certain things need to gradually be repaired.
An example was the shower in our bathroom, which had started to drip. The obvious fix for this would be to replace the O-rings.
All the faucets and bathroom fixtures in the house are Moen brand - the reason I mention this is that when installed in a new home construction, Moen provides a warranty for as long as the original home purchaser owns the home.
Therefore I called Moen customer service and described the problem - they mailed me the necessary parts and instructions on how to change the O-rings.
Now it was time to "play plumber" - something I've done before, but which I'm not very good at.
After shutting off the water supply, I took apart the shower assembly (not a trivial task) and replaced the various O-rings on the shower cartridge.
While attempting to re-assemble the shower however, I found that I could not quite get the cartridge pushed in all the way into the receptacle.
I repeated the steps over and over again, however the same frustrating result was obtained.
In desperation, I used my trusted hammer to try to hammer the cartridge back into the assembly. This did not work either, so dejectedly I called Moen's customer service number and talked with a representative. He pointed-out that if there was any residual water in the receptacle it would prevent the cartridge from seating fully. Too bad the instructions did not mention this ...
Once the receptacle was dry, the cartridge body did indeed seat fully and I was able to secure it in place and restore water service.
The shower now worked as it was supposed to and did not drip or leak. All I had to do was install the handle and it would be good as new.
The handle however would not install over the tip of the cartridge. It seems that while trying to force the cartridge into the receptacle, I had managed to deform the tip enough that the precisely machined handle would no longer fit. More calls to the customer service number followed, more replacement parts were sent out and the repair was finally completed but with significant delay.
The lesson from all this -- while DIY may be possible by the average person and might even be perceived as fun by some, I think I need much more practice before I can be counted in the ranks of the latter group.
Now after 9 years, certain things need to gradually be repaired.
An example was the shower in our bathroom, which had started to drip. The obvious fix for this would be to replace the O-rings.
All the faucets and bathroom fixtures in the house are Moen brand - the reason I mention this is that when installed in a new home construction, Moen provides a warranty for as long as the original home purchaser owns the home.
Therefore I called Moen customer service and described the problem - they mailed me the necessary parts and instructions on how to change the O-rings.
Now it was time to "play plumber" - something I've done before, but which I'm not very good at.
After shutting off the water supply, I took apart the shower assembly (not a trivial task) and replaced the various O-rings on the shower cartridge.
While attempting to re-assemble the shower however, I found that I could not quite get the cartridge pushed in all the way into the receptacle.
I repeated the steps over and over again, however the same frustrating result was obtained.
In desperation, I used my trusted hammer to try to hammer the cartridge back into the assembly. This did not work either, so dejectedly I called Moen's customer service number and talked with a representative. He pointed-out that if there was any residual water in the receptacle it would prevent the cartridge from seating fully. Too bad the instructions did not mention this ...
Once the receptacle was dry, the cartridge body did indeed seat fully and I was able to secure it in place and restore water service.
The shower now worked as it was supposed to and did not drip or leak. All I had to do was install the handle and it would be good as new.
The handle however would not install over the tip of the cartridge. It seems that while trying to force the cartridge into the receptacle, I had managed to deform the tip enough that the precisely machined handle would no longer fit. More calls to the customer service number followed, more replacement parts were sent out and the repair was finally completed but with significant delay.
The lesson from all this -- while DIY may be possible by the average person and might even be perceived as fun by some, I think I need much more practice before I can be counted in the ranks of the latter group.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Winter Wonderland
"Pittsburgh will be spared the full blow of this winter storm ..." were the words of the weatherman from the local newscast on Friday as he showed the states and cities that were about to be clobbered by the coming storm to our South.
Fast forward to Saturday morning (a day full of planned activities by the way), when we woke up to find everything covered in white outside. Another weatherperson on the morning news was saying how we should feel lucky we "only got 8-9 cm of snow"since states like Virginia and cities like Washington DC and New York City were expected to get as much as 30 cm from this storm.
Here is what it looked like as I stood on my front porch, looking at my neighborhood (my driveway is at the bottom of the picture and the road goes across the middle of the picture at an angle - see the yellow fire hydrant at the edge of the road).
I walked outside and started shoveling my driveway, trying to clear a path to the street which was still impassable at the time.
The snow was still falling, but I was simply trying to clear-up the majority of the snow at that point.
Soon I heard the rumble of the snow plow going up and down the street, clearing snow and spreading salt behind it.
The street was now navigable and I only needed to clear my driveway to enable us to actually attempt to drive on it.
The closer I got to the end of the driveway, the wetter and heavier the accumulated snow became (partially melted by the salt from the snow plow). Eventually the path was cleared and it was time to clear the sidewalks and the pathway to the front of the house. It took about two hours and the falling snow was starting to turn the areas I had cleared white again. It was time to deploy the salt, which was sprinkled on the the surfaces and started working right away, since it was about -2C, still warm enough for salt to be effective.
This is the view of the end result from the sidewalk (standing by the yellow fire hydrant).
My son Greg had to take his last two final exams at Pitt today (yes, they also give finals on Saturday I found out) and we planned to go pick him up in the afternoon.
Unfortunately each municipality is responsible for snow removal on their streets and others were not as efficient as our own local folks.
Still, my wife employed a slow and steady pace and managed to go to the university and bring him home without any mishaps.
Now we get to sit back and relax, perhaps we might even have a white Christmas...
Fast forward to Saturday morning (a day full of planned activities by the way), when we woke up to find everything covered in white outside. Another weatherperson on the morning news was saying how we should feel lucky we "only got 8-9 cm of snow"since states like Virginia and cities like Washington DC and New York City were expected to get as much as 30 cm from this storm.
Here is what it looked like as I stood on my front porch, looking at my neighborhood (my driveway is at the bottom of the picture and the road goes across the middle of the picture at an angle - see the yellow fire hydrant at the edge of the road).I walked outside and started shoveling my driveway, trying to clear a path to the street which was still impassable at the time.
The snow was still falling, but I was simply trying to clear-up the majority of the snow at that point.
Soon I heard the rumble of the snow plow going up and down the street, clearing snow and spreading salt behind it.
The street was now navigable and I only needed to clear my driveway to enable us to actually attempt to drive on it.
The closer I got to the end of the driveway, the wetter and heavier the accumulated snow became (partially melted by the salt from the snow plow). Eventually the path was cleared and it was time to clear the sidewalks and the pathway to the front of the house. It took about two hours and the falling snow was starting to turn the areas I had cleared white again. It was time to deploy the salt, which was sprinkled on the the surfaces and started working right away, since it was about -2C, still warm enough for salt to be effective.
This is the view of the end result from the sidewalk (standing by the yellow fire hydrant).My son Greg had to take his last two final exams at Pitt today (yes, they also give finals on Saturday I found out) and we planned to go pick him up in the afternoon.
Unfortunately each municipality is responsible for snow removal on their streets and others were not as efficient as our own local folks.
Still, my wife employed a slow and steady pace and managed to go to the university and bring him home without any mishaps.
Now we get to sit back and relax, perhaps we might even have a white Christmas...
Friday, December 18, 2009
Foundation
My friend Mike (Mihalis) passed-away last Saturday.
He had been suffering from prostate cancer which had metastasized to his bones. A long-practicing Anesthesiologist, he had no misconceptions as to the diagnosis, nor his prospects. What amazed me was the calmness with which he described his illness and how he had made peace with himself.
I remember when I had first met him at our parish church, following a Sunday service, while we were sitting in the social hall.
Greek Orthodox churches in the US are quite different from their counterparts in Greece. Here the entire Greek community comes together around the church and there is a whole social scene that plays-out in parallel to the religious experience.
When Mike had asked me what I did and I answered I was involved with Marketing, he went on to say he was going to seek my advice about how to best market his Foundation. We talked about many things over the years, however we never got around to discussing this specific topic.
This week, following his passing, we found out a bit more about Mike's Foundation: the Christian Orthodox Monastery Preservation Foundation. Mike had visited many monasteries throughout the world in the last twenty years and he had been truly touched by the monastic way of life. He had used a large portion of his net worth to create a perpetual endowment fund for his Foundation when he financed it in 2001. The goal of Mike's Foundation is "to provide the means whereby monastic communities can preserve, practice, perpetuate and proclaim their unique way of life through the development of tangible and effective projects, programs and activities of a philanthropic, educational and evangelistic nature."
A number of monasteries have already benefited from this Foundation and it's work will be continued, being carried-forth by our parish priest, father John.
I couldn't help but be awed by the calm, quiet and unassuming way in which Mike had made sure that he could continue to aid monasteries throughout the world, helping them create the basis, or groundwork, the foundation so to speak, for continuing to spread the message of Christian Orthodoxy.
May God rest his soul.
He had been suffering from prostate cancer which had metastasized to his bones. A long-practicing Anesthesiologist, he had no misconceptions as to the diagnosis, nor his prospects. What amazed me was the calmness with which he described his illness and how he had made peace with himself.
I remember when I had first met him at our parish church, following a Sunday service, while we were sitting in the social hall.
Greek Orthodox churches in the US are quite different from their counterparts in Greece. Here the entire Greek community comes together around the church and there is a whole social scene that plays-out in parallel to the religious experience.
When Mike had asked me what I did and I answered I was involved with Marketing, he went on to say he was going to seek my advice about how to best market his Foundation. We talked about many things over the years, however we never got around to discussing this specific topic.
This week, following his passing, we found out a bit more about Mike's Foundation: the Christian Orthodox Monastery Preservation Foundation. Mike had visited many monasteries throughout the world in the last twenty years and he had been truly touched by the monastic way of life. He had used a large portion of his net worth to create a perpetual endowment fund for his Foundation when he financed it in 2001. The goal of Mike's Foundation is "to provide the means whereby monastic communities can preserve, practice, perpetuate and proclaim their unique way of life through the development of tangible and effective projects, programs and activities of a philanthropic, educational and evangelistic nature."
A number of monasteries have already benefited from this Foundation and it's work will be continued, being carried-forth by our parish priest, father John.
I couldn't help but be awed by the calm, quiet and unassuming way in which Mike had made sure that he could continue to aid monasteries throughout the world, helping them create the basis, or groundwork, the foundation so to speak, for continuing to spread the message of Christian Orthodoxy.
May God rest his soul.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
A Fool for All Seasons
A couple of years ago I decided to walk to meetings that take place in different buildings around our campus, rather than drive. I figured a little bit of exercise would do me good. While this is fairly easy to do when the weather is nice, the weather this past week provided some challenges.
Friday morning was not typical for early December: temperature was around -7C, the wind was blowing at 30-50 km/h and the wind chill temperature was calculated to be around -15C. While Pittsburgh had been spared the massive snowfall that was recorded to our North and Winter was still officially about a week away according to the calendar, it certainly felt wintry when I began my walk.
Distance to the building I was headed for was about 0.5 km and as I walked there, I saw various co-workers driving by in their cars, giving me strange looks. Once the meeting was completed, I decided to expand my "stroll" and take the 1.5 km nature trail before returning to my office.
A friend who sometimes walks on the nature trail with me stopped his car as I was leaving the parking lot, rolled down the window and asked if I needed a ride back to my office. "No thanks, I'd like to get some fresh air and clear my head" was my response. He laughed as he drove off.
Once I arrived back at my office about 30 minutes later, my face red from the wind and the cold, my glasses fogging-up from the condensation, I saw that same friend in the hallway. He asked if I had taken the nature trail and I told him I had. He laughed again and said it was too cold for that and that I was a "braver fool" than he. We chuckled good-naturedly, but I could tell from his tone he was also slightly envious.
As my body began to warm-up and I got down to business, I found I was re-energized and felt pretty good. When nature throws a challenge like that and you can respond, it has a way of making you feel good.
Some might shake their heads and wonder if I've lost my mind. I just know that they can call me a fool, but it won't change the way I feel once I have overcome a challenge - even a relatively minor one like this.
Friday morning was not typical for early December: temperature was around -7C, the wind was blowing at 30-50 km/h and the wind chill temperature was calculated to be around -15C. While Pittsburgh had been spared the massive snowfall that was recorded to our North and Winter was still officially about a week away according to the calendar, it certainly felt wintry when I began my walk.
Distance to the building I was headed for was about 0.5 km and as I walked there, I saw various co-workers driving by in their cars, giving me strange looks. Once the meeting was completed, I decided to expand my "stroll" and take the 1.5 km nature trail before returning to my office.
A friend who sometimes walks on the nature trail with me stopped his car as I was leaving the parking lot, rolled down the window and asked if I needed a ride back to my office. "No thanks, I'd like to get some fresh air and clear my head" was my response. He laughed as he drove off.
Once I arrived back at my office about 30 minutes later, my face red from the wind and the cold, my glasses fogging-up from the condensation, I saw that same friend in the hallway. He asked if I had taken the nature trail and I told him I had. He laughed again and said it was too cold for that and that I was a "braver fool" than he. We chuckled good-naturedly, but I could tell from his tone he was also slightly envious.
As my body began to warm-up and I got down to business, I found I was re-energized and felt pretty good. When nature throws a challenge like that and you can respond, it has a way of making you feel good.
Some might shake their heads and wonder if I've lost my mind. I just know that they can call me a fool, but it won't change the way I feel once I have overcome a challenge - even a relatively minor one like this.
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