Archive for April, 2007
hoos for hokies
Friday, April 20th, 2007candlelight vigil
Thursday, April 19th, 2007
where were you?
Wednesday, April 18th, 2007Where were you on Monday morning when you found out about the shootings? What were your initial thoughts? Here’s ours.
On Monday morning a little before 9:00 am, I headed out early to Trader Joe’s for groceries. I treated myself to a free coffee and casually browsed the almost empty store strolling through the isles, a luxury for those who are familiar with the store. At 9:56 am as I was waiting at the stoplight Matt called me to let me know there had been a shooting on the campus of Virginia Tech. At that point we weren’t aware of additional details. Thoughts ran through my head…it’s probably domestic, maybe a staff member…assuming it was a bizarre isolated case.
I got home and had to ask again…
10:22 am Laura: Did you say 2 people were shot?
10:22 am Laura: at VT?
10:22 am Matt: 2 dead
Then Matt was fed some information from a friend. He had received the following messages from a friend who was listening to a scanner.
[10:02] : sounds like the shooter may be on third floor norris
[10:03] : they are trying to get rescue squad on to second floor
[10:06] : screaming
[10:06] : request for master key
[10:06] : radio cut out
[10:09] : shooter is down
[10:23] : norris is a massacre
[10:23] : now they are trying to figure out if more than one gunman
Over the next few hours, I watched the news, while Matt continued getting updated reports from our friend. We were all glued to the internet as well.
11:48 am Matt: he is hearing much much worse than 1 dead 9 wounded
11:51 am Matt: reports of entire classrooms shot up
11:52 am Matt: from him: you don’t jump out of a 3rd story window on a rumor
11:58 am Laura: How the F**K are they going to evacuate the campus?
11:59 am Laura: hospital spokesman: 17 people VT students treated for gunshot wounds.
11:59 am Matt: that’s more consistent with what he has said
12:00 pm Matt: let me know what the news conf says
12:01 pm Laura: I will.
12:06 pm Matt: areas being evacuated
12:18 pm Laura: MSNBC is talking to a kid shot in Norris.
12:19 pm Laura: He said the shooter came in and fired a round of shots. He said the shooter was Asian and in his 20s.
12:19 pm Laura: Shooter is dead.
12:19 pm Laura: Possibly as many as 20 fatalities.
12:20 pm: Confirmed one shooter, he is dead.
12:20 pm Laura: At LEAST 20 fatalities.
12:20 pm Laura: The kid said the shooter randomly shot, left and tried to come back, but students held the door closed.
12:21 pm Laura: 20 dead.
12:21 pm Laura: VT officials say 20 killed.
12:21 pm Matt: 
12:21 pm Laura: 28 people being treated for injuries.
12:26 pm Matt: 20 fatalities, 28 injuries
12:28 pm Matt: how does any organization have the right people on staff to quickly deal with the aftermath of a situation like this. I hope they’re bringing someone with experience in to help them through the next week, months
12:30 pm Laura: Oh, I am sure they will.
12:30 pm Laura: I mean, who expects this would happen.
12:31 pm Matt: my co-worker pointed out that most schools probably have a plan for these things, since it’s been happening for so long
12:32 pm Laura: I mean, there’s a lot they can put into place for most things: suicides, rape, alcohol abuse, but how do you have a program in place for a crazy?
12:32 pm Matt: yep
12:33 pm Laura: And a crazy STUDENT. Not a crazy escaped inmate.
12:33 pm Matt: right
12:45 pm Laura: At least 22 dead.
12:45 pm Matt: yah
1:00 pm Laura White House commented on shootings
1:20 pm Laura: Worst shooting on history on a United States campus.
1:32 pm Laura: I just can’t believe this happened at Tech.
1:32 pm Matt: it could happen anywhere
1:32 pm Laura: I know, but of ALL the college campuses in the US.
1:32 pm Matt: yah
1:35 pm Laura: Wonder if this will have an effect on concealed carry permits.
1:35 pm Matt: VT is furthest along at outright ban of CCW on its campus.
1:35 pm Matt: They will probably use this to further this.
1:36 pm Matt: However, CCW permit holders are the most law abiding gun owners there are.
1:36 pm Laura: I’m in shock.
1:42 pm Laura: How are they going to hold class in that classroom in Norris from now on?
1:42 pm Matt: unknown
1:48 pm Laura: Columbine happened 4/20/99.
1:48 pm Laura: Today is 4/16.
1:51 pm Laura: Some f**khead on MSNBC is using his time on air for his own personal agenda. His stepson was shot at Columbine, and he’s just going on and on about how people at Columbine have gone scot free.
2:03 pm Matt: “Worst shooting on history”
2:13 pm Laura: They are saying that if the numbers rise it will be the worst mass shooting in US history.
2:13 pm Laura: Right now it is the worst shooting on a campus in U.S. history.
2:13 pm Matt:
2:13 pm Matt: and they had the escaped convict thing in August 06
2:13 pm Matt: and all these bomb hoaxes this year and last
2:14 pm Laura: Well, this dwarfs all of those incidents.
2:14 pm Matt: obviously
2:14 pm Laura: The escaped convict thing was, well, wacky.
2:14 pm Laura: Bomb hoaxes are, well, regular.
2:14 pm Matt: not what happened last year
2:14 pm Matt: people constructing things to look like bombs and placing them on campus?
2:15 pm Laura: But, nobody associates bomb scares with Virginia Tech.
2:15 pm Matt: right
2:15 pm Laura: The escaped convict thing, maybe.
2:15 pm Laura: Can you imagine? From now on when we say, we are VT alums, they are ALWAYS going to associate this with the school.
2:16 pm Matt: yep
2:16 pm Laura: And, I thought the Michael Vick association was awful.
2:16 pm Matt: heh
2:16 pm Matt: stop feeling sorry for yourself
2:16 pm Laura: I am so sad for these families and the university.
2:16 pm Laura: That’s who I am really sad for.
2:16 pm Matt: yep
2:16 pm Laura: But, I am just thinking of ramifications for the University.
2:17 pm Laura: How many parents are going to yank their kids from the school? Are admissions going to suffer? Will incoming freshman choose another school instead?
2:18 pm Laura: They are saying the gunman chained the doors.
2:18 pm Matt: co-worker’s wife said “he’s not going to VT”
2:18 pm Matt: co-worker’s response was that it could happen anywhere.
2:18 pm Matt: I wonder what came of the reports that it was more than one gunman
2:18 pm Laura: Yeah.
2:20 pm Laura: She probably doesn’t know that as far as large campuses go, VT is one of the safest schools around.
2:20 pm Laura: This is so going to taint how people feel.
2:23 pm Laura: But, I think that people are going to have knee jerk reactions for years and years.
2:23 pm Matt: yep
2:23 pm Matt: it would be interesting to read about what happened with austin after the bell tower thing there
2:23 pm Matt: if it makes admissions less competitive that’s fine… more VA students will get in
2:24 pm Laura: I imagine you will always have a large Southwest Virginia group there. This won’t affect their enrollment.
2:24 pm Laura: Bush is speaking at 4:15
2:26 pm Laura: Government officials, death toll 31
2:27 pm Laura: Worst deadliest shooting in US history.
2:39 pm Laura: They are talking to another student on the phone right now.
2:39 pm Laura: He’s basically reporting the same thing.
2:43 pm Matt: on msnbc’s picture, that guy who’s being hauled out by cops, his leg is turniquetted
2:43:49 PM Matt: http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Video/070416/n_vatach_rescue1.ss_h.jpg
2:44:05 PM Laura: Yes.
we are virginia tech
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007We are Virginia Tech.
We are sad today and we will be sad for quite awhile. We are not moving on, we are embracing our mourning. We are Virginia Tech.
We are strong enough to know when to cry and sad enough to know we must laugh again. We are Virginia Tech.
We do not understand this tragedy. We know we did not deserve it but neither does a child in Africa dying of AIDS, but neither do the invisible children walking the night to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the baby elephant watching his community be devastated for ivory; neither does the Appalachian infant in the killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy. We are Virginia Tech.
The Hokie Nation embraces our own with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think, not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imagination and the possibility we will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness.
We are the Hokies. We will prevail, we will prevail. We are Virginia Tech.
…you know our hearts are with you
Monday, April 16th, 2007Worst shooting on history on a United States campus happened today at Virginia Tech. At this time, at least 22 dead, 28 injured. I’m speechless.
Tech Triumph
Techmen, we’re Techmen, with spirit true and faithful,
Backing up our teams with hopes undying;
Techmen, Oh, Techmen, we’re out to win today,
Showing pep and life with which we’re trying;
V.P., old V.P., you know our hearts are with you
In our luck which never seems to die;
Win or lose, we’ll greet you with a glad returning,
You’re the pride of V.P.I.
Chorus:
Just watch our men so big and active
Support the Orange and Maroon. Let’s go Techs.
We know our ends and backs are stronger,
With winning hopes, we fear defeat no longer.
To see our team plow through the line, boys.
Determined now to win or die:
So give a Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hi,
Rae, Ri, old V.P.I.
Second Verse (seldom used)
Fight, men, oh, fight, men, we’re going to be the champions
Adding to our list another victory;
Football or baseball, the games in which we star,
They’re the sports which made old VP famous.
Hold’em, just hold’em, you know the Corps’ behind you
Watching every movement that you make.
Winning games was nothing for our teams before you –
Keep the “rep” for VP’s sake.
what do you mean?
Thursday, April 12th, 2007No Big Lots? No Christopher & Banks? No Food Lion? No Dollar General? No Sonic? No 24-hour Wal-Mart Supercenter?
But, we do have Ikea, Crate and Barrell, Lush, Macaroni Grill, Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware. Oh, and a Trader Joe’s! Have I ever told you how much I love Trader Joe’s?
Lose a little, gain a little.
underwater ice hockey
Thursday, April 12th, 2007Yes, this really exists. See video here.
mah nà mah nà
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007While we are on the subject of music… You probably heard this song recently for Saturn and Big Lots commercials.
And to think… Mah Nà Mah Nà didn’t really originate with The Muppets. It came from the soundtrack of a softcore pornography movie.
tuna marinade
Wednesday, April 11th, 20072 cups soy sauce
1/4 water
4 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1/2 cup chopped scallions
2 garlic cloves, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
lemon juice
olive oil
Thoroughly combine all ingredients except for the olive oil. Marinate tuna fillets or steaks in the sauce for 3 hours, turning every hour. Brush tuna with olive oil and cook under broiler for 3-5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the steaks. Steaks can also be grilled.
pearls before breakfast…
Wednesday, April 11th, 2007Must read the above article first…
I’m the first to admit, I don’t know Bach about Classical music. My musical background is almost non-existent. I took piano lessons, briefly, but quickly found other activities to occupy my time. I tried out for the “Sweet Sixteen” choir in middle school, but was rejected because I can’t carry a tune. Church choir and youth handbells were my next stint, where I was tolerated in the eyes of God (I didn’t read notes so instead I highlighted the notes I was to play). When high school rolled around I wanted to be in band (in percussion of course where notes weren’t as important!), but if I marched I wouldn’t be able to cheer during the football season. Cheerleading won. So, I found my creative outlet in drama instead and was inducted as an honorary “Associates” (aka band geek) member.
But, don’t take me wrong. I adore music. Celtic, Bluegrass, Old-time, Oldies, Classic Rock, Folk, New Age, Big Band, Broadway, R&B, Country and everything in between are on my iPod. As many of you are well aware, I can boogie down and know enough Girl Scout camp songs (complete with hand motions) to fill an entire evening. But, when it comes to classical music, I’m as ignorant as they come. I managed to slide by Music Appreciation for my humanities requirement in college, so I never learned what exactly I should/need to appreciate.
So, if I were in L’Enfant Plaza that day would I have stopped? Probably not. I certainly wouldn’t have recognized the music being played, and more than likely wouldn’t have recognized Joshua Bell (although I DO know who he is!). I accept that fact. Kind of like I suck at math and will always rely on my husband for .html support. However, after reading this article, I want to learn me some classical music, but I am realistic. I just want to reach Classical Music for Dummies level.