Where Have All the Good Posts Gone?

by Julianna Squicciarini

It has come to my attention that *I* am the only one writing anything on this blog. Or at least, I’m the only one posting to it since the beginning of the year. Scary, you know? I feel like the single sailor trying to keep the ship afloat…

No, not really. But if you’ve wondered where we went and what’s going on in our lives, here are the Highlights of Our Lives for the past few months, and our mysterious absence from our blog.

• First of all, the efforts of the main authors of this blog (that being my sister Morgan and myself – no offense to any of the secondary writers) have been focusing their attention on building a more spiritually-based blog centering around our faith and connection between other young women around the globe. You can check it out at http://www.candlelighters.wordpress.com. As our personal community grows, so is our online presence, and it is so encouraging – and amazing! – to see what G-d has done for us.
• As to our physical lives, you know that Morgan is now engaged. Because of this all-important fact, you can well imagine how her life has gotten busier over the last few months, during her courtship. Now that she is offically engaged, life will probably be getting even busier! That’s a good thing. If you want to stay updated with her life, feelings, plans, details, etc., be sure to check out her personal blog at http://www.torahgirl.wordpress.com, where she will posting things like that.
• I have been starting to implement my 10 Plagues Project – a community service idea to fill my summer with profitable and meaningful activities. Interested in what exactly I mean by that? Feel free to leave a comment asking for more details (it’s kind of a long story), or email me and I’ll send you my PDF explaining things. Anyway, to that end, I have signed up yet again to walk with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on their October Light the Night walk here in Charlotte. If you live in the area and want to walk with us (no donation necessary!), please join our team at http://pages.lightthenight.org/nc/Charlnc10/Squicciarini. Clicking the red “Join” button at the bottom of the page will add you to our personal team and you’ll be signed up to walk with us on October 16. I’d love to have you with me!
• My sisters and I have continued to volunteer at the USO in the Charlotte Airport. Curious about what the USO is and does? Check them out at http://uso-nc.com/. It’s really cool being able to get through security easily and serve our military from right here in our hometown. We go about twice a month, usually in the early morning on a weekday or on Sunday afternoon.
• You all know about my Valentine’s Day luncheon – third year in a row! If you haven’t read it yet, check out my write-up at http://squicciarini.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/hugs-kisses-the-valentines-day-luncheon-2010/. Not only was this year’s luncheon a smashing success (and probably the best year yet), but I also entered a contest a few days later, competing with a few other girls for the best Valentine’s Day event (in a do-something-for-others spirit), and won first place! It was very exciting. Prizes came flooding in. It was incredible.
• My father’s business is doing very well. Flourishing, in fact. New customers have continued to call, even in this recession. Our father had us schedule set work hours, so we do actually get things done. I’m a schedule freak, so that’s fine with me. Plus, he still allows us to be very flexible. We are now in the process of cross-training, since it looks like our Chief Operating Officer might be moving out and starting a new life soon…!
• Peter is still taking piano, but his final recital is coming up. He’ll be performing Saturday afternoon, May 8, at Mt. Harmony Baptist Church (moments from our house). Email me if you’re interested in coming. This is going to be fantastic.
• My mother and Mary have both had birthdays, which were celebrated accordingly. The post on my mother’s birthday can be read at http://squicciarini.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/thinking-happy-thoughts/.
• I’ve been busier than ever with piano lessons, as I have acquired another four students since my post about them (http://squicciarini.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/play-it-through-to-the-end-and-repeat/). That’s seventeen students! Even I can’t believe I have that many.
• Christine has been on the endless search for a car. This search has been on the side of the road, in car lots, CraigsList, and eBay. She actually went and saw one yesterday – a manual, yellow MINI Cooper – and something might actually happen with that. I’m sure you can easily see Christine driving a yellow MINI. We all can.
• Speaking of cars, Morgan updated her look with a new car, as well. She traded in her bright yellow VW bug for a 2008, vanilla VW convertible. It’s smooth and sleek, and drives like a dream. Drop by sometime to see it.
• We’re planning on opening our pool in very early May. If you’re interested in helping with that, and thus adding yourself almost permanently to our pool-party guest list for Summer 2010, comment below or email me. We’re always looking for willing helping hands, and cold beverages will be complimentary.
• I really do plan to go skydiving for my birthday – want to come with me? Comment below or….email me. (You should know the drill by now <wink>). It will be sometime in June, and you’re welcome to come along just for the ride and the view, if you want.

Well, I think that’s about it. Put down on “paper”, it doesn’t look so busy. But as I was recently telling my dad, sometimes it feels like I don’t have time for anything! Like I work all the time, or something! While that’s not exactly true, life certainly is jam-packed. In an extraordinarily good way! Please pray that G-d continues to bless our family so abundantly.

Allotrope of Carbon…

by Julianna Squicciarini

…more commonly known as a diamond, a transparent crystal of tetrahedrally bonded carbon atoms. This word comes from the Greek ἀδάμας, which means “unbreakable”. Diamond is not as stable as graphite, but has superlative physical qualities, such as hardness and thermal conductivity. Most natural diamonds are formed between 87 and 120 miles below the earth’s surface, under high pressure and high temperature.

Why the mineral lesson? Because diamonds are a girl’s best friend, right? Well, that too.

But more importantly, because there is a beautiful, round-cut diamond sitting on my sister’s third finger right now.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen! Morgan is now officially engaged to Greg Bartos! Mazel tov, congratulazioni, félicitations, glückwünsche, and congratulations! May their future union be as unbreakable as the diamond used to symbolize their attachment. Engagement, wedding, and bridal plans & details will be forthcoming. This is an exciting time for all of us!

Reflecting on a year at the USO

Julianna and I are coming up on a full year of volunteering with the USO – by the end of July, we will have reached 12 months of service at the Charlotte USO. In honor of that milestone, and in the spirit of patriotism surrounding us as the 4th of July approaches, here are the top 10 reasons we love coming to the USO:

1. (M) Any excuse to be at the airport! “Ladies and gentlemen, please keep a close watch on your personal baggage at all times… if you notice any suspicious persons or unusual activity, please report it to your nearest law enforcement officer.” Love it. And there never are any policemen around when this announcement plays.

2. (J) Our ever-growing list of “friends” among the airport personnel: Freddie, Darren, Pete, John Regeis, Mike, Rich, Chris…and the list goes on and on.

3. (M) “WE NEED THEM. THEY NEED THE USO. THE USO NEEDS YOU. IT’S THAT SIMPLE.” 

(You can visit www.uso-nc.org to see what else is going on in Charlotte, or go to www.uso.org to find a center near you.)

4. (J) Those long, introspective walks down the B Concourse to pick up 40 Bojangles biscuits at 6:15am. The walk there is pleasant. The walk back? …no comment.

5. (M) Parking 3 miles from the airport, in the small hours of the morning, and taking an employee shuttle to the concourse. Since we are the only ones not in uniform, most people assume we work at the US Airways lounge. Which sounds a little… sketch, if you catch my drift.

6. (J) Knowing that flashing your biggest, brightest smile and giving your cheeriest “Good morning!” actually will make someone’s day.

7. (M) Employee badges. With photos. As if it wasn’t bad enough to get a driver’s license, here’s another chance to get your picture taken under harsh fluorescent lighting! Yay! When the badges were first issued, there was… a glitch with the layout… so the pictures were distorted and we looked like pointy-headed aliens… however, the updated badges have corrected this fault. <sigh of relief>

8. (J) When some random man or woman decides that standing up front and talking with us is *better* than sitting in the armchairs with free food and free coffee. I mean, I totally agree with them – but it’s always a lot of fun when someone else realizes it, too.

9. (M) The way each shift is a new experience. Searching for dental floss… figuring out how to work the DVD player… learning the subtle difference between video game controllers… shipping a serviceman’s jacket accidentally left behind… trying to locate documents in the B concourse lost and found… meeting a policeman from the K9 unit and his dog… greeting Mr. and Mrs. Jack Ahart as they came through (Jack is the former Charlotte USO director)… flipping through the comments notebook and seeing all the rave reviews for our center… sympathizing with travelers when their flights are delayed another 3 hours… getting the call that our missing co-worker overslept… it’s always different and always an adventure.

10. (J) Getting to know our coworkers really well. Don, who likes to work Christmas Day with his wife, Paula, since they are older and their kids have moved out – what better way to spend Christmas than ministering to our military and spending time with each other? Boyd, who loves Godiva chocolate – especially the White Chocolate Raspberry Star. Oscar, who knows everything about everything going on at the airport, the USO, and the US Airways Lounge. Kathleen, who has gone back to college as an adult to take culinary classes, because she loves to cook. You get the idea. With three hours on a slow morning, people tend to open up about themselves.

Conclusion? We ♥ the USO.

Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult

Peter drove me to the Promenade last week.

It was a strange feeling.

No, we didn’t use my car. He’s a little too big for it, if you know what I mean. And the whole “cute” thing doesn’t fit his personality. Not that he’s not cute, please don’t misunderstand.

We remind him frequently that he’ll make more money when he can drive. The way Quo Vadis operates, it’s always helpful to have a bright, personable, technican who can easily do onsite work and have personal interaction with clients. Despite the incentive, he doesn’t have overwhelming enthusiasm to get out there and practice… but that could just be his laid back, easygoing nature. I don’t know.

He did pretty well, all things considered. There was one moment when I said casually, “slow down…” and he answered indignantly, “I’m going the speed limit!” …and then we almost hit the car in front of us, which had come to a somewhat sudden stop to make  a left turn off Stallings Road.

I’m pretty cool with the whole learning-to-drive thing. My dad tends to get a little …emphatic with his instructions, while my mother brings knitting along to distract her from other vehicles zipping by as the new driver races recklessly along the road. But as I see it, isn’t getting home alive the most important part of driving? That’s pretty much undisputed. So why not have fun along the way, giving someone a chance to make those first-time faux pas… turns that are a little too sharp, struggling to fit into a parking spot, weaving back and forth on the road, getting lost in your own neighborhood…

“Life Is Too Short To Be Small.” ~Benjamin Disraeli

The summer is finally taking off… or should I say, about to begin. Either way, we’re approaching events of particular import and excitement, specifically a cause for great celebration and festivity…

Namely, my birthday.

It’s interesting, the way our family was constructed… that the first child has the last sequential birthday during the year (and the last child has the first birthday). It takes forever to arrive at my birthday in July. But they say waiting for something longer makes you appreciate it more…

At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get a year older, this year, but… after much thought and consideration… I’ve decided to go ahead and have the birthday after all.

Don’t miss an important note from last year, “What if everybody did”…

My Father’s House: Part 5

To wrap up my extended review of the Wisconsin trip, let’s see… where was I? Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were full days (especially with Friday being the actual holiday of Shavu’ot)… by Sunday morning we were more than a little sleep-deprived, but enjoying ourselves immensely and sad that the conference was almost over. After a fantastic class by Daniel Lancaster early Sunday afternoon about the Temple as mentioned in Hebrews, we literally ran out of Beth Immanuel, shouting goodbyes over our shoulders, jumped in the car, and started our drive home.

It was Decided (note: not by me) to change our watches to Eastern Daylight Time as we drove out of Hudson… the assumption being that this would help us easily revert to our own timezone. My objections (1. just because you tell me it’s 5pm doesn’t change the fact that where I am right now it’s only 4pm; 2. my super smart phone gets the right time from satellites or something, so I can’t change it; and 3. why make time go by any faster than it has to… I was planning to use that hour!) were overruled by the majority opinion.

So we made Rockford by 10pm (but it was really only 9pm) and found our hotel (and I say “our” because  we stayed there on the way up/north and chose to return to the same place on our way down/south… loyalty being our defining characteristic). Not surprisingly, the staff recognized us. I do believe it was Mr. Rogers’ southern charm that made an impression on them.

The whirlpool was just as good as we remembered. =)

We dragged ourselves down in the morning at an ungodly hour, as my esteemed father would say, and watched Mr. Rogers cheerfully consume several bowls of cereal (drivers need to be well-nourished, you know). It took all day to get home. I think we only stopped 3 times… although it may have been 4… but in our defense it is very important  to prevent blood clots by walking around at intervals during road trips. And this comes straight from Mrs. Rogers herself.

We pulled into Asheville around 9pm, said goodbye again, this time to Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, with whom we are now on quite intimate terms… and drove to Charlotte. “Meanwhile,” as they say, “back at the homestead,” the family was setting up the most elaborate cheese party I’ve ever seen. They kept texting us about their preparations… and it was everything they described. I love coming home. We were greeted with flowers, and hugs, and a really incredible spread of food, considering that it was after 11pm. And so we sat on the floor around our glass table and compared notes about the week… they told stories about amusing incidents at the Shavuot party here, and we told them stories about amusing incidents in Hudson (yes, Boaz Michael, I’m talking about you… ) and finally we went to bed…

And that is the story of our trip to Hudson.

The End.

My Father’s House: Part 4

Thursday afternoon Julianna and I were part of a tea party, organized by our friend Shayna Michael. It was almost something out of an Austen novel – twenty young ladies sitting gracefully around a long table, each with her own china teacup, delicately sipping tea and making polite conversation, surrounded by lace, fresh flowers, elegant place settings with handmade place cards and personal tea diffusers… and we spent a few hours together, girls of many different backgrounds gathered in one place, girls who shared a common denominator of being those who “keep the commandments of  G-d and their faith in the Messiah.” To me, there was a sense of foreshadowing, as if you could look around the table and see these girls ten or twenty years from now, with their own families, raising the next generation to practice our faith. To glimpse the future like that fills me with awe. This tea party is a lovely memory, and the start of many friendships.

My Father’s House: Part 3

A Sidebar to the Trip: Notes on Being a Squicciarini

Although to begin with we knew relatively few people there, no sooner had we walked in the door when we heard “Are you the Squicciarinis??!” Now, it is a commonly known fact that Squicciarinis love to be recognized. They love for a reputation to proceed them, provided it is not negative. They are touched, and sometimes tearfully appreciative, when strangers have taken care to learn the proper pronunciation of the famous Italian 12-letter name. They are never wallflowers; in fact, they enjoy being the center of attention. They have a smile and a greeting for everyone. They are spontaneous, warm-hearted, and lively. They understand what it means to be an example, a trendsetter, even a leader. They are cognizant that someone is always watching. They carry their distinctive name proudly, walking with confidence into unfamiliar territory. A true Squicciarini is never shy or bashful – these characteristics would go against the  intrinsic nature of their family, the very definition of what it means to be one of them. A true Squicciarini knows what it means to belong to a close family, the kind of family that happily spends time together, appreciates each other, has a home filled with laughter, and knows what it means to say ‘Blood is thicker than water’ and actually live it out. A true Squicciarini recognizes that he, or she, has unique qualities and a personality that stands out from the rest, yet at the same time, is part of a greater whole, a representative of the family at all times.

It was with this mindset, this unspoken statement of purpose, this “definition” if you will, that Julianna and I attended the FFOZ conference. We knew that our steps were directed. We went, we were ourselves, and we were genuinely thrilled to be there.

My Father’s House: Part 1

Or more accurately, “without Dad in a hotel room…”

A scarce 24 hours after the guys returned from their camping trip/mini vacation, three of us left for Asheville to rendezvous with our ride to Wisconsin, Steven and Darnell Rogers. Mom, Julianna, and I spent Monday night in the Rogers’ lovely mountain home and left early the next morning to begin our week long “trek” to Hudson, WI for the annual FFOZ Shavuot Conference.

I say “trek” because 4 total days of driving is no joke, especially when you’re used to quick flights (like me) or occasionally get carsick (like me) or need 24/7 internet access (…like me).

As you might have guessed, 18 hours in a car with friends will make you really close friends by the end of the trip! Or… well, we won’t consider the alternative. Julianna and I had no choice but to come up with a list of what we’ve learned about Steven Rogers, our dependable chauffeur:

• He’s full of those incredibly valuable pearls of wisdom, like, “What can I say? Part of being smart is knowing what you’re dumb at.”
• He is superhuman. On Tuesday, we started driving from Asheville, NC shortly before 6:30am, and made it to Rockford, IL by 5:30pm local time. That, for the uninitiated, is a solid 12 hours of driving. No real breaks to speak of, either. The 7-minute gas stops (both of them) don’t really count, in my mind…
• If you are habitually quiet, people actually listen to you when you speak. You should try it sometime; Mr. Rogers is an expert.
• He is a true Southerner… in accent, style, and gentlemanly behavior.
• He has a deathly fear of MSG (“torture” would be going a Cracker Barrel) but will eat ice cream or beef at almost any time of the day or night.
• He prefers to be addressed as “Mr. Rogers, sir.”
• His long-term vision is to own a farm and be self-sufficient.
• He’s always on the lookout for a Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shop, or Walmart… in other words, a place where he could buy ammunition.
• He has handled being the only man in a car full of women with remarkable aplomb. Our hats are off to him. =)

Deep in the Heart of Texas: Day 7

by Julianna Squicciarini

We are all very grateful to Country Princess for so unexpectedly giving us a break from our series of posts Plus, it was interesting hearing a little more about her time directly from her.

Today, we were very busy working, schooling, and trying to finish up our taxes before Shabbat started (sundown starts the last day of Unleavened Bread, and we are resting). One of the curses of getting older is having to pay tax. <sigh> I cannot believe how much money I am going to fork over to the government tomorrow. <heavier sigh>

But on a brighter note, Christine had a nice long chat on the phone with The Traveler. I’ll let her fill you in on any tidbits she may have gathered there via a comment. We’re glad Morgan is having a good time, but I think we’re all ready for her to come home.

*NOTE*: Morgan has indicated that she is now fine with dogs. (!) While skeptical, we are excited that this trip may have been such a huge turning point in her life…