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Leaving work now to begin the long Thanksgiving weekend. I'm thankful for my family and friends, for work to keep me busy and allow me to help others, for a bed to sleep in every night, for food to keep me going every day, and all the other little things in life. Thank you!

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it's all good in the hood.

Saw comedian George Lopez at the Academy of Music, balcony, section C, row A, seat 28, for $39.50 with Ileana.

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Temple men's basketball opens the season tonight ranked #22 in the nation. I like that Juan Fernandez has moved to the point, and Ramone Moore steps into the starting line-up as the 2 guard. I'm really excited for this season, I think this team has a lot of potential to win lots of games.

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Violent crime against immigrants sickens me. This man's duodenum and part of his pancreas and right colon had to be removed and his gastrointestinal tract had to be reconnected. Whether he was targeted because he was Asian and/or an immigrant and/or a non-English-speaker and/or a minority business owner is unjustifiable and beside the point. I hope the attacker is fully prosecuted and sentenced and I pray that this man recovers.

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Iverson is to Besiktas as Beckham is to L.A. Galaxy.

Saw Philadelphia 76ers vs. Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center, north floor courtside, row 2, seat 11, with Wagner.

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I love Rittenhouse Square, plain and simple.

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Felicitaciones al escritor Mario Vargas Llosa por ganar el Premio Nobel de Literatura! Yo he leído tres libros de él: Lituma en los Andes, The Feast of the Goat, y The War of the End of the World, los cuales son muy bien escritos. Me felicita que un escrito americano (-latino) ha ganado el premio, por primera vez desde 1990 (Octavio Paz).

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Let's go Phillies!!!

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It still amazes me that Shawnee now has a turf field. It's been a while since I was a Renegade, but I still missing playing football every fall.

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Stop. Hammer Time.

Saw Los Amigos Invisibles at World Café Live for $18.00.

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today is a brand new day with brand new opportunities!

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Check out my melody.

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Whatcha talkin' bout Willis?

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Going to see Alo Brasil perform at World Cafe Live tonight!!!

lunch, coffee, and office

Today's entry will be very brief. Ileana and I went to Love Park today to have our lunch, but realized very quickly that it was too windy and just a little bit too chilly to eat outside. So, after eating our respective sandwiches, we packed-up and walked to Liberty Place, where we finished out meal indoors.

After meeting with a client last Thursday, who told me that Dunkin Donuts coffee is watered-down and colored with soy to look a darker brown, I've decided to go elsewhere for my coffee this week. Yesterday and today I walked to Cafe Loftus, located on 15th Street between Sansom and Walnut Streets, to get a small, 12-ounce coffee for $1.75. Their coffee is brewed using La Colombe coffee, which is the very well-respected coffee shop right off of Rittenhouse Square, where I sometimes get coffee on the weekends when the weather is warm and I'm able to sit in the square and enjoy a warm cup of coffee.

Finally, I'm happy to say that I'm finally beginning to acclimate to my new office. Three weeks ago I had to relocate due to Sue's return from her maternity leave and thus her reclaiming of her office, which I had been occupying during her absence. I was bittersweet about the move, because on one hand I was happy to have my own space to organize and decorate as I please, but on the other hand I was slightly bitter at having an interior office, i.e., with no windows. After being in here for three weeks (now the beginning of my fourth week), the positive benefits are outweighing the envy-driven drawbacks. Hopefully one day I'll have a spacious corner office with ample sunlight from large office windows, but for now I'll simply enjoy having my own personal office once again.

Birds

Lying in bed yesterday morning, with the door between the bedroom and living room half-open, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a small, dark shape moving quickly alongside the wall. For a few minutes before that, I had been hearing what sounded like someone throwing a pebble at my living room or kitchen window, and was confused at the sound. Now that I noticed this fleeting object, I quickly got out of bed, put on shorts and a t-shirt, and went out into the living room to investigate. A small, brown sparrow had gotten into the apartment and was flying around frantically, trying to get out. The night before, in order to let some fresh air in, I'd left the kitchen window cracked-open only about two or three inches. Somehow our small winged friend had found his way in through that opening. And now he wanted to get out. I opened the kitchen window as far wide as possible. I moved the hanging plant from that window to the open walkway between the kitchen and the living room. And I moved the large plant on the kitchen windowsill to the coffee table in the living room. By doing all of this, there was now a large, unobstructed passage to the open window. And of course the bird was too scared to come low because of Rocky and the Baby. So, I put Rocky in the bedroom and closed the door. And the Baby just stayed put in the living room, a little too unsettled by this strange creature that was flying around her living space. At this point, I tried to usher the bird towards the open window, but it was obviously too freaked-out by the large human waving his hands. I decided that I would just eat my breakfast in the living room and ignore the bird, hoping that it would eventually find its way out. After about five minutes, there was silence. I looked for the bird, but it was nowhere to be found. Happily, our brown sparrow had found his freedom.

Earlier today, on my walk from the office to the Criminal Justice Center, as I was walking north down 15th Street towards Market, I felt something hit my left hand. I raised it toward my face and saw that a round splatter of white goo had landed on the part of my hand behind my thumb and forefinger. I went right up to a food vendor and asked for napkins to wipe my hand. The woman I had been speaking with told me that I now had good luck, and she asked me to give her three numbers to play the lottery. I obliged and gave her three random numbers. Hopefully I truly have been blessed with good fortune. Let's see.

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Ozomatli, at World Cafe Live, one week from tonight.