Office prank with balloons

My co-workers and I decided to fill up one of my co-workers offices who has been out on jury duty for 2 weeks with balloons. We also sent 1 balloon in a box via messenger to his house...reminiscent of the movie Seven. We spent all day inflating these balloons and one co-worker actually got injured as the one she was blowing popped her in the eye. And people say productivity in this nation is declining!

Matthew Fox from LOST finds my office building!

Just ran into Matthew Fox outside my building...what a great start to the week.

He was on Regis and Kelly, which is filmed here. As you can see, I got pretty close to the dude.

Lots of professional autograph seekers and paparrazi though. They are really annoying.

I was probably one of three real fans out there. One of them was this younger girl with her mom. She got a great photograph with him. Way to go! Did you know he was going to be a banker after graduating from Columbia?

This season of LOST is great thus far. The Asian dude in the season is getting on my nerves though. Gold Star for placing him in a previous movie distributed by New Line Cinema...any guesses?

Superman is in the building!

If you missed this year's Slam Dunk Contest, you missed The Official Dwight Howard show.


Check this out.

Moving from Brooklyn to Brooklyn

Yesterday, A and I helped her brother move into his new place in Williamsburg from his 2nd floor walkup in Greenpoint. That's a lot of stairs! Thank God his new place had an elevator. In fact, his new place is really sweet. "Let me upgrade ya!"

Lots of dust inhalation from his old place...5 of us total, so pretty efficient. I'm dreading moving myself, which may happen within the next 6 months.

Roger Clemens is lying...and we all know it (including him)

What is really annoying about the hearings simulcast on ABC News Now, CNN, and ESPN is seeing these really unattractive congressmen berating not only Clemens, but also the weasel-looking Scott McNamee. It is a total ego trip for these losers to be wasting good taxpayers' money to create a circus for the media.

Not to mention, nobody's opinion was going to be changed on this hearing. There was absolutely nothing getting accomplished in this hearing.

Clemens: I didn't take HGH
McNamee: I gave it to him

It could have been over after that.

The weirdest twist is Mrs. Clemens (previously seen in SI's Swimsuit issue) got a little juice from the weasel as well.

Problems in the world that could be focused on but took a back seat: (a) War in Iraq, (b) War in Afghanistan, (c) Potential Recession, (d) Subprime mortgage losses, (e) Sudan. Not sure how one baseball player taking steroids required 15 of our nation's finest to sit in a cramped room just to get their mug on TV.

Another shooting at another college

This one is close to my heart as I used to take cello lessons at NIU in Dekalb. (did you know Cindy Crawford is from there?)

Anyway, here is the email notice that went out to all students:


Northern Illinois University
CAMPUS ALERT
3:20 p.m.
There has been a report of a possible gunman on campus. Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear. Avoid the King Commons and all buildings in that vicinity

Hope this gets resolved swiftly and everyone is safe!

Goldman Sachs covers transgender sex change

Yo, next time you get that wink from that chick with an adam’s apple, think twice before winking back.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Wall Street is typically considered a pretty conservative place to work. But the classic white-shoe investment bank is loosening things up by adding health benefits that cover sex-change operations.

Not only is Goldman Sachs ranked No. 9 on Fortune's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For, it also appears on what could be a list of transgendered job-seekers' ideal employers as well.

Goldman added health-insurance coverage of sex reassignment surgery as part of a push last year to attract top talent and recruit and retain a more diverse workforce, the company said.

The surgery alone could cost an individual anywhere from $5,000 to $150,000 if they paid out of pocket, depending on their particular situation, said Pauline Park, chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy, a group that campaigns for transgender rights. That figure doesn't include hormone and other drug treatments.

Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500)' plan covers the actual surgery, as well as transgender-related prescription drugs, such as testosterone injections, said spokeswoman Gia Morón. It does not cover electrolysis and other cosmetic treatments, she said.

The surgery is free under the company's HMO and PPO plans as long as patients are screened and diagnosed with transsexualism and see an in-network doctor. Drugs are subject to regular prescription copays that are typically $5 to $30 a month.

Goldman is not the only financial firm that offers such benefits. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Deutsche Bank (DB) and Wachovia (WB, Fortune 500) also offer some level of coverage for transgender treatments, according to a poll by the Human Rights Campaign - a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy group.

The HRC asked Fortune 1000 corporations, large law firms and other companies to volunteer information on their policies and benefits; 519 employers responded. But companies on its list may cover just hormone therapy and related prescription drugs, and not the sex reassignment surgery, as Goldman does.

For example, Wachovia's health plan deems sex reassignment surgery "elective," and not medically necessary, so it doesn't pay for actual operations. But the bank does allow transgendered employees to take short-term disability leave for surgery and covers some related prescriptions, such as painkillers and antidepressants, said a company spokeswoman, Megan Roberts.

Wachovia also offers post-operative counseling and provides diversity and sensitivity training for the "transitioning" employee's officemates, allowing the person to "feel like they can come back to some sort of normal work environment," Roberts adds.