1999

1999

Stroudsburg, PA (January to June)
Bryn Mawr, PA (June to October)
Springfield, PA (October-2012)

My age: 43- 44

Work-  I was the Stroudsburg High School Principal for the 1998-99 school and then the Principal for Springfield High School for the 1999-2000 school year. On the first day of my new job, I had to go back to Stroudsburg for the funeral of one of my favorite students. He died in a terrible car accident and it was so hard to be away form this community at this time.

Music- I used to know every band, every musician, every song, all the lyrics.  Now, I don't know most of these performers and I am not sure I can name a song that most of them released.

• Lenny Kravitz 
• Sarah McLachlan 
• Britney Spears 
• Enrique Iglesias 
• Kid Rock 
• Madonna 
• Cher 
• S Club 7 
• Christina Aguilera 
• Whitney Houston
• Mariah Carey 
• Backstreet Boys 
• Jennifer Lopez 
• Pearl Jam 
• Foo Fighters 
• Ricky Martin 
• Eminem 
• Limp Bizkit 
• The Offspring 
• Red Hot Chili Peppers 
• Santana 
• Shania Twain 
• TLC 
• blink-182 
• Phil Collins 
• New Radicals 

Movies- I didnt see most of these popular movies.

• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 
• The Sixth Sense - this movie was great and I think the writer never wrote a movie as good as this one.
• Toy Story 2 - I like this story line.
• The Matrix 
• Tarzan 
• The Mummy 
• Notting Hill 
• The World Is Not Enough
• American Beauty 
• Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me 
• American Pie 
• October Sky - this was a feel good movie.
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut 

Travels- Tibet and Nepal, Canada,  CA, NJ

News events:

Everyone worried about Y2K and the consequences of the new millennium.

• My Space was officially introduced to the Internet .  I never joined My Space but I did finally get on board with Facebook in 2008.
• Bluetooth is announced. It would be another 8 years before I have anything that is blue tooth capable.
• The initial release of Napster changes the music industry forever. 
• U.S. women's soccer team wins the FIFA Women's World Cup champions and they continue to win and win and win.
• Start of Millennium celebrations worldwide. All of these celebrations were fun to watch.
• The Euro is established as the new common currency of the European Union and that was a game changer for traverses.
• The United States Senate acquits President Bill Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice. 
• The cartoon show “SpongeBob SquarePants” premieres on the Nickelodeon cable network and a few years later, the christian right determined that Bob was gay.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 11,000 for the first time. Now, its more than double that.
• Helen Clark becomes the first elected female Prime Minister in New Zealand.  When will the USA have a female president? 
• Lance Armstrong wins his first Tour de France. And now he is disgraced for his cheating and lying.
• Dr. Jack Kervorkian was sentenced for the second-degree murder of Thomas Youk. ( assisted suicide .  The Death With Dignity movement has now stepped up and has had an impact in numerous states.
• The West Nile Virus first appeared in the United States.  In 2010, my doctor thought I might have the West Nile Virus. 
• Two boys 17 and 18 years old go on a rampage at Columbine High School Killing 13 people and forever changing our views of school safety.
• Boris Yeltsin resigns as President of Russia, replaced by Vladimir Putin and this creep is still in office.

Family and friends

• o   I bought my first home.  I was so damn scared to go in to debt for 30 years.  I paid $165,000 for a four bedroom, 1 1/2 bath house.  The lot was 70' X 300'.  Most of the back yard was dense woods.
• o   I was back in Philadelphia after a 20-year absence.  I got to spend much more time with my family.
•       This was the first year without my mother so all of our holidays were different, empty.
•      I went to CA to bring in the new millennium.  I thought the celebrations would be fantastic in San Francis but they were just mediocre.
• o   Sharon, my sister, and her family moved back from Spain.  It was nice to have them home again.
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