I had been here five years already training very hard learning about the systems the shuttle the station systems. But everything really became real when I started to work with them.

I grew up listening to Jay-Z and I think the first time I really became obsessed with learning and thinking about lyrics was when I started listening to rap I was 11 12 and started becoming aware of music beyond the familiar.

In the end my pursuit of the elusive New York State driver's license became about much more than a divorced woman's learning to drive for the first time.

Bottom line: if you show a genuine interest in learning about how others became successful you can open up a world of opportunities.

I became CEO at the beginning of the hit on old economy stocks. When something like that occurs in your first six months as a CEO of a more traditional branded firm it makes for a fast learning curve.

Some of the companies we helped start are names you know. An office supply company called Staples - where I'm pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping The Sports Authority which became a favorite of my sons. We started an early childhood learning center called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised.

I am leaving because I have to fight simultaneously a potential recurrence of cancer the Democratic leadership a health care bill that's going to destroy this country my opposition to it and a belief that my party has become what it became - what it campaigned against.

All of this suggests that while citizens became more comfortable with President Bush after September 11 and thought him to have the requisite leadership skills they continue to harbor doubts about his priorities loyalties interests and policies.

That's how easy baseball was for me. I'm not trying to brag or anything but I had the knowledge before I became a professional baseball player to do all these things and know what each guy would hit.

This CD became something of a personal journey for me. The tone of the whole CD is uplifting and inspirational. It's an upper. We have enough downers in the world.