Finally! An Update!!

So, I am tired of everyone yelling at me for never updating this thing. I have more important things to do with my time, like watch America's Next Top Model. Anyway, in the months since the last update, the grand BR has been dealing with refugees...i mean, evacuees....survivors....internally displaced persons.....whatever they are calling themselves this week, from Katrina. Then...oh wait...another hurricane. It hit far too close to home for me. My parents were without power for a few weeks, no water, trees down. But our house is fine. My family is fine. All is well.

School was cancelled for the Tennesse game, I mean for Rita....and we didn't even win the game. My darling Tigers have been playing horribly this year. Interceptions, turn-overs, fumbles...we are really just giving the ball away. Yet somehow we have only lost one game. Fascinating. We pulled off a victory this week against Fla. despite 5, count them 5, turn-overs.

The only thing worse than the Tigers football skills, is the Saints'. Do not even get me started.

Midterms are this week. I have no idea how half of the semester is gone. None. It seems like it has only just begun.

There is a another effing hurricane brewing in the gulf. Wilma. Sigh. Maybe it won't hit us.....although we seem to be a bullseye this year.

They have reopened the section of Government that intersects River Road near the River Center. It was closed due to the River Centers use as a shelter. Maybe now I can make it to my apartment in less than two hours.

Oh, and my phone is dead. I will now be communicating via smoke signals. Keep your eyes on the skies.

I like:
1. phones that work
2. German Chocolate Cake
3. black and white photographs

Unacceptable

In a word, that describes the government's treatment of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina....unacceptable. As Americans, we rely on our government to protect us in times of dire tragedy. This has been called the greatest natural disaster in American history, and yet, our leaders were lackadaisical in their relief efforts. Spearheaded by a man whose previous job involved Arabian show horses, FEMA was shown in the last week to be incompetent, bumbling, and inefficient. While thousands were huddled outside of the Convention Center, Bush merely did a fly-by on his return from a month-long vacation. But, oh my, he had to leave two days early. I voted for Bush, a fact of which, at this moment, I am not at all proud. Over the last week, our fine President has proven to be as incompetent as liberals were accusing him of being for the last five years. After the Hurricane hit the coast, he stayed in Texas for three days while the citizens under his leadership were drowning in the rising waters. The place for the President in the face of an eminent natural disaster is in the White House, poised for action, not down in Texas on vacation. No matter where the hurricane hit, it would have been on his soil...the country for whose safety he is responsible. When Bush finally did make it down to the coast, he told tales of the days when he would party in New Orleans. He told Director of FEMA Michael Brown, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." He also told of how Trent Lott lost his house, but he will rebuild it even greater...and Bush looks forward to sitting on his porch. I'm sure that these words were designed to inspire hope, but they only succeeded in being callous and inappropriate.

In addition to the woefully inept efforts of Bush and Brown, Condi Rice spent last week going to musicals (where she was booed) and shoeshopping (where a patron was thrown out of the store for asking "How can you buy shoes when people are dying?")

Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, cursed the world for their lack of aid. Broussard, President of Jefferson Parish, told a sorrowful story that can be echoed throughout the region. There are tales of lost loved ones and broken households, houses never to be seen again and lives needing to be rebuilt. And in their time of need, when New Orleans and the gulf region looked to their government for help, they were let down.

New Orleans will rebuild, and it will once again be a great city. This disaster will serve in the future to fix many of the government's problems. But that will be too late for the estimated 10,000 who died awaiting rescue.

Unbelievable

Katrina hit hard.

If you are in the Baton Rouge area and would like to volunteer over the next few days, here’s some contact information:

LSU Field House and PMAC — Call (225) 219-0821 to volunteer at the shelters set up on campus.

American Red Cross — The Louisiana Capital AreaChapter of the American Red Cross requests assistancefrom anyone willing to help, especially people withmedical or mental health backgrounds. Call (225)291-4533 or toll-free (866) GET-INFO. Volunteer packets are available at www.batonrouge.redcross.org. Volunteers unable to get through on busy phones lines can go to the chapter office at 10201 Mayfair Drive.

Salvation Army — The Baton Rouge office, 7361 AirlineHighway, is setting up warehouse distributions inBaton Rouge to send supplies and aid to the NewOrleans area. They need people physically able tounload trucks and help organize supplies. To help,please call volunteer coordinator Karen Hills at (225)355-4483.

If you are not in Baton Rouge but are still availableto help, contact the following shelters to offer your services:The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals andthe state Department of Social Services have opened Special Needs Shelters. They are designed for peoplewho are homebound, chronically ill or who havedisabilities and need medical or nursing care and haveno other place to receive care. Those seeking shelterwill be screened.
Here are the telephone numbers:• Baton Rouge (800) 349-1372 • Alexandria (800)841-5778 • Houma/Thibodaux (800) 228-9409 • Lafayette(800) 901-3210 • Lake Charles (866) 280-2711 •Shreveport (800) 841-5776 • Monroe (866) 280-7287 •Slidell/Hammond (866) 280-7724

Please keep New Orleans and Louisiana in your thoughts and prayers. This is a great website made by a friend of mine with a lot of updated information and links.

Lending Library

Ok, so this library in Holland has started lending out people. Not for prostitution of anything like that, but to challenge stereotypes. A Christian can "rent" a Muslim and ask them all the personal questions that they couldn't in polite company. I am very disturbed by this.

Also, we used to look like this. And mate like big-horned sheep.

Today marks the end of the first week of my junior year. I really like all of my classes except of course geology, which is the bane of my existence. It is, however, taught by this cute little guy that you just know goes home and examines rocks for fun. I have to read a book a week for my stupid geopolitics class, and my international law professor's aunt is married to the prime minister of Cameroon. Which explains why he can't have a class go by without mention of that country.

I am so sick right now. It is miserable and I hate it.

There are many new people at work (campus.) I have met a few of them, and they seem pretty cool. I miss our old crew still, but these might do fine. Two of the girls are freshmen, and Amanda says that they looked very scared and small.

We finally have internet and cable in my new apartment. In order to set it up, I had to give Cox $155, a promissory note on my firstborn child, and a goat. I still have to buy books for classes and such. I think I will see if the LSU bookstore will consider bartering. I hear it is the wave of the future.

I am going to take some more Claritin now, and bide my time until 5 p.m. arrives and the weekend begins.

Like:
1. Libraries (that lend books, not people)
2. Horses
3. Cold medicine

Triumphant return

I am back! Arizona was very fun...and very hot. It was the middle of monsoon season, so in addition to 110 degree temps, there was ever-present humidity and rain. It was not comfortable. It didn't rain for my cousin's wedding, however, and it was beautiful. She made a gorgeous bride, even if she is my age and shouldn't be getting married in the first place. I hung out with the family more than I would have cared to, but I see them rarely so I have to log in the time. I suppose that everyone thinks that their relatives are the weirdest people on the planet, but I am convinced that mine really are.

School began today. Blah. First day of junior year. I am getting old. I saw all of the freshmen wandering around campus today with their maps and new sorority shirts on, and I had less patience with them than I have in the past. It seems that they all just keep getting smaller. I'm not sure what that is about. School just puts me in bad mood. This has been a really fun summer, and I don't want to start back with studying and homework. The only thing that makes it worthwhile is football season starts in 12 days. Man, I am so excited. Picked up my tickets yesterday. They are black and white with our names on them, not creative or attractive. Whatever...football is football.

I still don't have a parking tag. The parking office at LSU seems to think that it is a good idea to mail the tags to the students' home addresses two days before school starts, when they would obviously be back in BR. If they ticket me, I will murder someone. I also don't yet have internet or cable in my new apartment. There isn't much for me to do in there except set up my room. It has taken longer than previously expected for me to unpack everything...it is still not done.

All for now...hope the first week is great for everyone.


I like:
1. college football
2. weddings
3. oatmeal raisin cookies

Moving

I move today. Finally. I was supposed to move on the first, but then there were paint issues and such...so today is the day. They had to repaint the whole thing, including Med's dark green with pink bordered room. And the bathrooms have gross 1970s wallpaper in them, so that is going to have to go. One of my current roommates brought a trailer from home (she is from Alabama, what can I say) so she is going to help me move my stuff in that. We should look appropriately white-trash, rocking out the bright blue trailer.

I'm always amazed at people's generosity, most likely because I am not very generous myself. I'm an only child, give me a break. I have had numerous people offer to help me move, and one of my friends just decided to give me an entertainment center and another gave me a bookshelf. Thanks to all. I am still in need of a desk, however. And we need a TV to go on that entertainment center. All of that can wait.

This will be my last post for a while. Moving and such. Then on Saturday I am flying out to Arizona. I hate flying more than words could ever describe, so be thinking about me this weekend. Hopefully I won't plummet to a fiery death. Hope the rest of the summer is great for all...school starts in 2 1/2 weeks. Get excited.

I like:
1. history
2. Winston Churchill (I'm pretty obsessed...I've read no less than 8 biographies)
3. roast beef sandwiches

No underlying theme

So, my new best friend, EJC(the third) recently told me that I do not update enough...and that is just unacceptable. I don't update because nothing exciting really happens in my life. I work. That is it. I'm just so corporate these days. I just went down to the cafeteria in the capitol...bought lunch...brought it back up here and ate it at my desk. I mean, I just can't get away. Too much to do. Right. I spent the first half of the day writing a paper for internship credit. I'm pretty sure the paper was due on Friday. Can't be certain... I just email it in. If anyone asks...email just isn't reliable these days.

Some of my friends from home came in this weekend. They are always fun. I don't want to be one of those sad people who peaked in high school. But to be perfectly honest, I was really much cooler then. Oh well.

I move on Wednesday. This has been such a long, drawn-out process I will be so relieved to get it over with. I know you aren't supposed to end a sentence with a preposition. I really don't care. The Med and I are moving to a cute little townhome down the way. I am so excited about it. The median age of the place where we live now is around 12. All rich kids whose parents pay for their college and their nice apartment while they laze around the pool all day and play volleyball. Do I sound bitter? That's because I am. We have a gate here which is just an annoyance more than anything else. They put up concrete pillars around the exit so no one could sneak in that way, and it was about a day before someone rammed into them. The gate is supposedly a safety feature. We have had two stabbings in there, so I'm pretty sure it isn't working.

I go to Arizona on Saturday. My mom is from there and we are going to my cousin's wedding. My cousin who is one month older than I am. To say that freaks me out is a gross understatement. And she is marrying a hot, rich, successful businessman. I'm 20 and my family is already asking why I can't marry as well as Bree. It is ridiculous.

The balloons are coming back to town!!!!! The National Balloon Championship is Aug 3-7. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I will only be able to go on Friday since we are flying out on Saturday, for which I am not sure if I will ever forgive my mother. Everyone should check it out.

If anyone hasn't seen Wedding Crashers...just go. It is the best movie I have seen in a long time.

A 10th planet was believed to have been found. Go here and share what you think a good name would be. This is like a geek's dream.

Finally, a Kenyan man was reported to have offered twenty cows and forty goats to Bill and Hillary Clinton in exchange for their daughter, Chelsea. I think it would be a fair trade. Generous even.

I like:
1. Patriotism
2. Guys who aren't idiots
3. The fact that I am going on vacation in a week