The Media Rocks (NOT)!!!!

So, I keep getting these forwards, forwards about how Bush, Black People, Rich People, even Lesbians, are at fault for the devastation occurring after Hurricane Katrina. Well, I am just damn sick of it. Bush is an idiot, yes. He hired the head of the Arabian Horse Association to be in charge of National Safety, DUMB ASS, but whatever. Black people are the majority in New Orleans, it's true, that's why you see them everywhere on the news, sucks for them to not have any money. Rich people had enough money to get out, that's why they are gone. And lesbians, well, you just go ahead and ask Pat Robertson about that one. Even amidst the disfortune of people around the country, it does not make them responsible for the hurricane. Bush and Robertson are ignorant and that sucks, but they did not blow the winds and knock down all the houses. And the poor, black, rich and lesbian folks are unlucky enough to be a part of the countries out groups, but again, they did not get together and destroy half of the South. So what I am saying is, please stop sending me these damn e-mails. More importantly, stop listening to the damn news.

This is what I have learned through my experiences working with the Hurricane.

1. Catholic Charities in St. Louis doing a terrible job with the 200 evacuees because a fight broke out with two siblings who have been living in a room with 5 other people for 16 days. Please ignore the fact that we have found people's families who were missing, the fact that the whole group of men who are living there organize weekly car washes to raise money to give to catholic charities so that when more evacuees come in they have some money to give them as well (that's right, they don't keep any of the money), or how every single child in the group has gotten their physicals and started school here. (Thank you St. Louis Post Dispatch for the Expose)

2. That the most surprising thing about being in Jackson Mississippi was the 107 degree warehouse (cause who thought Mississippi would be hot in the summer time?) and not the amazing volunteers who showed up from California, Kansas City and St. Louis to help out on their own time and dime (thanks channel 5 for the misquote).

3. That the rich were not effected. I guess my aunt Missy, moving to Houston for two weeks, going back to re-erect her demolished house on September 11th and then being forcibly evacuated again doesn't count.

4. That the people stealing food and diapers and even beer, are terrible looters. Please, tell me, what would you do if you were living on the top of your house, surrounded by water/sewage/gas/trash/dead bodies/etc. I think I might take beer too, anything to make me feel a little bit better. Please, do not assume that if you see looters/gang members/criminals on the news it is the majority of people. Most people are just trying to be ok.

5. If I could remember one thing about this experience it is that people are in the middle of a catastrophe. Many people have felt their family members swept from their hands in the flood. One woman came home to her house to rebuild, went upstairs into her attic and found a family of five dead. Sure, people are freaked out, some are taking advantage of the situation, but most are only trying to survive, and find some joy out of nothing.

6. The volunteerism and donations are amazing. People have driven from all over to help out. We have donations from everywhere in the world, eg., we got canned horse meat from Italy and letters from little kids who were giving away their most precious possessions. Please, do not disrespect the people who have lost everything, including their lives, by believing the news.

Still Learning

Ok, I know some things. Not to sound like a pretentious bugger, but I have done a lot of things with my life. I was in the military, I have been hired and fired, I have been married and divorced, I have worked for big recognizable firms and small family owned businesses, I have moved around the country and I used to go to school in Mexico. So, with all these things that I have done in the past 24 and 1/2 years, and all the learning that I have had to do, there are some things that still just astounded me.

1. Living on the third floor really sucks.
Now, I know that heat rises (see, I know things) but the heat on the third floor is the worst. I don't know who around me has their heater on in the middle of a heat wave, but it must be someone. I have two air conditions set on 65 degrees and I am still sweating like a hole-y bucket. There has got to be heat streaming up from either one of my neighbors or the person underneath me. Either way, they should be shot. It is air conditioner weather, not heater weather. I wonder if those people will be using their air conditioner in the winter (see, I can rhyme too).
My second gripe about my apartment is my shower. I guess I didn't think about it before but temperature control in the shower on the third floor is just terrible. I guess it's because the water has to come up all the way from the basement, but it takes approximately 53.4 seconds for the heat to make it out of my showerhead. Come on people, that's like 1 whole minute. Then, once the water gets there, you just can't change the temperature at all. If I accidentally turn the heat up to high when I first turn on the shower, I have to stand, washing myself as quickly as possible through the most excruciating heat ever. I can turn the handle all the way to freezing ass cold, but instead of shivering as if I am somewhere in the arctic, I can feel my skin burning off as if I am in the pits of hell.
Walking up three flights of stairs takes a lot of work for a lazy ass like me. It takes me like a half an hour to motivate myself enough to walk my dog. I guess it's good for him though, because once I get out there I have to take another 30 minutes to talk myself back up, so he gets to hang out with the people on the street while my selves fight with each other.

2. I am a big fat scare-dy cat.
There is a big tree outside my window. It is a pitiful big thing with branches barely thick enough to support my cat, who weighs nothing, but it scares the hell out of me. I have dreams sometimes that some shady character is climbing up the spindly tree, in effort to get to my window. I see him in shrouded by darkness, first prying off my locked on screens (because he is not smart enough to just cut them) and opening my ancient, swollen wood, locked windows. He scrambles inside, breaking all my fun pretty stuff on the window sills, is licked by my dog and he stoops to pet the kitties. Then he proceeds to take all of my Target very-valuables and shimmies back down the tree. HELLO, BREEAH, FACE REALITY, YOU ARE PARANOID!!!

3. Having cable and internet kinda sucks.
Ok, it totally doesn't suck, but I cannot handle it. Take for example, right now, I should be studying for a very hardcore mid-term that I have today on the History of Ireland (800-1890), but no, I am sitting here, babbling on about how convoluted my brain really is. My focus has been sucked out by the cable waves. It is true what they say; TVs are Weapons of Mass destruction.

Update

Ok, I don't have anything incredibly real to write today, I am a little sick of seriousness. So, I have decided to write an update, just a little insight into me at this very moment.

1. I AM AN ADULT! Oh my god. It's not just that my 25th birthday is right around the corner. Nope, today I got cable, well, cable and internet, for the first time ever! I mean seriously, I went from having 3 channels that came in only after 30 minutes of fiddling with the rabbit ears, to having something like 106 channels, no rabbit ears included. I can feel the sloth raise its smarmy (ooh, loving my new word) little ears at the thought of having 106 channels to choose from. I must, however, stay focused on the task, blogging, then studying. Mid terms are 2 days away and I must be prepared.

2. Channel 98 is my menu channel. I am hoping if I write it here for you, I will remember. I just can't stand the thought of wasting all my tv watching time flipping through 96 channels just to see what's on.

3. John Roberts is being confirmed. Women, go stock up and birth control and have lots of abortions. Our rights are about to be lost forever. (Ok, that was serious, I will not do it again...)

4. I love cheesy chick flicks. That's right, I have 106 tv channels and I am giddy with joy over the fact that I get to watch "Maid in Manhattan" and I don't even have to go to the movie store to do so.

5. I start my new job on Wednesday. YAY! I am going to be a teacher with Americorps and could not be more happy. I have been waiting a long time to do this and I am excited to be in a place where there is not someone on the sideline telling me that I can't.

6. I love my animals. My dog is lying with his droopy droopy, not sliced off, pitbull ears brushing the ground. He is a big bucket head and I love him. My cats are fighting for a spot on my coffee table, vying for the sunfilled oasis right in the middle. They are crazy, the table is big enough for them and Seamus.

7. It's September. HOLY LORD. I feel like it's still January. I don't even think I have stopped writing '04 on my paper work.

8. I got a new rug. It's totally cute, at least for a $10 rug from Target. Hey, what am I talking about? Target is the SHIZ!

9. My couch is GHETTO. It came with the apartment and lost it's legs somewhere in my first week here. So, if you are short, come on over and make yourself comfortable. If you're tall, um... There are some chairs in the kitchen.

10. Still in love. I like the comfort of long term relationships. It's been a year and 3 months, I just honestly cannot believe it.

11. I miss my friends in California. What more do I need to say about that? They live like 2000 miles away, that's far enough to miss them.

12. Jennifer Lopez is sooooo freaking beautiful. Can someone please explain to me the union of her and Marc Anthony? Ok, I try not to be shallow, but these are the people who drive our culture here. The guy looks like a total wife beater (ok, this is soooooooo not an accusation, so please don't go around saying that I said Marc Anthony beats his wife. That is not what I said, so just knock it off). But then again, if he is a gem of a man maybe this will spark a new turn of society. One where looks don't matter but the person inside that makes it count. Hmmm... New concept?

13. OOOH! I have hair. Some of you know that I shaved my head in May, well, it is growing back and it's soooooooo fun. I can have a mohawk, do the flapper shorty short, or just roll out of bed and let it look a mess. It's a shame I want it to grow back so bad, or else I might like it a whole lot.

14. I get stinky breath. I mean BAD! I have to brush my teeth like 15 times a day to keep it in check. Maybe it's the smoking, or the soda, or the diet, I am sure it could be anything. But, my boyfriend says it seriously smells like butt, so I am cautious, mostly.

15. I do not fart in front of people. I mean NEVER. I think farting is the nastiest body function ever and I just don't do it. When I am alone however, BEWARE. HA, if I am alone why would you have to worry about it.

16. I thought cable wasn't supposed to have commercials?

17. I'm bored, so... see ya.