I am sick with worry. I have seen hurricanes before. I was 6 living in Mississippi when Camille marched through the state. I've ridden through hurricanes in NC and FL before, and been run inland by more than a few, too. I have never felt anything so deeply as the devastation of New Orleans (NOLA) and southern Mississippi this week.
The word devastation gets used so much lately it seems to have lost its meaning. So I suggest you go to http://www.nola.com" title="http://www.nola.com" target="_blank"http://www.nola.com for some first-hand accounts of what is going on down there. 80% of the city was underwater yesterday. The levees holding back nearby Lake Pontchartrain are breaking, flooding even MORE of the city.
People have been trapped in their attics by the water, unable to break through to climb onto their roof for safety. They will soon be underwater. People who have made it to the roof may not be plucked free in time and will be swept away. Boats are already bumping through floating bodies to rescue the living.
The entire city is now being evacuated. With no food, water, electricity - much less plumbing - there simply is no way to support life. With the bodies, gasoline, oil and other chemicals in the water, disease will soon be a threat. Only how will everyone know? Unless they had a pile of batteries stashed some place dry, even those with battery-powered radio will be out of touch soon.
The helplessness weighs me down - and enrages me. So let's roll. Donate blood. Donate money, donate goods. Donate shelter. Contact your company to see if they offer a matching program. Let's be good neighbors. And the next person to say "they shouldn't be living there anyway" gets a firm boot to the balls from me. Got it? Good.
Just look at this cute face - wouldn't you offer him a room, too?
As I mentioned yesterday, I heard from my friend. He survived the storm itself though got pretty beat up and cut after a window blew out and he had to board it back over or else the roof would blow off.
But today, as levees break and the river rises from all the runoff as Katrina travels up this way, there is worse flooding today than yesterday.
Hope you're still ok, dude.
The offer still stands and if you can get to an open airport, I got a ticket for ya.
I'm praying that the magnitude of this storm isn't nearly what they're saying. I'm praying for the safety of my friend Bobby and the thousands like him that are stranded in the city. I asked him to call me or one of his other LJ friends ASAP after the storm passes so we can pass on the word. I pray its soon. I'm praying for the safety of my family in Mississippi and all others in the area that have rains, flooding, and tornados on the agenda. Yall be safe.
_______ Update 2:00 p.m. EDT _______ I saw a post from Bobby - he's safe! Winds blew out a window, he's got cuts on face and arms but no flooding as of yet. I'm so relieved. So SO SO relieved.
Who does Cadbury think they're fooling? Giant Royal Dark bar. Servings per package: about 3. HAH!!! I bought 2 to get me through the day. Screw them and their measly portions!!
Extreme - G'DAMN I miss this band. Rocking out to Pornograffiti today. My CD had been "missing" for ages but my mom found it while we were cleaning the garage. She was appalled at the title. I outwardly laughed at her and offered to play it. She declined. LOL!
Flashback - she didn't like the Paul McCartney-Wings title "Helen Wheels" either, coz of how it sounded.
Steven, please get out of my head - I can't focus on my work with visions of you distracting me... and... ooooo those MUSCLES... and.. dreamy eyes you can get lost in for hours ... and the kisses? Oh my Lord the kisses...
Where was I? Oh yea, at the office trying to fix the mess I made yesterday :( Deeply troubling - don't want to talk about that.
... and his hands. Ever have hands touch you that just made you leave this earthly plane? ...
Sigh. Hopeless I am. He's in Florida, I'm not. Sigh.
Ok, back to friggin software. I miss you, funny man. I'm jonesin and I need a fix :)
Please. Please for the sake of my child, please. If you see me on tblog or chatting in tblurt today, please flog me. I HAVE to get my work done today! Thank you.
There's a meme going around where you google the phrase "yourname is" then choose the 10 you like best. Here's mine:
Sherylis "matter of fact" and "bottom-line oriented" Sherylis soooooo wrong. (had to put that in, made me laugh!) Sherylis dedicated to educating, enhancing and empowering our youth Sherylis about to travel one of the more interesting roads in America Sherylis…reliable, intelligent, and consistent Sherylis a wonderful listener Sherylis passionate about life Sherylis a Renaissance woman Sherylis a jewel !! Sherylis just someone who cares about those around her
Ok, the other people born my year don't thrill me so I did some Googling :) Roger Clemens, Bo Jackson, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Evander Holyfield were also born in 1962.
1962 was also the year Nelson Mandela was jailed, Marilyn Monroe died of a drug overdose.
Record of the Year was "Moon River" by Harry Mancini.
Emmy-winning television shows were The Andy Griffith Show, Hazel, The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Other films nominated for Film of the Year were "The Music Man", "The Longest Day", "Mutiny on the Bounty", and "To Kill a Mockingbird".
And, for the geeks in the audience - Telstar was launched - first telecommunications satellite
And - women and Joe Namath rejoice - pantyhose was first sold in department stores in 1962. Yay.
My pal Steve (not that one, another one!) is in dire need of your thoughts and prayers. This year has been horrendous for him. He's a sweetheart of a guy and needs some help finding his balance.
On the count of 3, beam those thoughts towards northeastern US, OK?
I stayed up late to catch the rerun of the finale tonight. I won't spoil any details, just say it was beautifully done. What a brilliant series. I'm going to miss these characters.
Luke Skywalker You scored 85% wisdom, 26% aggression, 47% power, and 81% morality!
Last of the Jedi, you carry heavy burdens and have great potential. Your fighting prowess has only progressed so far, having started your training later in life, but you can hold your own regardless. You have great wisdom and insight beyond your years and experience, and your moral code could not be any stronger. You find the paths no one else can see, and save the galaxy because of it.
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
I'm SO proud. I splurged and got the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD today (yay finally getting my money back from the attorney). I got Katie psyched up for it and put in IV. As soon as it was over, she says "Let's watch the next one, Mama!" I'm so proud! My little geekette!
--- Update --- Just after the scene where Vader says "Luke, I am your father" and later steps off a ship... Katie says with great disgust "He is the WORST FATHER EVER".
Later at bedtime she told me "When Vader told Luke he was his father? That was VERY upsetting to me!" So I had to tell her how VI ends so she'd calm down and go to sleep. Bless her heart. She IS SO COOL!
Feeling a little lonely tonight. I would like to talk to someone about the book I'm reading. I would've liked to have someone at the table with me tonight while Katie was playing on the slide at McDonalds. Someone to just share the little moments with. Like fussing about the snafu at the doctor's office, or something funny I saw on the drive home. Dinner conversation deeper than "please take another bite, honey". And maybe mutual foot massages to help ease away the day.
I wonder if there is anyone else out there feeling the same way.
I can't wait for the Da Vinci Code movie to come out! It's still filming and stirring up trouble. Cool!
I like that they're taking the time, trouble, and cost to pursue filming at as many real sites as possible. That should give it an even more "authentic" feel, even though it IS a work of fiction. Repeat after me. It IS a WORK of FICTION. :)
So I go to the dr's - arrive 10 minutes early. Get out my book, coz there is always a wait. About 50 minutes later they call me to the desk to check my insurance card (odd, that's usually right away), then 15 minutes later they call me on back.
Nurse says "what happened, you get stuck in traffic?". I blinked. "No." What a weird question? Traffic? In their lobby??
So later I asked - they had LOST ME. I sat there for an hour in the waiting room and EVEN though I had signed in, they forgot I was there/lost me in the paper shuffle.
I said, in a rather nice tone, "It's really hard to lose a large round woman wearing a bright red dress." No really, I said it! To her face!! She really didn't know what to say, mumbled something about paperwork and went on her way.
Dr H checks my ears, eyes, nose, throat, glands (no not THOSE) and says "ya know, for a sick person, you look pretty good." Which made me laugh and cry at the same time. I WANT MEDS MAKE THIS CRAP GO AWAY. So he gave me a scrip for a kick-ass decongestant since an antibiotic won't do any good.
As much as I hate being apart from my girl, I'm glad this is Katie's weekend with her Dad. I could use some rest. And a massage - any takers? ;)
ALRIGHT. I GIVE. I called the doctor's today to make an appointment. I'm sick of being sick. I told the receptionist I want him to wave a magic wand and make it all better. NOW. She laughed. I'm only half-kidding.
Well, the latest two, anyway :) Beck and Blackeyed Peas. Add salt, put on low heat and stir!
I have been bouncing off the walls excited about Beck's latest release, "Guero", and went back and picked up a couple more CDs that I cannot BELIEVE were missing from my catalog - "Mutations" and "Sea Change". Gorgeous, just gorgeous. He's such a talented little white boy.
Well, he is, have you seen him?! Looks like the geeky guy I had a crush on in chemistry class - but alas, no chemistry there :(
Black Eyed Peas - they are SO FUNKY. Hip Hop/Funk and just plain fun. They're really good at coming up with something new - that's what us short-attention span people like. :) And nothing is cuter than my tiny daughter bouncing her little booty to their tunes.
You know what else this means - it means that music, which used to be a huge part of my life then burnt away, is back. YAY!
Ok, here is my theory. It is my theory, which is mine. Ahem. Here it is. My theory. Ahem.
If our bodies were made of Playdoh, we could mold them anyway we like. Need bigger boobies? Just squish stuff around. Rounder butt? Easy enough. No more expensive surgeries and scaring and all that rot.
There. That was my theory.
Thank you.
(and dinosaurs are skinny at one end, thick in the middle, and skinny again at the other end)
and CLICK THE FREE MAMMOGRAMS link to the right, if you please? Help save a boobie!
Quickie catchup.. Katie: fever seems gone, but still seems tired. Me: very scratchy throat. Probably gonna live. Mom and Dad : workaholicly lovely people. They got here around 2 and we worked our butts off all afternoon. My garage is clean! Organized! (ok, don't look in the back corner yet, that's next) but 3/4 of it looks AWESOME! Yahoo Personals: a very scary place! Run away! Run away!
If I had a week and money was no object: I'd spend a week on the Gulf of Mexico - basking in warm sunshine, feeling the gentle waves washing over me, warm sand... with an occasional museum or visit to a historica site.
If I had four weeks and money was no object: I'd fly to the UK and visit Stonehenge, Stratford Upon Avon, I wanna see the white cliffs of Dover, Hadrian's Wall, the Highlands, and the Lochness Monster. I want to stand in Glasgow and drink in the voices. I want to see men in kilts! And while I'm at it, I want Billy Connolly as my travel guide ;) I don't ask for TOO much, do I?
It's the little things that make our relationships so special.
Getting a phone call just to say "hi, how are ya"
Someone stopping by 2 weeks AFTER the baby is born, just to wash dishes or fold laundry. (most people fade off by then)
A quick compliment on your hair or noticing something new (glasses, haircut, shoes)
Getting a handwritten note in the mail.
Or a CD or book that someone chose for you just because they thought you'd like it.
Or keeping a divider plate for you at their house because they know you REALLY hate your runny food to touch.
Getting a little email of encouragement.
Reminding you that you're special.
Whether it's your pal, partner, parent or child.. and ESPECIALLY if you're male, take a second each day to reconnect with someone. It's these things which make our lives rich.
Katie has a fever today, so we're staying home. That gives me time to do things like pimp genius things my friends have done. I keep hoping some of it will rub off on me ;)
Go =http://www.myspace.com/michae...HERE for some gorgeous guitar stuff. Mike Pierry (rhymes with airy) is his name, he's MAHvelous.
Don't forget Katy T's Skary movie, "The Little Girl Who Was Forgotten by Absolutely Everyone" - it's presently the NUMBER ONE video on Newgroun's Top 50 All Time list! WOOT WOOT WOOT! Go =http://newgrounds.com/portal/... here and click "watch this video". And get a tissue.
Swiping the idea from AmyHCAlum and JennJr and tossing in some of my more obscure artists in my 700+ CD collection (quit counting)
A = Aerosmith, AC/DC (we be rockin) B = Beck, Bela Fleck, Rick Braun (sexiest jazz trumpet ever) C = Jim Croce, Harry Connick Jr, Ry Cooder D = Donovan, Dvorak, John Denver, Devo (how's that grouping!) E = Eagles, Extreme, Melissa Etheridge F = Faith No More, Foghat G = Al Green, Peter Gabriel H = Michael Hedges (fanTABulous guitarist), William Hung (giggle) I = in 't wild :) HI TAL!, Incubus J = John Paul Jones (buy Zooma NOW), Norah Jones K = Mike Keneally, King's X L = Lisa Loeb, Lynyrd Skynyrd (or is that an S..) M = Michael Manring - F'ING fantastic bassist. N = No Doubt, Nirvana O = Joan Osborne (HELLuva voice) P = Prince, Primus, Parliament Q = Queen (naturally) R = Radiohead S = Salt 'n Pepa (yea, me!), Simply Red T = They Might Be Giants, Take 6 (acapella gospel-jazz) U = U2 V = Stevie Ray Vaughan, Van Halen W = Barry White (oh yeah, you know it), Stevie Wonder X = XTC Y = Yogi Buy his stuff!!! Z = Warren Zevon
I had that dream again - where I go inside a building (usually a school or a church) and when I come out, I can't find my car. I'm certain I know where I left it and it was legally parked, but it's gone.
For you, kissing is about all about following your urges If someone's hot, you'll go in for the kiss - end of story You can keep any relationship hot with your steamy kisses A total spark plug - your kisses are bound to get you in trouble
Part Shy Kisser
You *do* love to kiss, once your comfortable with it And that means knowing the person you're kissing pretty well You usually don't make the first move when it comes to making out But you've got plenty of intensity in return
My i-pal (internet pal, like it?) Katy has created a deeply touching 8 minute movie.
Please go here and watch the video (probably not too friendly to dial-ups) http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/256494" title="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/256494" target="_blank"http://www.newgrounds.com/por...
It's dark and sad and creepy and lovely and made me want to reach for a tissue...
Could you stay mad at this guy for long? [image]almsthvn_199635849 .jpg[/image] and is this what they mean by computer dating? [image]almsthvn_736994402 .jpg[/image]
What do you think of my new specs? Funky, huh! [image]almsthvn_115185222 6.jpg[/image]
My brother told me when his wife comes home from work mad, he just lays low until she feels like talking. He knows he's about to get some on him when she starts with "and another thing!" Because that means she's already been yelling at him in her head.
WHO the hell is the financial dude who yells BOOyah all the time? Katie and I went to dinner last night and the place's tv was tuned in to this financial show. He literally screamed like he was hawking some cheap crap on late-night tv - for the WHOLE time we were there. I had such a killer headache the rest of the night.
I'm not a toy that you can put on a shelf, pull down when you feel like playing, then stick back on the shelf to collect dust. That's not what I call "friendship". ------------------------- --- Ummm... strike this entry. We did this thing called "talking about it." Interesting concept, this "talking" thing. Might try it again sometime.
Your brain: 80% interpersonal, 40% visual, 100% verbal, and 180% mathematical!
Congratulations on being 400% smart! Actually, on my test, everyone is. The above score breaks down what kind of thinking you most enjoy doing. A score above 100% means you use that kind of thinking more than average, and a score below 100% means you use it less. It says nothing about how good you are at any one, just how interested you are in each, relatively. A substantial difference in scores between two people means, conclusively, that they are different kinds of thinkers.
Matching Summary: Each of us has different tastes. Still, I offer the following advice, which I think is obvious:
Don't date someone if your interpersonal percentages differ by more than 80%.
Don't be friends with someone if your verbal percentages differ by more than 100%.
Don't have sex with someone if their math percentage is over 200%.
My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
What do you all think about trying to get together sometime soon?
We have several Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois bloggers, maybe we could find a weekend and a fairly central location where we could just hang out for awhile?
Had gas meter and line ("Riser") replaced yesterday. Gas Company shut off gas into the house at the street. When the opened it back up, something broke. Gas leaked from noon til a neighbor noticed the odor around 9 p.m. and called it in. So 11 p.m. - midnight I'm outside yacking with the gas guy (named Greg, was kinda cute).
This morning I'm told they'll have to dig up more of the yard and they'll replace the whole thing with plastic pipe. No cost to me. But they're in a bit of a pinch - just how soon do I need gas restored to my house?
It isn't that I don't have hot water - but isn't the gas leaking into the air a bit of a problem, in the middle of a suburban neighborhood? :shock: They said it should be fixed sometime tonight. I'll just be happy to not blow up, thank you.
------------- They're all done. No more leak. No explosions. I'm so grateful to my neighbor for calling it in when she noticed the smell. How do you thank someone for something like that!!
I am sick with worry. I have seen hurricanes before. I was 6 living in Mississippi when Camille marched through the state. I've ridden through hurricanes in NC and FL before, and been run inland by more than a few, too. I have never felt anything so deeply as the devastation of New Orleans (NOLA) and southern Mississippi this week. 
I have been bouncing off the walls excited about Beck's latest release, "Guero", and went back and picked up a couple more CDs that I cannot BELIEVE were missing from my catalog - "Mutations" and "Sea Change". Gorgeous, just gorgeous. He's such a talented little white boy. 
Childrin R Skary