Whiting's Writings - My Life |
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Life helps me decide 30 Nov 2005 Well, reading through the Uptown Forum it seems that local businesses (established pre-K) are finding it nearly impossible to traverse the maze of regulations to get back up and running again. Certainly many of them have to be certified as being safe for patrons (like restaurants and food stores, for example), but many of the business are not handling food. Seems to be an ongoing complaint that some businesses just aren't getting what they need. Which leads me to formulate certain personal decisions. I suspect by the time all my business paperwork for working in New Orleans is completed, I'll be ready to move to Texas. The one thing I would like to have is a regular business license so that I can buy materials at wholesale. I'll see what I can do about that. The more I think about it, the less enthralled I am about the possibility of trying to build a business here in New Orleans. Someday the mails might be restored to a semblance of regularity. Someday the shippers might start delivering again in a timely fashion. I have look on my calendar, cover to cover, and I have not been able to find "Someday" any where on any page. It is the treacherous ambiguity that really pisses me off, y'know??? Oh by the way ..... "Happy Fucking Holidays, Jerry Falwell!!!!!"This is in reference to the threat to sue and/or boycott business that don't say "Merry Christmas" and bow to the fundamentalist persuasion of what they think the season is about. Christmas is ONE OF MANY WINTER HOLIDAYS, and it is impossible to tell at a glance which holiday (if any) some stranger might be observing. To foist a jolly "Merry Christmas" on a stranger is insulting to those who might not observe Christmas. Might as well return it with "And a Happy Saturnalia to you, too!" |
Sleeping Better 30 Nov 2005 I have found that by turning off everything around 9:00, and then reading for 20-30 minutes, I am quite able to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep for about 7-8 hours. I might wake in the night but then I go right back to sleep. This is highly unusual for me, but highly enjoyable and I am NOT complaining. For someone who has long struggled with sleep issues, I am grateful for this. Yesterday I mentioned I need to build a larger noseplate for the new dolly. Nope, don't need to. The company makes a larger noseplate with back ledge just exactly what I needed. Very cool. So I'll just go to ACE and order one! It's really handy to go to a manufacturer's Web site and see what is actually available, rather than asking store clerks and "customer service" folks to figure out what I need and where to get it. I'm sure there are plenty of well-qualified customer service folks in the world, but for some reason many of the ones I deal with aren't so well equipped with either knowledge of the products OR how to deal with customers. When I hear the term "customer service" I think of it in a manner similar to how a stud "services" a mare. Know what I mean?? I much prefer going to the source and getting what I need, rather than getting 'serviced' by someone. This is also why I'm not fond of churches and religious organizations. I'd rather get it straight from the horse's mouth than have to deal with the other end!!! OH! This little bit of news from Georgia: Grand jury indicts woman who married boy. It's a fascinating article on its own, but what really tickled me was this paragraph: Georgia law allows children of any age to marry -- without parental consent -- if the bride-to-be is pregnant. The law dates back to the early 1960s and was written to prevent out-of-wedlock births. WHAT??? How dumb is that? Why not prevent the pregnancy in the first place??? Geez!!! What a stupid, archaic law this is. Okay, so I have a bunch of projects to work on today, so I'd better get my butt in gear and start the day. See ya! |
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I got a dolly!!! 29 Nov 2005 Noooo... not a play dolly. A hand-truck dolly, with a 700# capacity. Now I need to build a broadbed for it, so that I can move heavy furniture that has legs spread wider that the dolly left that's on it. I just need something stable for things to ride easily on the dolly. "Why get a dolly?" you ask. Because eventually I will want to be moving, and I will need to be able to move effectively without hurting myself in the process. I'd gone to ACE hardware to get a new surge supressor power strip because I was tired of my computer turning off at the worst possible moment and (apparently) my current power strip just isn't cutting it any more. And while I was there at ACE, they had a whole fleet of hand trucks on sale, various sizes and weight capacities. I didn't want the $100 model with its assortment of handles, nor did I want the little 'kit' with wheels you have to assemble on your own. (You might recall my previous hand truck was destroyed and subsequently lost during my stay at the refugee house after Katrina.) OH! OH! OH!!!!!! Guess what??!!??!! While I was typing that paragraph the doorbell rang! Woo-Hooo.... it was the UPS guy, with TWO packages for me - a book from Amazon ("1 Question, 2 Answers" by Larry Winget and Ian Percy), and a new sewing machine ordered from Hancock Fabrics. Yippeeeeee!!!!! So now, I'm only waiting for another shipment of 4 books from Amazon plus a free coffeemaker from a company offering it to me because I'm the organizer of the Knitting Meetup -- they want me to share the coffeemaker (it uses those little 'pods' for single-serve brewing) with my meetup group, and then fill out a survey about how we like it. Yeah, well.... since we have our meetups at a coffee house, I'm not likely going to trot the new coffeemaker down to the meetings! I thoroughly enjoy the coffee house where we meet AND the owners, who are wonderful people -- there's no way I'd be so tacky as to bring my own coffee maker from home while I sit in their shop! (That reminds me... when my mother came to live with me and my wife and kids in Austin back in 1980 or '81, she would bring her own salt and pepper out of her bedroom to the kitchen table and then take them back to her room after eating. We HAD salt and pepper, and while my wife wasn't the best cook in the world, no one at our house went hungry for lack of edibles. But my mother was just tacky enough to insist on her own little collection of seasonings and spices, lined up like so many soldiers surrounding her plate at the table. Sheesh!!! And she refused to just leave them in the kitchen for others to use, since no one else in the world actually knew how to properly season anything anyway.... I guess that was her reasoning. Or maybe she really was just a tacky bitch without any reason at all?) Okay, so anyway.... packages are slowly beginning to arrive. Between today's delivery, along with the little shopping excursion, I do feel a little better than I felt earlier. With the sewing machine, my options for creativity have expanded manifold. Yippeeeee!!!!! And, if The Quilt Cottage has opened again for business, I should be able to get some marvelous fabrics. I'm happy, yes I am. I'm a happy person anyway, but today I'm pleased as well. Happiness is something I choose to create within myself, but being pleased is something that comes in response to things over which I have not so much direct control. Today I am pleased. :-) |
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What to do, what to do? 29 Nov 2005 The sooner I get out of New Orleans and closer to my kids, the happier I think I will be. Not sure about it, but it sure is tugging at my heart. I stayed home all day yesterday, never left the house. And I went to Amazon.com this morning to check the status of my packages. Supposedly, FedEx came at 9:53 a.m. and discovered the "customer unavailable or business closed". WHAT???? That's bullshit. I was sitting right here at my desk, with the front door open, the front window open, and all possible signs of life plainly visible. WTF do they mean 'unavailable'??????? Sheesh! I went online this morning to view available properties in New Orleans. There was a condo up on St. Charles Avenue for $145,000. Not bad for that area, I suppose, but it was 385 square feet. It was a fucking tiny little STUDIO!!!!! And, of course, there are plenty of properties listed in areas that flood in Katrina. And several seriously damaged properties that were listed AFTER Katrina. I wouldn't buy such places. Ideally, when I move to Texas, I would like to have a decent sized lot onto which I could install a 30' x 60' foot metal clad BARN in a solid foundation.. Yes, I want to live in a BARN. Maybe not exactly that size footprint, but 1200 - 1600 square foot as a minimum. I would have it fully insulated, of course, with windows installed. I would live in it as an open space first, lay out where I want to sleep or eat or relax, and allow the interior to divide itself up naturally according to my use of it, using chunky furniture to create divisions and walls. I don't care about having all the latest-greatest of everything. Give me a decent space in which to live, and a decent yard in which to grow some vegetables and plant a pleasant garden and outdoor space. I could be plenty happy in such a place, and not give a hoot what others thought. I'd keep my place neat, of course, but it wouldn't smack of conspicuous consumption and extravagent architecture. It would have to be functional first of all. And if it works for me, who cares what it looks like? I realize I wouldn't likely be able to have such a place in an urban setting. That's fine. But I wouldn't want to live out in the boonies, either. I need to have close access to services and community. Well, anyway, it isn't happening this week, so I should get busy with my work for the day. But I'm not dismissing where I want to be. I'm just not there yet. |
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Preliminary Report on the Levees 28 Nov 2005 Here is The National Science Foundation Interim Report on the New Orleans Levee system. Man oh man. It is important reading, loaded with pictures, diagrams, and unavoidable guilt. I don't know how long that link will remain available, so I copied the document to my own server. If that link dies, I'll replace it with a link to my own copy of it. Following that report is a summary article in the Post-Gazette by Ann Carrns of The Wall Street Journal. The title of the article: "Long before flood, New Orleans was prime for leaks" .... well, no shit, Sherlock. That's what they've been telling us EVERY year since I moved to New Orleans: the levee system is fucked up, the levee system will not protect us, we need to improve the levee system, and all the rest of the gloom-and-doom they spout every year for a month before hurricane season. Is ANYbody surprised by the contents of that report? I'm not. I seem to have March stuck in my head for some reason, and I don't know why -- as if something significant is going to happen in March. What I DO know for a fact is that I will continue shaping my brain around independent income sources. One of the things I was noticing today is that most commercially available "christmas stockings" don't actually LOOK like stockings any more. They're just fat little sacks, with a noodgey little point at the bottom of one corner to look like 'maybe' a foot could go in there. Christmas stockings are supposed to look like STOCKINGS, not shopping bags (i.e., "gimme bags"). Maybe an adult fist around, and no more than elbow deep. Anything more than that is just plain selfish, don't you think? So anyway, I can see I need to market my stockings in a way that will not make people thing I'm stingy or preachy. They will be knitted, and I can market the 'frugal' size AND it's stretchy disposition ... somehow. Anyway, that's one avenue. There's been some new inspirations in this direction as well, but I'll need to do some investigating on that before writing any more. I'm totally jazzed at some new possibilities that have come up. It has been gray and dreary most of the day, with a good bit of rain for a while this morning. Yuck. I've not ventured beyond my front walkway the entire day. Normally I like to at least go down to the French bakery for a morning pastry. I have one more holiday stocking to knit for the lady and her kids, and then I get to seam them up and be done with that set of stockings. Then I need to monogram the ones for my grandkids, and make sure those get shipped out in time for the holidays. Much to do. See ya! |
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Somewhat older, not much wiser 28 Nov 2005 Yesterday I turned 51. Since I haven't received any mail in over a week, I am sure that all the birthday cards from my kids are stuck in Postal Limbo somewhere ... hmmmmm. I did talk to one of my boys on Saturday, and then one of my daughters called yesterday. That was nice talking with them. Because of the rains on Saturday night, I took down my hanging clothes and laid them on my bed in preparation for the rains. It rained thoroughly, anointing parts of my bedroom again. I slept on the futon in the living room floor, and had a wonderful night's sleep -- didn't get up until almost 7:00 yesterday! Last night I also slept on the futon, kept waking through the night, and finally quit trying to sleep around 4:30. Oh well. I turned off the light around 9:30, so I'm going to guess I got enough sleep. If not, I suppose I'll nap later today. I have plenty to do today, so I won't linger here for now. I'll come back this evening for more chat. |
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Glad I'm not him; & other notes 26 Nov 2005 I want to share with you a bit of someone else's experience that was posted at NOLArising recently. I converted it into a PDF document because their archives don't stick around long, but this is an important piece of someone else's experience and I want to be sure it stays around. It is about a Syrian, living in New Orleans with his wife and children, how he stayed behind, helped a whole lot of folks, and was subsequently arrested on various charges of looting, terrorism, and heaven knows what else might have been trumped up against him. It's a snapshot into the world known as Post-Katrina New Orleans, The Early Days. It is the story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, "Rescue Efforts lead to arrest nighmare for N.O. Businessman." Stuff like this makes me grateful for my own experience. However awful it might have seemed for me, there were others who had it much worse than I did. ***** Today's weather might not cooperate with my plans for errands. That's okay. I have plenty of indoor work to do as well, so that's okay, I suppose. We don't have the blue roof on just yet, so I'm going to move my clothes and other things away from potential leaks for the next few days. Horribly inconvenient, but I know it's temporary. ++++++++++ Late evening.... Had a mostly busy productive day. At least part of it. I tossed out some more stuff that I don't need. I also went to buy some pretty-smelling candles at Country at Heart as I mentioned yesterday. I got four different ones, each one with a thickly fragrant "busy holiday kitchen" aroma. I also bought a cabinet for the dining room. It was marked 50% off, so it was only $112.50. It is PERFECT for storing big service pieces, with a drawer for all my napkins and placemats. She also had a HUGE Italian apothecary cabinet, with several shelves above, and 15 square drawers below. It was gorgeous, and I really really almost bought it ... except I had no way to get it home. It was marked $750, but had a $200 discount. I would LOVE to have such a thing for storage in just about any room in the house. I don't want to start buying heavy furniture, of course, but I DO want nice furniture and things that I can pass on to my kids eventually. Oh well, I don't need to spend a lot of money on stuff like that right now, of course, but someday I will. (Fran, this is the store you and I went into when you were here, and we talked with the proprietor.) My legs hurt a LOT this evening. I went early to make groceries, and discovered they weren't opened so I came back home and then went again shortly after. Two trips to market was a lot. And then I emptied the wire rack (15 wire mesh cubicles) above the dresser, and then emptied the lower dresser, then lowered the wire rack off the dresser, and then carried the dress out to the sidewalk. Lots of hefting and moving stuff today. A friend of mine was rejoicing to learn that her insurance company is going to pay the total cost of repairing her home AND replacing her furniture. Nice to have insurance. I'm happy for her, but I have to wonder if I would do the same thing ... or if I'd take the money and walk away. Hard to know for sure what I'd do, of course, because I'm not in that position, so it is just speculation on my part. But I'm happy for my friend to be able to repair her home and get on with her life the way she wants to. I continue to have serious doubts and questions about all of this, and wondering what *I* am supposed to do. I still feel really unsettled, and unsatisfied that things are totally going to be worth staying here for, over the long haul. Tomorrow morning at 4:11 a.m., Pacific Standard Time (which would be 2:11 a.m. my time), I will turn 51 years old. Wow. Someone mentioned that I (and a few hundred thousands of my closest friends and neighbors) are not experiencing post traumatic stress disorder. Yes, there was significant trauma and stress as our lives were disordered ... but we aren't "POST-" anything yet. It continues. I wondering if I will ever feel like it is really past, when I can move beyond the disaster recovery mode. I think as long as I remain in New Orleans, the city will be in a state of renewal and recovery in a way that it was before. Today in one of the forums there was some bold discussion about the difference between New Orleans and most other modern cities. One person was exiled into a far northern state for two months and remarked that while the town was a "fax of a fax of a fax" (i.e., cookie cutter duplicate like every other plain boring place), things in that city WORKED -- schools were in place, people were civilized and polite in public, and basic city services worked as they should, and so on and so forth. While I was in Houston, I noticed something similar when I'd be riding my bike down the street, trying to keep my bike as far right as I could without falling into the ditches alongside the roads. Drivers would actually move over into the opposite lane to safely pass around me, with a good 10 feet of clearance. Around here in New Orleans there is no such consciousness or conscientiousness in regard to bicycle riders. Drivers hesitate at traffic lights to wave pedestrians forward, rather than slink out in front of pedestrians trying to cross. People at the market, wanting something behind the counter, would ask, "May I have ..." instead of "hey, gimme a ...." (and around here that is the common phrases for kids and adults alike). People in New Orleans are incredibly rude, and it is shocking to see that the rest of the country just isn't that way. People in other places care about their neighborhoods, their schools, and other such things. I don't like what New Orleans has failed to become. It just isn't a nice place to be. So, I really need to decide WHEN to leave (not IF, but WHEN), and then HOW to make it happen. |
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Is this thing on? 25 Nov 2005 Hmmm... I realize yesterday was a holiday, and I didn't expect any mail from the post office or any packages from UPS. But dammit, when do I get my stuff????? I've had a piece of first-class mail clipped to my mailbox for pick-up since Monday, but there's been no delivery all week, so no carrier to pick it up. Geez. Okay... no more pity party. Today while I was out, I found yet another set of shelves in someone's trash on the street. Break-down plastic parsons style. I'm focusing on easy-to-break-down pieces to more easily facilitate moving next year, so it's cool. I'm burning a scented candle that I got from Country at Heart quite a while back. It is an OVERscented candle, with a very strong pumpkin-spice pie fragrance. I like it. I think I'll go back tomorrow and see if she has any more in her store. Normally I don't care for scented candles, since they usually are perfumey and cover-up-ish. This one smells like something truly wonderful is happening in the kitchen. Yesterday I was having a bitch of a time knitting the first of the four Christmas stockings I'm making for a local family (widow with 3 children, who lost everything and don't even have a home of their own at the moment). I heard about them from a post in one of the local forums, posted by someone else who wanted to do something nice for the family. The person who posted the information is taking care of other gifts, so I am trusting there will be some little things to stuff into the stockings. Anyway, I was having SUCH a terrible time. I tried FOUR times to do the short-row toe, and FOUR times the damned thing fell of the machine. This was on top of other stupid mistakes made along the way (wrong gauge, wrong yarn, etc.). I was soooo frustrated. After trying EVERY possible solution, I finally managed to figure it out, and the stocking I made today went much more smoothly. I'm thinking this could actually be do-able! I mean, I know it is do-able for this set of four, but I mean do-able as something to also do for making money. I sure don't want to make a business out of knitted stockings, but it would be a good way to get rid of some of the excess yarns I have around the house. Pretty late in the year to make any for this season, but I can get a very-early start on next season! For a while today I was feeling sort of blue and 'void', but I'm feeling better this evening. I completed the 2nd of the four stockings I need to make this weekend, plus I bagged up FIVE industrial size (construction site) garbage bags of yard debris. Tomorrow I'll need to go make groceries. |
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Black Friday 25 Nov 2005 I had planned to go to the cycle shop to spend some money today, but I'm going to hold off until tomorrow. I want a new seat for the bike, and a set of lights for nightriding. I feel more strongly about NOT spending money today than I need a new seat or lights. I don't want to add a single penny unnecessarily to the tally of commercialism and spending volumes on this day. I can go tomorrow instead. I just saw a clip on TV showing live coverage at various stores and malls, opening early for Black Friday's shopping frenzy. I don't understand such a frenzy, with hundreds of people practically bursting the limits of sensibitility trying to be the first into the store, the first to grab whatever prized possession they think they're going to find, the first to finish their Christmas shopping. It's all bullshit. I made Christmas stockings for each of my grandchildren. I'm not planning to buy other gifts for any of them, and not buying gifts for anyone else. Depending on what bills arrive this month, I "might" send family gift certificates for each of my children to get a little something for their homes or families. Maybe. I don't know. I don't need anything for myself, of course. Hell, I'm still sifting and sorting, taking out bags of junk I no longer need. I'm trying to pare down and minimize my tangible collections of unnecessary stuff. The last few months (post-Katrina) has taught me I can live just fine without a lot of this stuff. I'll be back later with some other topics. My morning rice is nearly done and I need to eat, shower and shave for the day. Lots of chores and projects I want to do today. |
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Thank you, Katrina 24 Nov 2005 I am thankful for Katrina. Because of Katrina
That's pretty cool, huh? I am thankful that my home remains standing, and is in line for some repairs. I am thankful that I continue to have a paycheck and continue to have projects to work on to earn that paycheck. I am thankful that I have my health, adequate food and clothing, and the liberty to do pretty much anything I want to do in my life today. I am thankful that I am not restricted to one source of income, but can develop new sources for myself. I am thankful that I am not a victim of life, but a participant. What are you thankful for? |
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So there WAS a "plan" after all!!! 23 Nov 2005 I was just directed to this story on Netscape news detailing a form of plan to evacuate the homeless from New Orleans, using trains and buses. The plan was presented to the city long before Katrina , and the mayor allegedly lied on CNN in saying there was never a plan to evacuate the homeless. That statement alone is unacceptable, of course, but that it appears to have been a lie makes it even worse. |
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You Need To See This!!! 23 Nov 2005 I just watched a video on PBS.org's Frontline page ... it's a video shot during Katrina, documenting the rising waters and the houses being destroyed, including the waves crashing into this man's front door as he stood inside filming. You have to see this, if you didn't see it on TV yet. Go here and view "I Never Thought I'd Die This Way". It's amazing footage! |
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Wee-Hour Wanderings 23 Nov 2005 Teach me in your silent shouts
Beyond the darkest midnight hour
I haven't a clue exactly what that all means but it came to mind as I sit here shortly after 3:00 a.m. I've been awake an hour and a half already. Hmph. Probably not smart to have had a cup of coffee just before bed, eh? :-) And now that I've had two more cups I'll probably go back to bed and sleep until 7:00 or later. That's okay. I have already decided to take the day off -- which isn't saying much, except that I am going to NOT be doing work-related things, and I WILL be doing other things for myself, on my schedule. Before I go back to bed, here is something I got from the Ralph Waldo Emerson page: How cunningly nature hides every wrinkle of her inconceivable antiquity under roses and violets and morning dew! The years teach much which the days never knew. Money is the representative of a certain quantity of corn or other commodity. It is so much warmth, so much bread.The days come and go like muffled and veiled figures sent from a distant friendly party, but they say nothing, and if we do not use the gifts they bring, they carry them as silently away. I like that. I hope each day to both accept and USE the gifts it brings. wow. "The years teach much which the days never knew." Holy shit, how right that is! When learning comes little by little, one day at a time, I miss a lot of lessons, but when I scan the cumulative teachings there is plenty to be learned. Well, anyway.... back to bed I go, with pleasant thoughts to ponder. |
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It worked, I feel better 22 Nov 2005 Well, my friend said she and another friend were going to raid the Stitch 'N Bitch knitting group at a different location were the only other two people who showed up besides me. But it was still nice to get out of the house and chat with friends. And there were a lot of good looking people out-and-about this evening. I wasn't particularly 'shopping' but it does no harm to look and admire attractive-looking people. Oh! and when I came home I found a package left by UPS behind the post -- a couple things from the Bucket Boss people (a cell phone holster and a Rear Guard), and a book, "Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life" by Larry Winget. I've always been fascinated with the Bucket Boss products -- they make organizer pockets and pouches to fit into 5-gallon paint buckets. I had already received my Bucket Boss Mug Boss to add pen pockets to a coffee mug. So I am in a better mood now than what I was slogging through earlier. And that teaches me something -- I MUST, for my own physical and mental health, get out of the house, get out of my head, get out of my own space, and connect with someone each day. Like so many other things, I know it is good for me, I just fail to do it often enough. |
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Change of Scenery 22 Nov 2005 A knitting friend invited me to tag along to a Stitch 'N Bitch at a neighborhood coffehouse this evening. I probably need to do that more than I need to sit and look at yet another expose about New Orleans, Katrina, and all that crap. I RREEEAAAAAALLLLLYYY do not like feeling so goddamned isolated. No place to go spend money, nothing particular to spend money on, no one to go hang out with .... yuck. At least pre-K I'd get some social interaction among co-workers. It seems like for the time being my "social interaction" is pretty much just going to the grocery every couple days for a bag or two of stuff, going to the french bakery down the street for some muffins, and the once-a-month knitting at Cafe Luna. So, I really do need to get out and see some different people at a different location. And, I keep hoping that the building really is ready for occupancy again at work by January. That would be very cool, having a place to go each day. It doesn't help much that most of my local friends are now gone. Sometimes I find myself waiting for someone to give the inevitable order, "Last person out of New Orleans, please turn out the lights." Hmph. The lights have already gone out in most of the town. Sheesh! And I can feel myself feeling sorta kinda moody. So, I'll go out this evening with friends and meet some other new friends and knitters, and put myself into a different frame of mind. |
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More about Katrina and how New Orleans died 22 Nov 2005 There is a NOVA program about New Orleans tonight, but if you don't get to see it, at least go to the link and read all the articles. |
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Numbers, Planes, Retirement 22 Nov 2005 I had a weird night of sleep (again) last night. For years I have had plane crash dreams. In the first one, the plane was a distant figure outlined against the sky and I saw it fall far away. From time to time I continue to have such dreams, with airplanes at progressively closer range. Last night I was ON the plane. Or actually sort of under it, like hanging onto the wheel axle. I've not been able to determine what significant changes in my waking life might have been linked to the airplane dreams, other than the normal ups and downs of life. The troubling part is that each time I see a plane crash in my dreams, the plane is bigger and closer. This has been going on for at least 15 or 20 years, each dream occurring once every year or two. I've not kept accurate records of times and events, just noted the recurrence. But last night's dream was really strange. I was up under the plane, looking all around below me, high above the city (a generic "city", it didn't look like New Orleans), wondering how long I could hold on before either losing my grip and falling, or being such a weight that I'd cause the plane to crash .... with me under it. Hmmmm.... Sunday night, on 60 Minutes, there was an unfortunate report concerning the question of whether to rebuild New Orleans. Some blow-hard "scientist" was putting up the argument that within another hundred years, New Orleans would be an island bowl, surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico. His thought was that New Orleans should not rebuild here, but move north to more protected ground. This position is argued by other scientists, of course, so it's not a unanimous doomsday scenario caused by the erosion of the coastal wetlands. It IS a problem, but I don't think it is as dire as that guy on TV said. In a local follow-up story on the impact of Katrina and the rebuilding efforts, they said that in Orleans Parish, pre-Katrina, there were over 462,000 people living IN the city. Now, there is only about 60-70,000 people actually living IN the city. One thing I haven't seen a lot of discussion about (although it may be out there somewhere, I just may have missed it) is that Katrina did not do all this damage to New Orleans. It was the failure of the levees AFTER Katrina that brought so much loss and destruction. And it was these SAME LEVEES that failed after the hurricane in 1965 (I can never remember if that was Betsy or Camille). It was fucked up then and it remains fucked up now. I heard a snippet on the radio yesterday that during this Special Session of the legislature, there was an item passing through committee that would allow state civil service employees who had been furloughed and had at least ten years of service, to take a form of early retirement. Their retirement benefits would be reduced, but it would allow them to keep their health insurance packages, AND they would not be a drain on the state's unemployment rolls. The flip side of that is that over the long haul there would be repurcussions down the road as the state tried to continue supporting so many "retirees". The bill on its own didn't make it through committee, so apparently it was tacked onto another budget bill that would be heard on the floor today. Now, I have no idea what sort of "reduced benefits" would be a part of that early retirement deal, but I am pretty sure that if there was enough monthly income to pay my essential living expenses, I would jump at the chance. Why? Such a retirement income would go with me wherever I go. It would probably not be more than a funky part-time job would pay, but if that money was coming in, AND I could take some other little part-time job, I'd still have enough time leftover to pursue my own things to make some more money. I'm thinking such a retirement package would have to be at least 50% of my current salary, since regular retirement is (I believe) something like 66% of highest salary achieved before retirement. O'course, that bill has to pass through congress and be implemented, and it was planned to be offered only to those who had been furloughed. But reading the reports and following the news, I am pretty sure there are more furloughs and layoffs yet to come. If a retirement package is offered to me, I would take it. I could find a small little place to rent (or buy???) near my kids somewhere, do the things I wanted to do with my life, have quality time with family. I mentioned this to the acting business manager for the cancer center, and her face fell. She said, "But Raaaayyyyy.... I've already lost so many people!" I know. And I wouldn't want to leave everyone in a lurch. But it's not like I'm doing this all on my own. Life happens, and if it came down to push-and-shove, they would cut me off to save their budgets and programs. So, why not accept the possibility that I could just up and leave of my own accord? |
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Funky Monkey, Racing Mind 21 Nov 2005 Weird. Because yesterday's football game on CBS ran over, it meant that 60 Minutes and Cold Case were delay nearly an hour, which mean the movie Snow Wonder didn't start until almost 9:00. I didn't feel like staying up until 11:00 just for a dumb movie, so I went to bed and read some of Harry Potter for about 15 minutes. Then around 1:00 a.m. I woke to the sound of rain, so I quickly dragged my ass out of bed and grabbed my shirts off the hanging rod and neatly stacked them away from the parts where rain might likely drip through. Then I crawled back into bed, dozing off and on for a couple hours. Didn't do much good, pretending I could just go back to sleep. I couldn't. My mind was racing from one thing to another. Nothing in particular, just a bunch of gobble-de-gook. I quit trying around 4:30. Sometime this week I hope to receive some packages from UPS -- some books from Amazon, some meds from Walgreens, and a sewing machine from Hancock Fabrics. I'm really pissed at UPS because all the tracking shows that these things are at the facility in Metairie and have been for several days -- maybe 5-10 miles from here....? What the fuck? What's worse is that one piece of an order arrived in the middle of last week, part of a larger order of several pieces. Now, I realize there was a major catastrophe in the area, and that the fleets of both UPS and FedEx were pretty much decimated. But that was 3 months back. It is really so hard for UPS to move trucks into the area from other areas? Or bring in sorters from other areas? I mean, I don't expect ANY regional distribution center to send all its resources, but if each regional hub could send in 2-3 trucks and a half dozen sorters/trackers, it would increase the local capacity 4-5 times what it now is and the backlog would be greatly reduced. Why can FedEx manage to get their shit together and keep things moving but UPS cannot? These are national companies with national resources, not some little Mom-and-Pop operation in the shop on the corner. I have already applauded the local independent entrepreneurs for getting their shit back in operation with the 'big boys' are sitting around with their thumb up their collective ass. But it's been THREE MONTHS!!!!! Part of the restoration process includes restoring services to the people who are here, whether it is in restarting their businesses, or just getting on with life. I can't imagine how businesses are functioning if they used to depend on UPS for delivery of their products for sale. |
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A Good Night's Sleep 20 Nov 2005 I went to bed around 9:00, read a bit of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" for about 30 minutes, and turned out the light around 9:30. Slept until 5:15. Not bad. We're supposed to get some rain today, so I need to go to market early. I want to pick up some plastic storage boxes, if I can. I have plenty of open-shelf storage, but I don't want things just jumbled and piled. I need a sense of organization so that I can see where things are, but not have them all messy looking. Plastic boxes allow me to see what I have and know where it is, but it all still looks neat and organized. Plus, putting things into storage boxes means that when it is time to move, I will be practically all packed up! This is a good thing! Onward into the day I go! Boxes Galore! Well, I went to the market this morning for a few things and found some plastic boxes -- I got four smaller ones (that's all they had) , and four larger ones (I left the other six behind). After getting home and realizing the larger ones are the PERFECT size to slide into the wall unit in the bedroom, I went back to the store to get the other six. They were sitting there just as I'd left them, so I grabbed them and got into line to check out. Some guy came up behind me to ask, "Where did you find those?" I pointed and said, "Down on the kitchenware aisle," and I really should have stopped at that, when I'd answered the question that was asked, but I continued, "but I got all they had." He got a disgusted look on his face, and practically yelled, "Aww SHIT!" I turned back around to face the couple in front of me and smiled ever-so-nicely. The woman said, "Is there a run on boxes today?" The gentleman said, "What are you going to do with those?" I said, in order, "There wasn't until I got here," and "packing up all my stuff for just-in-case." So! Now I have some plastic boxes, and I have cleared out a bunch of stuff for trash so that what is left will go into the boxes. I should be able to sort out the drawers in these cheezy-cheap little dressers and still have some bins leftover. I don't want to take the furnitures outside until Tuesday, because there's a chance of rain today and tomorrow. I'd rather leave furniture out when it can remain dry until someone who needs it can find it. It feels good to be making progress, but my legs hurt from two walks to the market and a bunch of back-and-forth walking around in here to sort and sift and shift and move stuff around. I think I'll take it easy this afternoon. |
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What to make of it all 19 Nov 2005 It's weird trying to pretend everything is "normal" when I know it isn't. The Uptown area is coming back okay, but this is one little pocket of a larger metropolitan area that is still pretty much fucked up in a very large proportion. Reading the Uptown Forum at NOLA.com is a mix of stuff -- sometimes quite helpful to know what places have opened for business, and other handy information. But other threads are full of angst and personal/community upheaval. Today I am going to work around the house on house-hold things. I can feel the physical parts of my existence here closing in on me and I really want/need to get a handle on what I have. Ohhhh shit! This does not bode well for me: Medical school in financial crisis: Without quick help, it will run out of money. Wow. I guess I'll now long before March just how long my income will hold. Which means I have to step up and get my ass in gear. I feel stuck I've been muddling through the task of finding out what I have and what I need to keep and what I can throw away. I feel like I've hit a brick wall and can go no further. I have an abundance of shelves and baskets and storage things, and an abundance of stuff that needs to be safely stored. I'm stuck at the point of matching storage pieces to storage needs. I don't understand why I feel stuck. I have a few CD racks, and I have some CDs. Why is it so difficult for me to go around the house, collect up all my CDs, divide them into music CDs and work/software CDs and just put them on the rack??? I have bags of yarn that needs to be sorted and stored into appropriate storage boxes. I need to go buy storage boxes. That's the next step. I want EVERYthing to HAVE a place and to BE IN that place, whatever or wherever it might be. Why is that so difficult? Blue Roof Time While I was writing the above the doorbell rang -- it was a representative from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She was there to inspect the roof and schedule a Blue Roof team to cover it against further leaks. She said the team should be on site within 7-10 days. That will be good. The roof will still need to be properly repaired or replaced, but at least with the cover it shouldn't leak in the rains. While muddling through my day today I was reminded in several ways that I have a business to develop: This morning on an errand I found a pair of metal signs in a unique shape tossed aside into some small business' trash pile. Perfectly good signs, one of which needs a minor welding job on a rear bolt, and then they need to have those top rods trimmed off. They support the banners, which are welded into place, and those rods are then attached to the vertical suport rods, so I can't remove the top rods completely. I just don't want those arrow things up there. Once that is done I will have them converted into signs for my knitting business. Nice metal work like this would cost a pretty penny to have it created from scratch. To find these in such good shape, with only minor changes need, is a major blessing ... and one of the 'nudging' reminders that I have a business to start. And there have been a few other reminders as well, all of which pointing to the reality that (1) my job for the state is not nearly as sure as I once thought it was, and (2) my ability to create an income, regardless what channel it uses to get here, is primarily my own responsibility to create. My older daughter called me this afternoon to chat, and I was telling her that I will probably need to create several different income streams. I hope getting the first one off the ground will be the hardest, showing me how to do it, so that future income streams will be easier to open and navigate. I'm sure every avenue or stream will have its own challenges, but I think getting through the first one is the biggest learning experience. After that, I have momentum on my side. Following on that thought .... while I was moving stuff around today, I picked up a volume of Emerson's essays, and found a marker where I'd left off reading in his essay, "Spirituals Laws", a while back. I had underlined this passage: Place yourself in the middle of the stream of power and wisdom which animates all whom it floats, and you are without effort impelled to truth, to right, and a perfect contentment. How cool is that?? That "stream of power and wisdom" is, of course, more commonly known as the Holy Spirit. Contrary to the teachings of the Christian Church, the Holy Spirit is not the Third Person of the Trinity -- there is no "trinity" in reality, it's just a foolish doctrine of ignorant people -- but the Holy Spirit, or (from the Greek) the "spirit of holiness" is God Itself. It is the animator of all of life, the in-breather and the in-breathed both at the same time. Put yourself right smack dab into the middle of what God is doing (because all of life is floated upon it), and you will be carried forth without effort on your part to truth of knowledge, rightness of action, and a completion of fulfillment. But wait ... if God's already doing everything, and everybody is already being floated about on that power of God in action, aren't you already there? How can you put yourself there if you are already there? Yes, you are there in reality, but not there in consciousness. How many people, if they absolutely knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were exactly when and where and how they were supposed to be, and that they were consistently and constantly upheld in the stream of power and wisdom ... how many people, if they really knew it and understood it and believed it and acted on that belief, would continue to panic and twist and fight the currents of life? Any lifeguard will tell you that it is difficult to rescue someone while they are thrashing about and struggling against the currents. Only when they relinquish the foolish notion that they can fight a mighty wave or resist the tides, that is when they will be both ready and willing to be carried to safety. I think that is what Emerson was suggesting here -- consciously put yourself into the care and strength of that stream of power and wisdom, and IT will get you where you are supposed to be. That strengthens my resolve somewhat, and I feel more at peace about things. Not that I can sit on my ass doing nothing, but I don't have to make a struggle about where and when and how and everything else. (Geez... you think I should write a book or sumpin??) "But, how can you say everything's okay and just go with the flow? My life sucks!!!" Well sure it does ... look who's trying to run it! |
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"Decorate Your Life" 18 Nov 2005 Among the personal effects I brought home from the office was the contents of my candy dispenser (the repurposed cat food feeder). There were some Dove chocolates, which are generally good quality candies, and come wrapped with little uplifting comments inside. When I got home and tried one, it tasted and felt like a mouthful of dry cocoa powder. Not pleasant, and definitely NOT the normal Dove chocolate experience. Inside the wrapper was this bit: "Decorate your life." Later in the day I trimmed the flowers I'd picked up last week, and refreshed their water. That was a start. This weekend will be a lot about decorating the environment in which my life currently exists. But I don't think it meant decorating my environment. Decorating my life includes bringing the bright and pretty and uplifting EXPERIENCES back into my life, surrounding myself with glorious people, permitting my days to taste things beyond the humdrum ordinary. I don't know what that means, when put into practice, but I'll try to keep my eyes open for decorating experiences -- people, places, things and events that add sparkle, taste, culture, and inspiration into my life. I confess that I did throw away the rest of the candies. Between the unknown climate extremes in the building for the last 3 months, potentially harmful humidity, heat, and mold in the air, I just didn't want to keep it around. But I must also confess that I made a special trip to the market yesterday afternoon to indulge myself with TWO bags of Dove chocolates. They didn't have the kind I wanted, so I'm hoping these other kinds also have thought-provoking sentiments printed inside the wrappers. Might be a good way to focus my journaling (here, I mean) on good things, eh? Later This morning I had a conference call for work, and this afternoon I helped sort mail for the cancer center -- when you lose nearly all your staff, everyone does a variety of chores. That's okay, I don't mind. When I got home, I dipped into the bowl of Dove chocolates. Today's message: "Get your feet massaged." Okay, it's loads of fun to speculate the mystical inner meanings of such a cryptic message -- "improve circulation and blood flow in your foundation", "nurture your base", or "discover and cultivate what you stand for." And sometimes it just means "take off your socks and shoes and get your feet rubbed all over." Not everything requires a whole lot of meditation and "seeking" to understand it. Sometimes you just have to take it at face value and deal with it at that level, whether it's the message to get your feet massaged, or get your head out of your ass, or put your heart back on center, or don't cross the double yellow line, or whatever. It's a Friday afternoon, my body hurts, so I'm going to take the easy approach -- take off my socks and shoes and let them feel good. I can't afford to go get a foot massage, but I can certainly do things to feel better. So I will. See ya! |
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Into the Office 17 Nov 2005 Today I get to go into the office for the first time since August. They are opening the building for people to get what they need, but have warned everyone that the elevators are not working. My office is on the 11th floor. I do not relish climbing ten flights of stairs even once. I certainly hope I don't need to do it more than once. I am taking my camera with me. I hope that what I find is not too great a shock, but I want to document it anyway. If it's worthwhile I might post some pictures here this evening. Later... HolyMotherOfGod!!!!! I rode the Magazine Street bus down to Canal Street, pulling my granny cart. I didn't see a Canal Street bus, so I walked up Canal to the office. It's nearly 3 months since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and there are STILL mounds of building debris and reminders of destruction lining the sidewalk on Canal Street. In some places the piles are as tall as I am ... and equally wide as I am tall. So very, very sad. And then when I got to the building and saw many co-workers and other tenants of the building, all milling around outside waiting to get in. We'd been told the building would open at 8:00, but there were other delays. And then everyone had to sign a waiver in order to enter "at your own risk". There was no electricity and no elevators, which I already expected. What I did not expect was the mold and stench going up the stairs. I had a coughing fit about half way up to my floor, and continued to hack and cough another 10-15 minutes or so. We were not allowed to take any computers, equipment, or furniture -- just personal effects and any working papers that we needed in order to do our work. Most of us also took essential office supplies. Looking around the office space was very horrible. I didn't like it. It was musty, moldy, stuffy. Things were stuck to the carpets and growing on the walls. We've been told that the building should be ready for us to return sometime in January. I don't know if I want to. I am glad I went. And very glad I don't have to go back until the building is really ready for me. Hopefully, by that time, I will be similarly ready for it. |
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| Here comes the rains 15 Nov 2005 Well, shit! Sunday it rained, and the waters came through the roof in the bedroom again. I called the landlord and he said he'd look at it, but I didn't see him looking at it yesterday and today/tonight we are projected to get severe thunderstorms. Well, I've got my areas covered in plastic, so I'll just deal with it as it comes, I guess. oh well.... I mentioned that I now have two rice cookers. One has a 'keep-warm' feature, which is nice. I use my rice cooker 4-5 times a week, usually for rice at breakfast. I just read a review of another model that someone uses for her stone-ground oatmeal. What a great idea. I'll have to try that. The one thing that really, really bothers my frugal sensibilities is that the rice ALWAYS sticks to the bottom of the pan. The only way to get it out is to empty the pan as much as I can, and then soak the residue for a while. It only amounts to a couple tablespoons of cooked rice, but it still bothers me. I need to either find out how to prevent/avoid the sticking problem, or find a model that doesn't stick. I won't use "non-stick" cookware because it isn't healthy, so I'll have to figure out something else. Maybe I can line the pan with waxed paper or something....? Later... Hey guess what? This afternoon I was resting, with my head on the desk here, nearly half asleep and suddenly heard the most sickening crash, following by some crumbling sounds and another crash. I jolted wide awake and went to the kitchen. Nope. Everything looked fine there. Then I went to the bedroom and saw this: And that's just a portion of the mess. I looked up to see a gaping hole in the ceiling. And then I heard, "Hey, Ray ... It's Jim. I just stepped through the ceiling." Ohmahgawd!!!!! The landlord was up in the crawl space looking to find a way to fix the other leaky problem, and he just stepped right down into the sheetrock ceiling. TWICE!!!!! He covered it with some boards on the attic side of the ceiling, leaving this portion on the inside for me to cover up:
Notice the flaking, peeling, moisture laden problem across the ceiling??? Hmmmm.... And, just for fun, this is the section of ceiling that rained came through during Katrina and again a couple days ago:
Anyway, so my afternoon at "work" was interrupted by tracking down materials to cover the inside part of the ceiling, then cover it up, then clean up all the horrid mess all over my furniture and floors. Sheesh. And I had previously told someone that I'd be going to the Stitch-"N-Bitch session at Rue de la Course tonight. I don't think so. Besides having a few hours chinked out of my day, I'm exhausted and don't feel like going out this evening. Tomorrow I am definitely going out to the Knitting Meetup, no matter what. This evening I'm just plumb worn out and plan to get to bed reasonably early. But NOT in the bedroom. Considering the pending weather, I really have no interest in sleeping in there tonight! Do you blame me? |
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Back to "business as usual" 13 Nov 2005 Man-oh-man ... some things just never change! Here's an article about a motorcyle shop raking in the dough from FEMA by selling TRAILERS. The whole thing just pisses me off, and I'm not even directly involved in any of the transactions. It's just wrong. No wonder the rest of the world thinks Louisiana is a cesspool of political connections. Later.... well done! Now that I've been home four weeks, and the weather is turning away from 'hurricane'-ish, I took the remaining boards off the windows. This helps to lighten the place up, at least in the rooms where the windows remained covered. I like light, I need light, I want light in my home. I am glad to once again have light in my home. I also swept up the debris from the side alley next to the house. It had been filled with clutter and debris, and sweeping it and bagging it is another little "feel-good" chore that I just couldn't put off any longer. I would like to steam-clean the bedroom carpet that got all rained on, but I've just about run out of energy for the moment. I think if I do it early in the morning, and keep the place opened while I work here in the office, it will be fine. It isn't easy trying to pace myself with my chores. I don't like just being here and seeing all sorts of things that need to be done, yet not having the energy to actually DO those things. But I know that things will eventually get done, just like today's chores got done. Gawd, I love Karma! A couple weeks ago, two co-workers moved into an apartment nearby, since they'd both lost EVERYthing in the floods after Katrina. Along with some other stuff I didn't need, I gave them 3 mis-matched white resin chairs -- the kind you can find at the hardware for about $8 or less on sale, the cheap patio furniture. They sat just fine, I guess, but I could never remember which one actually fit my butt the best, and they didn't match each other, and I was happy to get rid of them, since I didn't actually have a patio table or anything to go with them anyway. So this afternoon, coming back from an errand, I saw that someone had thrown to the sidewalk a perfectly good set of 4 matching chairs AND a matching table. Woo-hoo!!! Not cracked or broken, just a little dirty. I can invest a little soap and water and elbow grease to have a clean set of matching patio furniture. And, while I was going back to fetch the chairs (I brought the table right away), I saw someone else had thrown out a similar table, but it was yellowed (or maybe it was originally an almond color...??), but I decided to leave it since it wasn't white like the original table and chairs I'd spotted. Had I not spotted the table, I would not have gotten the chairs, of course, since I do have a big round patio chair. But now, I can get a smaller papasan cushion to put into that chair and use it inside for TV or whatever. Very cool. As near as i can tell, anything put to the sidewalk along with obvious trash and garbage is free for the taking. I would not walk onto someone's property and take things, and even if a trash can is "near" the edge of someone's yard, I won't go through it until the trash is actually put out to the sidewalk, and off private property. I think that is fair, don't you? I mean, if someone throws something away, why not take it and use it, right? Yesterday, right on top of someone else's trash pile, I found a brand new, clean, unused rotary grater large enough to put good sized hunks of cheese into. As much as I grate cheese, it is a useful item, clean, and now it is mine. I'll have to try it to see if it us better than manually grating cheese on the flat grater. If I had a pickup truck, I would regularly make the rounds and pick up all sorts of useful things, and could probably make some good pocket change by recycling useful stuff. But right now, I think I would feel funny about that, because I know for a fact that landlords are throwing out tenants' stuff left and right. I don't think I could feel comfortable taking something that wasn't officially thrown out by the rightful owner, even if it was on the sidewalk amid other garbage. It would feel too much like stealing, taking direct advantage of someone else's genuine misfortune, y'know? So I am careful about what I'm picking up, even now -- it has to be clearly trash, and clearly thrown out by the owner. deja vu ... all over again! This afternoon it was getting rather cloudy and 'moist' outside. After a while it began to rain. Hard. Lots of rain. And I was listening for it to let up before I could go out again (and grateful I'd done as much outdoor chores as I'd intended to do). When I went into the kitchen, I heard a familiar drip-drip-dripping, and I turned to look. Well, SHIT!!!! It was raining in my bedroom again! Well, okay, not RAINING in the bedroom, but the ceiling was definitely dripping through. I called the landlord right away, and I'm sure he'll need to take a look at it tomorrow when he comes to his office. And I DID move all my shirts and stuff out of the way ... again! Dang, this is not fun! Reminds me of another little rain storm we had a few months ago. Anyway, into the evening I go. |
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Learn how to write correctly, goddamnit!!! 12 Nov 2005 In one of the forums recently, I came across this statement: I spotted a HUGE raccoon had to be at least 20-25 lbs early this morning in Carrollton Most people with a public high school education could not identify the problem with that. It is true that raccoons, mice, rats, and a variety of other critters have been running around the city since before the city was even here! But what bothers me is that I am left to wonder, "If the raccoon had to be at least 20-25 pounds early in the morning, how heavy did it have to be at noon or evening?" And then, of course, I am forced to guess at whether she was spotting the raccoon with a permanent marker, a paint-ball gun, or actually sewing spotted faux fur to the poor creature. Of course, once we learn her technique for spotting the animal, we would likely want to know how she got the darn thing to sit still long enough for a good spotting. The landlord's insurance adjuster showed up a half hour late. This one wasn't as 'giving' as the previous one who actually showed up. The landlord said the adjust was a "hard-ass". The guy said, "They don't take to wet carpet much any more." Huh? Does ANYbody? That's WHY the landlord has insurance, you silly dipshit!!!! <*sigh*> So I don't know what, if anything, the insurance will cover toward fixing the roof, the ceiling, and the floor. Oh well. This evening I went to meet my friends at the Nile Cafe. I waited a good 15 minutes then went on and ordered my dinner, figuring my friends would show up any moment. I passed their house on my way to the restuarant, so it's not like they got lost or anything. After paying for the dinner and leaving, I walked back home. Passing their house, they called out to me. They thought I was going to meet them at their apartment, not at the restaurant. They called the restaurant, and were told I'd just left. <*sigh*> Well, maybe next time we'll all eat together! |
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11 Weeks Already?? 12 Nov 2005 The landlord's insurance adjuster is supposed to come by this afternoon. I managed to get the kitchen floor tolerable, after a couple hands-and-knees brushings and then mopping, and then mopping again with that cheezy "Mop & Glo" stuff. I don't care for that stuff much, but it'll do for now. I have the windows and doors open, airing the place out, which helps improve the mood a bit, too. And this evening I'm going out to dinner with some friends down the road. It's almost starting to feel "normal" around here again. It's been almost 11 weeks (minus 2 days) since my world was torn apart and reconstruction began. Wow. It's like a lifetime away now. My daily life is getting back to normal. I certainly wouldn't want to live in a constant state of evacuation, instability, and all the rest. But I don't want to forget either. I don't want to become complacent in my everyday life and then forget that I have purposed to eventually get my ass out of here. Taking care of everyday stuff makes it easy to lose sight of the long range plans. I've been back home four weeks now. Amazingly, my home is still not totally in order the way I would like it to be, but it's getting there, one room and one project at a time. That's a good thing, I suppose. One thing that is changed is that I'm not out spending a lot of money on stuff at the moment. Paying bills and getting what I need, without a lot of frivolous spending, and trying to pay down the last of my credit cards. I need to be sure my income is in place before I get too settled into any particular spending routine. I may need those credit cards for moving next year. |
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He must be off his meds 10 Nov 2005 I cannot believe he said this, “I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God, you just rejected him from your city,” Robertson said on his daily television show broadcast from Virginia, “The 700 Club.” “And don’t wonder why he hasn’t helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I’m not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that’s the case, don’t ask for his help because he might not be there,” he said. but then again, he's been saying off the wall shit like this for years. At issue is that the people of Dover, DE, voted off all of the members of their school board because the board members supported putting "intelligent design" into the curriculum. And the response is that this tired old busy-body (Pat Robertson) comes off with his unsolicited, and un-thought-out opinion. But what really irks me is the irrational leap of declaring that Dover has rejected God from their city! Huh??? That's the same claim made about limiting religious prayers in public schools and other similar things: "You have rejected God." Oh bull-fucking-shit!!! What the people of Dover rejected was the in-your-face push of a religious ideology being taught as "truth" to their children in public schools. Any time someone takes an alternative position they are somehow "rejecting God", which is usually far from the truth. What is rejected is someone else's opinion about God. So what? Get over it! Okay.... so today I went to Office Depot to pick up some supplies. I hate like heck having to stock my supplies for "work" out of my own pocket, but there is no way to purchase things right now because of the freeze order by the Governor. Hmph. Oh well, it was good to get out of the house. And, when I get to go back to my regular office, or some other facility, I get to keep these supplies at home for MY business or whatever I decide to do. Pretty cool, I guess. It was interesting riding the bus along St. Charles Avenue, instead of the streetcar, but I was able to see things have been getting cleaned up somewhat. That's a good thing. More and more businesses are coming back. Many are not, including many of the restaurants that depend on volume business to remain profitable. Many of the smaller eateries are opening up as they can, but the big restaurants remain closed, even in the Garden District and Uptown areas. I suppose it is because the current population is about 1/4 what it used to be, and probably won't be more than 1/2 what it used to be for a couple years or more. With a projected population of only 250,000, New Orleans will be a small town even year from now. And, right now, Uptown and the Garden District are the most populated areas of the city, and some parts of Mid-City. And, with limited disposable income among those who did come back, it isn't likely they'll be dining out in the nicer places for a good long while. Granted, some will throw their money around no matter what, but the average person is more interested in getting their lives back on track. That reminds me ... in one of the local forums I've been following, a vocal negativity-monger was claiming that even Uptown there is "zero quality of life for singles or families." What??? If "quality of life" means unlimited restaurants, theaters, other paid entertainments, fancy boutiques and other things to waste money on, then I suppose the people who "need" such things will feel like there is a low "quality of life". MY quality of life is pretty good and improving all the time. I have basic city services and utilities (electricity, gas, phone, cable TV), plentiful grocery shopping, and pretty much everything I had before Katrina turned my world upside down. It is annoying that the garbage pick-ups haven't gotten back on schedule, but my mail delivery is picking up better now. There aren't many places I need to go, and I can get there by bus, bicycle, or walking. There are plenty of cops and military folks in the area keeping the crime WWAAAYYYYY down, I'm 10 minutes or less from the only open hospital in the area, there's a double or triple contingent of firetrucks at the local firehouse down the street from me (other locations were flooded or damaged, so their equipment has been moved over here!). I feel quite safe, my daily needs are met, my bills are in order, I continue to work, and my health is mostly in order. So what's that crap about "zero quality of life"???? Oh hey, speaking of mail ... today I got a whole bunch of mail -- a bill that was mailed in early September, a different bill that i've already paid online, and some other stuff I would not have died without. Plus, I got a thank you card from my second daughter for the baby bed linens that I bought. The thank you card was post marked August 30, the day after Katrina! And it had FOUR forwarding stickers, stuck in a mail loop between Houston and here! hahahahaha But at least I finally got the card, eh? Tuesday I took the bus down Magazine Street to funky little local t-shirt shop ... NOT like one of those t-shirt shops in the Quarter. These guys do their own silk-screening, and they put out their own locally-relevant slogans, like "Go with the ContraFlow" (that's what they call it when they reverse the direction of the freeway traffic for mass evacuation), "New Orleans: proud to swim home" (pre-Katrina it used to be "New Orleans: proud to call it home"), and the one I bought: "Make Levees Not War". I like supporting local independent entrepreneurs, and I liked the slogans, so I just HAD to buy a shirt, y'know? :-) Well, onward into the evening. I have a busy day ahead tomorrow, and I'm definitely looking forward to a weekend. Since I am working at home, it is important (to me, anyway, even if nobody else notices) that I NOT do work-related stuff on the weekends if I don't have to. Last weekend, I screwed up during the week and needed to meet a deadline (and learn better time management). |
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Under New Management?? 8 Nov 2005 This morning I was reading "The Official ebay Bible", trying to decide if I want to go that route, or investigate other options. (In truth, of course, the more income streams I have, them ore likely I will be able to survive, more so than expecting all my income through one channel.) Anyway, I was reading some of their tips for sellers, learning about bookkeeping, inventory, communicating with customers and so forth. Pretty good stuff all around, actually, but right in the middle of that section about managing your business, out pops this amazing statement: "You can't manage what you can't measure." Huh???? How simple is that? And how many parts of my personal life and home seem to be sometimes unmanageable? Well, duh!!! I have bags and drawers and boxes full of yarns, waiting to be made into something. The collection is not easily managed. Why? Because I haven't taken the time to actually inventory (count, or MEASURE!!!) it all. Well, fuck!!! No wonder it feels overwhelming! And how about all those pens I have in various drawers, cups, and other places?? Same thing! Okay, so I guess that means I need to REALLY inventory what's in my home and MEASURE it -- quantify it in some way so that I can manage it, make intelligent decisions about it, and get those parts of my life under new management, huh? Hey, you 'member yesterday I mentioned I had gotten the baby blanket back on the machine? Well, guess what? After setting my needles, ripping back one row to re-set the tension, and ever-so-carefully preparing my yarn into the carriage, I slowly proceeded to knit the next row. OHMAHGAWWWDDDD!!! The whole friggin' thing flew off the needles, landing in a heap on the floor, with several previous rows unraveling in parts. Holy crap!!!! So I sat down and had to pick up a fresh row of stitches farther down the work, slip them onto the needles, and then frog back the part above it. Dang, what a pain!!! But those 16 rows are only about 2-3 hours of knitting on the machine, so it's not a major big deal. (No, on the machine I can flat knit those 16 rows in about 5 minutes or less... it's manipulating 170+ stitches for the feather-and-fan pattern that takes so much time. But it's still faster on the machine than by hand, for this particular project, in my opinion.) I didn't get the yarns from KnitPicks today (UPS is totally slow in New Orleans these days), but I did get the chair and floor mats. I am now sitting far more comfortably, not nearly so tensed and cramping across my shoulders and neck. Nice. Another good event from the day -- I was finally granted access to the main servers at work, using a remote interface. This means I am now able to update the various Web sites for which I am responsible at work. Very cool, indeed, as they've not been updated since before Katrina -- I at least need to put up notices that our various programs are active and coming back. When I can immerse myself in 'normalcy', and not constantly deal with hurricane aftermath, I feel better. I know it's a long road ahead, and it won't be easy, but looking at the destination (a return to stability, even if it is different from before) instead of looking at the road and all its bumps, makes it an easier ride. I guess it's like driving down the highway -- you notice the white lane markers but you don't obsess over each little painted strip as you pass them; you keep your eyes on the road ahead, mostly, with only occasional (but regular) glances at the rearview mirror, either side of the vehicle and so forth. But mostly it's just looking forward. Do you know why ducks don't get their feathers ruffled? It's because they face INTO the wind, not away from it. That's good to know. And good to remember. |
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"Next!!" 7 Nov 2005 Damn, I'm good! hahahahahahaha. I completed the current set of Biostat exercises, and was promptly rewarded with a set of formatting edits that need to be done. But my goal was to finish the exercises and I did that much. So, "Mission Accomplished". I can do the edits tomorrow morning. Yesterday I cleared out the utility closet, today I completed the worked exercises for the current Biostat chapter, this afternoon I gifted some co-workers with an additional table on which they can continue working -- actually, it's the adjustable drafting table, which I was wondering what to do with, so it worked out just fine. Oh yes, and I also found time to correctly re-hang the baby blanket on the knitting machine. I'd begun that over the weekend and discovered I had hung it backwards!!! Now I can move forward to the next project! Tomorrow I should be getting the new chair and chair mats from OfficeDepot, AND the box of yarns from KnitPicks, which I ordered last week. I recently rejoined the GLB-Knit list in order to re-connect with gay and lesbian knitter folk. Many of them tracked me down during my evacuation from Katrina, which greatly bouyed my spirits. Anyway, in a recent discussion on something else, I was shocked to read that, at least in some corners, the knitting fad is over. OHMAHGAWD!!!! Say it isn't so!!! Does that mean I have to auction off all my remaining yarns and tools and books and .... oh wait.... I didn't start knitting just because it was the "cool" thing to do. I started knitting when I was 15 because I WANTED to do it. I have knit since then, and I was knitting long before it became "cool". More importantly, the trendiness of the act of knitting does not much hinder my plans toward deriving income from knitting. Specifically, I dislike most of the trendy, glitzy, sparkly, fuzzy, foofy yarns especially designed to snag the fashionistas of the world. I am more interested in the classics -- both the designs and the products -- and there will always be a market for well crafted goods. And, once the fad-chasers move out of the way, there will be a core market of people who actually enjoy knitting. And once the hobby knitters get over it, there will also be a market of people who appreciate good knitting (and well-knitted goods) but don't want to knit. And, without the fad knitters, I'm sure the market will stabilize into solid yarns, and the over-abundance of the foofy stuff will diminish accordingly. I am confident that anything knitted in the last three years with the trendy, goofy, glitzy yarns will look dated and "oh-sooo-yesterday" ... pretty much like wearing those granny-square ponchos that were done in the 1970's. Good knitting in classic styles will stand the test of time with very little modifications. Today's "fashion" will be tomorrow's "tacky". If I were a trend-chaser, you can be sure I'd be disappointed at the suggestion that "knitting is out". I'm not a trend-chaser. And I have it on good authority that babies will ALWAYS need knitted goods, adults will always appreciate a good sweater, and there will always be plenty of beds, sofas, and wheelchair-bound knees that need a cover of one sort or another. Holiday stockings are a perennial favorite, and as long as there are children being born, there will be doting grandparents rushing to knit up "just one more". As long as there are feet, there will be socks. And when knitting is no longer a trendy hobby, those who have tried it will likely appreciate the worth of a well-made, hand-made article, and will not so easily balk at paying nicely for things. So! I will proceed with my plans, undaunted by the rumor mills and naysayers of the world. Hurray for me, eh? |
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A Naked Note 7 Nov 2005 A couple days ago, I posted a picture of the cover of a paper journal I had picked up last Spring. On the first writing page, I wrote: Running Naked Down the Street And included in the first entry (which I wrote while enjoying a cup of coffee and slice of Bananas Foster Cheesecake at a local place) was this prophetic comment: Okay, so why start a new paper journal? Because I feel like I'm starting a new page or chapter inmy life. A change of finances, more liberty of mind. And then on April 12 I noted that I'd adopted Hazel on April 2, which was another change in my life. At the time, it was a BIG DEAL! Who could have known last Spring what the Summer and Autumn would bring, how vulnerable I would become, and how naked I would be in this life? I was thinking about this last night, actually. It would be awfully difficult for me to run naked down the street, but symbolically I've been stripped down to what's real and there are times when I feel incredibly vulnerable. But at the same time, following a thought I shared a few days ago, I am confident that I will be covered. Back in the Garden, after Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, it says, "Then the eyes of both of them were eopened, and the knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings." (Gen 3:7) After a while, God came strolling through the garden for an afternoon tea or something, and they hid. God called out to them. Adam said, "We heard you coming. I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid." God asks, "Who told you that you were naked?" And then comes the whole sordid tale of Adam blaming Eve who blamed the serpent and yadda-yadda-yadda. Well, of course, God was pissed, and gave them a big ol' lecture and dished out some punishments, but then look what happens: "And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them." (Gen 3:21). Then God sent them out of the Garden, telling them to till the earth and so on and so forth. But it is significant to note that this part of the Creation Myth presents both a disciplinarian God AND a loving, nurturing God. Nakedness brings fear and a sense of vulnerability. (If you've been naughty and tasted that first twinge of genuine guilt and remorse, you know how naked that feels!). And, yes, God dished out some penalties in line with the offense, but at the same time, God covered their nakedness. Adam and Eve still had to deal with the consequences of their behavior, but they were covered. How cool is that? I have felt really vulnerable at times lately, and I know that half-a-million of my closest friends and neighbors have felt the same way, trying to deal with shit far beyond our control. The Apostle Paul had his own share of shit to deal with to, and one thing in particular was bugging the snot out of him, and he prayed three times for God to take it away (it isn't made clear WHAT the problem was, but it really bothered him). Instead, God's response to him was 2 Cor. 12:9 The phrase "is made perfect" has the connotation of being made full or complete. Hmmm... okay, so when I'm most vulnerable and naked, is that when I have to just quit trying so hard and just let myself be covered? Is that when I'll see the fullness of the Universe at work around me? Could be. It makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, when my life is going along smoothly and everything is grand, I have little reason to ask for help and no reason to feel particularly vulnerable. In fact, when things are going great, I feel quite secure and capable. It's when shit happens (and it is a question of when shit happens, not if), that I recognize my weaknesses, discover my points of vulnerability ... and I am then forced to look beyond my resources and recognize the fullness and completeness of the strength wielded throughout the Universe. (Lest anyone fear for my sanity, I'm not turning into a hyper-religious Pollyanna sort of guy -- I'd be thrown out of any church I'd care to visit because I think most religious bullshit is .... well, bullshit! But that doesn't get in the way of enjoying a wonderfully spiritual experience in this life, exploring my own relationships with the Universe, and discovering things no church would dare to tell me: that I'm okay and safe in this Universe, that I am fully a participant in the action, not a spectator, not a pawn, and definitely not disposable!) The 'faith' I find in my life comes from experience, testing how the Universe works, and discovering some elementary principles that allow me to proceed in confidence. I try as best I can to cooperate with the principles I discover, rather than fight aganst them. Fighting the Universe, pretending I can be in charge of everything, only leads to bumps and bruises. Fuck it. I have better things to do with my time than trying to re-invent how the Universe should work. It's been around longer than I have. I happen to be more familiar with the myths and traditions of the Western world, and I am free to interpret the Western sacred texts accordingly, but the exact same principles are hidden within the sacred texts of all the worlds great religions. That's why they are called "universal truths", not "Christian truths" or "Hindu truths" or whatever. And so, onward into the day I go! |
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A job well done PM 6 Nov 2005 Okay, so the pictures aren't even worth posting, but I will anyway, but I really DID accomplish a lot in organizing the utility closet. I totally emptied it, collected all sorts of little odds and ends into a dozen-and-a-half peanut butter and jelly jars, organized tools into various functions, and threw away a HUGE pile of stuff. This is the mess before I started. Stuff was pretty much jumbled in and crammed into whatever spot was open.... or least likely to topple over. And after emptying it out, removing most of the milkcrates and putting in a larger single storage rack (found on the street!), putting all fasteners, nails, screws, hangers, etc. into all the peanut butter jars (top row), and organizing the paint stuff from the handtools and so forth, it all seems a little more logical. See the hanging rod across the top of the closet? Well, on the right half, I wrapped a heavy duty link chain around that rod, and into the chain I slipped "S" hooks for hanging brooms and other tools. Not the most elegant way of doing things, but it keeps the tools from smooshing on the floor, and was a LOT easier than buying tool hooks and installing them into the back of the closet. Another 'found' object was some sort of weird wire organizer thingy, clearly designed to hang on one of the fancy wire mesh grid things. It fit just fine on the side of the new rack, and it is now holding all my various electrical cords, neatly off the floor. Anyway, after several hours of this, my back is sore, but I do feel better for having this project done. It's been hanging over my head for MONTHS. And getting it done spurred me to reconsider some of my other crafty little projects, which probably would never get done, and are now on the sidewalk for some other kind soul to adopt.
All in all, a good day's work. Now, to work on the Biostat stuff. The instructor said the students wouldn't get to this next chapter until Wednesday, so I'm still ahead of the game. Off to enjoy the evening with pasta and sauce. |
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Chipper 6 Nov 2005 I'm feeling much better this morning. I aimed myself toward the bed around 8:30 and spent the next couple hours finising Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and managed to turn off the light around 10:15 or so. I woke once in the night, then went back to sleep until the alarm clock sounded. There are two things I need to do today: finish the Biostat exercises, and fix the utility closet. Anything else I accomplish is just extra. Setting priorities helps me focus. Even though today wouldn't normally be a work day, I am content to do what I need to do for the job. Other days during the week will provide time to do other things, and it all balances out in the end. Thank you to ALL the folks who have written supportive notes and encouragement. I really do appreciate it. Yesterday I went to the Office Depot Web site and ordered a new task chair for working here at the computer, plus a couple of chair mats. Neither of my task chairs is suitable for this desk and computer, and I'm tired of all the back and neck strain trying to plug onward and work here. And the chair mats will help me here at this desk and in front of the knitting machine. At six feet wide, I need to move back and forth a LOT, and it's just a pain trying to do that over carpet. These goodies should be delivered on Tuesday. I'll be sure to do my out-of-house errands on Monday so I can be here for it. Plus there will be a FedEx package of more Biostat course materials coming on Tuesday. So, if I work today to catch up, I can use Monday for other things, right? I'll have before-and-after pictures of the utility closet when I come back. |
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Crash and burn? 5 Nov 2005 Well, heck! About midafternoon yesterday I just crashed. Imploded. After ironing my shirts, I mainly spent the rest of the evening sitting like a bump on a log. It was an effort to drag out the laundry basket to fold what was left to put away. I had neither the motivation nor energy to get back to work on projects that were due for my job (having promised it would be done by day's end--EEK), nor any of my household projects toward getting back into some semblance of order. I felt depleted and very UNenthused about almost anything. I even tried knitting on the swatch for a gray wool sweater, and managed only to knit a couple of rounds before tossing it aside. (I'll be knitting the entire sweater in the round, seamless, so I have to do the gauge swatch in the same way, knitting in rounds, not rows back and forth.) Knowing that I am easily influenced by the weather, I understand that I let myself down during a very gray and overcast day. I should have made myself get out and about to soak up whatever daylight was available. But I also recognize that I'm going through a whole bunch of shit for an extended period of time, and there are days when I just don't have what it takes to keep going. I won't beat myself up for a down day, but I also don't want to wallow in it and perpetuate it. Yesterday ended at midnight, and the clock turned to a fresh day. So today is another day in which to pick up and go for as long as I can. (I'm wondering how many folks in the area are taking the time to process this kind of stuff and think about it and re-direct themselves...??? I feel thoroughly ill-equipped for the task sometimes, but I'm still here, so I guess I'm doing it well enough, eh?) I have the early morning local news on, listening to this-and-that. Entergy, the main power company in this area, is saying that because their customer base has been so drastically cut, that those who DO come back will be paying up to three times as much as last year in order to help fund the reconstruction process of the city. That just plain sucks! I keep hearing that New Orleans, once almost half a million people, is expecting their population to be about 250,000. Many parts of the city -- New Orleans East, the lower Ninth Ward, Gentilly, and many other sections -- are still without power, natural gas, water and sewage, and remain dark. They have no gasoline stations, no bus service. My little pocket, Uptown, is coming back, but we are part of the bigger city, and the bigger city isn't nearly as big as it once was. There is continued debate whether the devastated parts even "should" rebuild; regardless whether they "could" or not, "should" they? The whole infrastructure of the city is fucked up. Some people want to bulldoze and infill the worst of the worst areas. Others want to rebuild, but to enforce the raising of homes above the flood levels. Most are agreed that unless the levees are made truly safe there's not much point, and I have to agree. There's a new tee-shirt being sold locally with the slogal "Make Levees, Not War." A couple days ago I was delighted to see that I had received one of my magazines ("Country Living") in the mail. While flipping through it in the bathroom (doesn't everyone read in the bathroom?) I thought it was odd that they were announcing an interactive decorating contest, and people could begin signing up in August. There were some other clues in the magazine that prompted me to look on the cover. Well, shit! No wonder.... I had just received the SEPTEMBER issue of the magazine, and here it is, already November! That's how bad the mail is around here, running two months behind, and so far I've received nothing but a couple magazines (old) and, when I first came back, I found a couple of bills that had been sent just before the Hurricane. (Clever person that I am, I know my regular bills, so I took care of them online while I was in Houston!) But, if the postal system is that fucked up, I guess there's little point getting a private postal box for new mail -- new mail won't make it through until all the old mail is processed. The weather guy is saying that we'll have another cloudy, overcast day. Also, the humidity is up, temperatures are about 10 degrees ABOVE the average, and we'll feel like late August or early September. Shit. Well, I have another day in which to do the best I can. I know there are projects that I really must finish today for work, and then there are things I want to do for myself around the house. I'll come back and report on the day this evening. I keep telling myself "a body in motion tends to stay in motion; a body at rest tends to stay at rest". So if I can just GET into motion I can ride the momentum ... I hope. I hope nobody minds that I'm using this venue to run around naked.
(This is the cover of a blank book I bought last year, published by Peaceable Kingdom Press. Inside the back cover it says: "Illustrations copyright 1998 and 1999 by David Shannon, fron NO, DAVID! and DAVID GOES TO SCHOOL, published by Blue Sky Press/Scholastic.") Nearly all my local people are gone, my animals are gone, and there's no one locally that I used to interact with (and recognize my moods, my 'good' days or 'bad' days) to tell me if i'm crashing or to give me essential feedback on my day to day stability. Even my coworkers are largely on the other side of my computer monitor now. So, if I'm getting wacky, please feel free to speak up. |
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A very pressing engagement this evening 4 Nov 2005 No, don't get all excited for me. I just broke down and splurged on a new Rowenta steam iron. After spending over $75 to have all my work clothes laundered when I returned from Houston I wasn't in the mood for either shelling out some more money OR fighting with my old iron coaxing it to spurt steam now and again. It took two and a half weeks to get it all my cleaning back (29 shirts, 1 jacket, 5 pants), although it is usually just 3-4 days, because the cleaners is so incredibly short-staffed. I have to say that I would normally have been upset with the delay. but under the circumstances, I don't mind making several trips to pick up whatever might have been available. I eventually DID get back all that I took for cleaning. The owner and his wife show up every day to work, and they've been open since the first week of October, in spite of the fact that their home was totalled and they have lost all their personal things. If anyone could be justified in just throwing in the towel and walking away, it would be these people. But these are the very people (and hundreds like them) who are rising to the challenge, hiring people, restoring their business, and making a go of it. But, now that all my clothes have been cleaned, I'm not going to be running down there for just a couple of shirts that I can iron myself. So, I bought an iron that I have been coveting for a long while. I also visited the folks at KnitPicks and ordered one of those hanging thingies to sort all my circular needles. I'm tired of fighting through the spaghetti-pile of cables in the bowl I've kept my needles in. Time to get serious and get them sorted. Oh yeah, and while I was there, I also ordered three different sampler packs -- one each of all their colors in their Wool of the Andes, Pallete, and Merino Style collections. Time to get serious about selecting the yarns I want to work with for stockings and other things, what better way than to swatch out small samples from all their colors, both in solid swatches and patterned swatches! That pile should be arriving Tuesday or Wednesday. Something to look forward to. And now, I need to get back to work-work -- I've been humping away on the Biostat course trying to complete the curent chapter's worth of exercises, making them ready to upload before the students start this chapter next week. Gawd, this is sooooo fucking tedious. And no matter WHAT I do, no matter how many exercises I've already done, it seems like EVERY exercise introduces some new little tweak or obstacle. I'm not taking the course or trying to learn Biostatistics. I'm putting the instructor's worked examples from the exercises into a Flash document to animate HOW the problems are worked, step by step. And each step along the way is a challenge! But at least I still have a job, and I don't really mind doing this. It's just tedious having to re-think it every time. I prefer being able to automate at least some of the things I have to do. Grrrrrr. But, having already done my laundry for the weekend, I really need to finish this Biostat project and email it out because tonight I have this pressing engagement! :-) |
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Lord I want to be in that num ... no, wait.... no I don't ... glad I'm not (not yet, anyway) 3 Nov 2005 That could have been me. Thousands of my fellow employees have been approved for furlough, effective Monday, according to a story in the news tonight on WDSU.com, it's "about 3,000". According to the Times-Picayune version of the same story, it's "almost 4,000". Either way you look at it, it's 2,881 from the Charity Hospital, and 580 from the LSU Health Sciences Center, which runs University Hospital. That's a LOT of people. Both Charity Hospital and University Hospital have been shut down completely, and both will reportedly have to be torn down and rebuilt. Charity Hospital is the flagship and original hospital of the state's public hospital system -- we're the only state in the country with a statewide public health system; most states of "county hospitals"). It's "official" name is the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans Rev. Avery C. Alexander Charity Hospital. often referred to as MCLNO, pronounced "McLano" by most folks who work there, but it will always be just "Charity Hospital" around most of |
