Lessons Learned???

Almost exactly three years after Katrina hit New Orleans, the city is again bracing itself for another massive hurricane. Hurricane Gustav is supposed to hit ground on Monday as a category 5- the most powerful hurricane. To put things in perspective, Hurricane Katrina was only a category 3 hurricane. According to the coverage on MSNBC a mandatory evacuation order has been issued. New Orleans will not offer emergency services to anyone who chooses to ignore the order- those people will be on their own. Unlike last time, residents will not be allowed to take shelter in the Superdome. The only options for evacuation are to drive or take a bus north out of the area. According to coverage, most of New Orleans are choosing to leave. It is a good thing that Katrina wasn't so long ago that people have forgotten the devastation.

New Orleans is also offering options for people who might not leave their homes because of their pets. As an animal lover, some of the most heartbreaking scenes from Katrina for me were stranded animals. The stranded people were sad too, but they had a choice to stay or leave, the animals didn't. Anyway, New Orleans is offering an animal registration program. Pet owners can register their animals and leave them in a safe shelter. When they return to the city, they will be able to claim their pets. A lot of people did not evacuate during Katrina because shelters do not allow pets. This option takes away that excuse for people who are considering riding out the storm.

The major question in all the coverage seems to be, Will the levees hold? No one seems to know. We can only hope that they do. One the lighter side of all of this, it is reported that President Bush will be unlikely to be at the Republican Convention on Monday in order to respond to the hurricane. It does take a lot of time and energy to fly over a disaster area. I'm sure he needs that time to prepare for his flight :)

Has the area learned its lesson from Katrina? Only time will tell. My hope is that they have. Even though this post focuses on New Orleans, Jackson, Mississippi and Texas are also targeted to be hit by Hurricane Gustav. My thoughts and prayers will be with the people of that region this weekend.

Barack Obama Rocks!

Hi all. As I have said before, I am not a very political person but because it is an election year and the week of the Democratic National Convention, I have become more interested in politics. Living with an amateur political analyst doesn't hurt either. Some background on my political affiliation: I am a registered Democrat currently, but not by choice. Most of my views align with Democratic Party views but I have always registered as an Independent because I like to believe I can think for myself and vote on issues/candidates based on my opinion and not the opinion of a political party (party line voters are the worst form of evil- no matter the party). When I moved to Pennsylvania, I had to register as either a Democrat or a Republican to be eligible to vote in the primary. I chose the party that, in my opinion, was the lesser of two evils at this point in history. That being said, let me tell you why I think Barack Obama rocks! This is the first political convention I have ever paid any attention to because I am so captivated by Barack. He truly inspires me with his ideals and visions for this country. His speech tonight got me a little teary-eyed at points because I felt like he was talking about me and Bill- regular people who are struggling financially but striving to make our lives better for ourselves and any children we may (or may not) have. Regular people who are are racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans (me) and working 60 + hours a week without health insurance (Bill). For the first time I can recall, I feel like there is a politician who is on my side and will work for me and not CEOs and lobbiests. I feel proud of my country tonight for nominating such a great man. Hopefully, we will see him in the White House in January. If not, you can find me hiding under a rock for the next four years, or until McCain kicks the bucket, whatever happens first :)

My Day

Taking a day off from work because you're car broke down and you have no way to get there- 160 Dollars

Having a locksmith open your apartment door (after waiting outside for 1 1/2 hours in 90 degree heat) because you locked yourself out- 132 Dollars

Having Meineke take all day to replace a car battery that was just replaced two years ago- 232 Dollars

Having one of the worst days of your life- priceless.

Just a little taste of what my day was like. Hope everyone had a better one than me.

I'm a Klutz

Me and my brother (see his recent post on Jei's Japan Network) seem to have both inherited the klutz gene from our dad (sorry dad). Earlier this week my brother hurt his knee dancing at a party. Today I strained my back falling down our stairs. While my brother hurt himself partying it up and having a good time, I wasn't so lucky. I hurt myself rushing to get to work. At the top of our set of 20 steps that leads to our front door one of my heels got caught in the carpet and I fell forward. I tried to catch myself on the railing but both my hands were full and I missed and fell all the way to the bottom. Along with a severe case of rug burn, I also had really bad back pain when I landed at the bottom of the stairs. Fortunately, we only live 6 blocks from the hospital so I was able to drive myself there (Bill was already at work). I am happy to report that I have no broken bones, just broken pride. I strained my back so I will be laying around living on pain killers and muscle relaxants the next couple of days but should be back on my feet (and my high heel sandals) soon. My ER nurse told my I need to put my heels in retirement but when you're only 4' 11" you need all the help you can get!

Last Trip to Yankee Stadium

This week Bill, Mary, Jimmy, and I went to Yankee Stadium for the last time. It was a very bittersweet trip for me. I have a lot of memories in that old stadium and I'm not ready for it to be torn down. When me and J were kids, we went to Yankees games with our parents and Aunt Ricki and Uncle Pat. My Uncle Pat was the lone Red Sox fan in a family full of Yankees fans so we had a lot of fun teasing him. I remember being in awe of the stadium. I thought it was the greatest place on earth. Until I met Bill, Yankee Stadium was the only stadium I had ever been to. Nineteen stadiums later, Yankee Stadium is still my favorite. It may not have the bells and whistles that the newer stadiums have, but it has a history that most other franchises can't compete with. Every time I tell Bill that I don't want to stadium to close, Bill reminds me that Yankee stadium hasn't been the original stadium since they renovated it in the 70s. That is true, but the stadium they are tearing down is my Yankee Stadium. It is the stadium where I saw my first live ballgame, the stadium where me and my family have fun memories, and the stadium where Bill and I sat in the dugout as part of the tour. There are too many memories of that stadium for me to list here. The new stadium looks beautiful and I hope to make new memories there, but for me it will never be the same.

Remembering Gregory

I just got some sad news. Gregory, one of my former students, passed away yesterday. I had Gregory in my class for two years and he was a very special guy. He loved to laugh and joke around with me and my other students. One of the clearest memories I have of Gregory is one day when I was transferring him from his wheelchair to a bean bag chair (one of his favorite places to be) and he bit me. I had some aggressive students that year but Gregory was not one of them. Gregory had been in pain from a condition he had that year and when he hurt, he clenched his teeth. It just happened that when the pain hit and he clenched his teeth on this day, my arm was there. I was so surprised, I yelled out. When I got Gregory into the bean bag chair, the look of remorse on his face was plain to see. Gregory couldn't tell me he was sorry, but the look on his face made it clear that he was sorry. Gregory was like that. What he couldn't communicate in words, he communicated in smiles and facial expressions. Gregory made it clear whether he liked a person he was with by his facial expressions. Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones that he liked. I will miss Gregory a lot and I hope that he is now at peace. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I've lost a student. In my line of work, it happens frequently. I just hope I made a difference with Gregory while he was still here.

Happy Birthday Baby (and Happy Birthday to me too)

Today is me and Bill's Birthday. One of the many odd coincidences we discovered when we started dating is that we share a birthday (although Bill is, and will always be, two years older). Today was also my grandfather's birthday. I never met my grandfather but he has always been a part of me so I would like to wish him a happy birthday in heaven as well. So Happy Birthday Baby! I hope we have many more happy birthdays together. A picture of us on our birthday last year is above.