Well, I figured I'd leave a "Goodbye you old crappy 2005" message since I haven't updated in -- well, forever now. But those who are my friends know WHY I haven't been updating. ;) I don't really expect to keep the diary current on this site, but I can't bear to bring it down. *cry*

Anyway, here's wishing everyone a happy and prosperous 2006!

Whew. I honestly haven't had time (or the energy) to post lately. With all the catastrophes happening around the state and the gulf, keeping up with my blog took a backseat to the BIG PICTURE. Ya know? I mean, does anyone really sit back and ponder what I did today? *LOL* Who cares if someone pissed me off (or vice versa)? It's all very tiny and insignificant when faced with the reality of what's going on in the world today -- like helping other people get a semblance of a life back after their world has been ripped from them. That's a major, ongoing commitment that I am actively involved in. I want to help - I can't just turn a blind eye to this. Who could?? Yet, there are some that do. Some people actually think New Orleans shouldn't rebuild. Others say Katrina was God's way of cleansing the town of the sinners and evil-doers that inhabited it. Perhaps it was all the gris-gris and voodoo mojo that set it off, right? My God -- I am so tired of that narrow-mindedness. Bottom line: Those people are human beings and they need help. They don't need to be judged - not by those who choose to sit back in their comfy recliners -- desensitized and unwilling to lend a hand (except maybe to point fingers at who or why it happened *rolls eyes*). Help your fellow man. It's the RIGHT thing to do.

Make a difference.

Go to NETWORK FOR GOOD and donate to help these people and their families.

Meanwhile, DH and I donated more items and time to the shelters in our area. This time we have people who fled Rita from the TX Gulf as well as So. La. My grandmother lives (lived?) in Beaumont, TX -- and now she doesn't know if she has a home to go back to. She and my uncle (her son) evacuated in time not to get stuck in all that horrible traffic that came with the mass exodus of Houston/Gulfport/Beaumont -- thank goodness!!

Rita hit our area (NW La on the TX Border) pretty hard Saturday. It flooded the streets in most areas and blew high winds enough to topple big oaks and pine trees in the area before it moved northward. Here are a few pics I took when it had finally stopped raining that day. Our house is on a fairly steep incline, so the flooding in the backyard wasn't that bad at all.



(above) The bottom of our driveway...


(above) The neighbor across the street had put a bag of leaves and mulch at the bottom of his driveway and that's how we gauged how high the water was. At one point the street had flooded and covered the top of the bag. That was the highest water we'd witnessed during our brush with Rita.


(above) A zoom-in faaaar down the street of a couple checking out the storm's aftermath. You can also see the truck in front of them navigating thru wheel-high water.


(above) We have a LOT of trees in our neighborhood, so they blocked most of the yards from the high winds, but it managed to tump over the wheelbarrow. You can see the rivers of water pooling in the yard, too.


(above) Molly and Cody do NOT like being out in this soggy, muddy mess. Ick!


(above) This is a (blurry) shot of my neighbor's yard. Looks more like a lake doesn't it??


(above) Grab a fishing pole, the creek's a-risin'! Actually this is our street after most of the floodwaters had drained off.


(above) Another angle of our street after the flooding.


(above)Whew! Thank goodness we didn't lose any tiles off the roof -- we just went into debt having a new roof put on back in June '05 from the last damage we received (from a small tornado in 2004). Pieces of limbs and leaves are scattered around the roof in the pic.


(above) This is the space between our neighbor and us. The grass is hiding the standing water here. Squishy...ick.

Yep, yep. I had a 4 hour stint between my two shifts today, so I sequestered myself in a study room and churned out an entire chapter. *patting myself on the back* That was pretty neat. And if I hole myself up, with no distractions, I can do it. It's just the whole "no distractions" part that gets me. ;)

Had another former member ask if she can rejoin the group next month. Honestly, it's sweet having folks back.

I think I'll write a little more before I turn in for the night. I'm on a roll! :)

I'm tired. I hate to complain, but egads, I need a vacation. But on the other hand, I need the income. SO I'm in a quandary. ;) Next day off is NEXT Friday (not this coming Friday). Ugh! But I'm bringing the NEO to work and hoping for the best.

As far as writing goes, it's been in spurts. Hopefully I'll find the rhythm soon.

Today a lady (I use the term loosely) called to nag me about my bank loan payment (yes, we know it's late). And she just went on and on and finally I was like, "Lady, did you even go over my record before you called to harrass me? Because if you had, you'd have seen CLEARLY that I've been doing nothing but catching up for the past 2 months." She was like, "Yeah, we understand. But we're really going to need that payment." And I admit, I got snippy and told her, "Don't tell me you understand when you obviously don't. And I'll make the payment -- AS I SAID EARLIER -- when I can." *click* Why do they try and get blood out of a turnip? People can be so stupid and uncaring. She doesn't know me.

I hate that. Just because people know your name or have some sort of limited contact with you, phone, internet, etc, they think they KNOW you. What's that all about? Here's a good rule to remember: people only let you know what they want you to know about them. That's true of real life and online. Yet, people on both sides pass judgment all the time on their "friends" or acquaintances they barely even know. *babble* Dont' get me wrong about online, there are some great friendships to be made using this medium -- no doubt about it. But it's the ones who get confused with the friendships [not talking romantic relationships here -- just regular friendships]- those are the ones that try to make the relationship more than it is. Those are the ones to worry about. They either turn to cyber-stalking or they bad mouth anyone who appears to have "done them wrong" (usually stemming from an argument, disagreement or a simple misunderstanding about the alleged "friendship"). But it's getting pretty common nowadays. Most people I know have had online experiences/drama like that. LOL! Scary that it's becoming more and more the norm, huh?

Now before I have some kook send me an email thinking this whole commentary was directed toward them. (*Sigh, scary that I have to add this addendum, yes?). This is what's called a generalization -- and not meant for any ONE particular person.

Aye yie yie.

Holy Moly! What a great hamburger we had today! DH and I went to this place with the horrible name (FATBURGER) but man, it was AWESOME! Check out their Website!



Great...now I'm hungry again. NOOOOOOOOOOO!!

Anyway, so we did that after we brought more stuff to the shelters and PHEW, I'm beat!

Oh yeah... wrote a smidge. Not a whole lot, but enough to say I'm writing. ;)

Had a former member of my writer's group return to the fold today. That was nice. I honestly think the genuine ones will come back. The petty ones will probably never be heard from again, which is totally for the best IMHO. It's good to weed the garden, right?

So I'm off to write a bit more. I've been working non-stop and have barely managed to get any blogging done. The only real time I get to write on my story is at breaks at work. Gotta love that Alphasmart!

Nite nite!

Well, I guess right off the bat, I should say that Katrina has taken its toll on me. My moods run the gambit here and I find myself crying at each and every tale that I hear about that catastrophe. Brandon and I are going to be working the shelters as soon as the main hoopla slacks off. Does that seem weird? Well, it's just that there is a barrage of donations coming in so fast they can barely keep up with the distribution. And that is FANTASTIC NEWS!!! :) Right now, though, it's uppermost on peoples minds and staring at you from the local check out line at the grocery, but after the initial shock of it wears off, there will still be donations to be made and people to help. As someone said to me earlier this week, "this is a marathon, not a race" -- the donations that are stockpiled in the shelters for now will definitely help those who need it. And later on, when those same people are still in need and the donations may not come as fast, that's when we have to remember them the most. And I will. I'll be there with DH to do whatever they need us to do to help them.

So with that being said, I'm going to try really hard not to let myself get bogged down with the horrific news plaguing my state of Louisiana -- and the gulf regions of Mississippi and Alabama. I'm going to try extremely hard to focus my attention on the GOOD and the POSITIVE and hopefully to stay trained on my writing.

I've decided that while I love this story I'm writing, I'm going to try and finish my earlier work, Serenity's Chance. Kate Seaver asked for the full manuscript after she judged it for the Duel on the Delta contest. Now that she's moved from Dorchester to Berkley, I think I'll see if I can send it to her there. I mean, technically, she DID ask for it, right? Regardless of the house she represents, right??

So I'm going to work simutaneously on both books for awhile, even though I said I NEVER do that. We'll see. I'm back to my regular hours at work (meaning I work until 9pm) so I'll have some free time during the day to get some major writing done.

Wish me luck -- heaven knows I need it to stay focused these days... ;)

Well, for the past 2 days, we've had a huge influx of refugees/evacuees from the gulf area. Lots are from New Orleans or the surrounding area, and a few are from the Mississippi/Alabama region. Wow. I feel so horrible for these folks. They've lost so much. They come in and they ask to use the computer, and we honestly rush around trying to find one for them, or ask other people to get off after they've been on at least an hour. But some locals are not very understanding about that. We say things like, "These folks need to see if their family is ok; if their house is still there; if loved ones are dead or alive." But they just kind of snarl at you and plop down to wait their turn to get back on the computer to play their incredibly important game of Yahoo Spades! *sigh*

Bran and I bought water and cookies and even cans/bags of dog/cat food to bring to the shelters this weekend. The library is taking donations too, so I have Alex (niece) getting all her old games and magazines and puzzles together so we can donate it to them. Lord knows how long these people will have to stay here, away from their homes, jobs, etc. Everytime I turn on the TV I start bawling. It's just horrific. Since the levee broke, Lake Ponchertrain is rising and will continue to rise until it's leveled out. Since New Orleans "bowl shaped" and below sea level, this means some places in the city could be under 20 ft of water. People literally have to claw their way to their attic and bust a hole in their roof with a hammer to escape the fast-rising water. Then, they sit on their roofs and pray to be rescued. Some don't make it. And I can't help but wonder -- where is the aid from other parts of the world? Is it wrong for me to feel a little angry / frustrated / disappointed about this??? Why does the world look to America and expect us to give everything and yet, when we need it, we have to literally BEG for it from other countries? Maybe I"m jumping the gun... maybe I am too cynical. Surely they (by THEY, I guess I mean "EARTHLINGS" ... sheesh) will come thru. We'll see.

Meanwhile, I overheard a tourist who claimed to be from Boston (and he had the accent down pat) today say, "Why do we always gotta pay for the damn hurricane damages? All it does is raise our insurance and it ain't even us!" I wanted to swat him. Literally PUMMEL him. It's not like we invoked the WRATH OF GOD, you know?! We didn't ASK to have all this death and destruction floating around. But according to him, we're all doing it just to raise his insurance premiums. **SCREAM**!!

Ok, I'm done venting. I'm just pissed and upset and very, very sad about what's going on.

If you can, please go to NETWORK FOR GOOD and donate to help these people and their families. Everything is there, from the Red Cross to the Humane Society and more.
http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/animal_environ/hurricanes/


Additionally, if you want to read the first page of today's New Orleans newspaper -- here is a link as it's being distributed electronically only due to the fact that they're under water.
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/katrina/pdf/083005_a01a02.pdf
Headline: "CATASTROPHIC"

Here's their blog -- and it's updated continually:
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp

And this is the CBS affliate news station in New Orleans. Pictures, blogs, forum helping families connect to loved ones, etc... updated frequently!
http://www.wwltv.com/

Helpful phone numbers:

Phone numbers for those in extreme emergencies:
Louisiana State Police: (800) 469-4828
St. John Emergencies: (985) 652-6338 | (985) 497-3321
Kenner Emergencies: (504) 468-7200
Coast Guard: (225) 389-2133

Emergency search and rescue phone lines for those in distress:
(225) 925-7708 | (225) 925-7709 | (225) 925-3511 | (225) 925-7412

To inquire about those in the area who did not evacuate:
American Red Cross, (866) GET-INFO

Jefferson Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness:
(504) 349-5360

To begin assistance process:
FEMA, (800) 621-FEMA

To report price gouging:
(800) 488-2770

Number for Mary Bird Perkins Cancer patients who need to continue treatment in Baton Rouge:
(225) 215-1236