Well, I spoke too soon it seems. A levee repair failed in New Orleans yesterday, and the city is anticipated to get 12 more feet of water today. This news coverage makes me nauseous; every story I see reminds me of someone else I need to call and check up on. Roughly half of the people I knew in school are from the areas most affected, and many live there currently. My ex-boyfriend, my freshman year roommate, my Zeta big sis and my grand-lil-sis....
My grandfather and a family friend are heading back soon to survey the damage. I wonder what they'll find when they get there.
31 August 2005
30 August 2005
When the levee breaks
Please keep in your thoughts all those in the gulf area today -- so much devastation, so many homeless, and we haven't seen the half of the damage yet. My grandparents live in Slidell, the city through which the eyewall tore early yesterday morning. They're safe and sound in central Florida, but only time will tell what damage their home and friends' homes have sustained.
Fortunately New Orleans proper has survived; what a loss it would have been for this nation, that culture and joie de vivre washed away in 145 mph winds. But there's so much more to that area than the French Quarter, so many more bouroughs and cultural centers. A few of the popular rappers of our time, for example, come from the 9th Ward, Magnolia projects -- under 6 feet of water today.
And where do those people go when they're rescued from their rooftops? They have relied on government-subsidized housing for years, for better or for worse. I guess it will truly be an experiment in human nature and resilience; when your safety net is removed, what do you do?
Fortunately New Orleans proper has survived; what a loss it would have been for this nation, that culture and joie de vivre washed away in 145 mph winds. But there's so much more to that area than the French Quarter, so many more bouroughs and cultural centers. A few of the popular rappers of our time, for example, come from the 9th Ward, Magnolia projects -- under 6 feet of water today.
And where do those people go when they're rescued from their rooftops? They have relied on government-subsidized housing for years, for better or for worse. I guess it will truly be an experiment in human nature and resilience; when your safety net is removed, what do you do?
28 August 2005
Break on through
I've been having some difficulty decorating my house. Well, really I suppose the difficulty lies in getting motivated to start such a long process -- and it's really left me wondering whether I'm a commitmentphobe. I'm just scared to buy something and find out, upon consideration, that it was the wrong thing.
I decided a week or so ago that I absolutely needed to get things in gear. In fit of OCD, I ran to Lowes and collected one of ever single paint sample booklet they had. If you've ever perused paint samples at Lowes, you're familiar with these booklets, organized by color family, and featuring monochramatic, coordinating, and other color schemes. Not wanting to look like a crazy bag lady, I stashed the 4-inch stack of booklets in my purse as I headed for the door.
It was at this point I noticed that each of the booklets were barcoded. This, of course, left me to consider whether I was committing an act of theivery or simply taking what was rightfully mine. As I approached the exit, I decided on the latter, for no other reason save that it made me feel better about myself.
I arrived home at 8:30 and laid all the booklets on my living room floor before me. Scissors in hand, I clipped each individual one-by-two-inch sample, arranging them in an imprompteau color wheel before me. I grabbed a few reprentative samples and ran around the house trying to match them to things. I matched my tile, my bedspread, my cabinets, my couch, my houseplants -- everything. I searched through the remaining pile, finding coordinating colors for each of my selections. I was in a zen state, at one with my furniture.
And 4 hours later, I had it -- a color palette that I would use to find coordinating accessories and furniture for each of my rooms. One piece of paper with three individual palettes, one for each room. Shocked, I realized that each would-be room featured different shades of the same 3 colors: red, yellow, and green.
Am I really in that much of a rut?? I blame the couch that my mother bought when I was 10, a plaid in those same colors on a field of off-white. I swear it's imprinted on my retinas to this day. Or maybe the various accidents I've been in have cultivated in me an obsession with traffic lights?
Anyway, I've heard that it's a good design technique to weave the same colors from room to room in a house. It's supposed to lend a sense of cohesion to the decor...or something else that sounds equally based in reality. I'm going to adopt that philosophy as justification for my actions, and press on. Wish me luck!
I decided a week or so ago that I absolutely needed to get things in gear. In fit of OCD, I ran to Lowes and collected one of ever single paint sample booklet they had. If you've ever perused paint samples at Lowes, you're familiar with these booklets, organized by color family, and featuring monochramatic, coordinating, and other color schemes. Not wanting to look like a crazy bag lady, I stashed the 4-inch stack of booklets in my purse as I headed for the door.
It was at this point I noticed that each of the booklets were barcoded. This, of course, left me to consider whether I was committing an act of theivery or simply taking what was rightfully mine. As I approached the exit, I decided on the latter, for no other reason save that it made me feel better about myself.
I arrived home at 8:30 and laid all the booklets on my living room floor before me. Scissors in hand, I clipped each individual one-by-two-inch sample, arranging them in an imprompteau color wheel before me. I grabbed a few reprentative samples and ran around the house trying to match them to things. I matched my tile, my bedspread, my cabinets, my couch, my houseplants -- everything. I searched through the remaining pile, finding coordinating colors for each of my selections. I was in a zen state, at one with my furniture.
And 4 hours later, I had it -- a color palette that I would use to find coordinating accessories and furniture for each of my rooms. One piece of paper with three individual palettes, one for each room. Shocked, I realized that each would-be room featured different shades of the same 3 colors: red, yellow, and green.
Am I really in that much of a rut?? I blame the couch that my mother bought when I was 10, a plaid in those same colors on a field of off-white. I swear it's imprinted on my retinas to this day. Or maybe the various accidents I've been in have cultivated in me an obsession with traffic lights?
Anyway, I've heard that it's a good design technique to weave the same colors from room to room in a house. It's supposed to lend a sense of cohesion to the decor...or something else that sounds equally based in reality. I'm going to adopt that philosophy as justification for my actions, and press on. Wish me luck!
18 August 2005
Have you seen me lately?
I wanted to take a second to point you guys to the funniest blog I've ever read (present company excepted): Kiss & Blog.
It's maintained by two friends, a guy from Sydney and a girl from, I assume, the Midwest, who now reside in Seattle. They take turns blogging about dating, relationships, and sex, and reading their posts is one of the highlights of my day. Now that may sound like a bold statement, but bear in mind that I work in a very boring place. It really is hilarious, though, and you guys should check it out.
It's maintained by two friends, a guy from Sydney and a girl from, I assume, the Midwest, who now reside in Seattle. They take turns blogging about dating, relationships, and sex, and reading their posts is one of the highlights of my day. Now that may sound like a bold statement, but bear in mind that I work in a very boring place. It really is hilarious, though, and you guys should check it out.
04 August 2005
Hello? Is there anybody in there?
You know, for all of Gary's griping about a "loss of novelty" in our collective blogs, he's certainly been quiet!
Michelle and I went to a Jack Johnson concert last night, it was fantastic, as usual.
Highlights:
- All the fashion victims who think pairing skirts with cowboy boots is cute. Newsflash: The combo is not cute, nor is it flattering. The net effect is to make you look stumpier than you already are.
- Jack's encore cover of the Beatles' "Two of Us" -- a pleasant surprise!
- Mmmm, margaritas.
- The doppelganger for that chubby red-headed kid in The Sandlot who rolled down the rear window of his mom's car to blow us kisses and proclaim his undying love for us as we passed them on the interstate.
- The fact that the combo of pot smoke and nachos coming from the row behind us didn't make me puke. (I can't handle that smell, really -- is it not as bad if you're the one smoking it, maybe?? I'm thinking I can safely add that to the list of things I'll never try. Like corndogs.)
We also learned last night that sequins are now in style, and I don't mean a few strategically-placed sequins on one article of clothing. I mean it is now in style to be dripping in them, like Liberace's cat. Bad news for anyone with a body fat percentage greater than 6%; good news for anorexic girls who can't afford a boob job. Thank God the sun set quickly, otherwise my retinas would be burned beyond repair.
01 August 2005
The sounds of silence
I know I've been really quiet on this blog lately, and part of that can be attributed to moving and the 80 gabillion things I have to get done, but another part of that is that I'm trying to find good topics. Don't get me wrong, I have a ton of things clamoring to get out of my head, no shortage of things to say, most of them inane and inconsequential.
I think it's more to do with the diversity of my audience -- I've got friends, exes, and ex-friends reading this thing, and I guess it's a question of image management, really. Not that I'm worried so much about what any of y'all* think of me, per se, but that I'm worried that some of the things I say will be hurtful to people. I realize this sounds like paranoia, but I've already had this happen in the short 2 months that I've been blogging, and I guess it just freaked me out.
Oh well, right? I guess this thing is a forum for my uncensored thoughts, and no one can blame me for speaking the truth. Can they??
Great, now I'm going to have Simon & Garfunkel in my head all freaking day. This always happens!
* Yeah, you heard me -- "y'all".
I think it's more to do with the diversity of my audience -- I've got friends, exes, and ex-friends reading this thing, and I guess it's a question of image management, really. Not that I'm worried so much about what any of y'all* think of me, per se, but that I'm worried that some of the things I say will be hurtful to people. I realize this sounds like paranoia, but I've already had this happen in the short 2 months that I've been blogging, and I guess it just freaked me out.
Oh well, right? I guess this thing is a forum for my uncensored thoughts, and no one can blame me for speaking the truth. Can they??
Great, now I'm going to have Simon & Garfunkel in my head all freaking day. This always happens!
* Yeah, you heard me -- "y'all".
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