Isaac via FB

Thank you, Facebook, for making this hurricane a much more enjoyable experience, since I was able to communicate with friends and family the entire time, even when we were without power for almost a week. Obviously, I didn't blog during that time, so here's an FB account of how I spent my hurrication.

(And true confession time: I am an extremely sarcastic person--not in a mean way--just in a dry humor sort of way. It's an inherited trait and/or survival skill I got from my father. And besides, w hat else is there to do while waiting for a hurricane/riding out a hurricane than exercise your somewhat odd sense of humor online? 

August 25
If I were a meteorologist, I would call it the CONE OF DOOM just to make things more fun.

August 26
Shit. I guess I'm buying batteries and beer today.

I just heard that Jim Cantore is headed this way. Y'all know that means we're all going to die, right?

Adventures in Homework

She did, actually, pick Pants on Fire as the winner of the 2011 Louisiana Derby. I'm so proud.  

Election Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to not engage my conservative Facebook friends when they post annoying and/or offensive stuff. Amen.

Stand Up and Get Drunk

Okay, so, that game pretty much sucked. And I hate it when I actually agree with something that Bobby Hebert says, like if the Saints don't win next week against the Chiefs, we should all go throw ourselves off the Huey P. Long.

But I suppose it's just things returning to normal, and I should be used to it. After all, I started watching the Saints during the "glory days" of Mike Ditka and Ricky Williams. And for some reason, I continued watching them during the Jim Haslett/Aaron Brooks days. (I blame my husband.) So, it appears we're back to the status quo. I can live with that.

On the plus side, I love the group I watch the games with. If you can still be laughing your ass off when the Panthers get yet another touchdown, it's a good day, all in all, right? It even came complete with a dramatic reading of Chris Kluwe's letter to the bigoted, homophobic Maryland politician during halftime. (Can you say "lustful cockmonster?") I also learned, although I probably could've lived without knowing about it, that some women are capable of putting a whole chicken in places that it really shouldn't go. The salmonella possibilities are endless. And horrifying. (Google it.)

Anyway, there's always next year, right? And I'm sure Jeff Duncan will make me feel better in the morning. #wegotthis

Peace and Isaac

Mostly, my anger from Katrina is gone. Mostly, I'm over it. I still get overwhelmed with sadness sometimes, but, as Kenny and I discussed this evening, it's not sadness for my own personal losses anymore. Am I still going to be sad sometimes about having no tangible record of my life before age 35? Sure. But mostly, when I get sad about Katrina, it's a sense of melancholy, an overwhelming feeling of sadness for what the people of this area went through--not what I personally went through. And sometimes, the heartache and anger of what everyone here had to suffer, of how people died, and of how some people never recovered, is enough to make me want to curl up into a ball and sob. But for the most part, I'm okay.

All of my friends and family members in other parts of the country have been heartbroken on our behalf that we had to deal with Isaac on the anniversary of Katrina. But to be quite honest, I couldn't think of a more fitting way to spend that day. I didn't have to watch the national news coverage of, what I'm sure, was a "devastating blow for the Gulf Coast," because I didn't have any power to watch said coverage.  From what I've heard, it was quite the heart-wrencher. I may have felt bad for us, too.

Questions You Have to Get Used to When You Live in a Hurricane Zone

Why don't you just sell your house and move?

Did your house flood?

So, it really wasn't anything more than a little rain?

Why do you live there?

Don't you want to move here?

Jim Cantore seems concerned. Are you?

I'm looking at the radar on the Weather Channel right now. Are you sure you're okay?

This is what it looked like. For 30 hours. That weird blowing sound would be the 75 mph gusts. All in all, to be quite honest, not a big deal, now that I'm a hurricane veteran. But DO NOT ride it out without a generator. That part really sucked.