The Aftermath

Governor Haley Barbour is comparing the damage to that of Hiroshima. While the only damage I had to my house was a few shingles blown off and my fence blown down in a couple of places, that is nothing compared to the losses of the people on the coast of Mississippi and in New Orleans. I just thank God that the people that I care about the most are still alive. My parents' house in Pascagoula (on Washington Ave., only 1 block from the water) is completely gone. I'm sure everything on their street is completely flattened. A church member that went to see the house (or rather where the house should've been) said that all he found of theirs was a piece of Daddy's motorcycle and one of his shotguns. Who knows what, if anything, else of theirs they will be able to find. Kayaks gone. Pop-up camper gone. Piano, piano music, my brother's drums, unreplaceable family pictures and photo albums all gone along with all the furniture, stuff, and other material things that could be replaced. They are on their way back down there as I sit here and type this. They just had to get back and see things and check on people, and figure out what in the world can be done. Someone (whose house is still there) offered them a bedroom to stay in, but they have no electricity. I hope to be able to get down there next weekend or the next just to help do what I can. I have a ton of clothes that don't fit anymore, so I think I will take as many old clothes of mine that I can. I told my mom that I would take their yellow lab, Molly, back with me to take care of her. They left their 2 cats at my Grandmother's house. My parents did take their digital cameras with them when they evacuated, so as I can get pictures of things, I will post them. Everyone just please keep my family and everyone else who has lost everything in your thoughts and prayers.

Bracing for Katrina

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Ladies and gentleman, we are facing the storm that we have long feared." ~Ray Nagin, Mayor of New Orleans

Last night when I went to bed, she was a category 3 hurricane, and they were predicting she'd be a category 4 (or a slight possibility of being a category 5) by the time she made landfall. This morning when I got up, she was already a 5. While a category 3 hurricane is considered to cause extensive damage and a category 4 hurricane is considered extreme, a category 5 hurricane is considered to cause catastrophic damage. Katrina went from a 3 to a 5 overnight. Maximum winds right now of 165 mph. Wow. Walmart and Target are cleaned out of bottled water, camping supplies, and other essentials. If you're not already stocked up with supplies, then good luck! President Bush has already declared Mississippi and Louisiana in a state of emergency. New Orleans, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and the rest of Mississippi are gonna get it good. My parents boarded up their house today (on the water in Pascagoula where a storm surge of 20-25 feet is expected), loaded up their belongings, 2 dogs, and 2 cats in 2 vehicles, and headed for my Grandmother's house in Decatur, MS. Right now, Katrina is headed straight for New Orleans, but often, hurricanes make a last minute shift to the east or the west, so we're just waiting to see what happens. That last minute shift before it makes landfall is what saved Pascagoula and the MS Gulf coast from hurricane Dennis in July when it made a sudden shift to the east and hit the Pensacola area. Being on the west side of the storm is always better than being on the east side because the east side gets the storm surge, and that can be bad. For those of you not in Mississippi, be thankful! They are predicting tropical storm and up to hurricane forced winds as far north as Jackson. Along with with that is a good possibility of tornados. So it is a good possibility that I may not be able to blog for the next few days because I have no electricity. Landfall is expected early tomorrow morning, so it will be bad in Jackson probably starting around lunch-time or early afternoon. This is big, folks. Everyone around here is running scared. There have only been 3 recorded category 5 hurricanes ever to hit in the Gulf... Hurricane of 1935, Camille in 1969, and Andrew in 1992... Camille having the worst effect on Mississippi. This storm is the same strength as Camille, but larger.
I really hate it for New Orleans. I love that place, and I've been dying to go back this year, but from the looks of it now, it'll be a long time before I'll be able to go. New Orleans will probably be under water tomorrow. Since it is below sea level, the whole city will be flooded. That really sucks. The Superdome is the only place in New Orleans even capable of being a shelter for people there who are stranded and can't evacuate.
So here I am, just sitting, waiting, and watching The Weather Channel just like every other person around here is too, I'm sure. I'm nervous.... about what will happen in the Jackson area, and even moreso about what will happen on the coast, mainly Pascagoula. Although my parents aren't there now, their home and theirs' and some of my belongings are... and almost as close to the water as you can get. But all I can do is just get myself ready for the storm and the likely power outages that will come along with it here in Jackson, and just hope and pray that everything will be as okay as it possibly can.

One More Saturday Night

This is what I did tonight: I mowed the yard (including the Amazon rainforest that was growing in my back yard, and I'm sure I've forced a snake or two to find a new home). I mowed until it was dark and I couldn't see anymore (that would be about 8:00pm). Then I came inside and got a long shower, and here I am... blogging. Woohoo! Somebody had better hold me back because I have gotten too wild that I'm out of control! Haha. Just one more Saturday night. It's ok because I have to work tomorrow, so I've got to get up early. I could've gone out if I'd wanted to, but sometimes it is just so nice to have an evening at home alone. But next weekend, on the other hand, not only will I NOT have to work, but Adam and I are going to Dallas! Texas, that is. YAY! We are going to see Dave Matthews Band at the Smirnoff Music Centre. :D I've booked the dogs a suite at Wee Paws kennel, and we're taking off for the 3-day Labor Day weekend! I love road trips. :)

Visionary Philosopher

Today, during a bored moment at work, I visited Tickle.com and took the Classic IQ Test, and this is what it told me:

Congratulations, Mandy! Your IQ score is 135
This number is based on a scientific formula that compares how many questions you answered correctly on the Classic IQ Test relative to others. Your Intellectual Type is Visionary Philosopher. This means you are highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways. Like Plato, your exceptional math and verbal skills make you very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns.

Wow! So what's your IQ? Take The Classic IQ Test and let me know! :)

HOT

Well, Saturday, I never made it to Hancocks or Hobby Lobby. I took the stuff to Goodwill, then I went to the mall and spent some much-needed quality time in Express. I got three new shirts (only one was on "sale" and it wasn't much of a sale). I cut up my card a while back, and just paid it off last month, but if you have your driver's license, they can look up your account number and you can still use it! They make it way too easy to charge things to your Express account! Anyway, I didn't make it to Hobby Lobby or Hancocks because Adam called while I was at the mall, and we decided to run go catch the matinee show of the 40 Year-Old Virgin. By the way, I loved it! It was hilarious, and really still had a good message even though the whole movie was about a guy trying to get laid. I still wouldn't recommend it for children though because of the language and some sexual content.
So about my "projects"... I really don't have anything special in mind. I just really want to find some material that I like because I want to make a cover for my futon mattress. I'm sick of the plain black mattress, and black doesn't work well with 4 pets that live in the house! That's really all I have in mind right now. I also have a pattern for this throw thing that is meant to cover a sofa, and it looks pretty cool in the picture, but I'm not sure how easy it will actually be to make. But I'm also broke right now, so I really don't need to be spending a bunch of money on fabric anyway. So I may just wait a little while before I really go buy anything.
Yesterday, I decided to try to finish mowing my yard at 1:30 in the afternoon on the hottest day we've had all year, and what I heard this morning was the hottest day on record in the last 5 years! It was 101 degrees with a heat index of 110! WOW! Needless, to say, I got overheated and had to quit and come inside to cool off. That is the third time in a week that I had attempted to mow my yard and not been able to do it all. Apparently it is not in my stars to mow the yard! Last Monday, I waited till about 7:30pm so it wouldn't be so hot, and when I got out there and started mowing, it looked like it was going to storm, and it was lightning all around. I continued to mow though until it was too dark to see very good. (It didn't rain on me, and somehow I miraculously avoided being struck by lightning.) So Thursday, I got out there to try to finish what I didn't get mowed on Monday. Once again, I waited till about 7:30pm so it wouldn't be so hot, and once again, it started wanting to storm with lightning everywhere. I tried to crank the mower, but couldn't get it and didn't try long with it till I decided to wait about mowing. God was gracious enough to let me live through the lightning on Monday, so I shouldn't risk it again (even though it wasn't raining)! So that's when I tried once again yesterday. I wanted to get outside and get a little sun anyway, but this time I got about halfway done and had to quit because I was about to have a heat stroke! It is just too damn hot!! Maybe someday eventually I'll be able to mow the rainforest that is now growing in my backyard!

Good Morning, Saturday!

Good morning! I'm sitting here eating a bowl of Golden Grahams, enjoying this beautiful Saturday morning. It's too bad it's already like 90 degrees outside! (Really it's only 85 right now, but it feels hotter.) We have been under a heat advisory yesterday and today and then tomorrow, too, with highs in the upper 90's and heat indexes of 105 to 107. It is muggy and miserable outside! But it looks like a gorgeous day sitting inside and looking out! :) I'm just waiting on football to start in a couple of weeks and then looking forward to later when it gets cooler and feels awesome outside! Yay football! GO DAWGS!!! :D
So anyway, I have been told once again how I am a bad blogger, and I don't give my friends enough reading material for when they are bored at work. I'm sorry! I will really try to do better. But besides the fact that I just haven't made much time to blog this week, there really hasn't been anything special to talk about. Although I did start my class that I'm taking on Thursday. It is Statistics I, and it is SO EXCITING! Ha. It meets every Thursday night 5-8pm.
Well, I'm about to go enjoy my Saturday off. This is what I've thought about doing today:
- loading up all this stuff that I've gotten together to take to Good Will and actually take it there
- going to Hancock Fabrics or Hobby Lobby (my new fave store that just opened here!) to try to find some fabric to make some projects that I have in mind
- maybe going by the mall to look in Express to see if I can find any super stuff on sale.
So I'm gonna get to it! Enjoy your Saturday! :)

It's a Boy!

I just found out that one of my best friends, Bridget, who is pregnant (and only a couple of weeks ahead of my other best friend, Lindsey, who is also pregnant) is having a boy! Yay! If you look at the picture, there is no doubt that it's a little boy. ... (the little pervert already!) ;) I'm so happy for Bridget and Bracey (her husband), and I can't wait to find out what Lindsey is having, too! My bets are on that Linds is having a girl. I told Bridget she was going to have a boy, and I was right about that, so we'll just have to see if I'm right about Linds. :)
BTW... his name is Tristan! HOW CUTE! :)

1980

You Belong in 1980

1980 If you scored... 1950 - 1959: You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in! 1960 - 1969: You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too. 1970 - 1979: Bold and brash, you take life by the horns. Whether you're partying or protesting, you give it your all! 1980 - 1989: Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day. 1990 - 1999: With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

Thursday

I love Thursdays, because that means tomorrow is Friday! Yay for Friday! :D

Go to hell, JPD

Ok, so back at the end of April, I got pulled over by JPD (the Jackson popo for those who don't know) for speeding... 75 in a 60. I had been going like 80, so luckily I had slowed down a little bit when he got me. It was an officer on a motorcycle, and I knew he was gonna get me when he was pointing at me as I drove by him (he was stopped under the bridge at County Line on I-55 N). He gave me a ticket for the speeding of course, but he was, however, nice enough to not write me a ticket for not having a current proof of insurance with me, so I have to give that to him. Thanks Mr. black motorcycle policeman. Then, later that same afternoon as I was on my way to Pascagoula, I got pulled over again for speeding (thanks to Perry County highway patrol... it's Perry County, what else better do they have to do there than catch speeding motorists on highway 98?). No, apparently I didn't learn from the first occurance earlier in the day. This guy, however, was not nice enough to let me go with only having an expired insurance card. (What a jackass.) It wasn't my fault that my current card was at my parents' house halfway across the state, and nobody had thought to mail it to me when it came to them. So anyway, that's besides the point. I paid the Perry Co. ticket ($120 by the way) and got out of paying the insurance ticket by mailing them a copy of my current card.
The JPD ticket, on the other hand, was a different story. Ok, so you're supposed to call the phone number on the ticket to find out how much you owe, right? Well, (601)960-1932 gets you an automated thing where you enter your ticket number to find out the amount of your fine. So for the past 3 months, I've been calling this number periodically, and all I ever get when I enter my ticket number is this voice telling me that "a valid ticket number was not entered - please enter a valid ticket number of six or more digits." I try again, and the same thing. I just assumed that that officer had not filled up his book of tickets yet and turned them in so they didn't have mine on file yet. Sometimes it can take forever, you know. Well, the court date on the ticket was June 20-something, but I wasn't worried about it because I figured my they didn't have my ticket yet. Well, I go on vacation in July and the next week, my dad calls me, and he's got this letter that came addressed to me in Pascagoula saying that this is the FINAL NOTICE PRIOR TO ARREST WARRANT, and if I don't pay my overdue fine within 10 days of the date on the letter, then there will be a warrant issued for my arrest!! By the way, this letter was dated July 5, and it took more than 2 weeks to reach Pascagoula because it was addressed to our old Madison address and had gone all over the state being forwarded to my parents! I mean, WHAT THE HELL?! Stupid f*%#ing JPD. So then I give the old 960-1932 number a try again, and what do I get but the same message! Finally, I find a button to press that gets me to an actual somebody, and when I explain my situation to this underpaid person who doesn't give a damn, she says "oh yeah the automated thing doesn't work, it hasn't worked for a while now." WHAT?! I proceed to tell her that they need to get that fixed or turn it off or something if it's not working (like she cares), and she just says "ok ma'am thank you" and hangs up. I am just IRATE about this whole stupid thing. I would've paid the f*#%ing fine 3 months ago and avoided a warrant being issued for my arrest AND an additional $25 warrant fee being added to the already whopping speeding fine of $163.50 if I'd known that the stupid phone system wasn't working properly!!!!! I mean, if they know that the system isn't working, why don't they either fix it or turn it off and just answer the damn phone! HOW RIDICULOUS IS THAT?! I'm sure I'm not the only person in Jackson who's been trying to pay a ticket in the last 4 or more months. So when I finally mailed my check today, I included a nice little note telling them their problems, although I'm sure that the person opening my envelope is also an underpaid uncaring person who won't give a damn, but at least it'll give them a nice little laugh before they throw it in the trash can. And at least now (and especially after posting this long-ass thing to my blog), I feel a little better having vented my frustrations!
MORAL OF THE STORY: Watch your speed, or you'll drain your bank account paying for your tickets (and the increased insurance rates that will come later)!

Happy Birthday Adam!

Joyeux anniversaire, mon chéri! (That is "happy birthday, my sweetheart" in French.) I don't know if you'll be reading this or not, but I hope you have a happy one anyway! And hurry up and come home! ;)

Hurry Up Friday

Well, Bert got a bath tonight... needless to say, he was pissed! Haha... there's nothing like a mad, wet cat! He had these clumps of hair in the middle of his back that were all matted up, and they wouldn't brush out, so I thought maybe they'd wash out... but, no. Oh well, he's clean now anyway! After his bath, he got a nice brushing so he forgave me for giving him the bath.

This past weekend was pretty good, even though I had to work. I didn't do much, but I did go out to Buffalo Wild Wings Saturday night with Anna Leigh. I hadn't seen her in like 2 years... and that's way too long! (I can't believe it had been that long!) But I had such a great time hanging out with her and having good quality girl talk over a few drinks. Sarah and Linds, when are y'all gonna come join us? Anna Leigh, we've got to do it again real soon!

Anyways, it's only Tuesday, and so far this has been a really shitty week at work. I don't feel like going into the details, but hopefully it will get better real quick. Friday needs to hurry up and get here! Plus, Adam will be coming back home this weekend. :D Yay! He's been gone all week on vacation to Texas, and I've been lonely! I know he's having lots of fun, though, so I'm glad he's having a great time. (Hey my Texan if you're reading!) By the way, tomorrow is his birthday, and he'll be the big 28, so everybody wish him a happy one! :)