I was just talking to my boss and he said

he'd been going up to Beaumont every day this week, working. He says it's complete devastation up there. We have to remember not to take anything for granted. Be grateful for all of the things and way of life that we have. If Rita had come here, I'd be out of a job and probably a home. My car would be destroyed and who knows what else? Well, it's just something I need to think about from time to time. Just thought you should too.

I've been having one of those weeks!

You know, the one that it just seems like everything is going wrong. Except for, of course, I didn't drink. That part went well. I've been working and that's going well but it's been hard getting everything back to normal after the hurricane that didn't happen here. Took me a whole day just to unwrap all the files and then put them where they belong. I could bitch and bitch about all the things that didn't go well but I'm not going to. That's in the past. Right? Hey, the car ran all week and it's cool outside. Can't complain about that. So I'm OK and just have one more day to work and then I'm free till Tuesday. Later.

Does this happen to anyone else or is it just my computer?

You get ready to post and it doesn't take? It doesn't let you load a pic. It won't let you edit. Is it just me? Is this just the way it is? What I usually do now is post what I can. Try and edit it later or reboot. So far that has worked on some days. Good thing I'm sober. The old me would have slammed the PC against the wall or deleted blogger for ever. Ah serenity.

Just left Senor Rita's

Seems fitting somehow. There is so much traffic right now. Everyone's looking for somewhere to eat and drink. We were all supposed to meet after our AA meeting at Senor Rita's but when we got there they were out of food and closing. I gave up and came home as I already ate and was just going along for the fellowship. People kept pulling in the parking lot as we were leaving. I only saw one other restaurant open. Everyone has cabin fever, I think.

My good friend dAAve picked up his 2 year chip tonight. I'm so proud of him. Who would have thought. Maybe someday I'll be able to do that. Only time will tell. What do I have now? Let me see. July 5, 2005. You figure it out. I was thinking the other day that I'm still obsessing about the actual number of days I haven't drank. I never thought I could do what I've done so far. How much better my life is. The quality of my friends, my relationships at work and elsewhere. I thank God everyday. Now if we could just have regular TV programming again, everything would be wonderful!

Guess some of us were prepared.

Emergency Services Voice Mail
A Daily News staffer wrote in today to say she got the following automated message when phoning home to check voice mail:
"This is an emergency message. Your address is in a storm surge area and people living there should evacuate. Follow the highway routes described by radio. Don't wait for shelter information. Prepare for traffic and a long drive. Waiting too late can risk your life. Reach out to help those without transportation. If you receive this call and have no means of transportation, call 311 or (713) 837-0311."
Who knew this was part of the emergency management system? It's a nice touch and provides critical information to those who might be located in a vulnerable area.
Friday, September 23, 2005 Permalink

Rita's almost here.

I just got up after a little nap. I haven't been sleeping very well lately. Duh. Chris is just going to sleep on the recliner. I was a little worried that we might get on each other's nerves being in such a confined space for what? 3 or 4 days? It's just midnight and it's starting to rain. Wind gusts up to 51 mph. It's not over yet. The eye will make landfall around 3am. Currently, 160,000 people don't have electricity and won't for several days. Yesterday and the day before our temps were right at 100 degrees and of course, 80 to 90 % humidity. Oh please don't let us lose power here! Want to know what it's like to live here? Sit in a steam room for an hour and imagine doing it for 24 hours for 4 days. Yuck! Well, good thing is, our skin doesn't dry out. We look really young over here. Ha. Statistics. Hmm. 57,000 people left Galveston before Rita got here. 2.5 million evacuated Houston. It was a mess but a really good learning experience for us and our city government. I think they did a pretty good job considering we'd never tried this before. Course we had Katrina for an example to follow. We drove around some yesterday and saw a lot of police cars. Especially in my neighborhood and I was glad to see them. So far I've only heard of 2 incidents of looting since all this started. The police caught them right away. I'm keeping an eye on the neighbor's house for them. They gave us their cell phone numbers to call if we noticed anyone doing something suspicious. There was a guy riding around in our parking lot this afternoon sort of checking things out. I went out with Max and held him back and loudly said NO, Max, No! The guy took off. Guess he couldn't see Max's little tail wagging. He's so friendly and looks pretty scary. Well, best sign off before the power goes. Just wanted you to know what's been going on and that we're OK. So far. L.

Where's Rita?

This evening just before Rita was supposed to get here, I decided to walk Max around the block. On the way back I saw a big beautiful rainbow. It went right over my apartment building. Took it as a sign that everything was going to be alright. Looks like we were missed by Rita. Yeah, we'll still get wind and rain but not nearly as badly as was being predicted yesterday. So you know what that means, don't you? That means that the next time there's a hurricane coming right at us, all those people who went north won't evacuate again. That's when I will.

Well, here we go.

Max, Chris & I are leaving for points Northwest of here. Probably past San Antonio. We're taking a lot of small stuff, a few clothes, some food, a pot and a pan, some charcoal, maybe a tent. I've tried to book a room anywhere, but no dice. I think we have enough to sustain us for 4 or 5 days. The car is running good so I'm not worried about that. We can start over again if we have to. Makes me wonder what all those people who were stuck in NO were thinking and feeling. I'm scared! No panic yet. Taking it one day at a time. I'm so glad I'm not drinking. So this will be my last post for a while. If your in Rita's way, take care. Who knows? I may end up back in Pennsylvania for the winter. Now there's a scary thought.

Someone just sent me this and it's too true. Just wanted to share.

I want to thank all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me your darn chain letters over the past few years. Yes, thank you,thank you, thank you from the bottom of what's left of my heart, for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy!Because of your concern... I no longer can drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.I no longer drink anything out of a can because I will get sick from the rat feces and urine.I no longer use Saran Wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.I no longer use margarine because it's one molecule away from being plastic.I no longer go to Shopping Malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a stupid number for which I will get the phone bill from hell with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horriblemutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.I no longer date the opposite sex because they will take my kidneys and leave me taking a nap in a bathtub full of ice.I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes. (Geez, the BIBLE did not mention it works that way!)I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time).I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.Yes, I want to thank all of you soooooooo much for looking out for me!I will now return the favor.If you don't send this E-mail to at least 1,200 people in the next 60seconds, a large bird with diarrhea will crap on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas of a thousand camels will infest your armpits.I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's 8th husband's 2nd cousin's 3rd husband's ex-wife's mother's beautician, so you know it has to be the truth!

I was just watching the news and it said some judge

decided it was unconstiutional to recite the Pledge of Alleginace in the schools, because it mentions God. It made me remeber saying the Pledge all through grade school. And then I wondered about the history of the pledge and looked it up. Here's the condensed version: Francis Bellamy (1855 - 1931), a Baptist minister, wrote the original Pledge in August 1892. He was a Christian Socialist. In his Pledge, he is expressing the ideas of his first cousin, Edward Bellamy, author of the American socialist utopian novels, Looking Backward (1888) and Equality (1897).His original Pledge read as follows: 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag and (to*) the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' He considered placing the word, 'equality,' in his Pledge, but knew that the state superintendents of education on his committee were against equality for women and African Americans. [ * 'to' added in October, 1892. ]In 1923 and 1924 the National Flag Conference, under the 'leadership of the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution, changed the Pledge's words, 'my Flag,' to 'the Flag of the United States of America.' Bellamy disliked this change, but his protest was ignored.
In 1954, Congress after a campaign by the Knights of Columbus, added the words, 'under God,' to the Pledge. The Pledge was now both a patriotic oath and a public prayer.If the Pledge's historical pattern repeats, its words will be modified during this decade. Below are two possible changes.
Some prolife advocates recite the following slightly revised Pledge: 'I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, born and unborn.'
A few liberals recite a slightly revised version of Bellamy's original Pledge: 'I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with equality, liberty and justice for all.'

This was just too good not to pass on to y'all....

ROBERTSON BLAMES HURRICANE ON CHOICE OF ELLEN DEGENERES TO HOST EMMYS
Lesbian is New Orleans native
Hollywood – Pat Robertson on Sunday said that Hurricane Katrina was God’s way of expressing its anger at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for its selection of Ellen Degeneres to host this year’s Emmy Awards. “By choosing an avowed lesbian for this national event, these Hollywood elites have clearly invited God’s wrath,” Robertson said on “The 700 Club” on Sunday. “Is it any surprise that the Almighty chose to strike at Miss Degeneres’ hometown?”Robertson also noted that the last time Degeneres hosted the Emmys, in 2001, the September 11 terrorism attacks took place shortly before the ceremony.
“This is the second time in a row that God has invoked a disaster shortly before lesbian Ellen Degeneres hosted the Emmy Awards,” Robertson explained to his approximately one million viewers. “America is waiting for her to apologize for the death and destruction that her sexual deviance has brought onto this great nation.”
Robertson added that other tragedies of the past several years can be linked to Degeneres’ growing national prominence. September, 2003, for example, is both the month that her talk show debuted and when insurgents first gained a foothold in Iraq following the successful March invasion. “Now we know why things took a turn for the worse,” he explained.
In order to avoid further tragedy, Robertson called not only for the Television Academy to find a new heterosexual host, but to bar all homosexuals and bisexuals from taking part in the ceremony.
He said employees at the Christian Broadcasting Network had put together a list of 283 nominees, presenters, and invited guests at the Emmys known to be of sexually deviant persuasions.
“God already allows one awards show to promote the homosexual agenda,” Robertson declared. “But clearly He will not tolerate such sinful behavior to spread beyond the Tonys.”

Well, We Did It.

Got up early this morning and drove down to the Reliant Stadium and volunteered to help with the evacues from Katrina. My friend Chris went with me and after a quick sign up, a 4 minute orientation (they're not refugees but guests, clients or evacues), a very long walk by the Astrodome (looked inside, it's just like on TV) and then past it to the Astrohall where we helped set up and take down breakfast and then set up and serve lunch for 4.5 hours and then a really long walk back to the car. We were there from 8:15 am to 1:30 pm. Boy my feet sure hurt. We both enjoyed ourselves. While we got to see lots of people walking around we didn't really get to interact with a lot of the guests. We were doling out food to the medical people, the police and national guard. Kind of just lucked into that. When we first got there we just sat for a bit and waited for someone to ask for help from all of us. They'd say they needed 15 people to serve food or 4 people to guard some doors or 4 people to do data entry. I could have gone for the data entry but Chris said he could only type with two fingers. We went for the serving thing. The troops got fried chicken, green beans, good potato salad, roll and butter and whatever they wanted to drink. No limits, as much as they wanted. We had to throw out a lot of Krispy Kreme donuts and mini muffins and breakfast rolls. Once something is opened, if it doesn't get used it's out in the trash. Everyone and I do mean everyone had hand sanitzer soaps on them also gloves, masks and sanitizing wipes. It was quite impressive. Everything seemed peaceful and as well organized as they could be, given the circumstances. I'm going back for either lunch or dinner sometime next week and probably next Sunday too. I'm really glad I went.

Opps.

One of the two sisters who live across from me just got a new car. She's had it for about 8 days and today she backed into another car and left a small dent on her new baby. Makes me remember my last new car. A 1996 Honda Civic Hatchback. Black and hot looking. Boy I loved that car. Got my first speeding ticket driving down 59 heading for a fix from my coke dealer. Ah the good ole days. Parked it in front of the drycleaners and came out and the whole side was crushed in. Took the money from the insurance and bought drugs, I think. Didn't get it fixed at any rate. The next year my disability ran out and I called and had the car picked up instead of hiding it while they tried to reposesse it. I still get bills for the $5,000 dollars they say I owe. Ah the good ole days. LOL. I still pay what I can to whomever I owe money to, but it's never enough. I've lived with this for the past 10 years while I was drunk and I'm finding that being sober means I still have to live with it. It didn't go away when I got sober like I thought or hoped it would. Every so often people recite the part of the Big Book that says we will achieve fiscal responsibility. I'm still waiting. My sponsor QN said he doesn't lend money he needs. I still owe him a couple hundred dollars and it really chaps my hide! Love that saying. I so want to pay him (at least him) my debt. He's been my rock in this quest to remain sober. I appreciate and love him for his commitment to me. Inspite of my continuing Leo tendencies.

I can't believe I just did this...

I was looking out the window and noticed 2 guys standing outside my gate. Not anyone I recognized. Then I watched as one opened his hand and dumped a bunch of white rocks into the other guy's hand and then the money exchanged hands. Then they both leaned down and proceeded to do something with an old Lean cuisine container and it had something sticking out of it. Probably was a pipe or a syringe. That's when I flipped out and opened my door and yelled Hey can you do that somewhere else..please! They both jumped and said something about how they were yada yada yada. I told them I'd seen enough and they needed to get away from my car. (wasn't really my car). They babbled some more and left. Not in the least bit scared. I'm so f__ing glad that's not part of my life anymore! Hope they don't come back.

Rough Night but Good Morning.

I came across these spoofs somewhere last evening and thought I'd share. I've always had a thing for Miss Piggy.




I was really craving badly last night. Came home from work and instantly thought about going out for a drink. Made myself eat something and forgot about it for a while. Then my neighbor reminded me that he was having an opening at an art gallery in the neighborhood and I wanted to go. Grabbed my friend Chris and we went for about a half hour. Afterwards, he was going to Meteor for a drink. I declined even though I really wanted a drink. Came home and finished a book and drank OJ and sparkling water all night. The cravings did pass and I was able to enjoy the rest of the evening. Woke up this morning, later than usual, 7:30 am. and decided to make the 8:30 am meeting. I did and ran into Justin from Austin and went to breakfast with him. So everythings alright...and I didn't drink.

Sometimes I Wish I Had a Camera...

Like this morning for instance. I'd have taken pics of the beautiful sunrise I could see from my office window. Beautiful shades of gray, blue, rose, pink...thank you Houston pollution. Or on the way to work this morning the mists just hovering over the fields where the goats and sheep graze each day. It's so strange to drive just 9 minutes from the heart of downtown and be almost in the country. I get off the freeway and pass Houston Community College and then drive through 2 miles of farmland. Then on to a fairly busy highway and then into this industrial park. The whole area around here is getting built up and soon, I'll bet, the farm land will be gone and houses will take it's place. Ah, progress.

The Red Hat Club is...

a book I just started. On page 2 this was said...Where're y'all from?" the belle asked the Yankee couple. "From a place in which we know better than to end a sentence with a preposition, " the haughty Northern woman answered with a sneer. "Oh, I'm sorry, " the belle cooed sweetly. "Where're y'all from, bitch?"

Just and inkling of what's to come. I can't wait!

To: Customer Service

Good morning. I just wanted to write and tell you how much I love my SBCDSL. It's just as fast as that old wireless set-up I used to use. It only costs me a few dollars more and is way more reliable. I just seem to have one problem and it concerns Spam. I keep getting spam over and over again from just one company. Yours. I keep getting ads for things I already have. Doesn't Spamblocker work on you? Please tell me how to aim my Spam blocker, at you. Thank you.

Don't know where that came from...

I just woke up way too early this morning. Did get 5.5 hours sleep so I guess I'll go in early again today. I realized a few moments ago that I'd been dreaming about Katrina. It was a strange dream, like I lived there. I imagine a lot of us will be dreaming about her. My dream seemed to mostly have to do with people who were still partying through the storm and afterwards. I wasn't having a craving dream, was I? The last thing I'd want was to be down there and drinking! Hmmm. No, don't really think I was craving. Just reacting to the news.

I went to Walgreen's a little bit ago.

I was going for my usual pack of cigarettes. I was standing in line watching this guy write a check and thinking, "Why didn't he have the check made out ahead of time, like I always do?" Then I noticed he looked familiar and said his name and it was my old friend B. He immediately screamed "Gurl!" and hugged me. B didn't look well. Actually he was kind of flushed and antsy at the same time. I realized he was drunk. He looked kind of bloated. Can't imagine why. We used to date about 8 years ago. I was sorry to see him in that condition. There go I but for the grace of ....

Some things are just meant to be....

This morning my calendar said my friend Janet was moving today. I called but got her voice mail and left her a message that if she needed help to just call me. About an hour later I went out to do some shopping. First I went to the hardware store and then to the 99 cent store. Got what I needed and as I was leaving I noticed a friend from AA standing behind the building among some parked cars. I immediately thought he was taking a discrete pee. He wasn't. He was waiting for Janet to come out of the 99 cents store. He was helping her move. When she and Beth came out of the store and before she saw me I heard my name mentioned. She was just getting my message I'd left her before. So I got to help her and Beth and Joey move her stuff. I'm really out of shape but pulled my own weight and we got a pretty good haul the first time. Mostly the really heavy stuff. Joey and I got to pretend we were butch. I had a nice time and while I didn't make it to the Houston Food Pantry today, there's always tomorrow. I didn't get home till 4 pm. and I was really tired. Still am.

I would like to do more....but

I'm afraid of how I might feel afterwards. I donated some money this morning to the Red Cross and was thinking of going down to the Astrodome and volunteering to help serve food or whatever. Then I thought about how I keep feeling like crying when I watch the news and I'm suddenly not sure I really can handle seeing all of those people in person. It's one thing on TV and quite another when your right there. I don't think I'm strong enough to deal with that, right now. So I've decided not to go to the Astrodome. At least not today. But there must be something else I could do that wouldn't mean I'd have to be right down there in the thick of things. Pondering, pondering and then I got an email from a friend and it said they needed help packing orders at the Houston Food Bank. I can do that and so tomorrow morning I'm going to. I emailed the guys to see if they want to come too. I've also decided to mark my calendar and try and volunteer next month when the thrill of helping others has worn off and the volunteers will not be so many. Guess I'm getting cynical in my old age.

About moving. I'm trying to train Max to be a calm dog while I'm away and he's in the house. I'm just leaving him here alone for 5 or 10 minutes a couple times a day. So far, so good. I really don't want to cage him. This really isn't a good time to be looking for a new apartment since I have a feeling there is going to be an influx of people doing the same. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens.