When Ike stormed into town

Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season Is Like Christmas

Number Ten:
Decorating the house (with plywood).

Number Nine:
Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season.

Number Eight:
Last minute shopping in crowded stores.

Number Seven:
Regular TV shows pre-empted for 'Specials'.

Number Six:
Family coming to stay with you.

Number Five:
Family and friends from out of state calling you.

Number Four:
Buying food you don't normally buy . . . and in large quantities.

Number Three:
Days off from work.

Number Two:
Candles.

And the Number One reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas:
At some point you're probably going to have a tree in your house!

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Though the above sounds funny now, it is definitely not when one is bracing oneself for a hurricane. As I write this (Saturday noon, 13 Sep 2008), winds are gusting relentlessly. Our area is out of the projected path but the effects of Ike's fury has reached out to about half of Louisiana. We are currently under flash floods and tornado warnings and watches. Ike is not only lashing out at Texas and Louisiana, 'he' is going to leave his mark as he travels up north, then north east of the States. The devastation Ike left behind is still being assessed. From pictures alone, one can imagine the loss many people suffered (see examples below).

One thing I find ironic is that some people knew they were in the projected path (or just some miles off the eye of the hurricane) but did not leave. The Mayors of Houston and Galveston issued mandatory evacuation orders for residences in low lying areas. Individuals who chose to stay back to brave the hurricane must either be gamblers of life, love their possessions more than themselves or simply had no choice (their job required them to stay, too late to escape or no money to go elsewhere). I think it is rather selfish of those who had the choice, means and strength to leave but chose to ride out the hurricane. Some were seeking help when the hurricane was approaching but search and rescue people could not get to them because of the intense winds. sigh (No, I am not going to say they deserve it. That is just too mean. I am just baffled. They could have helped themselves earlier.)

Anyway, here are some photos courtesy of Houston Chronicle (taken in Galveston).

For more photos, go here.

Update:
Here are before and after photos of another part of Galveston.

Life's lessons from The Godfather

Have you watched the movie, The Godfather? Well, if you haven't here's the plot (courtesy of AskMen.com).

Plot: The Godfather, the classic Francis Ford Coppola film, opens at the wedding reception of Don Vito Corleone’s daughter, Connie. However, this peaceful celebration is short-lived. After the Don refuses to use his connections to enable drug trafficking for the other families, an assassination attempt is made on his life. His youngest son, Michael, strikes back and kills the men who orchestrated the massacre. Michael then flees to safety in Sicily while the Corleone Family prepares to go to war with the rival Tattaglia Family.

Though Don Corleone survives the attack, his oldest son Sonny takes over the family operations. Yet it’s Sonny’s heated temper that gets him killed, and it’s up to the Don to make peace and secure safe passage for Michael back to the States. Michael is promptly appointed capo and makes plans to invest in a Las Vegas casino to finally legitimize the family business. In one fell swoop, he removes all roadblocks by arranging for each of his enemies to be assassinated on the same afternoon. Now nobody stands in his way.

Anyway, I was browsing through this AskMen.com website and found that there are life's lessons to be learned through mob movies. Here's their take on The Godfather. (please visit their website for details)

1. Your word is your bond (something that is quite rare among politicians!)

2. Honour before profit (oh hey ... another trait that is absent in greedy politicians)

3. Blood is thicker than water (hmmm... something quite common among politicians)

4. Put your family's needs before your own (need I say more?)

5. Keep your cool (something we need to do while taking a stand against issues brought up by politicians)

OK, so I seem to be hammering politicians but how can I not when all we have been served are 'poo poo platters' over the years. I won't deny that there are some good politicians but the amount of damage done seems greater. Politicians aside, I believe we can all learn from the movie too.

Desperate Answers

It is time to update my blog again. As you may have read or heard New Orleans might bear the brunt of another major hurricane in a few days. We are living about 4 hours from that city. Our town, Leesville (or sometimes known among some outsiders as Sleazeville) may be affected. The town's officials have not issued any mandatory evacuation yet but most of us think it is better to be safe than sorry. We are going to play it by ear and see which direction the hurricane takes. If it makes landfall in New Orleans, we will go west. However, if it suddenly veers towards Texas, then we head up north. If for some reason, it goes off the projected track, then we are staying. Even with contingency plans in place, I wish there was a way to predict the exact track. That way, everyone affected will know what to expect. I guess in a time like this, all we can do is live the motto "Be Prepared".

The current projected path. My location is between 8pm, Tuesday and 8pm, Wednesday.
Update: It is now projected to make landfall midday Monday
2nd Update (4th sep 08): I am back in Louisiana. Thankfully my area did not suffer much damage.

Anyway, to lighten things up a bit, here are some examples of desperation:
(don't ask me to solve any, I may give similar desperate answers). :D
Note: Click on the pictures to have a better view.

My LATeX experience

While driving back from Jasper, Texas this afternoon, I was listening to some classical country music. One of my favourite songs being played was "All My Exes Live in Texas".

All my exes live in Texas,
And Texas is a place I'd dearly love to be.
But all my exes live in Texas
And that's why I hang my hat in Tennessee.

George Strait (the singer) must have really broken some hearts (or got into trouble) for him to hide in Tennessee! (I wonder if anyone in Malaysia have gone into hiding to avoid exes). :)

One thing I noticed whenever I drive through Texas is that there are lots of dead armadillos on the road. (poor things!) Last week when I made my way to Austin (for a girls weekend with the in-laws), I came across at least five during my 7-hour drive - and that did not include other road kill. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one". So much for being armored ... they don't stand a chance against vehicles zooming down the roads at 70mph (or more... when those dang powe-leez are not around). Anyway, I am not blogging about this mammal. Read here to know more. (Picture courtesy of www.thewashingtonnote.com)

Back to driving through Texas, I learned very quickly that I detest going through Houston to get to Austin. (Somehow I did not have that anxiety when I was a passenger). I forgot to set my GPS to avoid toll ways, so that darn thing took me through that crazy city traffic. To add to my consternation, at one point, I had to take the top most tier of those fly-overs. I slowed down to the recommended speed (45mph) but I could tell the driver behind me was impatient. I always have this fear that all it takes is one crazy, impatient driver to knock someone off that flyover - the barriers don't look high enough to stop a vehicle from going over. *shiver* Anyway, once I got through that scare, the car behind me over took my vehicle very quickly ignoring the recommended speed of 55mph. (where are the dang powe-leez when you need them??) Once I got onto Katy Freeway, I relaxed a little. phew!

When it was time for me to leave Austin on Sunday, I made sure my GPS was set to go north of Houston - through the country roads. It was such a leisurely drive. I had my radio tuned to light and easy music, which I enjoyed singing along to (luckily there were hardly any other drivers around me cos' I must have looked crazy from the outside). In all, it was a very good weekend sans mingling with crazy Houstonians (or whatever you wish to call them ... feel free. haha)

By the way, on my way back from Jasper today, as I crossed over the border into Louisiana, I heard a rather funny song. Click the "play" button on the left to listen to the song. Here are the lyrics:

Marie Laveau

Down in Louisiana, where the black trees grow
Lives a voodoo lady named Marie Laveau
Got a black cat's tooth and a Mojo bone
And anyone who wouldn't leave her alone
She'd go (screech) another man done gone.

She lives in a swamp in a hollow log
With a one-eyed snake and a three-legged dog
She's got a bent, bony body and stringy hair
If she ever seen y'all messin' 'round there
She'd go (screech) another man done gone.

And then one night when the moon was black
Into the swamp come handsome Jack
A no good man like you all know
He was lookin' around for Marie Laveau.

He said Marie Laveau, you handsome witch
Gimme a little charm that'll make me rich
Gimme a million dollars and I tell you what I'll do
This very night, I'm gonna marry you
Then it'll be (screech) another man done gone.

So Marie done some magic, and she shook a little sand
Made a million dollars and she put it in his hand
Then she giggled and she wiggled, and she said "Hey, Hey
I'm gettin' ready for my weddin' day".

But old handsome Jack he said goodbye Marie
You're too damned ugly for a rich guy like me
Then Marie started mumblin', her fangs started gnashin'
Her body started tremblin', and her eyes started flashin'
And she went (screech) another man done gone.

So if you ever git down where the black trees grow
And meet a voodoo lady named Marie Laveau
If she ever asks you to make her your wife
Man, you better stay with her for the rest of your life
Or it'll be (screech) another man done gone

Good old Louisiana ... there may be more than one witch hanging around. ;P

I'm back

As you may have noticed, I have changed my blog look. It was getting a little 'blah' for me. However, I still like my peach-coloured background and decided to retain that element.

What have I been up to lately? Nothing much except eat, sleep and breathe Facebook! :) Suddenly there have been a surge of long lost friends and relatives coming out of the woodworks. It has been exciting catching up, posting photos of yesteryears (some really, really old - before I was born!) and reminiscing the simpler days gone by.

I have also been challenging myself to some word games and I have to say it is becoming addictive to the point of obsessive, which makes it stressful at times. It is time to let go. Just like blogging, it is meant to be fun not work. I will still be active in Facebook, just not stressing myself out to reach a goal in those darn word games. :D I, however, have to thank some of my friends who have put me up to the challenge (they are bloggers as well - you know who you are). ;)

It has been a dark and cloudy day - very unusual since we have had nothing but extreme heat. With Edouard making landfall (sorry to those living on the coast down south), it has brought my area (and many more) much relief. The latest news:

Edouard inland, beginning to weaken
Lead Meteorologist, The Weather Channel
11:07 a.m. Eastern Time 8/5/2008

Tropical Storm Edouard (60 mph) is swirling inland over extreme southeast Texas now and beginning to weaken.

As of 10 a.m. CDT, the center of Edouard was located about 40 miles west of Port Arthur, Texas, and moving toward the WNW at 15 mph.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect between Cameron, Louisiana, and San Luis Pass, Texas. The hurricane watch has been cancelled.
Heavy rain and gusty winds are expected to continue in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana over the next several hours. Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches is likely along the track of Edouard, although isolated totals of 10 inches are not out of the question.
Winds gusted as high as 68 mph at Sabine Pass North just after the center of the storm crossed the coast this morning. Winds will drop off as Edouard continues to churn inland, but a few power outages are still likely in some of the more vigorous rainbands.

Elsewhere in the tropics, both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific Basins remain quiet. In the western Pacific, Tropical Storm Kammuri is expected to make landfall in Mainland China west of Hong Kong on Wednesday morning (U.S. time).

Anyway, I digressed. I was not supposed to blog about the weather, although it is an interesting subject ... seriously.

I was looking through some of my stuff that finally arrived from Malaysia (I chose sea mail) and found my old diary filled with poems - some I composed and some collected from other sources. Here's one which was penned on 17th March 1986. Warning: It is silly!

Out of the blues one day

Appeared a guy about 5 feet tall

His words were made of stammers

Which my friend could not make out at all

He introduced himself as someone,

Jacob Singh if I can recall

He stammered so much that all I could hear was

"Aaa...aaa ... I'm Jacob Singh", I think that was all.

He handed a gift to Christina

I think a week after that stammering incident

This time he spoke more fluently

But his shivers seem imminent

I was so right, I saw him shiver

Handing a gift so neatly wrapped

He handed it saying "Here's sssomething for ... for... y..you"

I think to wake him, he needed s slap

And so because of his height

We decided to name him 50

50 stands for 5 feet zero

Look at him and you will say "What a sight"

So, nowadays, if he's around

Christina beware, don't frown

For your 5 feet hero is bound

To catch you and pin you to the ground

Note: His name was not Jacob Singh, after all. It was something else, which I have forgotten. He was a student from Bangalore, India. After handing that gift to Christina, things warmed up between them.

Ah! memories.