Sticks and stones will not break my bones

What have I been up to after the hurricanes? I am keeping myself busy in the backyard. When we bought our house, we got an empty backyard. But over time, we have added a storage building and a fence (just enough around the house so that the dog has place to run without being too close to the neighbour's horses - he barks at them when they are near the house). We are now working on re-doing the stone path and putting down a new layer of soil to cover some uneven parts. It can be back-breaking work but oddly enough I am enjoying it.

(These are pictures of the backyard, beyond the spot where I am working on)

Once this is completed, I am thinking of making some flower beds. This will not be anytime in this year. Soon the cold season will be upon us and some plants will not survive the chilly air. Yes, Louisiana can get cold in winter but not as bad as up north. :) I am looking forward to some cooler weather after such a blistering summer. Now, please excuse me, I am going back to the yard to play with some soil and stones (and throw away some old sticks I keep finding around the yard).

In the meantime, here's something worth pondering over (which I am sure you have seen before knowing how fast information is passed on these days):

Balance Sheet of Life

Our Birth is our Opening Balance!
Our Death is our Closing Balance!
Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities
Our Creative Ideas are our Assets

Heart is our Current Asset
Soul is our Fixed Asset
Brain is our Fixed Deposit
Thinking is our Current Account

Achievements are our Capital
Character & Morals, our Stock-in-Trade
Friends are our General Reserves
Values & Behaviour are our Goodwill
Patience is our Interest Earned
Love is our Dividend
Children are our Bonus Issues
Education is Brands / Patents

Knowledge is our Investment
Experience is our Premium Account
The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately.
The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award.

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!

*****************************************************************

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