Need I say more?
It's going to be a busy weekend, but that's ok. At least it is Friday and the workday is almost over! :)
Friday, September 30, 2005
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Racing to Save Lives
Our friend and "long distance neighbor" has joined the Team in Training and is training to do a marathon, A MARATHON (as in 26 miles) in January and raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. You can visit hersite here to see her progress - GO JENNIFER!!!
From her site, "Yes it is official... I have gone crazy... I am attempting to run a marathon this January at Disney World. Most of you all know my best friend Cathy is a runner and she talked me into running with her this summer. When she began to tell me about the team in training it really struck a heart string with me. Here was my chance to not only challenge myself physically and improve my overall health, but even better I would have the opportunity to raise $3500 which will go toward a VERY WORTHY cause."
Here's a picture of Jenn and I at an airshow at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base last year. (it had been a looooooooong day, but a lot of fun). Thankfully we were on our way to eat some awesome NC BBQ at Wilbur's in Goldsboro, YUM!
From her site, "Yes it is official... I have gone crazy... I am attempting to run a marathon this January at Disney World. Most of you all know my best friend Cathy is a runner and she talked me into running with her this summer. When she began to tell me about the team in training it really struck a heart string with me. Here was my chance to not only challenge myself physically and improve my overall health, but even better I would have the opportunity to raise $3500 which will go toward a VERY WORTHY cause."
Here's a picture of Jenn and I at an airshow at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base last year. (it had been a looooooooong day, but a lot of fun). Thankfully we were on our way to eat some awesome NC BBQ at Wilbur's in Goldsboro, YUM!
Monday, September 19, 2005
Photo Ties - PLEASE HELP AGAIN!
The polls were just too unsightly to leave on the BLOG (not to mention the yucky ads that Bravenet adds to them). So here are the results (ya'll didn't help me enough!) Here's where you left me (2 ties!)
Black & White selections:
Tie between Doors of St. Thomas Church (27%, 3 votes)
and Spring Storm Clouds (27%, 3 votes),
followed by St. Lawrence (18%, 2 votes)
I think I am going to go with St. Thomas Church (since I have to get them printed, it's one that I can see framing and displaying at home).
Other B&W results: Biltmore Gates (1 vote), Birds on Pilings (1 vote) No votes for the castle
Color Selections
Tie between Yellow Azalea (30%, 3 votes)
and Pink Azalea (30%, 3 votes)
Followed by another tie between Ladybug in Sand (2 votes) and Biltmore Lagoon (2 votes)
No votes for the spring daffodil, cardinal in snow or sedona. I think I may choose the yellow azalea, seeing that I already have an 8x10 print of it.
If you want to break the ties, COMMENT on this entry. I seriously need help people - I can not decide! BREAK THE TIE!
Thanks a bunch!!!
Black & White selections:
Tie between Doors of St. Thomas Church (27%, 3 votes)
and Spring Storm Clouds (27%, 3 votes),
followed by St. Lawrence (18%, 2 votes)
I think I am going to go with St. Thomas Church (since I have to get them printed, it's one that I can see framing and displaying at home).
Other B&W results: Biltmore Gates (1 vote), Birds on Pilings (1 vote) No votes for the castle
Color Selections
Tie between Yellow Azalea (30%, 3 votes)
and Pink Azalea (30%, 3 votes)
Followed by another tie between Ladybug in Sand (2 votes) and Biltmore Lagoon (2 votes)
No votes for the spring daffodil, cardinal in snow or sedona. I think I may choose the yellow azalea, seeing that I already have an 8x10 print of it.
If you want to break the ties, COMMENT on this entry. I seriously need help people - I can not decide! BREAK THE TIE!
Thanks a bunch!!!
Thursday, September 15, 2005
HELP NEEDED :)
I am determined to enter a photography contest sometime soon and POOF! NCSU is offering a staff contest next month. So... I've got the difficult decision of choosing one or two photos to enter. I've got to decide soon so I can get them made into 8x10s. ACK!
Here's the link - there are 2 copies of most of them, one color and one black & white. Vote for your top choices:
******POLLS HAVE CLOSED*******
Will update "winners" ASAP :)
Here's the link - there are 2 copies of most of them, one color and one black & white. Vote for your top choices:
******POLLS HAVE CLOSED*******
Will update "winners" ASAP :)
Ophelia aftermath (at least on the Cape Fear & Crystal Coast)
Crazy people on the Johnnie Mercer Pier - they are INSANE!
We were able to reach the Byrd's last night to see how they fared. Thankfully as of about 7pm, they had power (off & on) and only their cul-de-sac was full of water - but they know their sump pump was working :) They had some branches down and a pretty fair amount of debris, but it seems that the trees & roof held in there. Congrats on making it through your first hurricane - only 5 months after living in Wilmington. Goodness! I think the beaches were hit pretty bad - lots of erosion. We may go visit this weekend, for the day.
More hurricane pictures from WRAL.com
Someone has a hangup on ducks ;) Caption, "Curiosity seekers and newscasters were braving the elements primarily out of choice. Ducks on Lumina Avenue at Wrightsville Beach had little choice but to endure the high winds and heavy rains out in the open."
Crazy media (Becky - I don't want to see you doing this!!)
And just b/c this shot is funny (I'm sure she loved seeing this posted on the net)
Hang on!
In Wilmington shortly after noon on 9/14
Caption, "The gate for the drawbridge across the Intracoastal Waterway was not lowered by the bridge tender."
In Raleigh all we saw was a little rain & wind (it is still fairly windy out there this morning). We were SO thankful for the rain - we've had nothing for the past few weeks, it's been totally dry. Our grass looked so happy this morning - looks like Paul will need to mow.
We were able to reach the Byrd's last night to see how they fared. Thankfully as of about 7pm, they had power (off & on) and only their cul-de-sac was full of water - but they know their sump pump was working :) They had some branches down and a pretty fair amount of debris, but it seems that the trees & roof held in there. Congrats on making it through your first hurricane - only 5 months after living in Wilmington. Goodness! I think the beaches were hit pretty bad - lots of erosion. We may go visit this weekend, for the day.
More hurricane pictures from WRAL.com
Someone has a hangup on ducks ;) Caption, "Curiosity seekers and newscasters were braving the elements primarily out of choice. Ducks on Lumina Avenue at Wrightsville Beach had little choice but to endure the high winds and heavy rains out in the open."
Crazy media (Becky - I don't want to see you doing this!!)
And just b/c this shot is funny (I'm sure she loved seeing this posted on the net)
Hang on!
In Wilmington shortly after noon on 9/14
Caption, "The gate for the drawbridge across the Intracoastal Waterway was not lowered by the bridge tender."
In Raleigh all we saw was a little rain & wind (it is still fairly windy out there this morning). We were SO thankful for the rain - we've had nothing for the past few weeks, it's been totally dry. Our grass looked so happy this morning - looks like Paul will need to mow.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Garden experiment, Summer 2005
We started our plantings in April & May – we had some decent success and some very tragic endings…
1. Tomatoes were so-so
– the patios did great until the ugly green horn worms feasted on the blooms
– the romas were plentiful, but had little taste
– yellow heirlooms went NUTS – we couldn’t eat enough, there are still some on the vine
– big boy or whatever they were called only produced 2, one rotted, it was sad
– mr. stripey – it put out a few blooms, but seemed really stunted, no mature fruit
2. Peppers
- banana peppers did fairly well, we didn’t eat many
- the green pepper plant put out a couple, but apparently we didn’t water it enough, they never matured, ended up turning red and drying out
- jalapeño peppers produced well, not all were hot
3. Broccoli – most did really well, the first head was delicious, but then the little tiny green worms showed up (and some ended up on our plate – we had enough fresh broccoli after that)
4. Spinach – barely came up, died a horrible death
5. Lettuce- did really well, ate it a couple of times, too bitter
6. Carrots – mutated, planted too close together in rocky soil, not cool (see picture) many are still in the ground
7. Squash – several mature veggies, were delicious, but leaves were attached by scary alien looking bugs apparently resistant to sevin-dust
8. Cucumbers – barely made it a day, sad
9. Unexpected pumpkin plants – we had about ½ a dozen pumpkin plants come up (thanks for our rotting pumpkin from last fall that we deposited into the garden). We were able to get one small pumpkin off the largest plant just before it was attacked by scary alien looking bugs. We’ve still got one plant that is hanging in there and has blooms!
10. Blueberries – both bushes produced fruit in their first year – very very tasty – thankfully the birds didn’t discover them (very few hit the ground) and we distracted the birds with lots and lots of seed!
11. Basil – AMAZING, harvested some seeds
12. Rosemary – great for cooking, but the severely hot and dry weather has dried out the plants
13. Parsley – took forever to come up, only prospered in the pot, not in the ground
14. Lemon grass, oregano, and cinnamon basil did VERY well, but we rarely used them
15. Key limes - we had a lot, but not enough at once to make a pie :) the plant has new blooms, so once it gets cooler, I'll move it inside and we'll have limes almost year-round!
I think that’s about it. I planted zinnas from seed and they did quite well, I wish I had more. They are past their peak, but still blooming, I will plant them again next year.
1. Tomatoes were so-so
– the patios did great until the ugly green horn worms feasted on the blooms
– the romas were plentiful, but had little taste
– yellow heirlooms went NUTS – we couldn’t eat enough, there are still some on the vine
– big boy or whatever they were called only produced 2, one rotted, it was sad
– mr. stripey – it put out a few blooms, but seemed really stunted, no mature fruit
2. Peppers
- banana peppers did fairly well, we didn’t eat many
- the green pepper plant put out a couple, but apparently we didn’t water it enough, they never matured, ended up turning red and drying out
- jalapeño peppers produced well, not all were hot
3. Broccoli – most did really well, the first head was delicious, but then the little tiny green worms showed up (and some ended up on our plate – we had enough fresh broccoli after that)
4. Spinach – barely came up, died a horrible death
5. Lettuce- did really well, ate it a couple of times, too bitter
6. Carrots – mutated, planted too close together in rocky soil, not cool (see picture) many are still in the ground
7. Squash – several mature veggies, were delicious, but leaves were attached by scary alien looking bugs apparently resistant to sevin-dust
8. Cucumbers – barely made it a day, sad
9. Unexpected pumpkin plants – we had about ½ a dozen pumpkin plants come up (thanks for our rotting pumpkin from last fall that we deposited into the garden). We were able to get one small pumpkin off the largest plant just before it was attacked by scary alien looking bugs. We’ve still got one plant that is hanging in there and has blooms!
10. Blueberries – both bushes produced fruit in their first year – very very tasty – thankfully the birds didn’t discover them (very few hit the ground) and we distracted the birds with lots and lots of seed!
11. Basil – AMAZING, harvested some seeds
12. Rosemary – great for cooking, but the severely hot and dry weather has dried out the plants
13. Parsley – took forever to come up, only prospered in the pot, not in the ground
14. Lemon grass, oregano, and cinnamon basil did VERY well, but we rarely used them
15. Key limes - we had a lot, but not enough at once to make a pie :) the plant has new blooms, so once it gets cooler, I'll move it inside and we'll have limes almost year-round!
I think that’s about it. I planted zinnas from seed and they did quite well, I wish I had more. They are past their peak, but still blooming, I will plant them again next year.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
The hurricane is coming.... run for your lives!
Caption, "Are these law-abiding ducks (notice the crosswalk) heading to higher ground?" From WRAL.com's coverage of Hurricane Ophelia on the NC coast
Monday, September 12, 2005
ACK! The sun is rising later and later...
It's 7:45am, Monday morning, and I have been at work for almost an hour. It is barely light outside at this moment - it was completely dark on my way in. According the the weather channel's almanac, the sun rose this morning at 6:54am, I was already out of my car, in the building and on the computer BEFORE THE SUN EVEN ROSE! This is insane!
However, the traffic wasn't too bad. I only counted 8 school buses - compared to the more than 2 dozen I had seen - and the drive took right at 24 minutes (getting close to a record).
The coffee has finished brewing so it's time for me to drink down some warm caffeine and hopefully continue on my productive Monday. Our office is moving IN A MONTH and we've done almost nothing to prepare. So... that will consume me for the next few weeks. It always feels like moving is never done. We're almost done at home (except for that back bedroom). We're still hanging pictures and organizing. Where would the fun be if everything was done?
Oh, yea, there is also a little hurricane sitting off the coast. She's not too mean, but is REAL slow and is just making a mess of the beaches. Too bad we won't see much rain, but they did include us is the big tracking picture:
However, the traffic wasn't too bad. I only counted 8 school buses - compared to the more than 2 dozen I had seen - and the drive took right at 24 minutes (getting close to a record).
The coffee has finished brewing so it's time for me to drink down some warm caffeine and hopefully continue on my productive Monday. Our office is moving IN A MONTH and we've done almost nothing to prepare. So... that will consume me for the next few weeks. It always feels like moving is never done. We're almost done at home (except for that back bedroom). We're still hanging pictures and organizing. Where would the fun be if everything was done?
Oh, yea, there is also a little hurricane sitting off the coast. She's not too mean, but is REAL slow and is just making a mess of the beaches. Too bad we won't see much rain, but they did include us is the big tracking picture:
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Around the house - some new things, some old
I finally got around to taking some pictures at the house. I haven't ever taken a picture of the loft or our bedroom, so here they are:
Bedroom
Loft (view at top of the stairs)
and view from the right hand side of the stairs
Kitchen (with new light and the dining room table)
The rest of the kitchen & living area will be painted the same color as the foyer (fioili honey) - it's a warm color that will make the cabinets POP :)
I hope to get some pictures outside, the zinnas are just beyond peaking, but the back patio has furniture and we're about to start the walkway to the front. We'll be moving lots and lots and lots of dirt! Yay....
Bedroom
Loft (view at top of the stairs)
and view from the right hand side of the stairs
Kitchen (with new light and the dining room table)
The rest of the kitchen & living area will be painted the same color as the foyer (fioili honey) - it's a warm color that will make the cabinets POP :)
I hope to get some pictures outside, the zinnas are just beyond peaking, but the back patio has furniture and we're about to start the walkway to the front. We'll be moving lots and lots and lots of dirt! Yay....
Friday, September 09, 2005
Fun site
"On this day...." found this site from my favorite magazine, Real Simple
On This Day: Friday, September 9, 2005
This is the 252nd day of the year, with 113 days remaining in 2005.
Holidays
Italy: Salerno Day (Allied landing).
Japan: Chrysanthemum Day.
Tajikistan: Independence Day (from USSR 1991).
California: Admission Day.
France: Pffiferdaj (Day of the Flutes).
North Korea: National holiday in Democratic People's Republic of (North).
Belize: National Day, St George's Caye Day.
Events
1776 - Second Continental Congress made the term "United States" official, replacing "United Colonies."
1839 - John Herschel took the first glass plate photograph.
1850 - California became the 31st state of the Union.
1908 - Orville Wright made the first one-hour airplane flight at Fort Myer, Virginia.
1926 - National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) was formed by the Radio Corporation of America.
1942 - Rare attack on U.S. mainland by Japanese occurred; they dropped incendiaries on Oregon in hopes of starting forest fires.
1956 - Elvis Presley's first American appearance, on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
1957 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the first civil rights bill to pass Congress since Reconstruction.
1965 - France left NATO in protest of the U.S.'s domination of the organization.
Births
1754 - William Bligh, captain of HMS Bounty.
1828 - Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Russian novelist who wrote "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" and social reformer.
1890 - Colonel Harland Sanders, American businessman, creator of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
1919 - Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, American sportscaster.
1925 - Cliff Robertson, American actor.
1941 - Otis Redding, American singer/songwriter.
1946 - Billy Preston, American pianist/singer.
1960 - Hugh Grant, British actor.
1966 - Adam Sandler, American comedian and actor.
1967 - Faith Hill, American country singer.
On This Day: Friday, September 9, 2005
This is the 252nd day of the year, with 113 days remaining in 2005.
Holidays
Italy: Salerno Day (Allied landing).
Japan: Chrysanthemum Day.
Tajikistan: Independence Day (from USSR 1991).
California: Admission Day.
France: Pffiferdaj (Day of the Flutes).
North Korea: National holiday in Democratic People's Republic of (North).
Belize: National Day, St George's Caye Day.
Events
1776 - Second Continental Congress made the term "United States" official, replacing "United Colonies."
1839 - John Herschel took the first glass plate photograph.
1850 - California became the 31st state of the Union.
1908 - Orville Wright made the first one-hour airplane flight at Fort Myer, Virginia.
1926 - National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) was formed by the Radio Corporation of America.
1942 - Rare attack on U.S. mainland by Japanese occurred; they dropped incendiaries on Oregon in hopes of starting forest fires.
1956 - Elvis Presley's first American appearance, on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
1957 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law the first civil rights bill to pass Congress since Reconstruction.
1965 - France left NATO in protest of the U.S.'s domination of the organization.
Births
1754 - William Bligh, captain of HMS Bounty.
1828 - Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Russian novelist who wrote "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" and social reformer.
1890 - Colonel Harland Sanders, American businessman, creator of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
1919 - Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder, American sportscaster.
1925 - Cliff Robertson, American actor.
1941 - Otis Redding, American singer/songwriter.
1946 - Billy Preston, American pianist/singer.
1960 - Hugh Grant, British actor.
1966 - Adam Sandler, American comedian and actor.
1967 - Faith Hill, American country singer.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Pictures of the faucet & chandelier
The links wouldn't work for the new faucet & light, so I pulled them from the Lowe's site.
I wanted the first faucet, but it was too pricey to buy 2 of them for the master bath, so we choose the next one (and saved $30 on EACH one, ended up buying 3 so we could change out the guest bath, but one was missing a piece, so it was taken back to Lowe's - we don't have any guests planning on visiting soon, so we're good with the old one). I don't think the ones we have are brushed nickel, they are VERY shiny - matches our towel racks.
And the light - oh the grande 7 Light Chandelier with 1 Downlight for over the island. We had a dorky and ugly builder installed fluorescent light on the ceiling that we hardly EVER used - which had the wrong bulbs in the first place. It sat on our ceiling, unused for a year until we finally found something we both liked (and could afford!) This light was an awesome deal, the last one in stock, so we couldn't go home without it. I'm going to take some real pictures tonight and post later, the light is so pretty in person - it has such a vintage feel :)
I wanted the first faucet, but it was too pricey to buy 2 of them for the master bath, so we choose the next one (and saved $30 on EACH one, ended up buying 3 so we could change out the guest bath, but one was missing a piece, so it was taken back to Lowe's - we don't have any guests planning on visiting soon, so we're good with the old one). I don't think the ones we have are brushed nickel, they are VERY shiny - matches our towel racks.
And the light - oh the grande 7 Light Chandelier with 1 Downlight for over the island. We had a dorky and ugly builder installed fluorescent light on the ceiling that we hardly EVER used - which had the wrong bulbs in the first place. It sat on our ceiling, unused for a year until we finally found something we both liked (and could afford!) This light was an awesome deal, the last one in stock, so we couldn't go home without it. I'm going to take some real pictures tonight and post later, the light is so pretty in person - it has such a vintage feel :)
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Our "Labor-free" holiday weekend
This was our holiday weekend schedule - it was one of the best all year! Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post soon :)
Friday
Work 1/2 day, come home to clean & organize like crazy, make sure that the house is “guest worthy”
Saturday
7:30am Paul meets for group ride, Julie puts final details on house
9am: Julie pick up parents at airport
10am: Coffee at Starbucks with parents
11am: Complete trip around North Raleigh, old house and North Hills
12pm: Eat lunch at Kanki (bring home lots of leftovers)
2-4pm: NAP
5pm: Coffee time :)
6-8pm: Julie & Paul cook AMAZING lamb chop meal (see recipe here), panzaella (see recipe here) and rosemary roasted red potatoes (our house specialty)
8pm: Eat AMAZING lamb chop meal, open bottle of 1998 Brunello wine (to celebrate one year house anniversary) (read about Brunello here)
9pm: walk off huge meal
10pm: ice cream, evening news and get ready for bed
Sunday
11am: go to worship service at Providence
1pm: lunch at home
2-4pm: NAP
5pm: Dinner at Middleburg Steakhouse (delicious filet mignon)
6-7pm: Drive around northern wake county on way back from steakhouse, see Falls Lake
8pm: Ice cream & brownies, hangout in front of TV, go to bed late...
Monday
9am: cook & eat HUGE breakfast (pancakes, grits, lil’smokies, fruit and COFFEE)
11am: finish breakfast, sit outside in perfect weather
12pm: go to Lowe’s to get required supplies for planting new tree (a cherry tree!)
1pm: plant new tree with dad
2pm: head out for lunch
3pm: eat Italian lunch/dinner “linner”
4pm: hang out at the General Aviation building watching planes at RDU (and speculating on passengers of the private planes & charters)
5:30pm: say goodbye to Mom &Dad
6pm: Buy a ton of things at Lowe’s (faucets a light for over the island TONS of paint and whatnot)
7-9pm: laundry, tv, eat more brownies & ice cream
11pm: hit the sack!
Friday
Work 1/2 day, come home to clean & organize like crazy, make sure that the house is “guest worthy”
Saturday
7:30am Paul meets for group ride, Julie puts final details on house
9am: Julie pick up parents at airport
10am: Coffee at Starbucks with parents
11am: Complete trip around North Raleigh, old house and North Hills
12pm: Eat lunch at Kanki (bring home lots of leftovers)
2-4pm: NAP
5pm: Coffee time :)
6-8pm: Julie & Paul cook AMAZING lamb chop meal (see recipe here), panzaella (see recipe here) and rosemary roasted red potatoes (our house specialty)
8pm: Eat AMAZING lamb chop meal, open bottle of 1998 Brunello wine (to celebrate one year house anniversary) (read about Brunello here)
9pm: walk off huge meal
10pm: ice cream, evening news and get ready for bed
Sunday
11am: go to worship service at Providence
1pm: lunch at home
2-4pm: NAP
5pm: Dinner at Middleburg Steakhouse (delicious filet mignon)
6-7pm: Drive around northern wake county on way back from steakhouse, see Falls Lake
8pm: Ice cream & brownies, hangout in front of TV, go to bed late...
Monday
9am: cook & eat HUGE breakfast (pancakes, grits, lil’smokies, fruit and COFFEE)
11am: finish breakfast, sit outside in perfect weather
12pm: go to Lowe’s to get required supplies for planting new tree (a cherry tree!)
1pm: plant new tree with dad
2pm: head out for lunch
3pm: eat Italian lunch/dinner “linner”
4pm: hang out at the General Aviation building watching planes at RDU (and speculating on passengers of the private planes & charters)
5:30pm: say goodbye to Mom &Dad
6pm: Buy a ton of things at Lowe’s (faucets a light for over the island TONS of paint and whatnot)
7-9pm: laundry, tv, eat more brownies & ice cream
11pm: hit the sack!
Friday, September 02, 2005
Friday morning thoughts
The same conversation has been everywhere - online, on the phone, in the streets and on blogs - Katrina. The helpless feeling of watching video and seeing pictures, listening to accounts of people who have lost everything and "what can we do?" has exhausted me.
NCSU is now acepting students that have been displaced by the hurricane. Radio stations, TV stations, churches and schools and just about everyone is collecting donations for the Red Cross relief effort. I pray that it gets to those who need it most - the elderly, the hungry, the sick and everyone who has lost the normalcy of their lives.
Like my friend Becky, I am frustrated with the Federal government's response (or lack there of). This is a MAJOR disaster and so little has really been done. It proves how unprepared we are for disaster and what happens when nothing is immediately done to make a plan, get help to the people and make things secure.
From WRAL news:
The mayor of New Orleans is seething over what he sees as the government's slow response to his city's disaster.
Ray Nagin went on WWL Radio Thursday night to say the feds "don't have a clue what's going on." He added, "Excuse my French -- everybody in America -- but I am pissed."
Nagin said that there are many drug addicts who are searching for a fix. He said that's why they are breaking into drug stores and hospitals.
"What you are seeing is drug-starving crazy addicts that are wreaking havoc and we don't have the manpower that we can deal with it," Nagin said.
Nagin is angry, and wants people to flood the offices of the president and the governor with letters calling for help. He thinks not enough is being done to help the evacuees. He said that federal officials "don't have a clue what's going on."
"Get off your asses and let's do something and let's fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country," Nagin said. "People are dying. They don't have homes, they don't have jobs. The city of New Orleans will never be the same. And it's time."
The mayor said he needs troops and hundreds of buses to get refugees out.
He said that it was laughable that some officials had mentioned possibly having school bus drivers brought to New Orleans to help with the evacuation.
"I'm like, 'You have got to be kidding me.' This is a national disaster, get every doggone Greyhound bus line in the country and get their asses to New Orleans," he said. "This is a major, major, major deal."
Nagin accused state and federal officials of "playing games" and "spinning for the cameras." He said he keeps hearing that help is coming, but "there's no beef."
He called for a moratorium on press conferences. He said he doesn't want any more press conferences there until there is actual manpower on the ground helping his city. He said that he is tired of hearing that thousands of troops are on their way because they are just not there.
Earlier, he issued a "desperate SOS" on behalf of the thousands who are stranded at the convention center. He also gave the go-ahead for them to march across a bridge to a dry area of the city and look for whatever relief they could find.
At least seven bodies were scattered outside the convention center. People desperately called for help, chasing after reporters, sometimes pleading and sometimes threatening.
Congress is rushing through an aid package of more than $10 billion and the Pentagon is promising 1,400 National Guardsmen.
---
It's almost the Labor Day weekend - it isn't looking as bright & relaxing as I had hoped. Gasoline is insane, especially when your car only takes premium. The averge is around $3.29 ... so no roadtrips this weekend. My parents are set to fly up tomorrow morning, so at least that major piece of the weekend puzzle is in place. I think we're going to just have some old fashion fun at home - we've got board games ;) On the bright side, the weather is great! No rain in sight (although the grass could really use some) and the humidty is down. We can actually spend more than 5 minutes outside, it's great! Fall is on its way..!? :) Let's hope so.
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