Here in our little corner of it, R got her job and, a week from Monday, will become a contributing member of society. She heard about two hours ago, and now, every time she walks into the room, she announces "I have a job!" A few minutes ago, she woke up the cat to tell him personally. She's very excited, as am I. Cool thing, first real job.My Chum is finally home from Maine, and although school starts on Tuesday, I'm seeing her for lunch tomorrow, and looking forward to that.
My car failed inspection this morning, which I think is totally bogus, to coin a teen phrase from, like 1987. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the brakes -- I got new brakes in the beginning of the summer -- but the flunkey at the inspection station was clearly not in a good mood and was not liking my little car and so he failed it for something. Now I have to have it checked out and then go back for re-inspection within 45 days. And I specifically went today since I'm not at work yet. I'm not saying I might not just be paranoid, but when he had to check the gas tank and realized he had to turn off the car and take out the key to unlock it, he shot me a dirty look across the garage. And when I got back into the car, not only was the seat pushed back -- I expect that; no grown man could sit in my car the way I do -- but he had also changed the angle of the seat back. Who does that in someone else's car, especially when you're going to sit in it for two minutes? Yes, I know, move on, move on.
I made the best snack last night, two, in fact. I tried a recipe for baked apples that just used balsamic vinegar and cinnamon; the house smelled like Thanksgiving, but it was very good. Then I made something like rice krispie treats, but I used Fiber One cereal instead -- mega high fiber -- and threw in a little peanut butter. Also low points, and high fiber, and just filling enough. Of course, last night I had three of them, but, whatever.
I haven't watched much of the media coverage today, although I saw plenty last night. One of the questions I saw raised was that of the racial issue here: are these people going without help because they are African-American? I certainly see that this is the effect produced by everything, but I think the real rationale behind the lack of planning, the inability to care for these people, is that they are poor. ilmomof3 asks us to consider "Who is valued in this country?" and I think what has happened has provided a visceral answer. The poor are not valued, certainly not by anyone who has the power to help them on a grand scale. People around the country are offering their homes as refuge, and this is wonderful, because individually, I think most people are good and do care. The president, I am told, said that lost homes will be rebuilt; he looks forward to the day he can sit with Trent Lott on his front porch. I guess the only way he can relate to the tragedy is through Trent Lott's loss of his antebellum mansion, but not at all to the tens of thousands of poor who have no water to give their babies and who are watching their elderly and infirm die before their eyes.
I keep reading that people are collecting up clothes to donate to the Red Cross, and oddly, I feel that I cannot contribute because I dumped bags and bags of clothes in the Red Cross bin last week, so I have none left. Duh. The Red Cross has them; I doubt that they've already been given away somewhere else. Also, I waited to make a monetary contribution because weeks after the tsunami last year, the Hubs' company said they would match any contributions made through them, and I figured they would do it again this time, so I could make our donation count for more. Today they said they would match and double any employees' contributions (in addition to their own corporate donation), so that sounds like a good idea.
I guess I'll watch the telethon tonight. I saw Harry Connick Jr. on the Today show this morning; he was quite moving.
I wish there was something I could do.
