Hurricane Katrina: Days After The Disaster...

Victims Await Relief....

When I first watched the national news Monday evening, news correspondents were saying that New Orleans, LA had been hit hard, but missed the bullet, while Biloxi, MS caught the full brunt of the storm. Perhaps, communications weren't good at the time, because by the next morning the news had turned into another direction of stating that conditions had worsened. Areas previously thought okay became flooded as levees broke in New Orleans.

But what really broke my heart was a news report that I saw first thing on Tuesday morning. An older African American man relayed his story to CNN of how his home was ripped in half. He told how he tried to hold on tight to his wife's hand. But she told him that she wasn't going to make it, and for him to take care of their kids and grandkids. Then she was gone. The water took her away. During the interview, the man was holding the hands of two small boys. And he kept saying that he didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do. At that moment, I just wanted to reach out and hug him and his grandkids, brush their tears away, and bring back the man's wife and the kid's grandmother, but I couldn't.

In another story on CNN, a military soldier or national guardsman and a woman worked on the top of a roof to help an elderly man suffering from heart problems and diabetes to get prepared to be hoisted to an awaiting helicopter overhead. Then the camera panned over to other people waiting for help on their roofs.

It hurts right now to even revisit those memory as I type, because there are so many people out there suffering in the same position now. Although I was running late that morning for work, I picked up the phone and called the American Red Cross. I had to wait a while before a Red Cross operator could get to me, which seemed to indicate that many others were donating as well. However, in some way, my donation doesn't feel like it's enough. In addition to praying, I wonder what else we can do to help.

It is now about 72 hours after the hurricane struck, and things are in total chaos. Hurricane victims have lost loved one. They lost all of their possessions and homes. And many don't have a job to report to anymore, because businesses and other places of employment were badly damaged as well. Victims haven't had power in days. They haven't had a shower and don't have clean clothes. Babies don't have clean diapers. Folks are still standing on roofs waiting for evacuations. Many victims wonder what the next day will bring them. And overall, things look pretty grim. Nevertheless, I'm going to keep the victims in my prayers, because God is good.

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If We Come Together, We Can Make A Big Difference...




Hurricane Katrina Relief Organizations:

American Red Cross

Habitat for Humanity

Network for Good

Salvation Army

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Song of the Day:

"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" by Marvin Gaye

Hurricane Katrina: Possibly The Big One!

Millions Take Cover As Katrina Prepares To Roar Through...

Throughout the day on Sunday, I was glued to the tv watching the news regarding Hurricane Katrina's impending strike upon the Gulf States in the U.S. predicted to take place early Monday morning. Most of the news coverage has been devoted to New Orleans, Louisiana and its surrounding areas. And meteorological, environmental, and financial analysts are already calling Hurricane Katrina (a Category 5 hurricane) the biggest storm of our lifetime and an imminent disaster. From the looks of things the area's residents are taking this hurricane seriously. Evacuating cars sat in bumper to bumper traffic trying to get out of the area, while others stood in long lines hoping to take refuge in the Louisiana Superdome as a last resort evacuation spot where the power is expected to go out. Area airlines have closed down. Local hotels are booked. Hospitals have moved their emergency rooms to upper floors. This is it.

During the day and night on Sunday, elected officials and weather forecasters announced to the public that Hurricane Katrina is the real thing, and that evacuations are quite necessary. Environmental scientists and other experts have been trying to determine what chances the New Orleans area has, given the fact that it is an already sinking area that has water pumped out of it on good, non-hurricane days. Not only is the excess water from the hurricane a concern, but the winds are also since they may spawn tornadoes. The hurricane may be on a path to strike New Orleans, but the whole nation will feel its blow. An oil analyst has predicted that already high gas prices will further skyrocket to new record highs for the whole nation, because a third of the U.S.'s refineries are located off the coast of Louisiana. But one of the most heartbreaking things that I've heard is that officials are expecting loss of life. We all hope that the hurricane will veer off into another direction or will deteriorate. Nevertheless, let's pray that all those affected by the storm in the various States will come through this safely.
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UPDATE:



The Louisiana Superdome

News reports have stated that the power is out in the Louisiana Superdome, and that the dome is operating under limited functions with backup generators. This means that nearly 9,000 or more people who are taking shelter at the Superdome as a means of last resort are sitting in the dark with no air condition and lights. It's unclear how long the hurricane will last and how long people will have to stay in the dome under very harsh conditions. Yesterday, many of the people I saw waiting in long lines to enter the dome were old, ill, or had small kids.

At one time I had a beef with the American Red Cross, because you're never really sure where your donations go as the Red Cross uses its own discretion. But during the last hurricane a few years ago in North Carolina where my family lives, the residents lost power for 2 to 3 weeks. And during that time, the Red Cross really showed its commitment. They served meals 3 times a day, and provided all kinds of support to people who lost homes. Therefore at a time like this, charity, support, and prayers can go a long way to help others in need.
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Here are a few news and information web sites related to the hurricane:

News Web Sites:

CNN,MSNBC,CBS

State Emergency Preparedness Agencies:

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida

Additional Organizations:

American Red Cross and The Salvation Army

Fun and Relaxing Summer Reading

Summer Reading Book Pick: "The Hamptons"
By Linda Dominique Grosvenor

We're coming down to the last days of summer filled with vacations, cookouts, and lots of outdoor fun. But before my summer is done, I plan to do some reading since I received my copy of the "The Hamptons" just the other day. Sometimes there's nothing more relaxing than turning on a little jazz music, stretching out on a comfy couch, and reading a juicy book while sipping a little lemonade or ice tea. I didn't take any vacations to any exotic islands or any other domestic vacation spot this year. So the book will have to take me there.

Have there been times after you've finished reading a book when you wished that you could talk to the author directly? I've had informal book reviews and discussions with friends via the phone. We flipped through pages of books back and forth, while explaining our own perspectives. And sometimes one of us would point out something significant that the other missed. But more than anything we wished that we could get into the author's mind to ask various questions. Well, Linda Dominique Grosvenor, the author of "The Hamptons", plans to hold an online discussion of her book with readers on September 15, 2005. We'll get a chance to ask her about "The Hamptons'" characters, the plot, and possibly ask her whether she's interested in writing sequels to some of her books. For further details, please see Princess Dominique's blog.

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Hurricane Katrina



Hurricane Surprise Or Not?

The level of intensity of this storm sort of surprised me. It turned into a Category 2 hurricane. I'm not sure whether I didn't give enough attention to it in the news or whether the news folks didn't publicize it enough. All I know is that earlier this week weather forecasters said there was a tropical storm near Florida's coast that may turn into a weak Category 1 hurricane by Friday. So far the hurricane has killed 7 people, and more than a million are without power. And just think, we have about two more months to go before the end of hurricane season. On the morning news, a woman from South Florida said that many people didn't think the hurricane was going to do much damage, so many people weren't prepared. Let's pray that our Floridian bloggers are safe from harm's way.

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Song of the Day:

The Principles of Love by Incognito

Remembering Aaliyah: Gone, But Not Forgotten...

January 16, 1979 - August 25, 2001

"I am not going to die, I'm going home like a shooting star."
- Sojourner Truth

Song of the Day:

At Your Best (You Are Love) by Aaliyah

All Points Bulletin (APB) For Qualified HairDressers...

Please Study The Above Picture Very Carefully...

It was a little more than 2 years ago when a certain mishap happened to me at the beauty shop. My hairdo (hairdon't) looked like one of those in the above picture after visiting the salon. I kid you not. It was late spring and almost summertime when I started to look for another hairdresser. I had become very dissatisfied with my last hairdresser (cosmetologist), because after going to her for about five years she could never plaster a hairstyle on my head that I liked. I think she didn't really care for me as a customer either, because I'm not the kind of client to go the beauty shop every week. I prefer to wash and condition my hair at home every week so I can check the condition of it. I only go to the hairdresser once every 8 - 10 weeks for professional services. Besides, I would never think about cutting my own hair. And if I decide to color my hair in the future, I would only have a licensed hairdresser to perform that service.

Mistake #1: Picking the wrong salon - Well, in central Maryland it's hard to find a good hairdresser period. So, many times we ladies have to go closer to Washington, DC or Baltimore, MD to find someone who halfway knows what she or he or is doing. But no, I was determined to find one close to my home. I looked on the internet, in hair magazines, and the yellow pages for a list of stylists. I found a salon at JcPenney in one of Mizani's ads placed in Essence magazine. I stopped by the salon to make an appointment. Everything was set. *sigh*

Mistake #2: Not meeting the stylist first - I got up on a Saturday morning and drove to Columbia Mall for my hair appointment. When I saw the stylist, I should have just said that I had the wrong salon and walked away. But my sense of not wanting to hurt folks' feelings led me to stay and try to make the best of a possibly bad situation. I had a feeling that I was going to regret this experience. The stylist was a real twinkie. This was the first time I saw him. But when I made the appointment a few days before, the employees at the salon talked so highly of him, saying that he was a master/senior cosmetologist and all. Yeah right. *rolling eyes*

Mistake #3: Trusting a new hairdresser and letting that person have free reign - Upfront, I showed the stylist hairstyles that I was interested in. I had torn out these pictures from old magazines of mine. I picked hairstyles that could be achieved according to my hair length and grade. He AGREED with one of the styles. So, I THOUGHT that was what I was going to get. When he started to do my hair, I noticed that he was too heavy-handed. This was the first time I had ever let a man style my hair, but really he could have cut back and cut down on the roughhousing. Good Grief! My head, neck, and back were beginning to ache. He said that he needed to trim my ends. *shrug*

Mistake #4: Going to sleep as a new hairdresser zaps your hair away - Perhaps, since I never get enough sleep at night (4 hours or so) and my iron deficient levels, I fall asleep very easily. This was the case the day the hairdresser committed a crime on my head. He didn't cut off a whole hunk of hair at one time. It appears that he used a pair of scissors with a comb feature built into it. It seemed like he was cutting off a little bit. Oh my goodness. I'm getting a flashback of the panic I felt when I woke up and realized that he cut off about 6 to 8 inches of my hair. I could barely form the sentences to describe to him what he had done. Before the hair crime, my hair was a few inches down my shoulders. With that amount of hair, many hairstyles can be achieved (a pony tail or a french roll or another upsweep do or an allover curly do or a do worn straight). For years, I kept my hair washed and well conditioned. Now this fruitcake cut it off just that fast. All I can remember him telling me was some crap about him trying to achieve some Grand Ole Opry (Oprah Winfrey) hairdo on me. What happened to the picture, we had both agreed to? He was bugging. He acted hurt when I was less than thrilled and was downright disgusted. I flipped... *rolling neck*

Mistake #5: Not Handling Business - **Side Note: Zee doesn't encourage violent acts or profane speech. Peace must be achieved as much as possible. ** But in this particular situation, that know-it-all twitching hairdresser earned the right to have his hindparts horsewhipped. He was crying out for it. I ain't lying.....But no, Miss Zee, "So Too Nice", kept cool. I just wanted to go home. When I got home, I looked in the mirror and really recognized how much he cut off, which was a whole lot. Plus, my head, neck, and back were still aching from his strong ox-like hands. I took a nap only to wake up and realize that in fact my hair was messed up. Ah snap... *hands on hips*


My New Hairdresser: A Complete Godsend...



Dealing With The Hair Fiasco

After stressing over a torn up hairdo over the weekend, I came to the conclusion that I could not grace my office that way Monday. That morning I looked in the yellow pages and the net for another stylist to correct my hairdo. Many ladies know that many hairdressers are off work on Mondays. But this wasn't going to stop me. I called and called shops until I found one. I called a shop in Bowie. It looked to be a respectable shop. Plus, some of the stylists had received awards for their work. And some had their work featured in hair magazines. I still wasn't totally sure this was going to work out. But at this point, almost anything else would be better off for me.

Armed with my cordless phone, I proceeded to tell the main hairstylist/owner what happened to me over the weekend. Apparently, my sense of desperation won the hairdresser over. She said that she could take me within the hour, but not afterwards. Not a problem. I was in the car to make the 20 minute trip. Immediately when I arrived, the hairstylists and shampoo girls put me at ease. They talked about the possible styles that they could give me, but I only entrusted the owner to style my hair. I told her everything I hated about the new style. Not only was too much hair cut, but the previous oxen-handed stylist gave me an ultra straight hairdo that robbed my hair of it's natural volume, which I happen to love about my puffy hair. At the new shop, my hair was washed, conditioned, and set on rollers. The new hairdresser, licensed as a senior cosmetologist, worked her magic and came up with a style that looked really nice and something that I could maintain myself. I received so many compliments from my co-workers the next day.

OOoo Ooo Ooo....I Got A New Attitude

Under the new hairdresser's care, most of my hair grew back in about 8 months. This meant wearing styles that used wet sets and staying away from direct heat/thermal styles 99% of the time. The use of Biotin, a food supplement, also had a hand in growing that hair back. I'm totally satisfied with my new shop and am very thankful to find it. My new shop is a relaxing place with several hairdressers, shampoo girls, and a manicurist. The hairdressers really do try to sastisfy the customer and will take walk-ins when possible. Also, I love the the atmosphere. It's clean (which is a requirement) and the people there keep interesting conversation going. It's not wild stuff; it's just interesting. Whether we are going to attend church the next day, go to a special social event, such as a wedding, or just get regular weekly maintenance, I have to admit that we look good when we leave the shop. That shop was a Godsend.

This whole fiasco involving my hairdo isn't solely about the haircut itself. It had more to do with someone else taking my "decisions" away from me. Some overbearing stylists have a vision of how they want their clients to look. But if I'm paying for a service, I should get what I asked for. A co-worker of mine, whose mother is a hairdresser, confided in me that "some" stylists cut their clients hair too short on purpose, because they know their clients wouldn't know what to do with a short do. And then the client would be forced to come to the salon more often and become dependent on the stylist. That's not me. I actually enjoy washing and styling my hair. I don't care for the overprocessing and the strong chemicals that many salons use. But nevertheless, I learned a lesson from this incident. I should speak up and voice my concerns and stop letting folks who don't have my best interests in mind dictate to me. Sister Zee better learn to handle her business SHO NUFF!!!

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Song I'm Listening To Now:

"Mezmerized" on the "First Lady" CD by Faith Evans

Discovery's Return To Flight: Successful Landing!!!

Earth: Home Sweet Home...

After spending 14 days in space involving a canceled landing yesterday due to weather concerns in Florida, the Space Shuttle Discovery safely landed at Edwards' Air Force Base in California at 5:11 a.m. PST today. Mission Completed!!!

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Song of the Day:

"Benny and the Jets" by Elton John

** Side Note: I never ever knew all the words to this song, beyond the "B..B..B...Benny and the Jets" line, but I always loved the music, especially the piano and keyboard parts. Doesn't Elton seem a little crazy if anyone remembers him wearing a duck suit while performing in concert?

The "5" Things Tag List: TAG!!!

Myrah tagged me. Be sure to visit her blog. Now, I have to think of folks to tag. Hmmm.
(Caution: This may be a little tough for me, since I'm a bit of a hermit and an anti-social person, so I've been told by a couple of friends. Say it ain't so! *hee hee* But I'll still give it try anyway.)


Zee's 5 Thangs List (Doesn't This Have A Chain Letter Feel To It?)

1 Ten Years ago - I had 3 years behind me in one of Uncle Leroy's (UL) health agencies. (Side Note: I picked up the UL term from Margaret's blog.) I was a project officer for a research study and thought I was on my way in this job.

2 Five Years Ago - I thought that I wanted to become a business school professor. My old apartment was full of grad school applications and GMAT study materials. I wrote essays that led to my invitation to attend the PhD Project's annual conference. When it came time for me to decide whether to leave my full-time job (money and benefits) and to jump into grad school, I made a last minute decision to not attend business school at that particular moment, because some things didn't feel right. I discovered that I loved reading and doing research, but the "corporate" cut-throat culture didn't sit right with me. Sometimes the mechanics of business and dealmaking aren't too pretty or ethical when you are in the thick of it. (Side Note: I still have a small Enron flashlight key chain from a job fair years ago.) I'll leave that at that. But I still want to teach on the college level in something like Education or Counseling. Stay tuned!

3 One Year Ago - I was in the process of househunting.

4 Yesterday - I decided to take a 2-day vacaction from work, although I'm use to working year round with very few days off.

5 Today - I'm taking a mini vacation from work to clean up my new place and to take it easy for a change.

6 Tomorrow - I'll return to work and try to catch up on my projects.

7 Five Snacks I Enjoy - Cupcakes, granola bars, ice cream, sunflower seeds, and cheese puffs. (honorable mention: carrots)

8 Five Bands I know All The Words (err... most words) To Their Music - Earth, Wind, and Fire; Incognito; Destiny's Child; Mint Condition; and Kindred the Family Soul.

9 Five Things I Would Do With $100,000,000.00 - First, I would have to tithe to a church or split up the 10% tithe and donate it to several churches according to their missions (education, helping the poor/homeless, daycare, domestic violence, health care, etc.). Then I'd pay off the bills for my family and myself. I would go back to grad school for the love of learning and enrichment purposes. I'd send my niece to any college of her choice when she gets old enough. And I'd purchase homes for my family and myself.

10 Five Locations I Would Like To Run Away To - St. Lucia, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Egypt, and Trinidad.

11 Five Bad Habits - Not taking vacations, not realizing when I'm tired, not getting enough sleep, watching tv until the wee hours of the morning, not understanding/listening to my intuition enough (which may be the voice of God).

12 Five Things I Like Doing - I love to read, surf the net, listen to music, cook, and watch tv.

13 Five TV Shows I like - The Golden Girls, Living Single, House Hunters on Home and Garden TV, The Twilight Zone (at 1 and 1:30 a.m.), and Airline! on the A&E channel.

14 Five Famous People I Would Like To Meet - Tavis Smiley, Michael Eric Dyson, Edwidge Danticat, Chuck D, and Dr. Mae Jemison. (I wish Malcolm X was alive, because I would love, love, love to hear his thoughts on various issues of today.)

15 Five Biggest Joys At This Moment - 1. Being a child of God. 2. Having family and friends who love and care about me. 3. Although my job gets on my last nerve, I'm thankful to be employed. 4. Having an endless stream of ideas. 5. Hope for the future and good things to come.

16 Five Favorite Toys - My computer, my bookcase cd changer, car stereo, old walkman, and cellphone.

17 Five People Plus Two Who Have Been Tagged - Sepia Gem, Melette, KeKe, Marchandite (Mr.D finish creating your blog, pretty please), Margaret, and SP.
(Note To The Tagged: Please accept my sincere apology. I didn't know whom else to tag. Besides, I think you will enjoy preparing the list just as much as the people who are going to read it.)

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Song of the Day:

"1 Thing" on the "Touch" CD by Amerie