Plum and Cinnamon Crumble
Made plum and cinnamon crumble last night and used up 2 lb of the plums. And it was yummy! I will need to make some adjustment to the crumble next time, but it still turned out really well. I am not much of a baker, but fruit crumbles are easy to make… at least I don’t have to make a pie crust!
Crumble:
8 oz plain flour
3 oz butter (I would recommend increasing this to 4 to 4.5oz butter)
4 oz brown sugar
Fruit Filling:
2 lb plums halved and stoned
4 oz brown sugar (I used a bit less than this because the plums were quite ripe already)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350˚F (I used the convection bake function in my oven and set it to the same level).
Cut the butter into small pieces and then rub the flour in until the butter is well-distributed. Add in the sugar and mix it well. (All this has to be done by hand and is quite therapeutic!) Set this aside.
Lay the plums at the bottom of a pie dish or casserole dish (I used my Pyrex 8”x10” casserole dish), sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the plums. Then sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the plums. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (I did it for 40 minutes with browning options because I like the top to be a bit browner, but because I didn’t put enough butter in the crumble this time, it didn’t work quite as well as I have hoped. If I use more butter next time, it may not take as long).
I think I will use some of the apples for an apple and cinnamon crumble when we get back from California. Very easy and very yummy.
A Day in Chelan
Dan and I brought Gander along with us to ‘explore’ part of the state yesterday. We drove to Chelan for the day to visit Kim, Melissa and Meghan and to check out their boarding/grooming kennel. It was a perfect day for a mini road trip. Chelan is about 2 ½ hours NE of Issaquah and the landscape is very different. As we drove across the Cascades, we started to notice the change in the vegetation: from lots of evergreen dotted with the occasional red and orange to mostly deciduous plants to shrubs and tall grasses. The last part of the drive was along Columbia River and we passed by numerous orchards.
We arrived at Arbor Pet Resort just before noon and were met by Kim and the welcoming comittee: Remi and Jake. Kim did give me the bad news soon after we got there: Duke, the rescue Coonhound that they took from my hospital, had to be put to sleep 2 weeks ago because he attacked Kim. She was just calling him away from a bowl of food when he turned on her without warning; she had a few bad wounds on her leg, but managed to put the kennel door between herself and Duke before he could do more damage. I was sad to hear about it, but at the same time, I am glad that Kim is doing fine now and Duke has not hurt anyone else. When I shared the news about Duke with my coworkers today, everyone thought that it was very sad, but we did the best for him and we are all glad that we gave him a chance when his previous owner was ready to give him up.
The rest of the day was spent lounging, chatting, eating and watching the dogs play. Jake has always been a bit of a nipper, but he is getting more growly then before. He turned on Gander a couple of times when G was being too in-your-face. That was the first time I have seen Gander cower away, roll onto his back and play the submissive part. After that, Gander kept a fairly safe distance from Jake until they have settled down. Jake and Remi also had bit of a tiff, while Gander seemed sort of oblivious to it and kept on prancing around them to show off another toy that he has found…. What a goof!!
Kim and Mel had originally planned it as a ‘Banfield get-together’, but some couldn’t make it and others didn’t respond. Oh well, we still had a good time. They have a very nice set-up there and none was more impressed than Dan! Since Mel comes to this side of the Cascade every 2 weeks, she even offered to pick up Gander in the future so that he could stay with them while we are out of town. Now that’s great service for you!!
We had a quick drive around town and Lake Chelan. It is a very small town – there isn’t even a Chinese take-out place!! There is a karate school though… Dan and I were both surprised at how little waterfront property there was when the whole town is pretty much built around the lake. There are lots of lake view properties, but there is very limited public access to the lake. One problem is that the road is right along the lake shore… there is some vacant land right on the water but no one was rushing to build on it… very strange indeed.
After an early dinner, we left with 2 big bags of apples and plums – from their plum tree and from one of their clients’ apple tree. Now I just have to figure out what to do with more than 2lb of each when we are going out of town on Friday!
We took a different way home in order to avoid delay on the I-90 due to earlier rock falls/landslide. The alternative way seemed to take forever, but it really only added 1 more hour to the trip. We drove through the Bavarian town of Leavenworth and it was pretty cute. But when we realized how far it is from Issaquah, we scrapped the idea of going there for a day trip! We drove past Stevens Pass, one of the local mountains we need to explore during the ski season. We also found out that Duvall has got a cute downtown area and so does Monroe. So as much as we complained about how long our homeward trip took, it was not a total loss!
My Furry Kid
One thing that Dan and I will never be able to resolve is that I think of Gander as my kid and he thinks that even though I/we treat him like a kid, he is not our child but our dog. The thing is, we provide a home for him, feed him, keep him safe and warm, take care of him when he is sick, teach him to be a civilized member of the society and most of all, give him unconditional love… if we are not his parents, who are we? But that is an argument that will go on for as long as we have Gander and any other dogs we may have in the future.
Today was my day-off, so I made arrangements to visit a kennel-free boarding facility where we will leave Gander next weekend when we are out of town. The place is called Camp Happy Paws and it is absolutely amazing! They have acres of land for the dogs to run around all day; at night, they all sleep in the ‘Bunk House’ where it looks more like a log cabin with a bunch of dog beds, couches and crates. Gander came with me to check out the place and he went off to explore as soon as he got a chance. Becky and Scott, the owners, seemed very nice and I have no doubt that Gander will have a blast there and will not even notice that we are gone!! Sometimes I wonder if I should consider starting a place like that and run a small clinic out of there…
After the visit to the Camp, we went back to the hospital just in time for me to observe part of the surgery of one of my patients who needed his spleen removed due to a huge tumor. I was going to do the surgery yesterday, but he was very stable and the owners opted to have ultrasound done before doing surgery. The procedure went very smoothly and while I was observing surgery, Gander had a fun time wrestling with Ivy, one of the other doctor’s dog, in the ‘closet’ (a small room which we use mostly for housing all the staff’s dogs but it is also used as an oversized ‘kennel’ when we have dogs too big for standard kennels or those that refuse to go into one). Now I know that he will be ok to stay in a confined area with a few other dogs.
G-boy and I then headed of to check out the new off-leash part in a new neighborhood 5 minutes from the house. It is called the Bark Park and it is a 2-acre fenced in meadow where the dogs can just run around and have fun. After being so used to Marymoor Off-Leash Area, B.P. seemed more like a large lawn, but it is still a nice area for the pampered canines to play in. Since today was rowing day and Gander played so much for half of the day, by the time we got home from the park, we both had to take a long nap!
This evening, I finally finished the book I have been reading for over a week. It’s a Japanese thriller/mystery called ‘Out’ by Natsuo Kirino (I am not sure who the translator was). It was a pretty gruesome story with very gory details. I am a bit disappointed with the ending and parts of it were quite predictable. It was one of the Barnes and Nobles recommendations from the list of new writers. It has won awards, but it was just an OK book. Not sure if I would read another one by the same writer… then again, maybe it was the translator.
Now I have the task of picking what book to read next… probably a P.D. James book… good old fashion British detective novel…
Adrenaline Rush
There is nothing like an angry cat that can get my adrenaline going. I remember when I was a student working on my externship at ERABH in Coquitlam, I used to get very nervous when I was asked to bring feline patients out for the doctors or techs to give them exams or treatments. More often than not, the cat would be hissing at me or trying to swipe or lunge at me when I open the kennel door. I suspect they must have sensed my fear. After a couple of summers of working there and watching how the techs handle fractious cats (especially Jen, who is fearless when it comes to the meanest kitty cats), I slowly develop the skill of dealing with these vicious felines. Over the years, I have become more confident and proficient in handling and restraining fractious cats to the point where I enjoy the challenge of working with one. Oh yes, I still get scratched and bitten sometimes, but most of the time, I get the job done without anybody getting hurt (including the cat!). The rush of adrenaline and the satisfaction I get when the cat is safely back in the cage (and I am safely on the other side of the cage) are welcoming on an otherwise quiet steady work day!
Gander, the rock star!
It is funny how little things in life sometimes bring you so much joy or make the day seem so much nicer. Today has been a pretty good day overall starting with a really good row in the morning (a very set boat and good workout). I also had my favourite shift – surgery – and the work day went smoothly plus I got off work before 5 p.m. But what really put a smile on my face was when I opened the mail box and found the first issue of a newsletter from Riverdog, Gander’s school and daycare: one of the articles was about the Canine Good Citizen award given by the AKC. And there it was, Gander was listed as one of the new CGCs! I guess it’s not hard to see that my world revolves around this furry guy! I am hoping that by next year this time, Gander and I will have successfully completed his therapy dog training, registered with the Delta Society Pet Partners Program and become a Reading with Rover team (or at least in-training!). Yes, I do have great dreams for my pup!
Row, row, row your boat...
Today was the day: 2005 Row for the Cure, Seattle, took place this morning on Lake Union. Apparently, the number of participants doubled this year while the amount of money raised tripled! For that, I must thank my friends and family who have been very generous in making pledges and supporting me.
I was put in a mixed 8+ and was fortunate enough to be in bow seat, one that I enjoy the most. Including the coxswain, there were 4 people from Bainbridge Island, 3 from various clubs that row on Lake Union, 1 from Delta, B.C., and myself. It was a good mix of people of different age, experience and rowing style (a couple of people scull most of the time). The boat was surprisingly set from the beginning, even more so than when I row with people in my class! It was a great row even though we did not win – it was all for a good cause.
A couple of rowers went up on stage afterwards to share their experience with us – one lady is battling breast cancer at the moment (but that did not stop her from participating in this race and many others this season… she is also training for a marathon next month!) and the other lady’s mother passed away from breast cancer more than 30 years ago when survival rates were much lower. It was inspiring to hear those stories. With one cousin who is a breast cancer survivor and another one who is an expert in breast cancer therapy research, I felt honored to be part of today’s event and am determined to remain active in supporting the cause in the future.
It was still early (for a Sunday) when I got home after the race, so Dan suggested that we pick a trail that we have not been to and go for a hike with Gander. We ended up going to Tradition Lake just one exit up on I-90 from the house. The Tradition Lake Loop is very flat and well maintained, so it was quite an easy ‘hike’ – it was more like a walk. It took us just under an hour to go around and chances are we will go there again for quick walks in the future. The only down side is that there is no lake access so Gander did not get to swim. Nonetheless, he seemed pretty tired afterwards, which was a good thing.
Having woken up at 5 a.m., rowed for 50+ minutes and walked for another 50 minutes on a Sunday was enough to get me quite sleepy by 2:30 p.m. – an hour before my usual Sunday nap time! So I had a nice nap and finally got up to start getting dinner ready. Dinner is in the oven as we speak…
A quiet Saturday... sort of...
I brought Gander to Marymoor Park this morning and he was super happy to be there. It’s been a while since I have taken him to the dog park because they have fenced off the slough for the season and I was concerned that he would not get to swim much. Nonetheless, he had a great time playing with other dogs and stealing their toys. He was so excited to be there that he did not listen very well.
After almost 2 hours at the park, we went to Redmond Town Center so that I could go to REI to ask about a Swiss Army watch I got from there that is not as water resistant as it claimed to be: after my little morning dip last week, I noticed condensation under the glass. Luckily, they have another one there so that I could exchange the broken one for a new one. Phew!
But the bad news I received when I arrived at REI was that they have changed their dog policy and no longer allow leashed dogs in the store. Apparently, there were a couple of biting incidences at the Seattle store and they now only allow service dogs in the store. What a bummer… a couple of bad apples ruining it or everyone else!
There was a pleasant surprise though. Apparently, the Seattle Humane Society had a charity walk there this morning, so there were many booths set up by dog-related organizations at the mall for us to visit. There were also dozens of dogs there so Gander was able to put his CGC training to use. I also had the opportunity to watch the Reading with Rover team at work (http://www.readingwithrover.com/) and talk to a handler about what I should do to prepare Gander to become a reading dog (no, he will not learn to read, he will train to be a therapy dog for a children literacy program). We were in the bookstore for a while and Gander was extremely well-behaved. The handler I was talking was quite impressed with him and said that with some training, Gander should have no problem becoming a therapy dog… even though it may mean that I will have to run him at the park for 2 hours before each reading session!
This evening, we went to Stacy and James’ first annual Mexican Luau. We had lots of quesadillas, Margaritas, brownies and great company. Unfortunately, we were not able to get a turntable for the LP collection of Hawaiian music we found in the attic (left by previous owners of our house). But since this will be an annual event, we have another year to get our act together and have real Hawaiian music next year!
Well, it’s off to bed early for me tonight… got to race tomorrow!
The Re-building Effort
I was listening to NPR this evening on my way home from work and there was a report on the re-building of Afghanistan. In the past 4 years, Afghanistan has received about US$2 billion a year in foreign aid to help re-build the country destroyed by the Taliban and the war. However, despite the large sums of money that have supposedly gone into the effort, not a whole lot of re-building can be seen around the country. There are many places that still do not have clean water, power and a lot of the basic infrastructure. Meanwhile, many foreigners belonging to NGOs (non-governmental organizations) who are supposed to be there to help with the re-building effort are driving shiny new cars, living in expensive accommodations and eating fancy meals that each costs more than the monthly income of an ordinary Afghani.
I also heard this other report on the re-building of the Gulf Coast in the U.S. A lot of money has been promised for the re-building effort. But it seems the contractors given projects to re-build New Orleans are from outside of Louisiana. And it was already announced earlier that no bidding is necessary (so the projects are just assigned) and the workers will be paid half of the minimal wage… So that means that the ordinary people of New Orleans will get paid a pittance to re-build their city while some contractors, probably buddies of Bush, Cheney and that bunch, will get a fat wallet…maybe even drive shiny new cars, live in expensive accommodations and eat fancy meals that each costs more than the monthly income of an ordinary New Orleans local. And after all that ‘re-building’, I won’t be surprised if there will still be a lot of areas in New Orleans where there will not be clean water, power and a lot of the basic infrastructure. Hmmm, that’s kind of like having our own private Afghanistan right here in the U.S.! Well, since the same people are in charge, I really shouldn’t be surprised!
Ham 'n' Egger?
Today is my first day back at rowing since our flip last week. Although there was much improvement needed with timing and techniques in our boat, I was happy to arrive at the dock warm and dry. It was a big disappointment when I found out that there were not enough people from our class interested in the Row for the Cure to put together a crew, I soon found out that I could still go and row in the “Ham ‘n’ Egger” race where they just put together boats of people who have not rowed as a crew before. The registrar, Julie, of the event helped me sign up and was super nice in explaining all the details I need to be aware of on the day. I am now warming up to the idea of ‘being thrown in a boat and just row’. After all, it is not the race that counts but the cause of the event. It’s not too late to make a pledge! Just e-mail me!
Now try it with the cheap, dirty glass...
The long awaited weekend of family reunion and celebration of Grandma’s 90-year-old birthday was finally here. And as expected, there is no shortage of food and booze!
Hock Yee and May Shiu arrived on Friday night and I was told they stayed up until 3 a.m. chatting, drinking and having a whiskey tasting session! Dan and I stayed with Jane and Claudio that evening and met everybody on Saturday afternoon at Mum and Dad’s house. We knew about the plans to have a BBQ that evening, but what we did not know was that Hock Yee planned a red wine tasting session for us! He sent Hock Lai to pick up proper wine tasting glasses and a variety of reds while Mum and May Shiu went grocery shopping for the dinner.
We all had such a great time! Hock Lai bought 8 different red wines from different parts of the world: France, California, B.C. and Argentina. And to top it off, we started with a nice glass of champagne, scallops and oysters! This was my first real wine tasting and using the Riedel glasses was different from the ‘cheap, dirty glasses’ that my parents usually use! I tried quite a few wines that I have never had before and I have to say my favourite is still Pinot Noir but I definitely enjoyed the Argentinean Malbec 
very much. Thanks, Hock Yee, for introducing me to the great wines! Nothing can beat delicious food, good wine and great company! And of course Grandma was ecstatic to have all her grandchildren in town! So much so that she almost fell down the stairs when she saw Hock Lai walking through the door unannounced!!
On Sunday, Dan dropped me off at Mum and Dad’s in the morning while he went to teach at the dojo in Kitsilano. We had breakfast with Grandma and presented her with her birthday gifts – she was beyond happy! Hock Yee had this idea of taping Grandma telling the stories she used to tell us all when we were little. We all remember bits of the stories and have some sort of visual image about them, we none of us remember the entire stories. So that is going to be Hock Yee’s job before he leaves on Tuesday to tape as many stories as possible.
We left Grandma to rest and ‘play’ with her new gifts and we had lunch at a Japanese restaurant. The food was really yummy and we all felt that we needed a nap after the meal… but the urge to go shopping was too great and so we went to the mall instead. I am proud to say that I did not buy anything for myself at the mall! After shopping, the others went home to take a nap while I took Gander out for a long walk. When I got back from the walk, I barely had time to get ready before it was time to head out the restaurant for the banquet.
Needless to say, there was more booze and more food. Surprisingly, Dad and Aunt Kitty behaved themselves a lot better this year and did not drink nearly as much as last year. They were absolutely hammered last year at the banquet and it felt more like a frat party out of control!! (Yep, us ‘youngsters’ were quite entertained by our aunts and uncles getting drunker and drunker by the second!)
It was sad when we had to go, but we did have a long drive ahead of us. After saying goodbye to al the relatives and friends, Dan and I picked up Gander from Mum and Dad’s and headed south. We didn't get home until almost 1 a.m. and I am still a bit fuzzy-headed this morning!
What a great weekend it was!
The Perfect Flip
I sometimes hear people say that how you start a day often sets the tone for the how the rest of your day goes. That is true a lot of the times, but I am glad that it was not quite so today…
I got up early to attend my 5 a.m. rowing class (as on most Fridays in the past 7 months). I was quite pleased that my back did not seem sore even though I did my first 6K erg test the evening before and I worked out a bit harder than usual. I was in a 4+ this morning and it has been a while since I have been in one. It was a windy morning and the water was quite choppy. Even as we were doing our warm-ups by pairs, the boat was not set and we were just all over the place. Of course it was even worse when we all rowed together. We were attempting to spin the boat when it happened: the boat started to tilt to port side when they started backing, I tried to keep my oar level (I was on starboard side), but we just kept tipping over. It was as if everything was in slow motion as we went over. Luckily for us, the water was not too cold and our coach was close by with the launch. We managed right the boat without much trouble and we all got into the launch and towed the boat back. Besides a few bruised egos, we were all fine. I have never capsized a rowing shell before, so at least I’ve got that checked off of my list! If I was not fully awake before, I definitely was now!
Fortunately, the rest of my day was a lot smoother – busy but steady day, nice clients and patients, uneventful drive up to Vancouver with an easy-going border guard. And here I am, sitting in bed writing in my ‘journal’.
This is going to be a busy weekend with my cousins in town and my grandma’s 90th (?) birthday dinner. If nothing else, I know there will be lots of food and booze!! Party on!
Rescue Ad
I am sure that every person who works in the animal care industry has heard, at one time or another, reasons why someone has to give up their pet. I am sure a lot of the times the reasons are valid, but sometimes they are not.
Over a year ago, when Dan and I were thinking about getting a dog, we really thought about it for a long, long time before we decided that the time was right. As he pointed out to me before, since I am a vet, if I am not qualified to be a good pet owner, who would be? However, even though that was the case, I still hummed and hawed for a long time, wondering if I will be able to dedicate the amount of time and energy needed to have a pet. That is why I feel very uneasy when people make impulsive decisions to get pets just because they felt like it. They have not really thought it through, they have not done any research and they are often unwilling to change their lifestyle to accommodate the pet they brought into their lives. Unfortunately, many of these pets get in the way of their lives, and they have to give the pets up. Another excuse I have heard is that they did not know the puppy would grow up to be ‘that big’! Anyway, the point is that many people get pets without really thinking about it.
So when I saw this ‘ad’ circulating at the hospital today, I can totally see where it came from. The author is unknown, so I can’t give credit to him/her properly, but whoever it is: well-done!
Help needed ASAP:
Please help!!! After two long years of being on a waiting list for an agility dog, we have been notified by the breeder that, at long last, our number had come up and… WE ARE HAVING A PUPPY!!
We must get rid of our children IMMEDIATELY because we just know how time consuming our new little puppy is going to be and it just wouldn’t be fair to the children. Since our little puppy will be arriving on Monday, we MUST place the children into rescue this weekend!
They are described as:
One male – His name is Tommy, Caucasian (English/Irish mix), light blonde hair, blue eyes. Four years old. Excellent disposition. He does not bite. Temperament tested, Does have problems with peeing directly in the toilet. Has had chicken pox and is current on all shots. Tonsils have already been removed. Tommy eats everything, is very clean, house trained and gets along with others. Does not run with scissors and with a little training, he should be able to read soon.
One female – Her name is Lexie, Caucasian (English/Irish Mix), strawberry blonde hair, gree eyes, quite freckled. Two years old. Can be surly at times. Non-biter, thumb sucker. Has been temperament tested but needs a little attitude adjusting occasionally. She is current on all shots, tonsils out, and is very healthy and can be affectionate. Gets along well with other little girls and little boys, but does not like to share her toys and therefore would do best in a one-child household. She is a very quick learner and is currently working on her house training – shouldn’t take long at all.
We really do LOVE out children so much and want to do what’s right for them; that is why we contacted a rescue group. But we simply can no longer keep them. Also, we are afraid that they may hurt our new puppy.
I hope you understand that ours is a UNIQUE situation and we have a real emergency here!!! They MUST be placed into your rescue by Sunday night at the latest or we will be forced to drop them off at the orphanage or along some dark, country road. Our priority now has to be our new puppy.
Isn’t this great??!! I don’t know how many people I have met over the years that have to give up their dog or cat because they are having a baby before they even gave the pet a chance. If this ad sounds ridiculous to you, welcome to my world!!
Labour Day Weekend
We finally got home after a fairly busy, but enjoyable Labour Day weekend. And I feel like I have not stopped eating since Friday night… We were invited to some friends’ house for dinner. I didn’t realize that it was dinner with a ‘theme’ until we got there and it was such a nice surprise! Rose decided to have a Spanish feast, so she made everything all from scratch: stuffed red peppers with shrimp, asparagus salad, papas bravas (fried potatoes with a very yummy dipping sauce), gambas al ajillo (spicy garlic prawns), steamed mussels and crostini with this amazing alioli (don’t remember what was in it). We also had lots of olives, grapes, Serrano ham with melon and Manchego, a very mild Spanish cheese made with sheep milk. We had a Spanish dry sherry before the meal, followed by a Spanish red and then white wine. Oh, and don’t forget the homemade orange cake. After having skipped lunch on Friday, it was a great way to make up for it!! I wish I could drink some more, but I had to work the next day.
On Saturday, Dan drove me to work that morning and came with Gander to pick me up at the end of the day to drive up Vancouver for the weekend. We ate sushi on the way up, the traffic was great, the border line-up was short and we made it to his parents’ house in Langley in great time. All in all, it was a very nice drive up. When we arrived, we were presented with a very pleasant surprise – paella! Yummy! After eating the sushi and then the paella, it was not hard for me to fall asleep by 9:30pm!!
Our plan to meet my parents and Alan at the dog park at Buntzen Lake on Sunday was disrupted by torrential rain that morning. So we just headed out to my parents’ house instead. It has been over a year since I saw Alan and it was nice to have the whole family together again. And what better to do than to have dim sum on a Sunday? Auntie Jo joined us for dim sum as well and we all ate so much! By the time we got back to the house, we were all affected by the MSG and everyone took a nap!! Dan left in the afternoon to teach karate while the Chan clan continued to eat some more!! We had BBQ at home: steaks, prawns, oysters, grilled veggies…
The weather improved this morning, so we finally made it to Buntzen Lake. (Not without a very big breakfast at the Kogan’s first!) The off-leash area is a bit small, but Gander had a good time swimming and stealing other dogs’ toys. But for some reason, the dogs at this park seemed so much more agitated and high-strung. There were quite a few nasty sounding scuffles during the 1 ½ hours we were there. Gander was in a couple of them, but he came out unscathed.
We then met with Nick at the New Westminster Quay, checked out the construction progress of out apartment building there (yep, it’s coming along and should be ready in February) and had lunch at one of the pubs at the Quay. We hit the road after that and to our suprise, the wait at the border did not take long…only about 30 minutes which is not bad for a long weekend!
It’s back to the salt mine tomorrow. But it will only be 4 more days before next weekend: my cousins from the U.K. will be in town for Grandma’s birthday soiree and I just can’t wait to have our little reunion.
Day 4 After Katrina Hit
Well, there goes August. My work day has been pretty regular and steady and I didn't get rushed off my feet. But for some reason, I still managed to get a huge pile of charts to work on at the end of the day.
On my way home, I was bombarded, once again, with more news and updates about New Orleans and the neighboring areas. Sounds like lawlessness has begun: gun looting, armed looting, gang wars and, most deplorable of all, shooting at rescuers trying to get into the city. You hear stories of how people in crisis come together and help each other, all the heroes that spawn from the desperate situations they are in. And then you hear about these hoodlums taking advantage of the circumstances for personal gain or just out out pure stupidity.
And when I got home, of course the CNN was on. I finally sat down for the first time and watched the various footage of what was left of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. To hear that a computer simulation done about 3 years ago accurately predicted the aftermath of a, then hypothetical, Level 5 hurricane would make everyone wonder, 'Why wasn't more done about it?' Sure enough, the project to enforce the levy (sp) systems had its funding cut back... oh, and who decided to do that? No other than President B himself! And where is most of the National Guard when the nation needs them to keep order in a place that is quickly becoming no-man's land? Oh, right! Most of them are in Iraq, fighting a war that should not have been started in the first place! Way to go, W!
As much as I still feel very sad for the storm victims, that sadness is slowly turning into disbelief and anger. I am not saying that any of this could be prevented, but any intelligent person would be able to safely assume the damage would have been less severe if more was done before the storm hit. If I feel angry sitting in my dry, warm kitchen, I can't even begin to comprehend what someone sitting at the top of their roof for the 4th day waiting for help must be thinking.
The whole world is watching how all this unfolds here in the U.S. of A. The richest nation in the world. The strongest economic power. The super police. The world is watching.
