It could be said that...

...people in my workplace talk about each other entirely too much. You may ask, what is talked about? Who is doing the talking about whom? Well, I can't answer that. Why? Because that would be gossipping, making me just like them. I think I'll just keep my headphones on...

Labor Day Weekend

I'll be in Mobile this weekend, desperately trying to achieve everything I possibly can to plan my wedding. One of the major things being, of course, finding *THE* dress. I have already tried on a couple and you can see those on my photosite. Of course, I will post the dress I ultimately choose online for viewing as well. There was a photo of a dress in the Press-Register courtesy of House of Brides, and when I saw it I was pretty positive that it was *THE* dress. I called House of Brides today and yes, they do still carry the design (even though I can't find it on designer Maggie Sottero's site?), so I will be trying that one on for sure. I think she said it's called "Portia." Let's hope I'm right about that one being *THE* dress, since the only picture of the dress is of the back...

Speaking of...

Speaking of people who have the wrong attitude about the hurricane, check out this guy. A man who commandeered a boat during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in flooded New Orleans rescued over 200 people, and now he is being sued by the boat's owner for taking it "without receiving permission." What kind of priorities are those? Sure, it's your property. And maybe it was expensive. But is it worth the price of human life?

Hurricane Katrina

At this time last year, I was frantically answering phones, turning knobs and pushing buttons in an attempt to quickly inform the listeners of South Louisiana through our 8 still-operating radio stations. Hurricane Katrina had hit, things were quickly escalating, and the only connection to the outside world many people had was a battery-operated radio. I can say that being the producer on-air during the storm was an amazing experience, because it was. I can also say, though, that it was terrifying. And heart-breaking. And humbling. And more than anything, I have never felt so helpless in my entire life. People were calling in to search for loved ones. People were calling to search for shelter. People wanted help, needed answers. I did everything I could short of getting in a boat myself to help them. That's what it was all about. In the days immediately following Katrina, it wasn't about casting blame and pointing fingers. It wasn't about FEMA and recovery funds. It was about survival. It was about human life. It was about giving your time, energy, and resources to help people you had never met.
So many people volunteered to help. So many men took their boats down to New Orleans to rescue people off rooftops. So many college students gave their time in shelters and medical facilities. So many Americans opened their homes and their wallets to help strangers. Isn't that what being an American is all about?
I was there, a part of some of the only local media broadcasting. When the power returned, and I saw what the national media was reporting, it only made me angry. It was all about whose fault it was that the levies broke, whose fault it was that the buses were under water, whose fault it was that the people of New Orleans were left without supplies. This is only days after the storm, when people are trapped, dying, and becoming desperate. And all the national media could talk about was who we were going to blame.
Then there are the journalists who just love this kind of stuff. They eat heartache and bloodshed for breakfast. These are people like the boss I had at the radio station, a man from up north who during the storm applauded us for "good radio." These are people like one of my current employees at TDMN, who was complaining that we didn't get the terrible hurricane season that was predicted last year, who said that he didn't care if hurricanes hit because it wouldn't affect him here in Dallas. New Orleans is not my hometown. Neither is Biloxi. Baton Rouge isn't even my hometown, even though I lived there for 3 years. But growing up in Mobile, AL, and seeing the destruction of all the cities of the Gulf Coast, I feel as though it's all my hometown. The Gulf Coast is my hometown. Yes, I do get offended when people talk about my hometown as if they know it as well as I do. I also get offended when people act as though they don't care about it. So this week, as we remember Hurricane Katrina and the devestation, remember the heroism and the bravery. Remember the people who gave so freely of themselves. Remember the people who had nothing but love and compassion for others. And I encourage you to make the effort to try to be like them.

WTC movie giveth and taketh

After the discussion at lunch yesterday about the movie World Trade Center, I did some digging. Turns out that as a matter of fact, Nicholas Cage donated his earnings: "I gave my salary, after taxes and commissions, to The American Red Cross because I didn't want to do it for any other reason than to try to be healing in some way. That was the spirit of it." Story

And although not much of the profits went to charity, a small amount did. 10% of the earnings from the first 5 days of the movie’s showing went to various 9/11 charities. rottentomatoes.com:

BOX OFFICE HISTORY

Week Rank Wkd. Gross Theaters Per Theater Cumulative
Week #1 3 $18,730,762 2,957 $6,334 $26,531,879
Week #2 3 $10,901,350 2,998 $3,636 $45,105,868

Box office cumulative figures also include daily grosses from Monday through Thursday (not shown).

That’s a pretty good bit of money, but that is “gross” income, not “net”. I’m not sure which figure they’re going with to determine how much money each charity gets. So there you go, that’s the breakdown. And go you, Nicholas Cage…I like him. I do, in fact, plan to support him in his current paid box office role in “The Wicker Man.” But as for World Trade Center…I’d rather just toss my seven bucks straight to charity.

Beware of martini

I'm at work, and after a week of back-to-back craziness, I'm again stuck with nothing to do and the entire day ahead of me. Sure, someone will probably send me an e-mail this afternoon that says something like, "Lauren! I need this and such-and-such done, ASAP! Like, 5 minutes ago would have been ideal!" Okay, not really like that, because no one actually talks like that. It's like in Charlie Brown, when the adults talk and the kids only hear "Wa, wa wa wa wa, wa." It's not because I don't enjoy my job that the words translate as such, but mostly due to the fact that I am completely preoccupied with the pain in my tongue. You see, on Sunday, David and I ate at Nobu, this really fancy, much-too-expensive-for-a-normal-dining-experience sushi restaurant for Restaurant Week. It's an event that allows you to eat at top-notch restaurants for a $35 flat fee a person with a fixed menu and some of the proceeds going to charity. Since we're there, hanging out, and it's a "special occasion" (since any time you eat out and spend more than fourty bucks you have to dub it a "special occasion" to stave off the guilt), I had this really amazing martini. I mean really amazing, with fresh watermelon and everything. The problem was, it hit me pretty quickly on an empty stomach, so by the time we sat down, I was getting the little tingly sensation in my fingertips. I guess my tongue was feeling it a little too much, because I sure didn't feel it when I chomped down on it while trying to chew my nigiri. It's pretty self-explanatory how hard I must have bitten it if it's Thursday and my tongue still hurts. Anyone have any tongue remedies? It would be a great way to occupy the vast, expansive void that I call my afternoon at work...