Lest ye forget

I was reading a post by Nine Inch Nails's front man Trent Reznor. For those of you who don't know much about him, his recording studio and record lable were based in New Orleans for years. he recently left NO and headed to California to record the remainder of their recent album and also move on in his career. He recently went back to NO and this was the post he put in his web-journal.

from http://www.nin.com/tr/index.php

[10_29_2005]
What a couple of days...
We arrived in New Orleans Friday morning. A friend of mine at the mayor's office arranged for us to see the lower ninth ward that afternoon. I can't begin to express what I saw there. Utter, complete, incomprehensible devastation. Rob will soon be posting some photos, but you truly can not get a sense of how bad this is until you see it.
These people have lost everything. A large portion of the city is simply GONE. I realized I had been assuming things were getting "back to normal" here, but it will be a very long time before that happens - if ever.
200,000 people have been displaced, 7,000 are still unaccounted for. The mainstream media has begun to move on as the story takes a back seat to Bush's latest string of failures, but these people and this city need - and will continue to need - a lot of help. One of the reasons I felt it was important to attempt to have Voodoo IN New Orleans was to keep the spotlight on the city. To let people on the outside know this tragedy involves far more than turning the power back on.
I'm writing this riding on the bus to Memphis. The show in New Orleans went really well. Having Saul play with us was really great - I totally respect him as an artist and a person. The weather was perfect and the spirits of everyone involved were high. It was so nice to see so many faces from my past... and everyone really seemed to appreciate having something to take their minds off of what they're going through.
I spent some time with Mayor Ray Nagin and I'm very impressed with that man. Throughout the storm and consequences that followed, he struck me as one of the few people who wasn't bullshitting us and genuinely trying everything he could to remedy the situation. Today, he's providing determined leadership that's confident the city can be rebuilt - the right way.
I'm fading out now. Lots of emotions. I don't want to leave.

10:06pm_PST

So please, do not forget about what happened in NO, and don't think that just because it isn't on the news it is over.

(i'm sorry for stealing your words Trent, but I feel this needs to reach a wider audience)

Did you say Steak? (Uncomfortable Eye Contact)

Another weekend has come and gone.

This Saturday was Hawaiian shirt day. Weeeee. I couldn't believe it when I heard my manager utter the words "Make sure you wear a hawaiian shirt, cause it's going to be Hawaiian day." I had to pinch myself and make sure that I wasn't dreaming that I was a character in Office Space.

So Saturday came and I had to decide what to do. Do I a)put on a Hawaiian shirt and hope that everyone else is wearing one? Or b)Not wear it and hope that no one else did either?

I put on my Hawaiian shirt on and figured that in the worst case scenario at least I can't be accused of having a negative attitude. I got to work and the other two opening staff had Hawaiian shirts on as well. But as the day went on no one else wore a Hawaiian shirt. Apparently they were going with my scenario number 2. This made me feel a little lame when I would be the only visible staff member in a Hawaiian shirt, but it worked out cause they were gonna give 3 prizes and there were only 3 of us. So we all won. Hahaha. I don't know what I won yet. Probably a lei. weeeee


 
Have you ever noticed how few people make eye contact in public?

I realized at work that I was rarely if ever looking customers in the eyes. So I decided that today I would make a conscious effort to look people in the eye. I would talk to them and ask them questions and make eye contact and it was really funny to watch them. They didn't want to be rude and look away, but at the same time they also didn't want to continue the eye contact for more than a second. Try it yourselves, you'll be shocked how many people are uncofortable making eye contact in the loosest and most casual social situations.

Too much PDA

This is the coolest thing ever. I am at The Loft at the U of C. It's a wireless network lounge with loaner laptops. You just walk in, give them your ID card, and bam you're online. Plus they got Starbucks so you can fuel yourself with all the caffeine you need as you type type type away.

I thought that I'd take the time to jot down a few things that have been annoying me lately.

CAMPUS LIFE
1. Public Displays of Affection
As I am typing this I can look out the window beside me to the couple on the little round bench fondle and kiss each other. And I'm not talking about a peck here or there. I'm talking about hand up shirt, faces stuck together, hand on ass grabbing kind of affection. This is a little much I think. A little PDA here or there is acceptable, but do I really need to see the pregame show to what I'm sure is their typical friday night. And all I can say to the girl is "GET A TAN!!" I know it's coming on winter, but your fish white belly is too much.

2. Loud Talkers With Lame Opinions
I sit in my computer science lecture every monday and wednesday and put up with 3 noisy girls. I don't want to do this elsewhere. Today I was sitting eating my lunch and eavesdropping on these two girls. I know that it's my own fault for eavesdropping, but with dead batteries in my MD player and the volume of their voices it was pretty hard not too. But they made me laugh so it's not all bad. Too bad it was at them and not with them. Their conversation started with "Do you know that joke about how Chinese people name their kids? I find it totally racist. I mean how can you laugh at that." I know. SOme people are just so ignorant." Sure racist jokes are racist. But pointing that out is like me sitting down with a friend and saying "Do you know that stuff that comes out of the shower when you turn it on? It is so wet." "I know., like, water is too wet for me." But what made their socio-sympathetic converstaion oh so laughable was when they started talking about a video one of them saw in anthropology class. "In this video they showed these people who put discs in their lips. Like you could fit a whole CD in the whole and they just stretch it out more and more." "Gross, and those women that put rings on their neck, that's sick." "yeah, why would you do that to yourself." and then they went on to talk about their body piercings and how their mothers don't understand that they are adults and can do what they want with their bodies. hahahaha, god that made my day.

3. I'm More Independant Than Youers
I hate people that always have to be one more step independant than someone else. It's like the coldwar for listless directionless liberal arts majors.
"Hey I got the new Arcader Fire"
"well, I was listening to them when they only had bootleg stuff"
"Well, my friend saw them when they played a house party in high school."
or
"Did you go see the new Wallace & Gromit?"
"No, I only go to movies at the Plaza."
"well, yeah, but I had to see this one."
"I'm gonna go see this new one "insert name of obscure foreign film shot with blue filter in tibetan with aremnian subtitles here". It's supposed to be so cool and like esoteric. I heard that 95% of the audience walked out when it premiered at "interantional film festival that no one even cares about" so I totally have to see it."
"Oh, I saw that already when they played it on a monday night in the basement of "trendy pseudo-independant pub that everyone goes to cause it's oh so independant and shit""
"well, after that I'm gonna get a tattoo that says "Canada out of Haiti" in gaelic to go with the celtic cross I got tattooed on my shoulder last summer when I was at "commerciallly overpriced music festival."

TRANSIT LIFE
1. Smokers.
It's not that i hate smokers. We all have our vices. I would just wish that people who smoke wouldn't do it before they get on to the train during rush hour. There is nothing worse than a nose full of cigarette stench with no room to get away from it.

2. Seat-hoggers.
People who insist on getting more than 50% of the seat even if their ass is huge. I'm a wide guy, but I will squeeze into half the seat so that you can sit down too. Must you really insist on squishing more over even more towards the window?

Alright, I'm done ranting.

What Mike Wants

I got this from my friend Kelsey (the hottest Librarian Evah). Go to Google and type in "your name wants"

Mike Wants:
Mike Wants to be a Missionary

Mike wants Wigan job for keeps

Mike wants to get the toy

Mike wants Peter to cook, and Nick wants Mike to cook. However,
Peter would cook if he knows (someone tells him) that Nick wants him to cook

Mike wants the ring

Mike wants out

Mike wants to quit but his boss Bannister derides Mike

Mike wants Elsa to run away with him

Mike wants to get into the poker game in the back room but Roy won't let him in

Mike wants some

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MIKE wants that all embracing Power
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Mike Wants You

Mike wants to put this in rawhide as soon as possible

Mike wants to visit YOUR School

Mike wants to get to know Jenna better

Mike wants to marry Jenna

Mike wants you to know some facts about pet ownership

Mike wants to know why Pilar thinks that Umberto will not kill again

Mike wants to have me rim him

Mike wants to start right away

Mike wants to know:. How do I go about finding a registered engineer that is
going to fit my new boiler safely and within the new guidelines? (this one sounds really odd if you read it in context of the last two)

Mike wants to offer you a glimpse into his motives why he made this page. One of
the reasons is to show a pattern of deceit. To put an end to the lie that ...

Mike wants to take me out back and shag me in the woods.

Mike wants them to cut the thorns away so he can see the lilies bloom

Mike wants nothing to do with Libby, but he can't resist the intense desire she stirs within him

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I tried Michael wants, but all I got was a bunch of Terri Shiavo stuff. Like

Michael wants to kill Terri

I decided I didn't need that crap on here. The shagging in the woods was much better.