We're back in business

"Power to the People"

The senior version of the finale of "Greece" Come on, think Sandra D at the carnival and you'll see what I mean.

So we finally got our power back on Friday night which meant we were without it for two full weeks. Thankfully we were at my brother's house for about a week and a half of it. We came back this week for school, meetings, work and for just being able to be back in our own home, power or not. The weather cooperated well over all and the nights cooled down considerably, allowing us some sleep. When the lights came one Rebekah literally started running around, jumping and screaming "electricity, electricity!" Very funny.
So the night before this (Thursday) some people in my neighborhood got together to March for Power (no I'm not kidding.) My neighbor came and got me and we walked on over to check it out. There was about 100 people, but don't let that fool you, we even had the media there. Oh yeah. There were several news helicopters flying around and anchormen and cameramen interviewing and filming. It was pretty fun. My neighbor had Rebekah chanting "Power to the People." I tried to get it going with the crowd but they just wouldn't bite.
It was pretty funny, and hey, it broke up the monotomy of another powerless evening. The thing about it all is, the next day we finally had our power restored, so I guess it actually worked.

Things I lost in the Hurricane

1. Part of a tree
2. Peace of mind
3. Sanity

Ike's aftermath

Here are some things that our famly has acquired/learned since Ike came through:

1. You can never be too prepared
2. A generator is worth the money
3. Having family close by is a bigger blessing than you think
4. Next time I want battery operated fans
5. Next time I want more water
6. Next time I want more charcoal
7. Rebekah loves to be around lots of cousins
8. Rebekah learned to hit and push from her cousins
9. If you're a light sleeper don't share a room with a two year old
10. You really miss your friends and daily routinue when it's altered
11. Going stir crazy is unavoidable
12. Being in a house with 7 kids, no matter how large, is difficult
13. Being without phones and internet makes the time go so much slower
14. I wouldn't trade my little house and peace and quiet for all the money in the world

Ike update

Well the hurricane is past us here, though it has been raining here at my brother's house for 14 hours. It looks like it has finally stopped, but you never know. I called my neighbor (the phones are working) and she said that our neighborhood is fine, just some tree limbs down and no power. Well the mayor said in a news conference that over 2.3 million households are without power right now. Hmmm. Yeah, that'll be fun. It may have been raining for the past 14 hours here, but that only means that there is more humidity in the air, not that it's cooled down at all. Tomorrow (Sunday) night it is supposed to cool down to 80* for a few days. Whoo hoo!! Actually, at least people won't be sitting in air condition-less houses in 90+ heat so it is a good thing. We will go back to our house tomorrow sometime I think, at least to check things out. Our neighbor said that everything looks good at our house, only some extra windows stored in the back yard are broken, and that's fine with me. I was worried about the house, not about anything major as I said before, but just in general so this is a welcome relief. I'm not sure if we'll be staying at our house this next week because of the whole no power situation. My brother has a massive generator so right now we are doing well here at his house. How lucky am I that I have him close by?! I hope all my friends here in H* are doing well and that they are safe.
I have several pictures that will be added eventually.

I wanna be like Ike

SO as we all know there is a Hurricane in the Gulf. Fantastic. There's nothing like a hurricane to stir things up, keep you on your toes. Yesterday I was busy scrambing about my house trying to get all the imortant documents and pictures all together so that they would be safe in the event that something should happen to our house. Thankfully the Hurricane has shifted enough that we are now on the clean side. The winds will still be very strong, so I'm really only worried about something, maybe a tree, falling into the house, or something flying into it. Oh what fun that would be, with our brand new windows and siding. Thank heavens for home owners insurance, don't you agree? So yesterday Nelson, Rebekah and I came to my brother Sam's house just in case. He lives right outside H* and thankfully there was absolutely NO TRAFFIC. I'm serious here. This was the lightest traffic that we have ever driven in here in H*. Yeah for the hurricane, what did I tell you?! So thankfully the Hurricane has turned, but I still always feel guilty that we are safer when others are being hit instead and they have to go through everything. I guess that with these big natural disasters no one wins. Either you are hit or you're not, but even when you feel relief you still have a bit of guilt for those who weren't as fortunate as you.
Let see how it all plays out.

Interesting article

Alright, so here I am reading this article about a hospital that was criticized for reporting someone who was illegal and was doing identity theft (i.e. fake/stolen SSN, premanent residency cards, etc) and I am left feeling very irked. Are you kidding me? Ummm, yeah that's stupid. So it's okay for people to be committing crimes and to NOT be reported even when it's known to the company? BUT on the OTHER HAND it's okay for people to NOT report them, hire them, and then be prosecuted for hiring them and possibly put in jail. But no, don't tell the authorities that they are illegal, because then you are considered insensitive and too harsh and are taking the law into your own hands because you don't know really what crimes they are committing and if they should be deported. You're kidding me, right? How dumb are these lawyers and other people who commented for this article.
*My frustration is really geared toward the fact that reporting a crime is apparently a negative thing here.

Here are some highlights from this article:

"She did use a counterfeit social security on her application to Trinity Medical Center, but her relatives and supporters wonder whether the hospital overreacted by calling the police."

"A spokeswoman for the medical center here contends the hospital was simply following policy and has a responsibility to report criminal activity, including possible identity theft."

"It may be hospital policy, but employers aren't required to report a worker or applicant suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, say immigration attorneys and enforcement officials."

"'For an employer to go ahead and take it upon themselves ... to report that is unusual,' said immigration attorney Kathleen Walker. 'There's no obligation on my part to go call law enforcement.'"

"'When people are being prescreened before a decision to hire is being made, then you could have exposure to discrimination charges,' said Walker, an El Paso lawyer and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association."

Full article link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080901/ap_on_re_us/immigration_employer_reporting;_ylt=AqljUI6Yvj95kgqDHzxsYylH2ocA