looks like i picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue

Just kidding. I never sniff glue. Or eat paste. I was never one of those children...

But it has been a long weekend, y'all. Not in the good way either. I worked most of the weekend. So did most of my colleagues, and we had to bring in reinforcements from other agencies. And, we're mostly dealing with congressional issues. I mean, good grief! "Yes, I certainly understand that your boss is extremely desirous of flying down to the Gulf for a little media facetime, but we're still trying to focus on saving people's lives. Maybe he/she could wait a few days?"

They're not all bad. Many offices are calling in an effort to help marshal resources and shelter. I love those staffers. Some calls, however, are a clear effort to find something to exploit and politicize. I find especial satisfaction when I can thwart those efforts with hard facts about our operations.

Of course, I'm not going to entirely defend what's been going on. If you read the Washington Post, and caught their coverage yesterday, their take is pretty accurate. Everybody is to blame here. The Governor of Louisiana (for not allowing the Feds to take a bigger role earlier on), the Mayor of New Orleans (for not helping the working poor who wanted to get out of New Orleans but didn't have the means), FEMA (because they're supposed to be the coordination experts, but it is a little early to be firing anybody), the people who underestimated the storm and refused to leave (does Category 5 mean nothing?)... The CNN coverage has been extremely biased, and when my flaming liberal mother (she's the Carville in my parent's relationship) agrees with this opinion, you surely know it to be true.

Work is stressful - like go home and cry after work every night stressful - but every single person there is completely devoted to the mission and to improving the situation in the Gulf. They're working their asses off, they care deeply, and they care about each other which makes even the roughest days bearable.

I need to acknowledge the lovely efforts of B2 to help me destress last night and tonight. He brought me back a great moose magnet (various moose pick up lines, which include "nice rack") from Canada for my fridge and some fantastic Yankee Candle Company votives from Maine! He fed me and forced me to stop watching CNN/MSNBC/Fox News. He's a total mensch. And he had grown quite a fetching beard during his trip which my inner cave chick found very appealing.

The situation is not going to get better very soon. If you have the means, please consider making a monetary or blood donation to the Red Cross. And send me some chocolate. Good chocolate. Organic vanilla white chocolate...