Little bit of wind, little bit of rain. While I am far from thrilled to be here, it is still awesome to see how low and fast the clouds move.

I've noticed that the national coverage of this storm is extremely pessimistic, while the local coverage is very even keeled, cautious, but optimistic. CNN was still showing Gustav as a category 4, long after it had been down-graded to a category 3. The national news is also focusing on "New Orleans." The city itself is not in the eye of the storm (it is still in danger, but not in the bull's eye as it was for Katrina), but Houma, Lafitte, and Arabi are going to get hid hard. They are wonderful towns with very vibrant and strong communities. The parts of the national news that I've seen has not given any attention to them. Just be aware that the cable news networks are bombastic when it comes to disasters. They will say almost anything to cause more panic. If you want a realistic account of what's going on, I would go to www.wwltv.com or any of the other local news stations.

Seriously: Gustav

My family is staying in nola for the storm, which doesn't surprise me in the least. They told me yesterday I was welcome to leave with cousins or fly back to nyc. I know that it's incredibly smart to leave and that staying and gambling with the weather is quite possibly the stupidest thing one could ever do. If this were just me, I would have left on Friday. My mom, though, is the person who wouldn't let me have a slap-bracelet in first grade because she thought I'd accidentally slice my wrist open. So sometimes, we don't seem to have a good grip on reality around here.

However, it's my family and despite how headstrong and frustrating they are, I'm going to stay. If I hadn't been in town for Katrina, we wouldn't have had enough drivers to get my family and my grandparents out of the city. I feel that it's important to stay and be sensible in the midst of this.

The good news is that five of our neighbors are staying. Even if I do think they're not taking the best course by staying, it's slightly more comforting to know there's a group of us. There's also a lot of people uptown staying and there's a contact list going around. At least there's something like this in place.

Our house was "okay" from Katrina, but as everyone's been stressing, this is a completely different storm so anything could happen. I worry the most about tornados. On top of keeping everything here intact, I'm going to really have to do my best to be really patient with my family.

Tropical storm winds start tonight. Curfew from dusk to dawn. The storm hits tomorrow around noon and looks like it will be gone by midnight.

We have 50 gallons of water, food, cases of MRE's (ugh), full tanks of gas, ice, radios, cake, champagne, finger sandwiches, meatballs, shrimp (we were supposed to have a party today)--so I guess we're set.

Hopefully this will all blow (pun!) over with minimum damage. Although, this is new orleans so anything can happen or break. I've heard that texting is probably going to be the best way to try and stay in touch. So please do so!

I need to go clean out some catch basins. Stay safe, y'all!

Watch while I liveblog a hurricane

I wish it would go away. But I'm here anyway. I can't tell if it's hype or not that it'll be a Cat 5. If so, it will probably have been better for me to stay in nyc. but at the same time i'll be able to help out here.

if all goes well, this'll be Georges 2.0 and i'll be enjoying a sunny albeit breezy few days next week!

3 years to the date

what kind of dumbass gets in town in time to do Katrina 2.0?

oh...HI!

what the HELL am i doing? not canceling my trip--that's for damn sure. just call me Helen Hunt from Twister. i obviously have a penchant for lazing around a below sea-level bowl of a city while anyone with sense evacuates. i'll just sit around with my family eating MRE's and contemplating the impending doom that is rising waters and looters...again.

and this time I'M doing the beer looting because there is no way i can survive arguing with my parents about evacuating while sober. i am going to be trashed for this hurricane when it comes, huddled in my attic with an axe and some jack.

oh, what's that? don't mix your alcohols, MB?

well, this is not me on my way out the door to f&m's. this is me flying into Hell deep fried in Chaos and i'll mix whatever alcohols i damn well please.

Things That Are Yelled At Me On the Way To Work 2

The number of people who hit on you in the street is directly proportional to the teaspoons of grease you can wring out of your hair.

Or: Guys hit on you when you're gross.

And no, I don't put crisco in my hair. Please. I wash my hair in truffle oil. (gossip girl! stop!)

Ramone (or so I call him): Hey, hey let me say something. You are beautiful. In this whole city, most beautiful. Can I talk to you...every day?

Some people in this city move FAST!

Inapprops!

Things have gotten way out of hand when I almost answer the phone at work, "Good morning, Gossip Girl."

...

cut to a future employer asking my Cougar manager why I was let go. fade to montage of lights and glossed lips whispering into Cisco phones.



"Good morning, Upper East Siders. This is your one and only source for high quality lights that the priveleged, Vanderbilt-ringed skinny J. League-rs can afford. Here's where you can select the $60,000 chandelier whose sparkle will make your dilated, drunk-eyes wince while having that romp with your best friend's boyfriend. Oh, you want to know the lead time? That's something I'll never tell. You know you love me. XOXO. Showroom Assistant"


The scary part is I'm getting paid while I do this. Thanks for enjoying your long vacay in Saint Tropez and giving me nothing to do, Upper East Siders!

I hate swimming

Remember how I thought I'd need to go to rehab or get a really unhealthy obsession with some sport that I hate (like golf) to make up for the absence of the Olympics after August 24th?

Well thanks to NBC, I'M OVER IT ALREADY. Well...just with swimming. And effin Michael Phelps. Dude, I think you are an amazing athlete and I want you to do your best---but you know what could trump winning your 390239 gold medals? Taking out our NBC commentators with some deathly breast strokes. America will love you til the end of time.

God, I am so SICK of hearing about "how many" medals MP will win or how he's the "greatest Olympian of all time."

That last statement is bullshit. Do you know how many events they have in swimming? ELEVEN. So does this mean an athlete on our soccer team is less of an Olympian because they can only win ONE gold medal? It makes it look like that one medal that a person has worked a lifetime for isn't good enough. Why have one when you could have 11? It's like McDonald's--you can supersize it!

And don't you love how they shove all the other Americans aside while interviewing them after the relay swims? It's like "Oh, who are you? How does it feel? Good? Okay, so Michael---You're about to go and swim some more and get pimped out by NBC b/c we need some way to justify spending $2.2 billion on little athletes who aren't as well known as Kobe. You know? So give us a sound byte, so we can loop it over and over again til Americans are brainwashed into believing that you are GOD and we don't have to waste time covering other sports. Oh and Michael, tell me what you ate for breakfast this morning? And what's on your ipod? And where's your girlfriend? Can we expect any little Phelps' soon? How 'bout I stick a camera in your home when we get back to the states, mmmkay? Back to you, Bob."


I love America a lot--but someone has got to tell our journalists to chill out.

Dear America/NBC,

Seeing as the only medals our country has as of 8/11 are in swimming and fencing, it might not kill you to actually televise the sport that gave the USA its first gold medal win of 2008 AND the bragging rights of sweeping the women's sabre medals.

Fencing may not be basketball, but that's okay because we're too fast for them anyway.

MB

P.S.--i f'in luv the olympics and will require rehab come aug 24th