Blackberry Pancakes

I've been mulling over the hurricane and its effects over the past few days and all that is too much for my mind to handle. We can bicker and argue about the details, but in reality those displaced people still need lots of aid and help. They're going to be rebuilding their lives from scratch, for crying out loud. My ALD professor last night spend half the class talking about his experiences volunteering 12 hours straight for the past week at the convention center. Near the beginning, when he was talking about the setup, like cots everywhere, shower centers, piles of sorted foods, database entry and "Bourbon Street" (the part of the building where there's always live music playing), I was getting pretty pumped up about getting involved in this process. But then after hearing about all the unecessary top-level bureaucracy, racial tensions, lack of organization, wondering about their future, and simply just thinking about all those people having to start anew a life and the trauma of losing loved ones just like that- I, a selfish being, didn't want to have to deal with all that heaviness. Wtf? I want to just have to focus on finishing today's readings, decide whether or not I'm going to buy deck shoes, plan a dinner with a friend and go bike riding this weekend. But if everyone turned a blind eye, how heartless would that be. I've already donated a bit, but I'm definitely going to continue to keep the whole situation in my thoughts and keep my eyes open for more opportunities to help.

Like this! This is pretty good, ya'll, buy a shirt printed on American Apparel (that means it's good, folks) for $10 and the company will donate $10 to Red Cross. It's like getting a free shirt for donating to a great cause. Check it out. P.S. Sizes run small.

Even though iPod came out with the Nano recently and it really is slick, I don't particularly want one anymore. I actually have been listening to very little music since our house still doesn't have (wireless) internet and I normally play iTunes while dawdling online; and it's been really good. Less distraction. My life doesn't need a soundtrack. I could do without music, really, there's just so much else to focus on, stuff that matters. And what is the worth is knowing a lot about music? It's relatively worthless, compared to other subject matters, unless that's how you connect with others or maybe it's your career. But I think it'd be fun to go to a Mars Volta concert (for its intensity level) and the Iron & Wine/Calexico show in October, for kicks only.

Events: On Monday night, roommate Mary is having a veggie burger cookout in our trashed up backyard, so anyone who reads this is invited. And I'm planning on going on a leisurely Commuting/Grocery stop bike ride Sunday morning with the recreational cycling club, ACA. That should be good. OK, I also hope to learn how to use Photoshop sometime.. sounds hard. And I am looking for a charity bike ride to go on for my KIN class. Seems like you can't do too much long distance/scenic riding without a road bike. :( Happy Friday!