October 31, 2005
-
WEIRDER WEATHER
Well, two or three hurricanes later, and we still have a month the go in the hurricane season.
The difference in media coverage between the disaster in New Orleans and the one in South Florida is interesting. I suppose it's because the NO disaster was dramatic, photogenic, and rife with government scandal while Miami and Ft. Lauderdale were more or less expected to get what they got.
A major difference in what has happened since is that while most of Katrina's victims were refugees who went someplace else for help, those in South Florida are right where they were to start with - suffering in the destruction.
Almost a third of those down there still don't have electricity and safe water. And if you're in your seventies or eighties and live on the 14th floor and neither your oxygen machine or the elevator works, and no one is working to move you anywhere - or even knows about you - you're in trouble.
According to arial surveys, about 70% of the buildings in Broward County have major damage. About twice as many people live there (1.7 million) as did in New Orleans. Add Miami-Dade's two million more and you see the magnitude of this.
The Red Cross, who is mandated by law to offer relief in these situations, is broke. They just borrowed over $300 million .
Maybe you should send them something.
Comments (3)
The Red Cross has had a crazy year - I didn't realize they were broke. Thanks for the tip - I am always willing to support that group. I will be sure to send a little something their way...
Yeah, all these rescue agencys are becoming broke and getting sued because of the jobs they are doing on thse hurricanes.
I never thought nursing would be easy, but it would require less on-the-job time than working as a researcher. With research, I would most likely have to travel a bit, and def. work 5 (or sometimes more) days per week. With nursing, there is certainly more flexibility in terms of where to work, how many hours to work, and how many days a week to work. I have been talking to lots of people about it, and the options are certainly wide and varied. I am so hesitant to work in a hospital that I recently turned down a nursing school offer that would have paid for my degree, but would have required me to work for a county hospital for a given amount of time. I spoke with a friend who had experience with the particular hospital that was offering the sholarship (I didn't ask for it - I got a call one day...) and she gave me a long laundry list of reasons why it would not be in my best interest. So, I turned it down. Of course, I had also just agreed to additional work committments, and I didn't want to flake there either.
I just don't know. I mean, I really, really don't know. Both sound awesome. I love the idea of having an advanced degree in something I love - and being able to start it soon. I love the idea of getting to be more involved in research, and on levels where it could possibly lead to some great things. As far as clinical psych - I think experimental psych has the most to contribute right now in terms of advancing the field of clinical psych. I would so love to be a part of that. We barely know anything about the brain (IMO). It's kinda the, "New Frontier" so to speak. Forget space - let's learn about our inner space first. But, is that what I want?
I just don't really know what I want to be when I grow up - yet, somehow I seem to already be a grownup. It's mighty confusing.
The other day, my mom said to me, "Don't worry about it so much - it's not like you are starving." The thing is, there is a part of me that is starving. There is this part that has a need to achieve that is strangled right now. The achievements I am making at school are personal ones - they are not achievements that are doing anything to really impact the world, or even a few other people, in any way. I want that. Heck, I kinda need that. I feel like I have some signicant gifts in terms of my abilities, and to squander those gifts would be horrible. I want - need - to feel like I have contributed something meaningful in my life - something meaningful outside of my own home. Of course, my home and family are incredibly important to me - but I do hope to be able to have my efforts extend outside of that boundary.
It's tough, so tough, to find balance.