Greetings from an overpriced internet cafe near the corner of Clark and Wrightwood, Chi-town.

I'm under the gun, my Internet time here is ticking away...a lot's happened in the last couple of weeks. We wrapped up DC - the last time our Motley Crue of J-schoolers will all be together at the same time...there was much celebration, and we were all glad at the deed. ("yay") I'll re-visit those moments later when I have the time and energy to do it justice.

Anyways, to answer your questions:

1. No, I can't believe what's happened to The Motherland. It's surreal, inconceivable... It's just terrible.

2. Yes, my family's now accounted for. We weren't sure about my great aunt - apparently the waters didn't breach her nursing home, but all we knew was that people did die there in the aftermath, without electricity, supplies, etc. - we then found out she was not one of them...but we're not exhaling until we get word she's been successfully bussed to another facility, once and for all. Another of my cousins barely made it out of there. The horses he stayed behind to tend to weren't so lucky...

3. Yes, that Russel, um, "Cronkite," you've been seeing on CNN is family - he's Dickie, Sr.'s cousin.

4. Yes, judging by what you know of my character, and knowing that the guy in charge of the military operation for evac is of blood relation, you should definitely be terrified for the survivors floating on rafts, roofs and starving in Superdomes and convention centers. It might actually explain a lot.

5. Speaking of, did anyone catch Robert Seegull's (sp)interview with Michael Chertoff yesterday on NPR, and the subsequent interview with the NPR reporter at the convention center? Dear lord, we're all fucked. Doesn't help that Chertoff has a face for radio and a voice for god-knows-what. Maybe I'll link it later, if I can find it...and don't have five minutes till my internet's cut off. In the mean time:

Chertoff: "We shouldn't jump to conclusions, based on isolated accounts from your reporters."

Seegull: "With all due respect, Mr. Secretary, these are correspondents who've reported in war zones, and they're saying they've never seen anything like this."

Chertoff: "Well I haven't gotten the report yet."

Dickie Sr.: "You just did, shit-for-brains!"

(Here, I think this is it...give it whirl.)

6. Yes, I'm stunned at Chi-town in the summer, lush with green foliage. The last time I was here, I was escaping a storm of the horrific white fluffy stuff. The moral: I'm an idiot for staying in DC...even if it was for The Seattle Times. 'Still not worth the god-forsaken humidity.

7. Yes, Dickie Sr. and I are effing exhausted from packing, then unpacking, then taking everything out of storage down on Fullerton, then dropping off my free furniture at Goodwill, then re-packing Betty the 4-Runner this afternoon.

8. No, that's not gonna stop me from drinking late into this evening.

9. Yes, we're getting back on the road tomorrow - 'should take us two days to hit God's Country.

10. No, I'm not even close to having all my shit together for France, then straight to Caracas from Paris.

11. No, I don't think I ever will be and yes, I think it's futile to even try and yes, I agree that I should just take a deep zen-like breath and get as much done as I can.

12. No, I don't officially have a place in Caracas yet, but I may be close to landing one. I was negotiating on the phone yesterday as we drove through scenic Indiana. And yes, I'll be paying prices comparable to the Village in Manhattan and no, I don't know why that is either...

13. Yes, I miss the J-school bunch already. A lot.

14. Yes, I'll be in touch.