Statistically speaking and Other announcements

According to the National Weather Service, the odds of being struck by lightning in one's lifetime is one in 3,000. The odds of being struck twice by lightning, however, is one in 9,000,000. Do you suppose the same goes for buildings or homes?

In other words, there was another bad thunderstorm last night here in Miami and Florida bolstered its reputation as the lightning capital of the world again. There was a loud, momentary crashing/cracking noise in my backyard and our phones went dead. And our DSL. Luckily, the power is still on and there was no electrical damage. Unfortunately, Bellsouth won't have our phone and internet fixed until Wednesday, which is no worse than inconvenient, but no less than really fucking annoying (edit: in an unexpected and unprecedented move, Bellsouth preceded their own deadline and had things fixed by this afternoon--hooray!). I never recall having this problem before, except maybe during a hurricane, and I have lived through many a thunderstorm.

So, as you may have guessed, I am writing this from work. My last day here at the City of Miami Beach is Wednesday, on which I am being promised a free meal from some of the secretaries and one of the lawyers. Despite the sometimes interminable dullness of having nothing to do and the boorish, brash, and outright condescending manner in which the lawyers often chose to address me, I really enjoyed my time here. I didn't exactly make any great strides in the legal profession, but I do at least have a lot more respect and interest in well-run local governments (which, in case you were wondering, Unincorporated Dade County is not). In the event that I don't find anything incredibly interesting, useful, or economical to do in another part of the country next summer, a paid position here is not entirely out of the picture, now that they are well acquainted with my, um... skills. Unless of course the City Attorney decides to retire at the end of the year, in which case the office may undergo some unfavorable changes. Let's hope not.

I would have finished out the week here, but, as it turns out, my departure from Miami (that wily bastard) snuck up on me. My mom and I are scheduled to leave town Sunday morning and in hopes of making it to New Orleans Monday evening. Most likely we will stop in Tallahasse for Sunday night. I would call someone when I'm there, but 1) I don't think anyone will be there yet and 2) I have a feeling my mom is going to prove difficult to handle as it is, much less with me deciding to make a friendly visit. Next week, we will be shopping for furniture and other odds and ends for my apartment, I will send her off on Saturday, and spend an entire week in blissful solitude from my family in New Orleans before school rears its head and I realize how fucked I really am (I've definitely forgotten all of my French).

So, that's it. My summer is basically over. To my high school friends, my deepest condolences at the commencement of the school year. It's insanely early and you were outright robbed of your well-deserved and already disgustingly truncated "break." My apologies for those whom I have not seen this summer and will not get to see. I really hope that someone will pay me a visit this year. Lodging is free and significantly more spacious than my cramped dorm room of last year. New Orleans, for better or for worse, here I come.

edit #2: May Peter Jennings rest in peace. He was a pretty good newscaster.