Priorities, Paslodes and (Internet Service) Providers

We’re back. Actually, we came back last Friday, as you can read below. Before that, we essentially had not been on the Internet for about a month. We finally realized we cannot function (actually, we were doing fine, but I can't blog or write freelance articles) without Internet access, so we signed up here in our apartment. I’m very excited to be able to research and keep in touch with people. However, I also didn’t really miss it while I was offline. Temporarily, our No. 1 priority is to work with the people of St. Bernard Parish, the victims of this largely manmade disaster, to get them out of trailers, friend’s basements, uncle’s couches and other undesirable situations and back into their homes.
Logging on to Pitchforkmedia.com to see what the tastemakers think of the latest trendy post-rock band takes a backseat, as does celebrity gossip, box office numbers and even “The Office.” (If you’re reading this, you know me and know sports wasn’t ever even in the backseat. I left any interest in sports on the curb after a very lackluster little league career).
On the other hand, we have learned lots of new skills to the aforementioned end of getting people back in their homes. The Paslode made for dorky alliteration here, but it’s also the brand name for a really cool nail gun we use for doors and baseboards. There has been much debate about the health effects, smell and general enjoyment of the gas emitted by the air-powered nail gun. For the record, I enjoy the smell but understand why it bothers others.
It is nice to develop moderate skills in some aspect of this construction work. We spent a few days doing baseboards last week, and I feel as though I learned new skills and became more precise in my baseboarding angles and corners (though I could still work on my Paslode skills).