I haven't finished uploading my journal, but I did finally get about 30 pictures loaded to Picturetrail with some short descriptions. I've taken over 500 pictures so far, but here is a small sampling....
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid8500190
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Wednesday, a kind of wasted day
Or maybe it was a bit of relaxation.
Chris tried to drive back to our house to remove the moldy walls. But between horrendous traffic, and what appeared to be several accidents or breakdowns, he never made it. He spent 6 hours in the car, and still had a minimum of 2 hours to go (a distance that normally would take about 30 or 40 minutes). There was a curfew and he would be expected to leave again once it started to get dark. He made the decision to turn around. Why drive 8 hours, to work for 2, and then turn around and drive back 4 or 5 hours.
He dropped his help off back in Baton Rouge and returned to the farmhouse. We just rested and napped when we could.
I'd finally had contact with my work, and with my Dad and sister. I knew that they were safe, and that everyone from my office was safe. I also knew that I would continue to be paid at least through the end of September even if we were unable to return to work. I also heard from the insurance company and they were sending us a check for displacement/loss of use on our house because of the storm and the mandatory evacuation. That was a relief.
I also started contemplating Disneyworld. I was out of work and could not go back until the parish let us back in. The kids were out of school. We had money from the insurance company to pay for a hotel and food - does it really matter if that hotel is in Florida or in Louisiana (as if anyone could find a hotel anywhere in the state of Louisiana)??? Why not take this opportunity to take the kids as we'd promised, and do it when there would be few crowds and the kids would not have to miss school.
At the same time, I think I was getting on my mom's nerves and she was getting on my nerves. We both had a tendency to snap at each other. The close quarters, the fear of what was waiting at home, the uncertainty of it all ... all took their toll on our relationship. We just needed space.
She made arrangements to go up to Arkansas, having found an apartment in the HUD apartments that are ADA compliant and fairly new, just north of the town of Lewisville, where my mom grew up. She called friends up there and things started to happen rather fast. They were lining up furniture for her. But she needed some things from her condo before she could go.
Thursday was the last day that we would be allowed back into the city for cleaning/assessing. We were told that we could come in, clean up, get what we need, and leave for probably a month. We made the decision to all go in on Thursday, and to leave the kids with my sister-in-law/brother-in-law (Gene and Blanche) who live just to the east of Baton Rouge. Then I would take mom to her condo and get her set up there, so she could go through some things and I would go to the house with Chris who would work on removing sheetrock. My job would be to pack up what we might need in the next month. We tried to get an early night's sleep, but you know how that goes. I was exhausted but worked up.
Chris tried to drive back to our house to remove the moldy walls. But between horrendous traffic, and what appeared to be several accidents or breakdowns, he never made it. He spent 6 hours in the car, and still had a minimum of 2 hours to go (a distance that normally would take about 30 or 40 minutes). There was a curfew and he would be expected to leave again once it started to get dark. He made the decision to turn around. Why drive 8 hours, to work for 2, and then turn around and drive back 4 or 5 hours.
He dropped his help off back in Baton Rouge and returned to the farmhouse. We just rested and napped when we could.
I'd finally had contact with my work, and with my Dad and sister. I knew that they were safe, and that everyone from my office was safe. I also knew that I would continue to be paid at least through the end of September even if we were unable to return to work. I also heard from the insurance company and they were sending us a check for displacement/loss of use on our house because of the storm and the mandatory evacuation. That was a relief.
I also started contemplating Disneyworld. I was out of work and could not go back until the parish let us back in. The kids were out of school. We had money from the insurance company to pay for a hotel and food - does it really matter if that hotel is in Florida or in Louisiana (as if anyone could find a hotel anywhere in the state of Louisiana)??? Why not take this opportunity to take the kids as we'd promised, and do it when there would be few crowds and the kids would not have to miss school.
At the same time, I think I was getting on my mom's nerves and she was getting on my nerves. We both had a tendency to snap at each other. The close quarters, the fear of what was waiting at home, the uncertainty of it all ... all took their toll on our relationship. We just needed space.
She made arrangements to go up to Arkansas, having found an apartment in the HUD apartments that are ADA compliant and fairly new, just north of the town of Lewisville, where my mom grew up. She called friends up there and things started to happen rather fast. They were lining up furniture for her. But she needed some things from her condo before she could go.
Thursday was the last day that we would be allowed back into the city for cleaning/assessing. We were told that we could come in, clean up, get what we need, and leave for probably a month. We made the decision to all go in on Thursday, and to leave the kids with my sister-in-law/brother-in-law (Gene and Blanche) who live just to the east of Baton Rouge. Then I would take mom to her condo and get her set up there, so she could go through some things and I would go to the house with Chris who would work on removing sheetrock. My job would be to pack up what we might need in the next month. We tried to get an early night's sleep, but you know how that goes. I was exhausted but worked up.
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Tuesday ... another trip back into the city
Tuesday is the second day that they allowed citizens back into Jefferson Parish. Chris left early early in the morning (3 or 4 am??), and stopped in Baton Rouge to pick up a friend's son, and another guy who he hired to help him.
The wait to get in was several hours long, and the smell was still just horrible, miles before you reached the city. Chris described it as being a very strange feeling to drive through town. Once you got through the long traffic to get in at the checkpoint, there was very little activity on the streets. NO businesses were open - NONE. There were no traffic signals, and trees still blocked access to many neighborhoods and roads.
Chris and his helpers went into the house to move furniture and remove carpet that he was just not able to do on his own the day before. When he walked in, he found the mold growth to be incredible. Where there had been very little mold the day before, there was now a 1 to 2 foot high ring of mold spots around the house. Every wall had mold growing on it. So did most of the furniture. In addition to removing the carpets, he would need to remove the sheetrock from the walls, and the insulation behind it. We knew that the longer it would sit, the worse it would get.
With a son with allergies, removing the mold was a high priority. But he was not prepared to do that Tuesday - he did not have the proper tools. So, they spent the day moving furniture and removing wet moldy carpet. The plan was to return Wednesday to finish up.
After a very long day, Chris drove back to Baton Rouge to drop off his helpers, and decided to spend the night there. It was such a long drive back to where we were staying, especially to have to turn around and come back. He was getting exhausted and it showed.
Meanwhile, I was with mom at the farmhouse - with the two kids. They were getting a little stir crazy, and we were getting tired of eating fast food. I found the laundry mat, and a grocery store and cooked a full dinner Tuesday night. A bit of normal life.....
The wait to get in was several hours long, and the smell was still just horrible, miles before you reached the city. Chris described it as being a very strange feeling to drive through town. Once you got through the long traffic to get in at the checkpoint, there was very little activity on the streets. NO businesses were open - NONE. There were no traffic signals, and trees still blocked access to many neighborhoods and roads.
Chris and his helpers went into the house to move furniture and remove carpet that he was just not able to do on his own the day before. When he walked in, he found the mold growth to be incredible. Where there had been very little mold the day before, there was now a 1 to 2 foot high ring of mold spots around the house. Every wall had mold growing on it. So did most of the furniture. In addition to removing the carpets, he would need to remove the sheetrock from the walls, and the insulation behind it. We knew that the longer it would sit, the worse it would get.
With a son with allergies, removing the mold was a high priority. But he was not prepared to do that Tuesday - he did not have the proper tools. So, they spent the day moving furniture and removing wet moldy carpet. The plan was to return Wednesday to finish up.
After a very long day, Chris drove back to Baton Rouge to drop off his helpers, and decided to spend the night there. It was such a long drive back to where we were staying, especially to have to turn around and come back. He was getting exhausted and it showed.
Meanwhile, I was with mom at the farmhouse - with the two kids. They were getting a little stir crazy, and we were getting tired of eating fast food. I found the laundry mat, and a grocery store and cooked a full dinner Tuesday night. A bit of normal life.....
Monday, September 05, 2005
A peek at our house, Monday September 5.
Jefferson Parish made an announcement that they would allow residents in to view and work on their property during daylight hours Monday 9/5 through Thursday 9/8. (Jefferson is the parish where we live - and if you aren't from here and don't know, a parish is virtually the same as a county in all other 49 states). They strongly recommended against staying there, and warned that there was no food, no stores open, no water, no ice, no electricty, and that there were hazards everywhere. Downed trees and powerlines layed across virtually every street.
Chris went in without me to view the damage, and called me as he drove into our neighborhood. The conversation as he drove up and then as he walked in was scary. The streets were eerie. He had to drive under trees that were leaning 45 degrees across the street - it was a good thing he drove his Honda and not my van because he likely would not have fit. He had to circle around through the neighborhood searching for a path that would lead to our house where there were not trees down. He drove past the street leading to our neighborhood because so many things were down and out of place that he didn't recognize it.
As he walked into our house, he could see that we had flood water that had receeded. The carpets were wet, there was a grass line on the outside of the house and the sheetrock was wet.
He took lots of pictures of downed trees, fences, and of the inside of our house. He picked up a few things that we needed, tried to clean up some stuff that he could, and he left again, headed back to Opelousas to show me the pictures and to get some sleep. He was driving back in early in the morning. (This was normally a 3 to 3-1/2 hour drive, and with checkpoint traffic was taking up to 6 hours).
Chris went in without me to view the damage, and called me as he drove into our neighborhood. The conversation as he drove up and then as he walked in was scary. The streets were eerie. He had to drive under trees that were leaning 45 degrees across the street - it was a good thing he drove his Honda and not my van because he likely would not have fit. He had to circle around through the neighborhood searching for a path that would lead to our house where there were not trees down. He drove past the street leading to our neighborhood because so many things were down and out of place that he didn't recognize it.
As he walked into our house, he could see that we had flood water that had receeded. The carpets were wet, there was a grass line on the outside of the house and the sheetrock was wet.
He took lots of pictures of downed trees, fences, and of the inside of our house. He picked up a few things that we needed, tried to clean up some stuff that he could, and he left again, headed back to Opelousas to show me the pictures and to get some sleep. He was driving back in early in the morning. (This was normally a 3 to 3-1/2 hour drive, and with checkpoint traffic was taking up to 6 hours).
Saturday, September 03, 2005
The days start to blur together
The rest of the first week really starts to blur together.
We woke up Tuesday morning to reports that there had been levee breaches, and areas of the city that had been dry and only damaged by wind after the storm had passed on Monday were now flooding fast. This included areas of the city that have not flooded before. Water was starting to reach the edges of the French Quarter, and the downtown area was flooded (including around the Superdome where thousands of peopled were sheltered).
Chris's Uncle Phil, who lives in the area and takes care of the house, showed us the best place for plate lunches, how to get around town, and where to find the stores and laundry facilities. Chris made several trips to Walmart - we found ourselves with a new DVD player and some new cartoons, new blankets and linens, games for the kids, and some general things that I missed when packing (who knew we'd be gone for a whole week).
I called my insurance companies (both flood and homeowners) and started an initial claim. We had the news on 24 hours a day. Reports on our specific area were sketchy, but it looked like we may have some flooding and there was a lot of wind damage. We didn't know what to expect, but believed that filing a claim early and getting a claim number early would speed the process along once we got home to asses our damage. I wanted to get my name high up on the list. The roads were still closed and there was no report on when we might be able to get in to view the damage.
By Wednesday we'd realized that we could not live without better television. It really is a shame to say we are so dependent, but at the same time, that was the main source for new reports on our home and pictures of the area. The news showed constant helicopter flyovers - we were glued, hoping to catch a glimpse of our neighborhood. We watched as hundreds of people were rescued off of their roof by helicopters and boats. Having to watch this through snow and fuzz...while standing with one arm out, holding an antenna and some aluminum foil for the best picture ;) was frustrating at best. So, we called DirecTV on Wednesday afternoon. We were able to move our service from our house (including 2 new free receivers and a new dish) to our temporary location at no charge - and we can move it back again, up to twice within a 12 month period, again at no cost. WHEW!! Big relief, we had DirecTV service by Friday.
Our cell service was very spotty - the storm had knocked out cell towers in the 504 and 985 area codes (the biggest hit areas of Louisiana). My Dad, his fiance, my sister, and her husband had stayed in my Dad's house and were in the 985 area code. I had not talked to them since Monday morning just before the eye of the storm passed within miles of their house and I was worried. I tried calling 40 to 50 times a day. I finally talked to someone who knew someone else in the same neighborhood and heard that his neighborhood had a bunch of trees down, but for the most part had held up pretty well.
Keeping in touch with work was hard. First, my cell phone was not always working where I was, and when it was, other people's cell phones were not always working. I finally heard on the radio that text messaging was working when calling was not. I'd never sent a text message in my life, but I learned fast. I kept sending messages to everyone I could think of, and made contact with a lot of people that way. People from work were spread out through the south, but we'd heard that our building had held up well, and that the company was going to continue with direct depositing our paychecks, with plans to do so at least through the end of September even if we were not back to work by then.
We woke up Tuesday morning to reports that there had been levee breaches, and areas of the city that had been dry and only damaged by wind after the storm had passed on Monday were now flooding fast. This included areas of the city that have not flooded before. Water was starting to reach the edges of the French Quarter, and the downtown area was flooded (including around the Superdome where thousands of peopled were sheltered).
Chris's Uncle Phil, who lives in the area and takes care of the house, showed us the best place for plate lunches, how to get around town, and where to find the stores and laundry facilities. Chris made several trips to Walmart - we found ourselves with a new DVD player and some new cartoons, new blankets and linens, games for the kids, and some general things that I missed when packing (who knew we'd be gone for a whole week).
I called my insurance companies (both flood and homeowners) and started an initial claim. We had the news on 24 hours a day. Reports on our specific area were sketchy, but it looked like we may have some flooding and there was a lot of wind damage. We didn't know what to expect, but believed that filing a claim early and getting a claim number early would speed the process along once we got home to asses our damage. I wanted to get my name high up on the list. The roads were still closed and there was no report on when we might be able to get in to view the damage.
By Wednesday we'd realized that we could not live without better television. It really is a shame to say we are so dependent, but at the same time, that was the main source for new reports on our home and pictures of the area. The news showed constant helicopter flyovers - we were glued, hoping to catch a glimpse of our neighborhood. We watched as hundreds of people were rescued off of their roof by helicopters and boats. Having to watch this through snow and fuzz...while standing with one arm out, holding an antenna and some aluminum foil for the best picture ;) was frustrating at best. So, we called DirecTV on Wednesday afternoon. We were able to move our service from our house (including 2 new free receivers and a new dish) to our temporary location at no charge - and we can move it back again, up to twice within a 12 month period, again at no cost. WHEW!! Big relief, we had DirecTV service by Friday.
Our cell service was very spotty - the storm had knocked out cell towers in the 504 and 985 area codes (the biggest hit areas of Louisiana). My Dad, his fiance, my sister, and her husband had stayed in my Dad's house and were in the 985 area code. I had not talked to them since Monday morning just before the eye of the storm passed within miles of their house and I was worried. I tried calling 40 to 50 times a day. I finally talked to someone who knew someone else in the same neighborhood and heard that his neighborhood had a bunch of trees down, but for the most part had held up pretty well.
Keeping in touch with work was hard. First, my cell phone was not always working where I was, and when it was, other people's cell phones were not always working. I finally heard on the radio that text messaging was working when calling was not. I'd never sent a text message in my life, but I learned fast. I kept sending messages to everyone I could think of, and made contact with a lot of people that way. People from work were spread out through the south, but we'd heard that our building had held up well, and that the company was going to continue with direct depositing our paychecks, with plans to do so at least through the end of September even if we were not back to work by then.
Monday, August 29, 2005
THE day ... Happy Birthday to me?
My birthday ... Monday August 29th. Chris will never again forget my birthday (I don't think so anyway).
Early Monday morning everyone slowly moved into a spot to sleep. Chris, the kids and I slept in their oldest daughter's bedroom, with the TV set to the news. I woke up and was watching some of the continuing coverage when the lights went out. We lost power sometime around 6 in the morning. The wind was really strong, but there was not much rain. Jim had a large generator and we were able to connect tv’s, the microwave and fridge, and a window unit air conditioner in the living room.
My Dad called me a little later that morning to wish me a Happy Birthday and to make sure that we were managing ok. Birthday? It was my birthday? Oh yeah, in all of the excitement I’d forgotten. What a way to spend my birthday. It will certainly be one that I never forget.
For the most part, we all hung out in the living room (with the sole air conditioner). Though at some point during the day I disappeared into the bedroom where we had been sleeping and took a nap. I woke up to the smell of hamburgers and French fries. Jim had fired up the grill and cooked lunch. We had comforts that I know we would not have had at home. Still, I could not help but wonder how our house was doing and if we should have stayed home.
As news reports came out of New Orleans, things did not look good. There had been a lot of damage, and there was flooding. But it was not as bad as some predictions where levee breaches could have occurred in a category 4 storm. We still knew that we would not be able to return immediately. Jim's house was welcoming, but a little crowded and we did not want to wear out our welcome.
So, after talking with Chris’s mom we decided to head farther west to Chris’s grandmother’s house. Chris’s grandmother had been in a nursing home for about 7 months. Her house was sitting empty. The electricity and gas had not been turned off. We were warned that it was dirty, but still neat and organized. And it had a roof and beds.
Monday afternoon we made the 2 hour drive out of Baton Rouge to Washington, Louisiana. Washington is a small town, population around 1,200. Just outside of Opelousas (which is just outside of Lafayette), it is a typical small farm town in the Cajun area of Louisiana. The house is a small farmhouse on a country highway, with no telephone (it had been disconnected months before), an old barn, and lots of spiders in the trees just outside of the house. The bees of Chris’s childhood had returned. One wall of the living room was filled with bees. Chris remembers that years ago they had to remove parts of the wall to remove the bee hives and the bees. They are back so the kids had to be careful when playing outside. But, we had a roof over our head, with electricity and running water.
Early Monday morning everyone slowly moved into a spot to sleep. Chris, the kids and I slept in their oldest daughter's bedroom, with the TV set to the news. I woke up and was watching some of the continuing coverage when the lights went out. We lost power sometime around 6 in the morning. The wind was really strong, but there was not much rain. Jim had a large generator and we were able to connect tv’s, the microwave and fridge, and a window unit air conditioner in the living room.
My Dad called me a little later that morning to wish me a Happy Birthday and to make sure that we were managing ok. Birthday? It was my birthday? Oh yeah, in all of the excitement I’d forgotten. What a way to spend my birthday. It will certainly be one that I never forget.
For the most part, we all hung out in the living room (with the sole air conditioner). Though at some point during the day I disappeared into the bedroom where we had been sleeping and took a nap. I woke up to the smell of hamburgers and French fries. Jim had fired up the grill and cooked lunch. We had comforts that I know we would not have had at home. Still, I could not help but wonder how our house was doing and if we should have stayed home.
As news reports came out of New Orleans, things did not look good. There had been a lot of damage, and there was flooding. But it was not as bad as some predictions where levee breaches could have occurred in a category 4 storm. We still knew that we would not be able to return immediately. Jim's house was welcoming, but a little crowded and we did not want to wear out our welcome.
So, after talking with Chris’s mom we decided to head farther west to Chris’s grandmother’s house. Chris’s grandmother had been in a nursing home for about 7 months. Her house was sitting empty. The electricity and gas had not been turned off. We were warned that it was dirty, but still neat and organized. And it had a roof and beds.
Monday afternoon we made the 2 hour drive out of Baton Rouge to Washington, Louisiana. Washington is a small town, population around 1,200. Just outside of Opelousas (which is just outside of Lafayette), it is a typical small farm town in the Cajun area of Louisiana. The house is a small farmhouse on a country highway, with no telephone (it had been disconnected months before), an old barn, and lots of spiders in the trees just outside of the house. The bees of Chris’s childhood had returned. One wall of the living room was filled with bees. Chris remembers that years ago they had to remove parts of the wall to remove the bee hives and the bees. They are back so the kids had to be careful when playing outside. But, we had a roof over our head, with electricity and running water.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
We're on our way. Much later than I had hoped, but still, we got out in the morning. I picked up my mom, her evacuation supplies, and her cat and swung back to our house to grab the kids. Chris was going through the last minute preparations. He also thought it would be a good idea to do a bit of cleaning (mop the floors and run the vacuum across the floors so that when we returned mid week for work and school, we would have less to do in order to get back to normal). I still can’t get him to admit that mopping and vacuuming was a complete waste of his time.....but in the end I think you'll agree with me. ;)
We had relatively smooth traffic to Baton Rouge. The normal 1 to 1-1/2 hour drive took less than 3 hours. That was actually pretty amazing. The Contra-flow plans that the state had implemented actually made a big difference and went smoother than the last time they had attempted to use both sides of the interstate to get people out of the city.
Then … our first obstacle. I left my mom and the kids in the car while I went to check in. I had in hand my printed confirmation, and walked up to the hotel’s front desk. She didn’t have me on the list. She couldn’t find me in the computer. Her boss came up and pulled us up on the computer. Our reservation had been cancelled. Some mix up about the credit card. Obviously the required “contact information” phone number and email that they required I give them was not actually so that they could contact me. I called Chris who was quite upset. I had my mom with her temporary leg no longer fitting properly having trouble moving around, two kids and 3 cats in my van – with no place to go. There was not another hotel room in the state.
He talked to the manager who became very rude. The manager said he was also the owner and could do whatever he wanted (I am guessing at Chris’s threat to go above his head). The manager told me that my husband was very rude to him, and that he had planned to find me a room but would do nothing to help me because my husband was rude to him. First, I don't believe that for a minute because he told me that he could not help me and that I should leave, and walked away and outside - giving me no indication that he was going to try to help me find a room and every indication that I should leave his hotel. That was before the phone conversation. Chris said he wasn’t rude on the phone (though I don’t know – I know he can get forceful when he feels he is right). I can tell you that I just sat through a customer complaint resolution seminar and everything this manager did was 100% the opposite of what a business should do in a situation where a customer is not happy. I am not saying he should have even given us a room – that is not my complaint, but it was how he handled it. Franchise or not, I will never ever stay at a Microtel hotel again (not that I had in the past). I was desperate, scared for my home and my family, and had no place to go. I was treated horribly.
My mom, with her ill fitting leg walked into the hotel (took her about 15 minutes each way) to cancel her reservation, with the hope that maybe they would have pity. They happily took the cancellation and then promptly ignored her. Is it pure evil of me to hope that one day this inconsiderate and unkind hotel owner would one day loose his home and business to a storm as well?
We sat in the car, unsure of what to do. Chris called a friend of his who lived in Baton Rouge and we all crashed there. They had Jim and his wife Sarah, their two daughters and the oldest daughter’s boyfriend, their two dogs, four cats, and two birds. Then Chris and I, my mom, my two kids, my two cats and my mom’s cat joined in. All in a 3 bedroom ranch style house.
Chris helped as Jim prepared their house – Baton Rouge was sure to experience some really heavy winds and possibly a lot of rain as the storm passed to the east of where we were camped. We didn’t sleep much Sunday night as we sat glued to the television news reports through the night. The storm was strengthening, and still on course for my home town. Most of the night was spent in front of the tv.
We had relatively smooth traffic to Baton Rouge. The normal 1 to 1-1/2 hour drive took less than 3 hours. That was actually pretty amazing. The Contra-flow plans that the state had implemented actually made a big difference and went smoother than the last time they had attempted to use both sides of the interstate to get people out of the city.
Then … our first obstacle. I left my mom and the kids in the car while I went to check in. I had in hand my printed confirmation, and walked up to the hotel’s front desk. She didn’t have me on the list. She couldn’t find me in the computer. Her boss came up and pulled us up on the computer. Our reservation had been cancelled. Some mix up about the credit card. Obviously the required “contact information” phone number and email that they required I give them was not actually so that they could contact me. I called Chris who was quite upset. I had my mom with her temporary leg no longer fitting properly having trouble moving around, two kids and 3 cats in my van – with no place to go. There was not another hotel room in the state.
He talked to the manager who became very rude. The manager said he was also the owner and could do whatever he wanted (I am guessing at Chris’s threat to go above his head). The manager told me that my husband was very rude to him, and that he had planned to find me a room but would do nothing to help me because my husband was rude to him. First, I don't believe that for a minute because he told me that he could not help me and that I should leave, and walked away and outside - giving me no indication that he was going to try to help me find a room and every indication that I should leave his hotel. That was before the phone conversation. Chris said he wasn’t rude on the phone (though I don’t know – I know he can get forceful when he feels he is right). I can tell you that I just sat through a customer complaint resolution seminar and everything this manager did was 100% the opposite of what a business should do in a situation where a customer is not happy. I am not saying he should have even given us a room – that is not my complaint, but it was how he handled it. Franchise or not, I will never ever stay at a Microtel hotel again (not that I had in the past). I was desperate, scared for my home and my family, and had no place to go. I was treated horribly.
My mom, with her ill fitting leg walked into the hotel (took her about 15 minutes each way) to cancel her reservation, with the hope that maybe they would have pity. They happily took the cancellation and then promptly ignored her. Is it pure evil of me to hope that one day this inconsiderate and unkind hotel owner would one day loose his home and business to a storm as well?
We sat in the car, unsure of what to do. Chris called a friend of his who lived in Baton Rouge and we all crashed there. They had Jim and his wife Sarah, their two daughters and the oldest daughter’s boyfriend, their two dogs, four cats, and two birds. Then Chris and I, my mom, my two kids, my two cats and my mom’s cat joined in. All in a 3 bedroom ranch style house.
Chris helped as Jim prepared their house – Baton Rouge was sure to experience some really heavy winds and possibly a lot of rain as the storm passed to the east of where we were camped. We didn’t sleep much Sunday night as we sat glued to the television news reports through the night. The storm was strengthening, and still on course for my home town. Most of the night was spent in front of the tv.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
The preparations....
Saturday morning, the forecast was becoming more clear, the storm would be a large one, possibly catastrophic, and it was headed straight for New Orleans. “The Big One” that I’d heard about my entire life may actually happen. Amazingly I was still calm (is THAT the calm before the storm?). Maybe it was the previous “big ones” that missed us (Georges, Ivan, and others). I called again to confirm the reservations at the hotel – yes, they had our reservation, and yes, the accept pets during an evacuation.
Chris was teaching Saturday so I calmly packed our evacuation kit: 3 changes of clothes for everyone in the house, my scrapbooks and kids pictures, and the “important papers” box including home ownership/mortgage papers, homeowners and flood insurance policies, birth certificates, marriage certificate, etc. I packed up the canned food we had (ravioli’s, sardines, crackers, peanut butter, cheese crackers … ‘good no cook/evacuation food’). At least I keep a very well stocked pantry and did not have to make the mad rush to the store, fighting people for the last can of tuna or last loaf of bread. I had everything we needed to live out of the hotel room for the 2-3 days we would need to wait out the threat of the storm before we headed home. This is how it always works … right? Evacuate, live out of town for a couple of days and return home while listening to complaints called in on radio talk shows about the traffic of yet another false alarm evacuation.
Chris came home from work and we watched the reports in disbelief. In the last few years, reports from the state and city have indicated that we needed 72 hours in order to evacuate the entire metropolitan area. New Orleans mayor started calling for the evacuations Saturday, the storm was due to hit Monday. How could this be? Seventy two hours before the storm, Katrina had a clear cut forecast – it would hit Florida and we would not even have a drop of rain or wave in the lake as a result of that weather. Now the city and surrounding areas were in a mad rush to get people out.
We decided that I would leave early Sunday with my mom and the kids, and Chris would follow behind me in the Honda after he’d boarded up the windows.
Chris was teaching Saturday so I calmly packed our evacuation kit: 3 changes of clothes for everyone in the house, my scrapbooks and kids pictures, and the “important papers” box including home ownership/mortgage papers, homeowners and flood insurance policies, birth certificates, marriage certificate, etc. I packed up the canned food we had (ravioli’s, sardines, crackers, peanut butter, cheese crackers … ‘good no cook/evacuation food’). At least I keep a very well stocked pantry and did not have to make the mad rush to the store, fighting people for the last can of tuna or last loaf of bread. I had everything we needed to live out of the hotel room for the 2-3 days we would need to wait out the threat of the storm before we headed home. This is how it always works … right? Evacuate, live out of town for a couple of days and return home while listening to complaints called in on radio talk shows about the traffic of yet another false alarm evacuation.
Chris came home from work and we watched the reports in disbelief. In the last few years, reports from the state and city have indicated that we needed 72 hours in order to evacuate the entire metropolitan area. New Orleans mayor started calling for the evacuations Saturday, the storm was due to hit Monday. How could this be? Seventy two hours before the storm, Katrina had a clear cut forecast – it would hit Florida and we would not even have a drop of rain or wave in the lake as a result of that weather. Now the city and surrounding areas were in a mad rush to get people out.
We decided that I would leave early Sunday with my mom and the kids, and Chris would follow behind me in the Honda after he’d boarded up the windows.
Friday, August 26, 2005
The HURRICANE....
This very long post will be broken down into several sections, and will catch you up on the last 5 weeks of my life. I'll change the dates of the post to kind of keep it in line with my journal, trying to post the date as close to the actual occurance as possible.
FRIDAY AUGUST 26TH ..... just another normal day, or so we thought ..... it all starts to change from here.
Friday morning, we left for work after hearing the latest hurricane update. After having passed over Florida, Hurricane Katrina was forecasted to turn north and head into the Florida panhandle. That is 3 states away from us. We had plans for dinner Saturday night with my Dad, to celebrate my birthday as well as his fiancé’s. The reservations were confirmed and we were at work, clueless about what the weekend would truly hold.
Friday afternoon on my way home from work, I heard a news report that the storm would not make the north turn toward Florida as expected, but was now being forecasted to head towards the southern tip of Louisiana. But it was still a little up in the air. In an effort to jump the rush, I started making phone calls to hotels in Baton Rouge. Though that is not very far from New Orleans, and not exactly considered a safe haven in the event a hurricane hits New Orleans, it is as far as Chris wants to go in an evacuation. The near 20 hour car rides up to Arkansas for previous (false alarm) evacuations had had an effect. After calling about 25 hotels, I found an opening at Micro-tel, a little budget chain hotel/motel. We made our reservations. My mom would have to stay in our room one night, and then would have her own room through the middle of the week.
Ok, that wasn't so hard. While it took a while, I was still able to find something close - much closer than most people were finding. I could sleep soundly.
FRIDAY AUGUST 26TH ..... just another normal day, or so we thought ..... it all starts to change from here.
Friday morning, we left for work after hearing the latest hurricane update. After having passed over Florida, Hurricane Katrina was forecasted to turn north and head into the Florida panhandle. That is 3 states away from us. We had plans for dinner Saturday night with my Dad, to celebrate my birthday as well as his fiancé’s. The reservations were confirmed and we were at work, clueless about what the weekend would truly hold.
Friday afternoon on my way home from work, I heard a news report that the storm would not make the north turn toward Florida as expected, but was now being forecasted to head towards the southern tip of Louisiana. But it was still a little up in the air. In an effort to jump the rush, I started making phone calls to hotels in Baton Rouge. Though that is not very far from New Orleans, and not exactly considered a safe haven in the event a hurricane hits New Orleans, it is as far as Chris wants to go in an evacuation. The near 20 hour car rides up to Arkansas for previous (false alarm) evacuations had had an effect. After calling about 25 hotels, I found an opening at Micro-tel, a little budget chain hotel/motel. We made our reservations. My mom would have to stay in our room one night, and then would have her own room through the middle of the week.
Ok, that wasn't so hard. While it took a while, I was still able to find something close - much closer than most people were finding. I could sleep soundly.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
So much has happened.
I haven't had time to update lately. In the last few months lots has happened.
My mom had her left leg amputated just below her knee. She spent some time in a rehab hospital before going home where she has physical therapy and a nurse aid helping with stuff around the house. She is using a temporary leg and will be fitted for a permanent prosthetic once the amputation site has fully healed.
Chris got his permanent position teaching anatomy/physiology, and the kids are preparing to start back to school. Zachary will be in 1st grade, and Philip - my baby - is starting Kindergarten. I'm really busy at work with an new product release. It keeps me busy, but is fun and challenging at the same time.
We have decided to refinance our house and take a bit out of equity to do some much needed home repairs. We'll paint everything, get new flooring, update the kitchen, replace the deck and fence in the backyard, replace some windows. and do a few other much needed updates. In order to do everything we want to do with the amount of money we have to spend, some of the work we will do ourselves. The things we are capable of doing we will do, even though some of it will be really hard work. In the end it will be worth it and we will be much happier coming home every night.
Well, that's a VERY short update on what's been keeping me busy the last couple of months. I hope to keep this updated a bit more often.
My mom had her left leg amputated just below her knee. She spent some time in a rehab hospital before going home where she has physical therapy and a nurse aid helping with stuff around the house. She is using a temporary leg and will be fitted for a permanent prosthetic once the amputation site has fully healed.
Chris got his permanent position teaching anatomy/physiology, and the kids are preparing to start back to school. Zachary will be in 1st grade, and Philip - my baby - is starting Kindergarten. I'm really busy at work with an new product release. It keeps me busy, but is fun and challenging at the same time.
We have decided to refinance our house and take a bit out of equity to do some much needed home repairs. We'll paint everything, get new flooring, update the kitchen, replace the deck and fence in the backyard, replace some windows. and do a few other much needed updates. In order to do everything we want to do with the amount of money we have to spend, some of the work we will do ourselves. The things we are capable of doing we will do, even though some of it will be really hard work. In the end it will be worth it and we will be much happier coming home every night.
Well, that's a VERY short update on what's been keeping me busy the last couple of months. I hope to keep this updated a bit more often.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
I need the weekend.
Negativity really bothers me. Really bothers me. And here as I started to type this, it was in a negative tone. So I backed up. I just had a rough day. I had a confrontation at work today with a girl that reports to me. Our corporation got a new phone system (which we didn't want, but as part of the corporation we had to have). The change in technology meant changes for in our procedures. And people don't like change. Yes, there have been glitches and problems that needed correcting. But there adjustment and compromise is also required. I was 'assigned' the duty of coordinating our division but I didn't get that assignment until a couple of days before the cutover. We were left out of the planning stages and that meant we had to deal with a lot of problems when the switch happened.
For about 4 weeks straight, I've had complaints nearly every day. Some, with legitimate problems that needed to be fixed and a lot of "why did we need these new phones again? Oh, we didn't". I didn't ask for the new phones either. But the complaining just to complain is getting old. And since it has been pretty non-stop, my nerves have been on edge. When I got a complaint today (a true problem), but in the same tone as the constant complaints to me I got a bit defensive. More than a bit.
I made the decision to go back to the original plan. Many of the problems that we are now experiencing are because we tweaked the program to do a lot of things (several conflicted with each other in the programming of the new system - and we tried to work around that - causing additional problems). So, we will lose some of the functionality that we requested, but the problems will be fixed. And we will just have to learn to live with the changes in procedure (hopefully without further complaining - it doesn't help, it just fills my shoulders with a lot of weight).
On top of this, today I had to deal with trying to help my mom get her "houseguests" to move out so that she will have her privacy when she comes home. That was really uncomfortable.
She was told that she might come home tonight. Though it is now nearly 8 pm, and still no word from anyone as to what time she will be released. Once before, they released her at 11:30 pm. I didn't get home until 1 am and had to wake up at 5 am. I pointed this out to her and asked that if they try to release her after 9 pm, if they can not let her stay until morning and I'll come get her first thing. But SHE is ready to go. I just hope they make the decision to keep her until morning. As I hope for that, I feel terribly guilty. That is selfish of me, isn't it? She's been there for 3 weeks and is really ready to go home. And I don't blame her. I just hope I can get her home and back to my bed by my "10 pm bedtime".
Well, tomorrow is Friday, so the week is almost over.
For about 4 weeks straight, I've had complaints nearly every day. Some, with legitimate problems that needed to be fixed and a lot of "why did we need these new phones again? Oh, we didn't". I didn't ask for the new phones either. But the complaining just to complain is getting old. And since it has been pretty non-stop, my nerves have been on edge. When I got a complaint today (a true problem), but in the same tone as the constant complaints to me I got a bit defensive. More than a bit.
I made the decision to go back to the original plan. Many of the problems that we are now experiencing are because we tweaked the program to do a lot of things (several conflicted with each other in the programming of the new system - and we tried to work around that - causing additional problems). So, we will lose some of the functionality that we requested, but the problems will be fixed. And we will just have to learn to live with the changes in procedure (hopefully without further complaining - it doesn't help, it just fills my shoulders with a lot of weight).
On top of this, today I had to deal with trying to help my mom get her "houseguests" to move out so that she will have her privacy when she comes home. That was really uncomfortable.
She was told that she might come home tonight. Though it is now nearly 8 pm, and still no word from anyone as to what time she will be released. Once before, they released her at 11:30 pm. I didn't get home until 1 am and had to wake up at 5 am. I pointed this out to her and asked that if they try to release her after 9 pm, if they can not let her stay until morning and I'll come get her first thing. But SHE is ready to go. I just hope they make the decision to keep her until morning. As I hope for that, I feel terribly guilty. That is selfish of me, isn't it? She's been there for 3 weeks and is really ready to go home. And I don't blame her. I just hope I can get her home and back to my bed by my "10 pm bedtime".
Well, tomorrow is Friday, so the week is almost over.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Craziness
I'm sitting here at work listening to the phone ring off of the hook. Non-stop. This is crazy. It would be wonderful if it were customers calling to place orders for stairs (do you need any stairs? LOL). But no, these are crank calls from Brazil. Or at least they *say* they are calling from Brazil. So far today we've had over 80. It is only 1 pm. We had 84 voice mail messages last night on the company overnight answering system. Of the 84, 82 were crank calls - two were actual customers. We can't ignore the batches of messages or the ringing phones because you never know when one will be a real customer.
Some of the calls are just hang-ups, some you hear giggling in the background, and for some they talk. The talking (sometimes in Spanish or Portuguese, sometimes in English) is anywhere from "I speak English. I from Brazil. I play soccer every day." to vulgar comments. AT&T has not been much help. I know that there are computer records of the origin and destination of every single phone call going through their system. We are keeping a list of every single call, with the time. It is almost turning in to a full time job for the receptionist who has a lot of other things to do.
I just don't GET IT! WHY? This is not a single day occurrence. This is happening every day and has been for 3 weeks now. Weekends too (last Monday we had over 200 voice mail messages from the weekend - with ONE from a customer). What is the fascination? Why would someone waste so much time on this? One of the worst things is that this is on our nickel. They are calling in to an 800#. Hopefully this will be resolved soon. Until then I just wanted to take a minute to SSSCCCRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAMMM!!! AAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!
Ok, I feel better ... vent over. :)
Some of the calls are just hang-ups, some you hear giggling in the background, and for some they talk. The talking (sometimes in Spanish or Portuguese, sometimes in English) is anywhere from "I speak English. I from Brazil. I play soccer every day." to vulgar comments. AT&T has not been much help. I know that there are computer records of the origin and destination of every single phone call going through their system. We are keeping a list of every single call, with the time. It is almost turning in to a full time job for the receptionist who has a lot of other things to do.
I just don't GET IT! WHY? This is not a single day occurrence. This is happening every day and has been for 3 weeks now. Weekends too (last Monday we had over 200 voice mail messages from the weekend - with ONE from a customer). What is the fascination? Why would someone waste so much time on this? One of the worst things is that this is on our nickel. They are calling in to an 800#. Hopefully this will be resolved soon. Until then I just wanted to take a minute to SSSCCCRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAMMM!!! AAAARRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!
Ok, I feel better ... vent over. :)
Getting back to a normal work week
My mom had her surgery yesterday. I took off of work Friday and found out too late in the day that they would reschedule. When they rescheduled it for Monday, I couldn't take the entire day off again. I went in for a couple of meetings in the morning, and stayed until about 2:00. I got down there and she had just been moved to the Surgical ICU. She will be in there for at least a day so that her leg (where she had a bypass) can be closely monitored. They need to make sure the blood is flowing from the new artery in her left leg created from a vein taken from her right leg.
They will watch it closely over the next few days and see how the healing progresses with the improved bloodflow before a final decision is made on any further amputation. That was good news since originally we had been warned that she could lose the rest of her foot during the surgery.
I went to the PTO meeting last night at the school. For a school with over 400 kids, what a shame to have 5 people attend the PTO meeting - and 4 of them were board members. Well, now all five are ... since I was suckered in to being the secretary for next year's PTO. But really, I don't mind. I'm just saddened that so few parents bother to come to the meetings. Is this normal?
Well, it's Tuesday morning and I need to go get in the shower...
They will watch it closely over the next few days and see how the healing progresses with the improved bloodflow before a final decision is made on any further amputation. That was good news since originally we had been warned that she could lose the rest of her foot during the surgery.
I went to the PTO meeting last night at the school. For a school with over 400 kids, what a shame to have 5 people attend the PTO meeting - and 4 of them were board members. Well, now all five are ... since I was suckered in to being the secretary for next year's PTO. But really, I don't mind. I'm just saddened that so few parents bother to come to the meetings. Is this normal?
Well, it's Tuesday morning and I need to go get in the shower...
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Trying this out
I finally dove in. I created my own blog. I just hope I don't bore you all to death.
It's Sunday morning and the house is relatively quiet with the exception of Peter Pan on the TV in the playroom. I was hoping to sleep late this morning but no such luck. Philip woke me up at 6:30, thirsty. I tried to get him to fix himself some water (didn't work), or to at least give me "5 more minutes" (only worked twice). So I was up at 6:40. Tee Dee, Tee Dum...We're following the leader, the leader.... sorry - Peter Pan is a bit too loud. What did I say about the house being quiet?
Yesterday we worked on cleaning the house. Though I feel bad because Chris did more than I did. He washed and folded clothes (I put away). And he cleaned the floors. I HATE mopping. Truly hate it. I cleaned the kitchen, and did some general picking up (dealing with school papers from last week - how do they build up so fast?). I also cleaned my scrap area. That was fun. It gave me some inspiration. I love working on a clear area. Now I can't wait to make it messy again. I really need to learn to keep it relatively clear as I scrap. I'm just such a messy scrapper. I wish that wasn't the case.
We're going to brunch with Chris's mom and step-dad today. I need to get moving early today. I always seem to make it to the afternoon before I get dressed on weekends. I'm not lazy, really, I swear I'm not.
We'll I'm going to play with getting this set up.
well, I think it is cool, but I think it needs a spell check. LOL My typing is horrible this early in the morning.
It's Sunday morning and the house is relatively quiet with the exception of Peter Pan on the TV in the playroom. I was hoping to sleep late this morning but no such luck. Philip woke me up at 6:30, thirsty. I tried to get him to fix himself some water (didn't work), or to at least give me "5 more minutes" (only worked twice). So I was up at 6:40. Tee Dee, Tee Dum...We're following the leader, the leader.... sorry - Peter Pan is a bit too loud. What did I say about the house being quiet?
Yesterday we worked on cleaning the house. Though I feel bad because Chris did more than I did. He washed and folded clothes (I put away). And he cleaned the floors. I HATE mopping. Truly hate it. I cleaned the kitchen, and did some general picking up (dealing with school papers from last week - how do they build up so fast?). I also cleaned my scrap area. That was fun. It gave me some inspiration. I love working on a clear area. Now I can't wait to make it messy again. I really need to learn to keep it relatively clear as I scrap. I'm just such a messy scrapper. I wish that wasn't the case.
We're going to brunch with Chris's mom and step-dad today. I need to get moving early today. I always seem to make it to the afternoon before I get dressed on weekends. I'm not lazy, really, I swear I'm not.
We'll I'm going to play with getting this set up.
well, I think it is cool, but I think it needs a spell check. LOL My typing is horrible this early in the morning.
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