Wow...I've Been Winded...

But then again who hasn't lately. Two MAJOR hurricanes in less than a month. Creating history can be a real bitch. You know there is so much I haven't taken the time to really talk about....so here goes my life post Norway....

Eight hours on a flight with screaming children is never the way to return to the United States - but you know now that I am thinking about it - I felt like one of those screaming children - except I wasn't choosing to seek out my freedom of speech... Then there was the 8 hour wait b/c oops we had a few delays and we think the plane is now working. Doesn't that just make for a lovely topic to ponder while all you want to do is slide slowly into a deep slumber b/c for the last 10 days the current time would be 4am...Thank God I had been working in sleep for the last 2 years.

Then there was the blessed grandparents (that's right my grandparents rock!) who came to my rescue at 1am and then got up with me at 5am when I had to dash out the door to pick up the angel (some days I think devil) - Loki and drive 8 hours to Little Rock, AR. Now, Loki was my 8 week old pup that I had been waiting for since January. He is a Boston terrier with the cat-like pounces and pig-like snorts. I am still trying to determine if he is a dog, a cat, or a pig....maybe I just got really lucky and received 3 animals in one....could that grant me some sort of special award...hmmm...I wonder.....

Sorry - I have digressed. Anyway, Loki (yes, that refers to the Norse God of Mischief - I know, I know...) spent the entire ride to Little Rock curled up in a tight little ball in my lap. He was so adorable and new. I was so proud:) Here was this adorable tiny little animal who was now my sole responsibility in life - code for SPOILED ROTTEN! And he knows this. Now at 4 months old - he thinks he owns the world and he sort of does b/c I am pretty much his world.

Okay so besides the daily entertainment he offers me, I really don't know where I would be without my pint sized companion. I now understand (well, I really always have) how people begin to treat their pets as human and a significant member of the family...I would do pretty much anything for him and I think he would do the same....well as long as there was nothing more entertaining to occupy his time:)

Again...digression.....the drive to Little Rock was uneventful...Now, I know you are all asking - why was I spending 8 hours in a car driving to Little Rock, AR (from NO, LA hours after I left an international flight from hell)...yes, that is right....you have guessed it - I was moving there. Since I was beginning my final class on Monday (hey this is my life everything moves quickly). I had exactly 3 days to get a physical for work (by 3pm that day), talk to my new boss, begin to train an 8 week old puppy not to pee everywhere, find a place, to live and catch up on much needed rest. Thank God for moms. I was severely lacking brain cells so as usual Mom saved the day. With her help I was able to complete my physical, talk to my boss, find a Petsmart to further spoil the child, acquire dinner, check into the hotel, and crash. We both were exhausted from our trip and slept like babies. We awoke to the not so pleasant experience of trying to find a place to live.

Apartment shopping is never an enjoyable experience in my opinion b/c no one ever takes care of thier property (well I take that back - my landlords in college were amazing)! But in general complexes leave much to be desired. Complex after complex and nothing was appealing. They were all run down and filthy. I was reaching a breaking point - and I actually did shed a few tears out of frustration....or was it exhaustion...it is all a little fuzzy now. After hours of driving with no results - mom finally called a realtor to ask about a house we passed. Now, I had NO intention of buying a house but I am so glad that she called this realtor. As my luck always has it, a series of interesting events (no luck, a friend asking her daughter-in-law where to live, driving through that neighborhood, seeing a cute house, calling the realtor, the realtor leaving her father-in-laws post funeral gathering to walk us through the house (we had no idea this was going on until after the fact), and then her mentioning a cute little house in a near-by neighborhood). Now as accidents in my life continue to occur my mother and I drove past the street and we both looked at each other with the question in our eye....should we?????

Well, eventually we did.....and I called the number on the FSBO sign....and begged the grandfather of the homeowner to let me look b/c I was only in town for another day and was frazzled looking at places and just didn't know what to do. And now my dear friends.....he decided to give into my charming and persuasive character:) He and his wife are some of the nicest people I have ever met! Mom and I again exchanged glances and the next thing I knew I was signing a contract to buy a house.....ME....BUYING A HOUSE????!!!!!!!!!??????!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess I am an ADULT now!!! A mortgage, a real job, a car note, and a dog.....but instead of the white picket fence....mine is chain link:)

So now that I have reached total chaos in my life....I head back to Oxford to show my dad is new grandchild (and yes, my parents are now conditioned and refer to Loki as their grandchild b/c they know the chance of a human fetus coming from my brothers or my genetic components is rather small at this current moment in time)...Of course through all of the arguments over me acquiring said child....he instantly fell in love...how can you not...my dog is of superior breeding quality and in my unbiased opinion is pretty damn cute!

Then to Jackson to crash for the night to break up the trip to NO. Then a wreck on my first day of class - damn rush hour. Followed by a nap and some several burns from the airbag....Then while I spent the next two weeks packing, cleaning, training the pup, scandalous nights out in the quarter (I will go to my grave with a smile on my face knowing that I closed Pat O's on a Wednesday in July in Southeast LA and still managed to look fabulous by the end of the night - with no touchups - ahhh...natural beauty) in class, and studying, my car was in the shop having the front end mended...yes, I rear ended someone....damn rush hour traffic….

Then there was the final on July 29th for my final class as a Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine graduate student, followed by packing the Uhaul when the movers showed up 5 hours late and bitched the whole time. My friends are amazing and without their help that day I would probably be swimming in NO right now. My mom and I finally made it out of NO by 9 pm and we arrived in Oxford to my on-call dad at 4:30am…I would not recommend doing this…it sucked…

The next morning we slowly migrated (after errands in Oxford) to Little Rock, where I was left with boxes galore, a pup in a cage, and New Employee Orientation on Monday morning. Yes, that is right I went from grad student to employee in 3 days….yet again nothing in my life moves slowly….

Wow….I got winded. Katrina. In the beginning I was strong – maybe because I had just gotten out. But then the realization that my entire childhood was destroyed wore me down and I bawled like a baby for a few days (and periodically – tears come back). I grew up in Pass Christian/Gulfport, MS. Even though I came and went this has been and will always be home. And the thought that everything I know and love is gone or changed forever was a blow. My parents (also natural Coasties) grayed in two weeks. I couldn’t believe it – we were all emotionally exhausted. Our house, our friends’ and families homes, our towns, our communities were demolished. But not our hearts. We will rebuild. It will take time. People will leave but in a few years – people will forget and they will return or new people will come in. The growth will be unprecedented.

Now NO, LA is another story. Having grown up with NO being the major city near me (and having lived there), NO holds a very special place in my heart. Granted NO has become a dirty and crime ridden city but gluttons (like me) built higher fences and obtained more high tech security systems. When I first moved to the city, my car was stolen twice in 4 days (the second time was from the garage of my landlord’s house)….but I moved….to a gated community with the option of a security system…

But I have always said that Clorox and a little paint would go a long way in NO. But then again that is part of the charm of NO….the old world feel of the worn houses with bright green edges from the ever present mold….only if you have seen this will you know what I am talking about….the bumpy roads… the constant right turns….the local bar that has a post-communion service….the shops on Magazine….the Audubon trail (and the soft grass on the soccer fields)….the parks I spent so much time in for my project….yes, NO will always hold a special place in my heart. I don’t know if it will ever recover….but I hope so….for my own selfish reasons….I want my NO back….

So now I guess the results of my anti-child labor law parents (not really – but Christmas and summer projects are very hated by my brothers and I) will be put to good use. I think I will buy myself a new hammer or maybe that tool belt I have always wanted….b/c it is time to dive in and get dirty….I want to hammer nails, pour concrete, float sheetrock, tile floors and walls….all to rebuild what I know and love….HOME…

Many lost everything…some lost nothing…but at the end of the day all of my family and friends are safe and ALIVE and that is what matters most…I think…

I love you all….ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT!