2005

Sep122005

Running Around

I woke up sometime around eight o’clock this morning. Khadijah had a class around nine and I had several things to do this morning. Khadijah walked me around for a little bit between a few buildings. I don’t really feel like detailing all the back-and-forth that took place this morning. Suffice it to say I went to and fro for a good part of the afternoon. Khadijah and I had breakfast in the cafeteria shortly after nine this morning. I learned I wouldn’t be receiving a Pell grant anymore as my parent’s income was reported as higher and my EFC exceeded whatever their limit is. Ofcourse no longer having a viable business certainly affects that but they didn’t have much to tell me though. I visited the campus bookstore. I scheduled my classes and got an ID and dorm room assignment today in Cottingham. It’s an old building but clean comparatively. Sometime after four I met Khadijah and was with her for a while at the radio station where she works. She showed me around, which didn’t take long as it’s a pretty small facility. I met Bianca and some of her friends for dinner at five this evening. Among them was my new roommate, Jonathan seems like a nice enough guy, not somebody I need to worry about. I also met some other friends of hers who I assume are all fellow engineering students. After dinner Bianca showed me the buildings where my classes will be held. Three of the four are in one building so it didn’t take long. We both went to one of her friend’s dorm rooms after that, I think his name was Josh. We stayed around there for a while as Bianca did some homework and we all talked for a while. I left not too long after Bianca left and went back to Khadijah’s dorm. We intended to move my stuff to my new dorm room this evening but her car broke down. We’re guessing the battery is dead. It was parked and not used for several months although it did work for a while when she first retrieved it. It wouldn’t start or do anything really, as if the battery was disconnected. As it was already late and I didn’t feel like bothering so I just stayed another night in Kali’s dorm. Before bed we both watched Donnie Darko.

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Sep112005

Ruston

It’s hard to say when exactly the day started as I boarded the Greyhound bus sometime after midnight. Sleeping on the bus was pretty hard although I think I dozed off on a few occasions. The bus made a few stops which were impossible to sleep through with the interior lights on and the driver on the public address system. The bus made stops in Birmingham, Meridian, Jackson, Vicksburg and Monroe, LA. Between being late in arriving in Anniston where I got on and an overly long layover in Jackson, MS, the bus was about 45 minutes late in arriving in Ruston, Louisiana. The Greyhound bus stop in Ruston is at a gas station. Khadijah and Bianca were there to greet me. I’d seen Bianca a couple weeks ago but I’d not seen Khadijah since the end of June. At some point we dropped off my luggage at Kali’s dorm room but I don’t really remember the order anymore. We made a few stops. We had lunch at a Chinese buffet. The food was alright tasted exactly like the food at the Chinese buffet in Algiers. After that we went to Wal-Mart because I needed some things. I bought towels and some other more-or-less necessities. We stopped at a storage facility to pick up some stuff Khadijah left here in Ruston. We took Kali’s things up to her dorm after dropping off Bianca. With that out of the way I got my computer online and checked on some things and talked to a couple people online I haven’t spoken with in a little while, including Mylena. While I was doing that, Lindsey Simms stops by Kali’s dorm. We visited for few minutes before she left. I don’t think she accomplished whatever it was she intended to with her visit. I got to know her prettyt well during my senior year of high school but we didn’t really stay in touch. Khadijah put on Shrek 2, which we sorta watched. This evening, Khadijah and I went to an evening church service at the Ruston Church of Christ. We got a ride with Scott, one of Khadijah’s friends. The service was nice, pretty traditional. The sermon was pretty confusing for a first time visitor however. I had something to do with evangelism. The whole service referred to ‘teachers’ and ‘students,’ and not in a metaphorical sense. After the service Kali and I went to a short youth group meeting, which pertained to preparations for an upcoming fellowship event. After church, Khadijah and I accompanied a couple of her friends, Rachel and Randy-Lynn, to get something to eat. We went to a Popeye’s by the campus. I wasn’t hungry but I got a little something so I wouldn’t be just sitting there. We must have been there eating and talking for about an hour. After that, Randy-Lynn drove us back to campus. Khadijah and I talked for while before bed.

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Sep102005

To School

Mom, Andrew and I left Uncle Larry’s house this morning to back to Alabama to meet Dad. It was about a two hour drive from Lawrenceville to Talladega. Everyone that was there when we left was there when we arrived again. I got a look at the stuff dad retrieved from our house during his visit last week. He bought pretty much all of my clothes, the photographs I left and my CDs outside of my clothes I didn’t ask him to retrieve much else. Shortly after arriving we made a couple stops. First we went to a church that was giving out various items, mostly clothing, to hurricane victims. With all my clothes in hand I didn’t need anything and felt pretty out of place there despite my situation. After that we stopped at Wal-Mart as I needed a large duffle bag to put my things in. I also got some things I didn’t need like a new swiss army knife and a battery charger. I spent the better part of the afternoon washing and folding my clothes and packing all my things which were laid out on the floor in a room. It was kind of a big job but I got it done in less time than I would have expected. Uncle Larry (and maybe John too) fried some shrimp and fish and made some kabobs for dinner. The shrimp and fish came from Uncle Larry’s fridge at his house in New Orleans. Someone managed to retrieve it in time to save it. I suppose that was the last time I’d be eating Louisiana shrimp for a good while. I got to see pictures of our house that they shot while in New Orleans. The house is fine, although the tree in our front yard looks like it exploded. There are large fallen branches in three or four directions. A large part of the tree fell in front of the house, blocking the front windows and front gate. Our house is Later in the evening around 10:30, Mom and Dad drove to Anniston where the nearest bus station is. We got there early and the bus was a few minutes late so we were waiting there for a while. The bus arrived sometime after midnight, at which time I boarded the bus.

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Sep102005

Mill Creek Football

Louisiana Tech finally got my application processed this afternoon. I made several phone calls to the admissions office over the course of the day I sorta got the impression they were tired of hearing for a movie and gave me a reason to stop calling. That was the only progress made on the school front though. We all went to a high school football this game. I didn’t have interest in the game but I did need to get out of the house for a while. Chelsea plays in her high school band, which compels her parent’s to attend the football games. Mill Creek High played another whose name I can no longer recall. Suffice it to say they have a better football team. When we arrived at the school around seven I remarked on how surprised I was at the size of the school it’s an insanely large complex compared to the schools in New Orleans. Andrew’s school was next door so I got a look at it as well. As for the game, Mill Creek looked pretty decent in the first half, especially for a team belonging to a school only two years old. However, they made some back-breaking mistakes including a handful of interceptions. Both of the school’s bands performed at halftime. Chelsea was unable to play her instrument, bass clarinet, as her right arm was in a sling, but she was still in the formation, presumably to fill her space. The home team looked pretty dismal in the second half. I think the final score was 35-21, pretty respectable considering. I wasn’t paying nearly enough attention to say when or if the visiting team pulled their first string. I don't recall anything of circumstance taking place after we got home.

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Sep082005

No Change

I got up a bit late at 10 this morning. After getting myself cleaned up and eating breakfast, I checked to see if any progress was made with the applications processes for school. My FAFSA application finished processing this afternoon but not much progress was made on LA Tech’s end of things. I made a number of phone calls with no real results since my application hasn’t been processed yet. Financial aid took some information from me for some form or whatever. I did get reasonable assurance that I would be settled in shortly after arriving. I talked to Bianca this afternoon. She said she’d be able to help me out with some things, maybe even get housing and classes scheduled for me, which would be rather nice since I may not arrive before classes start on Monday. Mom and grandma made chicken stew for dinner. Late this evening I watched Titanic, a movie I’d been intentionally avoiding but finally capitulated and gave up three hours of my life. It was actually a pretty decent movie. It was certainly interesting to see the ship interiors recreated by a big-budget Hollywood production.

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Sep072005

Progress

I woke up some time after nine this morning. I spent a good part of the day doing what I was doing yesterday. I completed the FAFSA form with the help of a nice lady at an IRS Tax Advocacy office. Getting that done was a big relief and I now feel a lot better about the whole transferring situation. I made some phone calls to LA Tech but didn’t make any real progress. My application still hasn’t been processed. I was told the application I filled out online had not been printed out yet. I think that says all that needs to be said about their IT systems. Andrew’s ‘first’ day of school was today. I understand it went pretty well. We had meatloaf for dinner, which Aunt Ann actually cooked yesterday with the spaghetti to save time. I don’t remember doing anything of circumstance in the evening.

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Sep072005

Going to Tech?

I spent the better part of the day doing what needs doing so I can temporarily transfer to Louisiana Tech for the fall semester. While I’m not really looking forward to it, I need to fill the hours and I do have friends there. I applied online this morning and called the school. I neglected to fill out a renewal FAFSA which I got mostly done. I still need some tax information, however. Mom spent some time today making the arrangements for Andrew to attend school here in Georgia. Aunt Ann made spaghetti for dinner. With Aunt Lauren and Chelsea gone, there was more room in the house and I slept in a real bed this evening… the first time in about a week I guess.

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Sep062005

The House is Fine

I got around nine when everyone in the house had breakfast. This afternoon, the house emptied between a Braves game and shopping. We took some family pictures before they left. I stayed home to try and make some phone calls regarding enrolling at Louisiana Tech and checking on friends. All I managed to do was wake up Ami. I watched High Fidelity with the TV free. Uncle Larry, John and Dad made it into town today as residents of Jefferson parish were allowed to return for a little while to check on their property and take some thing with them. Uncle Larry’s house is fine. John actually had electricity in his apartment. Dad was able to reach our house today as well. The house is fine. He said there were a lot of downed trees in the neighborhood, including one in our front yard. The nine foot satellite dish inn the back yard was blown down too. Other than that, the house was untouched. The boards were still in the windows, none broken. There was no flooding in our neighborhood. I don’t believe Dad took much if any of our stuff today. Between the boarded up windows and no power, it was rather dark in the house and Dad didn’t have a good flashlight. They’re supposed to try and come back tomorrow. There were leftovers for dinner this evening. I watched Amlie. Ami called over here while I was watching the movie. I guess we both got turns at forgetting the time zones. It was the first time we'd spoken in a couple weeks, but I didn't have all that much to say, in spite of recent circumstances.

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Sep042005

Car Wash

I got up pretty early this morning, not exactly sure when. It was in time for some blueberry muffins for breakfast. A little while after breakfast I vacuumed and washed Mom’s can with help from Uncle Larry. The concrete dust that got on our car while in Memphis was still on the car, and stuck on pretty good after baking in the sun for days and going through a touchless car wash that was obviously no help. The job took well over an hour, maybe two. I heard from Roxana today, she is alive and well in Tennessee. Dad also heard from the doctor, who we haven’t heard from since Sunday. He was evacuated from the Astor Crown Plaza Hotel to Houston and is on his way to Dallas. Later in the afternoon most everybody went up to a pool in the neighborhood. I just came along to get outside for a while rather than go swimming. I saw a recent satellite picture of our house today. The resolution wasn’t great so all we can be certain of is there’s no water in the house. It kind of looks like there was just minimal wind damage in the neighborhood with lots of downed trees. It appears as if a neighbor’s try fell towards the left rear end of the house, although I don’t think it caused any structural damage. Again, I can’t be sure until we can see better pictures or just go home. I finished watching Touch of Evil this evening. I started watchingn it almost two weeks ago but circumstances prevented me from seeing the rest promptly. Uncle Larry grilled some chicken for dinner, which was quite good. Later in the evening, Arien, Andrew and I played Monopoly. I handled Andrew and Arien with ease, although they’re alloy younger than me so it’s no accomplishment. Aunt Ann walked in as we were finishing up around 12:30. We had no idea it was that late and went to bed soon after.

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Sep032005

Lawrenceville

I got up around nine this morning to talk that residents would be allowed into Metairie temporarily on Monday so Uncle Larry and some other folks were talking about going back. Mom, Andrew and myself left this morning to go see some family in Lawrenceville, Georgia, a spacious suburban area about half an hour east of Atlanta. Another Uncle Larry, Aunt Ann, and my cousin Chelsea live there. Grandma Laughlin, Aunt Lauren and my cousin Arien evacuated there as well. It was about a two hour trip from Talladega. I helped move some furniture into the house shortly after arriving and getting something to eat. Aunt Lauren, Arien and I went to Wal-Mart for a few things in the afternoon. I spent some time online this evening. I was rather tired throughout the day and dozed off in Larry’s office.

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Sep022005

Talladega

I woke up sometime around nine this morning. I obviously have yet to master the art of sleeping on sofas. When I wasn’t watching the news, I was probably in front of the computer or doing something similarly unproductive. I did spend a good bit of time fooling with Jim’s laptop, which needed some work just some garden-variety fixes to get it running faster. I don’t remember any earth-shattering news regarding the hurricane. The mayor had a short, profanity-laced tirade and President Bush did a small walking tour of Kenner. Most of the news related to the deteriorating conditions in the city. A lot of the awful circumstances resemble the sort of things that take place in third-world countries. I took some pictures of the house and surrounding area and posted them on the website. A great deal of food came through the house today. Although oddly enough, I ended up eating pork chops and macaroni and cheese twice. A good number of people including Dad and Andrew went to a high school football game this evening. Whoever they were rooting for lost. Later in the evening I talked to Khadijah on the phone for a little while. Between the middle of nowhere and the mess caused by the storm, it’s pretty hard to get a call out. It worked alright if you stand outside though. I received a call from Jeff while I was talking to her so Mom and Dad got to speak to him this evening. I was up pretty late, I think I got to bed, or the sofa rather, around one.

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Sep012005

On To Alabama

I woke up about eight o’clock this morning, got dressed and went to the lobby for some breakfast. We saw this morning that rescue efforts had been temporarily suspended because of gunfire. I can’t even begin to imagine what’s going through the minds of people who would fire upon their rescuers. It was also reported that sniper fire prevented the evacuation of critically ill patients from Charity Hospital by helicopter. The news and reports we heard grew more disgusting and incomprehensible as the day went on. I talked to Kristopher Francisco online this morning. He’s currently as LSU with his brother Kristian. He told me several of his family members remained in New Orleans. We checked out of the hotel this morning and drove to Childersburg, Alabama. Mr. Cotney (my dad’s step-grandfather, Aunt Dionne’s grandfather), and his second wife live there in the house he built himself in his spare time over eight years. Grandma Janet showed up soon after we arrived. We last visited there a couple years ago during a vacation. We visited with them for a couple hours. Ms. Lou got us some dinner. Aunt Dionne, Uncle Larry and my cousin Brandon arrived at the house not too long after we finished eating. After a little while, my family and my aunt’s family drove out to Talladega, where Jim and Beth’s house is. These are extended family member I believe. Aunt Mimi, Aunt Doris and Uncle Joe were already there. I’ll update this when I figure out exactly who they are. Anyway, these lovely people were so nice as to temporarily move out of their beautiful home and allow the eleven of us to stay here for a while. I must say I was pretty floored by their generosity. My parents and I spend the evening between the computer, the TV and just talking to all the family members we have here. I didn’t get to bed until after two.

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Aug312005

Hurricane Katrina: Chaos, Desperation, Lawlessness…

Yesterday afternoon Dad decided to stay at the hotel through today. He had to (try and) make a lot of phone calls to friends, business associates and creditors. I’m not sure he got a lot accomplished. I was in the hotel room most of the day, watching the news and whatnot. With whatever weather damage put aside in a respect I can’t quite describe, our concerns and a lot of news attention turned to the rampant chaos and lawlessness taking place in New Orleans. The looting of businesses has escalated incredibly. Armed gangs now roam the street of New Orleans, ransacking businesses and homes, terrorizing, perhaps murdering survivors and carjacking vehicles. Seeing a beloved city become a disaster area overnight was pretty hard to comprehend in itself, but seeing New Orleans descent into a war zone in incredibly disheartening. Along with the worst in humanity on display, the best is there as well, although not as prevalent in the news media of course information is still at a premium. Thousands of people have been rescued by boats and helicopters from rooftops. I would assume a lot of the rescuing is taking place in New Orleans East, where the flooding is pretty bad. While I still think it was really stupid of anyone to with the means to evacuate to stay in town, I still feel pretty bad for the tens of thousand who are clamoring for food and water not that that’s worth anything. Even though we’ve probably lost our home and livelihood too, I almost feel guilty as I sit in our air-conditioned hotel room sending emails regarding eBay purchases I won’t receive and wondering why I didn’t pack my lint roller. Dad heard from Stephanie today, one the nurses. She is in Dallas with her family. We know Bianca [last] is in Lafayette. Stephanie said Diedra, who was with her husband who works at the Ritz-Carlton, went home with her kids after the storm and soon after had to be rescued from a roof top. I think Dad said they are all in Houston now. I heard from Bianca online this evening. We had not spoken since Sunday night, when she and her mom evacuated, but only as far as Hattiesburg. She managed to get internet access this evening, even though Hattiesburg is not in good shape. There is no power, water or phone service there, either cell or land line. She said they may leave soon to someplace with better circumstances. I did get out of the hotel room fo a good while this evening. I talked to Khadijah in Florida on the phone for the first time in about a week while sitting outside on the 9th floor pool deck as the sun set. We talked for a couple hours. I guess it goes without saying what the subject matter was. I took a couple pictures of the parts of the city we can see from the hotel. I also walked a mile on a treadmill while I was still talking to Khadijah. Late in the evening I had an IM conversation with Mylena in Costa Rica. She said she hasn’t heard from her boyfriend who lives in New Orleans since Sunday. His family intended on evacuating though. Cell phones are still not very useful so I’d imagine he’s just been unable to reach her by phone. I got to bed shortly before two.

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Aug302005

Hurricane Katrina: Aftermath

I got up before eight this morning and went down to the lobby for some breakfast. Beyond that, I didn’t leave the hotel room much today. We spend most of the day watching the news, both the cable networks and the internet video stream from WWL TV. I could detail what we saw and heard but I really don’t feel like it at the moment. It was all bad. The devastation is incomprehensible. It’s just amazing how much water there is. The west bank and our neighborhood seem to have fared pretty well however, according to shreds of news and two second-hand accounts posted online. I reached Andrew this morning, he is safe in Alabama. I was unable to reach Bianca today. I think she may have forgotten her cell phone charger. Dad said we will most likely leave to stay with some of Dad’s family either tomorrow or the next day. That being the case, I can’t say for sure if this will be my last posted entry for a little while.

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2005

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