Tuesday , 27
Sep
05
Kelly
was able to transfer our updated site files to a floppy disk and bring
it home so I can update the site then we'll save it to disk and she'll
post it back at work again. I'm not so skilled at the html part of our
site, plus the fact I don't have computer/internet access right now at
all, this makes it much easier.
Quite a bit has been going on, especially this past weekend. Of course
Hurricane Rita skirted our area Friday, and while I don't wish that on
anyone, I'm glad it passed us and went into the Texas/Louisiana border.
Of course there is still another tropical depression near the Caribbean
that will probably move into the Gulf soon, so we'll have to keep watch
on it, and hurricane season really doesn't end until the end of
November, so while we've passed the peak, there still could be some
storms into the months of October and November. I think we were pretty
fortunate with Rita because some of the outer bands of rain and wind
seemed to hit Slidell and Gulfport/Biloxi pretty hard, but we didn't
have but a few small bursts of rain and gusts of wind according to
Kelly. I was actually up in Atlanta with my friend Peter and we didn't
really encounter any of the effects until we drove home on Saturday
morning and went through a couple of strong rain downpours in Alabama.
Why was I in Atlanta? Well, Peter and I had been planning to go up to
see Bob Mould for a couple of months before the storm even occurred,
and since there aren't going to be any shows close (well, maybe Baton
Rouge) for quite awhile, and the fact that we already had tickets, we
decided to go up anyway. We drove up to Atlanta early Friday, checked
into our hotel, and headed up to Little Five Points. We (I) did a bit
of cd shopping, picked up some new discs that Kelly and I had been
waiting for, then had dinner at a great Indian restaurant. We figured
we should have something that we won't be able to get for awhile, and
there was a place right on Moreland across from the record store. It
was great, although I'm really going to miss the places in New Orleans.
Hopefully those will open back up eventually. After dinner we got
coffee at Starbucks (I'm a junkie), dropped off the cd's in the car,
and went to the Variety Playhouse to wait out front for doors to open.
We didn't have to wait too long and went in to sit down until the bands
started playing. The opener was Magnapop, who were local, although
Kelly and I both swear we've seen them somewhere before, but can't
remember where. Maybe we have one of their cd's or something. Anyway,
they were pretty decent. Female lead singer with a female guitarist and
male guitarist sharing back-up vocals along with the drummer. The name
is pretty fitting, kind of poppy, but more 'rock'. Catchy songs that we
nodded our heads to. They played for about 45 minutes. It was an early
show (starting at 8.30pm), so after breaking down Magnapop's
instruments and setting up the Bob Mould Band's equipment, the band
came out timely at 10pm. I saw the old Bob Mould Band open for the
Pixies in 1989 as well as Bob solo acoustic, then Sugar on the Copper
Blue tour and one other time, and damn if he still didn't rock shit. It
was great because along with tunes from his new record, he was playing
material that spanned his career on this tour. They blew through an
hour straight without him saying a word (same old Bob) playing a mix
from his new album and some gems from the Sugar albums. After taking a
quick break they came back out and played a 15 minute encore of Husker
Du songs, which I wasn't as familiar with, but the crowd went nuts, and
they did indeed rock. Finally, after another quick exit and return,
they did a final 10 minute encore. Over 20 songs and almost an hour and
a half of loud rock goodness. What struck me the most was that the
whole band, especially Bob, looked as if they were having a really good
time and enjoying themselves. He was cracking smiles and laughing a bit
as he looked into the crowd, as well as moving around a bit in front of
his amps, which really made an impression that he was doing this
because he enjoys it and the fans, and not just going through the moves
like a lot of reunited bands touring who just stand there
expressionless and only motivation seems to be the money (yes, I am
referring to The Pixies who we saw last year). The band he selected to
play with him also complemented him well. Brendan Canty played drums
and did well, especially with the newer songs that he was singing along
to. The bassist (whose name I forgot, but can probably be found on the
web somewhere with more info about the Bob Mould tour) was younger, but
was excellent in playing and also singing, especially with some of the
higher notes that David Barbe used to hit. There was also a
keyboardist, who couldn't really be heard from where we were standing
(right next to the stage), except when he did some of the 'guitar'
solos that Bob didn't play. Overall, it was totally worth the six hour
drive up to Atlanta. After the show we drove around a bit, then came
back to the hotel and crashed. We got up early the next morning,
stopped at IHOP for breakfast, and headed home. I had a wedding
reception to go to with Kelly and Peter was going to be driving up to
Chattanooga to get some furniture later that afternoon.
I got home a little before 3pm just as the installer was leaving from
putting down the first section of new tile in our kitchen. Kelly and I
changed and headed back to Gulfport to the wedding reception of our
friends Kevin and Melva. It was a nice event with a lot of their family
and a bunch of our friends who we sat and chatted with while snacking
on the food. It was funny because the local news channel had come to
tape a story about their wedding and were leaving just as we arrived.
It seems that this was the first actual wedding with full ceremony on
the coast since Hurricane Katrina has hit. We caught the story later on
our old tv by moving the rabbit ears around to get reception and it was
a nice segment. We had stayed until the reception was over and helped
to clean up before heading home.
Sunday the installer came back with his sons to finish laying the rest
of the tile. I stayed home this time while Kelly went over to Slidell
to have a mini cooking party with some of the gals. I watched some
anime on Tivo as well as an older independent film I had wanted to see
for awhile, 'Beijing Bicycle'. It was a pretty uneventful afternoon.
Kelly came home and we went to get Jason and Ellen's truck so we could
pick up our refrigerator in Slidell on Monday afternoon, and ended up
having dinner at IHOP because it was open and there wasn't a line.
Monday morning we stayed at the house while our kitchen floor was
grouted. After he was finished around 3pm, we finally were able to head
over to Slidell. Unfortunately, traffic was heavy on the interstate,
especially after we passed the I-10/I-59/I-12 split and were taking
I-12 the few miles west to the exit with Sears at the mall. As we were
driving the truck suddenly lost power completely, so we had to coast
over to the shoulder, and it was ironic that we ended up at the exit we
were going to get off at anyway. Too bad the car was stalled out and we
had to sit in the hot sun waiting for the tow truck AAA had dispatched.
It took an hour and a half, but they were really nice people and
actually ended up towing the truck back to Jason's mechanic in Gulfport
after we were originally told that they would only tow to a 'place of
safety' in Slidell. We met Jason at the rest area in Mississippi where
he had driven with our Altima so we could have the tow truck follow us
to the mechanic. Having AAA+ with 100 miles free towing is a definite
plus and worth the annual renewal fee, just for situations like this.
It was getting pretty late by the time we were heading back home and
instead of stopping at McAlister's to get a sandwich for dinner, we
opted instead to get ice cream at the ice cream shop in Gulfport to
snack on while driving home then have some ramen for dinner. Oh so
healthy, but it sure was good ice cream. Still no refrigerator sucked
though.
This morning I got up early and rode my bike 14.5 miles around
Diamondhead before it got too hot. Later in the morning I picked up
Kim, my supervisor, so we could meet the other two asst. supervisors
for lunch and then go to the office and pick up some things. It was
nice to sit and chat with all of them. I hate to admit it, but I
actually miss some (the key word here) of my co-workers and not having
a regular routine. We loaded 4 boxes of pending applications into the
trunk of the car so I can take them up to Hattiesburg on Friday
morning. After getting back home I called Kelly so we could meet in
Slidell since she was able to borrow her friend Bobbie's truck. I
arrived first at our designated spot (Starbucks Coffee of course). It
was nice to be able to again have a frappucino after yesterday being
teased by the truck being broken down and turning around in the Walmart
parking lot with the tow track with the Starbucks just a few hundred
feet away and not being able to get anything. We then went to Sears
across the street and they loaded the refrigerator into the back and
Kelly and I then managed to get the straps tied around it surprisingly
well enough to keep it in the truck. Jason and Ellen came over after we
arrived home (I called them when we left Slidell) and helped us unload
it from the truck, move it into the house, and clean it up a bit. It
feels really good to have such great friends that will loan you their
truck and friends that will help you move your appliances. It's plugged
in and working well. Tomorrow morning I'll head over to Walmart and
Sam's Club to get groceries and fill it up with 'real' food. No more
processed dinners for us for awhile. Yay!
Kelly has updated the blog briefly when she could over the past month.
She's given a few thoughts about the whole Hurricane Katrina
experience, and I've had a few of my own. When we were in Atlanta, it
was convenient that the hotel did accept pets, but it was kind of a
'ghetto' hotel. The first room we were in was nice and the cats were
slowly adjusting to it, but after the second night, the room we were in
on the first floor had water pouring in through the window as Atlanta
was receiving the downgraded Katrina in the form of strong winds and
heavy rain. The hotel switched us to a room upstairs that was similar,
but when I started to move some of our luggage I found the room in
disarray with the bed taken apart completely. They quickly put it
together and threw some sheets on it, so we had a new place to stay,
although it must have had a stronger dog odor because the cats both hid
underneath the couch (Josie) or bed (Tura) for the rest of the stay.
The neighbors next door were also noisy and annoying, so we made the
decision on Wed. that we would drive up to my sister's apt. in Des
Moines. It was there or Kelly's aunt's house in Grand Rapids, MI (about
the same distance driving), and after much thought we decided upon Des
Moines. We left early Thur. morning and drove to a suburb on the west
side of St. Louis to stay the night. This hotel was great and the cats
really seemed to enjoy it, despite having to again pack up and travel
in the car, which they do not like at all. We arrived early Friday
afternoon in Des Moines for a week at my sister's which the cats grew
to tolerate. They could spend the day and night lounging in the window
sills since she has screens and keeps the windows open almost all of
the time. Des Moines was actually a pretty nice little town. It's a
college town (my sister is going to Des Moines University for her
degree as a doctor of osteopathy), but is definitely growing with other
business and is also the capital city. Strangely enough both Kelly and
I could see ourselves living there, or at least in a town that size. It
was good to have a little more stability than a hotel room while we
were evacuees and be able to leave the cats by themselves as we went to
shop at the mall and see some movies the week we were there. We ended
up going to see 'Happy Endings' and 'Broken Flowers', two independent
films we had been wanting to see and since the indie theatre in New
Orleans is non-existant now, we figured we should go while we had the
chance. Both were really good films, although 'Broken Flowers' had a
less than satisfying ending, but I guess that's to be expected from
quirky Jim Jarmusch. The soundtracks of both films were great and we
ended up purchasing both on cd while in Des Moines. We left Des Moines
on Sat. Sept. 10 loaded up with supplies and left the cats at my
sister's until we could assess the area and safety of bringing them
home. We drove all the way to Memphis, checked into our hotel, then
went to find a barbecue place that Bobby Flay had mentioned on a
special barbecue show on the Food Network. It's called Neely's (one of
two brothers owns this one and the other owns another one across town)
and had some damn fine food. I got smoked turkey breast with barbecue
sauce and Kelly got ribs. It was a mighty good meal. The next morning
we awoke early and headed south towards home. Even as we got closer to
Jackson and south of the capital it was really amazing to see the
damage. And we've been home for about two weeks now and have both seen
quite a bit of damage, but we still haven't seen the worst of it right
off the beach or south of the railroad tracks. Part of me wants to, but
at the same time I don't want to get in the way, and just yesterday
Jason was telling us that he had finally gone down to Waveland where
his brother and wife had lived and were building a new home, both of
which were destroyed, and Jason said he was shocked by the devastation
and how depressing it was. Our lives on the coast will never be the
same, and we were some of the most fortunate ones who really have
nothing to complain about. We'll probably post some photos in the
coming days to show what is impossible to describe unless you see it in
person. All the newschannels have shown constant coverage of both
Katrina and Rita, but it doesn't do it any justice at all until you see
it all in person. Right now just riding my bike around Diamondhead is
surreal with the mountains of debris piled in front of houses on the
sides of the road, and one of the most odd things I saw today was a
baby grand piano with broken legs, the top missing, and laying in a
ditch from one of the larger homes on the Jourdan River that had been
flooded out. It's things like that you don't expect to see.
I also have to say that while we did evacuate for two weeks, it was a
rollercoaster of emotions inside, but some things/gestures that were
made by strangers just made me feel good. When we were in Atlanta I
went to a Starbucks and was asking if they knew where a public library
was so we could get to a computer and check if there was any news about
Diamondhead as well as check email. The barista was nice and gave me
some directions, but also introduced me to a 'regular' with his laptop
and this total stranger was very helpful in looking up the telephone
numbers and websites for FEMA (a possible mistake in hindsight?) and
MEMA for me. We ended up finding a Kinko's later with internet access,
and while I was there one day looking for hotels and calling on my cell
phone to inquire about pets, the woman sitting next to me said she
expressed empathy and if she wasn't leaving town the next day she would
have let me use her computer/internet at her house (which would have
been free). It was a kind gesture that wasn't unappreciated. Also,
driving through Missouri and seeing the National Guard convoys from
wherever, most likely heading towards the coast made me feel like
there's something good about the military. While we were in Des Moines
the local news had stories about relief efforts and how different
organizations were raising funds and getting together supplies and
driving down to the coast with help. I mean it brings a welling up of
tears to see an 8 year old kid selling lemonade and donating all the
money to help victims of Katrina. Yeah, I don't normally show it, but
sometimes I'm kind of a sap. Just today we were also talking about it
with some friends how of all the relief efforts, churches and religious
organizations are the ones who had the greatest outpouring of support
and were the first ones to get down to the coast with food, water,
clothes, and more. There is some real good that can be done by
religious institutions. A lot better than some of the red tape created
by governments and fuck ups within the federal bureaucracy of FEMA and
the Red Cross (although if you want to help out, make donations to them
or the Salvation Army).
Finally, thanks to all of our friends who emailed or tried(?) to call
us (we won't have a land line until Dec, so email or call our
cellphones) to see if we were okay, but honestly, keeping in touch more
often would be nice as well. It's nice to know that you are trying to
get in touch in case we're dead, but then I guess we wouldn't be able
to respond. I'm not saying it doesn't go both ways because I am the
first to admit I'm bad about keeping in touch with people, but since we
have limited email access, writing a letter is just as effective. We do
finally have mail service and it would be nice to receive something
other than bills and junk mail. Here's our address if anyone is
interested:
1082 Pueo Court
Diamondhead, MS 39525
-posted by Chris
Friday , 23
Sep
05
Just
a quick update. Chris and I are doing well...
power came back last TH while we were in Arkansas. So we quickly
flipped the breakers when we got back home with the
cats and did happy dances as the air conditioning came back to life.
We've had intermittent hiccups with the power
since then (including a time when someone nearby cut a tree down on the
power line...luckily power trucks were nearby
and fixed the problem). So life is beginning to return to normal in
some aspects. We're still without a refrigerator,
but ordered one from Sears and will be picking it up this Monday. In
the meantime, FEMA is keeping us supplied with
ice...and that is working for now. Mail service is back. My mom sent me
a package from Michigan - turkey jerky
for Chris and apples for me. Yum! We don't have a home phone
yet...which means that we also don't have internet at home.
Bellsouth told Chris that our service should be restored near the end
of November?! Let's hear it for Bellsouth! (boo hiss)
I am at work today and have been working all week. A lot of times it's
difficult to get my head straight and focused on
work, but when I can it makes for a good escape and slight sense of
accomplishment. Chris did some work at home this week
plus went to Waveland Tuesday to sign people up for Medicaid. Word must
not have filtered out to the locals, because only
2 people showed up. Of course, right now there is free medical service
in most areas.
In other news...I have tile being delivered tonight. We bought it
before the storm, intending to tile the kitchen. The
contractor will be over tomorrow to start working on it, unless
Hurricane Rita changes his mind. Speaking of that wench...
looks like she'll be hitting a little closer than originally expected.
Should be a stormy weekend. We started getting outer
bands yesterday. I just hope the tarps on the roof hold up. I don't
know if our ceiling can hold up to more water. At least
our insurance adjustors came by yesterday to take pictures/notes.
Hopefully we'll hear from our insurance company soon and will then have
a $$ amount idea for contractors. I'm sure we'll end up getting ripped
off...I think prices have gone up
quite a bit since the storm. We shall see...
Anyway...just wanted to let people know that we're doing ok. The blog
will be updated irregularly until we get internet.
We might have to say nuts to DSL and look into satellite or cable
service. I don't much care for Bellsouth anyway, so it
would be no big loss. So until the next time...
-posted by Kelly
Friday , 16
Sep
05
Today
Chris and I are in Fort Smith
Arkansas. We came here yesterday to meet his parents and pick up our
cats. We'll be
heading back down to Diamondhead in a short while. It's hard to
describe what it's like
down there. Our house is in pretty good shape, some roof/ceiling
damage, many downed trees...
but livable. We are so lucky compared to many others down there. We
still don't have power and phones
, but hopefully that will be back soon. Then we can start updating the
blog more regularly. Until
then, know that we are safe and attempting to get back to some sense of
normalcy. Although
things aren't really going to be "normal" down there for a long time.
-posted by Kelly
Thursday , 08
Sep
05
Just
to let y'all
know...Chris and I are safe in Des Moines where we've been staying the
last week with
Chris' sister, Katie. The cats are here with us and seem to be
adjusting fairly well. We evacuated the Sunday before Katrina to
Atlanta. It was kind of a last second decision. I had woken up at 3am
that morning having a near-panic attack. I made hotel
reservations at a place that would take pets. When Chris woke up, we
boarded up the
house and hit the road. The cats were not happy, but at least we knew
they'd be safe.
After the first week we really didn't know what was going on with our
home & local area.
We were unable to get ahold of anyone by phone and the news was looking
grim. But on
our way to Iowa we heard from Chris' boss that our house appeared to be
ok. A few
days ago I was able to find a NOAA image of our neighborhood and saw
that our house
looked fine except for some roof damage. We don't know how bad it is,
but feel
pretty lucky. The last few days we have been collecting stuff to bring
back with
us (food, water, propane, chainsaw, etc...). We plan to head back this
weekend. I imagine our house will smell nasty, maybe have some mold
damage, and the unspecified
roof damage. But compared to many friends we were extremely lucky.
Several friends have
nothing left.
We will try to update the blog when we can. Who knows how soon we'll
get power and internet back at the house. I'm sure we'll have more
stories and pictures at that time. In the meantime, please continue
supporting the various charities who are helping that area out. I'm
usually not one for religion,
but any prayers or kind thoughts you can forward on to the region we
call home is greatly
appreciated.
-posted by Kelly