It seems like it was weeks ago since my last post. In hasn't even been a full week. It has been non stop action since then. I don't know when I have enjoyed a Thanksgiving holiday so much. I truly hope that everyone had just as fantastic weekend as I did.

Wednesday after work, I went directly over to my friend's house for our big Thanksgiving day dinner. It was a wonderful evening catching up with a lot of people and hanging out with the coolest 3 year old I know. The food was amazing, the conversation even better. By the time I got home I just crashed, and crashed hard. You couldn't plan an evening like that, you just let it happen.

Thursday morning I watched a bit of the Macy's Parade, one year I will go to that. It can't be as exciting and adrenaline pumping as a Mardi Gras Parade, but it is still one thing I want to check out. I then headed on over to a friend's house that lives by the race track. We all enjoyed bagels, mimosa's, bloody mary's and even more great conversation before heading on over to the race track for opening day of the races. I saw even more people I knew there, got to enjoy the wonderful weather, only lost $6, and got to enjoy one of my favorite activities, People watching. Some people really got dressed up and had the coolest most amazing hats. The races ended in the early evening and I turned down a dinner of leftovers to go home and rest for a bit. I then headed out to the Leaf for an evening of music by the Trio and see some more people. It turned out to be another pleasant evening.

Friday I woke up nice bright and early for some insane reason. I ended up spending the day working on the neverending blanket and watching movies. Before I knew it, it was time to head back to the Leaf to work merch for Bonerama. It was the first time seeing most of the guys since their return from Vegas and Comic Relief. They all had some pretty fun stories to tell. They sounded just amazing. As my friend TF said "I could just listen to them all night every night"

Saturday came, and it was really spent sleeping and catching up with my roomie Kristen who had been gone for the past week. She literally came straight from the airport to the Bonerama gig. We checked out the art market in the park across the street, then it was out to hear more music. We checked out Leroy Jones and Katja out at Harrah's then went to my favorite new bar, Chickie Wah Wah. Terrance Higgins was playing. He is the drummer for Dirty Dozen and has been sitting in with Bonerama alot. He is a fantastic drummer and a very sweet wonderful man as well.

Sunday was spent out by the river. It was a concert of Thanksgiving featuring the Arabi Wrecking Krewe all stars and it was a thank you to all the Volunteers. The first set was probably my favorite, at least 20 people onstage, brass band style. I can't convey in words how wonderful yesterday was. Seeing so many people I knew, listening to great music, in the city I love. It was a nice way to end the weekend.

Oh my! My face still hurts from laughing so hard of 3+ hours. It was so much fun, well put together and a fantastic night overall. So many thanks go to Laurie for getting us the fantastic seats and all her hard work!! THANK YOU!!!!!!! I saw myself 2 times!! Once on the piece they did on Arabi Wrecking Krewe and then again in the audience when Wayne Brady did a audience participation rap. :) The star of the night was Grace however. ;) So many people came up and talked to at the end of the night and one guy even asked her to pose for a picture!! My boys...Bonerama? They sounded awesome of course in Vegas. They said they had a wonderful experience and such a good time!! :)
some pics to enjoy:

The "stage" that the Radiators played from, Tom Arnold and Cheryl Hines, Wayne Brady singing to Grace, and the whole gang at the end of the night:

I had a nice post all done up with a red little bow, when my computer froze and I lost everything. I then proceeded to actually do some work, and forgot pretty much everything I wrote. So once again, its comin at you bullet style, in totally random order.

Seahawks won. They sucked, but they won. At least the first half with the 7 sacks was pretty fun to watch.
Seriously....Neil Patrick Harris (aka Swarley) is gay? dammit. Not suprising, but dammit.
Benefit show at Tips last night was full of wonderful music, suprises, and just plain good times. Bonerama rocked it with what seems to be their new band member Tony Clifton. Brings a whole new 'tude to the gigs.
Tipitina's Foundations, Musicians Clinic, and Arabi Wrecking Krewe should be proud, it was a nice touch to have so many different musicians present.
Ray finally got "boned" Hope you enjoyed it enough to come to the Maple Leaf on Saturday!
I said two words to Mike Mills from REM it was either "great job" or "sounds great" to which he responded "thanks" I rule.
Its flooding in Washington. Washington State. To my peeps up in Seattle, if you need some shrimp boots, waders, a rubber duckie, let me know.
Chris Rose was there last night. I stood next to him during the Bonerama set, didn't say a word. I was/am intimated by him. He writes so well, and is always right on the money. Hell Dooce even linked to him. That is uber cool.
With a little amount of sleep, I am feeling remarkably "normal" today.
My sister finally sent me the pics of her ultrasound from last Friday. I may have teared up a bit when I saw my little niece/nephew. We won't know if it is a boy or a girl for about 6 more weeks. I already told her I think its a boy.

#66 Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man~Fannie Flag. Finished on Friday evening. Love this book.

Friday night after finishing the above book, Kristen and I headed out for a little Italian Pie. The food was delish, however most of the resturant was filled with a cross country team from the local high school and they were loud. Only one parent/coach there to watch over them. It was annoying. After dinner and short naps we headed over to Tipitina's to catch some George Porter Jr and the Runnin Pardners. It was a fun time. Stanton Moore sat in for a few songs in the second set and John Gros of Papa Grows Funk stopped by for a few minutes. They had been in the studio recording all day. We left a few songs into the second set and went the Maple Leaf where we had an excellent time. So excellent in fact that we didn't leave the Leaf until a little after 5 AM. We closed the place down. The funny thing? Is neither one of us was that drunk...if at all. We were just having fun. We decided that we just needed to stay up until 6 to help our other roomie load up the car (she is a glass blower and had a show on saturday) It was just after 6 when we realized she had stayed at her boyfriend's house. I slept until about 12:30 then was up cleaning house. We eventually made our way out to where the show was, saw all the other crafts and helped our roomie pick up her area. She did good as she was the only one there with glass. I helped a friend celabrate a birthday Saturday night at Carrollton Station. Susan Cowsill put on a great two sets. I actually didn't stay that late...left there at 1:30. Considering the music doesn't start until 11, it wasn't that late. Yesterday I felt so awful. I only left the house in the evening to grocery shop. I was in bed by 8, filled to the brim with drugs (cough syrup, airborne, tylenol pm) I am feeling a bit better this morning, but still not 85%. More vitams taken and we will see how we do today. There is a benefit for AWK tonight and Bonerama is playing, as much as it pains me to say it, I don't think I am going to make it. But we will see. It is also Kristen's birthday, so we are taking her out to dinner and ice cream.

Guess who is in town to help with the rebuilding process??? Guess who found out about AWK through Paul Sanchez and came and helped out on a house yesterday?? Hootie and the Blowfish!!! I went out there yesterday afternoon after a couple hours of work and helped out. They were all very sweet, and some kick ass workers. Craig was the only other AWK'er out there, and there was about 20 of them. The house still had furniture, by the time I got there? Most of the walls had been knocked down. There were a two bathrooms and the ceiling still to come down, a few other items...They were crazy!! I totally shovelled installation with Darius Rucker

This weekend went zooming past and I felt as though I had barely anytime to breath let alone sleep. I did find time for both however. It all started on Thursday. For the first time since the thing, I went out to Preservation Hall. It is not back open every day, I believe just Thursday-Saturday, possibly Sunday. If you have never heard of Preservation Hall it is one of THE best places to hear live music. That is all there is….just some benches and the music. No food, no drinks. I took in a set and a few songs….the place was packed, however I have seen it even more crowded. I then ran up to Palm Court which just re-opened after being closed over the summer. Some places do that here, since the summer it isn’t that busy with tourists. I ended up hanging out with some friends way to late that night. At some point in the evening I had decided “I am going to be tired tomorrow, so one more drink won’t hurt”, it really didn’t. Friday after work we ran down to the Quarter so I could pick up my BTE tickets. I decided I had too much other things going on and sold the ticket for Friday. We then had dinner and then headed to the BEST new club in New Orleans, Chickie Wah Wah. Dale the owner has to be one of the hardest working bar owners, and the nicest. Bonerama had a great set there, with a special guest. I don’t want to say who it was until I can get my pictures uploaded. It was unique and interesting!! Saturday was a day of wrecking. It was a short day, but we got a lot done. Saturday night it was to the Maple Leaf for a little PBS. Yesterday I spent a majority of the day at Tipitina’s. Bonerama was playing/teaching kids! It was a very cool experience. Most of the guys with kids had them out there. There were several talented kids up there on that stage and it is was great to see their parents encouraging them! Tips rocks for bringing back this series. It is happening every Sunday afternoon….they bring in a new musical act/musician every week. Part of my time there was spent making sure Bert and Greg were updated on the Saint’s score, while keeping the information from Mullins as he was taping the game. I don’t think he found out till he watched the game that they won. I thought for sure one of his boys was going to tell him!! I spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies. Relaxing…..enjoying the rainy windy afternoon snuggled up on the couch with a kitty. Now onto a new week and new adventures.

My roomies and I have decided to all lose a little weight before the holidays. My creative/teacher roomie made up little posters which are on the fridge. One for each of us. It has a candy cane on it and we can color a portion in each time we lose a pound. Her goal is to lose 10 lbs by the holiday. I would love to lose alot more.

Remember "Freshman 15?" yeah..we have "Katrina 15" or 20. or 50. Okay not that much but it sure as hell feels like that.

We have done so well the first 2 days of this week. We have walked in Audubon Park both days. 1.7 miles each day. We also stopped at every other fitness stop on Monday. Yesterday we hit the ones we didn't do on Monday. Between gutting the house on Saturday and then this? I can barely move my muscles. It is a great tension release however. Monday night I crashed hard. best night sleep I have had in months. However last night? It didn't happen as much. I fell asleep a little after 10. Woke up at midnight. At 2, at 4, at 4:30, when the alarm went off at 5, then I reset the alarm for 5:45. In the that time period? I woke up every 4 mins. I am going to be so AWESOME to be around later today! I can not fall asleep during Lost OR Project Runway tonight. Won't make me happy if I do!

I can not even come up with the words to describe what it was like to be a part of the pre-game crowd on the floor for the U2/Green Day performance. From standing there at the loading dock leading into the dome, with a thousand people (most teenagers) cheering behind me, to the energy coming inside the Dome. It truly came alive on Monday night. I didn't sense this kind of energy during Mardi Gras, French Quarter Fest, or even Jazz Fest. This is a huge step in the right direction for the city. I don't know how, but it is. I got to see Harry Connick Jr, as he was going through security at the loading dock. He was with one of his daughters and some friends. He smiled and waved at all of us crazies. Archie Manning walked right pass me.

I watched online via rhapsody the performance last night. I did see me, at least twice in the very beginning only. Of course I knew where to look. I don't know if it is possible to save it from that website, I am not that technically savvy. (heh savvy?) So if someone knows how? That would be awesome. I may try to even figure out screen captures from there. I just hope that everyone gets to feel that kind of euphoria at least once in their life in some way, shape or form.

It is almost game day! One of the biggest football games in the history of New Orleans. Okay it probably IS the biggest game. 13 months after the thing...football is returning to the Super Dome. I had told my roomie that I wasn't planning on going to a Saints game. Really anything to do with the Super Dome. I didn't want to go in. I didn't have this strong of a feeling when I went to the convention center for the first time. It's not that I am not a Saints fan (I am..unless they are playing the Seahawks. Then its Hawks all the way) I just had a sense of sadness. Well anyway....I have overcome that. Tonight I was in the Super Dome. I will be in the Super Dome tomorrow night as well. On the field. As part of the crowd, in front of the stage...in which U2 and Green Day will be playing. 3 songs. I will be on the same side of the stage as the Edge....not right in front...but off to the side. Tonight I was right behind where the brass band stops. (My friend Rob Espino is part of that band, silver Sousaphone) Rebirth is on the other side. I can not even at this point in time express what it was like tonight. Tomorrow? It is going to be way more intense. The energy coming from the crowd in their seats? Its going to be incredible. We don't get to stay for the game. That is fine, we will head to a bar to watch the rest....but for a few short moments? I get to be part of history.

I don't know about ya'll but I am glad its Friday. I am glad that at 4:00, I don't have to be here anymore for several days. Not that my weekend is chalk full of exciting things. Tonight will probably just be watching several movies from Netflix. My roomie and I keep saying we are going to sit on the balcony and drink wine, so that may happen as well. Tomorrow is a day of wrecking. Although, I really have no clue as to where yet. Sunday is more relaxing and working on my sister's blanket, because I swear I will have it done by Christmas. I mean its already a year late...what is a few more months?? (we won't mention the fact that I still haven't gotten her bday present for this year) Sunday I am also going to a run thru. For what you may ask? Well....let us just say that some fine, fine people will be part of the pre-game crowd on the field in the Superdome for the U2/Greenday concert. We don't have tickets for the game, but we will be there for a short amount of time....look for us in the crowd. I will have on my yellow AWK shirt!! :)

Today is better. Right? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Arabi Wrecking Krewe has some fun things coming up. Very fun things. It will be good times. I can't wait. I just need to focus on the positive. It can't be that hard right? After all, like I keep saying, there are worse things that could happen.

I realized this weekend that we are half way through Sept. Which means that we are 3-1/2 months until the end of the year. Really where did 2006 go? I feel that since moving here time just flies by. I guess it really does fly when your having fun. Okay so the last half of last year was pretty much blur of emotions, numbness, and general WTF??? I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that a year ago I was hanging out at Dia and Randy's with my fellow evacuee's Leroy and Katja. Mind boggling almost. While in some aspects I feel like it was yesterday, and in others? I feel like it was years ago. So much has happened...so much will continue to happen. It is interesting how many people are bringing up resolutions that they came up with at NYE. Rockstar Mommy is the latest to do it. I went back through my blog and realized that for once? I didn't make resolutions. I just listed the things I was looking forward to....and boy...no wonder I don't remember much of the the year!! ;) I did everything on that list except 2 things....they won't happen as they were possible trips and well...can't afford that now. Its all good. There is plenty of time for that right?

I did experience a fairly uncommon event this weekend. It was called not doing much of anything at all. Really. Friday night the big event was going to the movies (Last Kiss, love it, depressing, funny, wonderful love both Zach Braff and my new movie star crush Michael Weston). Part of that night may or may not have included some spying on our neighbors. They were having a big fancy pants party (remember my neighbor was one of the millions running for mayor and was actually in the top 8 or whatever). They had spots blocked out in front of their house for no parking, however we may or may not have obsessed that the Mayor was coming. We don't know....we went to the movies. Saturday was a good solid day of wrecking. It was a small krewe but we go a TON done. There is of course more to do, as always but we all left feeling like we made some progress. I had planned on going to the Roller Derby that night but couldn't get my ass off the couch. Once I started watching "Lost Boys" all hope was lost. Sunday I was going to go help out with wrecking again...this time it was a NOLA blogger's home, but I couldn't muster the energy. That and I didn't have a ride. I really had to do some stuff around the house also. Like laundry. I know ya'll can just barely contain your excitement over my weekend right? It is rare that I have a quiet weekend at home, and I loved every second of it. Now if I could just sleep through the night? Life would be grand.

Now for the next 3-1/2 months? I have some things planned....not as crazy...but should be good:

My Boys should be playing at the Leaf in Oct.
Voodoo Fest
Fundraising events for Arabi Wrecking Krewe
Wrecking
Thanksgiving (which may or may not include going to the race track)
Roller Derby
Gretna Heritage Fest
Phoenix for Christmas
I know there is more but my brain isn't working correctly. I like this whole no resolution thing...much easier to enjoy life.

My favorite songs from last night?

Helter Skelter
Louie's Perch (I mean how can you NOT love a song where the boys howl?)
The Ocean (I think it may have been a whole Zepplin melody but I am not positive)
MRGO (I don't know the real title...it could be that...about the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet)

I loved the rest of the songs.....but those ones really stuck out in my mind. The crowd was small, but so very loud. I guess live recordings bring out the yellers. Which is a good thing. Tonight there will be TON more people. Hopefully I will be selling more merch, not much was sold. However one lady kept coming up and asking which CD the songs they were playing were on. I don't think she understood the concept of "they are recording those songs RIGHT NOW" It amused me to no end. However what amused me the most last night? Is the rumour I heard. Apparently (according to a un-named sousaphone player) that Ron Jeremy was recently attempting to get to bonerama.com for some reason he went to bonerama.net instead. He now loves the band and wants to use one of their songs in one of his "movies" There is no confirmation that this is a true rumour.

There will be some tired puppies tonight. I got to bed a little after 3, got to work 2 hours late. A few of the girls are out wrecking. They wanted to help out with Arabi Wrecking Krewe. The house they are at today is a hard one. Almost 3 layers of plaster and sheetrock. Have fun ya'll I am enjoying the AC today!! :)

I don't think I have shared my pics from last week's 2nd line. I will have to do that later today, I also have some from this weekend as well.

On Thursday morning, nice bright and early (as in 3:30 AM) I left my house for the airport. I was expecting security to be a PITA, however the only delay was because security hadn't opened up yet! As it was I was like the 5th person through for the day. The flight left as scheduled at 5:45 AM, I made it to Phoenix by 10:30 AM. Spent the rest of the day running errands with my mom. Later that afternoon we headed out to the new AZ Cardinal stadium. We had a little tailgate action going on, my parents and my sister. I was using my BIL ticket as he had football practice (he is a coach) The stadium is pretty damn nice, the only problem is their sound system really sucks. They definetly need to work on that, it sounded like one of the teachers you heard on Charlie Brown Specials. My parents live super close to the stadium, I think we made it home within 10 minutes!

Friday it was more of running errands with my mom, then hanging out with my sister and her crazy dogs and loud ass birds. Lisa took a small nap while I read a book and watched a movie. We got all glammed up and hit the road. We picked up one of my sister's friends then went to Scottsdale. We met up with my parents and my cousin who I haven't seen in about 3 years. She had driven over from 29 Palms. We were at this little place called The Venue. It used to be called the Cajun Shack or something like that. The venue is set up almost like Tipitina's. However it has storefronts...almost like a boardwalk feel. It was a very cute place. We were there to take in some New Orleans bands...Beatin Path and Cowboy Mouth. I went up front for Beatin Path, and was soon joined by my cousin and my mom. Yes my mom. She stood right up front for all of the CM show...in front of a speaker no less. My cousin had heard CM in the car to the show....she is now a die hard fan. Right before Paul played "Home" he talked about Arabi Wrecking Krewe and how we had worked on his house and also Mike M. of Beatin Path's. He then pointed me out in the audience. The rest of the time Fred and JTG made faces at me. When they were done playing, Paul put down his guitar and jumped off the stage and came right up to me and gave me a HUGE hug and said "where is your family???" He then got to meet everyone. Somehow and I am not sure how...but Mike M had started talking to my dad who was sitting in the back, I think they are now BFF. Mike tried hard to get us all to go to Vegas with them for the next gig. Everyone is now big fans of both CM and Beatin Path.

Saturday was spent getting ready for a BBQ that we had at the house later that night. We all swam in the pool and ate some really good food. My BIL was BBQing in the rain and dark. At least the Pork had finished smoking! It was really nice to see alot of my sister's friends. I think a few of them may even come to Mardi Gras!

Sunday we just chilled at the house by the pool. Watched a few movies and relaxed. Yesterday I flew home. It was a great time. I would be a lot more rested if I could have actually slept through the night. However, if I am not in my bed? I wake up 50 million times every night. Oh well....I am used to functioning on small levels of sleep. I have 2 days to get caught up. I can do it.

A year ago today I was in tears, scared, and not sure what was going to happen. I know I sure as hell wasn't the only one. I didn't think that I was going to get to come home ever again. I know for a fact that I wasn't thinking that a year later I would be 2nd lining down Poydras street.

Yesterday started off on a rather odd foot. I headed to work as normal, when I was a block away, I could see alot of the people standing outside. As I got closer one of the guys in the shop said, "the power is out" It had been out since about 6:30 or so. There was apparentley a fire in one of the underground lines, it blow a man cover off, smoke was billowing. The power was out from our building all the way down to the river. So we were told. We hung out for awhile, then around 9 when it was made clear that the power wouldn't be on anytime soon, we were all sent home. As it turned out? It came back on about 9:30 AM. An unscheduled day off.

I headed home and chilled for a bit, then I went out to enjoy the city like Lisa suggested. I went down to the Quarter and ate a bit of lunch at Napoleon House. I then headed back down to the CBD area. I had been told by Sheik that is where the Treme Brass Band was meeting for the 2nd line. The 2nd line was to go from the Convention Center down to the Superdome. When I got there, I saw a ton of people that I hadn't seen in awhile including Uncle Lionel, Rob Espino, Bruce, Craig to mention a few. There were a small contigent of Arabi Wrecking Krewe'rs there as well....Brian got to play with the Treme. The parade was to start at 2, it was more like 3 or 3:30. Before we got started, the band would play a few songs and it was amusing to watch the reporters, photographers, and camera men flock to them like they were gods. I can not explain the feeling that overcame me when the band started playing "I'll Fly Away" as we danced down Poydras Street. I had chills. Not only was the band playing and several members singing, but the crowd following them was singing at the top of their (our lungs) There were people lining the streets cheering and dancing. I almost lost my group at one point. I got sidetracked by a certain anchor of CNN. Anderson Cooper. He was just hanging out behind the barricaded street, watching the parade with his dog. I snapped a few pics and shook his hand. By the time we reached the Super Dome we were all soaked in sweat. Not only was my ankle swollen, but the entire foot. It was worth it however. I don't know how the guys in the band did it. They didn't stop playing, and the water that I did have left only got as far as Craig and Rob at the end.

A few of us decided to head out to find a bar. Only requirements? AC, beer, water and food. We ended up at Mother's. Pretty much back at the beginning of where the parade had started. We had just gotten our food when General Honore walked in!! We then headed up to the Circle Bar. At this point I should mention we were still walking....we hung out there for a bit, then it was time to walk BACK to the NO Arena where we met up with Grace and Kristen. We took in the concert that Wynton Marsalis had organized featuring the following people (I know I am not going to remember everyone) George Porter Jr, Leo Nocentelli, Ivan Neville, Cyril Neville, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Raymond Weber, John Boutte (that was just the first band!!) Dr. John (in a fantastic red suit and he even got up from the piano and danced his heart out) then out came the gospel groups Mary, Mary. Kim Burrell, Kirk Franklin. Wyton Marsalis played. Dr. Michael White was with that group. The to round out the evening Stevie Wonder. Stevie had Wyton, Kim and Kirk all out at one point or another.

By the time I made it home, it was after midnight. I was sore, hobbling and for the most part enjoying every minute of it. I do have pictures from the days events. However I was too tired last night to put them up. I just crashed. I will get those up sometime today.

Really, was a difference a year can make. Not in overall improvements in the city, but considering a year ago where I was emotionally? It is a huge improvement.

Paul Sanchez of Cowboy Mouth and Craig Klein of Bonerama. Taken when we worked Paul and his wife Shelly's house. This was at the beginning of August. Two of my favorite guys musically. Sheik just sent me the pictures from that day. He finally got to work on his own house today for the first time. He has been busy helping others.

I had a whole big post done all up....and it didn't post. So to recap

Sprained my ankle on Saturday while wrecking Leroy Jones mom's house. Today it is a pretty bruised color and slightly swollen.
Even with said sprained ankle...I did the Krewe of Oak parade....had a lot of fun and topped the night off with some Grayson Capps at d.b.a.
Yesterday new roomie moved in!!
Got to meet some fellow NOLA bloggers. There was a special wreck yesterday...I had to run out there yesterday to drop some items off....hope to see ya'll back at a wreck one day! I hope this one wasn't too overwhelming
Sorry Florida...but Ernesto is coming your way and now I can breath again.

This is a small reason I help out with the Arabi Wrecking Krewe. To know you are actually helping someone, giving them the hope back. When Paul told me that tonight....it really I can't explain how it made me feel. Please go to his myspace page/blog and read about what he has to say about AWK. I am going to go and get some rest for a full day of wrecking ahead of me. I am still all hot and sweaty from the Cowboy Mouth concert....they are a good way to release all those frustrations....they help me, like I guess I helped Paul and Shelly.

We are fast approaching "that" day. In all that has happened in this past year, it still feels like yesterday. Maybe it is because for about six months I was in a complete fog. Let me take you back to almost a year ago. The Friday before it happened.

I had just celebrated my birthday. My friends from PA had just left town the night before. The place I worked before, well they closed the office on that Friday. We were all going fishing. Seriously. Most everyone went up the night before. We stayed in a cabin, drank wine, ate tons of food and just mellowed out. Before the sun even rose, we were out at the landing dock. (excuse the lack of knowledge when it comes to fishing terms) It was storming around us. Thunder and lighting....pouring down rain. We waited a good hour for it to stop, then we broke off into smaller groups and boarded our boats. It was pretty cool to watch the sun rise from the bayou. We out-ran rain storms on the boat. In and out of different channels. We went and saw the ship that had gotten tossed on its side by Ivan the year before, just a rusted out shell. We went to a fishing cabin, our captian knew the owners. We hung out there for awhile trying to see the alligators. I actually caught some fish. I think it was 2. Could have been 3. Maybe it was 1. After spending a good chunk of our day out on the water we headed back....there we got our fish, all cleaned up and ready for us to cook. We then headed out to the picnic area where we had a food fest of jambalya, shrimps, crawfish, whatever we could stuff ourselves with. At one point one of the captians came over and said "Katrina bounced off Florida, she could head this way" Seriously, when he said that? there was no reaction from anyone. Because up to that point? no one had heard of this storm. Or rather, not much about it. At that time there wasn't much to say. I made it home exhausted around 7 in the evening. I promtly fell asleep.

The next morning I was chilling on the couch watching some movie....when a roommate came home, "Are you going to leave?" she asks me. "For what??" "the hurricane that is coming" um no. I am not evacuating for a hurricane. It won't be that bad. They always say its going to be a bad one and it isn't. It probably won't even come this way. I decided to stay. Even after watching the coverage (which locally started around 1 or 2 on Saturday), talking to several people. At that time I didn't have a car, so after both roomies left? I was on my own. I wasn't worried. I had some supplies, I cooked up a bunch of food that I could eat later cold. I made ice. I filled the tubs. I was good to go. I was even calling my friends to see if they were still playing at Donna's that night. To my suprise they were on their way out of town. I was even wondering if the Krewe of Oak, Midsummer party was happening down the street at the Maple Leaf. I decided to stay home and have my own hurricane party. I didn't sleep much that night. Early the next morning? I started to worry. It was a Cat 5 now. It really is the big one. It really is coming this way. I am stuck here. I figure I can go to the superdome if it gets really bad. Then I realize I can't take my cat. My cat will go with me no matter what. So its either I stay put...or find a way out of town. If I didn't have my cat? I would have stayed. I watched the last of my neighbors leave. It was so quiet. That feeling of oh crap....I think I did something stupid by staying, that feeling just rushed over me at that point. As luck had it? A co-worker and her hubby were still in town. and they were gettin out. They came and got me. I didnt take much. Like most everyone else. I took my computer, a small duffel bag, my cat, her food and a small pan for her to use. That was it. About 4 hours into the trip, we were sitting on the Bonne Carre Spillway. In the countraflow. A dead stop. All four lanes. (for those of you that don't know, the spillway is maybe a half hour away...it took us 4 hours to get there) A feeder band came through. You could see it coming....the rain was just coming...the wind started rocking all the cars....the road was moving and shaking. I just kept thinking if this collapses? How far is it to swim with the kitty carrier above my head. The feeder band passed in about 5 minutes. It was one of the scariest moments of my life. You could see the fear in everyone around us. 12 hours after leaving New Orleans, we reached our destination. It was Jennings, LA. About 6 hours later, the full force of Katrina hit. We were all watching. we couldn't believe what we were seeing. When it was over? It didn't seem that bad. It really didn't. We figured by wed.....we would be on our way home. I was sleeping on the couch....well sleeping is a figurative term...I kept the TV on. I realized very early how bad the levee breaks were getting to be. Tuesday morning when my co-worker got up...she found me crying. "We aren't going to go home for a long long time" Later that day we headed to Austin. From there I went to Hickory Creek, TX. Where I spent the next 8 weeks with my dear dear friends. It was nice to have a few fellow evacuees staying there....we could commiserate together. I can vividly remember my first trip back in mid-Oct. when all that came out of my mouth as we got off the freeway by my house was "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit" nothing looked the same. It was almost like a dejavu feeling. I knew I had been there before, but...well it didn't look quite the same. Memories, emotions and life have all blurred together in the last year. There have been some amazing highs and some very very low lows. I was right though, even though I am back in New Orleans, its going to be a long time before it will really feel like home again. This city still needs help. All of the gulf coast does. I can do what I can do, with Arabi Wrecking Krewe. I can continue to support the restaurants, the merchants, the musicians. I am will help make this city live again.

What I experienced? It is nothing....absoultely nothing compared to those that did stay. That had no way out. They had no choice. It didn't have to be this way.

Wheee it is Friday! I love this day. It is a good day. After all the work drama? I am ready for the weekend. Tonight one of my fellow AWK'ers will get his first dose of Bonerama. I think he will survive. Hopefully he will understand the whole "dig the bone" thing now. Tomorrow I may or may not wreck. It depends on how late this night goes. After that? Who knows what the weekend will bring. I am just going to go with the flow. There are a few movies I want to see, so I may take in one. I am going to just enjoy this city to its fullest this weekend. As we come up to the anniversary of the thing, I want to take it in more and more and remember what it was like a year ago, to what it is now. To see how much has changed....some say for the better some say for the worse. If ya'll get the chance to see the documentary "Song for New Orleans" check it out. It premiered last night on TV here and its going to air a few more times, leading up the anniversary. I even spotted a few people I knew in it! It is worth a look.....it really hit what this was about for me.

Yes I realize that Monday has just started. However I think this is going to be a fairly nice one. The reasons I believe this to be so?

My birthday is in one week. One week from today.
I got my birthday present from my sister, bro-in law, and parents early. I am flying to AZ on August 31st. While there we are going a football game. As well as seeing Cowboy Mouth.
Bonerama has a gig this coming Friday at the Maple Leaf. Grace and I will celebrate our birthdays with good music. (Happy Birthday today Grace!!)
Tonight I am going to hang at Donna's and hear Leroy play.
The Better Than Ezra show on Saturday kicked some serious ass. Even the beer being spilled into my hair wasn't that bad.
Wed is the premier of the Spike Lee documentry...they are now going to show all 4 hours. I need to make sure to get my ticket.
We managed to finish a house on Saturday. By finish I mean its ready to have the studs pressure washed and cleaned of all the mold. All the nails are removed, debris removed, walls knocked down. It was a good feeling. Also Paul and Shelly Sanchez dropped off a few boxes of Southern Comfort t-shirts so we don't have to mess up our own clothes. :) :)
Cold Stone Creamery finally opened up. It was suppose to open before the storm. It now has. Its so very yummy.
I actually got a lot of rest this weekend. I don't know how, but I did!! I feel like I can actually take on this week head on.

I finally feel rested today. It had been a crazy weekend. After I got off work on Thursday we headed out to Craig's house. There was a mini-jam session and several of the musicians were from Japan. They donated $10,000 to Arabi Wrecking Krewe! Much needed and much appreciated. They also donated a few insturments as well. We had a yummy dinner that night with Lisa and Fam, even if the service was really really slow. I guess its the norm around here now. Friday morning started early for me. I was out the door and on my way to the Quarter at 6:45 AM. My ride, Boy Wonder, was meeting me at the corner of Decatur and Esplanade. We made it to the Sanchez household and we were working hard by 9:00. Paul and John Boutte stopped by for a bit, to thank us and see if there was anything we needed. We had a great krewe working. By the time that Shelly and Paul came back to the house with lunch, we were just getting started with taking down the sheetrock. I finally experienced the pain of being bit by Fire Ants. I really hope not to experience that again. By the time we left around 5, the house was done. Nails need to come out and pressure washing is next. At this point however, their house is safe from being demolished and the land seized. Once I was home I had about an hour to shower, change and grab something to eat. Then it was out the door and back Frenchmen street where I got to see a lot of people and hear Hot Club of New Orleans, The Japanese band, John Boutte, and New Orleans Nightcrawlers. We made it home around 2:30 AM or so. We were up by 8 and out wrecking at Mike Mayeaux's house by 9:30. We stayed there just the right amount of time (saved 5 baby mice). We headed out to Wal-Mart and then back home to get ready for the BBQ we were having at the house. Once the torrential downpour ended we had a great time! A few hours of sleep and it was back to the Quarter to enjoy Satchmo Fest. It was a great weekend filled with friends, food, music, drink (lots of drink I have a ton of beer left at the house). I will take weekends like that any day.

I have today off. Yet I am up really early. Why you may ask? Cuz I have to leave the house in 1/2 hour to go and wreck. Good thing I don't usually shower before wrecking because really what is the point? I am gonna be a hot and stinky girl in about 3 hours anyway. The showers after a day of wrecking? They are the best showers in the world. Now you may ask, why wrecking today? I thought you were a weekend home wrecker (hehehehehe get it??) Well today is a special house. At least for me. We are wrecking at Paul Sanchez's house of Cowboy Mouth. The people from Japan that just donated $10,000 and some insturments may also be there. Sheik had me set up this house, once we found out they wanted our help. I have been working with Shelly Sanchez for the past two weeks to get a good day. So here we go. Tomorrow its a new house. It never stops.

Today is the beginning of MY month. It’s my Birthday Month!! It is going to be a rocking month too. The following goodies are planned in the next month

-Tomorrow Lisa and Mike come to town.
-Thursday there is a Japanese documentary team in town to do a piece on AWK
-Friday is the Pub Crawl on Frenchmen Street
-Saturday its Wrecking, Satchmo Fest and a BBQ at my place. Of course it is the fantastic Kristy K’s Birthday as well!! (I doubt I am going to Satchmo Fest though….wrecking takes precedence) Saturday also happens to by my 2 year mark on living in New Orleans.
-Sunday actually attend Satchmo Fest
-Next Saturday it is a Better Than Ezra show at the CAC
-The following Friday it’s my Bonerama Birthday show. M-n-M must have known when I said something about the show in July being my birthday show that he better get one planned just a bit closer. At least that is what I am choosing to believe.
-That Monday it’s my Birthday. As of right now….no big plans. Will most likely go to Papa Grows Funk at the Maple Leaf that night and cry into my beers that I am not in Brazil with the Bone Boys.
-Tuesday after? I have the day off.
-Then we come up to the year anniversary of Katrina. I don’t know what I am doing. There is a lot planned here in the city.

That is just the things I KNOW are going to happen. I don’t know what else can happen…you never can tell right?

The weekend was for the most part quiet. Actually, it was totally quiet. I am gonna go at this bullet style.

Friday after work I headed home and started in on the whole uploading my CDs to my computer. I am determined to see this project of mine finished. I got distracted for awhile while trying to find a Mulebone cd. The first one. The liner notes are there, the cd is not. I still can't find it and it is driving me totally nuts. Its not in the library, of course I may have to look more there tonight, not in my room, not at work, not in the car. It has just disappeared. It most likely has fallen into oblivion with my favorite tank top which I have not been able to find for months and months. I even broke the bottom drawer out in my dresser thinking maybe the tank fell back there. I have a feeling I may tear the room apart looking for both this evening because it is DRIVING.ME.NUTS.
Saturday Kristen and I headed out to Chalmette and did some wrecking. It was a hot day, but for me it was one of the easier houses that we have worked on. Yeah it was jam packed and the freezer was nastiess, smelliest thing EVAH. However overall? The house was easy to clean out. We have like 2-1/2 rooms that are yet to be cleaned out. The only thing that really really bugged me on Saturday? I was cleaning out a little utility room. It used to be the home of the freezer, washer and dryer. We had to knock down a wall (sheetrock) to even get in the room. Once the appliances were out I was able to shovel the muck out. The muck being the insallation, the ceiling that had caved in and other fun goodies. I am going along just fine....towards the end....a big rat went RUNNING out of the room. The rat doesn't bother me at all. We have come across this before. Instead of running out the doors to outside and freedom, it ran into the back rooms. I yelled out to the others so they knew a rat was coming. Everyone went on a break right after that. I kept working as I only had a few more shovels to go. One of the girls came in to help, right when I went for the last scoop, I heard a squeaking. I had almost shovelled up a baby rat. By baby I mean, eyes still closed ears still back, little bit of fur. I almost squished it. I picked it up (yes I had gloves on) from the pile and took it outside. The poor things sides were puffing out its little heart was breathing so hard. So scared. We cooled it off by sprinkling water on it. It wouldn't leave my hand. It kept clutching on to my fingers. It would burrow into my hand as much as it could. Someone came and told me they could hear the mama in one of the rooms. I took the baby in there and got it to squeak a few times, but we didn't see the mama again. Now I know rats aren't favorites, however this is a BABY! I got it to finally leave my hand in between some studs and where there was still some insallation. Soon after they moved the water heater from that room and they had to drain it in the process. I was afraid the poor baby was going to drown. Right before we left, I went and checked on the baby and it was okay, still nestled up and was moving about. I am going to believe that the mama came back for the baby after everyone left. That the baby isn't suffering and I am going to forget about the fact that I most likely shovelled the other babies up and dumped them in the debris pile.
Saturday night, relaxing and importing cds. I know the craziness of my life is out of control and everyone is so jealous.
Sunday will make ya'll even more jealous. I did laundry and imported even more CDS. I have 50 odd cds still to go. Will the craziness ever end? Not to fear...there will be some fun times ahead as Lisa and fam get to town in a few days.
What is it that screams out loud to everyone, when I am sitting down to eat my lunch at work with my book,come talk to me!! Seriously. I just want to read. Oh well. If that is my only complaint than I should be pretty darn happy. And I am.
Now that I have throughly bored people....I am gonna go obsess about the missing CD and tank top. Who knows? I could maybe find both tonight!

We are gonna do some Wrecking this evening. Mr. and Ms. Megan have already been doing Thursday evenings at this house. Tonight I am gonna go and help and Kristen is even talking about coming as well. August 29th is right around the corner ya’ll and it’s a scary thought. I obsessively check the hurricane center everyday. I am not the only one. We talk about it at work a lot.

I have been spending the past week or so finally uploading my cds to my computer. So far all I have finished? Are the CDs lying in piles around my room. All the rest of the cds are in the big cd wallets that hold like 200 per…and I have 2 of those. I finally started on one of the wallets last night. But I will be able to listen to all my music whenever I want now…that is a good thing. I don’t know why it took me this long, I have had the computer for almost a year now.

wait am i the only one who celebrates that? well then good. its been 23 hours since the alarm went off on Friday AM....got home about 20 mins or so ago . Mcdonalds breakfast consumed...yes...breakfast. I am supposed to wreck in 3 hours. not getting up to wreck...but there at the site....wrecking. i don't think that is gonna quite happenin just at 8 for me. What kept me awake this long you ask? Just a band called Bonerama......their wives/girlfriends know how to take care of the merch girl. it was a fun and interesting night and a very good way to kick off the birthday month that is for sure. More fun tomorrow night.........

Do you ever have some weeks/weekends where you have absolutely nothing planned and you tend to think to yourself “I have no life??” After I hurt my back I made no plans for several weeks. This weekend when talking to my mom she asked, “your not doing anything this weekend??” After I talked her out of her shock….I did end up hanging out with some friends on Saturday. That was it. I didn’t realize how crazy my week was until…last night. Last night we had a press conference (which pretty sure no press showed up for, because who really cares about rebuilding New Orleans) for Acorn and Arabi Wrecking Krewe and the work we will be doing together. A good time was had by all. I was reminded by Megan and Andy that tonight was the Thank You party for the Wed. in the Square Volunteers. Tomorrow night a bunch of the AWK peeps are going to meet up at Vaughn’s. Friday night will be Bonerama fun at the Leaf, Saturday will be wrecking of course. I think I will lie in my bed all day Sunday. Damn…no I can’t do that…the Tivo is in the living room. I need to catch up on all Newsradio. It’s back on tv!! Nick at Nite!! Guess its sofa city for me!!

Arabi Wrecking Krewe is finally getting some local recognition! Here is the article that appeared in today's TP (Times-Picayune)

Gutting takes a lot of heart
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Sheila Stroup
"Bring them home. Bring them all home" is the mantra of the Arabi Wrecking Krewe. They're working tirelessly to bring musicians back to New Orleans.
It's hot work, hard work, dirty work gutting houses. And they've been at it since people were allowed back in the city after the storm.
"We zeroed in on musicians right away," Armand "Sheik" Richardson said. "We said, 'What's the thing New Orleans needs most right now? The rhythm in the street.' "
It was mostly friends helping friends at first. The day a few guys went to help trombonist Craig Klein at his house in Arabi, Sheik got so upset at the mess 10 feet of water had left behind he ran to a wall and whacked it with a hammer, turning Sheetrock into rubble.
"Wow! You're a one-man wrecking crew," Craig said, and the Arabi Wrecking Krewe was born.
Music lovers got guts
The homegrown krewe keeps growing as music lovers find out about it. Jazzfesters from around the country pitched in when they were here.
Volunteers have cleaned out, gutted and pressure-washed dozens of houses, including the homes of Irma Thomas, Michael White and Benny Jones.
"I could name names all day long," Sheik said. "Almost all our musicians lived in areas that flooded."
Saturday, 15 volunteers worked on the home of Wilbert Rawlins Jr. in eastern New Orleans.
Wil was the band director at Carver High School before it filled with water. He recently left "a dream job" in Beaumont, Texas, and came home to organize a band at O. Perry Walker High School because he knows New Orleans children need him.
"We're honored to help him," Sheik said. "A guy who can play is one thing, but a guy who can teach and play is like gold in this city now."
City of gold
'For Wil and his wife, Belinda, watching their life being carted to the curb in wheelbarrows was heart-breaking.
"It's rough. I lost all my instruments, my keyboard, everything," Wil said. "But just seeing people going in and out that door does something for me."
Krewe members want to do more than clean out houses. They want to help musicians like Wil rebuild their homes and their dreams.
They need more volunteers, supplies, equipment and donations. They also need to hire craftsmen, licensed electricians and plumbers.
"If they left New Orleans after the storm, we'll help them come home, and we'll pay them to work for us," Sheik said.
When Sheik and his friends started the Wrecking Krewe, they thought they'd be helping a few weeks, a few months. But now, they figure five years, 10 years, whatever it takes.
They want to see neighborhoods filled with children. They want to see the city made whole again. They want to bring back the soundtrack of New Orleans.
. . . . . . .
For information about the Arabi Wrecking Krewe or to contact them, go to www.arabiwreckingkrewe.com.

Chris Rose really just can get down everything that you experience in the city right now. Its worth a read, this Sunday's article. Its about the Desire bus route. You know the one that "Streetcar Named Desire" was named after? Check it out.

The house we worked on yesterday had to be the 2nd hardest house for me. I know part of it was the fact I had 3 hours of sleep before going. Another part of it was the maggots, the abundance of maggots, the heat, the smell. Oh the smells were the some of the worst. The owners were there the whole time which is a blessing and also a curse. It was so nice to hear the stories of the neighborhood and their family. 4 generations had lived in this house.....the curse? Trying to clean out everything when one member of the household wanted to save everything. At one point in one of the rooms I was cleaning out, I was told to look out for the cremation remains of one of their dogs. One of two. Amazingly I did find it. I took it outside to give to the family, when I was informed the 2nd one was sitting on the bed. Which I had already cleaned off and thrown out. There were a tense few minutes while one of the owners and a Arabi Wrecking Krewe member went through the pile of debris outside and while I looked inside. Since I had been looking for one of the two remains to began with, I didn't understand how I could have thrown it out. Finally they did find out that one of their daughters had taken one of the two dogs earlier in the morning. So they did have both of the dogs back. I can't explain the feeling I experienced thinking I had thrown one of their dogs out. I reached a wall yesterday that I couldn't just go on. It was around 2 in the afternoon. Maybe it was 3. Some of the members wanted to finish just one more room. That was jammed pack, the owners had just cleaned out the attic right before the storm and its entire contents were in this room. I was so tired and just had enough. I sat across the street in the park with one of the owners and talked for the rest of the afternoon. Other members working slowly losed their energy as well. I give major kudos to the two that kept on working. They got the room done. We ended the afternoon at Parkway Bakery where I had my most favorite roast beef sandwich. I slept all night, until now. Next week its a new house and a new family.

It was kinda funny, kinda sad….on Saturday as we ate our po’boys from Arabi Food Store we were discussing the tropical depression, now Tropical Storm Alberto. Last year at that same exact time none of us gave a thought to a tropical storm, much less a depression! Now here we are, one year. We all knew where it was, where it was likely to go, all the intricate details that one of these storms have. I guess when you are shoveling out 3-4” of hard mud from someone’s house, you tend to be more aware of what had caused this. This was probably the nastiest house that I have worked on. The stench that came from the house, the mud, the heat of the day, the pile of rubble, the thought of finding the lost cat (we had a small scare, turned out to be a stuffed animal). We were a small krewe, but we managed to get a lot done. I think even Megan and I got a lot done even if we did take lots of breaks. I know I didn’t want to pass out from exhaustion! We are 12 days into the hurricane season…and I had told several people that by mid June we would have our first storm. I really wish this was a time when I was wrong. We could use some rain here. You would think that a city that a year ago just went through major flooding wouldn’t care to see rain. But its been so dry here. I am wishing for rain.

Fridays are my 21 hour days. I get up at 6 AM and I am getting to bed around 3:30-4 AM. These are only on gig nights. Two more Fridays to go, its a damn good thing that I enjoy PBS....its a good time always. I got up at 8:30 yesterday morning, and we wrecked all day. Okay so Megan and I quit around 3, and got lunch and some drinks. I got home, showered and was in bed by 6:30. I didn't get up until 8:30 this morning. I am still tired.....oh well good times.

Tony's are on right now.....so nervous

I love helping Arabi Wrecking Krewe. I really do. But the pain afterwards? Not so fun. The pains in my arms will subside in a few days. Besides its kinda worth it to take a sledgehammer to moldy wall and say "DIE MOLD DIE!!" I amused Nicole when I did that. We got a ton of work done yesterday. It was a first in, which means that the house hadn't been cleaned out. There were about 10 of us there. I got there around 10:30 about a half hour after they started, by the time we started clean up (actually I think I sat there like a lump cuz I couldn't move) it was around 4. The entire house had been cleaned out, wall knocked out in all the rooms. All that is left is to pull nails (which I think we got two rooms done) clean up the rest of the plaster, remove the tile in the bathroom, and pressure wash. It was amazing and a bit surreal to see all the pile of debris on the front walk. An entire house hold. On the front walk. We did manage to save some things, including some 45's and amazingly enough some 78s. You don't find much more of those anymore.

Then last night we went out to a casino in Sheraton, LA and saw Cowboy Mouth. Whatever energy I may have had left went to the show. We are going again tonight. Maybe tonight I can win back my $5 I lost on the slots last night. ;)

I was sitting there nibbling on a sandwich at a retirement luncheon for one of the guys in the shop. I was sitting with a few guys, one kinda being my supervisor and he says "That kid that one American Idol? Mr. X knows him. (Mr. X being one of the guys that works in Birmingham) I guess Taylor sent him and email asking him to vote for him when he got on American Idol" My response? "How do I get on Mr. X's good side. I love me some Taylor"

I am spending a quiet evening at home right now trying to get rid of a raging headache. Been with me all day. I need some energy tonight as I will be at the Maple Leaf in a few hours selling merch for PBS. Tomorrow is a long day with Arabi Wrecking Krewe, where there are rumours to be a jam session at lunch. I swear the rule was though that "we eat, we're done" or something to that effect. ;) Its going to be a long hot sweaty day. Doncha wanna come and help??

Have you voted today?? I have gotten through twice....thats it. I tried for a solid hour.

I just got back from NYC....we had a great time....saw Harry Connick Jr. on Broadway in The Pajama Game....it was a great show with the exception of stupid audience members. Oh well. Harry is a proud owner of an Arabi Wrecking Krewe button however. ;) It was a fun trip and we walked 3 gazillion miles.

I won't be able to blog as much. Work has blocked all blogging sites now. I can kinda understand that...but when you answer the phones and that is all??? It is sooooo freakin boring up there. I go crazy just being up there an hour a day covering breaks!! Oh well. So be it....

This morning I walked out of the house, thinking I was just in time for the bus. I saw it pulling away as I got to the park. Then I realized it was the Tulane bus, not the St. Charles bus and that there was a bus still sitting there. As I got closer, I realized it was another Tulane bus and that the St. Charles wasn't there. So either it was running late, or left a few minutes early. So I wait for the next bus....and wait....and wait....about 15 mins later, here comes a St. Charles....and there goes the St. Charles. She didn't stop. I recognized the driver, she was suppose to be the bus that I thought I missed. Guess I did miss it. She was obviously running late, and decided to make up time but not stopping at any of her stops. Too bad one of her supervisors was sitting right there and witnessed her fly-by. Half an hour later a bus arrived and I got to work, 20 minutes late. Of course the girl who answers the phones? Isn't in today. Oh well...it was beyond my control.....

Its that karma thing. I had a great weekend...I hung out with friends on Friday night, heard great music, ate good food. Saturday I did not make out it out to help with Arabi Wrecking Krewe as planned. I felt really bad about that. My body wasn't going to let me move that fast. We did head out to Pontatrain Vineyards for Craig Klein's set. It was a ton of fun. He didn't think I was gonna sell many cds...but I did. 27 of them!! Not bad at all. Yesterday I attempted to finally catch up on Tivo. I couldn't keep my eyes open for longer than 20 mins....only got a third of my laundry done. It was relaxing.

Its gonna be a quiet summer. Lots of my favorite musical acts will be out of town, on the road, making others happy with their music. Leaves me lots of time to get ready for running if another hurricane decides to head this way.

I can barely function today. My eyes are so heavy and just want to close for several hours. But once again it was so worth it. I will put up some pics in the next few days. There will be a nap this evening before we go to d.b.a. to see Rick play. Since my brain can not form full thoughts, you get bullets again just some highlights

Beautiful sunny weather
Running into the same people at every stage.
When the NOLA "locals" start to recognize you and talk to you.
Helping Barney Floyd win battle of the bands with the rest of the Arabi Wrecking Krewe.
Hurricane Brass Band....they are so much fun.
Meeting wonderful new people.
Wandering all over the quarter.
Watching the Mayoral results come in at Lafitte's
Hearing Lillian Boutte sing.
To walking past a stage and seeing Matt Perrine up there.
Not sipping slowly, but rather sucking down.
Craig really should be mayor, he does know EVERYONE!!!
Seeing Rick and Steve on a random stage.
The crowds, it was so crowded it was wonderful
Seeing the Rads, they sounded so good.
That's all I got for now. I am gonna attempt to wake up a bit since I have to go deal with some $$ here at work. Need to be focused for that!!

I have been so busy all weekend and now here at work. That is a good thing. Just some highlights while I have about 2 mins. Bullet style. Yeah baby.

Molly's on Thursday was soooo much fun listenin to the Stompers and drinkin and dancin
Megan and I have made it a rule that if you are working on a house for Arabi Wrecking Krewe, don't come hung over. See the first bullet point.
Working on Drea's house on Friday, she is so much fun. It was a girl's day as Andy was there for only a little bit.
Bonerama at French Quarter Tips later that night.
More work on Saturday for Arabi Wrecking Krewe.
A packed d.b.a for John Boutte's set where Leroy was also playing
a yummy brunch at the house yesterday.
a even yummier dinner at some friend's house last night.
getting to finally see Lucien and Mark Braud last night for the first time since the thing. I got big hugs.

Now that the Monday from hell is over, I can relax. I spent most of yesterday up in A/R fighting with the stupid computer program. The fact that the computer did not go flying down the stairs is amazing.

So Friday night, Bonerama had another sweet gig at the Maple Leaf. Both Matt Perrine and George Porter Jr. were there, making for a very funky bass section. It pretty much rocked my world.

Then came the wonders of spending almost the entire weekend outside. It was so nice. The weather has been so wonderful the past few days. There has been a nice breeze that has been blowing, the temps are in the mid 70s. There were a few moments of real hotness, but then that breeze kicks back up and cools ya down. Saturday it was working out in Craig's yard, then on Sunday we went to the Strawberry Festival to celebrate Kendra's bday. It was an almost perfect weekend. Which is why I am not suprised about the sucky Monday.

Both yesterday and today have been pretty much the same.....weather wise. Today after I get home from work I am gonna take a nice long walk that may or may not end up at the Plum St. snowball stand. Its my spring time crack. I have a craving for another Strawberry Shortcake cream snowball.

Yesterday we spent the day at Craig Klein's house, inside there was pressure washing, outside was yard work and pond water removal. No one wanted to touch the pool. The difference inside the house from the start of the day to the end of the day was amazing. Just amazing. They will still need a mold inspector to come out, but they are so so so so close to getting the house ready to live back in it. All Kay wants is electricity and she will be back. I spent the day weeding a portion of her garden and she is coming back this week to start planting....her easter lily survived and is in bloom.

After we left, we took a bit of a tour of St. Bernard Parish. There was a line almost 8 blocks long to get supplies at an aid station......the debris piles there are large, who knows when they will be picked up. Not only is everything moldy, but some areas where hit in the oil spill, so its all black. We went to check out two houses. A lady had contacted the Arabi Wrecking Krewe after seeing the piece on EHM and pretty much she hasn't gotten anyone to help her yet. She is a retiree and she is helping out an eldery couple as well, and no one has touched their home yet either. Almost 8 months after the storm.....and their things are just sitting in this moldy waste, and yes covered in oil. We went to the elderly couples house and by some miracle, a tree in the back yard missed the house and the closly spaced shed....really there was maybe 4 ft in between.....there is some roof damage and an entire house to gut. We then went to the ladies house, and I had the hardest time to not cry. Her house was the only house in sight, that had half its roof blown off.....and no one has helped her to cover it. There is spray paint on the sides of the house, snakes. She has snakes and other critters in her house. No one is helping her. AWK may bend the musicians rule to help her and the elderly couple out.

It was very sad and depressing to drive through that area and see how much work there is STILL to be done. A lot of those houses didn't seem like they had been touched yet. Then you think, there is still the 9th ward, there is still Lakeview, there is still Gentilly.....everywhere so much work to be done still. I know the work we are doing with AWK is helping some people, but there are so many other people out there......so many our small group can't help everyone. I guess I just have to accept that we are helping, that we don't sit in our non damaged homes and bitch about the state of the city, that we are actually doing something to help. I wish we could let people know outside of this city that NO the work isn't being done.....that we do need help in a desperate way. That we are 2 months away from the hurricane season and we haven't nearly completed the cleanup from the last one. How many times can you ask them to imagine that this was happening to themselves, their homes and their families????

We still need the help America.....

We (a few members of the Arabi Wrecking Krewe and supporters) met up at Cooter Brown's last night, for some food, a few pitchers of beers and watched Extreme Home Makeovers. Sheik was the first shot of the show!! Then we had to wait until the last 10 or 15 mins of the show to see any more. The work done on the church??? NIIIIIICE. I want that kitchen. ;) We cheered so loudly when they showed Craig, the other people in the bar finally tooked notice of our ragtag bunch. We cheered when they showed Sheik again. When the fridge was tossed, well that was a highlight for me. Did you see what they gave us???? I believe I had mentioned it right after it was filmed, but if you didn't see that wasn't it COOL???? I am very proud and honored to be a part of the Krewe. They rock the casbah.

After the show, we hit the road. We went to go show our support for Craig and a few other musicians known as the Storyville Stompers at their weekly gig at Molly's. They were seriously on FIRE last night. They were all having such a good time....we danced and just had a crazy good time.

Because of this....I am exhausted today. But I don't really care. Remember when I mentioned the whole not sleeping thing cuz it was hot? Yeah...its not the heat. I have been waking up routinely at 2 and at 4 EVERY FREAKIN NIGHT!!! Except last night. It was just 4. I don't get it. I just wake up. So my sleep pattern is like 3 hours, wake up, 2 hours, wake up, 2 hours and up for the day. I am only awake long enough to make a trip to the bathroom or to think "what the HELL??" and then fall back asleep. But the interruped slumber sucks.

Tonight it should be a fun time at the Bonerama gig. A few more folks that I know are gonna be there!! Tomorrow? Its Wrecking time!! Then on Sunday the Strawberry festival!! It should be a productive weekend. Good times. I love the spring time in here in New Orleans. Even now with all the crap going on??? I still love this place.

So yesterday Zoot and RSM both discussed "censorship" on their blogs. I have really NO idea who reads this here blog. Okay I know a few people, my sister, Kristy, Marisa, Lisa, and random smatterings of others. As far as I know...that is all who reads. I don't feel the need to censor what I say, because most of those people know me. And by know me, I mean in my real life. There are things I DON'T blog about, because if I wanted them to know I will tell them in person. Or on the phone or whatever. I obviously don't use any splashy pseudonym, nor do I really change anyone's name. Yeah that could get me in trouble one day I suppose. However if I blog about people in my real life and they don't want their name on here, all they have to do is ask and it will be omitted.

I may be naive when it comes to putting things on the internet. Don't get me wrong, I don't go advertising my address or phone # or anything. But when it comes to trusting people. I think part of that comes from when I first started really getting into the internet. I started posting on a board, it had just been started, it was for an obsession of mine, okay it was for Harry. Anyway...when the board first started it was really a little community. We all got to be friends....not only online but in real life as well. Some of the people I met through that board are now some of my closest friends. Hell, if it wasn't for that community I really don't know where I would have gone when I evacuated out of here in August. I met Dia and Randy through that community. And the people of that community really helped out not just the musicians down here, but myself as well. Now that board isn't nearly the same as it was when it first started several years ago, so I am glad was part of it at the beginning. We all shared a lot of things that we now wouldn't......

I won't really go into politics or religion here, cuz that isn't my thing. I do talk about things I like here, things I am really passionate about. The music down here, the food, things that mean something to ME. It may also mean something to the reader....it may not. In all honesty, I don't care. I write this for me. Yes I do some "advertising" or "getting the word" out on things like where my favorite bands are playing....or the work Arabi Wrecking Krewe is doing....someone out there in cyberspace that I don't know, may read it and care...and that is cool.

When it comes right down to it....it is all about me right? ;) So if you are out there reading this, and I know you, HOLLA!! Say hi every once in awhile...it doesn't hurt. If I don't know you, say hey everyonce in awhile too....this is pretty much what you see is what you get.

I am tired. So freakin tired. We are trying to save $$ at the house and not turn on the AC too much this spring. It was warm yesterday. So frickin warm. It actually wouldn't have been so bad if someone had remembered to shut the curtains in their room when the afternoon sun was shining it it all day.....and it got hot. I slept like CRAP last night, and when I woke up this morning all I thought was its not 6, its 5!!! I think I finally got some good sleep from 2:30-6. So not great but not terrible either. I guess.

I thought maybe I had caught up a bit. Friday night I went the the Leaf, as I always get grief from the sound guy there that I only go the Leaf when Bonerama is playing....so I decided to rectify that. Mullins was playing that night with John Gros, Anders Osborne and Tony Hall. I did not know that until I walked in and saw him. So of course Randy (sound man) thought I was there because of Mark. No. Sorry. ;) Late night that night, a really good day(with AWK) at Tanio's house getting it all cleaned up....well as much as we could anyway. A little bit more to do there.....then I took a nap. Kristen and I headed out for some music at d.b.a Saturday night we only saw John Boutte (with Leroy and Todd Duke), then I got into spring cleaning mode yesterday and cleaned all day!! And I only did my room, my bathroom and the kitchen, laundry and grocery shopping. The dining room and living room need a good dusting....that may happen tonight. I was hoping with all that cleaning and moving, I would just pass out. But nope. Oh well.......I finally stopped moving last night at 7 to watch West Wing and then Surreal Life. Talk about opposite end of the spectrum for TV viewing!!! I am going to attempt to stop yawning at some point today.

So it rained a bit early this morning....and a little bit mid morning. One of my co-workers said...."in the really bad areas right now???? It smells just like it did right after it happened" We are talkin about the fun times with mold. I have had a couple of bad headaches the past few days, and he informed me it must be from the mold. It could be. Cuz there is a hell of a lot here in the air. Good times.

Speaking of mold, don't forget that in one week and one day....Arabi Wrecking Krewe will be featured on Extreme Homemake Overs!!! Mold fears us.

This was a nice weekend that just passed.....Friday night Kristen and I jumped on the bus and headed down to the Quarter. We giggled at the gaggle of Tulane girls that got on the bus. They were planning the "pubs" they wanted to hit. One of the girls asked the group, "Do you guys have IDs?" The answer was no. And one of them was wearing there senior prom T-shirt for 2005. Yeah better planning next time ladies. Turned out they were going the same place as us, Molly's. Whenever I saw them that night, they were outside, no drinks in hand. We had a great time, and winded down the evening at Cafe Amelie where Leroy was playing. Saturday was spend with the Arabi Wrecking Krewe as we tackled a new house. There were a lot of people there to help, thanks to the Vets who came out. That is Veterans. They were in town for part of this walk/march protesting the war. I believe they started in Bilioxi. Yesterday there was a big anti-war rally out in Congo Square that they also took part in. Anyway this house, the back yard was transformed from a jungle of downed tree branches and debris to a clean prairie. Almost all of the inside was cleaned out. The roof was finally tarped. Next comes some demolition....it was a good day. I fell asleep at 9:30!!! Of course that meant I was up at 6:30 yesterday. Kristin had to run to Target so I hitched a ride. We also stopped at Barnes and Noble where I loaded up on some books. The afternoon was spent reading and cleaning up around the house. I finally cleaned up all the Mardi Gras beads!! I then headed out to the Palm Court where Leroy was playing.....had a couple glasses of wine and enjoyed some really good music.

Tomorrow is a half day for me. Gonna tackle the car issues big time. I heard from Mike (Lisa's husband) who ran my plates for me. (He is a State Trooper and a chip licker) The car is not stolen which is good. I did some research online and found out that the dealer had 20 days to get the title transferred. When I called in late Jan/early Feb, no work had been done to do that (this was according to the TX registars office) I also heard from the Ft. Worth police and I need to call them to file a police report. Fun times ahead!!

Rave for the day: I don't remember if I have mentioned this here, but even if I did it is SOOOO worth mentioning again. Arabi Wrecking Krewe had a good Mardi Gras. How good you ask? Well, Extreme Home Makeovers was in town. They were working on, I believe a church. They also contacted the Krewe and filmed a little bit of them/us!! Okay I wasn't there. I could have been there. I could have met Ty. I didn't go for several reasons. I know they didn't want a shitload of people there. What I didn't realize is that several of the key people DID want me there. Oh well. I also had to hang out at the house that day for Lisa and Hank to come and pick up a portion of their beads for their ride in Orpheus. I know I could have arranged to have them pick them up earlier and all that good stuff, but like I said, I didn't want to be in the way if I really wasn't suppose to be there. The eppie should air in the first weeks of April. When I find out the exact date, I will let everyone know. Also with the show and Gibson Guitars, there was a presentation at Howlin Wolf the night of the taping (I again missed it, was at Bacchus and Endymion doh!) The presentation was for $50,000 to the Krewe to continue on our work and of 40 insturments for musicians here that have lost theirs in "the thing" WHOO HOO!!! There are pictures up from the presentation and work on the house (yes there are pics of Ty)

Rant for the day: My mail is being returned as undeliverable to various places. I had placed an order with Amazon. I got an email today saying it was returned to them, as my address is undeliverable. Interesting. Since I RECEIVED MAIL YESTERDAY!!!! I have received items from Amazon at the house since "the thing" no problem. They have either left the items or left the little note saying come and pick it up. Which I have. Its not only packages. They have returned a W-2 and check stubs from my temp service. After I got the call from the temp service saying they were returned? I went home and guess what was waiting in the mail slot??? Some check stubs from the temp service. Its like the carrier just doesn't want to deliver on some days or something. Or someone within the post office is royally screwing up. I have called and talked to someone several times, in fact she has called me back. Trying to figure this out. In the meantime, things I have been waiting for for months? Most likely returned as undeliverable. This is so aggravating. I need to go down and complain at my post office. I can't do that until Saturday however since my damn car is no good!! They have shortened hours so I can't go during the week when I get home. Stupid.

The place I work at is mostly men. So for once in 8 years of reception/admin work, I don't have to deal with the parade of flowers, balloons, chocolates and other VD gifts that come in to a office.

In other news, 12,000 hurricane victims are now being left to fend for themselves. Where are the FEMA trailer parks that were suppose to be all over the city (including the park across the street from my house???) The rental money given to people, well with the rise in rent prices throughout the city, your lucky if you can pay for 1st/last and first month's rent with that. Real lucky. Average rent seems to be have doubled in the past 5 1/2 months, going from resonable to incredibly insane. I know in some areas (Seattle, New York, Chicago,etc) these rents seem cheap or normal. However most of the people that live here are lucky to make more than $9.00 an hour, compared to the going rate in those cities for the same jobs? Is almost criminal. Sorry you lost your house, sorry we took you out of your city (state for some) good luck getting home, sorry you have no job, but we ain't paying anymore. Oh yeah try to overlook the fact that we knew about the levee breeches when it happened. Good luck! I wish there was something more I could do to help. I know that is why I am helping out with the Arabi Wrecking Krewe. To get some people home.

Hotel check-out time arrives for thousands uprooted by storm as FEMA stops paying the bill
For some, loss of aid signals uncertainty
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
By Gwen FilosaStaff writer
Tirrell Turner checked out of a downtown New Orleans hotel Monday, carrying two trash bags filled with his belongings and much more on his mind than the fact that FEMA refused to pay for his room one more night.
"All I did was change my clothes and took a bath here," said Turner, 27, outside the Cotton Exchange Hotel, where he spent the past month. He was headed toward a $60-a-night motel on Airline Drive, to bide time until his apartment is ready March 2. "I was hardly ever here."
Turner, who lost his Gentilly home to the Aug. 29 floodwaters, is a full-time college student, a part-time security guard and one of 12,000 hurricane victims nationwide for whom Monday meant the end of a federally financed warm bed at a hotel. He said he did what FEMA told him to do: He took his $2,000 rental assistance and, after a five-month wait, landed a home in the New Orleans area.
But having done so, FEMA ruled Turner ineligible for further hotel room aid and sent him packing Monday. For the next two weeks, he will burn through his own savings for a room.
After sinking more than $542 million into hotel rooms since Sept. 1, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is dropping the curtain on a program that, at its peak, housed evacuees in 85,000 hotel rooms on a single night after Hurricane Katrina.
About 4,400 families in Louisiana were forced to check out of hotels today, FEMA said. Nationwide, 8,000 households remain in hotels on the government's dime.
"Regardless of when we chose to end this program, it would be painful for many people whose lives have been completely disrupted by this disaster," said Nicol Andrews, a FEMA spokeswoman in Washington, D.C. "It needs to come to an end. It is an encouraging step that people are moving to longer-term housing."
Falling into the safety net
Andrews said FEMA assistance continues to eligible families for up to 18 months and that other programs fill the gaps.
"There is an entire safety net of state, local and other federal programs, and nonprofit organizations, to catch those who aren't eligible for FEMA assistance," Andrews said. "Those volunteer organizations gear up after every disaster."
While many families have found apartments using FEMA rental aid, others headed out Monday for friends or families' spare rooms and couches. For other evacuees, still homeless five months after Katrina struck, Monday was just another tailspin into uncertainty, having been unable to navigate their way into homes, jobs or other staples of stability.
Calling FEMA has been an exercise in patience and futility, several evacuees said Monday.
"I could call them, but all they're going to say is my case is pending," said Keisha Carter, 25, as she left a downtown hotel with three friends, all asked to leave Monday after months living in various hotels.
Carter, who lost her job and Uptown home to the floodwaters, said she has been in limbo since Aug. 29, grappling with rebuilding her life. She is separated from her two young children, who are living in Texas, and on Monday piled into a car with her friends.
"Nobody is going to let us stay long," Carter said. "I don't know why people are worrying about Mardi Gras instead of trying to rebuild somebody's house."
Although Louisiana braced for a homeless crisis by opening emergency shelters, FEMA officials said they have helped find housing for about 88 percent of the 12,000 leaving hotels Monday.
An additional 1,100 families were simply ineligible for FEMA aid, said Libby Turner, head of FEMA's transitional housing unit.
As of Monday evening, about 30 people have been taken to a shelter in Shreveport, FEMA officials said.
Just in case, the activist group Common Ground had dozens of campsite tents boxed up and ready to pitch in the park across from City Hall. "Stop Evicting Hurricane Survivors," their handmade signs read.
Lawsuit continues
A federal judge Monday denied a motion by New Orleans lawyers to postpone the mass check-out, but the successful lawsuit that won evacuees more time in hotels isn't over yet.
On Feb. 23, a hearing in U.S. District Court promises testimony and accusations that FEMA is violating people's rights to disaster aid, activists and lawyers said Monday.
"FEMA seems much more interested in clearing people out of hotels than in providing the required assistance to people in hotels," attorneys Bill Quigley and Tracie Washington wrote in the last-ditch effort to delay the hotel deadline.
One question, Washington said Monday, is whether FEMA's $2,348 checks to evacuees amount to adequate rental assistance in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Howard Godnick, an attorney with the New York law firm that filed the evacuee lawsuit in December, said federal Judge Stanwood Duval, of Houma, may grant further relief to those who remain displaced.
"This is a judge who understands that the problems left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina are still there, particularly in New Orleans, where he lives," Godnick said.
Getting through to FEMA
New Orleans Fine Hotels, which runs 12 hotels citywide that house FEMA hurricane evacuees, said at least 300 rooms emptied Monday due to the FEMA hotel deadline. At the company's Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel on Canal Street, 145 rooms opened up Monday.
"For the most part, people have someplace to go," said Libby Wunsch, spokeswoman for the hotel company. "They have been leaving without incident. For a lot of them, the hotel has been home since the storm."
Desk clerks and other hotel staff members doubled as housing counselors