All Done

Hi, you have reached the shell of Stacey's body. Her mind and spirit are still alseep. Both are really wishing the body would be as well.

Please leave a message and when all are joined together again, Stacey will get back atcha.

beeeeeeeeep

Moving Moving Moving...keep those people Moving~Rawhide!!

This hasn't been a totally horrible move. I don't think it has been the best. It has definetly been the longest. I am not counting the drive from Seattle to New Orleans. That was a bit different. But within a town? This is it hands down. We are now on day 3 of the move. That is right. Day 3. The first day was Tuesday. We took over a load in Kristen's car and half of the company truck was filled as well. (They rock for letting me borrow it) We then had to finish packing up the house that evening. Yesterday from 3:45 until 9ish, we moved. Furniture, boxes and various other items. The sofa? It is staying. It was there when I moved in, it will be there when I move out. The bastard doesn't fit out the door. I think it was one of those spongy things that you get that is the size of a seed, you put water on it and it grows to a large toy. There is no way it came in the doors. Tonight we move the beds, other random items left behind for last minute, and the cats. Tomorrow night we will deal with what is in the basement (all left behind from older housemates thanks guys) and cleaning. We will clean until we are done. Saturday it is taking donations to Bridge House and then we are DONE! DONE! DONE! with the old place. The rest of the weekend will be unpacking. If you can peel me up from the bed where I am sure to be passed out from exhaustion. Yes...I have been going to work each and every day this week.......

Remembering

While I have a few moments, okay while the bosses are at lunch or out of town, I am going to take a few minutes to remember rather ask those of you that read this to remember what happened 2 years ago tomorrow. In some instances it feels like Katrina happened yesterday. Maybe that stems from the fact that the city is still struggling. Other times it feels like it happened years and years and years ago. Sometimes it feels like the city will still be struggling years and years down the road.

Many things have improved. This has been shown without a doubt. The French Quarter is alive, the Garden District is alive. Mid-City is getting there. 9th Ward and Lakeview? They have a long way to go still. Jazz Fest, Mardi Gras, French Quarter Fest, Satchmo Fest and almost every fest in between has happened twice. Life is moving on for many. Life moved on for most everyone in the country probably just a few months after. For some people in the city, they are still living the nightmare.

FEMA trailers are now being found to have high amounts of formaldhyde in them. People went from having their houses, homes, lives ripped apart, to now living in a poisonious tin can. They are still fighting with FEMA, insurance companies, SBA, and so many others to try to regain some sort of resemblence of their former lives. There are people that have gotten out of the trailers and are now living 6 or more people to a small 1-2 bedroom apartment because the rent is so high. Some landlords raised the rent to make a buck, some had to do it because their insurance is now sky high.

There are so many other issues that I could mention, it is an ongoing struggle down here. I just want to remind people that as bad as it can be? It is still the best place to be. You have the music, the food, the people. There is a special aura about this city that will either pull you in and never let go, or spit ya right back out. It is a city unto it's own. Come spend some time down here, hear some groovy backstreet tunes, eat a bowl of red beans and rice, have a few beverages, support the local businesses. Help New Orleans to recover from Katrina.

Quick and Fast

I am comin at ya bullet style.

• So much is going on I don't know where to start. My brain is in a big pile of mush.
• We didn't get to move this past weekend. We got the key on Friday night, so we spent the evening measuring rooms and deciding which furniture we were taking and what was going to be donated. I didn't even go to the Maple Leaf. Unbelievable I know.
• Saturday was spent packing and moving some of the furniture out that a housemate had left. I don't know why we got stuck doing it, but we did. It sucked, it's out, it's over.
• At least Saturday night I did go out. We went down to Carrolloton Station and saw Paul Sanchez and co. Craig came and sat in, so it was nice to see him. I sold merchandise for Paul, he has more things now. It was a good relaxing night.
• Sunday I took part in a silent march for musicians. Ya'll the musicians down here are getting the shaft. The city is touting the city on the music industry, however the musicians that provide the soundtrack? They are getting bubkas. They need help.
• The official move date is tomorrow (Wed) and Thursday. We have a day/evening to clean. However in a rare twist....apparently our lease is one of those that requires you to give 60 days notice, not 30. If you don't give your notice by 60 days? The lease automatically renews for 2 more months. We gave 30 days notice. Guess who may be paying rent on 2 places? Guess who can't afford to do that? However the landlord changed the lease to month to month and didn't give us 60 days notice either. So maybe it will be okay. I am not holding my breath however cuz he is a giant jackass.
• Work is insanely busy and I should be working rather than typing this....I needed to decompose my brain for a minute and hopefully this will help.

This Message brought to you by the letter "G"

Ya'll, that Dean is a bastard. I can't explain the what I am feeling for the people getting the brunt of Dean. On one hand I am so relieved. On the other, I know what you are going through. Go and get your gas tanks filled up cuz gas refineries are closed in Mexico and Texas and prices are going to skyrocket again. Hope that Dean doesn't cause too much damage.

Also I had a "holy shit I am 32" moment today. I am expecting that number to go up ALOT as my birthday day progresses. Stay tuned for the final count.

Movin Fast

I don't know where the time has gone. I really don't. We didn't get to sign the lease until this past Friday, which is fine. However the process of purging and packing has begun and we have a week to do it. Actually less than a week. We should be moving most of the big items next Sunday. We would do it on Saturday, but that gives us an extra day to pack. There is also an Art Market on Saturday in the Park across the street which makes it impossible to park anywhere in a 5 block radius.

Purging before moving is a good thing. You get rid of stuff that you haven't looked at in years and really don't need to keep. I have been thinking about doing a good purge for awhile now, especially after gutting houses. I would think, "If I lost a lot more during the "thing" than think of the clean up process" Yesterday went well. This afternoon we purge the clothes.

One shopping day left until my birthday!! ;)

Movin on Up

We got a place last night!! We officially sign the lease this afternoon and I am so excited. It is a house that we pass by alot and say "gee I love that house...whoever lives there needs to move out" Well, whoever did and now we are moving in! It is about 11 blocks from where we are now. One block from the bus stop. 2 blocks from the Maple Leaf!! It is a shotgun, 1/2 a double but I don't care. It looks bigger than we thought it would be. Don't get me wrong...it is still going to be much smaller than we are living in now. However anything we get will be smaller.

On a totally different note, we are now less than a week away from my birthday. I am hoping it will be a good one considering all the crap that has been going on lately, I really would like a good day!! Although seeing how the the tropics are brewing up two storms right now? I am not feeling so positive.

Wild Crazy and Insane

I don't remember what I really wrote last week...if I wrote last week. It is crazy for the following reasons:

• Work is INSANE. Friday the 3rd I received a promotion/raise. I am now a Purchasing Agent. I still answer the phones, but I have a title. My boss has been out for almost a week, and well it is crazy. Right now I am the only one purchasing. And attempting to learn the new system we got up and running last Friday. I don't have time for any playing on the internet right now and that is just okay with me.
• Computer is still dead at home. No one at Dell wants to deal with me I guess, and the warranty ends like, this week.
• Still searching for apartments. If I am not at work, it is apartment searching. We had to switch from looking at 3 bedrooms to 2 bedrooms as one of the housemates decided last Wed to get her own place. Right now with the students coming back? 2 bedroom apartments are scarce. We are looking at one more this afternoon that I have wanted for awhile and then the decision will be made. Keep your fingers crossed that one comes through and is decent. I need something to go my way!!

Ups and Down

The past week has been crazy. Not insane crazy, just crazy. Some things good, some things bad. For once it seems to have a nice balance. If you want to call it that.

The bad? Well I am not going to go into all of it here. Some things are better left off the internet and just between the people involved. We are still looking for a place to live. We have it narrowed down to 2 places and well it isn't easy. Two of us want one place, but could go to either place. One of us doesn't really seem to like either, and the one they really want isn't even an option. It hasn't been a lot of fun at all. Once again my computer died. I kid you not. When I have two seconds at home when I don't fall asleep I will call and make them take it back. They need to physically do something. I need to do it fast. The 2 year warranty is about to be up.

The good? Well I had a nice time with the Mulvey's. A lot of food and drink were consumed. Other wonderful friend's coming into town for the day. Life seems okay when Gayle and Hank visit. Two very wonderful people. I received my per capita money this weekend. And instead of saving it for the move, and other various needs, I got another tattoo. It wasn't my whole per capita money but a chunk of it. I had been wanting to get a grizzly paw for some time, and I also knew that I wanted a dream catcher eventually. Well I found a design at Electric Lady Land that incorporated the two. I now have it on my ankle. Left, on the outside. It turned out really nice. Lisa has a picture of it on her flikr page. If you are anxious to see it, you can look there. If and when I get my computer fixed I will post a picture of it here. She also has a picture of me getting the tattoo....I think it is a cool looking shot. Of course you can see her newest tattoo there as well. Satchmo Fest was also this weekend. I only went for a couple sets. They were for ones that Leroy and Katja played at. They had me selling CDs for them, and sells went pretty darn good if I say so myself. It was really hot this weekend and the thought of dancing to music in the heat just wasn't there. I did however meet a very nice guy who has seen me out and about either selling merch or just enjoying the music. We had a nice lunch yesterday and well who knows...we will see. :)

This past Sunday also marked my 3 year anniversary here in New Orleans. It is amazing to think that I have been here for that long. So much has happened. There are many more things that will continue to happen both good and bad. You just have to keep on going.

Here we go.....

I don't know where the time has gone in the past few days. The days are actually flying by, which is good. I hadn't been expecting that. Monday I walked down to WWOZ and did my little bit of helping out, then it was hanging out with the Mulvey's for dinner and relaxing. Yesterday after work, it was looking at an apartment, discussing the pros and cons of it with the roomies then off to dinner with the Mulvey's and a nice evening of drinks and convo when Leroy and Katja joined us. This morning I became official in the state of Louisiana. I finally got my DL here. This afternoon it is back out to WWOZ for a bit. I don't know if I am hanging out with the Mulvey's are not, I don't want to intrude too much on their vacation. Another friend may be in town and I am waiting to hear from him to see if he is or not. While I love being busy and running around and spending time with my friends, I am so exhausted right now. I could possibly fall asleep at my desk right now, even after a Venti Soy Latte.

In the rush of the past few weeks, I kinda forgot that we are now in August. There is a lot going on for this month....the top 3 things weighing in for the month are:

• It is gearing up to be active in Hurricane Season. This is when they really start popping up out in the Atlantic.
• Will we have to move, or won't we?
• My birthday. (20 days and counting)

Then before we know it, it will be September and everyone will be talking about the holidays. Is it just me or has this summer just flown by?