K+10 - We survived Katrina again

We didn't know how we were going to get through August 29, 2015 amid all the hoopla around the "Anniversary." G suggested we throw a party, invite friends over and fire up the grill. Sounded good to me. The morning of I saw our next door neighbors and invited them over. They moved in about 2 years ago (In 2005 the house was empty. The owners finally renovated it and sold it.). I told them we were having a party for the anniversary and to please come by. She said "That's nice. It's your anniversary?" I replied "No, for the Katrina Anniversary." She said "Oh, we weren't here then so I'm not sure of the actual date." I won't hold it against her, they are very nice people.

We're not the only ones who were not in the mood to rehash history. Many of our friends felt the same way. One of our friends blogged about it and it's been shared wide and far. Katrinaversary Blues: Of Resilience Tours, Carpetbloggers & Disaster Tourists. 

Even Chris Rose, who spoke to us in the months following Katrina from the NOLA.com website, wrote a piece that appears on Vice.com: New Orleans Is Tired of Talking About Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately Chris Rose has had a tough go of it, fell on some hard times, and hasn't been writing as much as he used to. Every page of the Times-Picayune this past week seemed to have a K+10 story, complete with a special logo. Sunday, there was even a 68-page, full-color insert by ESPN titled "After The Storm: A summer in search of saints, sinners and lost souls in the New Orleans that Katrina left behind." Not gonna read it. Who has time?

I spent the weekend with friends and it was wonderful. Some friends were from Pre-Katrina but many were not. One of our newer friends told us his story. He wasn't living in New Orleans when Katrina struck, but was visiting with his girlfriend. He was lucky they were staying with some of her relatives, because he was able to evacuate with them, instead being stuck in a hotel and then loaded on to a bus bound to who knows where. Even after that he chose to move here.

When I shared the Chris Rose post on Facebook, a friend from Miami commented "Remember Hurricane Andrew here in Miami? Eventually it just becomes a 1 hour special on the Weather Channel." I do remember. It was a huge storm. I had been in south Florida visiting family and left just before Andrew hit. I had just graduated from FSU and was planning to move to New Orleans. My friend who was also moving and I wondered what was going to happen in Louisiana. Would we still have a place to move to? Thankfully we did. I never evacuated all the years I lived in Florida (I was born there). But I've evacuated more time than I can remember from New Orleans. We were in Houston when Rita hit and we were puzzled by how badly everyone was freaking out. Houston's pretty well inland and above sea level. We only had 1/4 tank of gas and couldn't leave even if we wanted to because all the gas stations sold out of gas 2 days before. The city shut down and looting began before the storm arrived. We hunkered down in the 2 story house we were staying in and never even lost power. Strange times.

The weepy week of the year

Thinking about my mom who passed away 16 yeas ago. I think this is the last photo I have of her, from my BFA graduation show at FSU. She preferred to be behind the camera, not in front. Maybe that's why I'm such a ham in front of the camera because she took a ton of photos of me growing up. :-) I miss her but I carry with me her love of cats, reading, photography, art, music, laughter and The Blues Brother.

Mourning the loss of my mom this time every August gets compounded with the Katrina anniversary. I'm not always sure which event prompts which tears but with them being a week apart I spend a good part of the week grieving. I learned after my mother's death you cannot, and should not, try to ignore it. You have to let the grief flow and not fight it. I also found it helps to come up with you own way of marking these events. With my mom, there are plenty of good things to remember about her. With Katrina, not so much. But the occasion needs to be marked, and it's good to see how far you've come since then.

I finally settled on the way I like to honor my mother. I make a meal of Hungarian origins, because my mother was proudly half Hungarian. It is either chicken paprikash with spätzle, which I don't really recall her ever making but is damn tasty and my husband loves it too, or stuffed cabbage leaves, which she did cook. There's usually a cucumber salad because I love cucumbers and they are used a to in Hungarian cuisine. Since I'm making the chicken tonight, I'll also sauté some cabbage. Rouses grocery store actually carries Hungarian wine so I picked up a bottle of a red called "Bull's Blood." My mom was also a Dracula and vampire fan WAY before it was cool, as well as a fan of murder mysteries, so anything with word "blood" in it would be OK in her book. And last but not least, we'll pop in "The Blues Brother" movie to enjoy with our meal and drink a toast to my mother, Margaret.

As for Katrina, I haven't figured out a good way to deal with that bitch. And when I say Katrina, I'm not just referring to the hurricane, but the whole damn thing: the storm; evacuations; wondering what was happening to our city, friends, home; wondering where we were going to stay and when we could return; watching the footage of the destruction; hearing the national media and politicians lie; reading the hateful things people were saying about New Orleans. But I'll figure something out between now and Saturday.

New Years Non-Resolutions

Seriously???? BRRRRRRRR

Most people start off a new year with a list of resolutions. Usually things like "exercise more" "eat better" "drink less" "sleep more" "less TV, read more" etc. As I was heating up left over fried chicken to eat for lunch I realized so far this first week of 2014 I'm done the opposite of all these things. I have eaten fried chicken (now twice), pizza (also twice-I love leftovers), an Egg McMuffin (haven't had one in years) and roasted pig (mmmm). I wanted to eat a piece of king cake last night but it was all gone before I could. I haven't picked up a book all week. I care too much about football. The Saints made the play-offs and WON their first game. The nerve-wracking nature of Saints' game drives me to drink (I'm a victim!). And now they are playing again this Saturday. Lord help me and my liver. And then there was that little game last night, you know, the BCS Championship Game that the FSU SEMINOLES WON!!!! Holy cow what a roller coaster of a game. I'm still blown away. I've spent most of this frigid day indoors, wearing sweatpants (hey I changed out of PJs, that's something) sitting in front of my computer, messing around on-line. I did return one business call. And emailed some proofs. But my to do list still has a whole heck of a lot more on it to be crossed off. I really should go to the grocery store and make something for dinner. I haven't cooked since January 1. The only exercise I have had are two, 1-hour dog walks and a one-hour dance practice. But look, I wrote a blog post! That's something! Right? I think I'll wallow in the Seminole victory a little longer. I'm sure there's some videos I haven't seen yet.

Noles #1!!!!

A New Purrpose in Life

I'm not going to start this post talking about how it's been such a long time since I posted. Oh wait, I guess I just did. My excuse? Mid-life professional crisis. Just shy of 20 years I've been a graphic designer and I have suffered a burn-out of epic proportions. Last time I was feeling burned out I starting teaching at Delgado Community College and that helped relight the spark. But alas, I haven't had the opportunity to teach since 2006 and try as I might, the thrill is gone. You maybe thinking "suck it up" but when you are a business owner you have to love what you do or the business suffers as well as your soul.

Last Fall I experienced an "ah ha" moment. While sitting at my cats' vet's office, I spied a gal wearing scrubs that had "Delgado Vet Tech" embroidered on them. I didn't know exactly what a vet tech was at the time but I knew that's what I wanted to be. I wanted to work with animals and I was excited. I researched the program at Delgado and enrolled in January. There were a few classes I would need to take before I could apply for the program. Some of the classes I took back at FSU would qualify to fulfill prerequisites, but I needed biology and computer literacy. I'll let the irony of that last class sink in. Moi? Who taught computer classes at Delgado had to take one? The advisor who enrolled me asked if I had taken one when I was at FSU. HA! I'm not even sure if they had computer classes back then. Going back to school was a very interesting experience. Delgado's campus was familiar which helped and being a community college, there were people of all ages. I really enjoyed biology and bio lab and I will admit I did learn something in the computer class. I worked hard and got all As which I was proud of.

Delgado only accepts applications for the vet tech program once a year, in May. I would be completing the pre-reqs but what was missing is the 100 hours shadowing at a Veterinary office. Between studying and my graphic design business I just didn't have time so I decided to post-pone applying until the next year. I did have the idea to start a pet sitting and dog walking business in the mean time. That took a lot of time once I finished classes but I got incorporated, insured and now have a second business Petit Pet Care. While all this was going on, I talked to my friend and client, Michelle, who is the owner of Zeus' Place, about pet sitting. She said they needed a hand this summer and asked if I would be interested in working for her. Of course! I've been working part-time there now for a few months and I have learned a lot about animal care which can only be an asset to my new career path. Plus I get to care for dogs and cats, which I love. Play with a rescued kitty to help socialize it? Yes!

Will I still apply for the vet tech program? Not sure yet. There are a few other classes I can take that are required for graduation but not to apply that I can go ahead and get out of the way, which I will do. If you know me, you know I am a huge animal lover. I even have a blog dedicated to my cats, Gonzo for Cats and might start one for my pet sitting business. I'm excited about my new career path and have been enjoying learning more about pet care and animal behavior in addition to my lifelong ownership of various pets. The pet care industry is booming and there are several local pet sitters I have been talking with who have been very supportive and swear there is definitely room for another. I am still part owner of my graphic design business but not as active. My business partner, who has been amazingly supportive, has taken over the reins as I travel down this new and exciting path. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year! And boy am I happy the holidays are over. Or are they? I took down the Christmas decorations yesterday. In a couple of days the Mardi Gras season kick-off on Twelfth Night so up will go the purple, green and gold. Or should the black and gold for the Saints go up first? The city is so pumped that the team has made it to the play-offs. The end of the season has seen a slide in their performance. Today was their last regular season game with a final record of 13-3 with a loss to the Carolina Panthers. Several Carnival krewes have canceled their parades become they fall on the same night as the Super Bowl. Saints players will be riding on floats, Tom Benson will be Grand Marshal of the super krewe Endymion.



For me an end of a football era has passed. Bobby Bowden has at long last retired from FSU football. They won his final game in the Gator Bowl against West Virginia. Since FSU isn't in the SEC they don't get much press coverage around here. This fall, a Seminole Club was started so I've had other alumni to watch the games with. It was bitter sweet as we watched the FSU victory. When it was all over, you would have expected us to all be hooping and hollering with the win, but it was mellow with the sadness of the leaving of The Bobby. Part of the sadness was that he wasn't ready to leave yet. He wanted 400 wins before retiring. But the team hadn't be performing as well as they once did and it was awkward to have a head coach you didn't know when he was retiring and a "head coach in waiting."

I was only 9 when he became coach; some of the people in the Club weren't even born! It's going to be weird next year to not see him on the sidelines. He was a great coach and a class act. To bad CBS sucks in their coverage and the audio dropped out during Bobby final comments. I'm sorry we missed the half time tribute to him. But I found a video on YouTube. And I loved him planting the spear.

Geaux 'Noles!

Shrimp Po-Boy and I have been talking about getting FSU fans together to watch the games and we are finally making it happen.

What: FSU vs. Wake Forest
When: Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Big Al's Seafood (1377 Annunciation St., New Orleans, LA 70130)

The FSU game starts at 6:00 and the LSU game at 6:45. I'm not sure how crowded they get but let's get there at 5:30 to get a good spot and beat the rush.

If you want to join us, leave a comments and how many people so we can get a head count.

UPDATE: Original stated times were Eastern.

We just got back from spending a long weekend in Boca Raton, FL visiting my family. It's amazing how completely different it is there compared to New Orleans. This is a terrible thing to say but it was refreshing to see that perfectly manicured, hoity toity Boca Raton has also been hit with the uptick in crime that seems to be nationwide. I don't wish crime on anyone but it makes me feel not so bad about the crime here, like it can happen anywhere not just New Orleans. Call it rationalization. I know we all do it, it's the only way we are able to walk out our front door every day after reading the newspaper or watching the local news. Part of the reason I moved to New Orleans is that it is different than Florida. I grew up in Florida and have lived in numerous towns: Tampa, Orlando area, Jacksonville, Tallahassee and when I graduated college (FSU) I wanted to see what it was like to live somewhere else. The only things I miss about Florida are the beaches and my family. Most of my friends don't even live there anymore.

While I was there, I stocked up on FSU wear - I got a t-shirt, long-sleeved t-shirt and sweatshirt. You don't find much FSU garb in Louisiana. It hasn't been easy to follow FSU football since we don't have cable. I've been rooting for LSU Tigers - I like their team colors, I like their mascot, the don't play FSU in football, I know a ton of people who went there, and they play against the Gators. What's not to like? Granted the team hasn't been as stellar the last few years, and, though I love Bobby Bowden, I wonder if he shouldn't have retired on a high note, back when they won their last championship. I was horrified and demoralized to read about the cheating scandal. I await further developments as the investigation continues. Ironically, after reading about the scandal on ESPN.com, someone sent me a link to a fellow New Orleans blogger, Florida girl and FSU fan. She has some nice posts about the GOOD FSU football players, the link to those post I share with you here and here. A not so great football year is one thing. Academic fraud is an embarrassment to all FSU alum. A good friend who is also a Gator fan shared these words:

May the following well-worn words of Gator fans everywhere give you some comfort - "Wait until next year!".