Aming Tahanan

We are in our new home!  It's a cozy older cottage in the Gentilly area and has a front and back yards.  I wasn't in love with it in the beginning but it's growing on me.  I finally got the patio I've always wanted and hubby has promised to build me a porch swing.  The patio used to be screened in but hubby has torn them down and is almost done putting up the railing.  Tomorrow, weather permitting, we might be able to paint.

And I've moved back here, too.

United Nations Day!  I don't know why I remembered it but I did.  And with it came memories of having to dress up at school to represent different countries.

1st quarter is over and report cards were given out yesterday.  Hubby had to relay everything to me as he had pick up the card and talk to T's teacher.  He got all A's.  His reading ability is above level.  His music teacher's report was "needs improvement" because apparently he couldn't sit still in class and likes touching the instruments. Hmmm.  Anyways, he is in the honor roll and his teacher is starting the paperwork so that he can go to the gifted class before the end of the year.  She says things move too slow (tell me about it!) in the public school system but we're hoping for the best.

Today is something like "have breakfast with your grandparents" day at school.  T told me he wanted his Lola to be there but I had to remind him that she is in MI --- not exactly a stone's throw away.  He still insisted on calling her last night to invite her.  Of course she was touched.  Oh, and I guess they read listened to a poem about grandparents yesterday and he told me, "It made me cry."

Looks like we got ourselves a house.  Yay! 

Friday we had friends over for dinner.  We managed to cram 2 kids and 4 adults around our small circular dining table (meant for 2) and make any more mess than usual.  Homemade California rolls and yakisoba were on the menu.

Saturday morning we visited --- for the 4th time --- the house we put an offer on.  I like it but I am not in love with it.  But maybe it'll grow on me over time.  I had a sticker shock when I requested homeowner's insurance quotes.  Being in a hurricane-prone area we not only need the basic property/dwelling coverage, we must also look into getting wind & hail and flood insurances.  Altogether, it'll be 3x what we pay for for our house in MI.  In any case, we don't really have a choice but for sure we'll be shopping around.

Sushi again for dinner, this time with fresh tuna.  Needless to say, hubby and I pigged out.  I also made a salad of romaine lettuce with rice wine vinegar dressing and topped with masago.  It was absolutely delicious!

Sunday we went to the New Orleans Museum of Art for Japan Fest. By the time we got there, Kaminaro Taiko had started their 1st performance.  We took a seat by the pond and heard with horror a loud "plop!"  My older Canon camera (which I prefer to the newer Samsung) had become part of the underwater landscape.  Not sure how deep the pond was, I stuck my arm in the murky water to hopefully retrieve it but with no success.  I wa later informed by one of the museum staffers that it was 4ft deep.  My effort was for naught.  Someone was supposed to help retrieve it but after waiting for almost a hour by the pond, we finally gave up.  I am now shopping around for a replacement camera and I vow that I will not go anywhere near any body of water.

Oh, hubby made breakfast burritos for...well, breakfast.  That was really sweet.  And he didn't get mad at me for dropping the camera in the pond.  That was sweet as well.

Back to work today.  It was so hard to wake up so early.  It was still dark and it was very chilly.  I think Nawlins has thinned my blood.

T:  (looking out the window)  Mom, it's a full moon tonight.

Mom:  No, it's a half-moon.

T:  Well, it's almost full except it's split.

I'm glad someone still has plenty of optimism. :)

The movie is coming out this Christmas!  Weehee!!!

One of the things I like about NOLA is that there are a lot of places to go to and things to do.

Saturday after breakfast, we got in the car without any plans.  We were going to take T to the park so he could practice throwing and catching but the weather didn't permit it.  So as I was aimlessly driving, hubby suggested going to our favorite thrift store in a nearby parish.  It didn't disappoint, I am happy to say.  Hubby got T a badminton set and a football which we ended up playing inside the house (oooh!  I could just see my parent's disapproving faces :D ).

Lunch was at a Chinese restaurant called Five Happiness.  My golly was it good!  We started out with crispy wonton chips and a po-po platter complete with a little grill-like contraption in the middle.  There was beef teriyaki in skewers, bbq ribs, generously stuffed crab rangoons, egg rolls and shrimp toast.  I have to figure out how to make the latter.  The appetizer plate alone could have sufficed for lunch but we had ordered entrees as well.  I had shredded beef in spicy garlic sauce.  Hubby had hunan chicken.  T shared hubby's which he deemed tasted just like chicken-chicken (that's what he calls General Tso's).  The whole experience is definitely worth repeating.  Replete, we dragged ourselves back home to enjoy our thrift store treasures.

Sunday was grocery shopping day.  I had browsed the weekly ads where I was happy to find meat products finally on sale.  After Hurricanes Gustav and Ike,  none of the stores offered them on sale so I just bought whatever we immediately needed instead of stocking up.  After making a list though, we ended up just going to Target for staples like cereal, snacks, and lunch food. 

Then we went to Lowe's.  I love love love Lowe's.  When they put things on sale, they really go all out.  We have two mid-century modern style chairs that needed new cushions.  I've been putting off buying/making them because foam is so darn expensive plus I just didn't have time not the inclination to make them.  Problem solved!  I found two patio chair cushions (seat pad and back cushion) marked down to $18.75 each (originally $75).  Woohoo!

We're seriously thinking of buying a house.  There is no shortage in NOLA but with the prices around here and our budget, we're going to end up with a fixer upper the extent of which could be a total rehab or updating.  The thing is, once you've become a homeowner, it is hard to adjust to being a tenant.  We are very limited to what we can do so there is no incentive to make any improvements.  We'll see what our tomorrows bring.

T:  My brain hurts.
Mom:  Why?
T:  I think I'm thinking too hard.

******

After opening up a Maroon 5 CD that I bought at Target...

Mom:  Hey T, it has a lyric sheet so you can sing along.
T:  No thanks, I'm not really a big fan.

Gustav gave us a taste of what life is like in New Orleans during the hurricane season.

Last last Thursday we were told that the university was closing noon the next day and was re-opening Wednesday.  We weren't sure where we were heading to --- somewhere in TN anyway --- but we were going based on the forecasted track.

Shortly before noon Saturday were were on our way to Madison, MS.  Hubby's co-worker kindly invited us to stay with them at a relative's (vacant) house.  Since we didn't really have a concrete plan, we gladly accepted.  What a town!  It was voted as one of the 10 best US towns for families.  It was very clean, roads were wide and well-maintained, houses looked nice and lawns manicured, streets were well-lit and had huge signs...quite the opposite of most of New Orleans...almost Stepford-like.  But a place I wouldn't mind living in. 

Anyway, we soon learned that our back-to-work order was delayed for a few more days so hubby decided it might be worth going back to MI for a "vacation."  We left Monday morning and drove up north through Memphis TN, Arkansas (blah landscape), Missouri (also blah), Ilinois, Indiana and then finally MI.  The drive seemed endless but we finally made it at 11:30pm on Monday.  We stayed with MIL who was thrilled to have us.  She thought she was going to have to wait until Christmas to see us.  While there we saw family and friends who were glad to see us safe.  I didn't think I would but I did (and still do) miss MI.  It may not offer much by way of excitement and activities but it is safe, familiar and beautiful.  The oddest part was having to ask someone for permission to get some things out of storage at our house.

NOLA opened back up last Wednesday but we were in no rush to go back.  We left MI Friday morning and arrived at about 4am Saturday.  I drove the rest of the way from Athens, MS and hubby had to endure my singing along to 80s music playing on the radio.  I don't think he's ready to go on another road trip with me anytime soon. LOL!

We were dreading what we'd find when we got back home but other than the neighbor's fence leaning on the side of our house, everything looked fine.  We had to give the fridge a good cleaning (it looked almost new by the time we were done), put away our stuff, and go out for groceries but we're finally settled.

It's Sunday, a time to rest.  We go back to work tomorrow.  For how long, we're not sure because Ike looks like it will take the same path as Gustav.

Alas, I'm not talking about food but rather violence --- murder, in particular --- that (I am praying is not the norm but I won't hold my breath) seems to be an everyday occurrence in my newly adopted home, New Orleans.

A week ago, one of our summer students was found fatally stabbed in her own house.  So far the details are sketchy but suffice to say someone got in her house and got close enough to kill her.  While I didn't know her personally, I did see her when she was alive.  I admitted her to the school, helped her register for a class and helped her drop it.  Less than two weeks later, she was dead.

A few weeks before that, another student was sentenced to 10 years in prison for stabbing several people during a brawl at the FQ.  He was on a full athletic scholarship until his arrest.

Two days ago during lunch break, hubby's co-workers were on the rooftop when they heard what they at first thought was firecrackers popping.  That was until they saw a couple of men jump in a car and speed away.  Turned out to be a shooting.

Yesterday, a high school student was arrested in school for carrying a gun and several grams of weed.

Today, just 3 blocks from where we live a man was found dead of gunshot wounds.  Before that, two men were found shot to death in a car Uptown.

There seems to be no safe area in this place.  While people are still concerned about the violence that goes on, I sense a jaded attitude of "that's NO for you" and a sentiment that nothing will come of  any investigation.  Sad...and I pray I am wrong.  But when you have a mayor who is suspected of corruption, a police officer who waves a gun at a child care center because she couldn't get to her child fast enough (the responding 911 officer lets her drive off and two more officers "get lost"), another police officer leads some of his colleagues in a high-speed chase and slaps one of them when he finally was stopped...and the list goes on and on...should I really wonder why people here seem so cynical?

I cannot help but be shocked and afraid especially coming from a small town where the biggest news for weeks was the opening of a Walmart store to a place where news about violent crimes is --- and this is not too far off the mark --- everyday fare.  Call me paranoid but it does not matter what time of day it is or how normal our block looks like, I make sure all the doors are locked.  You just never know what lurks on the other side.

Update:  Coincidence?  I just finished watching CBS's 48 Hours Mystery which shows just how broken down the justice system is in NOLA.