Late update for Friday

Sorry for the late update. On Friday, we were able to get our
schedule changed so we could leave for the work site at 7:30 instead
of 8:30. This gave us an extra hour of work in the morning before it
got too hot. We were on track to finish the second house, but
unfortunately there was a tornado warning in the area from a storm
system coming over the Gulf. For safety, we had to pack up and quit a
few hours early. I'm sure if we had been able to finish the day, we
would have been able to get the house done. The team was a little sad
that we weren't able to complete the house, but also very proud of
what we were able to accomplish in the time we had.

The big news for me personally was that, finally, I was eaten by an alligator!

After we got back to the camp, cleaned up, and packed, we headed into
the French Quarter for a little 'downtime'. We spent all evening
there, and make sure to visit the Cafe Du Monde one last time. A good
time was had by all, to be sure. There are lots of stories to tell
from that night, and many others that we are sworn to secrecy to never
tell. :-)

I don't have time to tell them right now, but I will hint that there
may be pictures appearing on Pete's people page showing several of us doing the 'YMCA' dance in full regalia.

Last night, we stayed at the Marriot hotel near the French Quarter, and this morning most of us flew back home.

I'll try to give a more thorough update tomorrow!

A picture

1000 words

The Camp.

Sorry about the triple-post...the internet connection at the camp is less-good than I'd hoped, so I mashed the submit button a few extra times to help it out.

For now, let me describe the camp in a little more detail. I'll leave the report about the house for a little bit later in the evening, for reasons which will become apparent. The camp is a grade school that was damaged by Katrina. Habitat for Humanity and Americorps are running the camp jointly. FEMA is no longer in the picture. I've heard various stories about mismanagement of funds and even embezzlement as the reason FEMA is no longer in charge, but I'm not sure how much of that is true. I can't compare it with the old camp, but from everything I hear, the new camp is much more relaxed than the old one. It definitely has an 'organized chaos' sort of feel. Most of the people running the operations of the camp are in their (low) twenties. Everyone seems to be running around, and often no one is sure who's responsibility something is, but everything somehow gets done. The busses out to the work site run on time, the food is prepared, the laundry gets done, and we can see day-to-day progress on the camp infrastructure. At the work site, everyone is safe, the rules are followed, and we are provided with everything we need. The 'Bus Captain', who is in charge of 2-4 teams, has a walkie-talkie to comunicate back with the camp.

Our bus captain is 'Jen', and she is the bestest bus captain *ever*. She makes sure everything is ready for us in the morning, makes sure we have everything we need. She reads us the safety rules every morning. she is constantly running back and forth between us and her other team, and when she isn't running, she's helping out with the work. She's an Americorp volunteer, and is here for seven weeks. Our bus driver today was also very cool - she gave us a tour of parts of St. Bernard Parish today, and has promised to take us for snow cones tomorrow!

I'll give you an update on the house a little later.

Over the hump

Woohoo!

We've got wifi at the camp! :-)

In other news, we finished our first house this morning, and we made a *huge* amount of progress on the second today. I think we can get it done by friday!

Today was a really, really good day. I think we all got into the swing of things, and that really helped us knock out a lot of...well...stuff. We got the majority of stuff out of two rooms and a large closet, down to the studs. We were all a bit amazed at the huge pile of debris in the front yard. We were also amazed by the amount of Crown Royal in this house. These people are true CR fans, to say the least. All of it goes to the EPA now, since it could be contaminated.
At this point it the week, I am tired, hot, and sweaty, but I'm also really, really energized. I am ready to go out and really get stuff done on this house.

Oh, and still no alligators. They'll be here, though, just when I least expect it.

Public service announcement.

By the way, if you post an anonymous comment, I have no idea who you are. Hence the 'anonymous' part. So give me a clue in the body of the message, or create an account. Otherwise I have no idea who I'm eating the beignets for. :-)

Also, Pete is updating the images on his people page, so if you can't get to them, please be patient and try back in a few minutes.

Napoleon's Itch

So, I'm sending this from an...interesting bar in the French Quarter. Still no internet at the camp, so we have to drive into town to get our internet fix. Luckily for us, this particular establishment has free Internet access.

The second day was in some ways easier and other ways harder. It was overcast and somewhat breezy, and therefore cooler. It was, however, far more humid. The work went very well today. We are almost done with our house. We did have some more 'critter' sightings -- a family of rats. About 30 of them. An extended family, I guess. Or maybe the in-laws were in for the week. I don't know. Anyway, the rats fled, and we continued work. No snakes yet. And no gators. Yet. I do have to say that I am *way* more sore today than yesterday. We'll see if I last the week.

The highlight of the day was, of course, the icecream man. Some enterpising guy had decided to drive through the flooded out neighborhoods in his ice cream truck, delivering his ice creamy goodness to the very few families with kids who are back in the area, and to the people working to clean out houses. Several of us ran for the truck with gleeful abandan, grateful for the chance to take a break from the work and enjoy.

We should get this house done tomorrow morning, and then we can move on to the next. The second house is somewhat larger, and has had virtually no prep work done to it. All of the furniture and appliances are exactly as they were after the hurricanes hit. This second house is a complete disaster. The water reached the attic, so all of the ceilings have fallen in. It's very sobering to take a few minutes to imagine your own house after a flood like this. Ten feet of water, soaking the house for a few days. All of the furniture is lifted off of the floor, and redistributed as it floats. Now, almost a year later, everything is covered with mold. The houses are inhabited by all kinds of vermin, including several kinds of viper.

After work, and showering, and rest, I went to dinner with my mom and grandmother. They live in Metaire, if you didn't already know. Their house got a few inches of water...which wasn't enough to devestate it, but enough to destroy the carpets, appliances, and cabinets. The people in the area we are working faired much, much worse.

Pete Graner, another Red Hatter here for the week, has put up some pictures.

They aren't organized at all, so you'll have to figure them out for yourself right now.

Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated when I can.

Doctor says you gonna die.

Can't sleep. I woke up at 5:30am this morning, which is ridiculously
early for me, even considering the time change. So, I got up, and
wandered around. I found a nice guy with an electric teakettle, so I
got a nice cuppa tea with breakfast. One thing I've gotta say,
there's a very eclectic bunch here. The man I borrowed the tea
kettle from for my tea was driving through the area, and decided to
stay for a little while, and is still here, five months later. I've
seen church groups, and high schoolers, hippies, and lots of Americorps
volunteers.

So, at about 8:30am, we headed out to the work site, not really sure
what to expect. The house we stopped at had already had a 'once
over', it looked like - all of the windows were already open (to let
in air and dry the place out), the fridge was gone, and some other
preliminary work had been done. Even so, the house was a total mess.
Drywall soaked with water and falling apart, parts of the ceiling
collapsed, insulation everywhere. We were well supplied with masks,
gloves, helmets, and of course the steel-toed boots. We broke out the
tools and started the destruction. We took down walls, broke up
cabinets, took up soggy, mildewed carpet, and took everything to the
curb. We didn't get the house quite complete, but I expect we'll get
it done tomorrow. The hardest parts were the personal effects of the
people who lived there. Most stuff was ruined of course, but
everything that seemed like in might be salvageable we put aside in
case the owners want it back. Most things, clothes, papers, books,
and anything else susceptible to water damage was not. We did find a
box in the attic with some wedding and baby shower memorabilia, so we
hope the owners can come back and retrieve that. I think since the
house had already had a chance to dry out, we were lucky with regards
to the presence of wildlife. No snakes, no spiders, only a few bugs
and roaches. And no alligators.

The work was hot. Sweaty. Highly unpleasant. We drank lots and lots
of water, though, and everyone stayed safe. We stopped at about 3:30
to head back to the camp. Everyone was in dire need of a shower, so
we showered off. After a shower and a nap, we decided to head to New
Orleans in search of food and Internet access! The drive back was
again very sobering...miles and miles of flooded-out houses,
practically until we reached the french quarter. Most business were
closed, and the ones that were open proudly proclaimed the fact with
hand painted signs. Once we got to the French Quarter, the city came
back to life. Most shops and buildings in the Quarter avoided the
worst of the damage, because the elevation is higher than the
surrounding areas. Yes, we visited the Cafe Du Monde. The beignets
were delicious, as always. The Internet access proved more difficult
that I'd expected, since the Cafe Du Monde's Internet access was down.
We've ended up in the lobby of a hotel, feeding off of their wifi
connection. We're going to head back to the camp now, and try to get
a good night's sleep.

Again, no idea when I'll be able to write back, but I'll keep in touch
when I can.

Still no alligators in sight. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Oh, and the title? It's an 'in' joke. No, I'm not going to tell.

The Arrival.

This is a day late, because there ain't no internet at the camp. :-( I'm sending this from a hotel lobby near the French Quarter, through some random wifi connection.

4:15am. The alarm goes off. Way too early. Shower, pack the last
few things, and head to the office. There, I meet Laurie and Jimmy,
and we carpool to the airport. After handing our luggage over, we
pass through security. Jimmy and Laurie get through fine, but as I
pass through, the buzzer goes off. I get the..."please
step over here and have a seat" treatment. Things go pretty smoothly, though. A couple of
waves with the wand and a quick pat down, and I'm through. I meet up
with Greg, and we find our gate.

Then, after a short delay due to a thunderstorm, our flight is ready, and we head out. We head for Dulles first,
then on to New Orleans. The flights were pretty uneventful, all told.
Once we got into Louis Armstrong airport, we waited around for a few
of our team mates. Among us, we only had one set of lost bags, and
one seriously delayed flight. Not too bad. Once we had most of the
team collected, we got our rental car arrangements taken care of.
This took much longer than expected, due to the fascinatingly baroque
checkout system of our rental agency.

We then headed in our two rented vans to the campsite. Which turned
out not to be where it was supposed to be. They've moved campsites
since the last Red Hat team was there. The new camp was just a few
miles down the road. We registered without any trouble, and got our
room assignment. The new camp is a grade school building that was
apparently flooded. All of the walls, floors, and ceilings have been
removed. It's down to metal girders and brick walls now. Teams are
putting up drywall and doing other construction tasks constantly.
Apparently this is only the second week this camp has been inhabited.
The 'tents' turned out to be rooms separated with blue tarp, with
about twelve cots per room. There's an air conditioner in each room,
but it's still pretty hot here. There's also no Internet access to
speak of, so...

After getting acclimated and exploring for a little bit, we went to
orientation, which was pretty uneventful. Lots of safety information
and a basic description of the procedure. The part that got everyone
excited was the snake identification section. Cottonmouths,
rattlesnakes, water moccasins, and copperheads, oh my! The woman who
was presenting said that she found at least one of these snakes in
each house she cleaned, so tomorrow should be eventful.

I'm not sure how frequently I'll have access to an Internet
connection, but when I do, I'll try to update here. We took some
pictures on the way in, but I haven't had a chance to upload them yet.
I'll try to do that soon.

We leave for our first house tomorrow morning at 8:30. No-one has
mentioned alligators yet, but I'll keep my eyes open...

All packed

Everything is packed up, except the laptop. I'm meeting a couple of the other Red Hatters who are going at the office tomorrow morning at.....5:15?! What was I thinking?? Anyway, carpooling to the airport will make the parking cheaper.

What did I pack? Do you really care? I didn't think so.

But you're still reading. Why? Why can't you look away? Is it the power of the Blog? A human fascination with the mundane details of other people's lives? Or is it like that terrible wreck on the side of the highway that you can't not look at?

Anyway. Clothes, obviously. All the boring stuff like deoderant, shampoo, toothbrush. A very large container of foot powder. Q-tips. Lots of Q-tips. Two books (fantasy: The Runes of The Earth, by Stephen R. Donaldson and The Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold). Tea (Green Hyson). Sandals. Steel-Toed boots. The paperwork required by The Feds that run the camp we'll be staying at, and Habitat for Humanity. Some CD's and DVD's (rumor has it there's a DVD player/tv available at the camp.) I won't try to list them now. Maybe later. Probably other stuff I'm forgetting. Probably not everything I'll want when I'm down there. But that's ok. I'm sure I'll have everything I need.

In case you're wondering, most of the actual equipment is provided by Habitat for Humanity when we get down there. The only 'equipment' we're required to bring is the steel-toed boots.

Assuming I can get internet access, I'll be back online tomorrow.

So I'm going to St. Bernard Parish

Ok. Right. Here goes.

So, my employer, being a socially responsible company, and also being composed of exceptionally Nice People, is funding a team of ten of us to go to St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana. St. Bernard Parish is east of New Orleans, and is essentially swampland. Very low-lying, and therefore susceptible to flooding. Many, many houses in the area were flooded when Katrina hit, and many people are still in need of assistance. Our purpose is to help the Habitat For Humanity with 'cleaning out' many of these houses. I understand this essentially means taking down the walls, taking out the carpet, taking out the cabinets. We'll leave basically the frame intact, and a later team will come and rebuild the houses. I understand axes will be involved. And respirators. And axes. And steel-toed boots. And alligators.

Yes, I know. The chances of getting eaten by an alligator while I'm down there are vanishingly small. I'm not really worried about alligators in particular. The alligator, however, makes an excellent focus for the apprehension I'm starting to feel about this whole venture. I am not in shape for this. I am not prepared, mentally, or physically. It will be hot. Humid. There will be mold. And possibly dead things. And face-eating rats. And alligators.

This was first announced several months ago, and I knew it was something I wanted to do. I had plenty of doubt, though. How would I manage to take a week off of work to do this? Am I really up to it?

Red Hat has already sent people to the area, and will be sending more. When the need for volunteers for this particular trip was announced, I turned to Greg, a coworker of mine, and said "Y'know, I really should do that." He replied "Yes, you really should. I'm going. Sign up." And so, before I could talk myself out of it, I checked with my wife, and I checked with my boss, and I signed up. Done. Volunteered. Doomed to be consumed alive by giant reptiles.

It will be a rewarding experience, one that I'll never forget. I am going there to help people who really need it. It will be hard, painful work, but ultimately I will look back on the experience, and I'll be glad I went. I know this. However, I also know, deep down, that I will get eaten by an alligator. Probably not in a literal sense of being chewed and digested. But in a somehow deeper, truer, sense. Eaten. By an Alligator.

Oh well. Here goes nothing. Gators, it's dinner time.