Damn, almost a year since my life has taken a turn in a direction, I never imagined possible...but isn't that life? Not in a sarcastic way, but on the real.
Drawing closer to the 1 year aftermath of Katrina, broken levees, and an effed up government response, I would like to take this time to remember.
August 23, 2005
Graduation, two weeks in Puerto Rico, a new job, free time…now this is the life!!!!! I still need to pass by UNO to get some paperwork and maybe pass by Rachel’s office to holla at her; I’ll just leave work early today and handle all of this.
Damn, I forgot to call Marissa to see how she made out on her first day at FAMU. “Girl, ya’ll better watch out. I heard they have a hurricane that’s suppose to hit Florida…and you thought you were running away from evacuating, lol…oh there’s Rachel, let me call u back”
August 26, 2005
“So the anniversary reception and Vicki’s baby shower is this weekend. I just need to get one last gift and I’m straight. Ma, I’ma stay at your house this weekend. Hey, what’s up with that hurricane, now they saying it might come our way. Do you wanna evacuate? Aright then, I’ma be by your house tomorrow.”
August 27, 2005
Why is my cell phone acting up? I have to call people 7 times before it goes through. Well the anniversary party is rescheduled because of the hurricane, but I don’t know many people who are evacuating. Man, I really feel like some BBQ shrimp. I’ma go to Cheesecake Bistro ya’ll want anything.
No really, what the hell is wrong with my phone? I get to “the bistro” and I’m mean mugging this girl but I don’t know why. Oh shit!!! That’s the girl Common pulled on stage at the concert…yeah I’m hating but so what…
I get back to moms house and take a nap that turns into my mom waking me up in the morning with a frantic “Go get your grandma cause we leaving”
August 28, 2005
I think of passing by my apartment but I already over packed for the night I spent at my mom’s house; plus I knew we wouldn’t be gone that long. Before picking up my grandma I went to the gas station to fill up my tank. The gas station was more crowded than the parking lot after the club. It took forever to get to a pump and when I did it took 20 minutes to fill the tank, because of how slow the gas was pumping. On the opposite gas tank from mines was this real thugged out dude…gold teeth, blunt in his ear, wife beater, g-nikes…u know. We began talking bout the whole situation and he said, “this gonna be the big one. You know how I know? (Closes his eyes while inhaling then exhaling slowly) Cause you can smell it in the air” I chuckled cause I know he was dead serious, he chuckled cause he knew I thought he was loaded. As my pump finally finished I threw up the deuce and told him to be careful.
Grandma was already ready, she had a little bag of clothes and her little safe box. We made it back to my mom’s house and her ex-husband was there and said he was gonna follow us. We loaded up her truck and I parked my car on the sidewalk by her house…but it never floods over there so my car would be safe.
We decided to go east because EVERYONE was going to Houston. The phones were still acting up but you could still call and receive calls after a couple of tries. Conversations usually went “Oh, ya’ll decided to leave too huh? Yeah, once my mom saw how big it was she was ready to go. Naw, we probably be back on Tuesday, after it passes”
The traffic was okay and the weather was real nice. We drove with the window down most of the time. Wow, people are taking all their pets with them, cages were on the back of every other truck. Damn, we’ve been driving for 9 hours…are we there yet?
At every gas stop, gas seemed to double in price…but those were the stations that had gas available. We made it to Montgomery, and that was cool cause they had some Civil Rights spots I wanted to see. But there was no room at the inn. We used a phone book to call other hotels and they were all booked up, so we had to keep driving.
I don’t remember what time it was but we made it to Lagrange, GA, and were able to get some rooms. After confirming that my cousins had finally made it to Houston I took a shower and headed straight for the bed.
August 29, 2005
Not even worrying about the storm I made it to the lobby for a continental breakfast and a daily check of my emails.
A blank draws as I can’t remember anything that happened during this time and hearing that the levees had breeched.
August 30, 2005
Nothing prepared me for what was to come next. I turn on the television to find still pictures of New Orleans flooding. I didn’t think for a moment that my apartment was flooded, after all, stuff like that happens to other people…not me.
Still pictures turned into live coverage. It was all surreal. The images of New Orleans were identical with Iraq. People stranded. Streets in which I grew up on were unfamiliar. That wasn’t my city on this broadcast. A mix of emotions ran throughout my head.
I took my laptop and went to the lobby to find whatever I could find on the internet. Thousands of pictures weren’t enough to convince me that this had happened to New Orleans.
I then saw one picture that made the nightmare a reality. My apartment was behind a strip mall and on the corner was a Shell station. All I could see of that station was the top of the shell that stood about 15 feet high. I cried. I knew that I could no longer deny that Katrina had no direct impact on my life. Looking back on it, it was so selfish of me to cry tears over materialistic losses when I still had my life.
The days after this were chaotic. Calls to cell phones with Louisiana numbers were almost impossible to reach. We began to hear news of looting, murder, rape…basically hell on earth in New Orleans. It wasn’t uncommon to see someone walking in a daze…everything was uncertain.
September 2, 2005
It’s time to go where family is and that’s Houston. All major parts of I-10 east and west were closed so we took every back road from Lagrange, GA to Houston, TX. I saw watermelon patches and cotton fields, which made me a little uneasy because it was almost dark.
September 3, 2005
It took us two days to get to Houston and yet this would only be the beginning of our journey.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
stop trying to understand and just help
Being Black in America is a unique experience
Your vantage point doesn't allow you the capacity to comprehend this
In other words:
Don’t start off any sentence with "as a black person in new Orleans, la, usa, do u think/feel...?" etc
Fuck yeah racism exists...how dare u mutter that question to me
Yeah I blame the gov't (local, state, federal) for the thousands of deaths of Katrina (invincible as corps built damn near invisible levees)
and no Katrina didn't play the race card, but due to shit like redlining, residential segregation and other forms of institutionalized racism, Blacks and the poor (who just so happened to be majority Black) in New Orleans were inevitability handed the short end of the stick.
Your vantage point doesn't allow you the capacity to comprehend this
In other words:
Don’t start off any sentence with "as a black person in new Orleans, la, usa, do u think/feel...?" etc
Fuck yeah racism exists...how dare u mutter that question to me
Yeah I blame the gov't (local, state, federal) for the thousands of deaths of Katrina (invincible as corps built damn near invisible levees)
and no Katrina didn't play the race card, but due to shit like redlining, residential segregation and other forms of institutionalized racism, Blacks and the poor (who just so happened to be majority Black) in New Orleans were inevitability handed the short end of the stick.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Dang, i love this joint
Good morning silence
Good morning to myself
Good morning to the pain in the center of my chest
It's crazy how much I miss
a simple good morning kiss
Good morning independence or is it loneliness?
I know I said I wanted this but I have regrets
I pray for God's will to be done
The very next day you were gone
Good morning to the harsh realities of life
and good morning to the fact we're not husband and wife
We made a promise to stay
But destiny got in the way
Good morning acceptance
Good morning inner strength
I'm loving every moment
even the strain
It's crazy how much I miss
a simple good morning kiss
It's crazy how much I've missed
Now it's time for me to live
Good morning optimism
Good morning to my faith
Good morning to the beginning of a brand new day
I know that God's will be done
So I lay down my pain and I'm moving on
I know that God's will be done.
So it's a good morning after all
Good morning to myself
Good morning to the pain in the center of my chest
It's crazy how much I miss
a simple good morning kiss
Good morning independence or is it loneliness?
I know I said I wanted this but I have regrets
I pray for God's will to be done
The very next day you were gone
Good morning to the harsh realities of life
and good morning to the fact we're not husband and wife
We made a promise to stay
But destiny got in the way
Good morning acceptance
Good morning inner strength
I'm loving every moment
even the strain
It's crazy how much I miss
a simple good morning kiss
It's crazy how much I've missed
Now it's time for me to live
Good morning optimism
Good morning to my faith
Good morning to the beginning of a brand new day
I know that God's will be done
So I lay down my pain and I'm moving on
I know that God's will be done.
So it's a good morning after all
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
memoirs of a-lisa lmao
damn I just wrote a whole blog and I did something to make it disappear...sort of a blog copperfield.
well, i'm back from nyc and that was my best trip in a minute. a few thoughts of my trip
-public transportation is a beast!!!! and the subways rock!!! I was all, "ima catch the shuttle from grand central to times square and catch the 1 downtown" lmao cause you couldn't catch me on rita (rta) in New Orleans, but with gas prices at $3.43 (my gosh what a humbling experience, an i'm complaining about $2.87 ::smirk::) I’d be a train hopper too.
-New Yorkers are sooo cool. Everyone we met was ridiculously cool. Shot out to Muhammad...thanks for entertaining us between our missed taxis, wrong taxis and just plain getting lost...and I know u made us miss one of them on purpose.
-everybody in new york is a hustla.
period.
-gosh the weather was great this weekend!!!!
-times square and china town remind me of new orleans...no really!!!
After a night of dinner with my coworkers I decided to walk to my hotel instead of catching a cab. I decided to take 5th ave to 42nd and then just walk down to 2nd...lol I think im sooo cool!!! I forgot that rockefeller center was on 5th so I made a detour to peep the nbc studios and a tour of the building. While taking pics this security guard asks me if I got some good pics. Now i'm not even gonna lie but dude caught me off guard so I was all "naw" cause I did't know him like that. So then he asked me where I was from, and I told him new orleans. He told me that was interesting and that he was taking a break and wanted to talk to me. I was put off by him just by the fact that I didn't know him, I was by myself and it was kinda late. So I was all, "naw that's alright, I need to make it home" In between those words I think something was lost in translation. I walked away and he followed me yelling for me to hold on. I stopped and he told me he was from Africa, and he was a student at Columbia pursuing a masters in International studies and when I told him I was from new orleans he connected that with katrina and wanted to talk to me about that. but then he went on and told me that it was okay that I didn't want to talk to him, he attributed it to my assimilation to american individualistic culture. He told me that although I might not have wanted to talk to him about this he still had to pursue it and because I didn't help, that gave way for him to ask somebody else. I stood and listened and mentally agreed with what dude was saying, but it was late and I was by myself and still had a lil ways to go before I got home.
Sorry
while out yesterday I forgot to put sunscreen lotion on...or maybe I didn't bring it with me because I could only pack the essentials since I had to put my carry on items in with my luggage...so to make a long story short im a lil sunburned. uhhh it sucks cause my bottom lip is a lil burnt too...ughhhh gross
im sure more things happened on my trip but im just to tired to think, YES!!!! I feel sleep coming on.
holla at ya'll later
here are some pics
Elisa and Billie Sings da Blues
Jessica is an ass
So....u just glue it in??
You can either walk this way and get my cheesecake, or walk THAT WAY and go home...lmao at da band
"linen shorts so my balls don't get hot" lol
well, i'm back from nyc and that was my best trip in a minute. a few thoughts of my trip
-public transportation is a beast!!!! and the subways rock!!! I was all, "ima catch the shuttle from grand central to times square and catch the 1 downtown" lmao cause you couldn't catch me on rita (rta) in New Orleans, but with gas prices at $3.43 (my gosh what a humbling experience, an i'm complaining about $2.87 ::smirk::) I’d be a train hopper too.
-New Yorkers are sooo cool. Everyone we met was ridiculously cool. Shot out to Muhammad...thanks for entertaining us between our missed taxis, wrong taxis and just plain getting lost...and I know u made us miss one of them on purpose.
-everybody in new york is a hustla.
period.
-gosh the weather was great this weekend!!!!
-times square and china town remind me of new orleans...no really!!!
After a night of dinner with my coworkers I decided to walk to my hotel instead of catching a cab. I decided to take 5th ave to 42nd and then just walk down to 2nd...lol I think im sooo cool!!! I forgot that rockefeller center was on 5th so I made a detour to peep the nbc studios and a tour of the building. While taking pics this security guard asks me if I got some good pics. Now i'm not even gonna lie but dude caught me off guard so I was all "naw" cause I did't know him like that. So then he asked me where I was from, and I told him new orleans. He told me that was interesting and that he was taking a break and wanted to talk to me. I was put off by him just by the fact that I didn't know him, I was by myself and it was kinda late. So I was all, "naw that's alright, I need to make it home" In between those words I think something was lost in translation. I walked away and he followed me yelling for me to hold on. I stopped and he told me he was from Africa, and he was a student at Columbia pursuing a masters in International studies and when I told him I was from new orleans he connected that with katrina and wanted to talk to me about that. but then he went on and told me that it was okay that I didn't want to talk to him, he attributed it to my assimilation to american individualistic culture. He told me that although I might not have wanted to talk to him about this he still had to pursue it and because I didn't help, that gave way for him to ask somebody else. I stood and listened and mentally agreed with what dude was saying, but it was late and I was by myself and still had a lil ways to go before I got home.
Sorry
while out yesterday I forgot to put sunscreen lotion on...or maybe I didn't bring it with me because I could only pack the essentials since I had to put my carry on items in with my luggage...so to make a long story short im a lil sunburned. uhhh it sucks cause my bottom lip is a lil burnt too...ughhhh gross
im sure more things happened on my trip but im just to tired to think, YES!!!! I feel sleep coming on.
holla at ya'll later
here are some pics
Elisa and Billie Sings da Blues
Jessica is an ass
So....u just glue it in??
You can either walk this way and get my cheesecake, or walk THAT WAY and go home...lmao at da band
"linen shorts so my balls don't get hot" lol
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
damn all my tazo is gone ;-(
Wow, India.Arie is the ish!!!!!! She had a concert at the hob on Monday. Other than standing on my feet for a mere 5 hours....it was great!!!!
No for real that girl is soooo dope. I swear she sang every song she's ever recorded. You ever had that song, that you never really listened to on the cd, but after seeing the artist perform it live, the next day that's your favorite song? Ex. Jill Scott "Not Like Crazy" & “no umbrella, no jacket…just warm”…nasty Jill, Common "Be" (well not really but i understood "we got arms but won't reach for the sky" better). India has done this in "I Choose"...the girl said "I even had a talk with my mama and I told her the day I'm grown" LMAO, but on the real the whole song is dope.
let's see...
i'm leaving for nyc friday and i haven't unpacked from 4th of july weekend nor this past weekend...how bout i choose to get my home life organized.
my lil cuz is leavin me "a quick pumper" LMAO cause i know u readin this
my other lil big cuz is coming back
by the way moving sucks...in the words of denzel in out of time "I WISH I HAD MORE TIME!!!!"
24 hours in a day doesn't seem long enough anymore. I remember the days where I could and would waste the time away doing absolutely
nothing.
those days were called high school...and some of college.
I wish i could go back to a time less complicated...naw, i really don't
I heart dvr, although i think it will play a part in my demise.
how come every season of celebrity fit club has a cast member from The Sopranos? hahahaha big pussy
This weekend i heard someone say that teaching is becoming a job for the unemployable.
I kinda agree with this. Before Katrina, Louisiana took over 13 schools in New Orleans because they were “failing schools”. School in Orleans parish started Monday, only a handful of these state charter schools were able to reopen. Classes are full, certified teachers are scarce...uncertified teachers need jobs...Alas the cycle of a failing school system is almost in tact again...pretty soon we will have our pipeline to prison and the hospitality industry (i.e. housekeeping & janitorial staff) back in order, as if Katrina never took place.
and im out
No for real that girl is soooo dope. I swear she sang every song she's ever recorded. You ever had that song, that you never really listened to on the cd, but after seeing the artist perform it live, the next day that's your favorite song? Ex. Jill Scott "Not Like Crazy" & “no umbrella, no jacket…just warm”…nasty Jill, Common "Be" (well not really but i understood "we got arms but won't reach for the sky" better). India has done this in "I Choose"...the girl said "I even had a talk with my mama and I told her the day I'm grown" LMAO, but on the real the whole song is dope.
let's see...
i'm leaving for nyc friday and i haven't unpacked from 4th of july weekend nor this past weekend...how bout i choose to get my home life organized.
my lil cuz is leavin me "a quick pumper" LMAO cause i know u readin this
my other lil big cuz is coming back
by the way moving sucks...in the words of denzel in out of time "I WISH I HAD MORE TIME!!!!"
24 hours in a day doesn't seem long enough anymore. I remember the days where I could and would waste the time away doing absolutely
nothing.
those days were called high school...and some of college.
I wish i could go back to a time less complicated...naw, i really don't
I heart dvr, although i think it will play a part in my demise.
how come every season of celebrity fit club has a cast member from The Sopranos? hahahaha big pussy
This weekend i heard someone say that teaching is becoming a job for the unemployable.
I kinda agree with this. Before Katrina, Louisiana took over 13 schools in New Orleans because they were “failing schools”. School in Orleans parish started Monday, only a handful of these state charter schools were able to reopen. Classes are full, certified teachers are scarce...uncertified teachers need jobs...Alas the cycle of a failing school system is almost in tact again...pretty soon we will have our pipeline to prison and the hospitality industry (i.e. housekeeping & janitorial staff) back in order, as if Katrina never took place.
and im out
Saturday, August 05, 2006
on da road again
Hell ta da yes!!!! So I came out to houston cause my moms needed someone to ride with her and I was able to get an appointment with my/ana's hairdresser...Jennifer @ Bushwacker Aveda hair salon is the shizznit!!!! please believe!!!!!! that girl is really the ish!!!! I’ve only said this about one other stylist in my entire life!!!
Anyways so the ride...I HATE TRAFFIC and of course...there was traffic!!!!
ok...for the real reason I am writing this blog...It is TAX FREE weekend in houston!!!!! I don't know if this is all over...nor do I care. but I got some hella deals today!!!! no mo "community" ana...lo siento...por mi y tu. :::insert sad emoticons if I knew how:::
after some retail therapy I went to my favorite stylist and it was mad drama fo ya mama in the shop today...no need to go into detail but punks are a fool (no disrespect and all)
India arie is Monday!!!!! ana r u listening, cause I got the songs down from video to I am not my hair...plus some soundtrack hits in between...na beat that!
hey are people in are around the new york area interested in seeing oliver stone's new movie? just wondering
I am.
damn so much is coming up...did I tell u the roots and JEan Grae are gonna be in new orleans??? probably so. oh and i hate ticketmaster...by any means, always purchase ur tickets from the actual venue if you can cause them fools add on soooooo many additional charges til it aint even funny...no fo real
anybody gonna go to spike lee's joint "when the levees broke"
I'll be at the showing in new orleans...hope to see ya'll there
damn i can't believe i'm leaving for nyc friday. that means i wont be packin until friday morning, damn i still haven't unpacked from the 4th of july weekend...don't believe me???? check my suitcase in the living room...lol, told ya!!!!
Anyways so the ride...I HATE TRAFFIC and of course...there was traffic!!!!
ok...for the real reason I am writing this blog...It is TAX FREE weekend in houston!!!!! I don't know if this is all over...nor do I care. but I got some hella deals today!!!! no mo "community" ana...lo siento...por mi y tu. :::insert sad emoticons if I knew how:::
after some retail therapy I went to my favorite stylist and it was mad drama fo ya mama in the shop today...no need to go into detail but punks are a fool (no disrespect and all)
India arie is Monday!!!!! ana r u listening, cause I got the songs down from video to I am not my hair...plus some soundtrack hits in between...na beat that!
hey are people in are around the new york area interested in seeing oliver stone's new movie? just wondering
I am.
damn so much is coming up...did I tell u the roots and JEan Grae are gonna be in new orleans??? probably so. oh and i hate ticketmaster...by any means, always purchase ur tickets from the actual venue if you can cause them fools add on soooooo many additional charges til it aint even funny...no fo real
anybody gonna go to spike lee's joint "when the levees broke"
I'll be at the showing in new orleans...hope to see ya'll there
damn i can't believe i'm leaving for nyc friday. that means i wont be packin until friday morning, damn i still haven't unpacked from the 4th of july weekend...don't believe me???? check my suitcase in the living room...lol, told ya!!!!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
FINALLY!!!!!!!
A dope okayplayer concert is comin ta da N.O...sorry India, No disrespect but I haven't been to a decent hiphop concert in New Orleans since Common at the HOB pre-katrina
WHHEEEWWWW the roots and ... jean grae...in case ya'll aint know she's one of my favorite mc's
effin rite
so what's new...i think i absolutely hate my job...well not really, i am just fustrated with stupid people. ya know i thought there weren't stupid people in the world, just people who haven't found certain answers...I stand corrected.
anyways, gosh EVERYONE is on myspace...
elisabeth hassalback is an ass
period.
i think i'm norcaleptic
hey ana, remember that one eyed dog that we didn't know was a one eyed dog until the owner told us and we were like ohhhh okay. can't wait til u get home
school system in new orleans...same ole shit
so i'm back to eatin right again.
see while i was in costa rica it was sooo bomb, no fried foods and i only drank water and fresh fruit drinks...skin was flawless & weight was tight...must get back!!!!
i can't blog anymore...this is a forced entry...thank's jed
its not me
"had a spark when i started now its just garbage"
WHHEEEWWWW the roots and ... jean grae...in case ya'll aint know she's one of my favorite mc's
effin rite
so what's new...i think i absolutely hate my job...well not really, i am just fustrated with stupid people. ya know i thought there weren't stupid people in the world, just people who haven't found certain answers...I stand corrected.
anyways, gosh EVERYONE is on myspace...
elisabeth hassalback is an ass
period.
i think i'm norcaleptic
hey ana, remember that one eyed dog that we didn't know was a one eyed dog until the owner told us and we were like ohhhh okay. can't wait til u get home
school system in new orleans...same ole shit
so i'm back to eatin right again.
see while i was in costa rica it was sooo bomb, no fried foods and i only drank water and fresh fruit drinks...skin was flawless & weight was tight...must get back!!!!
i can't blog anymore...this is a forced entry...thank's jed
its not me
"had a spark when i started now its just garbage"
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