Stateside

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve written on this blog. Not since I was sitting in the airport en route back home from South Africa. As an update, the last couple weeks have been a whirlwind, literally for a few of those days. I’m very happy that I had such a good birthday back in South Africa, because things got a little messy on this side. I got back to New Orleans on the evening of my birthday, too tired to do too much except eat an uneventful dinner and go to bed. I drove home to FL the next day to have a week of doctors appointments, running errands, and sleeping on the pull out couch in the living room. I ended up not going to the beach or even to the pool for that matter. My birthday dinner with my parents, while delicious, ended a bit abruptly after a series of unfortunate events, so that was kind of a fail. I got back to New Orleans that Saturday evening, in time for midsummer Mardi Gras, but I was in a weird mood. Not really up for partying, as evidenced by the fact that I didn’t end up going out with everyone later that night. I think that lack of enthusiasm comes from not having the one person I really want around be here–missing  someone really sucks.

Sunday was the day to start getting my life in order and go grocery shopping and clean and all that. Most of that shopping was in vain as Isaac was on his way. Monday was the day everyone spent debating whether to stay and wait out the storm or leave. I’d already made up my mind thinking it wouldn’t be such a bad storm since it was only forecasted to be a category 1. Plus, I was just not in the mood to get in my car and travel anywhere. So I bought a cooler and some ice trays and spent the day cleaning my place, making ice, and filtering water into jugs to keep. The only thing I would change about my decision to stay would be to have stayed with a friend somewhere in the city instead of being alone out in Metairie. My power went out at around 7:30 pm on Tuesday. The storm wasn’t as frightening as I thought it may have been, and although Isaac to his damn time to move anywhere, but Wednesday night he was clearing up. Thursday morning I was finally able to venture out of my apartment and drive into town. Just in time, as I had terrible cabin fever. The only good that came out of being stuck indoors was I think I finally slept off all of my jetlag. Thursday was spent bar hopping in the French Quarter and eating beignets, since those seemed to be the only places with power.

This past weekend I’ve spent my days at friends’ houses that have power, using their refrigerators as a refuge for all of my displaced food. We got an extra week off before classes, which should’ve been a good thing in addition to Labor Day weekend, but most of this time has been frustrating. Anyway, tomorrow we start classes and I’m on day 6 of no power. It seems like everyone around me is back to being comfortable, if they even lost their power. Last night I got home and half of my apartment complex had power—I was not in that half. Everyone has been running around doing their necessary errands today, and I’m parked on a friend’s couch charging, wishing that I could be doing the same. I’d love to be able to finish all the many things that I need to do before I got deep into schoolwork (namely retwisting my hair), but the lack of power has suspended that ability until a time not yet known. Just means that this week will be incredibly hectic once power resumes—grocery shopping, organizing my apartment, cooking, working out a schedule, and playing catch up on all the reading I have, just to name a few of the things.