still working for shower

The good news is that it's not difficult to fix.

The bad news is, my hot water heater is electric with a yearly operating cost of approximately $410 and it's in the attic above my neighbor's unit (who doesn't live there yet). And for some brilliant reason, the contractor (yeah, the same one who put in the deadbolts upside-down and the face plates misaligned, which Ahmed fixed) didn't run power to the water heater. There's power to my A/C unit, right next to it, but no - not even the indication of a thought of - power to the water heater.

They also had the valve closed, which the plumber had the skill and training to turn counterclockwise so now at least I have water pressure. It's a cold, cold shower, but it's a shower.

the stupidest $25 I ever spent

Yes, even stupider than the $20 I dropped on the pointless fortune teller.

I locked myself out of my apartment. Frantic phone calls to landruler, who is at work until tonight, but whose husband would wait for me if I could catch a cab over to their house in the Quarter to get the keys.

I don't trust my luck to drive today, but once I do, I'm making copies and hiding a set. Oh - in my school locker! Now, that's just smart. I have to have my ID to get into the building after hours and on weekends, but finding somebody to get me in shouldn't be that hard in case of emergency.

At least it was cheaper than breaking in and replacing a window or calling a locksmith.

Jenny frame of mind

I look at the clock and it says 1:40 pm ... and I think, "Oh my soul! The day is nearly gone! How have I spent the past 7 hours?!" (Of course in this case, it's job training, packing and moving and unpacking, and shopping.)

And then I put myself in a Jenny frame of mind. And I think, "1:40 p.m. Breakfast time. The day lies ahead of me."

It's all in the perspective.

forgot to say earlier

Today I saw my first rat.

Well, my first live New Orleans rat. Of course I've seen many rats before, and some dead ones in streets in Upper Ninth Ward. But this evening, driving back over to the old place in search of shower, there it was scurrying across the street right in front of me, and I thought of this article in today's Times-Picayune about the really bad post-Katrina infestations of rats, snakes, cockroaches, ants, etc. I particularly like the woman calling in about a hundred raccoons stalking the streets together. It's like Westside Story, but with fur. I laugh, but I do know that raccoons are nasty beasts and I don't care how cute they are.

I like the Times-Picayune, and I don't care what anybody else says. I mostly like it for the reason Chris Rose mentions in One Dead in the Attic in a column he wrote about 10 weeks after Katrina. People talking about anything except Katrina was just blah blah blah and his brain tuned it out. That's how I've felt ever since April. If it's not about New Orleans, I don't much care, sorry. Or Africa. I still listen to BBC Africa regularly - but rarely NPR. They just waste so much time talking about places that aren't New Orleans or West Africa. What's with that?

I am liking this place more and more, Jenny and Ahmed were right. And I am just totally in love with my kitchen island. It weighs a ton, but it's so worth it! It's kind of like this - same exact dimensions - but no towel-bar on front (pegs on the side - perfect for my canvas bags), and the second shelf is a strange bottle-rack but I'll just use it as a regular shelf. And it has drawers - which is awesome, because I realized after the seller said something - there are no drawers in my kitchen at all! So, my cutlery now has a home. And I know the basket fits because she demonstrated.

Now I just need to find a way to clean the couch -- these two moves haven't been easy on it. Or my back. Thank god for Ahmed today - he basically carried most of the stuff by himself - it wasn't a strong day for me. And why do I have so many books anyway?

will work for shower

It was a hot and sweaty day with moving, so after I unpacked as necessary, a shower sounded really good.

Trickle. Not even enough pressure to make it up to the shower head. Not even enough to fill a bucket in an hour.

"Hi Robin. Sorry to call you at this time, but there's no water in the shower."

I like my landruler. She was really nice, and made it our problem rather than grimy me alone. She's trying to find a plumber to come tomorrow. That may be a real challenge, I fear, or even getting a plumber at any time soon. There is the benefit that this landruler is far nicer than the last and treats people much better, so there's not the problem of the last one where people walked out on jobs because he was such an ass.

So did I feel really bad going back to the old house and showering with no shower curtain or bath mat, and leaving a puddle? Not so much.

But maybe this is the universe's kick-in-the-ass way of tell me it's time to hit the gym hard-core. It's about .4 miles away, a quick walk, and after a workout a shower awaits. So that's the plan tomorrow along with job training. Hopefully the job all works out - it's a dream schedule for me right now - 5 hours per week, 2.5 each on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Get paid for that time plus prep time, and this class ends before the end of the term rush, finals, and my trip. If this class goes well I'll get more when I get back from Senegal, so that's way cool.

So, I'll dig out my gym bag and load it up and head there in the mornings for awhile.

I love New Orleans. I love New Orleans. I love New Orleans.

Ahmed rocks

Well, my new apartment is basically full and my new backdoor actually works now - all thanks to Ahmed! Thank you, thank you! (Now that I know that he downloads my blog each morning and sends it to Tami.) You improved the quality of my life 1000 fold! Between the racist kitchen island and the access to the backyard, the place is actually habitable now!

We went to Freret Cafe and I have to agree with you Jen that it wasn't Pyramids quality. (We couldn't go to Pyramids for obvious reasons ... you know, Ramadan and daylight?)

So now I'll just take one more load over and then I'll do some unpacking and then some more revising on my paper.

Jenny kept telling me, and now Ahmed is, that's a good space for me, this new apartment. Keep telling me and I'll believe it more. It feels weird to have my bedroom RIGHT THERE by the frontdoor ... but maybe it's just a Creole thing I'm living (they welcomed guests into their bedrooms for business dealings).

OK, a little packing, a little moving, a little unpacking, a little revising.

But first, a little chocolate. Always.

no excuse but my own

This inability to write a good legal memo - it's all me.

My instructor is awesome (and a little scary to men). I said, "This whole structure doesn't make sense to me," and she said, "Well, let's make sure that before you leave that it does, and that I've fully answered all your questions." She really would have sat there with me for hours, I have no doubt.

My actual TA just emailed me responses to questions - and her answers were totally right on and super helpful. Additionally, she was encouraging and sent it at 10:00 pm WHILE SHE IS AWAY ON VACATION FOR THE WEEKEND. She ended with: "Is this helpful? Let me know if you have any questions about the above or any further questions. Best of luck, you are almost done with it."

The TA she sent me to yesterday, was of the same caliber of quality helpfulness. He fully and thoroughly answered every question and offered meaningful advice.

So, I have three very strong and helpful people backing me up. WHY THE HELL DO I SUCK?

Sigh.

But this is, with only one exception, the case through First Choice Law School - the profs are remarkably good. Head-and-shoulders above all but a few I've had in the past. They take the subject matter and our learning very seriously. Often, especially with my last school experience, class was often about butt-in-chair-for-credit time. NO WAY of that here.

So, I wanted a challenge. I wanted more rigor; I wanted excellence.

So here I am, paying $40K/year for that rigor. It's like emptying my wallet every time I self-flagellate.

I have this Black & Decker cordless tool set which I bought ... 4+ years ago. Haven't charged the battery since then - and it still holds a charge! Wow!

In my new place, the back door is wedged shut through some really strange carpentry. I'll get Ahmed help me force it open and fix it - like *I* took off the kitchen door yesterday so that we can get the kitchen island in there today - and *I* will put up the shades (which are two inches too short, but who cares). I'm ready to move!

goodbye neighborhood

This morning, about 6:00, I was awakened by people talking very loudly. A group were grousing about something and one person's voice rose above the others, just repeating, "What goes around comes around."

Was this the final wisdom I was to glean from this neighborhood?

And then, at 7:00 this morning, and still going at it 20 minutes later, a man is edging and weed-whacking outside the only window that I can open. The is the first time I've EVER had neighborhood noise to deal with.

And so the neighborhood wishes me farewell.

note to self

get new friends who actually update their blogs regularly

southern women give good ... directions

I first noticed it with Tami. Extremely thorough and clear directions. Back in Cali, when people give directions like that, they're often wrong. Not here.

Today I went to the racist house to look at the kitchen island (and it's PERFECT and saves me the hassle of Ikea and the expense of anyplace else) and she called when she wanted me to come over. "What's your address?" I asked. "I can mapquest it."

I could hear the disdain drip from her voice. "Oh, I can give you directions." And they ranked right up there as among the best directions ever. Yup, far better than mapquest. And I learned how to pronounce a street name correctly.

There's a hospitality and a cordiality about southern women ... but mostly, there are superior direction-giving skills.