4/6 Quincy, at last

When we pulled in the parking lot I told Rob I felt the same way I felt when I picked him up. He didn't seem to appreciate the analogy.

She is beautiful. Janae cried when she handed over Quincy. It seems that since she was so much smaller than the others that they put her in the house two weeks ago, and everyone fell in love with her. At Rob and Beata's Bobby and Chilli kept sticking their noses in her butt. Bella ignored her. Rob and Beata love her already too. Here she is in all her glory.

4/6 A HUGE warning

Never try to find a motel near Augusta, Georgia during Masters' week. I left work early and planned to drive 7 hours. Ended up having to drive 9 because I drove through Augusta. Ever been laughed at by a motel clerk? No, not for any nefarious or sexual reason--simply because you dared to ask for a room when it was Masters' week. I had to drive past Columbia, SC to find a place.

I plan to leave early tomorrow morning and drive the whole way home because I have Quincy now. Will post pictures of the little sweetie in a minute.

4/4 Working from home

I've already accomplished so much and have a trash bag full of "stuff." Also, on a personal note the moving company will deliver my furniture April 13 or 14. This is great because originally it was supposed to be the next week and I'll be in New Mexico then. The best news is that it's only going to cost $388 more than it would have cost to ship it to Quincy; 750 miles for that price. Not bad, huh?

As I'm going through all this material, I'm re-reading the information about Katrina's impact. It's so much more meaningful to me since I now live here. Perhaps I'll post some of the statistics when I get a chance.

4/3 Another full day

The day whizzed by. I stayed in meetings or "putting out fires" all day so didn't do any of my regular work. Decided to stay home tomorrow and work. I'm finding it almost impossible to dig in at the office. When I close my office door the cold air return doesn't work and my office gets overheated. So if I work at home at least I'll be able to both stay cool and stay focused.

But as I tell everyone--being this busy is good job security. :)

I brought home a stack of paper over a foot high. My goal is to get through it all tomorrow. I'll read, file, pitch, or act on it...but by gum, it'll be gone.

4/2 More...

The best news is that my nephew is home and fine. Luckily it was something they could fix right away.

Work was so, so, so busy. I wasn't able to get to my planned work until nearly 5 tonight. I decided to work from home one day this week and one day next week so that I finish some tasks that are overdue. There are some really wonderful people working for our company. I feel so blessed to work with them.

Just got some good news from my realtor. The tenant in my house will be gone by Good Friday. They'll have the house cleaned on Saturday, so I will definitely be able to move in on Tuesday, April 12. Well, I won't have any furniture yet, so will probably wait several days before I move in "for real." But I'll be able to take some of my stuff over there and clean out the RV to just essentials. This makes me smile.

Oh, and we had more than 3 1/2 inches of rain when those thunderstorms came through yesterday. Amazing.

4/1 No April Fool's joke!

I need to build an ark. Fast. I'm afraid this RV is going to float away soon. Let me start at the beginning.

Woke up at seven. After my shower I drove to Coffee Fusion (near my new home) to check out the coffee and breakfast fare. It was good. Ate a nice breakfast then went to the grocery store to stock up. As I arrived at my car it started raining and my phone rang at the same time.

The rain wasn't bad, so I said hello to my sister, Jan, as I loaded up my car. Sat in the parking lot to chat and the rain started pouring. Finally I started driving when the rain seemed to let up a bit. Got to the drawbridge over the back bay and the rain became a deluge. I was still talking to Jan and finally realized she wasn't there.

I'd been chatting about the downpour and the drawbridge and the back bay and how pretty it all was even though I could barely see, and the whole time we'd been cut off. Called her back and she was laughing. Seems we'd been talking 29 minutes already when cut off. I described the drive and how the roads were getting flooded--different from home where we have storm sewers in the streets. By the time I got to Beach Boulevard the water covered my tires halfway. I started laughing, albeit a bit hysterically.

Finally pulled off Beach and drove a little north on the peninsula to Pass Road. Thought it would be better, but it was worse if anything. Jan was laughing at me because I was still doing this excited, nervous laughter. And was afraid to stop because didn't know if I could start up again. When I got to the RV park it was deep water, but I managed to pull into the park. There was a guy--looked like he was playing in the gutter, something we loved to do as kids. Turns out he was working on clearing a small drain in the road.

My driveway is a tiny bit higher than the road, so it's not badly flooded, and the door to the RV is only about two feet from my car door. Still I got soaked unloading the car, even with an umbrella. I'm so happy to be back in my little nest. I unplugged my computer, but the connection is wireless so am still able to get online. Right now we seem to be in a little lull, but we've had several different thunderstorms pass through so I don't know if it's finished yet. Wow--what an adventure!

Got some bad news from Jan too. One of my nephews is in the hospital. Hopefully he'll go home today. I'd written up all the details and then realized they were private and I wouldn't want to do anything to embarrass him. I'm praying everything turns out okay.

3/31 I love the weekend

This morning I went to Joy's for breakfast and coffee. While there I caught up on some reading for work. Then did my laundry, which cost $10. Can't wait for my own washer and dryer again. After that I drove to Gulfport to Petsmart and bought Quincy's crate for the house. It's huge, for when she's grown, but has a panel to put in for when she's small. Nice. But it will take up about 1/4 of my RV. Funny.

I'm going to finish my taxes, put away my laundry, and then relax.

Here's what I'll miss about living in an RV park: Whenever I go outside there's always folks walking their dogs. I can pet animals and talk to their owners. It's so friendly here, and that's really neat. Even those without pets are outside a lot (heck, many of these RVs are small), and there's visiting going on. But your privacy is really respected. I mean no one knocks on your door or makes noise late at night. And this park is a nice combination of retired people and folks here to do disaster work.

Talked to Jill and Rob. Jill and her family are on their way to the Grand Canyon for a vacation while Kayla is on spring break. Rob is still really sick but won't go to the doctor. He sounds awful and I told him to consider himself nagged. It's probably a sinus infection or a throat infection. He says he's too busy to go to the doctor, but I don't think he realizes what a strept throat can turn into. His Aunt Janet had a strept throat in high school and it turned into rheumatic fever. She had to spend part of her sophomore year at home in bed, and has some minor heart issues as a result. Yeah, Rob, this is for you. GO TO THE DOCTOR. I love you.

Talked to Jan too today. She and Jane (and other relatives) are at a huge garage sale and they are raising money for our Avon Breast Cancer Walk in Chicago in June. By noon they'd already raised more tan $1200. I'm thrilled. Way to go!

3/30 Friday again

Time is passing so quickly. In one week I'll be picking up Quincy. Yay for that.

The work week did fly by. We had visitors from Austin. And next week we have people from two different departments coming down to see us. I'm really glad, too., They're going to help us with some difficulties, and life will be a bit easier f or us afterward.

Tomorrow I'm going to finish my taxes. Haven't worked on them since last Sunday. Must get them done, especially because I'm going to get a nice refund. I can sure use that.

3/29 No more bathroom woes

During a managers' meeting today I got called out and someone said there's a guy here who needs your RV key. Yeah I was surprised. Turns out one of the camp directors' surprised me by calling an RV plumber to fix my bathroom problem. All I can say is, "Oh, yeah!" Life is really good when you have a working bathroom.

And last night, I had to walk up to the shower building to use the restroom. Of course that was the night when I couldn't sleep and had use the bathroom all the time. But now, all is good.

It was so very busy again. I didn't get much of my planned work done because a lot of things kept popping up. Guess I just better get used to it!

I'm still smiling, though. Love it.

3/28 Black water and gray water

Ah, the joys of RV living. I'm learning the hard way about the intricacies of plumbing issues in an RV. 'Nuff said.

Today was busier than I could have ever envisioned. Didn't get any of the work done that I'd planned. One HR thing after another, and then one contract thing after another, and then one blah blah blah. You get the picture. I'm weird though--I love it.

Jill called me a few minutes ago. She's registering Hunter for kindergarten. It's so weird when your youngest goes off to school. I remember experiencing the same thing with Jill. My little one--all grown up; or at least she thought she was. Hunter is excited about being at the same school with his big sister Kayla. They are both so adorable...miss them tons.

3/27 Whoops

Just checking in while I eat my lunch at my desk and noticed I didn't blog yesterday. That's unusual. But I'm staying pretty busy.

Besides lots of work in my office yesterday, I drove over to Camp Victor. It's about 15 or 16 miles from my office. It was a good visit and I got a lot accomplished. Had lunch there which was great. They almost always have a vegetarian entree, and always have a neat salad bar. Spoke to the site director, the assistant site director, a long-term volunteer who does a bit of everything, and a newspaper reporter. The reporter loved the tour and the building. I basically tagged along for the tour because I want to learn everything I can.

While in the warehouse I found two tables that I'll be able to use for my home office. That's great and will save me some money. Of course, they aren't mine, but will serve me well while I work for LSSDR--hopefully for a long, long time.

Today the management staff and I went over our hurricane response plan. Hurricane season starts in June, so we have lots of planning to do in a short period of time. But this is a great group of people and I know we'll get it accomplished. (No, I'm not just saying that because some of them might read this.)

Tonight there will be no working from home. Why? Because I'm a reality show junkie and American Idol and Dancing with the Stars are on tonight, that's why.

3/25 Sunday miscellaneous

Miscellaneous Musings:

Went to 8 AM services at Christus Victor. Since I was awake anyway I decided to go to the early one. Pastor Terri introduced me and had me stand. More than 100 people in the church were volunteers from Camp Victor and so it was good they could associate a face with my name. As I sat back down it really hit me about the enormity of this job. I just looked up at the cross and thought, "Help me."

In my travels today I drove along Beach Drive four times. There's a huge speedboat race going on and the roads and beaches are full of people. I could see from the road though and each speedboat had a helicopter right over it. How cool is that?

As I neared Keesler Air Force Base a C130J flew right over me. That thing is as huge as a small village.

I passed a clearing where a church used to stand. The people were having worship services near a big wooden cross they'd put up.

Our motto at work is Semper Gumby, standing for Always Flexible. Don't know who made it up, but I heard it from Henry, a retired Marine. I love it.

Went shopping, got my nails done, bought food and clothing. Went out to breakfast after church. Everyone is so friendly. We just chat while waiting in line.

Met some people from Luck, WI who are volunteering here.

Have been working on my taxes. Am almost done with my federal ones. Will get a nice refund this year--that's because I had CPI take out more money than I needed. I'm a terrible saver and didn't want to be caught unaware with a high tax bill.

I know there's more, but I'm tired.

3/24 Wait...there's more

Haven't started taxes yet but will soon. Laundry took longer than planned. And PetSmart was waaay too much fun. Bought a collar and leash (both pink) and picked out the crate I want, but didn't buy it today. Maybe next week.

Talked to both Jan and Jill today. It was nice. And I keep going to my brother Joe's blog because today it is even funnier than usual. Our family is odd. Weird, sick, funny, loving, sarcastic, smart, and well...odd. That's part of our charm. If you're into weird families read Joe's blog today.

3/24 Saturday

I slept late--8 AM. This is the first morning I slept until it was light.

After my shower I went to Joy's for coffee and a bagel. Then down to the Gulf. I walked for 40 minutes then took a drive around the peninsula. Past all the many casinos, but through small, devastated neighborhoods too. The difference between the two is astounding.

Now I'm doing laundry and will soon start on my taxes. I won't finish them right away though because I'm going to PetSmart to buy some puppy "stuff." Then to a late lunch/early dinner.

Living less than a mile from the beach is AOK with me. Wow, what a blessing!

3/23 Friday again

Tomorrow will be pretty boring since I'm going to be working on taxes. I think I'll have Turbotax going on my personal computer and a movie DVD going on my work one. Should keep me awake anyway.

Got a lot done today. Then went to lunch at Camp Biloxi with Sandra and Maria. Afterward we drove out to Woolmarket where we checked on a warehouse operated by IDTF (Interfaith Disaster Task Force). Since Woolmarket isn't too far away from my new place we drove by there on the way back to the office.

It was such a beautiful day that I left work at 4:30 and walked around the RV park a little bit.

There are boat races on the Gulf this weekend. Maybe I'll stop there. It will remind me of the races on the Quincy bay. :)

Oh, I got an email and everything is set with my home loan. Can't wait.

3/22 I love Mississippi! And I love The Joys of Coffee!

I'm not lying when I say I've never lived in a place where people are so friendly and gracious.

Lots of people are excited about the Starbucks that's coming in. (We currently don't have one.) I'm excited too, and but won't go there unless I'm with someone else who wants to go. Does this surprise you? I'm the gal who posted about stopping at Starbucks every morning in Milwaukee on my way to work. At the same time though, I frequented Alterra coffee which was a local coffeehouse, but only went there on the weekend because it was far from work.

Local businesses need to be supported. Every morning on the way to work I stop at The Joys of Coffee for my decaf Americano. After Katrina, Joy came right back in, cleaned up the place and started making coffee. That's a great story. And Joy is such a welcoming and friendly person. She, Matt, Sloan, and the young woman whose name I don't know do a great job there. And I'm greeted every morning with, "Good morning, Miss Jeri." How can you beat that?

They're closed on Sunday, so then I drive to Ocean Springs to Mocha Moose for a coffee. I sit on the porch and read or watch the world go by.

I love Mississippi. (We'll see what I say when summer comes.) But how can I not love a location where palm trees grow?

3/21 Now it's really Spring!

I'm so excited. My brother, Jeff, is coming down to work with a group from his church. They're coming toward the end of September for a week and will help with rebuilding the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Isn't that awesome?

When he first approached me about this a few days ago, I told myself not to get my hopes up, but they are really going to do it. They'll stay at Camp Biloxi because it's only about a mile from my office. I'll be able to go to the mess hall every night and have dinner with him. We provide a place to sleep and all meals for our volunteers. A lot of staff have meals there as well. I went there for lunch today in fact. They had baked chicken, mixed vegetables, homemade rolls, broccoli cheese soup, salad, and cake. So I sure didn't have to eat much for dinner tonight. (Ate a pre-packaged bean and cheese burrito.)

I spent time at FEMA today to get my packet so I can sign up for a FEMA badge, but I'm afraid they gave me the wrong one. They gave me the one for staff instead of an affiliate agency. So I'll go back tomorrow, but luckily it's less than a mile away. Our office is really centrally located for Biloxi. Too bad it's a little distance from Camp Victor but that will get better once the bridge gets rebuilt.

3/20 It's SPRING!

I hope that means warm weather for my relatives and friends back in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri. And I'm still hoping for snow for Beata in NC. :)

What a day I had. First of all I found out that the Director of Case Management and the casemanagers/caseworkers read this blog. At first I laughed, and then I got scared. Had I said anything nasty about anyone? Had I been negative at all about this job? I don't think so, because I tend to not write negative things, but also because I haven't felt negative about this job--except for the great amount of work we need to do. I could work 24 hours a day and still not be finished. That's something I need to watch out for. People in disaster work tend to overwork and to not count the cost. Our staff is so wonderful that I want to make sure they're here for a long, long time. So get out of that office and go home.

At some time I'll explain what the caseworkers do and how they relate to whether we rebuild a home or not. It's pretty interesting.

Let me tell you about the rest of the day. I didn't get much office work done. As soon as I'm finished with this, I'll make dinner, then sign off my personal computer and sign back on to the work one. (Yep, it's a laptop too, and I can connect to work via a VPN--a virtual private network.)

Even though I didn't get much regular work done, it was a superb day. Ken, the PR guy from our corporate office, visited from Austin. It was so much fun listening as people told their stories. An elderly couple came to the office. They both carried themselves so proudly, even though they are in their 80s and lost everything for the second time in their 59 year marriage. Ken interviewed them and their caseworker joined us. It was so cool hearing about how she is their "guardian angel." Their house, in Pass Christian was picked up and moved into their neighbor's yard. It was a house they built 51 years ago. Poignant, but with a happy ending. Their caseworker is getting another religious building group to put down the foundation and do the framing. Then we will come in and do everything else.

Then we took Ken on a grand tour. Several of us went and it was well-worth the time. I met some homeowners where our volunteers were working. Oh my--it was the coolest thing ever to see folks working hard, most on their spring break from college. Following that we went to two brand new homes that we'd built. The owners, a father and daughter, gave us tours of their homes. They were both fantastic, and were well-furnished and obviously well-loved homes. The dad had a shrimp boil for the volunteers last year, and he said he's going to have another one this year and I'm invited. Well, I found out that you don't have to have seafood to love a shrimp boil. I can have corn and other vegetables boiled in that good tasting sauce. I'm looking forward to it.

This is already so long. There's so much other news but I guess it'll wait for tomorrow.

3/19 Picture of my puppy

Tom sent this picture of Quincy from a few days ago. He titled it "Quincy after chow time." Looks like she's just waiting for me, doesn't it? Also, with that dirty snout, it looks like she was eating dirt. But I think she's beautiful.

3/18 Me and my RV

I'm nice and cozy in this RV. I really like it. Just hope I can find room for everything. It's amazing though; there are cubbyholes and storage everywhere. Under the bed, under the RV, under the couch, under the benches by the table, in the bathroom. And there are plenty of cabinets in the kitchenette. Again, I'm amazed.

This morning I went to church at Good Shepherd Lutheran which is Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Next week I'll go to Christus Victor which is ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). Today's service was so much like a Catholic Mass that I could say most of the prayers without looking at the book.

Afterwards I moved all my stuff from the hotel to the RV. In doing so I broke Rob and Beata's TV they'd loaned me. I left my big one at their house and took a smaller one with me--no room in the car for the big one. So I had to go buy a new TV today too. Plus towels and pillows--things like that. No problem because I'll use them at my new house.

I feel great...work is only about a mile down Pass Road, and the coffee shop is only a mile in the other direction. Yay.