Feels like a lifetime

Two years ago today I was nervously packing up a day's worth of clothes, figuring out which Cd's to bring for our road trip, and packing up my laptop. We were only gonna be gone for a day or two, max. We had decided to take my friend Marcia's car. I'd decided to lend my car to my boss Martha. She wasn't planning on leaving, and all the commotion had got me kinda anxious. Martha and her boyfriend Ray didn't have cars. You didn't really need one in the city. The streetcar and the local bus suited most just fine. Plus, parking (and the subsequent parking tickets) was a bitch when they're was anything going on in town. Which was pretty much all the time. When i was through packing i left the quarter and drove down to Parasol's to meet Martha. She lived just a couple of blocks away. She arrived just a couple sips into my first Abita Amber. I met her outside, we hugged. I told her to be safe, and i'd see her soon. That was the last time i saw martha, or my car.


I find it really hard to put into words my feelings toward two years ago. I was in no way prepared to not go back. I was in no way prepared to move back to california. I lived in New Orleans for what will ultimately, when all my days are done, amount to a very brief period of time. Yet, as i think most of the transplant residents of that city feel, i felt at home there. I should probably start from the beginning. I started this blog when i moved to New Orleans, for the second time. That's right. I'm a girl of indecision. My first go around requires a whole nother blog (which i will at some point create). I'll stick to my life at the time of the disruption. I was living by myself in the heart of the french quarter( just two streets away from bourbon street!!), in a condo that my friend jason owned (jason lived in las vegas at the time). I'd occasionally be awaken by groups of belligerent tourists, or the even more occasional gunshot. I was living it up!!! I had a bartending job at a little greasy spoon that was attached to a 24 hour bar. I had endless culture just outside my doorstep. On any given nite there were countless quality shows to catch, for free!! The music really got me. I know this sounds cheesy, but, i really FELT it, like, deep in my soul. I gained such a rich appreciation for jazz and blues. Anyway, back to that day. It was a sunday afternoon, two years ago. But it feels like a lifetime ago. I don't think i've really gotten over that monday, august 29th. I don't know that i ever will. It changed mine and so many lives. I miss new orleans. I think about it almost daily. My life is forever changed by the time i spent in that city. I often equate my feelings toward to new orleans to a boyfriend breaking up with you for no reason. We had such a perfect relationship. We were madly in love. Then, suddenly, and without REAL warning, he broke up with me. I desperately wanted to go back. But knew that i would have to get used to that life. Having to pick up at a moments notice, all the anticipation that precedes the storms is not healthy for an anxiety prone individual such as myself. And so, i've chosen to settle in cali. As much as i wish that day had never taken place, in a strange way, im thankful. If Katrina hadn't come and turned my world upside down, i would've never moved back home, and jake and i would've never started dating. I can pretty safely say, i woulda never got the chance to fall in love and be loved. I never question my choice to not go back, but, there's a part of my heart that will always be with new orleans! And i fully understand why these people and so many others didnt let the fact that some stupid bitch storm tore apart their homes, tear apart their lives!!! keep the faith!!!