February 6, 2006 | Filed under: Uncategorized
Now that I’ve concluded enduring an 11 minute upload for a two minute video (!!!) you can click here or on the photo for more New Orleans adventures…or misadventures, really. So what’s it like here? Well, that all depends on where you are in this giant, sprawling town. I know it’s really a major metropolis, but being a New Yorker I can be jaded about such labels. As far as I’m concerned, if the metropolis you live in sports tornadoes, bike lanes, salamanders and bunny rabbits: you live in a town. It might be a really big town, but it’s a town. I hope that doesn’t offend anyone.
Anyway, New Orleans can be either be thriving, floundering or failing depending on which corner you are standing on and which direction you are facing. BigB’s house is in a neighborhood called the Bywater which is, from what I can tell, a neighborhood in the throes of transition from “pretty darn unsafe” to “just fine, if you know what you’re doing and keep your wits about you” and now “hip but not too hip, cool but not too cool, and looks rougher than it really is“. It reminds me of NYC’s East Village when I was teenager. Or Bushwick now. Except for the salamanders.
We lose power every couple of days for a couple of hours for various reasons. Tornadoes. Local 5-Alarm fires. Someone at the power company sneezes. Whatever. It’s frustrating, but not the end of the world. Some areas look clean and spiffed up, but suffer from boarded up storefronts and the resulting lack of services. The French Quarter looks lovely, but lacks tourists, and some things close early. Like noon-early, due to lack of staff. Neighboorhoods that were already hurting before Katrina are far worse off now. Whole thoroughfares of grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, gas stations, hair salons, sandwich shops: gone. Giant avenues with absolutely nothing open go one for blocks and blocks and blocks. Some of the houses on those same streets are occupied, some aren’t. All have huge piles of debris where their front lawns once grew, and the pedestrian islands are still littered with mountains of trash and abandoned cars.
There is a lot of hope floating around. But Katrina is still the number one topic overheard in cafes, on park benches, at Home Depot. “What did you lose?”, “Are you staying?”, “Is so-and-so’s open, yet?”. New Orleans is still dusting itself off, and will be for awhile, but there seems to be an overall feeling that it will rise again…unless you find yourself all alone on your brand new bike completely lost at night in the pitch dark in traffic without a tail-light or your cell phone or knowing your boyfriend’s phone number in a part of town you probably shouldn’t be in even during the day.
Then it doesn’t feel so much like New Orleans will bounce back. At. All.
February 6, 2006
@ 3:37 pm
I hope you stay safe down here in the south. The weather has been unpredictable at best. Try to have fun
February 6, 2006
@ 5:16 pm
Maybe you should have extra garbage bags just to keep stuff dry in. I bet generator rentals are making a killing too, with a the dicey electrical service. Insects die from boric acid powder but its MSDS clearly states it’s non-toxic. About as harmless to us and pets as table salt but will prevent insects from properly shedding their exoskeletons. On top of that they don’t become immune to it like sprays. My upstairs neighbor are dirty, they don’t sort their trash, rarely recycle, stomp about on my ceiling while I’m vlogging, and neccessated my using boric acid powder. It worked.
February 6, 2006
@ 7:01 pm
MissB;
You should be a correspondent. You should be in the movies, a film producer and a writer….in other words, I think you ROCK. So, now off to watch your video. Stay safe/
February 6, 2006
@ 7:07 pm
o.k….now I’ve seen it. so awful that the tornadoes went through and also damaged you boyfriends’ house, which looks, well, …damaged.
How long are you there? I am supposing not permanently due to the cockroach reaction…
Take care, again, sweetness
February 8, 2006
@ 9:58 pm
holy cow. snazzy new digs over here.
and since you ask, nothing’s not to love about sufjan stevens. there was a time when “sister” was the most played track on my ipod.
also, i can’t believe you manage to stay on top of all things vloggy while away in N.O.
February 9, 2006
@ 1:34 am
Wow, the site looks GREAT!!
I will watch the video when I get home!!!
February 9, 2006
@ 9:27 pm
That is insane Miss B.
I hope you’re okay, and that you watch out for those crazy tornados.
I’d like it if you stayed alive, thank you very much.
February 9, 2006
@ 9:58 pm
Insects and no power!!
reply to a comment: that Japanese word (ishindenshin) [telepathy] I should have provided a little more info, translation….here is a better translation: immediate communiciation from one mind to another, tacit understanding, intuitively shared thoughts or feelings, to be able to read each other’s mind…hmmm I know one group (japanese group) that uses the word in a song or two…here is the link…http://www.kinmoku-web.com/
They are called Kinmokusei…like a kind of flower that smells like…my goodness, what does it smell like? A species of a holly tree from China, brought to Japan many years ago??? I am not sure…anyhow, the music is ok…however not my favorite jpn band.
Man, weather sucks….
February 10, 2006
@ 1:16 am
Stay safe. I’m sure you’re a help to all. I’ve been to New Orleans a few times. I can only imagine . . . Take care.
February 10, 2006
@ 12:01 pm
Woohoo for the new template. Perty!
February 10, 2006
@ 12:28 pm
man that sucks……no two ways about it….and hey lizards need a place to stay too
Be safe down there….. and continued good luck…or should I say I hope you get some good luck…….
February 10, 2006
@ 3:10 pm
Your new look is FAB!
February 10, 2006
@ 7:26 pm
Just look at the new threads! Looks great…MissB goes Broadway:)
February 10, 2006
@ 9:07 pm
nice video.. i hope the people from new orleans get their life back.
February 11, 2006
@ 2:10 am
Ahhh, got your new layout up finally? I had completely forgotten about that.
February 12, 2006
@ 4:23 pm
LOVE the new digs!
I agree with you on the big town categorization. Excellent call.
I also hope this doesn’t offend anyone, but this post reminds me again why I don’t miss the South. Our power used to go out on sunny days. And I don’t miss that threatening weather. Snow just can’t hold a candle to that, thankfully.
February 12, 2006
@ 8:16 pm
I just want to give you a huge hug, for all the good that would do!
February 13, 2006
@ 11:35 am
It’s incredible how the media has forgotten complettly about New Orleans. It’s just amazing. All the attention it received and now nothing? One would think everything is OK over there, when in fact it isn’t.
Great report!
July 17, 2011
@ 2:37 pm
Cheers - cool piece!
your webpage looks great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks. :^) Does any body know about Clara’s lunch hang outs? 12dietboost users or any body in Jefferson?