Letter from New Orleans,

NOTE: This letter is from my friend Linda in New Orleans. I had asked her about her life post-Katrina. She and her husband, John, were temporarily relocated and lived in Houston before they could return to their home. These are her words.

New Orleans.

Two words that used to inspire smiles and shared memories from strangers. They had either had a great time in this town or planned to have one someday. Now say you're from NO and people look at you with pity and fear (you must be nuts if you live there.) Half the planet thinks that we're fine and apparently, the other half thinks we're still underwater. If confusion were a place, it would be here. That being said, I would like to set the record straight (granted, it will be as straight as the Mississippi, but here goes.)

This is a great town. This is a horrible town. Are you with me?

In the two years that I have been back since “The Thing,” I have seen incredible heartache and incredible joy. It's a little like living on the precipice of a love affair you're not sure is going to work out. I live in what local writer Chris Rose likes to call "the sliver by the river" or "the isle of denial.” I live uptown in the Irish Channel. My neighborhood didn't flood. Wind damage only. Our house; my husband's and mine, was still standing after the storm. It had blown off it's piers on one side, but didn't break. We lost some wood siding, part of our fence, a washer and dryer, and one refrigerator.

Note: I'm sure everyone has read about the refrigerators down here. I tried to clean mine out. It had been said you could salvage it. Take my advice, if you ever evacuate, take all of your food with you. The city morgue probably smelled better than the refrigerator. We had what looked like sesame seeds on the outside of it and things I could no longer identify on the inside. I can only imagine what anyone with flooding may have found.

Of all of the things that we lost; and the material things were not many, I miss the people that were ripped out of my life the most. I still see them occasionally, and talk as frequently as different jobs and time zones allow. However, there are no more Saturday night get-togethers of potluck dinners that rivaled even the finest restaurants, or quiet nights of playing cards with friends. Some stayed, some came back and then left, and others never returned.

Two years later, some of the residents are back. The roads are still horrible, but then they always were. There are still people living in FEMA trailers. People are still waiting to figure out how to rebuild and with what money. For all the billions of dollars poured into NOLA it is definitely going to take more.

The things that have changed are many. I would bet that we have the most politically and socially active people in the world living here now. We are going to rebuild it right. It will never be perfect, but that's okay because it will still be interesting. The schools are really trying to improve. People pick up their trash. You never realize how lucky you are to have garbage service until you don't have it. After the storm, we had the Katrina Krewe to help. Just a group of average citizens who wanted to pick up the trash. All volunteers. New Orleanians that needed to make a difference.&n bsp; Now we have Sidney Torres. The city practically sparkles. The fountain that hadn't worked in Coliseum Park for at least the 12 years I've lived here now cheerfully sprays water in a beautifully manicured park thanks to guerrilla maintenance crews. The government waste is being cut. When you don't have the resources, you start to really look at the bottom line. We have multi-million dollar condominiums going up everywhere. The French Quarter is nicer than it has ever been. We have more restaurants than we had pre-Katrina. Well, we do love our food here, it's part of life for us, like air for other people. People want to be here. The music is back. There are second lines everywhere on any random weekend.

There are also plenty of abandoned houses, overgrown lots, and homeless people. Changes will be made. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was NOLA. Brad Pitt started the "Pink House" campaign. I think it's great and it is going to make a difference. Sometimes the only thing keeping this town alive is the work and money celebrities bring here. CNN is done with our story. Our 15 minutes are up because American Idol is on. If it wasn't for Brad, Harry, Wynton, and Branford, I don't know if anyone in America would remember that we still need help. Brad's houses will be much more modern, but with a nod to traditional New Orleans homes. Those places are gone in the Ninth ward and St. Bernard. Some can be salvaged, some cannot. I don't see any problem with modernizing some of the architecture here. It has always been an amalgam of styles, as people added on to the homes they bought. My house is 165 years old in the front and 120 in the back. The inside is brand new. Times change. This city will always preserve its history, but it will also continue to look towards the future.

You had asked about issues important to me. I want to see the education system become a shining example for the rest of the world. I think it would help solve some of the other social issues in this town. Once the public schools provide the same education as the private schools, changes can start to take place in the homes as well. Education opens doors. Kids here have had a lot of doors slammed on them for a long time. It's time to give them opportunities that haven't existed in 50 years.

I want to see the neighborhoods rebuilt with the wisdom of lessons learned. We need to have the growth of the populace keep pace with the growth of the infrastructure. I WANT THE DUTCH TO BUILD OUR LEVEES!! I want a real levee system. Not one made out of tin cans. KATRINA DID NOT DESTROY NEW ORLEANS! BAD ENGINEERING DID! I want wetland restoration to take priority. I want the American government to realize how important this city is to the rest of the country. America needs our port. The Mid-west is crippled without it. I want our oil related tax revenues back. We could afford to rebuild ourselves. I don't know which political genius gave that up, or what he got for it, but I hope his house flooded. Greed is not the way to go.

This has turned into a rant. It's hard to talk about the way you feel without getting overly emotional. I know how refugees feel. I've been one in my own country. That will leave you angry and confused. I still can't watch clips of Katrina's aftermath without feeling as if my heart will literally shatter into a million pieces. Sometimes, I can't even drive by houses with water lines still on them without feeling slightly defeated. Other days, when the sun is shining, and I see a few houses sitting repaired and pristine among the wreckage, I feel the infinite joy of watching the miracle of birth and the resilience of the human spirit and know that everything will be just fine. It's only going to take time. Something this city has plenty more of, even if I never live to be that old. We've been here for 300 years. We'll be here for at least 300 more. We're just crazy-stubborn like that and besides, nobody cooks like we do.

Linda Dietrich

The Dietrichs
Thank you and I love you guys!

The Power of Wishing

Remember this?
And this?

Well, I start work Monday at 8:30 am.

I will be working with a state agency in their archives department!

Thanks everyone who thought of me.

Gray skys are gonna clear up....

Remember the good luck I wanted? I think it worked.

I was very worried about this job I had been offered last December and then didn't hear anything about. Now it was a position working with the State and I knew it would take time but I also expected a "we're dealing with paperwork, please be patient" response when instead a voice mail and an email received no response.

Of course a girl still has to eat, so I started this temp job. However, in the course of being sent out on interviews, I was tempted and tried for a temp-to perm job (yes, I'd pretty much given up). Fortunately and unfortunately, they wanted to hire me immediately! And then, that is when damn Hope made its return. So, I had to turn down employer-paid health insurance and a higher salary.

Ugghh, my life for the last 4 years has been ALL about fresh starts and looking toward the future, when I really just want to be living that life NOW.

If this is the career (despite being low paying) that I want, this job (basically a paid internship, no benefits-thing) is the "intelligent" decision. It will get me in there before I even finish my degree, expose me to the issues, and get me acquainted with the main players in this town.

So yes, ideally this is the position I should have been in 15 years ago, but I didn't know myself well enough then. I had no idea what my strengths were or how deep my convictions would lie. I first had to experience a career I loved and have the realities of it (loneliness, no time for a social life, no help when needed, long hours, and little or no recognition for your hard work) slowly wear me down.

I received an email yesterday that said:

"Sorry for delay in getting back with you [ ] time got away from me on this. ...I have passed along the request to refill the position - will get back with you on either Tuesday or Wednesday, once I have heard back to see if you would still like to take on the position."

So all I can say is stay positive, despite all.

It seems to have worked this time. I also got into the two classes I wanted that were full to capacity, people dropped out the first night and I swooped right in! Remember, my whole reason for being in this city is to graduate. No classes being taken, no reason to be here.

A wished-for new beginning?

The Friday before Christmas at 2:30 pm, I had an interview with a state agency for an internship. Within the first 5 minutes, the woman with whom I arranged the meeting let me know that there had been a change; the evening before an employee informed them she would be leaving around the first of 2008. Therefore, I not only met with the people seeking an intern but also the head of the other department. The meeting/interview was a strange experience because it all seemed as if i had my choice of either opportunity, if i wanted. With the way that 2007 has gone this was a very foreign feeling to me.

The internship and the position pay the same, a lower salary than the one I had at my last position. A livable salary, but still a reduction. However, this opportunity would be a first step into the industry that i want to work in. Therefore, this is a great opportunity, an opportunity that I really want.

I was told at the interview that this position will give me a taste of how this agency works and how it interacts with state and federal agencies on historic preservation issues. Most employees stay there up to a year and use the connections and knowhow they have learned in the position to gain other opportunities. So, though I might not be able to dump massive money on my debt, I will gain experience and contacts while also being able to pay my rent...sounds good to me.

Being a state agency, they first have to go through a hiring approval process and I'll have to join a specific staffing agency that does the hiring for them. They would like the new person (which could be me!) to start on January 10 or earlier. So I have to call and check on all of this, January 2nd.

Wish me luck!

Career and Creativity Resolutions

Last year, I made a great decision. I quit a job that was stagnating my brain and denying me a workable schedule to continue my part-time education. I borrowed enough money: to complete my remaining college education on a full-time basis, supply myself with a laptop computer, and if money was leftover, help fund my graduation trip to Italy to see my friends and goddaughters who are living there. The missing piece of the plan was that I needed to supplement the loan money with a part-time job, at some point.

However, that great plan did not work out. I fully take responsibility for that. The signs were there, I just didn't take them seriously. I did not acquire that part-time job, the money went faster than desired, and now I would do best getting a full-time job.

However, through my last college course and the work I completed, I realized what my interests have been hinting at for years...I know what field I want to work in. Historic Preservation and Neighborhood Revitalization. I also know that I want to start that career here, in Richmond.

1. Actively network, self-educate, volunteer, and pursue a career in the Historic Preservation field.

I guess when you start to think everything is utterly hopeless, you are forced to fight your fears in ways you never had the guts to before.

• A mass email, including my resume, was sent to friends and colleagues in town explaining my work situation.
• Friends working for large corporations suggested the staffing agencies they use (ones that appreciate people might need a more livable wage.) I joined and they have already called me.
  
• A pick-your-brain request to a supportive professor may have resulted in possible paid intern work inside the field!
• I volunteered myself to help a loved neighborhood complete their nomination to the National Register of Historic Places in order to be designated a Historic District. So looking forward to this!
  

I have also started getting more aggressive in the blogosphere. Hopefully, in the next months you will see more changes both here and on SHELTER.

2. Enhance look, expand content, and increase traffic on both blogs.

• I joined BlogHer months ago but I want to become more active, in fact I would love to attend the conference in '08.
• I want to commission (by trading services) friends of mine to design specific looks for my blogs.
• Most definitely, I want to increase traffic to the sites.
• Perhaps, add a retail component to SHELTER?
  

Most of all, I want to stop downplaying the things that I feel I do well. If I want to succeed in anything, well, I need to believe in myself most of all.

Church Hill, Richmond, VA

10.28.07

My Historic Preservation class took a walking tour of Church Hill this past weekend, ending with iced Halloween cookies and hot apple cider.


Ann Carrington house
2306 E Grace Street


A porch detail


The Bellevue School
2301 E Grace Street


A city street view


Sisters of the Visitation of Monte Maria
2209 E Grace Street




Views from the Grace Street overlook

What I'm doing on Labor Day:

• Hemming this dress finally!!!

• Easing in the sleeve for this vintage top.

• Reading chapters 1 & 2 of my historic preservation textbook. I have a writing assignment due Wednesday night.
  

• Watching the first season of Ricky Gervais' Extras. (YAY! Netflix!)

So I did reenroll for the fall semester...

I was still upset that I might not be able to take the Art History department’s Historic Preservation class before I graduate. Using the VCU site's search option I stumbled upon URSP 517 Historic Preservation in Planning offered by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. The great thing about this class is that the textbook, Historic Preservation: An Introduction to its History, Principles, and Practice by Norman Tyler, was written by a professor in this field and has been used as a textbook in preservation programs around the country. This textbook can actually be called an investment, unlike the many others that I have and cannot sell back.

So I have enrolled in this class and it starts this Wednesday at 7PM. The only thing that has me worried is that it is a 500-level class. I still have not taken one of them in my own major.

I still will also try to get into that one Art History class that starts in the evening at 5:30 pm. Because it starts pretty early it might still be an issue for an employer, but as I don't have an employer yet...

Where I am right now

Yesterday I was no longer enrolled at VCU for the Fall semester. But don't panic, because today I am back. Many factors led to that first decision:

Factor 1
In order to graduate I need to complete seven classes: three History classes (in any subject) and four Art History classes (three in specific time periods and one as an elective.) Way back in April, I enrolled for three classes in the Fall; 1 European History and 2 Art History classes.

In the time between then and now, two of those art History classes were canceled.

I had specific reasons for those two classes. One I wanted to retake to get a better grade and the other one was a class in Historic Preservation, which is what I want to get into after I graduate. I will either take it in Graduate school or complete a certificate program.

Factor 2
My financial resources are running out and I need to get a job. The classes I had originally signed up for were evening classes so there would have been no problem.

The other classes that I could substitute for the canceled ones are mostly held in the daytime, so not very conducive for a job.

My European History class was not canceled.

However, the class times are 9-9:30 AM Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. I don't think an employer or a temp agency will accept that schedule from a new hire.

At this point I just about gave up. My only possible solution is if I can convince the teacher of the one Art History class meeting at night to let me into her already full class. The class does not meet until next Monday so I'll just have to wait and see.


Tomorrow: Part 2- Why I enrolled again

So Sweet Savannah

A month ago I looked into schools with Graduate or Certificate programs in Historic Preservation.

Whoa...just a thought, just a thought.

Yes, I still have a year and a half in my BA program.

But since I also want to move somewhere new after I finish my degree the goal was to find programs in cities that I would not mind moving to whether I chose to further my education or not. Then grad school could always be an option if I did choose to go.

Last week I received my copy of the Savannah College of Art and Design catalog. I mean, what better city is there to study historic preservation?

And then today I found this post on Entre Nous, one of the blogs I had just started checking out.

So it seems I will be able to follow her adventures long before I have to make up my mind about moving or applying.

Hurrah.