These last several days have been very, very tiring for me: getting the house fixed enough to get us out of this “dumpster” we been living in for two years, deciding how I’m go to pack stuffs and have it moved to the house… when do we get the girls fixed so they can roam the courtyard and then, how will the catz act through the entire process. There are mounds of papers and files all through the hovel (must not lose them…. that’s Grants and SBA poop). And then there are the tools and the kitchen.

Setting up the offices are first, but I need the Contractor’s map of all the wiring in the house to bring it all together in order for Betts to be able to function on the next workday. Four ‘puters need to be networked right away and the three extra terminals must be ready for the cottages and the gameroom. (have two new 8-point routers and 16 lines running through the place.) Must get Cox in so Betts can have her phones. Still need to get Entergy up there in order to put in the new gas and electric meters.

Our guys are doing great work, but weather (humidity) and final probs keep cropping up. (The ceiling in the offices had the beams a little warped when the tidal wave from the canal walls lifted one end of the house, and the resulting ceiling looked like the surf at Moloki.) The plumbers put the drain collection pipe for our bedroom potty in a strange place, and I want that fixed. The first part of the back deck must be built next week… I want a back staircase and the generator landing ready soon.

And there’s things we should be attending to, but it’s hard to get out of here early enough to get them done. Betts’ biz is hopping, so we can’t bug-out of the office in order to take care of things like buying the appliances (they don’t take payment over the phone), getting the last few fixtures and buying/making curtains. The rains force us to stay in since the sidewalks have 8″ of water on them and we can’t get out, or the traffic starting around 3 PM is so bad we can’t make it to where we need to. (Still haven’t picked up Opal’s ashes.)

The rains are also slowing down the cementing of the new connection to the sewer main, and that means we still have a huge hole in front of the only garage that we can get to at this time. The gravel for that one drive cannot be laid yet, and that means slogging through a mud pit to get into and out of the place. The sewer drain for the FEMA trailer still needs to be moved to our side yard connection so’s the dumpster can be put in place and we can move forward on finishing (and re-finishing) the drives.

Still awaiting the delayed House Elevation Grant and the next infusion from the SBA. Both will come through, but waiting and worrying is taking it’s toll on both of us. Things would have been pretty much done now if the grant would have hit last Summer as promised… the State had to find a way to screw up what we were to get months ago. This kept our worker count lower than expected so we could keep them doing our house instead of running off and starting other projects (thus putting us on the back burner).

It seems like the only times we leave this dump are for food, household stuffs and buying building materials. We have only played one tournament since right after Thanksgiving. Going to the bar to socialize doesn’t really happen anymore: we show up at odd times once in a while, and it’s almost always that the two of us are the only folks there. Shopping for some nice clothes is out: no place here to store them. (I’ve learned to mix and match various warm weather clothes in layers with my short supply of winter stuff to stay warm)

I’m just rambling and peeved that with all we have done to rebuild here, it is still like slogging through 4′ deep mud. I can’t do Psych meds because they either do nothing or they knock me out for the day. There’s only so much I can drink (and not become a total lush). Betts and I alternate with bouts of stomach attacks. I’m lucky to have a decent night’s sleep one a week… most of the nights are spent laying there with my mind racing over the entire ‘Verse. The only thing in my mind are how’s this affect the Coast, or the city, then Gentilly and lastly our home. It is like living in the center of a merry-go-round that never stops, and the characters are always changing on each spin.

Alright, enough bitching and moaning. We ARE the lucky amongst many in this city. We are almost home, though it seems like that promise changes daily. Many folks here haven’t even started on rebuilding. (I don’t know how they are keeping it together in the face of all this shit)

And I just made a decision: I’m waking Betts up from her nap in a few minutes, and we are going to the Starlight for a few drinks as we should have done earlier. Thank the Goddess that the bar is open all weekend nights. Maybe I’ll get to see the Sun rise as we leave with our to-go cups make it home and fall into a deep sleep.

“Bartender? GROG! NOW! Aaarrrggghhh me maties. We have returned… “