Photo Journal of Everyday New Orleans

here is some graffiti I found on the way I used to take to work. The other day there was also a smashed TV scattered about the sidewalk here. That's some pretty good performance art, imo.



Some really big boats go across the Mississippi


and some godly views


i could have taken a better picture of this sculpture because I really like it. But I was tired from work and waiting for the ferry to arrive.



this painting was in my house when i first got here. it was from american pie 3, i guess. we sold it since then.



miss. river bridge. Other than the ferry, the only way to get across and you need to drive it. Shot taken from on the ferry.

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We put up these posts before lunch. They are for a fence for this woman's house. It's always fun to see a project come together. Those are my co-workers- fellow 11-month americorps members.

I'm coming home for thanksgiving for a week, and xmas/new years for two weeks. Can't wait!

Octobers a really crazy month here in rt, I am going to be working like 55/60 hour weeks, 6 or so days. As long as I can make it to Halloween I'm good. Hehehe.

Peace out yall!!

The Flood!

Six feet of water in the basement is no joke. I didn't really believe it until I saw these pictures. But it happened while we were up on Beaver Island. Old School and Paul took care of bringing up a lot of the stuff that was in the basement. As of today we're almost back to normal operations: Water heater should be fixed on Tuesday.


The west side of the house.


Our backyard
The North School park. Tina, Tom, Mom, and I went on those swings when they came over to see the house.
Looking out the front door. Rand Road is completely submerged.

Incredible.

More Beaver Island Photos

There were some Irish Games that went on the weekend we visited. I didn't go, instead I went for an epic jog along the treacherous coast of Lake Michigan. Erin took these pictures of the games, and everyone said it was a good time.



In the picture below I'm having a potation to the beloved doctor Feodor Prator. According to Wikipedia: "Feodor Protar, who arrived in 1893, was a disciple of Russian author and pacifist Leo Tolstoy. He served as a local doctor and friend-to-all while living as a recluse in a cabin in the island's interior. Protar died in 1925, leaving many admirers who would treasure his memory for decades to come.^[11]"
The Big Rock. We were told by our friend on the Island, Bret, that most of this rock is under ground, and that it's actually about 4 times bigger than this. The glaciers that moved through and created the islands must have dumped that rock there.
This is the biggest tree on Beaver Island. It's six (I think) trees in one, but it's considered one tree because it shares the same root system. Ahh Birch, a good, slow-burning fire wood. Jacky Mouse said he planted this tree.
Look at these good old boys.

Erin was trying to set the timer on her camera so we could all be in this shot, but there were technical difficulties. This is located adjacent to Daddy Franks, a little hotdog stand and ice cream parlor.


I read this really cool book while I was on the Island... It was called "Demian" by Hermann Hesse, with an Introduction by Thomas Mann. Anyway, I'll leave you all with one of my favorite quotes:

"I don't mean that you should simply do everything that pops into your head. No. But you shouldn't harm and drive away those ideas that make good sense by exorcising them or moralizing about them. Instead of crucifying yourself or someone else you can drink wine from a chalice and contemplate the mystery of the sacrifice. Even without such procedures you can treat your drives and so-called temptations with respect and love. Then they will reveal their meaning--and they all do have meaning."

Carleton!

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I've had an amazing first (almost) three weeks at school! The move-in went well... THANKS JIM! And the first few days were of course... awkward. But things have fell into a semi-routine that I really enjoy. The people are awesome. The classes are awesome. The campus, too, is pretty awesome. I've actually only ventured into Northfield once since Jim left, and that was to go to Sweet Lou's Waffle Bar. I had a Twin Cities, which would have been better named "strawberry and banana heaven." Sweet Lou's closes at 2 AM on the weekends, so my friends and I (the group I was with that night were all Jewish and until around 3 in the morning they thought I was Jewish too... ?) went there around 1 in the morn. It really hit the spot since we had spent the night playing Apples to Apples in Dacie Moses (the cookie house) waiting for our chance to bake cookies. When it finally came around, our cookies took forever to make and tasted horrible. In fact, they didn't even come out of the oven as cookies. It was just a full tray of mush. My twin cities waffle made up for all of that. And from that small taste of Northfield I can say that it's awesome too!

I don't shower on Sundays. Because I know that I'll be studying for most of the day and 90% of the students will be too. It's a lot easier to study here because everyone is studying all the time. In high school none of my friends really spent time on stuff, so if I was going to study I'd be missing out... but now if I don't study I'll feel out of the loop. It's a welcomed change. I turned in an exercise for my English class and did really well on it so I guess that's some indication of the results of studying. The exercise we did doubled as an outline for a paper and I just finished my paper about two hours ago. It's not due until tomorrow at 2, but I'm glad to have finished it tonight. If anyone wants to read it and offer some suggestions that'd be awesome, since it's our draft form and won't be graded for another week. Let me know!

Sorry, I'm not trying to talk exclusively about classes or anything, but I think I finally figured out why I was so unmotivated and disinterested in high school. Because the classes really WERE boring (sorry, Tom). Here, I don't memorize, do busy work, or get stamps for ridiculously banal, unoriginal assignments. What I do is... I read a bunch of things that make me see these new (or not so new) insights into things I'm somewhat familiar with. I think about them. Sometimes I take notes on them. And I form my own opinions and perceptions of them. I go to class, sit in a circle and hear other people talk about what they got from it. Then the class responds. Or the prof (the teachers here are amazing) points out topics of interest or focuses the classes ideas. Then we all learn from each other. And we use our ideas to help others. And others do the same with theirs. And we push each other to think further or differently or more openly. We walk out of the classroom more insightful than we came in... every day :) I love it.

I have a bunch of other stuff I'm really excited to share with everyone, but I've been in front of the computer for too long today! I'll definitely be back on here soon though!

Keep it cool!

Beaver Island

Hi everyone. I'm sorry for not getting some pictures up sooner. As some of you might know, while we were up on the island the Des Plaines river flooded over and our basement got 6 feet of water. Yesterday I finally got a chance to do some house cleaning, so it's starting to feel like home again, though we haven't moved anything back into the basement.

So here are some Beaver Island photos.




That right there is Jim's old tent, where Matt slept. We ended out moving it though because it accumulated a lot of water in that spot, and Matt threatened to sleep in my tent.

This is the North West view. The land mass on the left is Garden Island, where Jacky Mouse's nephew Sheldon's memorial is located.


Ah yes, the old camp ground. I'm standing in Lake Michigan in this picture, facing South. This is a picture of the north west tip of Beaver Island.

That right there is the Beaver Island Library. I heard from the new doctor on the island (Jessica, my love) that this is a real nice library, and if one needed to they could go in and get internet access. I'm sure that they have real good books too.

On this day we went to town together. I think it was our first full day on the island. I remember that we split up, and Matt and I started walking back to the camp grounds. We were picked up by a local and he drove us to get ice and then back to the camp ground. When I offered him a "cold one" for the road as thanks for the ride, he turned down the offer, which I thought was strange.

Okay, there are a lot more pictures and stories but I gotta start getting ready for work. I hope everyone has a real productive day.

Just when you think you've met them all...

I met some of the Arizona branch of your family today. Two of your great aunts, two great uncles, and a second cousin once removed (so confusing) were at your grandparents' house along with various members of the usual crowd. Oh, yeah - Jim and Tom were there, too. Sorry, guys. I didn't really get to talk to you. Hi! How's life? Jim, I trust your adventure in Minnesota went well. Tom, I hope to catch your show sometime this season.

Back to the party: I didn't meet everyone, but I did get to talk awhile to your Great Uncle Bruce and his daughter, Second-cousin-once-removed-whose-name-has-sadly-already-escaped-me. Both are really interesting people. Your uncle Bruce played and taught brass instruments until very recently. He substituted for an absent player for a summer in the Boston Pops, and he was offered a job in the Barnum & Bailey circus band in college. (He had to turn that down because he couldn't afford to take a year off of school.) His dad worked in a factory in Elkhart, Indiana, making brass instruments. (Holton brand, I think. But don't quote me on that.) Your uncle Bruce ended up in the printing business, but he continued to play and teach lessons. He has all kinds of good music related stories and advice.

Second-cousin-once-removed-whose-name-I-am-embarrassed-to-have-already-forgotten does research on diabetes. She used to be a nurse in the military, where she actually had to use leeches on patients! When she was just starting as a nurse, she treated AIDS patients. That was when AIDS was a newly discovered and mysterious disease. Since they weren't sure exactly how it was transmitted, the medical staff had to cover up head to toe. They were told to get in and out of the patients' rooms as fast as possible. That must have been a scary and heartbreaking job. As bad as AIDS still is today, it's good to realize that progress has been made. She has two daughters in college in Arizona, one in finance and the other in mechanical/aerospace engineering.

Oh, and apparently a long-time friend of your grandpa's, who is over 90 years old (I think his name is George), got thrown in jail for getting in a fight with someone. Your grandpa has to go to court as a character witness. Your uncle James and Uncle Tom thought that was hilarious. You'd have to ask your dad for the details - I didn't catch the whole story.

Almost everyone else seemed to be doing well. You probably all knew this, but Margaret is back in the US trying to recover from some nasty bug she caught in South America. I really hope she feels better soon!

Tina, your mom said she made you a bunch of vegetarian tamales, but then she proceeded to offer some of them to us next time we're over. I guess you didn't eat enough on Tuesday. I hope your first night of dorm life was OK.

In conclusion: Your family is full of interesting, friendly people. All administrators of this blog and their significant others included. Y'all have a good weekend in Louisiana, Minnesota, Urbana, Beaver Island, Knox, Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, or wherever you are. That is all. Good night.

MacGuyver and the TBVB's

I am really kind of tired while writing today. My poor prose :(. I biked to work today and yesterday. My bike ride consists of about 10 minutes to get to the ferry across the Mississippi river to get into downtown New Orleans. It has a gorgeous view, and we get there just at sunrise, as ferries leave every half hour (7am). Much of the remainder of the bike ride (20 or so minutes) is through this brickly paved area I call the river walk, again, simply astounding views. Sunlight, water, boats, sculptures, people.

At work today we had our first group of volunteers at our work sites. I was "in charge" of 10 or so volunteers as their house captain (HC). I had to welcome and give an orientation to these guys, which I was a little nervous about last night and this morning. I had to explain who our homeowner was, the neighborhood, RTNO(our organization), safety, and where they all came in. It went great, in fact someone from their organization (also americorps) came up to me and said I did a good job. Phew. I also went in an attic today for insulation work walking above ceilings that were 12 feet high (and seeing straight down to the ground level floor) and there were only crossbeams to stand on. I was scaaaaared, but I bit the bullet so nobody else had to go up there. I guess this means tomorrow I am probably going to have to go up there, but I assure you I am being as safe as I can. It gets really hot up there and the sweat just drenched my shirt like crazy. It was kind of funny, looking back.

I miss 3 places right now. 536, 18o0, and Knox. Ok, I am going to go sit on the porch and drink a beverage.

(Oh yeah, and to explain the title)
I just watched an episode of MacGuyver that just made me so dang happy. episode 3 season one, where he helps gypsies get into america. Hahah. And I ate my new specialty. Turkey Bacon Veggie Burgers, or TBVBs. If you want elaboration on the magnificient meal, I would gladly answer any questions. Peace.

less than 48 hours!

i'll be leaving to MN on Wednesday morning at some obscure hour that's so early it probably shouldn't qualify as morning. so, tomorrow is my last day in A of H. i made this list of things i want to do tomorrow, but reading through it reminded me of the simpsons episode where homer eats bad sushi and is supposed to die the next day so he composes this list of things to do with the remainder of his life. basically my list includes stuff like playing ball with coca, eating lots of vegetarian tamales so mom will be happy that i actually let her feed me, watching a movie with tommy, finding a good book to give MT, and watching an absurd amount of gilmore girls (just in case i get made fun of for watching it in college and have to mask my unnatural obsession for that silly show for the next 10 or so weeks). one of the last things on my list (and more practical in that it is far less dramatic than my other plans) was to let everyone know my new address. the adress that is mine. mine mine mine. well, actually since we have a central post office for the entire campus it isn't solely mine, but it's different from the one i've had for the last eighteen years, so it works for me.

Tina Hahn
300 North College Street
Northfield, MN 55057

well, everyone have a good life without me. just kidding. keep posting so i can know what's up in IL and new orleans. i'll need to live vicariously through you guys for the next ten weeks since i'll probably never leave my dorm for fear of some Fargo-esque events. so, do something interesting!

Vegas

Hey everyone, I just wanted to fill everyone in on my Vegas conference. I'm sorry for the lack of pictures; I will have a camera with me next year for sure.

The flight there was fast, because I was asleep for almost the entire flight. Normally, I get motion sickness to some degree if I'm awake, so I was thankful that I could get to sleep right away. As soon as we landed and got outside, the heat was almost unbearable. It was around 100 degress, but really not humid at all. I guess that happens in the middle of the desert.

We stayed at Mandalay Bay. The place is huge; I can tell you from my hotel room to the conference rooms is at least a mile walk we did every morning and evening. Great exercise, if nothing else. Our walk is through the casino floor, so Wednesday morning I put a dollar in a slot machine and ending up rolling 3 "bars" and won 20.00. So I cashed out and beat the house this time.

As for as the actual conference goes, I'm really excited for all the new games coming out soon. And I got a chance to play the game I've been waiting 10 years for, Street Fighter 4. I played only twice, as there was a massive line to play and you got only one game per person, win or lose (I won both times with Zangief). I also played the new Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe game, and I liked it very much. Superman, Batman, Catwoman, The Flash, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Shang Tsung, and Sonya were the playable characters in this build of the game. TNA Wrestling had a booth there to promote the upcoming game, and Samoa Joe was there signing autographs.

Outise the conference, we really didn't get a lot of time. Our breakfast meetings started at 7:00 am, and out final meetings for the day usually ran until 8:30-9:00 pm. Wednesday night, I went our Microsoft "hospitality suite" where they had the newest games, food and drinks. I hung out there with some friends (they were more interested in the 16player LAN setup of Gears of War 2 than I was), so I left earlier than them and got to sleep.

Thursday, the day we came home, was the hottest day of them all, high of 104 if I remember correctly. The flight home was pretty miserable for me. There was a crying baby behind me and I absolutely could not get to sleep. This set off my motion sickness, which thankfully wasn't as bad as it has been in the past. I got home without losing my lunch, which is always a plus.

Oeverall, it was a good time, but its great to be back home. I miss seeing eveyone, and hopefully we can talk in person soon.

Pete