epilogue

so its been a year since the 'caine, and my road trip out to california. as i read over the entries, i realize, wow, a lot more happened than what i wrote and i wasn't able to post up the pictures, and it just kinda ended.

well, after the p-nix stay, i did make my way to california. i visited my best friend in san diego, and met her new baybay, Nico. so cute, so wierd that my friend has a baby. all those feelings of the crazy single girlfirend suddenly hit me. i'm in my 30's and the single friend. how wierd. but i guess thats my fate. i knew it all along. its just wierd when fate catches up with you.

then i drove up to the OC and reunited with my long lost cousin. amazing. she looks just like she did the last time i saw her, like 10 years ago. it was awesome to see her. and my other baby cousin, all grown up. last time i saw her, we were babies. well, she was. she's 23 and hot now.

then i went over to my new whole foods. everyone was so great and welcomed me with open arms. the store was small, and there was a family vibe like at good old ABS. so that was promising.

my california stay is best summed up with working, working working. a trip to IKEA that showed me all this cheap furniture that would have saved my last relationship, nordstrom rack goodies (woot blue cults!) and yum. Red Robin cheeseburgers with guac.

i had many a california moment. my favorite was some customer asking about what shampoo "tested best" meaning some guru of hers tested poos? ridiculosity. then she turned around, saw a friend, and was all "have you taken your wheat grass shot yet?!" definitely my first california moment that i didn't think really happened. wheatgrass? really? ok.

and there was all the crazy conspiracy theories about the hurricane that i got from customers: government controlling the weather, new orleans is such a den of distruction that it was god's plan, that somehow, the hurricane was racial. all kinds of good stuff. people are so wierd. and insensitive.

had a good awkward moment, one of the guys asked me if i had in and out yet, and of course, i'm all "TAKE ME TO IT" actually, the question was prefaced with "do you eat meat?" double the fun- sooo WF and soo california to have to always ask if one eats meat first. so we go, and i figure he's younger than me, talking about being in school and all, but when he asks "when did you graduate?" meaning....HIGH SCHOOL. holy crap. when he finds out my age, he says "wow. i'm young" so now i have to know. how old is this kid? "20" TWEN-TY nice. i can't even take him drinking. what am i to do with him? well, he is nice and well mannered. not a bad way to get some in and out. BURGERS. we are talking burgers here.
so that is when i fell out of love with the awkward moment. but he is a cool kid. we went out again, and i met him out at benihana, and i said,"meet you at the bar...or not. ha."

when i wasn't working, i was sitting in traffic. and hating every minute of it. it all finally hit home all those sayings of "you spend [insert percentage here] of your life in traffic" and all i could think of was how i could be doing anything else other than sitting in traffic. after missing a much needed hair appointment due to the hellacious traffic, and also an incident when the traffic made me so pissed/sleepy/tired/mad that i had to decompress at nordstrom rack, i knew i'd be a raging beiatch by the time i got anywhere, i decided that california, or at least the OC was NOT for me.

then it was my visit home to assess the situtation and to see family, friends and unfortunately, go to a funeral of a wonderful wonderful person. the minute i saw my friends, and went to the bar, i knew i would come back home for good. or at least till new orleans sinks. it was so good to see everyone, even though the city was unbelievable. the run, the floodlines on houses that are way way way above my head, the massive amount of flooded cars abandoned everywhere. little things, like on the drive in from alabama, all of a sudden, alll the trees were bent the same way. seeing all the blue tarps on rooftops from the interstate. the layer of flood grime all over everything. fences, walls, windows gone. abandoned, duct-taped up refrigerators out on every corner, codes spray painted on houses, "LOOTERS WILL BE SHOT" spray painted on houses, buildings, storefronts. luckily, i missed the stench. the city was quiet. so quiet.

then we roll up to my 'hood, and i see my house for the first time. the awning is gone, the roof is practically gone, debris everywhere, and the water cover gone from the sidewalk. inside, the house is musty, you can tell no one has been in the house in months. no refrigerator, D has kicked that to the curb too. so for the days i'm here, i've got a cooler for drinks. (alcohol, mostly). and hardly any food joints are open. there is a 2am curfew. national guard is everywhere. somehow i find it comforting. better than the NOPD.

but despite all this, my little neighborhood is flourishing. determined to come back. there is all this post-katrina love between everyone. people on the street greet each other in ways that they never used to. i think that due to the diaspora, people are extra friendly, b/c their groups have disbanded, relocated, etc, and everyone is reaching out to create new bonds and friendships. Oddly enough, it seems like there are many many more good looking people post-K than before the storm. lt's like only the cute survive. Darwinism at its best.

in a bar, i run into a co-worker of mine, who says that my WF is opening up in January. it gives me great excitement and i get in touch with my supervisors to let them know that whenever they are ready to open the store, to get in touch with me so that i can come back home to work.

so i go back to california with a new sense of knowing where home is. and no one is more surprised to learn that it is new orleans than i.

my time in california was not long enough for me to reconnect with all my old friends, but i made great new friends that i know i will keep in touch with and i hope will remember me as their crazy refugee. i think i definitely made my mark at the california store x-mas party, at least. and my store team leader did want me back when they open their new huge store. so i think i made a good impression.

my last night in california, my co-workers took me out and we had a great time. its always a shame when it takes the fact that i'm leaving to get everyone together to go out. the goings out is so much different out there. well, i guess everywhere is different than going out in new orleans. everyone goes out earlier, and 2am shut down. and a looong drive home.

my last day in california was sad, of course. leaving my cousins, my best friend from college, my new crew, who desperately wanted me to stay stay stay.

getting OUT of california was a fucking nightmare, of course. got a late start, missed an exit, got lost and CAUGHT IN RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC. holy fuck. my biggest fear was what if i had to pee!!?!?!?! there was no end in sight. finally i got out of there and on the road. free. free free.

the drive home was uneventful. no breakdowns, and i was just bookin it to get home in time for xmas.

well, there was one event. finally a good time in Albuquerqueeueueueueue. the only thing i can say is we left our mark there. [broken king sized bed, mmmhm]

i finally got home, got my new sexxy refrigerator (stainless steel, yo!) new bed, cleaned up and got back to work. seeing everyone from before the storm was amazing. and sad to know that a lot of people did not come back. but we got a new crew and it's special. the opening day of the store was exciting. customers were literally crying they were so happy the store opened. and i admit, i was excited too. that post-k love, and all that.
aaaand what happened the day after opening? power outage. quite the bummer. but up again the next day. so that was good. many people saw the reopening of the WF as the sign that uptown was back. and i can agree on that.

so now, a year later, the city is kind of coming back, nowhere near 100%, population is not what it used to be and there is a shift in population. the talk of the "latinization of new orleans" yes, most of my neighbors have been replaced with hispanic workers (i'm really tired of them whistling and staring at me). we now have a spanish channel on tv. all signs in lowe's and home depots are now bi-lingual. exotic dancers are making a ton of cash. yes. i thought about it. hell, i need funds for a new roof and to pay off the sexy fridge and new mattress.

mardi gras was awesome. so much fun. one of my co-workers from california popped up in town. i took him and his brother out and went to parades. whee! it was SO awesome to see him. yay Mike from dairy! and mardi gras day was so much fun. everyone was very very excited to have it, even though it was compressed into a week instead of the usual month.

so even though so cal wasn't for me, for the most part, i had a great time, and was incredibly glad i went. making the cross country drive was incredibly empowering, and i know a few things about myself now. best of all, i lost almost 30 lbs out there. food just isn't as good as it is here.
so home is home, and even though i'm now in my fat jeanses, i'm happy to be back.

till next hurricane season and new adventures! cheers.