Truthfully, I was really and very deeply affected by our experiences in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
When we landed on Friday, it wasn't too terribly noticeable that there was a hurricane en route. There was coverage on the radio and a lot of traffic on the roads, but it was also nearing rush hour, so nothing seemed out of place. After we checked into our hotel in Baton Rouge, we decided to head back to New Orleans for the evening to eat dinner and check things out. When we got back to New Orleans, we saw a few boarded up buildings, but there were definitely plenty of people about. Not nearly as many as normal, but definitely people milling around. Our restaurant on Bourbon Street wasn't crowded at all, but there were plenty of people walking up and down the street. While in New Orleans Friday night, we also saw quite a few National Guard troops on foot and in their vehicles. Very unsettling to see members of the military armed and standing guard in an American city.
When we were heading back from New Orleans to Baton Rouge Friday night it became very apparent that things were changing. Traffic was very heavy on I-10. We were moving between 45-60 mph for the most part, but we had to slam on the brakes a ton! There were so many people pulling trailers or in cars completely filled up.
Saturday morning we were all pretty isolated from news reports because we were at the football game, so we weren't really getting much news until we made it back to the hotel. Once we returned, Callie, Clay, mom, dad, and I all convened in mom and dad's room and we called Brian to put him on speakerphone (he didn't go to the game and he was out driving around in Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi). We spent a good hour discussing the possibilities--drive home on Saturday, drive to New Orleans Saturday night and spend the night in a hotel or in the airport to fly out, or wait until Sunday morning to drive from Baton Rouge to New Orleans to fly out Sunday morning. After talking through everything, we decided that we would rather drive home because then we all were completely in control of our fates. Additionally, none of us wanted to wait until Sunday morning to drive from BR to NO and that in the 12-18 hours that we would have spent overnight in New Orleans, we could already be out of the line of fire and safely in Alabama.
So we took off pretty quickly after we made our decision and since Brian was already farther east in Mississippi, he found a place off I-12 in Slidell, LA to wait for us, until we made it that far down the road. When we met up with Brian, Slidell was very eerie. The Shell gas station was completely out of gas and all the buildings (including a Wal-Mart and mall) were closed and boarded up. The only thing that was open was a Wendy's and it was only open at the drive thru. We later found out that they're expecting possibly 6-14 feet of storm surge where we met Brian in Slidell (south of I-12).
As we got back on the road, traffic was very heavy as we had crossed a junction that put us on I-59 with many other New Orleans evacuees.
Now, this is where it really started getting scary.
We're all very, very familiar with Interstate driving, but it was very clear that many of the people who were on the road with us were not familiar with the Interstate. There were many elderly drivers and so many cars that were completely packed down or pulling trailers with numerous possessions. People were constantly slamming on their brakes, pulling off the side of the road, or being forced to pull off because of car breakdowns, running out of gas, switching drivers, etc. There were also numerous people driving way too slow (like 45 mph) and at one point we had an elderly couple get off an exit and completely stop on the exit ramp. It was very dangerous.
During this time, we were listening to the local news/talk station--870 WWL AM in New Orleans. At this time, Mayor Nagin was giving his now-famous "monster storm" speech and it all started sinking in that all of these people were leaving their homes, belongings, and memories and they had no idea if anything would be left when they returned. And most of them were doing it for the second time in three years. People had everything from dog crates to mattresses to grills to four-wheelers and coolers in their cars/trailers. Essentially, all their most important things or the things they needed to survive were all displayed for the world to see.
According to preliminary estimates, some 1.9 million people evacuated from southern Louisiana.
At one point, our two cars got separated and Brian and I continued on to the hotel in Birmingham, but my parents' car stopped for a few minutes at a rest area in Alabama. I wasn't with them to see it, but they said that it looked like a refugee camp. People were sleeping in their cars, there were dogs tethered to tailpipes, and everyone was clearly exhausted.
With all the people who were breaking down on the highway, under all the stress of an impending storm and evacuation, it's really clear how violence or other problems could quickly escalate. We never saw anything like this, but you could really sense the tension on the road and none of us would have felt comfortable stopping to help someone on the side of the road.
We were all very relieved and exhausted when we we made it safely to our hotel in Birmingham. As Brian mentioned last night, the hotel was completely sold out through Wednesday night. Just as an FYI, Birmingham is 353 miles (or 5.5 hours) away from New Orleans!
The drive today definitely felt more normal, but we continued to see many filled up cars with Louisiana license plates as far north as Atlanta.
All-in-all, it was a very powerful experience for me. We met so many wonderful people in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and en route to Alabama. All I can really do is pray for them and their safety, but it was definitely an experience that I will never forget and really can't fully explain.
I did take some pictures that I put up on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/lsleblanc82/NOLAAndEvacuation.
I can say that we did have a great time at the game, despite the outcome, and I'll post about it a little later and post some pictures, but it doesn't seem right for me to do so until Gustav has passed.
We're also closely watching TS Hanna, which is possibly threatening Wilmington and Morehead City...
Sunday, August 31, 2008
We're safe in NC!
We got back to RDU around 9 p.m. and returned our rental car to Hertz. As Brian mentioned last night, Hertz is absolutely awesome! They waived the mileage charge for us and only charged the daily rate! (Of course, they did the same thing for my parents' car.) So, even though, we drove the car an extra 959 miles we only paid $139. When we arrived in Raleigh, we actually got a receipt without the mileage waived and it was about $450. A considerable difference! Hertz really treated us wonderfully and we'll probably always use them forever now...
We were also treated really well by the Best Western Suites in Baton Rouge, which is where we stayed Friday night and were planning to stay Saturday night. We decided to flee Baton Rouge between 2-3 p.m. on Saturday. Once we decided to leave, my dad called the front desk to let them know so that they could rebook to rooms to evacuees. Even though we were still in the rooms at 3 p.m. (taking the fastest showers known to man) the hotel didn't charge my parents for the two rooms Saturday night. Really, really classy on the hotel's part.
Now, if US Airways will refund my dad the frequent flyer points for our return flights, everything would be really wonderful!
BTW, thanks to Brian for updating our location on the blog last night. I was absolutely exhausted and fast asleep by the time we arrived in Birmingham.
We were also treated really well by the Best Western Suites in Baton Rouge, which is where we stayed Friday night and were planning to stay Saturday night. We decided to flee Baton Rouge between 2-3 p.m. on Saturday. Once we decided to leave, my dad called the front desk to let them know so that they could rebook to rooms to evacuees. Even though we were still in the rooms at 3 p.m. (taking the fastest showers known to man) the hotel didn't charge my parents for the two rooms Saturday night. Really, really classy on the hotel's part.
Now, if US Airways will refund my dad the frequent flyer points for our return flights, everything would be really wonderful!
BTW, thanks to Brian for updating our location on the blog last night. I was absolutely exhausted and fast asleep by the time we arrived in Birmingham.
Checking in from...
...Birmingham. Yes, we are officially now hurricane evacuees!
This will be short, as we're all exhausted after a long day. We decided around 5:00 to leave Louisiana and drive home, as the traffic going out of town wasn't getting any better and the governor had decided to push contraflow back to 4 AM rather than the originally planned 6 AM. We weren't entirely sure we could make it back from Baton Rouge to the New Orleans airport, as part of the route involved using a section of I-10 that would be reversed, and even if we could make it back there were no guarantees of getting into the airport at all, never mind actually catching a flight out (and if we couldn't do so, we would be stuck at the airport with nowhere to go, as everywhere around New Orleans has ordered mandatory evacuations and curfews to go along with them).
So we decided to just say the heck with it and get a head start on driving home -- us and a heck of a lot of other people. When we got to Hattiesburg, Miss., we heard this press conference live on the radio and immediately decided that we made the right decision. (I can only imagine what it will be like tomorrow after people have been preparing to leave all night.) Traffic has been consistently heavy all the way to Birmingham, and the hotel that we're staying at has signs on the door saying that they are already completely booked through Wednesday. In other words, we got out at the right time.
We'll check in again tomorrow from home (hopefully), and while I don't have time to get into specifics right now (Laura will do it later), you should always rent cars from Hertz.
This will be short, as we're all exhausted after a long day. We decided around 5:00 to leave Louisiana and drive home, as the traffic going out of town wasn't getting any better and the governor had decided to push contraflow back to 4 AM rather than the originally planned 6 AM. We weren't entirely sure we could make it back from Baton Rouge to the New Orleans airport, as part of the route involved using a section of I-10 that would be reversed, and even if we could make it back there were no guarantees of getting into the airport at all, never mind actually catching a flight out (and if we couldn't do so, we would be stuck at the airport with nowhere to go, as everywhere around New Orleans has ordered mandatory evacuations and curfews to go along with them).
So we decided to just say the heck with it and get a head start on driving home -- us and a heck of a lot of other people. When we got to Hattiesburg, Miss., we heard this press conference live on the radio and immediately decided that we made the right decision. (I can only imagine what it will be like tomorrow after people have been preparing to leave all night.) Traffic has been consistently heavy all the way to Birmingham, and the hotel that we're staying at has signs on the door saying that they are already completely booked through Wednesday. In other words, we got out at the right time.
We'll check in again tomorrow from home (hopefully), and while I don't have time to get into specifics right now (Laura will do it later), you should always rent cars from Hertz.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
11 hours until kickoff!!
The rest of my family is here at the hotel in Baton Rouge!!
In anticipation of a speedy departure, we've moved our flight to around 11 a.m. CDT on Sunday. As long as we can make it back to New Orleans (against contraflow) and pending no storm-track changes, we should be OK to fly out. MSY is expecting the last flight to leave at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Brian and I had an AWESOME dinner on Bourbon Street. Brian had a hamburger po'boy and I had a New Orleans sampler with red beans and rice, jambalaya, and a creole stew. It was one of the best meals that I've ever had!! (Oh yeah, and a tall, strong hurricane in honor of the occasion.) We also had a super awesome chocolate cake dessert. There were a million App. fans on Bourbon. We are definitely well represented!
GO APP!!! HAPPY WEEKEND!
In anticipation of a speedy departure, we've moved our flight to around 11 a.m. CDT on Sunday. As long as we can make it back to New Orleans (against contraflow) and pending no storm-track changes, we should be OK to fly out. MSY is expecting the last flight to leave at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Brian and I had an AWESOME dinner on Bourbon Street. Brian had a hamburger po'boy and I had a New Orleans sampler with red beans and rice, jambalaya, and a creole stew. It was one of the best meals that I've ever had!! (Oh yeah, and a tall, strong hurricane in honor of the occasion.) We also had a super awesome chocolate cake dessert. There were a million App. fans on Bourbon. We are definitely well represented!
GO APP!!! HAPPY WEEKEND!
Friday, August 29, 2008
In Baton Rouge!!
We had no issues flying in to New Orleans today and we were able to get our rental car no problem. Additionally, dad cancelled our Friday night reservation in NO and we're now staying in Baton Rouge tonight (in fact, Brian and I are in our room now).
The rest of my family is flying in tonight.
They've moved up the game to 10 a.m. CDT, so we'll be tailgating at 7:30 a.m. with the App. alumni!! Gotta love crawfish and beer for breakfast!! :-)
Brian and I are planning to head back to New Orleans for the night to go eat dinner and then we'll be back in Baton Rouge tonight.
We're monitoring everything really carefully and we've been super impressed with LSU and the government of Louisiana. They've done a great job informing people of what's going on.
As for getting home, contraflow is scheduled to start Sunday pre-dawn, but we have a road that we can take back to New Orleans to get back to the airport, so if USAirways is still flying out Sunday night, we'll be on that flight. If not, we'll be driving.
The flight from CLT to MSY was the Appalachian Express; it was probably 65% full of App. fans (including App's chancellor--Ken Peacock)!
Oh, and we didn't see Jim Cantore, but we were pretty close because ANDERSON COOPER of CNN was in the baggage claim in New Orleans :-) Pretty cool!
We figure that Anderson:CNN::Cantore:TWC
PARTY ON PEEPS; GO APP!!!!!!
The rest of my family is flying in tonight.
They've moved up the game to 10 a.m. CDT, so we'll be tailgating at 7:30 a.m. with the App. alumni!! Gotta love crawfish and beer for breakfast!! :-)
Brian and I are planning to head back to New Orleans for the night to go eat dinner and then we'll be back in Baton Rouge tonight.
We're monitoring everything really carefully and we've been super impressed with LSU and the government of Louisiana. They've done a great job informing people of what's going on.
As for getting home, contraflow is scheduled to start Sunday pre-dawn, but we have a road that we can take back to New Orleans to get back to the airport, so if USAirways is still flying out Sunday night, we'll be on that flight. If not, we'll be driving.
The flight from CLT to MSY was the Appalachian Express; it was probably 65% full of App. fans (including App's chancellor--Ken Peacock)!
Oh, and we didn't see Jim Cantore, but we were pretty close because ANDERSON COOPER of CNN was in the baggage claim in New Orleans :-) Pretty cool!
We figure that Anderson:CNN::Cantore:TWC
PARTY ON PEEPS; GO APP!!!!!!
Bayou Bound, Baby!!
Make no mistake--
Family Samuels gives our ALL for Appalachian State
--which is why we're flying directly into the path of a (possible) category 3-5 hurricane to see our Apps play!! Brian and I checked in to our flight, so it's official--we are now BATON ROUGE BOUND!
As of 12:43 a.m., everything is still on for the game, eventhough there is plenty of talk of evacuating New Orleans and reversing most of the freeway lanes so that all roads lead out!
We're staying in New Orleans Friday night and then Baton Rouge Saturday night. Currently, our plan is to drive from Baton Rouge (against contraflow, if possible--thank God that Brian has the Interstate System memorized [no, I'm not kidding] and after a few short hours of studying, he's also a pro at the federal and local roads around NO and BR) back to New Orleans to make it back to the airport to fly out Sunday night. If we can't physically get back to New Orleans or if all flights are grounded, then we'll turn north and drive home in our lovely rental cars...which, I'm sure, will make a helluva story!!
If you're curious, if we have to do it, the drive will take 14 hours and 25 minutes: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=Baton+Rouge,+LA&daddr=Knightdale,+NC&hl=en&geocode=&mra=ls&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.710275,63.457031&ie=UTF8&z=6.
We definitely want to fly home if we can, but we're also not (completely!) stupid, so we'll just have to make the decision if we can fly on the fly.
I am totally ready (and pumped!) for the game though!! LSU has issued three different press releases since Wednesday and all have emphasized that the game is still on at the appointed time (5 p.m. EDT on ESPN).
I was able to get all of my stuff into one carry-on duffle bag and a "briefcase-y" personal item. And between my bag and Brian's (also a duffle bag), we were able to get all our 3 oz. or smaller cosmetic liquids into two quart-size ziplock bags (because, as I'm sure you know, terrorists with concealer always flock to hurricane zones)!! I'm taking my work computer, so I may be able to blog while we're down there. Packing was really easy...basically, if it says "App" it's in my bag.
I have five Appalachian t-shirts (two black, one gray, and two gold) and two App. hats; oh, and my older, black Appalachian sleep t-shirt. In case of an emergency, I'm also taking my Jimmy Buffett "Fins" shirt because when there's a hurricane, the best thing you can do is summon Jimmy Buffett!!!! I am also thoroughly prepared with 3 whole granola bars...which, with 6 of us, will sustain us for about 45 minutes.
You can track the storm below with the following picture. It's a live link to the National Hurricane Center's official five-day forecast and it will auto-update as the NHC does it's three-hourly updates.
Our flight from RDU to CLT leaves at 11:20 a.m. EDT and then the flight from CLT to MSY should arrive in New Orleans at 2:07 p.m. CDT. The rest of the family is going from New Bern->Charlotte->New Orleans and will arrive later Friday night.
On Sunday night, we're supposed to leave New Orleans at 6:20 p.m. CDT and arrive in CLT at 9:15 p.m. and then land in Raleigh at 11:23 p.m.
I'l check in as time and Internet access allows!!
Catch y'all on the flip side!
GO APP!
FIGHT APP!
KICK ASS!!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Gustav!
Cross your fingers that he doesn't screw up
- the App./LSU game on Saturday night.
- BDL and LSL's flights Friday morning or Sunday night.
- CAS, CPR, EBS, and JLS's flights Friday night or Sunday night.
To recap,
+
+
+
+
+
=
Everybody got that?
Good!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Snapper: "THE BEST BRAND YOU CAN BUY!"
- Elmo
Damn right.
Saturday was the day that Brian set out to try out the lawnmower that Elmo gave us. We figured that we'd take a chance try the mower out without much prep work. (In fact, all we did was add gas.)
I did, however, search for an owner's manual online to see if that could help us with any necessary troubleshooting: http://manuals.snapper.com/Manuals/manuals/12628.pdf. Take a look at the first page--that's our mower!
Hello, 1981!
So, yeah, after sitting dormant for 3 years, the thing started up on the third or fourth pull. It was un-damn-real. This thing is like a mowing beast. Chopped everything down like it was nothing. Elmo and Hannah Rock!
We spent the rest of the day on Saturday cleaning and hanging pictures up. There are a few more things to do, but it's all coming together quite nicely!
Today we had our first "dinner party" and had Brian's parents, grandma, and brother over. We had a very yummy meatloaf, roasted green beans, and homemade mashed potatoes. We sat in our formal dining room for the first time and even got to put the leaf in the table. We also went all out and used our fine china for the [real] first time. (The other times were just with Brian and me with cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.)
All-in-all, a very lovely weekend.
Leaving for New Orleans and Baton Rouge in 5 days!!
Saturday was the day that Brian set out to try out the lawnmower that Elmo gave us. We figured that we'd take a chance try the mower out without much prep work. (In fact, all we did was add gas.)
I did, however, search for an owner's manual online to see if that could help us with any necessary troubleshooting: http://manuals.snapper.com/Manuals/manuals/12628.pdf. Take a look at the first page--that's our mower!
Hello, 1981!
So, yeah, after sitting dormant for 3 years, the thing started up on the third or fourth pull. It was un-damn-real. This thing is like a mowing beast. Chopped everything down like it was nothing. Elmo and Hannah Rock!
We spent the rest of the day on Saturday cleaning and hanging pictures up. There are a few more things to do, but it's all coming together quite nicely!
Today we had our first "dinner party" and had Brian's parents, grandma, and brother over. We had a very yummy meatloaf, roasted green beans, and homemade mashed potatoes. We sat in our formal dining room for the first time and even got to put the leaf in the table. We also went all out and used our fine china for the [real] first time. (The other times were just with Brian and me with cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.)
All-in-all, a very lovely weekend.
Leaving for New Orleans and Baton Rouge in 5 days!!
Everybody dies famous in a small town...
Fortunately, for Brian, Raleigh is a medium-sized city, so he gets to live (pseudo) famous.
If you missed it, he was quoted today in a story in the N&O on the Raleigh Beltline:
http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/1191403.html
The story was actually a front-page story, but Brian's quote didn't make it until after the cut on page 7.
If you missed it, he was quoted today in a story in the N&O on the Raleigh Beltline:
http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/1191403.html
The story was actually a front-page story, but Brian's quote didn't make it until after the cut on page 7.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Two Bird Haiku, Pictures, and a Cartoon
Volume 1
I like birds a lot.
The birds are very pretty.
Here are bird pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lsleblanc82/Birds
Volume 2
They are at feeder.
They eat a lot of bird food.
They are in the yard.
By: Laura
Cartoon
I like birds a lot.
The birds are very pretty.
Here are bird pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lsleblanc82/Birds
Volume 2
They are at feeder.
They eat a lot of bird food.
They are in the yard.
By: Laura
Cartoon
Friday, August 22, 2008
Is it bad that I talk to our vacuum?
So, because I was at home today, I figured that I would take our Roomba upstairs and let it vacuum until its little nonheart was content.
Exciting, huh?! :-)
After about two hours, I went upstairs when I realized I didn't hear it running anymore. (When it runs on its schedule downstairs, it will [usually] make it back to its charger, so we don't have to worry about it.) So I hear it do it's little "DO-do" beep that means that it's somewhere with no power and I found it hiding behind some boxes in one of our bedroom closets and I literally said outloud, "Roomba...what in the world are you doing hiding in there?" And then I realized that had just spoken to a vacuuming robot like it was a dog. But the scary thing is that because it can start and stop by itself, and "think," it really does have people tendencies. Perhaps Brian and I have some crazy postmodern pet!
In the living world, however, we are doing a very good job of feeding our birds. They absolutely love our feeder; today there were probably 20 out there at one time. We're pretty much like the Golden Corral of bird buffets.
We've also embarked into new territory and bought a plant. We got it last week and it's still alive, so I'm hopeful that we might be successful at plant-parenting. But don't ask me what kind it is, because I have no idea. The name started with an "A" and then had a lot of letters after the "A."
Continuing on this creative-run, last night I redid one of our picture collage frames. (I figured that Brian was probably over looking at college drinking pictures.) I used only family pictures going back only as far as our wedding and I'm pretty pleased with it. It was a major pain to do. It took forever to pick out the pictures, print them to the right size, cut them out, and then line them up so that the whole window was filled with "picture."
The picture is off center because I had to stand so that I was blocking a bad glare:
So, from left->right; top->bottom:
Brian's parents at our rehearsal dinner;
me and Dad in Michigan;
me on a freezing-ass-cold park bench in Ottawa in Feb. 2007;
Callie and Clay in Michigan;
Brian and me with Lord Stanley's Cup;
Mom and Callie being goofy at the wedding rehearsal;
Mom and Dad in Michigan;
Callie and me at my master's graduation;
Brian feeding me [the best damn] wedding cake [ever];
Brian's family on his grandmother's birthday;
Brian and me in our life preservers on our honeymoon cruise; (x2)
my family in front of Michigan Stadium;
Brian and me in front of our "sold" sign;
Brian and me at my graduation;
my totally awesome dog Snuffie that went to doggie heaven earlier this year;
Brian in our under-construction house;
Mom and me in Michigan;
Brian and I saying our vows;
Brian freezing while ice skating in Ottawa;
me in our under-construction house; and
Brian and his grandmother at our rehearsal dinner.
Exciting, huh?! :-)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Cool Book Web Site
http://www.goodreads.com/
My friend Kim showed this to me today. It's basically Facebook for bibliophiles. If you're interested, sign up and become my friend!!
Yay reading!
My friend Kim showed this to me today. It's basically Facebook for bibliophiles. If you're interested, sign up and become my friend!!
Yay reading!
The fan is still winning.
Brian/Laura - 4
Fan(s) - 2
Laura's Car - 1
Yup. Still no functioning fan in one of the guest rooms. Yesterday morning, Chris from Centex came by and tested the current in our ceiling wires and confirmed that they're definitely working. So last night, Brian went back to Lowe's with our fan motor in tow to exchange it out. When he got back, we went upstairs to install and the fan still wouldn't work (the light, however, is still shining brightly). So then it dawned on me (Physics 208 at NCSU is finally worth something, other than a B-) that all of the wiring had to come through the fan motor and down into the light, so maybe something was weird in the light casing. So Brian took it down and sure enough there were two wires coming out of the fan-pull-chain-box that were unhooked. We tried a little bit to fix it, but decided that it was fruitless. So, when he gets home from work, Brian will be heading back to Lowe's to replace the light. Maybe this time it will work; I'm kinda still betting that the fan wins.
This morning I woke up with a very wonderful surprise. My passenger's side front tire was so unbelieveably flat it wasn't even close to having a picoLiter of air left. I have no idea what happened, but I'm betting that I ran over some type of nail, because there's so much construction going on in our cul-de-sac. So I went upstairs and woke up Brian (lucky me!) to have him help me assess the situation :-) We decided that I needed new tires anyway, so we called up Just Tires and told them that we would be coming in shortly and then we called AAA and they said they'd send a tow truck. AAA actually arrived in about 45 minutes, which we thought was quite good, and then I spent the rest of the morning (a 1/2 day of "vacation" from work) reading the paper and two Pottery Barn catalogs at Just Tires. Of course, it also turns out that I was due for an oil change (which I was planning to do this weekend) and my alignment was out of wack (which Brian and I were discussing last weekend). So, for $575, I now have excellent alignment, 4 phenomenal tires, and new oil.
We decided that it probably wasn't wise for us to cheapout on tires for my car considering I drive 60 miles/day roundtrip to work, all on the Interstate, so we ended up with slightly nicer tires than we would have normally bought.
I have the absolute worst luck ever with flat tires. Ever since I started college, I've had, literally, 7 or 8 flat tires (about 1/year). I really don't get it. Whatever. I'm just very thankful that it happened in our driveway and not on the Beltline or I-40.
Fan(s) - 2
Laura's Car - 1
Yup. Still no functioning fan in one of the guest rooms. Yesterday morning, Chris from Centex came by and tested the current in our ceiling wires and confirmed that they're definitely working. So last night, Brian went back to Lowe's with our fan motor in tow to exchange it out. When he got back, we went upstairs to install and the fan still wouldn't work (the light, however, is still shining brightly). So then it dawned on me (Physics 208 at NCSU is finally worth something, other than a B-) that all of the wiring had to come through the fan motor and down into the light, so maybe something was weird in the light casing. So Brian took it down and sure enough there were two wires coming out of the fan-pull-chain-box that were unhooked. We tried a little bit to fix it, but decided that it was fruitless. So, when he gets home from work, Brian will be heading back to Lowe's to replace the light. Maybe this time it will work; I'm kinda still betting that the fan wins.
This morning I woke up with a very wonderful surprise. My passenger's side front tire was so unbelieveably flat it wasn't even close to having a picoLiter of air left. I have no idea what happened, but I'm betting that I ran over some type of nail, because there's so much construction going on in our cul-de-sac. So I went upstairs and woke up Brian (lucky me!) to have him help me assess the situation :-) We decided that I needed new tires anyway, so we called up Just Tires and told them that we would be coming in shortly and then we called AAA and they said they'd send a tow truck. AAA actually arrived in about 45 minutes, which we thought was quite good, and then I spent the rest of the morning (a 1/2 day of "vacation" from work) reading the paper and two Pottery Barn catalogs at Just Tires. Of course, it also turns out that I was due for an oil change (which I was planning to do this weekend) and my alignment was out of wack (which Brian and I were discussing last weekend). So, for $575, I now have excellent alignment, 4 phenomenal tires, and new oil.
We decided that it probably wasn't wise for us to cheapout on tires for my car considering I drive 60 miles/day roundtrip to work, all on the Interstate, so we ended up with slightly nicer tires than we would have normally bought.
I have the absolute worst luck ever with flat tires. Ever since I started college, I've had, literally, 7 or 8 flat tires (about 1/year). I really don't get it. Whatever. I'm just very thankful that it happened in our driveway and not on the Beltline or I-40.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Mourning the American Department Store
:-(
As I was unpacking stuff a few months ago, I found two Belk gift cards that were leftover wedding gifts. A happy bonus!!
This morning it dawned on me that we should use the gift cards to buy bedside lamps for our room because we need some (we had a mismatch, hodgepodge at our apartment). So after work we headed over to Crabtree (I refuse to go Triangle Town Center because it's scary [I thought it was scary before the gang melee!]).
So we walk around Belk for-like-ever to find out that they don't sell lamps anymore!!! I mean, WTF?! It's a department store (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/department%20store)!!!! How can they not sell lamps?! So, Brian and I figure that Belk and the like must really be feeling the pinch from stores like Target and Wal-Mart.
So, as the good Americans we are, we went to Target and bought the lamps that we needed and they look soooo cute! I am quite pleased.
Oh yeah, and we bought two gift card's worth of towels at Belk because we saw some that we liked that were cute.
Correspondingly, we decided that the fact that we were at the mall (which is very rare for us) was a special occasion, so we decided to celebrate at Kanki. Brian had a super yummy filet mignon and I had sushi. Major props to Kanki for the ability to order half sushi rolls. God Bless Japan.
Also, we got our lawnmower (c. 1923) on Saturday. We haven't tried to work it yet, but if it does work, we'll be pleased.
Elmo also gave us a very lovely statue boy that creates a fountain in a cement birdbath. Elmo explained to us that his wife found the birdbath in an antique store in Charleston and that the birdbath is an antique from an English garden. It is very cool-looking, but the problem is that it weighs (no lie) 300 lbs. It took 3 of us to get in the Lowe's truck and then when we got it home, we had to literally just push it out of the bed of the truck onto our front yard and then Brian had to roll it to its place of honor by our front porch.
We also had a Battle Royale with two fans. The current score Chez Nouveau LeBlanc?
Brian/Laura - 3
Fan(s) - 1
The first fan was a major, super pain, but we FINALLY got it up and working. The second fan we got up, but for some reason the wiring won't work. We tried it twice and we definitely know how to match the wire colors, but there appears to be something wrong with either the wires in the fan or the ceiling... So, tomorrow morning, Chris from Centex is going to check our ceiling wires to make sure they have a charge. If they do, then we'll return the fan to Lowe's, but if they don't, then we'll call an electrician because the wires should be under our house warranty.
Oh yeah and we're going to be in New Orleans/Baton Rouge in a week from Friday!!!
As I was unpacking stuff a few months ago, I found two Belk gift cards that were leftover wedding gifts. A happy bonus!!
This morning it dawned on me that we should use the gift cards to buy bedside lamps for our room because we need some (we had a mismatch, hodgepodge at our apartment). So after work we headed over to Crabtree (I refuse to go Triangle Town Center because it's scary [I thought it was scary before the gang melee!]).
So we walk around Belk for-like-ever to find out that they don't sell lamps anymore!!! I mean, WTF?! It's a department store (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/department%20store)!!!! How can they not sell lamps?! So, Brian and I figure that Belk and the like must really be feeling the pinch from stores like Target and Wal-Mart.
So, as the good Americans we are, we went to Target and bought the lamps that we needed and they look soooo cute! I am quite pleased.
Oh yeah, and we bought two gift card's worth of towels at Belk because we saw some that we liked that were cute.
Correspondingly, we decided that the fact that we were at the mall (which is very rare for us) was a special occasion, so we decided to celebrate at Kanki. Brian had a super yummy filet mignon and I had sushi. Major props to Kanki for the ability to order half sushi rolls. God Bless Japan.
Also, we got our lawnmower (c. 1923) on Saturday. We haven't tried to work it yet, but if it does work, we'll be pleased.
Elmo also gave us a very lovely statue boy that creates a fountain in a cement birdbath. Elmo explained to us that his wife found the birdbath in an antique store in Charleston and that the birdbath is an antique from an English garden. It is very cool-looking, but the problem is that it weighs (no lie) 300 lbs. It took 3 of us to get in the Lowe's truck and then when we got it home, we had to literally just push it out of the bed of the truck onto our front yard and then Brian had to roll it to its place of honor by our front porch.
We also had a Battle Royale with two fans. The current score Chez Nouveau LeBlanc?
Brian/Laura - 3
Fan(s) - 1
The first fan was a major, super pain, but we FINALLY got it up and working. The second fan we got up, but for some reason the wiring won't work. We tried it twice and we definitely know how to match the wire colors, but there appears to be something wrong with either the wires in the fan or the ceiling... So, tomorrow morning, Chris from Centex is going to check our ceiling wires to make sure they have a charge. If they do, then we'll return the fan to Lowe's, but if they don't, then we'll call an electrician because the wires should be under our house warranty.
Oh yeah and we're going to be in New Orleans/Baton Rouge in a week from Friday!!!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Happy Assumption!
Yeah, I know most of y'all aren't Catholic, but it is my duty as your intrepid blogger to keep you abreast of the events of the day! So, if you don't know much about the Assumption, you should look it up: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02006b.htm. So, because today is a Holy Day (but not a holiday!), Brian and I went to church. It was a lovely Mass; however, there was a family in front of us with SEVEN kids. It was crazy--the oldest kid was only about 10 and the youngest was probably almost 1 year old--but the parents couldn't have been any older than 40. God bless them!!!!
Today was another work-from-home day. Yay! Next Tuesday, my team is going to go get pedicures and lunch for a team reward for meeting all of our fiscal year 2008 publication dates. There's definitely something to be said for being on a team of all (wonderful) women!!!
Tomorrow we're off to the Doctors Scoggin (with the Lowe's truck) to pick up the lawnmower and some other lawn stuff that Elmo and Hannah are graciously giving us before they pick up and move to their assisted living house (remember--they're both in their 90s!). They are really the most awesome two people. I was going to give y'all a little bio, but then I remembered that the N&O did a bio of Elmo a few years back, so I can just supply the link: http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/365638.html. It's a really good read! Brian and I were really lucky to have him do the Old Testament reading during our wedding.
So, anyway, he and his wife are giving us a lawnmower and tomorrow is the pickup day. We're also going to buy two ceiling fans at Lowe's and put them up this weekend, so that they'll be all set for when my family is visiting during football season. I'm sure it will be an adventure for us to get both of them installed :-)
If you're bored tomorrow or looking for something to do, Brian is volunteering at WCPE from 3-6 p.m. and he'll be on the air spinning the best classical tunes from cinema. In central North Carolina, you can hear him at 89.7 on your FM dial or you can listen anywhere in the world at TheClassicalStation.org. (Can you tell that I spent countless nights in college up until 3 or 4 in the morning IMing Brian when he was working the weekend night shift from midnight to 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings?!)
Also, be sure to keep Brian's grandma in your thoughts and prayers as she's in the hospital at Rex because she's been having some bad breathing problems. She's been there since Tuesday night and probably won't be out until sometime during the upcoming week. Fortunately, last Sunday, we all got to spend some time with her for her 86th birthday:
Today was another work-from-home day. Yay! Next Tuesday, my team is going to go get pedicures and lunch for a team reward for meeting all of our fiscal year 2008 publication dates. There's definitely something to be said for being on a team of all (wonderful) women!!!
Tomorrow we're off to the Doctors Scoggin (with the Lowe's truck) to pick up the lawnmower and some other lawn stuff that Elmo and Hannah are graciously giving us before they pick up and move to their assisted living house (remember--they're both in their 90s!). They are really the most awesome two people. I was going to give y'all a little bio, but then I remembered that the N&O did a bio of Elmo a few years back, so I can just supply the link: http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/365638.html. It's a really good read! Brian and I were really lucky to have him do the Old Testament reading during our wedding.
So, anyway, he and his wife are giving us a lawnmower and tomorrow is the pickup day. We're also going to buy two ceiling fans at Lowe's and put them up this weekend, so that they'll be all set for when my family is visiting during football season. I'm sure it will be an adventure for us to get both of them installed :-)
If you're bored tomorrow or looking for something to do, Brian is volunteering at WCPE from 3-6 p.m. and he'll be on the air spinning the best classical tunes from cinema. In central North Carolina, you can hear him at 89.7 on your FM dial or you can listen anywhere in the world at TheClassicalStation.org. (Can you tell that I spent countless nights in college up until 3 or 4 in the morning IMing Brian when he was working the weekend night shift from midnight to 6 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings?!)
Also, be sure to keep Brian's grandma in your thoughts and prayers as she's in the hospital at Rex because she's been having some bad breathing problems. She's been there since Tuesday night and probably won't be out until sometime during the upcoming week. Fortunately, last Sunday, we all got to spend some time with her for her 86th birthday:
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Triangle Business Journal
If you haven't seen it yet, Brian and I were mentioned in the TBJ's New Homes insert. The full article isn't available online, but a preview with our picture is available: http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2008/08/11/focus8.html
We have a copy of the full article, but we were doofuses and left it at the beach with my mom and dad. When we get another copy, we'll put it up for y'all.
We have a copy of the full article, but we were doofuses and left it at the beach with my mom and dad. When we get another copy, we'll put it up for y'all.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
We're still alive! Seriously!!
I know I've been pretty lax with the blog, but it seems like we've been so busy the past few weeks.
Last Thursday night, Brian and I headed down to Oak Island for the weekend. The weather was absolutely hellish on the drive down. I'm talking like super-cell thunderstorm for 1.5 hours of our 2 hour drive. It was insane!! A couple of times lightning struck no farther than 150 feet from our car. It was pretty scary, but so very cool. When we got to the beach house, it was a balmy 91 degrees inside at 9 p.m.!! (No one had been down there in a few weeks.)
On Friday morning, we woke up to find a leaky toilet, so we had a mini-crisis that we quickly solved with $101 and two very cute plumbers. On Friday afternoon, Brian's parents and his grandma arrived and we enjoyed a fantastic weekend. Friday night we went to dinner at the Island Way restaurant by the Ocean Crest Pier, which is where we had our wedding rehearsal dinner. The food was really good--I had grouper stuffed with shrimp, crab meat, and hollandaise sauce!
On Saturday, Mike and I headed out to spend the afternoon on the beach and Brian, Barb, and G went roadtrippin' to Holden Beach. Saturday night we had two rousing games of Contract Rummy--the first of which, your intrepid blogger was victorious. The second game was not nearly as exciting, but because I'm fair and balanced, I feel it's my duty to let you know that Mike won.
On Sunday, we had a relaxing morning and then went to Wrightsville Beach for a fantastic early lunch at Blue Water Grill. I had peel-n-eat shrimp. Yum!
This week we've pretty much been relaxing and doing basic house things. Tomorrow is my first work-from-home day and I am sooooo excited. We also have an exterminator coming in the morning because we continue to have issues with psycho, Satan beasts (aka ants) and I'm done with them and wish for them to be permanently eliminated.
This weekend we're going to visit my mom, dad, Callie, and Clay in Morehead. Yes, if you're keeping count at home, that's four weekends at the beach since July 4th! I love summer!! I have a feeling that I'll have some good stories after this weekend, as Callie, Dad, and I have plans to go a shooting range in Jacksonville. Cal and Dad went this afternoon and both of them consistently hit the target, so I have to be on my A-game to compete!!
Next weekend we're staying in K-town. We're going to go pick up the lawnmower and other yard thingies that the Scoggins are giving us, which means another rental of the Lowe's truck!! And we're planning to put up ceiling fans in our two guest bedrooms, so that the rooms will be in good shape when football season kicks off!
Speaking of which--App vs. LSU is three weeks from Saturday!!!
And, no, your ears aren't deceiving you...Brian has been filling in during the afternoon drive doing traffic reports, since the TTNers are short staffed. He's on 850 AM, 1550 AM, and 102.5 FM. OK, so now that I realize what stations he's on, I realize that you're probably not listening to any of those...I know I'm not.
Last Thursday night, Brian and I headed down to Oak Island for the weekend. The weather was absolutely hellish on the drive down. I'm talking like super-cell thunderstorm for 1.5 hours of our 2 hour drive. It was insane!! A couple of times lightning struck no farther than 150 feet from our car. It was pretty scary, but so very cool. When we got to the beach house, it was a balmy 91 degrees inside at 9 p.m.!! (No one had been down there in a few weeks.)
On Friday morning, we woke up to find a leaky toilet, so we had a mini-crisis that we quickly solved with $101 and two very cute plumbers. On Friday afternoon, Brian's parents and his grandma arrived and we enjoyed a fantastic weekend. Friday night we went to dinner at the Island Way restaurant by the Ocean Crest Pier, which is where we had our wedding rehearsal dinner. The food was really good--I had grouper stuffed with shrimp, crab meat, and hollandaise sauce!
On Saturday, Mike and I headed out to spend the afternoon on the beach and Brian, Barb, and G went roadtrippin' to Holden Beach. Saturday night we had two rousing games of Contract Rummy--the first of which, your intrepid blogger was victorious. The second game was not nearly as exciting, but because I'm fair and balanced, I feel it's my duty to let you know that Mike won.
On Sunday, we had a relaxing morning and then went to Wrightsville Beach for a fantastic early lunch at Blue Water Grill. I had peel-n-eat shrimp. Yum!
This week we've pretty much been relaxing and doing basic house things. Tomorrow is my first work-from-home day and I am sooooo excited. We also have an exterminator coming in the morning because we continue to have issues with psycho, Satan beasts (aka ants) and I'm done with them and wish for them to be permanently eliminated.
This weekend we're going to visit my mom, dad, Callie, and Clay in Morehead. Yes, if you're keeping count at home, that's four weekends at the beach since July 4th! I love summer!! I have a feeling that I'll have some good stories after this weekend, as Callie, Dad, and I have plans to go a shooting range in Jacksonville. Cal and Dad went this afternoon and both of them consistently hit the target, so I have to be on my A-game to compete!!
Next weekend we're staying in K-town. We're going to go pick up the lawnmower and other yard thingies that the Scoggins are giving us, which means another rental of the Lowe's truck!! And we're planning to put up ceiling fans in our two guest bedrooms, so that the rooms will be in good shape when football season kicks off!
Speaking of which--App vs. LSU is three weeks from Saturday!!!
And, no, your ears aren't deceiving you...Brian has been filling in during the afternoon drive doing traffic reports, since the TTNers are short staffed. He's on 850 AM, 1550 AM, and 102.5 FM. OK, so now that I realize what stations he's on, I realize that you're probably not listening to any of those...I know I'm not.
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