September 17th, 2005
Met the other two guys at breakfast and exchanged phone numbers and personal information.Roger is from the DC office, originally from West Indies. His eyes lit up at the mention of cricket. Married with two kids. He seemed like an organized, meticulous guy with lot of experience (10 years).
There was Hisham from Atlanta, the 30 year old, who said he has two wives and no kids, but quickly changed his mind when he realized we were trying to get serious information. At that point he said , ‘I was kidding, I actually have five wives.’ Hisham is from Palestine and not from Ireland as he claimed. He was such a goofball that we couldn’t get over his silly sense of humor. He said that Jessie Jackson wasn’t too pleased that he was helping out in relief efforts especially when people like him sent the f***ing hurricane in the first place. To put it mildly, Hisham just cracked me up with his preposterous talk. He is very much single. Only if he would concentrate on one girl at a time. An architect.
Lars, the 33 year old tall Scandinavian guy who had 10 years experience in the army (in Korea) after which he joined our company 4 months ago. So he was all rearing to go. Desk job must have suffocated him a bit. Married with two kids. He is a Water and Hydraulics guy. We got to know he was Mormon after cracking a dozen Mormon jokes. Our fearless leader, who has committed to work till the project duration. Kudos to him.
Matt, the 27 year old guy from Chicago..lived all his life in the Mid-west felt bad to be the only guy who was born in the US. Outnumbered by foreigners in his own country, he felt a little apprehensive. A paranoid health freak who’d brush his teeth 5 times a day and use hand sanitizer every time he got out of the car. He is a very friendly person with a cool sense of humor that would put me in giggling spells. An Environmental scientist who looks exactly like Chandler of Friends fame. Single, with a roving eye and a steady girlfriend.
Jessica who is engaged to be married this December. She is a Transportation Planner and has been in the company for a year just out of school. She was the baby of our group, being just 22.
Interesting group. With our varied backgrounds, we might just get along fine.After an early start in Houston, driving in two cars, the six of us reached Baton Rouge by 2pm.
We were given a doze of safety instructions:
Drive defensively as signals are down and people are pissed.
Don’t touch anything you aren’t supposed to, especially stagnant flood water or floating carcasses.
Wash hands with antiseptic wipes immediately, if you do.
Watch out for snakes, alligator and abandoned pets.
Do not pet snakes. (huh?)West Nile virus breakouts; hence keep bug spray on all day.
Wear long sleeves and steel-toe boots. And pants too, I assume.Watch out for looters and shooters. (and then?)
Keep emergency numbers and make sure the gas tank is full all the time.
Don’t go anywhere alone, even in daylight.
Oh BTW, we are the ‘Strike Team’ and we will be working south of New Orleans. Strike Team?! OMG, what the heck did I sign for?!
We got an information overload of our work by dozens of people ranging from big bosses to bigger bosses for 5 solid hours. Forms and Organization charts were handed out. Processes were explained. Contact numbers were given and we were let loose with our heads spinning.
The gist of it was something like this - We will be going to Plaquemines Parish the next day to set up temporary houses (Travel Trailers) for displaced residents of that parish (similar to county or district).The situation there seemed grim and everyone seemed to have only one motto. Heads in beds. Whatever it takes.My heart did a little somersault.
Overwhelmed, excited and exhausted, we drove to our designated motel, Economy Inn in Thibodaux (a town south of Baton Rouge), two hours away from our work location in Belle Chasse. The only place that was vacant in 150 mile radius. We saw more NO VACANCY signs than we saw hotels. This place is to be seen to understand why it was vacant. A completely run down deserted motel with shady drug dealers driving in and out in their gaudy limos. Roach infested, cobwebs dangling to the floor, tiles broken in the bathroom (covered with cardboard and plastered with ductape), A hole in the wall stuffed with toilet paper, a fridge with dead cockroaches, a broken TV and beer bottles strewn under the bed (I checked under the bed for dead bodies). The bed-spread was filthy and the comforters ripped off, the lamps shades were gone and there was exposed metal. The side-table had cigarette stub marks all over. Good thing we got our tetanus shots. Each of our rooms had unique characteristics, so there was no point in asking for another room. I went up to the hotel owner and reminded him that his Halloween decorations should have waited for a month at least. He happened to be desi I am convinced that Patels can run hotels even in Mars. My comrades wanted me to use my Indian charms to have him get rid of the bugs at least. I tied, he shrugged and said ‘sorry’. So much for my charms!
Jess and I had to share a room. We locked the door soundly and placed some suitcases behind the door (not relying too much on the locks), looked at each other and shuddered. I tried to sleep, but just couldn’t. Suddenly in the middle of the night, I burst out laughing (I was disgustingly behaving like a giddy teenager at times). Jess sat up shocked and I sheepishly told her that I just remembered her swimsuit. Hahaha! Imagine swimming here. She was completely amused (thank God!).
I had to use the bathroom; so I snuck in as sneakily as I could, hoping not to wake Jess. When I walked out of the bathroom, I banged my head violently against the TV (you would have noticed it if the lights were on) Now I know how that TV broke. It’s freaking right at the door! Jess woke up with a start as the whole room vibrated. Had to calm her down and say it was me again and that I was going to be alright. So both of us had red blurry eyes when we had to leave to work 5 am the next morning.
Met the other two guys at breakfast and exchanged phone numbers and personal information.Roger is from the DC office, originally from West Indies. His eyes lit up at the mention of cricket. Married with two kids. He seemed like an organized, meticulous guy with lot of experience (10 years).
There was Hisham from Atlanta, the 30 year old, who said he has two wives and no kids, but quickly changed his mind when he realized we were trying to get serious information. At that point he said , ‘I was kidding, I actually have five wives.’ Hisham is from Palestine and not from Ireland as he claimed. He was such a goofball that we couldn’t get over his silly sense of humor. He said that Jessie Jackson wasn’t too pleased that he was helping out in relief efforts especially when people like him sent the f***ing hurricane in the first place. To put it mildly, Hisham just cracked me up with his preposterous talk. He is very much single. Only if he would concentrate on one girl at a time. An architect.
Lars, the 33 year old tall Scandinavian guy who had 10 years experience in the army (in Korea) after which he joined our company 4 months ago. So he was all rearing to go. Desk job must have suffocated him a bit. Married with two kids. He is a Water and Hydraulics guy. We got to know he was Mormon after cracking a dozen Mormon jokes. Our fearless leader, who has committed to work till the project duration. Kudos to him.
Matt, the 27 year old guy from Chicago..lived all his life in the Mid-west felt bad to be the only guy who was born in the US. Outnumbered by foreigners in his own country, he felt a little apprehensive. A paranoid health freak who’d brush his teeth 5 times a day and use hand sanitizer every time he got out of the car. He is a very friendly person with a cool sense of humor that would put me in giggling spells. An Environmental scientist who looks exactly like Chandler of Friends fame. Single, with a roving eye and a steady girlfriend.
Jessica who is engaged to be married this December. She is a Transportation Planner and has been in the company for a year just out of school. She was the baby of our group, being just 22.
Interesting group. With our varied backgrounds, we might just get along fine.After an early start in Houston, driving in two cars, the six of us reached Baton Rouge by 2pm.
We were given a doze of safety instructions:
Drive defensively as signals are down and people are pissed.
Don’t touch anything you aren’t supposed to, especially stagnant flood water or floating carcasses.
Wash hands with antiseptic wipes immediately, if you do.
Watch out for snakes, alligator and abandoned pets.
Do not pet snakes. (huh?)West Nile virus breakouts; hence keep bug spray on all day.
Wear long sleeves and steel-toe boots. And pants too, I assume.Watch out for looters and shooters. (and then?)
Keep emergency numbers and make sure the gas tank is full all the time.
Don’t go anywhere alone, even in daylight.
Oh BTW, we are the ‘Strike Team’ and we will be working south of New Orleans. Strike Team?! OMG, what the heck did I sign for?!
We got an information overload of our work by dozens of people ranging from big bosses to bigger bosses for 5 solid hours. Forms and Organization charts were handed out. Processes were explained. Contact numbers were given and we were let loose with our heads spinning.
The gist of it was something like this - We will be going to Plaquemines Parish the next day to set up temporary houses (Travel Trailers) for displaced residents of that parish (similar to county or district).The situation there seemed grim and everyone seemed to have only one motto. Heads in beds. Whatever it takes.My heart did a little somersault.
Overwhelmed, excited and exhausted, we drove to our designated motel, Economy Inn in Thibodaux (a town south of Baton Rouge), two hours away from our work location in Belle Chasse. The only place that was vacant in 150 mile radius. We saw more NO VACANCY signs than we saw hotels. This place is to be seen to understand why it was vacant. A completely run down deserted motel with shady drug dealers driving in and out in their gaudy limos. Roach infested, cobwebs dangling to the floor, tiles broken in the bathroom (covered with cardboard and plastered with ductape), A hole in the wall stuffed with toilet paper, a fridge with dead cockroaches, a broken TV and beer bottles strewn under the bed (I checked under the bed for dead bodies). The bed-spread was filthy and the comforters ripped off, the lamps shades were gone and there was exposed metal. The side-table had cigarette stub marks all over. Good thing we got our tetanus shots. Each of our rooms had unique characteristics, so there was no point in asking for another room. I went up to the hotel owner and reminded him that his Halloween decorations should have waited for a month at least. He happened to be desi I am convinced that Patels can run hotels even in Mars. My comrades wanted me to use my Indian charms to have him get rid of the bugs at least. I tied, he shrugged and said ‘sorry’. So much for my charms!
Jess and I had to share a room. We locked the door soundly and placed some suitcases behind the door (not relying too much on the locks), looked at each other and shuddered. I tried to sleep, but just couldn’t. Suddenly in the middle of the night, I burst out laughing (I was disgustingly behaving like a giddy teenager at times). Jess sat up shocked and I sheepishly told her that I just remembered her swimsuit. Hahaha! Imagine swimming here. She was completely amused (thank God!).
I had to use the bathroom; so I snuck in as sneakily as I could, hoping not to wake Jess. When I walked out of the bathroom, I banged my head violently against the TV (you would have noticed it if the lights were on) Now I know how that TV broke. It’s freaking right at the door! Jess woke up with a start as the whole room vibrated. Had to calm her down and say it was me again and that I was going to be alright. So both of us had red blurry eyes when we had to leave to work 5 am the next morning.
