random tangents

I HEART FEMA!!

Moved in to the dirty, still being renovated house last night and actually slept there, and am living like the minimalist i knew that i would be had i not collected so much random crap even before katrina hit. not bad, not bad at all, the house needs a good cleaning in a giant dishwasher and disinfectant tub, but....
I'M NOT HOMELESS ANYMORE, AND I HAVE MY OWN ROOM AND I GOT UP AND SHOWERED AND WALKED TO SCHOOL THIS MORNING AND I'M ATTENDING MY DREAM SCHOOL--UPENN--RIGHT NOW SO I DON'T CARE!!!!! YYYEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!

funny side note: when accessing our schedules and class lists, all of the tulane kids are listed as "Hurricane Katrina Guest Students"---NO JOKE!!!

"Katrina, party of 8, your table is now ready....yes we have a table for you in the upenn section...great, it's right over here...."


we'll just say i have a bed(inflatable), a desk(ikea rocks), a bookshelf(so does walmart), and a side table(little pallette on the floor so i can stack stuff without it getting dirty). oh, and i have 2 small lamps. that's it!!! LOVING the fact that after this semester is done, i can simply sell all my stuff in a garage sale, and just jump on a plane back to NOLA!!! Transient living is the life for me(if i had an unlimited financial resource like a sugar daddy or a unbeleivably rich soon to be deceased uncle that LOVES me...). i have to say that once you get over the stressful nature of the situation(it takes about a week and a half-personal experience), it's kind of liberating...very neo-walden-esque type of experience.
the only thing i have for wanting is a rug, and some close toed shoes...the floor boards of my room in the house are pretty jacked up and the splinter count high....i'll basically be wearing shoes all through the house until i can afford a rug...THEN it's barefoot season again.

BUT DON'T GET ME WRONG...it HAS been expensive signing a new lease: deposit, 2 months rent up-front, buying some kind of furnishings(sleep and study aparatii along with purchases for "the house"--cleaning supplies/dishes for 6/trash bins/etc)
for all of these expenses i'm both filing for FEMA and looking at the red cross donation distribution. i cannot beleive how much money i've ended up spending in the last couple of days...from a guesstimate: probably around $2,000 total in the last week....paris hilton's pocket change, but for me: welcome to panic attack central, your train is leaving.
upenn faculty & staff are doing a great job setting us up with a financial aid/private loan counselor to see what we can apply for in terms of money options, and we have had some of the administration in architecture offer us the use of extra supplies for our desks up at the school, so we all think that beyond groceries, and a thicker blanket and coats soon, we won't spend too much more on stuff. WHEEWW!! now THAT would make me feel MUCH MUCH better....

i'll write more about my classes soon...still trying to figure out/finalize my schedule, HOPEFULLY to be completed by the end of this week...
bye for now!!

PS. it's sooo funny(weird funny not haha funny) that my life would NEVER have been this exciting/fun/scary/stressful/memorable/invigorating/broke/unimaginably lucky/ homeless/ had i gotten into upenn the first time i applied...
this whole situation(insert katrina experience here) has pretty much changed my life and the way that i will percieve things from this point on....both in the best and worst of ways, but as i see it right now, the best of ways has the upper hand....

posted by ekeith @ 1:27 PM