May 9, 2007: 8:00 PM

I'm staying in tonight. And here's why...

Yesterday we had our first day on the job site. We are working on two houses side by side in the upper ninth ward, which is fairly devastated, but not as badly as the lower ninth. We were installing insulation in the houses, and then halfway through the day, a donation of drywall showed up. That is great. But donations do not come with deliverymen to unload the drywall, so we all unloaded it, which caused sore muscles on top of the itchiness associated with working with fiberglass all day long. Still, we managed to complete the insulation in both houses, so it was nice to see a task through start to finish.

After showering, we had dinner in our prison, I mean dormitory, last night. The food here is actually quite good, at least the breakfasts and dinners. We had blackened chicken with dirty rice and cornbread. Lunch is two slices of monk bread (it is made by monks, which is why I call it monk bread) with one thin slice of turkey or ham and one thick slice of velveeta-like cheese. It sits in our toolboxes and gets warm all morning so the cheese is melty, adding an extra layer of ickiness to it. Still, it's free so I can't complain too much. And, as I said, the rest of the food is awesome.

We went out for a walk after dinner and made our way up the riverfront to the French Quarter, where we commenced to imbibe a bit. First was a daquiri I took to Jackson Square. We sat on the fountain and stared up at the church (where Pope John Paul II once worshipped, the plaque says). It is so beautiful you think you are looking at an artist's imagination, rather than a real building. Then we made our way over to Bourbon Street and decided to hang out on the sidewalk in front of a bar called Naepolean's Itch. It was a gay bar. There were unisex bathrooms with a fishbowl full of condoms next to them. But it made awesome drinks for not too high a price so we stayed for a bit. A man with a real live miniature pony showed up. I think he only had the pony so he could carry the riding crop he had in his back pocket. Then a man who made balloon animals came along and made me a pregnant poodle. He made everyone else stuff too, we gave him money, and he went away.

Then we continued on down Bourbon Street to the Cat's Meow to sing karaoke. No, I did not sing, but I did see a blind Navy veteran get his groove on to "Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog." It was a load of fun and the crowd was wild for him. As we continued down Bourbon on our way home for the night, a classmate who shall remain nameless (RYAN) veered off course and into another daquiri bar. I chased after him so he wouldn't be left alone, and next thing I knew there were four of us sitting at the daquiri bar. I had had enough to drink; I was just there to keep things headed in the right direction--home. Unfortunately, that did not happen in as direct a fashion as I would have liked; first, we had to stop off for cigaretts, then more beer, then water. By the time we walked to the World Trade Center, it was 10:07 PM and as promised by Bible Thumping Nick, we were locked out for the night. I ended up spending the rest of the night (okay, the rest of the night after another walk on the waterfront followed by a detour to Harrah's casino, where I lost fifteen bucks on the slots) attempting to sleep in a stifling car.

Today, we were back at the same worksite. I had gotten a whole hour's sleep in my real bed before we had to leave for the site. We were working outside today. One group was digging ditches and smashing up old concrete with a jackhammer. I was NOT part of that group. My group was building two boxes that were meant to house a bundle of electrical wires that were hanging outside the house. However, again, we got a shipment that we had to unload. This time it was doors and trim. We moved over a dozen ladders and bundles of leftover fiberglass out of the storage trailer so that we could move the trim and then move the ladders and fiberglass back in. I am learning based on this experience that construction work is a whole lot of moving things to one place so that in a little while you can move them to another.

There was a circular saw and a jigsaw involved in our box-building. Do not fear. I refused to use them because I know how clumsy I am and did not want to go to the hospital to get a finger reattached. As it was, I nearly lost a finger spotting wood for someone else who was sawing. The outdoor work means that tonight I am sunburned, sore, and tired. A bunch of people went back out tonight, but not me. I'm going to maybe stroll down to the riverfront for a beignet and cafe au lait. Maybe.