Thanks FEMA! (No thanks to Tulane)

So...Tulane has finally given us some indication of what we will be coming back to academically in the spring.

Still no word on where we can live, sources of potable water, or even whether there is yet electricity in Weinmann Hall. But at least I know that if I go back, I'll be taking Constitutional Law and Legal Research over a 15-week semester, Contracts and Criminal Law over a concurrent 10-week semester, and one other class which I guess I would pick from upperclass offerings.

I suppose the schedule is not as bad as I anticipated. I feel bad for the students who didn't visit, who will be subjected to the rigors of fitting an entire academic year in two 10-week semesters with one week break in between. I mean, my potential scedule is less than ideal, but maybe not that bad-- I kind of like the idea of getting two finals over with and then having over a month to focus on my other two classes.

But I still really despise the idea of going back there. Not knowing the condition of my apartment and stuff, it's hard to know if my fears are irrational or not. But I suspect that my reasons for not wanting to go back are legitimate.

1. Allergy to mold: According to everyone who's gone back, there is mold growing EVERYWHERE, on EVERYTHING. I am horribly allergic to mold. I could barely stay healthy and breathe in New Orleans before the cataclysm. How awful will it be now?
   
   
2. Disgust with the way Tulane has handled itself thus far: This is the first SUBSTANTIVE communication Tulane has had with us that offers any sort of insight to the future. It's a full month after the storm! Basically they just told us to wait, disregarding that idly waiting for Tulane to get a plan together wasn't an option for many people for different reasons. I have lost a lot of respect for the leadership of the school.
   
   
3. I wanted to transfer out of Tulane anyway. This has been my plan ever since I took my leave of absence last November. One of the reasons I chose Tulane was because I thought I might end up staying in New Orleans and living, working, raising my kids there. There's no way in hell I would ever consider that now...and that idea had been on the outs for a few months beforehand anyway. All this confusion and upheaval will probably make it harder for me to transfer, especially because of the importance of grades in transferring...I need to stay at one school for the year.
   
   
4. Mental health: Forget about the physical dangers of returning to a ruined city. Those are numerous and substantial. I'm also worried about my emotional well-being. Everything I've been through in the past year has been pretty tough, and I was looking forward to getting out of New Orleans. When I got to Richmond I was very hopeful that I would be able to move forward with my life, leaving behind all the bad memories of losing a close friend and evacuating a deadly storm. There's been so much traveling, planning, uncertainty in the past month-- I really just want some stability so that I can not go crazy.
   
   
5. Presence of toxins and their possible effect on my unborn children.
   

I'm sure there are more, but I need to wrap this up so I can study.



Not everything in my life is bad news, though. There have been some exciting developments lately. Since I listed the above numerically, I will do so with the happy things as well.

1. FEMA money! YEAh baby! Direct deposit is a wonderful thing. I was worried that I had fatally screwed up my application and cheated myself out of $2K, but it turns out that it's not the case. *New development* Dan in the study room next door says that he got the standard $2k two weeks ago, and then yesterday he got ANOTHER check for slightly MORE! Hopefully this is standard practice.
   
   
2. Tulane/Loyola students to go to Supreme Court: We got an email yesterday saying that we would be going on a "field trip" to the US Supreme Court sometime this semester and that there would be a "reception." I don't know who will be there, I don't know when it is, but it sounds exciting and like a good opportunity.
   
   
3. Successful shopping lately: I try not to overdo it, but I have made some very good purchases in the past two weeks. I've moved on from clothes (I basically have everything I need) to accessories. Two new purses, some shoes...Very nice. There's something to be said for "retail therapy."
   
   
4. I found the gym on campus: I've been exercising a lot lately because i've been so stressed about The Situation. Rather than getting depressed about something I had no control over, I decided to get active. It's way harder to get out of bed in the morning because I'm sore and tired, but overall I am quite pleased to be making time for physical activity.
   
   
5. Fall has arrived: Last friday it was almost 100 degrees here. Today the high is about 80...and it's definitely nippy in late night/early morning. AWESOME! In NOLA we didn't get fall until about December.
   

So that is really almost everything that's happening.