I'm here in the Big Easy

I made it to New Orleans, and I seem to FINALLY be getting settled in. I'm still working out the attendant care stuff, and hopefully that too will begin to get regulated shortly.

The stress all started Friday morning. Mom and I had been to the post office to get her paycheck and were on our way to the credit union to cash it when we heard this obnoxious knocking noise under the van. We thought it was just a flat tire, but when Mom got out to investigate, all the tires were up. We limped to my grandparents' for assistance just to discover they weren't home. One of my aunts who works for the city of Moundridge said we could use her mini-van to get to the airport, and by the time Mom got said van back to where I was, my grandparents had come home. Bob (my step-grandfather) had a little wooden ramp he uses to load equipment into the back of his pickup, so we backed up the van to the curb and I drove up the ramp into the back. Grandma hopped in with us and we were off to get vaccination papers for Reba and get to the airport.

We arrived at Louis Armstrong in the early evening to meet up with Dad at the apartment (he had driven down with a U-Haul load of my stuff), and after a couple of hassles getting checked in, I started moving my stuff into my TINY apartment. By the time all was said and done on Sunday, I had to send some of my possessions back to Kansas with my parents to be stored because I just couldn't find ONE MORE cranny to cram anything into. As if moving 900+ miles from home wasn't stressful enough, I started my period which made my hormones crazy and my emotions even crazier.

As to the apartment -- I can't get in and out by myself, and I have a tub (which is VERY inconvenient for me). I've talked to the associate director of the complex, and she seems willing to find a way to automate the apartment door and the complex gates, but I decided to get disability services in on the act to try to move the process along. I'm a Ph.D. student, for crying out loud -- I need to be able to come and go at my own whim, not have to coordinate with my attendants or call an apartment staff member or the police every time I want to check my email.

Speaking of that. I have to get my own phone, my own Internet, my own cable, AND I have to rent a university mailbox to receive my mail. Turns out the apartments are on university property but they are managed privately. I was so disgusted. Add to that the fact that their handicapped-accessible apartment isn't really handicapped-accessible, and I'm surprised I haven't had a massive anxiety attack!

On the plus side, the people in the bio department here have been wonderful. The grad secretary, Yvette, has already helped me get in bed once when I got in a jam, and she and Dr. Candace Timpte (biochem prof) helped me take a shower at the Rec Center yesterday where there actually WAS a roll-in shower. A couple of grad students have volunteered to go grocery shopping for me and/or run errands when I need something. All the profs I met in May remember my name three months later, my instructors are being extremely accomodating of my needs, and everyone is going out of their way to make this new kid feel welcome. Once I get the apartment accessible and get enough attendants to cover everything (and get my financial aid), I think I'll actually be able to start concentrating on school work and getting starting on my dissertation.

One final note to my circle/pack Nay, Mouse, Lady, Moonled, and Scottishneko -- I really miss you guys. To Pauley, thanks for the calls and for letting me vent and cry to you.

I'll send out my contact info in an email to everyone. Give me a month or so, and I'll be ready to accept visitors. I think I may even try to hop the bus this weekend and head down to Cafe du Monde for a beignet and a hot cocoa.