The Third Decade

Lower Ninth Ward

After 10 days away and another 3 getting readjusted to Boston, I'm ready to do a little blogging. While Boston was dripping with cold rain last week, I spent my time visiting a friend and traveling around warm, sunny Louisiana and Texas. I know we'll have our day in the sun in less than a month, but it was fantastic to wear shorts and a t-shirt all day everyday for a week. The warmth, friendliness, and honesty of people down there was equally charming. Almost everywhere I went I was greeted with a smile and a mild surprise that I come all the way from Boston.

One of my most memorable interactions, though, was at the start of my trip at the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge. While waiting for my friend to pick me up, I got into a conversation with the police officer on duty. At some point I asked where he was from and he replied, "New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward." He's been living and working in Baton Rouge since Hurricane Katrina forced him to leave home, but he's in the process of trying to pull together enough money to rebuild and move back. One of the factors working against him - and others in the same predicament - is the way the federal government has been assessing grants for rebuilding. He explained that even though there is approximately $150,000 available for each home to be rebuilt, the Feds reduce the size of the grants depending upon other income sources. For example, if an evacuee has received $50,000 from an insurance company, that much is deducted from the federal grant. If that evacuee has received another $500 for food, that much more is deducted from the grant to rebuild. This assessment/deduction process goes on and on until there's little or no money left for someone to rebuild fully. According to the officer, this has happened to thousands of people, leaving them stranded where they are and unable to rebuild. Adding insult to injury is that one local state representative's efforts to pass a bill that would tax the money recipients received to rebuild! When I asked him a second time if it was a Louisiana representative trying to push forward that measure, he replied with an emphatic yes.

It was an incredible to hear how unjust the process of receiving a federal grant is, particularly when contrasted with how calmly it was all explained. This man didn't look or sound defeated by the process; instead he just seemed very used to having to explain what was going on over and over. He encouraged me to go down to New Orleans to visit the Lower Ninth Ward - which I was planning to do anyway - and followed up the suggestion by saying "Boston belongs to me as much as New Orleans belongs to you." He went on to say that there's no reason this country can't afford to rebuild New Orleans if we can pay billions to fund a war overseas. I agreed and took my leave when my friend arrived moments later.

That officer's words stuck with me throughout the trip. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to visit New Orleans until my last day down South, but it was worth the journey. Driving into the city, you'd never know Katrina had been so devastating. We drove down I-10 and entered the city near the universities. I'm not very familiar with the layout of New Orleans, but we began our visit to the city by driving down the streets that have streetcars still running on them. The houses and mansions along those streets were gorgeous and everything looked like it was cut out from a magazine on fine Southern living. After a quick lunch, though, we drove across the Industrial Canal and headed into the Lower Ninth Ward.

Upon first glance, the area didn't look that different from anywhere else in Louisiana. There was traffic, small businesses, and single family homes. It could've passed for the Southern version of Roslindale if I had to make a comparison. But, once we turned off the main roads and headed deeper into the  neighborhood, that's when things really looked different. We visited the area where Brad Pitt's organization has been working to help with the effort to rebuild figuring there would be a lot of activity happening. On the contrary, most of the area had practically nothing. No houses. No trees. No cars. No people. There were some slab foundations still in place and a few partially rebuilt or newly built homes in place, but the vast majority of the area was a field with waist-high grass. The magnitude of the devastated area is broader and wider than I understood. Even in the places where some houses had been rebuilt, they are surrounded by empty shells or nothing but vegetation. We could have been in a small town if we didn't know that it was the middle of New Orleans.

After walking around a little, it was encouraging to see some young volunteers set up at a house, although they honestly reminded me of backpackers at a youth hostel in Asia. I wouldn't have been surprised to smell banana pancakes cooking as we walked by. One group of older people also drove through, but they were on a tour of the area and never got out of the van. It's a shame knowing that our government has done so little to help, but it's also encouraging to know that there is a grassroots effort to rebuild. One man we spoke to said that Sean Penn was in the area lending a hand and that he's had buses full of students from universities in Boston, Providence, California, Hawaii, and dozens of other places coming to lend a hand. He also explained how Brad Pitt's organization works and said that many houses have been built, although there were three times that amount left to build. As with the officer I spoke to in Baton Rouge, he encouraged my friend and me to continue telling the story of what's going on in New Orleans and thanked us for stopping by and talking to him.

I know that my words and photographs won't do much at raising awareness of the situation in New Orleans. However, at the very least I wanted to honor the requests of the men who asked me to tell their stories and remind everyone that in this political season who you vote for matters far beyond what their pastor says, who their spouse cheated with, or their age. For some people, the change in administration could mean a significant improvement in their lives. Remember that we're voting for someone who has the responsibility to improve the lives of everyone in this country, not just their own supporters. We all have a stake in overseeing the growth and development of healthy communities nationally, not just in our own backyards.

Home Heating Then and Now

Today, while doing research on Roxbury history, I came across this black and white photo on the Library of Congress' website. There wasn't much more information other than that the photo was taken in Roxbury, MA; but damn if that doesn't look like my fireplace! I know it's not, but what I like about the old photo is that it gives me a good idea on how my home used to be heated. When I was renovating the living room, I guessed that a pot-bellied stove was the primary heat source (the round patch of plaster found in the recent photo was the giveaway). This stove has a flat front, which isn't to say that my place didn't have a pot-bellied stove, but chances are the heating systems in all these places were all the same since most buildings in Roxbury were all built around the same period of time. Now I see how the stove exhaust pipe was likely connected to the chimney, even though at the time of the reno I didn't think it made sense because the patch seemed too low in the wall. With all those bends in the pipe, I wonder how many people suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Anyway, I like having a mirror more than that medallion thing on their wall, but I guess that was kinda interesting. I guess. On the other hand, I pity the poor woman who had to use that stove to heat her iron and whatever that is in that flask (I'm guessing it's water or milk). I see we both like to keep lots of crap on the mantle, too. Guess some things never change.

City Living at Its Best

Today I learned why it's so difficult to get help from City Hall. In response to the accident which happened last week in front of my building, my neighbors and I have started making calls to start setting things right. The 2nd floor neighbor called the Police Department to obtain a copy of the police report for the accident. We figure the driver's insurance will pay for our property damage. She also contacted our insurance company to have someone come by and do an appraisal for repairing the damage. My job, then, was to get the fire hydrant inspected and to have the damaged guard post replaced.

Pop quiz: who would you call to have a fire hydrant and a guardrail checked out?

We figured that the fire hydrant was the responsibility of the Public Works Department and that the guardrail would be cared for by the Boston Transportation Department. Makes sense, doesn't it? The real answer is neither one! First, the Fire Department is responsible for inspecting the hydrant. I guess that makes sense, but they aren't in the business of replacing damaged ones, are they? Anyway, Public Works said they would replace the guard post, but only after I called the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services and had my liaison call DPW to have the work done. O-kaaaay... I didn't bother questioning the process, I just placed another call. Unfortunately, my neighborhood rep wasn't available, so all I could do was leave a message. He didn't call me back today (but when I get him on the phone my list of things to be done around the neighborhood is suddenly going to be much longer).

Anyway, Transportation was the most friendly department. They couldn't help me at all, but they were so friendly. I asked about having speed humps put in; apparently they don't do those anymore. I asked about reversing the direction of the street, but that requires a neighborhood petition first (who knows how long it takes after that!). My friendly contact even said that he knew the street and the corner well. He also offered to come by and look at it and then call me later this week. Isn't that sweet?! Too bad all that good will doesn't translate into any tangible road projects.

So, with all that in mind, our next step is to get more of the neighbors involved and see if we can at least get the direction of the street reversed. Hopefully, building consensus will be easier than getting a straight answer from City Hall.

No More

OK, this is it. No more major repairs or improvements on my kitchen for the rest of the year. Kitchens are known to be expensive and labor intensive, but now I'm tired and just plain done. On the plus side, the new cabinets from Ikea are great. My storage space has quadrupled and the built-in lights add a sweet ambient glow to the kitchen. So now it's time to kick back and enjoy the results.

The photos below are daytime and nighttime shots. The nighttime photos show the cabinets with the lights on. Click to enlarge.

                                                                  

Something's Always Cooking With My Kitchen

I just realized today that my two year anniversary of becoming a homeowner was exactly two weeks ago. When I moved in, I never would've thought I'd still be making repairs and improvements to the same room two years later. Yes, again with the kitchen. I just couldn't leave well enough alone.

While browsing the aisles of Ikea yesterday I decided to purchase wall cabinets. For those of you who have never seen the inside of my home, I removed the nasty cabinets which were here originally and replaced them with an open shelving system. That worked well until I started collecting more dishes, mugs, pots and pans, and serving utensils. Plus, with my boyfriend and I talking about his moving in at some point, space will become even more of an issue soon. So, after getting back to mine, we started assembling the cabinets and moved the current shelves to an adjacent wall above the sink. Unfortunately, all of these changes mean more patching and painting of the walls - and another trip to Home Depot - in addition to everything we did in September. We also decided that the kitchen would look better with another shelf to match the one currently in place, so we're heading back to Ikea for that, too. We'd have to go anyway to return a replacement part we were mistakenly sold for another item and get the right one. Hopefully, these latest purchases will mark the end to the major renovations to the kitchen. We still have details from the September improvements to finish, but those aren't so bad. I'm just looking forward to being able to rest for the winter and think ahead to improvements somewhere else in the spring.

Below are photos from before I moved in, the 2005 anniversary, and this morning. Looking through my home improvement photos, the sink area of the kitchen seems to be the bellweather for how my home is shaping up from year to year, so it made sense to continue the theme. Click on each one for a larger image.

Life Imitating Art Imitating Life

While watching Desperate Housewives tonight I half wished that there was an urban version of the show. I learned quite a bit about my neighbors tonight at a condo association meeting and realized that there's as much going on here as on Wysteria Lane - although minus the murders.

Tonight's meeting was in response to finding a friend of the roommate of the owner on the first floor having sex with a prostitute on our dryer in the laundry room. Thankfully I wasn't the one to come across that sight, but I hear it was somewhat...messy.

Anyway, we building owners got together to discuss ways to improve the security of the building. As usual, while talking about the incident and the guy involved, we started talking about who he associates with and who knows him on the block. That naturally led to conversations about everyone. Apparently there are a number of people with drinking problems, controlling spouses, territorial homeowners, rampaging lawyers, and one neighbor who sits on a high horse now but who used to "break in" the neighborhood boys when they were all growing up together. If I were a screenwriter I could make a killing writing a show that combines the drama of Desperate Housewives with the setting of Everybody Hates Chris.

In the meantime, I think I'll continue to do what I do best - lay low and mind my own business.

Fresh New Kitchen

Well, the kitchen project is basically done. There are a few details left to complete regarding the crown molding and the baseboard molding, but overall I'm very pleased with how the room turned out. The new bamboo floor and the space gained by removing the pantry are fantastic. I also love the new Ikea lights. My boyfriend was a huge help! We worked well together and complimented each other's skill sets. Both of us are also surprised that we were able to do as much as we did in 10 days. It would've been great to have more manpower, but we can't argue with the results. Click the photos below to enlarge.

(link via Towleroad)

Ceiling:

Pantry:

Buried

Apologies for the lack of posting lately (I was on a good roll for a while), but I've just been buried in work and other commitments. Roxbury Open Studios is beginning to occupy more and more of my time and energy as the October show draws nearer and just yesterday I ran into an acquaintance at Jackson Sq Station who urged me to get involved with the Bayard Rustin Breakfast again. I dropped off the planning committee last year when I found it too bureaucratic and dominated by AAC, so I'm a bit torn about reconnecting with them again. Still, I guess it won't hurt to check it out, although I hope it won't be as stodgy this year as it was last.

More immediately, the kitchen renovation project begins this weekend! The old ceiling and the pantry are slated for removal. Exposing the chimney is more than likely to happen. And the floor...well...if I'm feeling really ambitious, that will be redone as well. I wish I had more than one other set of hands to help out, but I gotta do what I gotta do. Wish me luck.

Aha!

I finally found the kind of home renovation/home repair blogs I need. There's a ton online, but I need something about exposed brick and exposing a brick chimney. A week from tomorrow, the boyfriend and I are going to undertake a relatively big DIY project: completely ripping out the kitchen pantry, renovating the kitchen ceiling, and possibly exposing the brick chimney. We both took a one-week vacation and we've already stocked up on materials for the walls and ceiling. There was also some brief chat about exposing the chimney, but neither of us has really thought about how to do it or what the finished product should look like. Since my kitchen is already red - bright red that is - I had imagined that we'd just knock off the plaster, clean off the brick, and then leave the chimney as is. But, after stumbling across Chaohaus and her idea on "unexposing" an exposed brick wall, I have second thoughts about what to do with the chimney. Since I know that I'll eventually cover the worn out hardwood floors with bamboo flooring (similar to Chaohaus' room), a white brick chimney might not be so bad as an accent against the red walls. And, although the idea of working on the walls, ceiling, and chimney over ten days is a little overwhelming, at least we won't start another project without a plan.

Digital Yard Sale

Desk...$20 (click on photo to enlarge)

Sometimes I wish I had a yard. It's not that I feel the urge to return to nature by sinking my hands into the earth, instead sometimes I'd like to have a yard sale. Last weekend, instead of going to Boston Pride, I helped the boyfriend pick up furniture from his parents' home (and scored a few pieces for myself as well). My old furniture (there are a few more things besides the desk) is in good condition and perfect for a yard sale. The internet and word-of-mouth, of course, are my resources for getting rid of things; but now that it's warm and sunny again, there's something about a yard sale which sounds like it'd be more fun. Maybe I'm just recalling childhood memories of yard sales and how much I enjoyed looking through other people's stuff, although my experience as the seller might not be as much fun. I suppose I could just do to the desk what I did with the old TV: leave it on the street. That was picked up before I even knew anyone had passed by. But I'd also have neighbors to answer to if it sat outside my building until garbage day and I'm fairly positive that the nosy lady next door would find some way to weasel her way into my business if the desk stood guard outside for a while.

In any event, I'm enjoying my new desk (seen here with all the other stuff I haven't put away yet) and I'm happy to say that the fireplace project is slowly moving forward. I've chosen a style and color of tile and am now tying to narrow down the size of the blocks. My tile guy dropped off two samples earlier this morning. One size is 2x2, the other is 3/4x3/4. Right now I'm leaning toward the larger tiles, but I'm open to the smaller ones, too. The more immediate problem, however, is learning how to lay and grout tile. The boyfriend says it'll be a fairly easy weekend project. I guess this will be one of those I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it things.