Can't Upload The Pics

I Cant get upload my battle Pictures Here at the Library due to lack of access. I sent them to Gerard Howard of Marchingsport.com so if you want to check them out. I guess you'll have to hit that up.

The Dogs

after watching various network News stations I've Realised that Cheddar could have ben either Addopted, Shot or Stolen and sold. Me & my sister are going crazy right now trying to find our dog.

We even saw a few dogs that looked like him on a show on Animal planet that was recorded during Katrina animal Rescue. but after calling them they claimed that all these animals were surrendered by their owners. That a lie . we were forced to leave the animals.

I hope we get our dog.

.. I Feel like goin' Back to N.O yall..

No Access, No Shelter, Just Living

The Reliant Shelters have been closed since the monday before Rita. I'm now living with my sister. I would like to thank everyone who have sent donations to my family and I'd like it if you'd just keep them coming. THE ADDRESS IS STILL GOOD The best thing you could do is send those gift cards. some of yo have been getting sizes wrong but Its ok .. LOL .. heres a rundown of the past week for me...



AFTER THAT LAST POST :

• I Attended Drumline Live Battle of the Bands
• I Took Pictures
• I Met a Few Members of SWACFANS.com
• Some of those members were Band members of Prarie View A&M University
• I Met Cecily Jones - Member of Marchingsport.com (me & her in the pic)
• I ate with PV's band That night (off their ticket) .. Now i can scratch that one of the groupie list
• I Drew a few pics for 2 Men of the ARMY National Guard. .. (you'll see one of them)
• I Ate at Taco Cabana (NASTY)
• I was stuck in 10 hours of traffic to nomansland during Rita's Evacuation
• We went back home to ride it out
• Power was off
• It was hot
• We went to the Corner store to get Ice.
• All they had was beer and candy
• lights Came back on at 2AM the next morning.
• I Saw that Texans Tint Fall
• Went to my other sisters new house,
• uuhh........... lol

Yeah it was more than that but umm yeah .. Im living.

That Pic is a wrestler getting ready to smash another one in the head with a mallet ..(hammer).. No spicific wrestlers just freehand & Freemind .. YEAH!

I'll be back posting regularly someday.. I gotta get thost pics up yall! .. Im Out!

check bm2000.blogspot.com for them Dline Live Pics

NOTE FROM THE BOOK!

Think I Found him

Cheddar Just May be in D.C.!

I Just Read this article and saw the slide show. Photo 11 looks just like Chat!. Kind of Amazing. I hope its him. I Just Got the Contacts from WARL.org But they're closed on weekends . Hopefully Well get a through monday. My Sister, Brother & Nephew were here to see and confirm it But we don't know for sure, We'd have to see a full pic from the side view only to know for sure. He has the Red nose and all. .. We didnt see a chain. . but in the article They said they had cleaned the dogs, they could've took his chain off before the pic was taken.

For those who asked Questions.. here are your answers

• I will be staying in Texas untill its Really safe enough to go back.
• I Will be Enrolling into School When i get some Shoes to wear
• Texas Southern University to be exact
• For Computer Science
• My Family is doing Fine
• No We dont have a house yet

The Cousins Who I Talked about in the Katrina Survival post are here in houston. Them and The daughter of the Late Greg Estes. She Knows her father is dead but she wants to see a body to prove it. Thats the same way her mom felt during the storm. .. Speakin of that.. Her and the rest of her kids are in Atlanta. . Shes gonna need lots of help herself.

Uhh... See my pic .. i just took that ... Im Having a great day today. ..

Im here with Shawfeek (w is silent) Of The To Be Continued Brass band .. He says that The whole band isnt Here anymore. Some are in Philly & others are in Dallas & Houma. He says that They're trying to get back together to do some shows in the near future. the bad part is, They Need New Instruments. Whats a brass band without Instruments? .. anyway .. I Gave Him the info thats needed. .. Hope they get back .. Thats New Orleans Talent and Tradition All over the US ..

Mega FrostByte

Reliant Arena is Cold! Man, They Need to turn off the air conditioning. The sheets they gave us don't work. This place is like a freezer lol. I woke up this morning at probably about 5. I Could not go back to sleep due to frost bite (lol) .. I went to get coffee just to warm me up & Then i Tried to go back to sleep, Only to be awaken by The same guy who had blasted his radio in the dome .. I thought we got away from him, But NO; He's with in the same line of cots as me .. but on the end. This time he wasn't blasting his radio but yelling mad behind his CD's .. he Yelled " Aunttie, Auntiee!, Somebody Stole My CD's, You Know Who Done it? ..Im Tellin" .. lmao It was so funny. This man is in his 40's or 50's but you can tell he's Throwed Off. He seems to have a mind of a teenager, because he listens to rap and kinda does what the teens do. Such as walking around the Arena with his radio on is sholder ( Yeah We Brung it back) ..lol 1980's Meet the 2000's Eh? ..lol. Yeh.. But back to the story.... IT IS COLD IN HERE! I really think they need to turn the air system off. because Not Only is it Extremely Cold. But It's Interfering with the Wireless Internet connections for the ACT Center.

On top of that. There are kids who come here only to watch videos and listen to music. They don't know it but they are taking up more connection space than needed, which causes the servers to crash more than usual. Like Chris. He's a Deaf guy who's from my area. He's always asking for help & nobody understands him. I don't think he reads sign lanugage either. He's a Lip reader. Yesterday, His connection kept going down & he had no clue why. I tried writing him a note. but he refused to read it. Chris is real cool but he has a low attentionspan & i don't think that being deaf has anything to do with that. Infact He's On a laptop now; Doing exactly what I just Explained. Listining' to music & watching videos isnt a good thing to do when you have many wireless computers connected to the same line. Especially when Its obvious that there is a Unit Interfering with the connection.

As For today. I have a few more packages at my sisters and some at the post office. I'll go pick them up later. OH!! .. Yeah , I also have to go get my ticket to the upcoming High School Battle of the bands. YEAH I HAVE TO ENJOY MYSELF WHILE IM HERE MAN!!!...

IT'S COLD IN HERE!!!

NOTE FROM THE BOOK!!

New Orleans Kids Fighting

Leave New Orleans Kids Alone.

The Children of New Orleans are stressed & angered about what happened to their home. They are not the ones causing the problems in these schools. Its those who haze and provoke NO's students to act violently. New Orleans people are the most laid back people on earth. But if you get stupid with them, They'll do the same with you. They're Looking for ways to release their stress. if you do the wrong thing They just might release it on you. You don't want to know what its like to be in the shoes of those kids...

Do you know what its like to have everything you own Taken way froim you?
Do you know what its like to have Missing/Displaced family members?
Do you know what its like to Be Homeless?
Do you know what its like to be in a foreign place around foreign people?


Now you Haze, tease, & provoke them To fight. & then put the blame on them?

Why? Its Not NO's Fault...

Leave Them Kids Alone and you'll have no problems at all

The Arena

We are now in the arena. This bad boy is nice & organized. Extremely cold also. The ACT Center is now in the hallway of the arena. kinda crazy being out in the open. i wish they find a nice room to have this in. If only they'd donate a laptop to me ..lol

Speakin of donations.. I've set up a paypal account for donations but I really dont know how to use it. I think I Need a bank account.

(Goes to check email)

Moving to the Reliant Arena

They are movin' us out of here (The Astrodome) tomorrow due to a scheduled Texans game.
I hope there are Televisions in the Arena man. I don't want to be bored. They'll be moving these computers there also. I hope I'll be the first to fint the ACT Center when It's done ..lol

I need to duck off somewhere and stay for the game. I wonder if theres a way I could Volunteer for that. :) ..lol

Once Again I'm Telling My Story

Ofcourse You all Know by now that my blog was featured on CNN as the Katrina survivor blogging direct from the Astrodome. We'll Here's My Storm Story REVISED for the ones who missed it... or atleast want to know more than what was told the last time.

The week before Katrina Hit Louisiana. it was only a category 1 storm in the middle of the gulf. just days later it turned into a category 3 storm. My sister had evacuated with My nephew & little brother already. as the storm came toward the coast It had gotten stronger & Stronger .

The day before the hurricane Hit. one of my uncles, cousins, Tandra her husband Gregory Estes & family decided to stay at my place because we lived high enough off the ground *IF* the waters would rise. Same with my other family who lived in houses or in 1st floor appartments.. they all went by family to upper leveled appartments... We Rode out the storm that night, My brother jaime called thinging we were dead already. we told him we were safe & that I was on the PC Blogging That was until the power & Phone lines dropped. by then The storm had rose to a category 5.

That night we all stood awake all night while awaiting the storm. My Mom & Dad went to bed; so did Greg and the Kids . Tandra, Wayne & I stood talking about the good old days. (their old days) .. lol .. later Greg woke up & talked to us about what was going on in his life & how he'd met my cousin Tandra. he even talked of the Bible & how he loved his kids. Other than that it was Average things like sports and just life.

The morning came, everybody was up. Katrina was passing through; So Me , Greg, Wayne and Uncle Leroy started looking outside at the winds, rain & debris being blown all over. It was fun; we were sticking our heads out being stung in the face by the rain. we went back inside to chill out for a while. everyone was in the kitchen, we even our door open talkin to our neighbors about the storm also .. later on Things started falling The streets started to flood alittle and trees started falling. we all wanted the big tree infront my house to fall but it didnt :( .

While my mom was cooking they played cards & I went to take a nap. I woke up & the storm was over, But everyone started looting and playing in the waters. .. My neighbor even went to Hit up some of the stores. They came back with Ciggerettes, Liquor & food. we were even laughin at other people looting. This is when i got my camera. My mom wanted me to snap a picture of the water coming through the roof to show to FEMA ..lol .. so I decided to snap pics of the tree that had fallen & some other things.


later on that day My Cousins came over only to give us bad news. We had family trapped in a house near one of the pumping stations. . .. This is when Greg decided to go with them to get his daughter. .. little did they know, the waters were higher in that area. .. .. I went to sleep Only to wake up to The Terrible News. .. They Didnt tell me off back, but when I woke up I heard my Cousin Tandra Crying & Praying to God that it wasn't True .. so i went in the kitchen and Her childeren seemed to be fine, they werent crying at all. I went into the hallway and my Uncle was just looking out of the window. I asked What was wrong & i got no answer... I went on the porch and i saw my dad crying. He was the one that told me that Greg had Died in the storm. It was a Shock. my body was trembling & i shed my tears. We Knew that This man went out as a Hero. while on his way to save his daughter. He saw a young boy Drowning & decided that he'd ge save the boys life. He went under 3 times and never came back up. That was it. .. It was our family only loss.

We all cried about it. but there was a point till we couldn't cry anymore. The waters were rising and nightfall came & I took a nap, My mom & Tandra talked the night away. when she got ready to go to bed she woke me up, I was still shaken by the loss But I got up to talked to her what was more scary was that It was like 6 in the morning Pitch Black & all you could see was the reflection of the interstate in the water , From the other window you couldnt see anything. like a big Swamp or something.

The Next day the rescue mission started. The people We once thought were the Bad Guys became Heroes. They found boats, canoes, rafts, airbeds & kiddie pools & were saving peoples lives, Bringing them to Saftye. The coast guard came and started doing the same later on after they saw that there was a form of a rescue mission going on. They got people who were trapped in houses & appartments first. .We (my family) even helped the guard out with directions. they got many people to saftey; then they waited till the next day to get people from the other levels. But they only asked from Children & Elderly this time (this is when my cousin Tandra & her family decided to leave. I found out that my grandma was on there also. later my dad went to mark the spot where the flood had rose with a screw driver (he drove it in to a tree). he also went to check on some of our family also. There were babies Rescuing babies. pregnant woman stranded and everything .There were blackhawks and rescue choppers everywhere. it was like a Warzone; Exciting and scary at the same time. That all stopped untill the next morning. That night as we got packed up My neigbors boyfreind decided to cook a breakfast meal ., Eggs, Bacon, & Pancaked.... nice and good .. I was up listening to my neigbors down the Court Singing That "We Are the titans" them .. Which was replaced with "We Are The Projects" ..lol . It was Loud & they sang it proud .. I was so exited. after that I ate and napped like everyone else.


When the morning came it was a big lack of coast guards but they kept yelling"400 more are on the way" which was a lie. there were a few guards and the rest were The neighborhood rescue team ..lol We ate chicken and some of our found floating goods until they came to rescue us. They got our 2nd Neigbors First, Then my next door neighbors.. Then it was our time.

We had to slide down the poles to get on the boat because the waters were high and were said to get 9 feet higher. This is when I asked the guard where He came from. He told me that he came from Miami. which was so great because they were hit by the storm also. so we commend him for his efforts. :) . we got on the interstate to find out that Those Black hawks were there to bring food, water & also bring us to saftey. Those MRE's were Great.

We had to sleep on the interstate for 2 nights straight untill our squad of 50 had to load the buses. We got on those buses & were relieved. We finaly were able to get some Cool air and to sit down and not be hurting from the concrete like on the interstate. the bad part is that we had to leave our pets.

Riding Through the city was a Mess though. It was a big heartbreak for us. Our Whole Neigborhood was flooded... We thought we were in high waters in the hood; These houses were under water, some were even blown away from their foundations. If you looked to the left The waters were high. but looking to the right the waters were higher.

There were many people still trapped in their homes also. It was so nasty. later out bus driver stopped to check on this lady who lied lifeless on the interstate .. Yeah.. she was dead. they put a white cloth over her. & we all got back going. There were many other survivors Still on the interstate.. We were saying our "Ohh's & Ahh's & Aww's" Out durring the whole ride. Then we passed up the French Quarter area Where there was the Least amount of water.. The Canal street area.. It just looked like a Canal.. so did Tulane avenue (where Charity & tulane hospitals are ) . Poydras the areas near the Superdome were looking kinda dry. There were so many people still out there. you could see debris from the domes roof flying on the other side of the road. it was wild.

While crossing the Mississippi River we saw that the waters were flowing normaly and how dry looking the uptown area were & how the whole west bank was dry but had lots of wind damage.
on our way here we had the radio on.. the big announcement was the fact that they were closing Charity hospital for good. it broke everyones heart because it was were most of us were born.

When we made it to Houston there were mass amounts of people unloading the buses. This is when my mom went to give Gregs mom the bad news. She took it hard But then she was ok just knowing the fact that he died doing a good deed. See, Gregs mom had evacuated before hand and was awaitng on his arrival to Houston. They talked of greg for a while. We even were reunted with other family & friends. It was wild here the first few days. Thousands were here in the Dome and looking for family, Sleeping on cots & trying to get out of here .. all those pics you see are real. We are striving but we are living. There were many people with stories worse than mine.

New Orleans is now a ghosttown full of dead bodies & everything else. some day I'll be able to make it back. The city is like "The Day after tomorrow" come to life.. Just lost.

Thats basically It. you can read older my post now

Note From The Book

The Rest of the Photos

Theses are the last pictures i took. some are from inside the dome and one is a picture of my cousin (Because he wanted me to snap him looking ugly)

Just Imagine, That water Filled that Dumpster later on in the day

The BOOT ...

The Dome, My Home.

just a close up

My cousin, looking ugly

Louisiana Division of the Arts

KATRINA

Arts ReLIEF, RECOVERY, REBUILD

September 12, 2005



The Division of the Arts will be regularly updating our arts community on the relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts for Louisiana's arts industry. A special update will be sent out every 48 -72 hours with archives located on our homepage. Until further notice, the regular Email Forum will be suspended while we are addressing the needs of all our artists, arts professionals and arts institutions.



ARTIST RELOCATION FORM
We are working to develop a comprehensive Information Management System that can be used to track our native artists around the state and nationally and also to connect our arts infrastructure to the resources - both financial and technical assistance information - they will need until such time as we can return to our homes and work across Southeast Louisiana. While we work to implement this infrastructure, artists can complete the Artist Relocation Form in an effort to locate our state's displaced artists. This form will also be available to our local and regional arts councils throughout Louisiana. The Artist Relocation Form , http://www.crt.state.la.us/arts/ARTISTINFORMATION.pdf, can be returned to our office via email at arts@crt.state.la.us or via fax at 225-342-8173. You can also forward the form to your local arts council, which can be found by clicking here.



LOUISIANA PARTNERSHIP FOR THE ARTS ORGANIZATION LOCATION DATABASE
The Louisiana Partnership for the Arts Katrina Displacement Contact Database has been added to the LPA website

at this URL:http://www.lparts.org/KatrinaInfo1.cfm

Its purpose is to provide the best current contact information we have for Louisiana arts organizations that have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina.



UPCOMING
The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge is hosting a 2nd community meeting, Art Relief Working Together, on September 13th at the Arts Council's office in the Community Room, 427 Laurel Street, Downtown Baton Rouge at 3:30pm.

For additional information please contact The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge.



The next edition of the Katrina: Relief, Recovery, Rebuild Special Update will include information on current year grant awards for Regions 1 and 3 (New Orleans and Houma). We will also be posting a Web Billboard for Katrina-related resources on the Division of the Arts home page.





SUBSCRIBE
If you would like to subscribe to the Katrina: Arts Relief, Recovery, Rebuild Special Updates, please send an email to arts@crt.state.la.us and type SUBSCRIBE KATRINA in the subject line.





Feel free to call on us if we can answer any questions for you.

It Came in the mail today. I gues I'll subscribe myself

more pictures

These are more photos taken durring the storm.
I wish I wouldve had more space on my camera though; I really wanted to take more pics when the waters were higher, but ofcourse you saw all the photos from the many sites covering the Katrina Stories.

Just Think, That Barber shop window was gone by the end of it.

photos during the storm

these photos were taken durring the storm. this is before the waters got high. I'll post more tomorrow.

Technology For All

I just met Will Reed of http://www.techforall.org/. Will has also created a Blog addressed @ http://texasctcs.blogspot.com/. Both the site & blog relate to the Astrodome Community Technology Center & The Relief Efforts of Katrina. From the looks of it they are doing a great job. They've helped so many people find family & friends with their services.

Check it Out.

Eddie Story

U Want To Know Y They Didn't Leave, New
Orleans Evacuees

Originaly Posted On SWACFans.com Forums By Member: Supreme Being

I'm tired of hearing people ask why didn't all these people leave.. I'm
tired of seeing New Orleans on TV! I'm tired of everything about this dayum situation. But I'm moreso tired of these ignorant bastards passing judgement on people like they are perfect. You want to know why they didn't leave?

(Read Full Post: HERE )

Thats Basically Sums It Up. & Im with him 100%

In Other News......... ASTROWORLD IS CLOSING FOREVER! ..WHY??!!! SixFlags Made it official & didn't really give a reason for it.

Exposing The Fake: Volunteers

Being in Reliant City is Wild (yeah thats what they're calling this area now) .
I have learned the truth about the Volunteers and Red Cross. Yeah.. Yeah..

Exposing the Fake Red Cross:

The Real Red Cross are Extremely helpful and they're always at hand when you need them. Even if they're busy They wear red/grey vests & most of the time they are elderly

THE FAKE RED CROSS Ignores everyone and is only here to see what we are doing. You Have a Question and they dont know anything. most of these are the Young ones who are just there Rubbernecking.

Exposing The Volunteers:

Key World VOLUNTEER, All of the Volunteers have Good hearts Similar to the Real Red Cross .. but here's what i dont understand .. Why are they called Volunteers when Some of them Get Paid 12 dollars an hour to do so? Some of those paid vols are only here Rubbernecking too .. Thats not Volounteering in my book.


There Is another Fake Volunteer Secret also, but I Wont get in to that.

Rubbernecking the Rubberneckers, eh?


Note From The Book

American - Al Qaeda

This is Weird, on a day of remembrance & being served food by Real Muslims you have a threat by an American Who's Converted to Islam & has threatened the US with a terror attack on his own home town/state/country.

"Yesterday, London and Madrid. Tomorrow, Los Angeles and Melbourne, Allah willing. And this time, don't count on us demonstrating restraint or compassion,"

"We are Muslims. We love peace, but peace on our terms, peace as laid down by Islam, not the so-called peace of occupiers and dictators.

WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?!

I Declare That whole Statement.

SLAW


When I Saw This On TV it made me wonder what do the Muslims think of this?
Do they even have a right to portest against these kinds of things?
What do the Black Muslims of the Nation of Islam think of this?
.. The List goes on & on.


After Reading parts of the Qu'ran my Self, I've noticed that the resolution to everthing (I've read) is Violence. But thats only if you're reading it with out comprehending the messages within. same as the Bible. If you read it straight off It seems like a bunch of stories untill you start to comprehend whats really there.

Violence doesn't equal peace.

See, Real Muslims Use it (The Qu'ran) as a Metaphor to better themselves,
The terrorist just basically"Monkey See, Monkey Do"

Where Did JJ Go?

We'll He was in Jail on 9/11. for the day. lol we all were wondering where he was lol..
It wasn't anything big. He just was using his money for the wrong reasons. He went Clubbing & got lost & Im guessing that he was arrested for being drunk in public on a sunday .lol .. we'll he's here now and he lost his Debt Card. I strongly believe that He didn't lose it, I believe that the HPD is holding it because of how he was using his money. He's Back at the dome now.

you think he's crazy. There were other having pool parties at Hotels with their money. FEMA & Red Cross gave us that money to Help us out financialy, Not to abuse it.
While You're Out Parlaying. Other people are being wise & saving. .. Why Buy when the stuff they're giving us is free? don't be stupid with money.

Speakin' of Money. I Didnt receive anything because im joint with the parents.

Locked Out

Last Night, After Walking from Sonic We ( My Brother, some cousins & I) Found ourselves Locked out Due to the 11:00 curfew. We were out there at about 10:50 and she locked the gates. That was wrong, as more people came, They brought out this huge black Cujo lookin' dog. You could tell it was a nice dog though.

After about 10 minutes of waiting, The Female Officer said " Okay, you Guy have 15 minutes to figure out what you're gonna do & then your gonna have to head back to Kirby Drive.
the police were out there laughing at the fact that we were stuck out They Must've thought that We had no place to go... So we walked around for a while untill we wre able to contact my sister. Thats where we went to sleep for the night.

The Sad part about this curfew was that they let people walk out of the gates after hours but wont let them back In. Thats BOOTLEG PRISON

if its a curfew & the Gates are supposed to be LOCKED why are you allowing them to leave the premises? .. I dont understand that at all.


Out of this I Did recieve some good new though.

My Cousin Darryl's wife had twins. Guess what their names are..........




Okay, are you finnished guessing?..

Joshua (Named after me ) & Joseph ( Named after my older cousin Joseph)

Note From The Beth

From: Bethany

Originaly Posted HERE

Everybody had been calling and calling and wondering and wondering
"what
the hell is bethany doing? how in the hell is she dealing with all this?
where in the hell is josh? are you okay?"
to answer these questions for
you...

i am worrying, praying, and watching just like the rest of
the
nation. i've been talkin to josh on a regular and NOTHING HAS
CHANGED.
we are
still US...the lord made it that way....man i miss
josh...im worried
about
him...I LOVE HIM

for those who dont
know...JOSH IS
OKAY....STILL
JOLLY....STILL BOOK...he be a lil down
sometimes but he is
okay....

being the gf of a victim of
katrina...my heart is broken...for
the
longest i lost sleep worrying
about josh but everything kinda settled
down once
i talked to
him....still worried but strong...i gotta be that way
for
him.....sigh

BUT JOSH AND I HAVE DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND DO WHAT
WE SAID
WE
WERE GOING TO DO.....THE DATE AINT DETERMINED YET BUT WE GOING DO
IT....WE
GON LET YOU KNOW WHEN...WHERE....AND HOW

LOVE YA

Now Wasn't That Nice.. Yeah I'm Bored & I Actually wanted her to post that in Her Blog. Where she rarely posts because of her Broken PC.

I Love that girl .

I Guess That was a Note From The Beth .. lmao

My Cousin's Story

My Cousin Byron Honore of Scottsdale Community College was Interviewed By The Arizona Republic & The Artical Is Here at AZcantral.com on Sept. 3, 2005


He Along With 7 others Seemed to Be lost & Hopeless. This Story is Similar To My Brother Who Attends Texas Southern University

Here's My Cousins Thoughts

"My mom called me this morning and told me she was
in Mississippi," said Byron Honore, a sophomore defensive end from New Orleans
who lived within easy walking distance of Lake Pontchartrain. "My dad, he's in
the Superdome. He's OK, but his house and everything is messed up. My sister, my
three nieces, they were in the attic. I just got the message (Thursday) when I
was in the locker room that they were in the attic. . . . Right now I'm real
worried."

Now Remember This Was Durring the Time after Katrina & Durring evacuation.
Im Here at the dome with one of his sisters now, The've all been in contact with him. I talked with His Dad & a Few of his Relitives earlier in the week. I Think They All Left for Arizona Yesterday :) .. The ones he mentioned in his interview are also safe too, i believe they're in lafayette Louisiana.

Read The Full Article Here

It All Leads Back to The Story of Gregory Estes, Who Died on the way go to save his daughter...

Wild But True.

Whats Happening?

Today is September 11th 2005, I Was a Senior in High School; At home Sick when the attacks happened. I thought it was a movie at first but after changing a few stations i saw that it was real. Now Look at Me. 4 years later In a Disaster myself. Which was Worse? .. You can't compaire. the reason I say this is because Terrorist were responsible for the Attacks. and Terrorist were the Blame.. This Time NOBODY is the blame. There were no terrorists. it was all Natural. Scientist say its Nature Taking its Course (Costal Erosion plays a part in this ). Religious People say It was an act of God.. You can't blame George Bush for this. you can't blame The Coast guard. There is no one to blame. This is Not like 911. This was not a War. we weren't Seeking Refuge on The country. The whole thing is wild. Now you have Singers Having a "We Are The World Part 2" sessions, Rap & R&B Artist Beefing over There Opinions.

Well We had a moment of silence today & Thats all that matters. I Think that 9/16/05 will be the day of Remembrance for Katrina Victims . and after that They'll be Putting us Out of the Astrodome "Well at least that the rumor" .. They say They want us out by Next Saturday. IS IT TRUE?? I DON'T KNOW .. I Hope Not..

.. Yesterday was Crazy Yall..

Last Night at the SuperTarget I Saw Wali (Wah-Lee) My old Section Leader from Middle School. Its been over 7 years since i've heard from him. glad he's Okay .... I Was trying to go to Taco Bell But they were closed. so We (Dominique, Piggy & I) Went to walk over to The Sonic. Piggy & I Didnt order anything Because She Wanted to go to that Hotwing place... As wee walked back Near Fiesta I went straight in to Subway to get a Steack & Cheese Meal. But Then I Found that they Rand out of Steak, So I Asked for the meatball Sub.. No Meatballs .. so I got me a Nice Tuna! & Some Cookies. my cousin Piggy waited in line @ Cheyennes (the hotwing place) & Dominique went back to the dome . It was packed in there. When I got In I Kept Yelling "Give Me A Large Kool-Aid" Out Loud Just for the Fun of it.... .. I Talked to The Guard in there because I noticed he had on a TSU Campus Police Uniform. I asked him about their next game. He said They only have 3 home games this year & other than that He didnt know yeh... he was in there watching the Texas Longhorns game thats why i asked.. As we ere leaving out of Cheyennes We Ran in to BubbaYum & He was Drunk as a Skunk . He wanted to walk With us back to the dome so we wont miss Curfew. He said he was staying at a hotel though. .. The funny part about this the fack that He Ran in middle of the street so stop some speeding cars Just so Me and my cousin could pass. .. When we got to the other side. There were some Muslims from the Nation of Islam Passing out Flyers (I'll tell you about that later though) .. BubbaYum started Trying to talk and act proper as if he was Highly Educated .lmao .. he was Highly Intoxicated. ... Me and Piggy Kinda Ran away from him as he was talkin to the Muslims....

.. LATER ON ( after they turned off the lights) ..................


Dominique and I were Dyin'-Laughing at this old man who was trying to sing & Dance to all todays hit songs on the radio.. I think he was a mental case because he was talking to himself yelling " The Glaze, The Glaze!" what ever that means ..lol .... When i got up This morning is radio was still on loud .. .. When he woke up I couldn't do nothing but laugh. Its Just so in here crazy in here.




As For The Nation of Islam.. They were passing out flyers Supporting The Relief Efforts. They want people to attend a town hall meeting Today at the Power Center at 2:00pm. Thats located @ 12401 South Post oak. For More Info on that Call 713.741.2747

For Their Katrina Relief Services you can go to http://www.actioncdc.org


Do you all Like My New Katrina Survivor Logo? .. If So There are more Take One






Thanks For The Better Logo psychoPRETTY

Thanks to Fred for the old one. because It was yours that made CNN Bruh!

Note From The Book

Katrina Babies

There were so many Pregnant woman being saved. There are many still pregnant. but this post goes out to the woman in labor.

While sitting on my porch discussing the flood and things with the neighbors; there wre two guys who swam up to the avenue trying to flag down guards because there Cousin was in labor. We told them to sit on top of our cars so they can be safe while waiting. for guards. a good 20 minutes later the guards came to get them so they can go get the pregnant lady. in no less than 3 minutes they were back around the bend Zooming towards the Interstate .... We (my neigbors and I) gave the Guard a big round of applause. .. The girl looked as if she ws pushing that baby out in that boat. For some reason I think she had that baby on a Rescue chopper though.

There were many other Unfortunate mothers to be. Like my cousin who lost her baby. (She wasnt big pregnant, it was like a fetus or something) There were even mothers giving birth who've Both died durring the flood. I Just want to give a big Shout out of Congradulations to The Katrina Mothers, Fathers and their new born babies.

There were Infants who were displaced durring the rescue effort. & many are at the astrodome. I hope They are found real soon.

The Hate, Racist Mail, Why?

I've received a load of positive mail. But of the many I've received a few hate notes. Well I guess that's life.

Here's a Comment & Response

Those ignorant n*****s got exactly what they deserved. A bunch of welfare cases
and criminals, f***ing savages. They would be better off dead. Not the taxpayers
have to pick up the tab for these worthless pigs! F*** em!

We'll Mister, Just to remind you. More than one race was effected by this storm. But I did not single out any races in this my entries. We are all in this together. I guess you wont be a donating to the relief funds.



An Email & Response

From: Luc Boughner wiartonwillow@sympatico.ca
To: bookmansport@gmail.com
Date: Sep 10, 2005 5:11 PM
Subject: Thank-you


Yo Yo Yo wuz up dawg ,you and the homeboys kwel IÂ’m going to try to
write this so you can understand know what IÂ’m talking about.

The
n*****s in my crew think that the crackers have been,listen-up smimming the hole
tang on the up-side you dig know what IÂ’am saying Yo

Listen up n****r
wez-up on the hole tang and my home boys are hanging the know what IÂ’am saying .
the hores in my crew been slinging their there shit on

o.f.t.a.a.t know
what IÂ’m saying dawg so keek it on the upside dawg and wezz keepin 69 on 71 dig
kwel

Yo Yo Yo n****r wez staying heavy on the 9.1.6.2.3

Ending
on the 29Â’s wez sending 89 on the side to keep you and locked and heavy.

My homey stay safe donÂ’t worry about poping a cap if the 57 are 286 know
what IÂ’am saying

Ok, Luc. You mock my bad grammer & Your email shows how much of a life you have.
I'm Currently a homeless man with the internet & I'm using it wisely. I wote it the way I wrote It because It's my blog and I write how I want to write in my blog.

What was the purpose of your "Thank-you" Letter?

Was it to tell me how much you Didn't understand it?. Well Somebody understood it clearly enough to put it on TV. I must be doing something right that my blog was on Cable Network News.

With that said.

You're Hatred is a weakness & All your Success is just a failure waiting to happen.

New Orleans Was my Home & Not A Tourist Attraction

No Family?

There is a 21 year old girl here named Alicia, She's Here in the dome all by herself & dosen't Know How to find her family at all/. Other than that, I don't know much about her. But after telling Mrs. Carpenter (one of the center workers) about my interview She felt that I was trustworthy and that I couls help this girl out. . Hopefully I Will be of some sort of help.


I Think I'll Post her old home address in my blog later on to see if one of her family members will respond.

I Hope she went through all the assistance & registration processes though. see me .. I'll put her on AMW as a Missing Person. but yet She's not the one who's missing. its her family we don't know about.

.. I WAS supposed to go and eat something . But being the fat man i am. I really dont Need to eat. I'll do this first..

Finding Alicias Family is my new mission.

Last Updated: 1:47pm 9/10/05
Just Found that Americas Most Wanted Does Have An area for The Survivors
http://katrina.amw.com/

I Apologize

Yeah, Some Folks Got mad because of the "Gays in the Showers" Comment. .. its the same as those "Dont Drop the soap" jokes we were saying in there(the showers). We were all in there naked but we werent stairring eachother down. These were just a bunch of fellas in the showers being crazy. I was in Marching Band for 7 Years Straight, I've been taking showers and changing clothes in front of people for a long time Its just something we talk about while going to the Showers.


It was just a joke & not a blast or a complaint & I Didn't mean to offend you. I apologize for that.

DO YOU ACCEPT?

Walkin' Again

In New Orleans We like to walk the streets while traffic is moving. I didn't know there was a Jay Walking law or that you could be fined for it. Thats how it is Here in Houston. The Laws & Locations in Houston were Prime Topics Among the Dome Residents. They are all like "We don't want to go in the 3rd or 5th ward because they're bad Areas. Well I'll say this .. Being that I was in The most violent area of New Orleans. areas; Wards & projects or The People Do not scare me. I am just as human as them. I really don't care about Those things. Thats why I keep my distance. If I don't feel comfortable where im at I'll be the most Anti-Social person on earth. usually Im Talkative, I could talk a whole in someones head Yep Yep Yep UhhHuh!!

New Orleans Had a whole lot of "Area Violence" ..what i mean by that is .. Someone from My Neighborhood may not like you because you're from another ward or Project or hood. .. Now that they are all in this dome together. they all see that All of that Violent Activity wasnt Worth it. Now they see that home is where the cot Is..... RELIANT PARK

The people of N.O are being stereotyped by how they look & the things that happened prior to Katrina. .. I just Want to let the world know .. WE ALL AIN'T VIOLENT PEOPLE!. That looting Stuff was a One Time Thing. .. Infact we were laughting at them also .. i have pictures from the day the storm hit also but i wont be able to get them online. It was before the water hit 9 feet .. we were in knee deep waters at that time.

I think I better get out of this room yall .. lol .. I Gotta EAT!

The Traditions of New Orleans

On my way here, there was a guy on our bus with a Zulu Social Aid & Pleasue Club Shirt On. It reminded me of all the traditional things we charish in N.O.

Street Musicians and Performers
Locally Famed Musicians, Singers , Rap Artists
Secondlines(Jazz & Brazz bands)
The Social Clubs & Organizations
High School Marching Bands & Units
THE BRIDGE!!
Battle of the Bands
The Bayou Classic
Mardi Gras
The Mardigras Indians
THE FAMOUS RESTAURANTS AND FOOD!
The Whole thing with Projects, Wards, Sets & Streets.
Block Parties
Our Slang
Tulane, UNO, Loyola, SUNO, Dillard, Xavier, Delgado, .. ALL GONE
Charity Hospital
The Superdome

Tad Gormely Stadium - Alerion Field New Orleans Own Olympic Track
Dooky Chase Resturant, Across from the Lafette
St. Charles Avenue.
Napolean Avenue.
Blaine Kern studios - where the floats come from (Where My HS Band Did Conventions Daily)
The Grave Sites
Bayou St. John
Jazz Fest
Flambeaux
New Orleans All Star Band
The New Orleans Saints
The Superdome.
The Crawfish
the night life


Its a whole lot more to it but thats all I can think of at this time :)

Man... everyones big question.. WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO FOR MARDI GRAS?

We know that they celebrate it in other cities like Mobil alabama and Galveston. Texas but they can't do it like N.O does it.

I guess all the Band Pictures I Took were Worth it

Thanks for your support

So, I got my 15 minutes of fame eh?!
I still can't believe it was really on CNN
I Want a Copy of that broadcast.
My online buddies & forum Members have emailed me & posted on the boards about it. so many were worried and now are happy that im safe and who are also sending donations

I've received various emails of support.
Such as :


The Our World Bloggers

The Board Members SWACFans , BlaqTALK & MarchingSport

Afrochat.com's Katrina Disaster Board and the post dedicated to ME
The Founder DBlack set up a blog yesteday also.


I've received various emails of support. Thank you all.

"Youth With A Purpose" (YWAP) of Stroudsburg, PA has donated also

They all want me to make a list of what i need well ..I will say this


Someone is sending me a duffle bag so thats off the list :)

My 11 year old brother & 10 year old niece need some clothes, school supplies, book bags and things like ...........so does my other neice and nephew.



its so much to the political side of this issue.

Many of us are getting lots of support. not only from the red cross & government but average citizens around the houston area have been contributing to the relief effort. the craziest thing i've seen in here (the Dome) is how they shut down everything at between 9 & 11pm. see at about 10:30, The police officers go upstairs to the 4th floor to eat & watch TV while everyone else is on the first floor Bored as hell. But that isn't a bad thing .. the workers seem to be doing double and triple overnight shifts just to keep us safe..........

the thing with my dog

I only had 1 dog, His name was Cheddar but we called him "Chat" for short. He tried to sneak on the bus with us. but we left him on the interstate. he was a 1 year old beagle with a red/brown nose. we had a Makeshift Tag, with my sisters phone number on it. There is a pic of him biting me in this blog somehere. He had Ink from the marker we used on one of his legs. he ws limping last time we seen him because of a cut on his toe. but he did manage to jump across those concrete seperators. (they are about 3 foot high) .. he did that on 3 feet. it made me happy untill we left him all alone.


They all want to know about the Showers & Privacy .. Well this is exactly what i wrote to CNN

during the day the showers are congested so I try to take my showers during
the late night / early morning hours. it's a big lack of privacy. most of the
people here don't like to shower or take change clothes in front of another
person. in a place like this you cant help it. not to sound rude. but everyone I
talked to about showering says that they hate it when the gay people walk in the
showers. we call them "Bird Watchers" (you get the idea).

I don't think they said that on the air though (i hope they didnt say it like that)

Wanna know How I'm able to access the Internet?

There is an area called ACT Canter (Astrodome Community Technology Center.) the was set up to help people register & Find Missing family, friends & even pets who have been lost or displaced durring the evacuation. I have been using it to tell all my online friends that I'm alive. Eventually It gave me National Publicity. I Think Im The first known Blogging Survivor



speaking off that..

Will their be anyone donating PC or laptops?


there are lots of us who've lost computers in this disaster. Im just one of the few who used mines wisely . I Had a 2002 model windows xp SP2 Compaq Pesario. with that blue plastic cover & I updated frequently I had my own modifications such as a bigger hard drive and a DVD burner... dang I've even left the software to my Cameras at home ...That PC was good though . I had so much info & media stored on those things

Heres what I have to day about Access to the PC's and a good reason to donate
when i leave this place; i wont have access anymore. this would mean that I wont be blogging or anything at all. .. same with the people looking for missing members ... if you cant find them while you're here at the dome (where access is).How could you if you dont have a personal computer or net access?

I haven't heard anything about computer donations and I know there will be a need There are so many people from N.O who were just introduced to the Internet by learning how to access mail and go to websites for help & assistance.
It was so fun to see how frustration became excitement in a few seconds






some more of that what i told CNN

I've talked to so many survivors & some volounteers about this disaster &
the effects on the mind; like how things appear as rippling
waters, or when passing a body of water you'd get sick. It's
like a nightmare. Most of us are puzzled & confused. but we all came
here with a mission; That mission is to Better thamselves and as my friend Glenn
Jackson said "Stay on a positive track".

We'll this is whole experince is wild.

NOTE FROM THE BOOK

Katrina Survivors Info

I Have been walking & Walking and Walking All day.. Well... I Found some usefull info for Us Survivors out there.



Hurricane Relief Student Loan (Not Sure if its Real, but it wouldnt hurt to try)

Sallie Mae is offering an interest-free loan (through June 1, 2006 ) to students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The loan is a one-time relief loan of up to $1,000.00.
You may qualify for a relief loan if you applied for a Sallie Mae loan during academic year 2005/2006 and you were enrolled for the current academic year at one of the following affected

schools:
Louisiana:
Ayers Institute/Deisel Driving Academy
Bryman College?New Orleans
Delgado Community College, New Orleans
Dillard University, New Orleans
Louisiana Technical College campuses in Metairie, New Orleans, Slidell, Bogalusa, and Harvey
Loyola University, New Orleans
LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans
Nunez Community College (All branches)
Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond
Nicholls State University, Thibodaux
Southern University New Orleans
Tulane University, New Orleans
University of New Orleans
Xavier University, New Orleans

Mississippi:
Alcorn State
East Central Community College
Jones County Community College
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (All branches)
Pearl River Community College
Tougaloo College
University of Southern MS
William Carey College


Follow the instructions below to start the application for this special Hurricane Relief Loan:
Call Sallie Mae toll free at 1-877-HELP-040 (1-877-435-7040)
Our hours of operation are 7:00 AM ? 10:00 PM (Central). If you call after hours, please leave a voice mail and your call will be returned within 24 - 72 hours.
Complete Application: Once you have talked to a representative, you will be instructed to electronically sign the promissory note. The representative will provide instructions to you regarding this process.
Note: If you are unable to electronically sign your promissory note, you can download the application , complete the student borrower section and return it to Sallie Mae using one of the following methods:
Fax (toll free): 1-866-392-9329
Mail/Overnight: 1002 Arthur Drive , Lynn Haven , Florida 32444
Or
Email Sallie Mae
If you are trying to reach us after hours, you can send an email to requesthelp@salliemae.com . When emailing, please include a phone number where you can be reached in the event we have questions. You will be contacted within 24 ? 72 hours.


Other than THAT

Try This

http://healthehood.com/ It Has all the links and resources you'll need.

New Orleans Pro and Street Musicians

This is for Katrina Survivors

I got this in the email

I'm helping to gather info on the safety of New Orleans musicians and I've
had a request concerning the TCB Brass band. There was a mention of them on your
blog. Can you help with any info on the members of the group or they're
current whereabouts? Friends are worried.

Mike Luster
Louisiana Folklife Festival
611A Roselawn Ave
Monroe, LA 71201

318-503-1618 cell
Luster@aol.com
www.LouisianaFolklifeFest.org

My Email To Luster

I talked to some of the members who are in the Astrodome
now. they say that everyone is safe. I think they all will be in houston soon.
Joe (one of the trombonists) said that he talked to one of the
other street musicians (i believe he's a saxophonist) and they all are
trying to get new instruments & things. Hopefully they'll keep it going.

I'll give Joe that number. when I see him.

He emailed me back saying that the Red Cross were at a shelter in Austin was looking to see that they were safe.

Well I Found that this Isnt Only for the TBC Brass bands. But for All N.O's Musicians, Especialy the ones who performed on Famous City Streets.

Call Mike Luster Here 318-503-1618

THE NEW ADDRESS

Revised  address removed

Read The Entries Below (on the main page) you'll get the idea.

We appreciate your support.

Katrina Survivors Astrodome Workout Plan

This is for the Survivors Located in Reliant park Stationed in The Astrodome

• Too Many Sandwiches? DONT EAT THEM!
• Too Much Water/Soda? Dont Drink It!
• Ever Get Bored? Keep Walkin'!
• Tired Of Walkin'? SIT DOWN!!, GO TO SLEEP.. WAKE UP AND START WALKIN AGAIN!

Thats all you can do in this place.

We dont have any cars. Nobody wants to eat the sandwiches. its like a "Too Much To Eat" Buffet. we have sandwiches, Snacks, and Drinks all over the place .. they make lunch & dinner daily.

Walking: Everyday they change the entrances to the dome. they've even blocked roads and things to prevent access traffic .. Its So Organized but yet its Too Much Walkin' ..lol

Eatin': With all that walkin' you'll never gain weight. so if you just stop eating all the snacks. you can Lose a few pounds.

Resting: .. Those Cots arent for us .. if yo need to sit/lay down .. sit/lie anywhere .. lol... But be careful I sat on some and broke them ..THEY ARE CHEAP! ..

Those are the keys to staying alive in the dome ..

Clothes: There are clothes and shoes and all in the Center but you have to go through to much to get them ..lol .. YEAH ALL THE WALKIN .. oh....... BTW .. they didnt donate any clothes for the fat people .. (like me) ..lol

WELL THATS ALL YALL! .

Okay OKay

I think im gonna start using my sisters address now
unfortunately i dont know the address at this time.

my little brother , Nephew & neices are in need also. I really don't want to use astrodome general delivery, its confusing.

My Brother is 11, he wears a size 12 pants and a size 5 shoe. other than that i dont remember his shirt size. he will most likely need school supplies so that would be great to have . Thanks for your help .. I'll try to get that address for you all

The Dome My Home

REVISED: September 8th 2005 @ 4:56 pm


The Astrodome that is...

Its wild ..... I wish i had a cellphone i've been using SBC's phones to call out

if you want to help me out with anything send it to here

Astrodome General Delivery
Houston, Texas 77230

REVISED: THE NEW ADDRESS



My Shoe size is 11.5
My Shirt size is 3xl
Pants 48

I Need a New Belt and a big dufflebag .. OHH and an Airbed . because we are trying to find aparments and things .. im just saying yall, I dont Want this, I actually NEED this .. im like a poor dude ..

READ THIS POST

(now you can finnish reading)

I dont know if they're gonna call my name when i get mail or what so I'll be looking out for that

THANKS  FOR SUPPORTING US


All this Address Changing is crazy

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE NEW ADDRESS

Whoa!

you thought that the dome was messed up?, Try swimming through the Ninthward. its just like swimming in the atlantic...

Fortunately I was in the 7th ward in some 3 story buildings.

There are rumors that THEY bombed the projects and they no longer exist, but that cant be true. HANO (Housing Athority Of New Orleans ) didnt confirm it.

There are so many lies and rumors going around

they say
Harry Lee died of a heart attack
Marlon Gussman was killed
Eddie Compass has a broken neck
and last ... Ray Nagin is in Jail for his blast at Bush ...

THESE ARE RUMORS

Thay are no different than the ones in houston
about the violence in the astrodome
The Stealing from Superstores .. THESE ARE LIES!


Dont Believe the Hype. Believe The Book

Quick Run through

My Name is Joshua Cousin. I am a Survivor of Katrina. Not only the storm but the Flood after.

Riding out the hurricane was fine. Strong winds for 3 days knocked down houses & trees and EVERYTHING ELSE.. Well while my building stood strong we just looked at the wind currents from my hallway. The waters were still low. We had fun sticking our heads out in the rain .. It was some fun. Unfortunately that fun became tragedy.. One of the my older cousins who rode out the storm in my house .. He was the only loss in our family (so far) Gregory Estes.... He was cool people. The whole time he was at my house , he read the bible. And quoted it also. He was studying to be a church deacon. .. He talked about how he loved his family as a whole. .. He even said it himself. "if the lord wants me to die , he'd take me out in this hurricane" he also said that " This is Me & My Kids First real hurricane and I Know they'll remember this for the rest of their lives" ... He was jolly the whole day. Until he realized that one of his kids were a my cousins......... He walked his way through 3 or 4 foot of water. He got to a lower lying area where waters were about 8 to 12 feet ..He died while trying to save a boys life. He was on is way to save his daughter & drowned. YEAH ITS SAD!!! .. He left behind 8 kids. When we made it here (in Houston) we told his mom and everything, they were devastated.


Uhh.... All we could do is hope that he was alive and stop worrying and crying .. So we rode out the storm 4 more days at home.. Those were some long nights .. The water kept rising........ Coast guards and Residents who found boats came to get residents to the interstate from the time the Rescue mission started from the time we made it to the Interstate. .......... Wild stuff.. Sleeping on the interstate is rough... That Military food was great though..

we all shacked up our group to get on the busses.. We also left our dog behind which broke our heart...

we took that ride though the city. There were dead bodies and overflowed homes through out the whole thing.. Everything was flooded Until you got to the French quarters.........Yet Canal street, Tulane areas looked like .. Well Canals. We passed up Charity hospital only to find all windows blown out .. Later we found out that they will be closing it down. .. We all cried because Charity hospital is THE BEST HOSPITAL IN THE WORLD .. My WHOLE family was born there .. Well after it was built..LOL

YYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAHHH

The Buss stopped in Lafayette.. I wanted to go to Opelousas by My Future wife bethany.. She also thought I was dead Until I called her.

same as other family .. Like my brother who attends Texas Southern University.. He came to the dome .. I've seen so many childhood friends its wild..........

I don't know man .. Its so much .. I've talked to many people about the storm.. And god and why this happened .. Its crazy .. I'll have more next time.

.... I talked to FEMA they're having connection problems... I'll go back later though

OHH!! Shout out to SWACFANS.com members for wanting to help me out ... ..

Same to the member of the other Forums I'm on ....Wow.. Its wild yall ..


NOTE FROM THE BOOK

BOOKMAN LIVES!!

whats up yall. I have made it though the Winds and waters of Katrina and now my home is ASTRODOME!! ..

I'll be back in a few weeks.. or months... AAAAAAAH!!! BLOGGERS I'll be here someday!!

KATRINA WAS A KILLER!!

one loss but we made it though!