Thanksgiving 2009 As Told Per Status Updates

Thanksgiving has once again come and gone. This year I used the break to clean up the mess I left behind in Boston. Rather then relive it and type it here, I have included my status updates to document the holiday. Thanks to mom and Rob for a great Thanksgiving and the storage space in their basement. To Dierdre for helping me move out (again). To Cami, Paul and everyone at EMI who made it feel like coming home instead of coming for a visit. And to my brother. Who sat with me at the court house, went with me to rent the truck, did more then his share of moving my stuff and kept me laughing.

11/24 (2:15pm) - Getting ready to go back north...and wishing she could just sit on her ass down here instead...

11/24 (6:06pm) - Traffic. long term parking. no first class on the first leg. but thanks to Jen for keeping me company remotely! Charlotte NC here I come.

11/24 (8:41pm) - In Charlotte. Amazing how I get angrier as I get closer to Boston.

11/24 (11:23pm) - In Boston. Cab driver didn't try to rip me off. Still want to throw up. Maybe morning will be better.

11/25 (5:25am) - Nope.

11/25 (6:15am) - Outside 63 Mt Vernon. that is all.

11/25 (7:21am) - Feels like someone coming home from war to find the Yankees raided her house. or I've been watching too much Gone with the Wind.

11/25 (10:42am) - Thank you EMI! and thank you Edward. the best brother ever.

11/25 (12:11pm) - Meleena is filing for divorce.

11/25 (2:59pm) - Packing the Penske. Again. Thank you Edward and Deirdre. Again.

11/25 (7:54pm) - Parent's house. steak. fire. wine. good end to a long day.

11/27 (11:44am) - Headed home. good turkey. great people. thanks to all who made a hard trip fun and enjoyable!

11/27 (4:35pm) - Last leg of the trip. wish you were going to be there when I got home.

You Can't Go Home Again

Well maybe you can...but it's never the same. As the countdown clock ticks down to my first trip North since leaving last May, I feel as though I am going to a foreign place, instead of to a place I lived for 13 years.

New Orleans has so quickly become home. The city, the language (yes it is different here), the job, the weather, the people.

I am much delayed in posting photos and of talking about my job. It sometimes feels like there is so much to say that it is silly to post it all and so little to say since what seems so "new" to me is just life for the people that are from here.

I will try to use the upcoming (brief) break - ok the plane rides (all four of them in 3 days) to write up some of the more interesting anecdotes...but will start with this one as a set-up. The kids here (teenagers really) have a very unique set of slang and jargon that they use all the time. It is often hard to tell if they are mocking you, insulting you or just talking to you...for example, if you ask someone how they are they are likely to respond "I'm Gucci".

So after getting to know some of my new 10th grade students I asked one of them what some of the words meant. In addition to being entertained at the idea of getting to explain all of his slang to his teacher he also said the following comment:
"Alright Ms. Eaton, I'll make you a deal. You teach me how to read and I'll be your Hood Dictionary."

My very own Hood Dictionary...I am a lucky girl...