I have made another stride towards becoming a local here in the Crescent City: a 504 phone number. My old number no longer applies, so please contact me at:
504.258.4638
bon soir,
Noel
Saturday, January 20, 2007
I'd Like To Introduce My Fiancee
It is a joyous time here at the Keskitalo-HJ residence. We had a marvelous time over the holidays, seeing friends and family in North and South Carolinas. We also received word of the birth of Lisa's newest nephew, Max Ethan, increasing the joy of the Florida family immensely. And, in the midst of it all, we became engaged.
2006 was a monster year for us, with change on all sides, and we capped it off with a commitment to each other that has bred a new level of trust and excitement. As I sit in the middle of January in the damp chill of New Orleans, it is with a certain awareness that last year I was in the dry frigidity of Chicago, and I cannot help but to compare the relative merits of temperate climate (which New Orleans has) and insulation (which New Orleans does not). This debate notwithstanding, last January marked the beginning of a transformative year for Lisa and me, as Lisa set off on a month-long quest of discovery of self and dance in Europe. What she found, in the end, was that the journey was what she was after, and that the opportunities that availed themselves were less than the magic that she sought, and could not fully assuage the comforts of home. When I joined her in Sweden in February (Valentine's Day, as fate would have it), it was with great joy and happiness that we were reunited, the warmth of which allowed us to persevere Scandanavia in the depths of winter (I can see that it must be very beautiful indeed in the summer.). Our travel to Finland was the high point of the trip, as we were rewarded by the friendliness of the Finns and shown a great time.
Back in Chicago, we reflected on our trip, and on Lisa's journey, and I led a volunteer trip of grad students to New Orleans to assist in the recovery. Though I did not realize it at the time, this was a trip of monumental portent, one of those events that changes the course of at least a few lives. After seeing the city in its misery and its aging beauty, in its inevitable and inherent contradictions, I knew what I must do to find the purpose I was looking for in my work. Upon my return to Chicago, Lisa saw the same in my eyes, and after a few days of decision and indecision, we decided to see what we both could do to make a home in the Crescent City.
While I worked and finished grad school, I scrounged enough contacts to put together a reasonable job search and traveled to New Orleans in June in search of job and house. In the meantime, Lisa had applied to and been accepted at Tulane University - so it was on me to find a means of employment. That came about in the course of my interviews, as I was directed to my current place of work by word of mouth - and it turned out to be the best place of employment I could have found. The company is a two-person (myself and the President) development company, started after Hurricane Katrina by the President, Kathy Laborde, and some national funders (including Fannie Mae and Credit Suisse, among others). Given my interests and experience, I couldn't have asked for a better place to land. And we found an apartment that weekend also, as Lisa joined me Saturday and we signed a lease on Sunday. Thankfully, not all of our weekends are so full of excitement. I'm not sure I could deal with finding a new job and a new house every 7 days.
With these big items on our move-to-New-Orleans to-do list crossed off, we focused on packing up the Chicago apartment, on finishing my master's program and delivering a speech at graduation, on seeing our friends, and on contemplating the future. And it was here soon enough, as we embarked on our journey in late July (3 years to the day since Lisa and I had first met), arriving in New Orleans August 1. Now, as much as Scandanvia in winter is the wrong place at the wrong time to thoroughly enjoy one's surroundings, so is New Orleans in August, and it only got hotter from there. But we persevered through the mind-altering heat-and-humidity cocktail, and gradually accustomed ourselves to the overwhelming destruction all around us, and began to look for, and find, signs of rebirth and renewal and courage. Lisa started school, and tackled it with the ferocity of a professional athlete, and I started work, and was invigorated by the tremendous sense of purpose I found in contributing to the recovery of this great American city.
In the midst of all this, my good friend Geoff and I purchased season tickets to the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League - for the record, the worst professional sports franchise in the history of the country - at the ridiculously low price of $250. For the entire season. Folks, I have never been a big football fan, but if you have read from past entries the excitement and the spirit and the overwhelming love of Gulf South fans for their Saints, then you can only imagine that this was one of the best purchases, nay investments, of perhaps my life to date. Excepting, of course, for Lisa's engagement ring (photo forthcoming). In any case, the Saints' magical season thus far is truly a part of the rebirth of New Orleans and the Gulf South, and I shall hurl much spite and vindictive against anyone who dares to say otherwise. The essential piece of this puzzle is that the Saints players know that they are playing more than football, they are playing a game of survival, as they provide so many thousands of people with a necessary diversion from the mind-numbing despair that is on all sides here, and they are really a lifeline to a bygone era of normality that everyone is nostalgic for yet no one can reach, not even those whose homes were not flooded. So the Saints carry the region forward, through the best season in the history of the franchise, and the people carry themselves forward, out of necessity, because the various levels of government surely aren't. And Lisa and I settled into a new life in New Orleans, and are becoming acquainted with its intricacies and oddities, its vernacular (neutral ground, time-saver, King Cake, 12th Night, go cups, the re-election of William Jefferson, and much more).
By the end of the semester, Lisa smoked everyone at Tulane and finished with a 3.9 GPA, and I set aside my duties as Project Manager of 4 projects to do some much-needed holiday travel and relaxation. So it was that we visited my family and hers in the Carolinas, and so it was that we became engaged at the end of the year, at my parents' house on 912 Shepherd Street in Durham, NC ("the relatively bland environs of", according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune - ask me about that some other time). Looking around us, and knowing that we had made the transition to perhaps the most inconvenient city in the country in amazingly good, though at times rocky, shape, we knew that it was time to commit to each other and to hold each other's happiness and well-being as our own highest priorities.
And so here we are, with a new year and new semester upon us, with much reason to believe that this year is a year of destiny, and that this life, which starts anew through the commitment we have made to each other, will far exceed our past lives as individuals, and will be joined as one life lived by two individuals in tandem, apart but connected and focused on a common goal.
Wishing everyone the best in 2007,
Noel
2006 was a monster year for us, with change on all sides, and we capped it off with a commitment to each other that has bred a new level of trust and excitement. As I sit in the middle of January in the damp chill of New Orleans, it is with a certain awareness that last year I was in the dry frigidity of Chicago, and I cannot help but to compare the relative merits of temperate climate (which New Orleans has) and insulation (which New Orleans does not). This debate notwithstanding, last January marked the beginning of a transformative year for Lisa and me, as Lisa set off on a month-long quest of discovery of self and dance in Europe. What she found, in the end, was that the journey was what she was after, and that the opportunities that availed themselves were less than the magic that she sought, and could not fully assuage the comforts of home. When I joined her in Sweden in February (Valentine's Day, as fate would have it), it was with great joy and happiness that we were reunited, the warmth of which allowed us to persevere Scandanavia in the depths of winter (I can see that it must be very beautiful indeed in the summer.). Our travel to Finland was the high point of the trip, as we were rewarded by the friendliness of the Finns and shown a great time.
Back in Chicago, we reflected on our trip, and on Lisa's journey, and I led a volunteer trip of grad students to New Orleans to assist in the recovery. Though I did not realize it at the time, this was a trip of monumental portent, one of those events that changes the course of at least a few lives. After seeing the city in its misery and its aging beauty, in its inevitable and inherent contradictions, I knew what I must do to find the purpose I was looking for in my work. Upon my return to Chicago, Lisa saw the same in my eyes, and after a few days of decision and indecision, we decided to see what we both could do to make a home in the Crescent City.
While I worked and finished grad school, I scrounged enough contacts to put together a reasonable job search and traveled to New Orleans in June in search of job and house. In the meantime, Lisa had applied to and been accepted at Tulane University - so it was on me to find a means of employment. That came about in the course of my interviews, as I was directed to my current place of work by word of mouth - and it turned out to be the best place of employment I could have found. The company is a two-person (myself and the President) development company, started after Hurricane Katrina by the President, Kathy Laborde, and some national funders (including Fannie Mae and Credit Suisse, among others). Given my interests and experience, I couldn't have asked for a better place to land. And we found an apartment that weekend also, as Lisa joined me Saturday and we signed a lease on Sunday. Thankfully, not all of our weekends are so full of excitement. I'm not sure I could deal with finding a new job and a new house every 7 days.
With these big items on our move-to-New-Orleans to-do list crossed off, we focused on packing up the Chicago apartment, on finishing my master's program and delivering a speech at graduation, on seeing our friends, and on contemplating the future. And it was here soon enough, as we embarked on our journey in late July (3 years to the day since Lisa and I had first met), arriving in New Orleans August 1. Now, as much as Scandanvia in winter is the wrong place at the wrong time to thoroughly enjoy one's surroundings, so is New Orleans in August, and it only got hotter from there. But we persevered through the mind-altering heat-and-humidity cocktail, and gradually accustomed ourselves to the overwhelming destruction all around us, and began to look for, and find, signs of rebirth and renewal and courage. Lisa started school, and tackled it with the ferocity of a professional athlete, and I started work, and was invigorated by the tremendous sense of purpose I found in contributing to the recovery of this great American city.
In the midst of all this, my good friend Geoff and I purchased season tickets to the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League - for the record, the worst professional sports franchise in the history of the country - at the ridiculously low price of $250. For the entire season. Folks, I have never been a big football fan, but if you have read from past entries the excitement and the spirit and the overwhelming love of Gulf South fans for their Saints, then you can only imagine that this was one of the best purchases, nay investments, of perhaps my life to date. Excepting, of course, for Lisa's engagement ring (photo forthcoming). In any case, the Saints' magical season thus far is truly a part of the rebirth of New Orleans and the Gulf South, and I shall hurl much spite and vindictive against anyone who dares to say otherwise. The essential piece of this puzzle is that the Saints players know that they are playing more than football, they are playing a game of survival, as they provide so many thousands of people with a necessary diversion from the mind-numbing despair that is on all sides here, and they are really a lifeline to a bygone era of normality that everyone is nostalgic for yet no one can reach, not even those whose homes were not flooded. So the Saints carry the region forward, through the best season in the history of the franchise, and the people carry themselves forward, out of necessity, because the various levels of government surely aren't. And Lisa and I settled into a new life in New Orleans, and are becoming acquainted with its intricacies and oddities, its vernacular (neutral ground, time-saver, King Cake, 12th Night, go cups, the re-election of William Jefferson, and much more).
By the end of the semester, Lisa smoked everyone at Tulane and finished with a 3.9 GPA, and I set aside my duties as Project Manager of 4 projects to do some much-needed holiday travel and relaxation. So it was that we visited my family and hers in the Carolinas, and so it was that we became engaged at the end of the year, at my parents' house on 912 Shepherd Street in Durham, NC ("the relatively bland environs of", according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune - ask me about that some other time). Looking around us, and knowing that we had made the transition to perhaps the most inconvenient city in the country in amazingly good, though at times rocky, shape, we knew that it was time to commit to each other and to hold each other's happiness and well-being as our own highest priorities.
And so here we are, with a new year and new semester upon us, with much reason to believe that this year is a year of destiny, and that this life, which starts anew through the commitment we have made to each other, will far exceed our past lives as individuals, and will be joined as one life lived by two individuals in tandem, apart but connected and focused on a common goal.
Wishing everyone the best in 2007,
Noel
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Saints Make History
Pandemonium. The Superdome was overflowing with ecstasy last night, as the Saints found a way to beat the Philadelphia Eagles. It was tense, especially after Westbrook's 62-yard run put the Eagles up 21-13, but in the end the Deuce was too much for the Eagles to contain, and these Saints would not let a late Reggie Bush fumble spoil their trip to the NFC Championship. A Seattle victory against Chicago today will bring that game to New Orleans, while a Bears win will take the Saints to Chitown.
But I digress. Before looking ahead, let's just revel in the history-making. Never before in the 40 years of the franchise have the Saints been so far in the playoffs, and never before have they won a divisional game at home. Having been at this game, and also the Monday Night game that re-opened the Superdome, I can say that this team is carrying the football-crazed denizens of the Gulf South on its shoulders. Responding in the aftermath of the country's most deadly man-made disaster, the Saints have been a lifeline of pre-Katrina normalcy in otherwise tenuous times.
Walking ar0und the quarter last night, I have never been surrounded by so many happy people or seen so many smiles on barflies. It was a great feeling, and a wonderful night, and I am somewhat sorry to see it go, as the reality of post-Katrina life is already nipping at the heals of last night's euphoria. Before we sink back into reality, just let us be happy for ourselves, that we get to see the Saints play one more time this year.
Be a Saint.
But I digress. Before looking ahead, let's just revel in the history-making. Never before in the 40 years of the franchise have the Saints been so far in the playoffs, and never before have they won a divisional game at home. Having been at this game, and also the Monday Night game that re-opened the Superdome, I can say that this team is carrying the football-crazed denizens of the Gulf South on its shoulders. Responding in the aftermath of the country's most deadly man-made disaster, the Saints have been a lifeline of pre-Katrina normalcy in otherwise tenuous times.
Walking ar0und the quarter last night, I have never been surrounded by so many happy people or seen so many smiles on barflies. It was a great feeling, and a wonderful night, and I am somewhat sorry to see it go, as the reality of post-Katrina life is already nipping at the heals of last night's euphoria. Before we sink back into reality, just let us be happy for ourselves, that we get to see the Saints play one more time this year.
Be a Saint.
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