No Change - Did I say that I've been home in Metairie for the last week? Nothing much has changed since I was back a month ago. Still at home trying to get the house back to normal function, helping my parents get back to some kind of routine. Houses in my neighborhood are still empty, with overgrown lawns and piles of trash and debris out front. As a psychopathic packrat and restore-reuse-recycler, the slow trash pickup and lack of recycling drives me crazy. But we should be thankful that businesses are returning, and stores can stay open as late as 9pm now.

Katrina Brain - Last night I met up with a dear friend I made one year ago while I attended classes at UNO. Her story is incredible, as is each one you hear in relation to the storm. She evacuated to Houston and was finally able to come back to New Orleans in December, but only to find her family business lost, personal things lost, and the places she loved and cherished gone. She's also suffering from what her neighbor has called Katrina Brain. She can't tell whether it's her age, the fact that she's lost so dearly, or her busy schedule as a single mom going to school full-time. She said herself that she still has not been able to wrap her brain around all the devastation that has occurred, and I think that's just it.

Katrina Brain is the numbness from the shock and the slow pace of progress. And people outside of New Orleans or who don't know the city just have no idea. No idea.