May 1, 2005 I moved into a two bedroom apartment one block behind my office in Old Metairie. It was a two story duplex with six apartments in Red Brick. I loved the extra bedroom; it turned into a fancy closet for all my clothes. Two months at my new residence, I came home one night to a leak in the ceiling of my bedroom. I called the elderly Landlord and they showed up the next day with a bucket. The Landlord promised to have it fixed immediately. Prior to the discovery of the leak it rained several times with no leaks. So I figured the leak was repaired when I was at work. Until the evening of Saturday August 20, 2005, when I was lying in bed and heard a horrible sound and felt this heavy force upon the top of my body. I immediately tried to get up and turn on some lights. The Ceiling had collapsed on top of China (My Kitty) and I. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/P1010220-1.jpg; http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/P1010209-1.jpg. \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nI had class at UNO on Saturday August 27 2005. A New Orleans Native, and well aware of what to do the first time any Parish Leaders mentions Evacuate. I continued to call UNO to ask if class was cancelled, it was the second Saturday Class and an extra credit exercise in Geology was to occur. My Landlord Sold the Duplex in one week. I reached the Realtor and made sure the new owner was aware I had a gaping hole in the ceiling (I was on the second floor). As soon as I got home from school the new Landlord was there to view the damage. So then he tells me, \"Ya know this big storm is coming and it is way too late to repair this now, when we return from the storm we will repair the roof\". I moved almost everything of importance I could into my car, and what I couldn\'t fit I put into the other room. And at 1:00am Sunday August 28 I grabbed Miss China and headed for my Sister-In-Law\'s Parents house in Baton Rouge. It took me about two Hours. \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nI finally made it to Baton Rouge, unpacked the cat and got her situated and laid my head down with the phone near (I knew my mom in Little Rock was a nervous Wreck). It seemed like I had just started to really dream when my phone awoke me. It was my Mom, \"Put the Television on FOX NEWS!!\" I heard Ray Nagin ordering a Mandatory Evacuation for New Orleans. I was in a rush again. I know I didn\'t want to be in Baton Rouge with the influx of New Orleanians about to take up temporary residency in Baton Rouge. So I packed China up again and we were off to Little Rock. My brother arrived at my Mom\'s house in Little Rock a few hours behind me; his house on August 29 2005 was in Chalmette. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/Kitchen.jpg\r\n\r\nhttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/LivingRoom.jpg\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nA few days in Little Rock and my company called needing me to report to our Houston office. There was a Hotel/ Suite awaiting China and I. So I packed up China again and we were off to Houston. \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOne month in Houston and our company returned to New Orleans on 9/30/05. I have lived here my entire life and I felt like I was in a different city upon return. I can remember waiting for Gas on Veterans and going inside to pay and NO ONE was speaking English. http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/Shell.jpg\r\n\r\nThe entire time I was away from my Apartment I was worried about the location and the stability of the roof. I was two blocks from the \r\n\r\n17th Street\r\nCanal, but thankfully on the Jefferson Parish Side. I arrived at my apartment and rushed up to the door. I put the key in and it was as if my apartment had been placed in little cocoon from God. Everything was just as I had left it. A single gal at the time so not much was ruined in the Refrigerator and the room with the hole in the ceiling looked untouched. \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe next morning Saturday 10/1/05 I decided to get up, drive around and take some pictures.\r\n\r\nhttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/WestEndI-610.jpg; http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/St.Dominic.jpg; \r\n\r\nhttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/MedianGarbageonWestEnd.jpg\r\n\r\nhttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/HarrisonAvenue.jpg\r\n\r\nhttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/Galleria.jpg\r\n\r\nhttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/CheckpointalongMetairieRoad.jpg\r\n\r\nhttp://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i172/nolasisco/17StreetCanalParishLine.jpg\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\nThe roof on my convenient apartment was repaired on December 1, 2005. I lived there for almost six months after the repair when my new landlord told me I could purchase the apartment for $200,000.00 or pay an additional $1,000.00 monthly. I decided to move. China was happier in the long run because my new Residence has more Trees which mean more squirrels to watch.\r\n