It\'s coming up on the two year mark of hurricane Katrina and I am still wondering if I\'ve made the right choice in staying here. The week before the Katrina was a busy week for me. I was starting the new fall semester and moving in with a friend temporarily until the act of sale on a condo I was buying. The plan was to get everything moved from a large two bedroom double to a smaller 3 bedroom townhouse. I had family to help me move the large stuff all in one day but the rest was all on me. Everything but my bed and dresser was downstairs still packed on the living room floor when I evacuated Metairie. Unlike most people I went east to Pensacola. My parents were there so I knew my dog and I would be safe. There was no way I wanted to be stuck on I-10 trying to get to Baton Rouge like I was the previous year. \r\n\r\nI was relieved to hear that New Orleans was still there after the storm passed but that was before the levee breached. Once the pictures started coming out I was glued to the television trying to remember what was near my temporary home to see if that section was flooded. Then I saw the Clearview mall with water around it. I pointed it out and everyone was quiet trying to tell me that maybe your place was ok but I knew it wasn\'t. \r\n\r\nA few days into September I went back to see what happened. Like everyone else I couldn\'t sit back and wait for more reports on the area I had to see for myself. Like I suspected the townhouse was flooded. It was about a foot of water which didn\'t seem bad to most people but since everything I had was packed and on the floor it didn\'t matter if it was a foot or ten feet. My pictures, books, furniture, kitchenware, and clothes were now covered in mold or sitting in water. I tried to remind myself about the positive stuff. I still have my car, my dog, my bed, my family, and my job. Life could be worse but I was still qualified for a few moments to cry about what I lost. I didn\'t own fancy things but what I did have I was connected to. I had spent the last five year prior building a life of my own. I worked for what I had and I took pride in that. Now it was all gone. \r\n\r\nI knew my company would be back in business no matter what and we would be very busy. I was working in the soil testing lab of a civil engineering firm and I knew the USACE was going to be sending us samples to test to investigate the levee breachs ASAP This is what I need to get my mind off of the mold mess I owned. I knew the corps standards and I was fast at my job. I worked twelve plus hours a day, seven days a week. I was at the office at 4 am and knew someone from the USACE or work would be calling my desk soon for test results. It was rough for quite some time but I\'m glad I was a part of it. \r\n\r\nIt took longer for the act of sale to go through on the condo I was buying before the storm which didn\'t have damage. I moved around a couple times before the sale in November. Once I had the keys I felt at peace. It was the first step to starting over for me. \r\n\r\nNow almost two years later things have changed and I\'m not sure its all good. My neighborhood is always trashy and there is always a crowd of people on every corner, new people have moved into the surround condos that are drunk outside my condo every night and play loud Spanish music from their car for hours. I don\'t have the heart to call the police. I even saw a man using the bathroom while he walks down the street. What kind of people think that is ok? Cars were being broken into, including mine, in the parking lot. Someone set fire to one of the condos in the adjacent building. The fire and Katrina damage has made the condo insurance sky high and I wonder if I should sell while I can. Everyday seems to get worse and I think about leaving all the time. For now I\'ll think about the positive and hold out for the calm after the storm. \r\n\r\n\r\n