Live Every Week Like It's Shark Week

Welcome back y'all.  This past week was quite eventful.  In studio we started designing the first draft of the plan for the house, but I won't bore you all with the architectural details right now.  On Thursday night, we had a potluck at the studio with some people from around town.  Since my 21st was the next day, the girls decided to turn it into a party for me, complete with cake and Transformers party hats.  Needless to say, it was awesome.  We decided to continue the party down at the beach, and I had my first legal sip of alcohol at midnight.

The next day we went to studio in the morning.  Leah had told us about a Hurricane Katrina forum that would be taking place that afternoon in Ocean Springs, a city about 40 minutes to the east.  We drove there and had lunch in its downtown area, which was actually really nice because it was elevated enough above sea level so Katrina didn't completely destroy it.  


Despite being severely underdressed for the forum, everyone there greeted us kindly.  We first met the mayor of the city, Connie Moran, and a local architect, Bruce Toler.  The meeting was mostly filled with city officials, urban planners, and architects, and most looked to be over 35.  We did feel a little awkward at first, especially when we had to stand up in front of everyone and say who we were and where we're from.  The rest of the people at the forum had to stand up and tell their personal Katrina story.  The man leading the forum asked each to say their name, what they do, and what they would do differently if another Katrina-type storm was heading towards the coast.  Some people tried to bring humor to their stories, one guy even said he wished he packed more underwear because he didn't expect to be gone for as long as he was.  Other stories were sadder and some people couldn't even finish because they were on the verge of tears.  Towards the middle of the forum, Andres Duany came into the room.  Duany is a very successful architect and urban planner.  He's working with towns all along the gulf coast (including Pass Christian) to help them improve.  He suggested some ideas, but I don't know how feasible they would be.  One of his ideas involved hiring a retired Navy Admiral to work with city officials after a storm because he would knows how to deal with a crisis.  Overall, the forum was a great experience because we got to hear how the people got through Katrina on a personal level, and also how the city got through the storm.  


After sitting through a 3 hour forum on my 21st birthday, it was safe to say I was ready to get out of there and over to New Orleans for the night.  I won't include all the crazy details of the night because I know all of my family will be reading this (hi guys), but I'm sure you can imagine.  I don't think I was fully prepared for how unbelievably insane Bourbon Street is.  The night started out with Hurricanes and Hand Grenades, and ended for me after I was pulled up on stage because Zack decided to buy me 5 shots of Patron to do in about 7 seconds (thanks buddy).  I'm sorry to say that everything past midnight is a mystery.




Surprisingly, I woke up the next morning in the hotel room (thankfully it was right on Bourbon) feeling like I was hit several times by a Mack truck.  The walk back to the car was brutal.  I was on the verge of throwing up every time I walked past a bar on Bourbon and saw the neon sign that said "Hurricanes" or "Hand Grenades"  I made it to the car without incident, but made Emily pull over once we were driving.  It wasn't until later on that I realized we were in New Orleans for the 4th anniversary of Katrina.  


Saturday was my recovery day, filled with movies and large glasses of water.  I was feeling 100% on Sunday, so Zack, Megan, Chris and I decided to go to the Hard Rock pool in Biloxi.  If you remember, I couldn't get in last weekend because I wasn't 21.  I got in this time no problem, and received my "over 21" wristband, which made me feel awesome.  The hotel was cool and the pool had a nice swim-up bar.  There's also a casino inside so we decided to hit that up as well.  I lost $3.  We're still gonna make it a Sunday ritual, minus the gambling.

Back in studio, it was hard to get back into designing after our lively weekend.  We met our client for the first time yesterday to show him our current plan for the house.  Paul is a really nice, down-to-earth guy. He's originally from California and is currently living in a Mississippi cottage in town.  It was good to finally meet him so we know exactly what he wants in his house, and what he liked and disliked about our current plan.  For the most part, he liked what we designed, but I was surprised to hear that a big porch wasn't important to him, which is a quintessential part of almost every house along the gulf coast.  He also threw us a curveball when he asked for a 3rd bedroom, which is hard to fit in a house thats 32' x 56'.  However, I think we came up with several good solutions while working on it today.  


And so that was my week.
I'll finish up with some words of wisdom from Tracy Jordan:

Tracy Jordan: But I want you to know something... You and me, it's not gonna be a one-way street. 'Cause I don't believe in one-way streets. Not between people, and not while I'm driving.
Kenneth: Oh, Okay.
Tracy: So, here's some advice I wish I woulda got when I was your age: Live every week like it's Shark Week.


-Mike