what a Flood, in 09

Well where do i even start. To tell you the truth i had never been in a flood until this one. it all started when i came back from my spring break. see i went ahead at the beginning of the mouth and took all of my time off so i would get to go home for the whole spring break and well when i came back something was going on that i had never had to deal with before, a flood. it started off that Monday with me going to school and starting class at nine in the morning. there was a lot of talk going around at the beginning of class saying that there may be a chance that there may be no more school for the rest of the day, for they need as much help as they could get with some sandbaggers. well i didnt know it was going to happen but the rumors where true, for after i was finshed with that first class they stopped the school and told us to go out and to start to sand bag so i did like a good citizen i am.
I started that after noon of working at some house on the south side that was going to be blocked off from the whole city, from what i understood this house was going to be bought out after the 1997 flood but fargo township did not have the money to do it at the time. well to sum it up they built a big dike right down the road, blocking this man's home off from the rest. so we spent that whole day just filling sand bags and making a very big dike - it was 42 feet up from the river. we were not too sure how high to build it up but from the looks of things that was not the right height.
i sand bag around for a few days and then that weekend i ended up having to leave from fargo to go with the old peoples home that i work at to make sure that they where are safe and had all of the things they need. and then after that i went home for a few days and then returned back to fargo the following monday to go back to school.

Coming from your one and only blogger boys last mesgge of the year - have a good one everyone.!!!!!!!!!!! :)

The lovely Flood of 09

I spent the flood time helping sandbag a little, seeing I am pregnant I couldn't do much. Since I couldn't help sandbag my family and I bought thirty pizzas a day over the first weekend to the Fargo Dome for the volunteers. It was funny, as soon as we unloaded the pizzas a line formed behind us as we brought them to the designated area. Within 5 minutes the pizza was gone. My neighborhood also did alot of sandbagging so we made food and bars and walked down our street handing it out. When the water started getting pretty high and it turned into a war zone by my house I sent my kids down to my dad's in Perham, three days later I followed. We spent about five days there before we came back home. My dad really enjoyed spending time with all of us, as did we. The flood may have been awful and devastating but alot of compassion and good was shown through it. It was amazing to see strangers coming together to help fight for our city and homes. People from all around, even other states, came to help us out in our time of need. It is nice to be reminded that there is still compassion and kindness in people.

just wanted to say....i loooove reading everyones blogs! i wish we did more...not even for a grade. claudia u poor thing! yeah i got sick too cept i was the last my sisters had ruptured ear drums and strep and my mom had a cold...it was a good exuse to go out...but it bit me in the ass later and when i got up here i missed class cuz i was sick from them. but im glad you are all well!

and everyone else...why would u live up here?!?! horrible winters and floods...your nuts! :) yup im too much of a city girl there arent really floods there...

Da floooood!

Well, i dont know about you guys but how much i loved not being in school i thought it really sucked at the same time. It really touched my heart to see and how all the voluteers come out and help and support everyone in need. It made me feel really good about our country. Even though we hear about all the bad shit that happens and all the bad people in this world, times like the flood and the flooding still going on, and people STILL helping, makes me be happy to say im an American. I really wish had millions of dollars to help out with some of the damage. More or less the families in need. But i dont, and i wish i did. i wish i had all the time in the world and money to help give back a ton. I can volunteer, but that doesn't seem like enough. However, how much the flood sucked, yes it was a nice break and pressure of school was deffinetly lightened. Have a great weekend everyone!
-gini

Extra Credit Blog

During the flood time I went thru a lot of things. Some were good, some were bad, and some were the craziest things I have ever done in my whole life. The bad things are that in my family we all got sick at the same time. I was the first one to get sick for the whole week, but I still decided to come help with the sandbagging because they really needed the help and because my Anatomy teacher was giving extra points for doing this. Good thing I didn't get worse because that day it was kind of raining and cold. Then all of my three kids got sick at the same time with strep throat, fever, running nose, and cough. On top of that, I got evacuated from my apartment because I leave very close to the river. My husband was not in town, so I had to do everything by myself. I got some valuables out of the apartment and took them to a garage I rent and which was not at risk for the flood. I have never experience this before, so I got scared and decided to go to Texas with my family. This was so crazy because I had to drive for 30hrs and I only spend the weekend there and came back. The flood screwed up things, in my Anatomy class I went from a "B" to a "C". We now have to cover so much stuff in the time remaining that is making me all stressed.Anyways, the sandbagging experience was good, but I didn't enjoyed the break from school at all.

Deja Vu

I was only twelve the last time their was a major flood to hit the valley. It was the flood of ninety- seven and at that time I was living in my home town of East Grand Forks, MN. The only difference is the flooding that year in Grand Forks/East Grand Forks was much worse. I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, because I understand the magnitude of the devastation that has occurred here in the F-M area. It's just that in my opinion this event wasn't as grave as everyone made it out to be. I mean the support given to the two communities was amazing, and the quick action taken by both cities along with the state and federal levels of government without a doubt saved the cities from mass devastation. In ninety-seven we didn't exactly get the level of support we saw here in Fargo/Moorhead. For example, that year we were told for weeks that the river would crest at forty-nine feet. A crest level the National Weather Service stood firmly behind until whoops, it rose another five feet to make the final crest level fifty-four feet. A level that flooded ALL but SEVEN homes within city limits of East Grand Forks. The unforeseen crest level mixed with numerous dyke failures combined for the worst flood in centuries. The evacuation was city wide in both GF/EGF, and it was good luck if you found a house that didn't experience sewage backup. My main point for this blog is that, I never once was terribly concerned that Fargo/Moorhead was in any eminent danger. Because, the preparation I saw here was non-existent in GF/EGF, and I knew these cities would be victorious over the Red. So what did I do during this recent flood? Helped sandbag and enjoyed the extended break from school.

Hello H2O!

I honestly have never seen anything like it, except for Lake Sakakawea! Yes I am referring to the River water that scattered across our land. Moving to Fargo wasn't the most exciting thing, but it beat where I was before. Then all of a sudden there was water! I honestly had no idea there was even a thought of a flood coming until a few days before the crest of the river. Shows how much I watch T.V. Anyways, there we were, me, my boyfriend, and his uncle. We were taking a little drive through close by neighborhoods. I had never seen so much white in my life, not from snow. There were so many sandbags, and they were EVERYWHERE! These sandbags outnumbered the people in the Fargo-Moorhead area, by a lot. I was just in awe watching all of these random people helping the houses along the river. Working day, night, evening, all the time. They had a lot of work to get done in a very little amount of time. This is why everyone pulled together to get this done, and that they did. After seeing all of this, I wanted to help. I helped out by going to the huge Fargodome, wehre i had never been before, and filled sandbags. There were a numerous amount of people there, but it wasn't too crowded just yet. I was sitting on a bucket holding open the bag while my aunt shoveled in sand from the pile. All of a sudden we started getting pushed out of our spot. People were starting to accumulate by the minute. After a while we just got sick of it and decided to leave. We did what we could and that's all we could do. I felt better about myself knowing I maybe helped to save someones house. Then the next day I thought long and hard and decided to go help in a sandbagging line. I was worried becuase i'm not suppose to lift a lot, but I didn't strain myself so I was fine. Plus it was cold, so it was hard to stand outside for a long time. We also had to help break up the sandbags that day because people made the mistake of leaving them out overnight to freeze. But all in all the Flood experience was interesting. I helped as much as I could and I felt good about it.

Flood?!

Just moving up here this year and experiencing the long, harsh winter would have been just enough to push some one out of this area! Nope, then the flood came along and struck the Red River. It was scary because I had never had to experience anything like it. Granted, the last flood was in 1997.Its still a shocker for me. I actually went on Google and looked at the definition of sandbagging, because I did not even have a clue what that term entailed. Well, after doing twelve hours of it total, I got the picture. It was a long, tedious process. My body ached for a few days after. It didn't bother me much to go out and do it, because I felt as if I were doing something good, and I was. My roomate and I had went to a small neighborhood loacted right in front of the river. We knew a few college friends living there. We filled lots of sandbags and put them on four wheelers, where the sandbags would be taken to wherever needed. Then we moved a few blocks down and helped pass the sandbags through the line, leading to the bank of the river. It was muddy and messy, but alot of fun. I got to meet some new people, and just hang out with the FM area community, while supporting a good cause. I also went to the Fargo Dome and sandbagged for a while there. It was so noisy and crowded, but alot of sandbags got filled there! Then we went over to Sandbag central where it was such a small building and the smell of the large trucks exhaust, made me light headed. I shoveled there for about two hours straight, it was quite a workout! As much fun I had meeting new people, and doing something for the community, I hope I never have to fill another sandbag again! I will be happy to drive the fork-lift though! :)

The Flood

My house was not effected at all by the flood. My dad had a pump in our basement so that if any water came in it, it would go right back out again. I was very grateful for that because so many people lost a lot of valuable stuff and there were some sad stories to be told by people I had talked to. We had no sewage back up either, I was happy about that! My family members that live around here were not effected either. During the flood week I was one of the only people out of all my friends that had to work everyday. That was kind of a bummer but a good check. I worked with this little girl every day nine to five unless I couldnt get out of my house which happened twice. I only had time to go out and help sand bag two of the days. In addition, my dad and I carried up furniture and valuables from a friends basement and helped my mother move her stuff into a friends house for the time being because she lives very close to the river. I really hope that this does not happen again any time soon because the next time my family and I might not get so lucky!

credit

I don't understand banks. I am trying to get a loan to buy a house but I keep getting turned down because I don't have enough credit built up. If nobody will give you a loan how are you supposed to get credit? I had purchased a house before and had to sell it because I moved up here, so why doesn't that count. I had a car loan paid it off, ended up trading that in for a new van. I got a loan for that but can't get one for a house. It is very frustrating. I just needed to vent, thank you for listening.

Blog two

I've really begun to enjoy this writing class, at the start of the semester i wasn't sure what to think of it, but after these first couple of writing assignments I figured out that I'm a fan of writing. Now this Bryson character on the other hand, doesn't excite me too much. Seems to me he just enjoys whining alot.

Blog -3

Bryson cracks me up, in a low impact kind of way but still funny. I got to read a lot of it my weekend in the hospital , but since i couldnt see what was assighned to read i just read whatever looked interesting. Dying accents was good , so was innefficiency report. I like the book because its more like reading someones notes they took in class than telling a story , sometimes.

blog 2 college writing

This class has been helpful for myself and for my other classes, but it has also been helpful when im dealing with the veterans administration . I have some ongoing medical issues and the VA has limited resources so sometimes its hard to get everything you need to done because the appointments themselves are an all day event and you are often rushed through. Being able to clearly state my purpose or problem saves a lot of time and makes mistakes in medication and treatment less likely, and for that i am grateful.

Valentines day blog 3

Valentines day was really fun I figured out a few things about Fargo, never go out on valentines day and if you are be prepared to wait in every aspect the roads are just horrible packed with people and if you want to eat be prepared to go atleast an hour before you want to eat enless you have reservations because the wait is going to be very long.

Blog 3

Hi! I really enjoyed my Valentines this weekend. It was very nice having those two extra days off school. It gave me time to spend Valentine's with my family, study for my anatomy test, and to start working on my rough draft. I believe this coming rough draft is the one I will enjoy the most simply because I will compare two nursing facilities that I'm familiar with. I don't know if it's going to be a good one but one thing I know for sure is that I will truly enjoy doing it!

Bryson Pages-Blog 3

I read all three reading asignments in the Bryson book, and found that The Mysteries of Christmas was my favorite to read. I never realized that we split our celebration among the three holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. I found that pretty funny, and so true. Thanksgiving everyone gets so full and tired, an early bedtime is usually the case. Christmas is just exciting and casual, usually a few drinks and fellowship is the conclusion of the night. New Years Eve though, is the craziest night of the year. Kissing random people just because the next year has arrived, drinking excessivly to not remember all the people that were kissed by ones self, and being hungover for two days usually is how that goes. I really do dislike the fact that Thanksgiving and christmas are only about a month apart, and most families eat the same exact thing. I think when I have a family someday, I am going to have the traditional turkey dinner for Thanksgiving, and for Christmas, have steak and shrimp, or tacos.. that sounds good to me!! Keep it light and unrepeating of the previous holiday. The other two readings that we had assigned were kind of boring. But, I will have to agree that spending eight to ten dollars on a movie that was not worth it is such a mood ruiner. I would rather spend three dollars to rent the movie, eat snacks that arent as expensive, and be able to put your feet up, or burp, or text, and even pause the movie when needing to run to the bathroom. This book is great because, as an american, I find myself realating to most of what he is talking about.

blog number two

I haven't slepted for days. After my college writing class, I went straight home, went to bed and set my alarm clock at 4:40 PM. I woke up right on time to go to work. Friday night was kind of bussy for normal work day. I got off work tired. And wanted to hit the sheets again, but I end up talking to my uncle in Penslvania. Right after I got off the phone I when on my computer and check on facebook. I start chating with an old friends and till now at 4:05 am. It hit me! I need to write the jounal today, then I told myself it was too late to write, then again it never too late for anything this interesting.
well, let me cut to the chess. I don't have anything interesting to write about; I could write about what I've chat about with my friend but that would be too personal. And I don't want to get personal or nobody is interested in my private life is there?
I got lucky today because my psycholoy exam has been postphon till monday. So I better start studing some disorders. since everything in that class is abnormal. And yes including me too.

Whats cooking?

I really enjoyed reading the Bryson. I like it because it goes with my mind and thinking. I always think why cant servers at a restraunts. Why cant they just say steak instead of some kind of crazy language that not to many people use or even understand. But finally i find a book that saya what im thinking.... yeah

Blog 2

I read the assigned pages and I realized that I am beginning to become a fan of Bill Bryson. He has a particular way of writing that hooks the reader and makes it feel like he is talking to you personally. Several of the instances that he writes about relate to me personally, or sometimes I know the other side of his story. I know what it’s like to be both the order taker and the order giver. I may not have been a waitress, but I have worked in the drive thru at McDonalds and I know what certain things bother the order taker, which has taught me not to do those things.

Whats Cooking?

I really liked this reading the best out of what we had to read today for class because I can relate to what Bryson is saying. When I go into a restaurant and a Waiter or waitress tells me all the things that there are to choose from I easily forget and I also request for them to go threw the choices one more time. Even after that I sometimes still don't know. Waitresses never have really liked me. When I worked at miguelitos and people did that to me I was more then happy to slow down and tell them again because i know how it feels and it was nice to know I wasn't the only one like that. I hate going to new resturants for this reason. I like to go somewhere where i can get foosd I know i will like and i dont have to be explained everything.