New Orleans 2006

Giving back... with Habitat for Humanity

2006-05-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

As an addendum to our business meetings on Thursday and Friday, one of my colleagues also organized an opportunity to contribute to Habitat for Humanity. They're a Christian based organization, but are non-denominational and are chartered to help erradicate low cost housing. You can read more on their website to learn what they're all about.

As you can see here, this part of New Orleans could use some serious "fixing up"

Basically, they get volunteers and prospective recipients to contribute time, energy, and know-how to build brand new houses for qualifing individuals and families. There are some requirements to receive: must be below a certain income level, must have a steady income to be able to pay off a zero-interest loan, and must contribute time and energy to the construction of the homes.

It was really a lot of fun for me. I worked on putting together the floor joists of a couple homes, while others in our group did everything from painting to pouring concrete for the foundation. I loved the chance to get my hands dirty on such a project, and for such a great cause.

In New Orleans, the project we worked on was called Musician's Village and is intended to provide a community centered around music -- included many homes and a community center.

My company, Novell, not only mustered up about 75 volunteers for a day's worth of labor, but also a hefty $25,000 contribution to the cause. Plus, we held our mid-year event in New Orleans, LA partially to help out the local economy as best we could. And from what we could tell by being there, they could use all the help they can get. I can't tell you how proud I am to be associated with this group!

I'm really thankful that I got a chance to contribute here. It was definitely a humbling experience, and my heart goes out to those who we're helping. I wish I had time to contribute more regularly!

Splits by a passer-by, just to get beads

2006-05-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

Checking Bourbon St from the balcony

2006-05-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Want some beads? Show us something!

Peter sings a little kareoke

2006-05-13T05:35:00.000-07:00

Bourbon St on Friday night

2006-05-13T05:34:00.003-07:00

One of the many strip clubs

2006-05-13T05:34:00.002-07:00

Dana, Karen, Orlinda, Cindy, Jen

2006-05-13T05:34:00.001-07:00

Beads! Give us beads!

2006-05-13T05:34:00.000-07:00

Dana, Karen, and Ben

A busy sidewalk on Bourbon St

2006-05-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

Dana and her "hat"

2006-05-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

Is that Captain America??

2006-05-13T05:26:00.001-07:00

Another view from the balcony

2006-05-13T05:26:00.000-07:00

Who knew Tom was a crooner?

2006-05-13T05:22:00.000-07:00

Riverwalk's main parking lot

2006-05-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

It's all about the beads...

2006-05-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

I found it ... The Cat's Meow

2006-05-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

My colleagues gettin' the party started

No customers....

2006-05-12T20:18:00.003-07:00

An empty food court

2006-05-12T20:18:00.002-07:00

It's really sad... :-(

Barge on the mighty Mississipi

2006-05-12T20:18:00.001-07:00

Another river front view

2006-05-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

Riverwalk Mall

2006-05-12T20:12:00.000-07:00

Located across the street from our hotel

T Shirt distribution

2006-05-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we're going to help build a house in the Musician's Village along with Habitat for Humanity. Without cool new t-shirts how will they be able to tell if we're with our group.

Greg's new convertable

2006-05-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

Greg's not really a green martian, it's just my pathetic Treo camera not able to handle the indoor lighting for some reason...

Sales incentive...

2006-05-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

Lease on a new Audi TT Roadster Quattro

Classic New Orleans street facade

2006-05-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

Interesting shadow in the distance

2006-05-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

Family entertainment...

2006-05-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

...on Bourbon St.

Wha'????

2006-05-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or are these hot dogs really expensive...?

Decateur St

2006-05-11T19:45:00.000-07:00

Cafe du Monde

2006-05-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

Famous Beignets at this place. Beignets are akin to a sopapilla if you've had those. They are some kind of puffed pastry dough, deep fried, then a mountain of powedered sugar is poured on top. Ben ordered some to go. Yummy! (but messy)

Site of the party

2006-05-11T19:14:00.000-07:00

Mulate's. Apparently this restaurant is a famous one. It's right next door to our hotel, so that certainly makes it convenient. They provided our first taste of "real" cajun cuisine -- fried catfish, etoufet (sp?), and bread pudding were among the tastier offerings.

Ben with the washboard "abs"

2006-05-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

Cajun line dancing

2006-05-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

Sponsors party on Thursday night

2006-05-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

Time for lunch

2006-05-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

I wonder what we've got on tap for lunch...

Our presentation

2006-05-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

We started on time.

Badge

2006-05-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

Mardi Gras theme... I expect great food and a fun atmosphere.

My hotel room...

2006-05-10T16:23:00.001-07:00

Sanctuary away from the real world while I'm here in The Big Easy. Marriott Convention Center. Apparently, the company is picking up the tab on the hotel rooms as a whole. That's annoying because I won't be able to get as many, if any at all, Marriott points for my stay here.

The room is nice enough though and there's no sign that a hurricane was in the neighborhood.... except that there aren't very many people around town. Apparently, there wasn't any serious flooding in this part of town.

My view of the "real world"

2006-05-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

Where did all the penguins go?

2006-05-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

Novell branded linux penguins... Yea!