Heiress said:

I know it helped me immensely. I couldn't have gotten into a new apartment as fast as I did without the help of our Org family. I wanted to extend that to you and your family too.

applekisses said:

Fortunately we had good insurance (glad to hear you do now too. ) We were able to get into a furnished place rather quickly, and got a check as well rather quickly for immediate necessities. With IKEA down the road and a couple of loaded-up carts, we had the basics in no time.

Our problem was more that we managed to salvage dishes & other household bits and pieces downstair - a complete mess, covered with ashy scum. I wasn't about to ask all the orgers to come clean them up for me. But it was tempting! Ah, the memories...

Heiress said:

I know that...
After a while it seemed like it wasn't even worth it to salvage some things because of the cleaning. You don't realize it until you go through it that EVERY single thing needs to be cleaned. I had some help the first five days of moving things out, but then I had to go back to work and so did my friends and family so I was going back after work each day with gloves and a mask to go through things on my own and pack them up and carry them out. Some things -- like DVDs and CDs that I was able to salvage -- didn't get washed until I moved into my new place. I hated carrying all that soot into my new apartment. Plus the smell was awful.

Cheers!!!

applekisses said:

how long did it take for the smell to go away? and the comments of people walking into the apt... i got so sick of hearing them say "it still smells burned in here."

and on top of it, breathing in all that ash made me sick for months. besides the fact that it all happened in cold, nasty damp winter!

come to think of it, i still have some stuff that's not quite cleaned yet... ugh!

anyway, it's nice to talk about this stuff with someone. thanks for being there.

minneapolisgenius said:

cheers!

I love that this virtual cocktail party has lasted, what, four days?

Heiress said:

There are still some things that smell like the fire, but I got a hint from someone when it happened that mixing in some vinegar with the water you're cleaning with takes the smell away...and it really does! I used vinegar/soap water for everything.
We had dust masks to cut down on the ash breathing, but after a while it was just too hard to wear them so we stopped. I feel lucky that the weather was still nice out when my fire happened. It must have been really difficult to clean things up when it was so cold/damp out.

It helps me to talk about this too with you, hon. Thank you.

applekisses said:

ah well... i am such a believer in vinegar, and didn't really think to use it on the burnt stuff. i shall in the future!

thanks for the hint.

if you are still there, apples...

in fact the thing that bugged me the most was the way people seemed to descend on the house like vultures after the fire. everybody suddenly wanted to buy it, cause i think they thought they were getting a cheap deal.

shortly after the fire, one of the architects who works at the firm next door called to ask me if i were selling my place, because a lot of people were apparently asking her if it were for sale. and then she added, of course i'm interested too, i'd like to get the first bite if it is for sale. now, i don't know about you, but i found that pretty dern insensitive on the part of a neighbor... in any case, i told her no, it was absolutely not for sale (my exact words, except in french). she hasn't spoken to me since! as if i owed her my house, and was somehow amiss in not letting her get a cheap deal to the detriment of my family...

and how about the people who came to pick through the rubble, looking for treasures? i found a gypsy kid in the big dumpster in front of our house, and ordered him out. certainly didn't want him stabbing himself on a rusty nail, but i felt a bit ick about strangers hanging around period.

did you have anything similar happen to you? did people get curious? just wondering...

Heiress said:

no this hasn't happened to me, but thats rough. its the same as a stranger coming in your house and going through your things before a fire

brownsugar said:

yes, it is. with the added element of wishing to profit from the misfortune of another... there are vultures out there in this world! protect yourselves, and take care. thanks for your thought.

Heiress said:

Oh yes...I lived in a primarily Lebanese/Muslim neighborhood and the friends I had there were sweet to me, but the other people I came into contact with were not very neighborly (I often heard from some of the kids in the neighborhood that their mothers talked about me because I was single and living by myself and working outside the home).

The first day we were bringing things out of the house, cleaning them and putting them in boxes some of the kids and women from the neighborhood came up and started digging through my boxes. I shouted at them.

Also, I had left garbage bags of things that I would not take with me or things that were damaged that first day and when I came back the next day all the bags were torn open and there were papers and refuse everywhere. I felt so vunerable.

I worried that when the demolition crew came that they would be looking through my personal things and I ended up with a blessing I never expected...a friend of mine was laid off work (he's a contractor) and was called to work on a house that was damaged due to arson...and it was the one I had rented! His wife called me and we couldn't believe it! So, Mark was there when things were being thrown in the dumpster (I had a lot of old bills/paperwork with my personal info on them) and made sure no one took anything. It was an incredible relief to me.

Excellent news!
Here's to a bright 2007!

applekisses said:

Isn't it wonderful to have friends when and where you need them? One of the hardest and most time-consuming things for us has been to recuperate and replace important papers, so I think I know how you feel.

It is horrible to have people rifling through your stuff, tho. Even if it's stuff you don't want... because the fire is part of your story. Like it or not, our possessions are an extension of ourselves. It's hard to explain, but intensely felt...

In any case, I empathize with those who lost their homes in wars and conflicts. It's much easier for people like us than them... Always someone who has it worse than you or I, true?

Heiress said:

You know...I thought about that too. I remember my mom and I talking and telling her that I knew a little how the Katrina victims felt, but that it was so much easier for me because I had a place to go (I lived at my mom's for five months) a roof over my head and not everyone around me was going through the same thing, so they were able to help. I was, eventually, able to walk away from the arson (I still struggle with some feelings - especially because the crazy asshole who started the fire got away with it through a legal loophole) but, those in wars, etc can't do that. It's horrible.

applekisses said:

To warmth, home, family and thankfulness... and when all of the above is missing, we still have who we are inside.

littlemissG said:

Thank you... 2007 is sure to be a time of reflection and pause.

Cheers, Heiress! Beautiful how things work out, no?

Lammastide said:

indeed, my friend. nice to see you here.