Other avenues

With FEMA on the slow track I decided to apply through a consulting firm.

I knew several friends, planners and historic preservationists, who were in the Gulf Coast working for a private contractor. I will call the firm EAP (Engineers, Architects and Planners). For them, the process was very fast. They applied, interviewed, were offered a job and started work all within a week.

I sent in my application to EAP and was greeted with silence. A few weeks passed and still nothing. I called and left a message in the voice mail labyrinth. I called again in another week and managed to get through to someone.

The first person explained the details. She asked when I could start and explained that the "deployment" would last three months. She could not tell me my salary, what I would be doing or where I would be based. The only thing she seemed sure of was that I would have a weekly phone allowance of $5, a laundry allowance of $10 and that I would could expect a call from another person.