Update

Hi folks!

All's well here. Baton Rouge didn't get hit nearly as hard as we were fearing. We were very *very* lucky. There's a downed tree right beyond my balcony, and a few more out on the main road in front of the apartment complex. There are shingles all over the parking lot. But that's all the damage I can see. My power came back on around midnight Monday night. Again, I'm very lucky -- most of the city still doesn't have power. One of my co-workers here in town had a tree fall on her house. Luckily no one was hurt. Another co-worker who lives in New Orleans and evacuated on Sunday has since found out that his house is entirely under water. And of course the news reports, now that I've been able to get to them, are appalling.

I am very thankful that Katrina turned east when she did. And then I feel guilty for being thankful for that. What happened to Biloxi is what should have happened to New Orleans. What happened to Mobile and Hattiesburg is what should have happened to Baton Rouge. It was a devastating storm, and it could have been much much worse for me personally.

I'm back at work today -- which is why I can update. My internet at home still hasn't come back on. No one's doing much of anything at work today -- I think we're all still in shock. A lot of my co-workers have people from New Orleans staying with them.

Thanks to everyone who had me in their thoughts and prayers on Monday.