baton rouge-katrina

you know,

since katrina hit new orleans.... baton rouge (only an hour away) has doubled in it's population over night.... 2 weeks ago, there were over 3500 houses on the market for sale... now there are only 500 left.... all the apartments are filled.... even the hotels are all booked up...

it used to take my parents anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to get to the Bahai center.... now it's an average of 35 to 40 minutes.....

all the stores are packed, traffic is always there, crime is up.... this little lazy town has been shaken up.... but of course the people are understanding and adapting to the change... for the most part, they want to be there for their new orleans family.... it's really interesting -- the change that's occurring there....

funny side note.... my parents have opened their home to the media.... since the reporters have nowhere to stay, they have been sleeping at our house in baton rouge.... we are all holding out to see if christiane amanpour stays over.... if she does, my parents will flip out... she almost did come wednesday night, but ended up staying on the new orleans side, to cover more in that area..... we'll see......

the "constant gardner"

great film! just beautiful....

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oh, i wish i could give you all the details, but to keep this post simple...

i just got one of my life time --- dream come true jobs today...!!!

I AM STILL IN SHOCK!!!!

Never actually believed i could achieve this goal...

man, i was in the pits a month ago.... funny how things work in life...

there really is a reason for everything....

no words

i have no words to express the pain and sorrow i have felt for the people of new orleans... my friends and neighbors.... i have cried and yelled out loud in frustration....

i'm grateful that my frieinds and family are ok, even though these are some of the toughest times for them.... some of my friends don't know if they will have a job to go back to... they already know they have lost all their material possesions... My friends in baton rouge told me that many of the new orleans folk who did manage to evacuate, are deciding not to ever go back (at least that's what they are saying now)... alot of people are buying homes in baton rouge and starting over in that community...

my parents are fine.... they have had no electricity since monday.... however, they have family in the area who do, and have spent a lot of time cooling off in their homes... luckily, no damage or loss....

interesting enough, i am currently homeless myself... because of flooding and sewage backup in my home (due to my plumbing --- the pipes were not connected to a working sewer line)....i had to leave --- and am waiting for the line to get fixed...
luckily, the builder is paying for all my hotel expenses and food till the problem gets fixed...

i know this is short... and after no blog for so long... i knew i had to write SOMETHING to make sure people knew i was ok and my family was fine.... I have been working long hours covering the hurricane.... (actually at work now...) hopefully, i will have more time and energy to write again soon....

thanks for all the friends and family who called and sent prayers to make sure my parents and friends were ok....