holy mackerel

[sanpaku_backup]

I forgot that at the outset of this summer I was supposed to go to New Orleans for a consultant training this weekend. If it had been insisted that I go, as was the case last year, then instead of kvetching my way through a pleasant weekend with my family and friends, I'd have been trying to evacuate from the city. And instead of writing this to you, I might well be there right now, as four of my co-workers and 35-40 consultants are, riding out the hurricane on the 5th floor of the Sheraton...

Comments

[librarygrrl.livejournal.com]

The Sheraton has really big plate-glass windows. I was on a pretty high floor when I stayed there, which I try not to do, and I was cool about it until I saw how thick the window glass was. I figured if I threw the TV against the window, it would bounce off. Which really freaked me out when the fire alarms started going off at 6 am...

What I'm saying is that those are some heavy-duty windows in there. I think they'll hold.

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

Haven't heard anything more about them but I expect they're OK. Living there without electricity or running water for the next week, on the other hand... kee-rist.

[librarygrrl.livejournal.com]

I don't really understand why they were still there. Didn't everyone know this was happening like 5 days in advance?

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

It wasn't seen as a real threat until Saturday, when they ordered the city evacuated. My one coworker who got out said there was a big rush on rental cars and so on as everyone drove out at once. The people who were stranded were told on Sat that flights would leave until 12 on Sun, only to have the airport close at 10. So by that point they had no way out.

Kind of mind-boggling that they couldn't send a fleet of buses or something to the hotels, since we kept hearing about them on the news.

It is not going to be fun to be trapped there this week. The storm was the least of it.

[librarygrrl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but who would be the "they" sending the fleet of busses? I think this is the kind of catastrophe where the rubbernecking on the highway begins about three days before the accident actually happens. It reminds me of the local "news" reports where the anchor is standing LIVE in front of a big pile of road salt talking about tomorrow's snowstorm.

No fun at all there this week. Hot and Shitty are two words that come to mind... At least they're not in the superdome...I hope.

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

Actually, I imagine they're in there by now, since from the sounds of things they were evacuating everywhere else in the city and taking people there. And it sounds like a pretty awful place to be.

You, me and my friend

[(Anonymous)]

Strange, you're the third person I know who was supposed to be in N'awlins that weekend and then didn't end up going, including me (SJB). Perhaps the luck plane you always speak of is shifting again?

Re: You, me and my friend

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

No, it's tilting in odd and contradictory ways... but you need to log in to friends only to hear the scoop -- or call!