re: What were you doing ten years ago today?

it was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Katrina made landfall as I was in the air between LGA and LAX. While I was in NY, everyone I talked to thought I was chicken little about "the one." I got a lot of calls from people lamenting that i was unfortunately right.

I'd just quit my first job as a lawyer; had just sold some property that allowed me to be a vagabond; single; 30. ready for a change. I made offers on houses in BR and was outbid immediately on every damned one--over listing price.

I'd had plans to move back to New Orleans and buy property on the beach and in mountains. That quickly eroded quite literally into just mountains. I still live with the guilt of not going down immediately after the levees broke and trying to help.

I still want to move back in some capacity, but not until I'm so old I don't care about being shot.

In Lafayette, dreading the beginning of a portion of my job that was still relatively new to me, and I was afraid. The after effects of the storm meant that my fear was postponed until January. Very "me" centric, but that's what was happening.

Was wrapping up career course at FT Huachuca, Arizona. Drove to San Antonio where I waited for a day and a half before driving to my parents house in Walker. Bought a generator, several cans of gasoline, and a wall unit on the way. Was home for two weeks before heading to Korea. Considered buying a house before I left because I knew property value was about to skyrocket but I didn't.

I was staring at this on my work computer thinking ah frick.

I certainly don't have a life and death job, but that doesn't mean I'm not a worry wart about it.

What do you think I do?

Oh and PS - Ten years later, I am currently dreading the new "season" that is about to begin.

I was at a wedding for one of my assistants. They had just bought a house too. They lost everything, including their wedding gifts since they couldn't take everything with them when they left. Helluva way to start out. We evacuated when we got home that night from the wedding.
I was also putting the finishing touches on a deal to buy the biulding my office was in. We were set to close on Aug. 29. Dodged that $400K bullet! Thankfully, I had made a home equity loan of around $50K for the down payment, and instead was able to use that money to help pay my bills for the next 9 months.

I have to add this anecdote: We were at a hotel in Natchez for a few weeks while evacuated, and they steadily supplied us with MREs. There was a guy there who was formerly in the military who was hitting on my hot wife. One day he offered to help her out and show her how to heat up the MREs with that little heating element that's included, since he was experienced in the art of the MRE. Her response was, "No thanks, I'll just heat it in the microwave." The look on his face was priceless. The idiot never realized he could have just been tossing the MRE in the microwave in his room the whole time.

Those little water packet heater things were cool though. I liked using them just to watch them work.

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Those little water packet heater things were cool though. I liked using them just to watch them work.

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For sure. When we were working on my dad's place that got destroyed in Mississippi, those MREs were priceless. And we had to use the heating packets. Those were as much fun as trading desserts.
ETA: If you disregard the mass destruction and total ruination of lives, living through that whole Katrina experience was actually kind of a fun adventure.

In Venice, LA working on evacuating 35 manned platforms and shutting in another 50.