Gustav.

It feels oddly strange to be sitting in dan's home in atlanta right now feeling very serene and peaceful knowing there's a hurricane brewing in the gulf that is once again threatening my home in New Orleans. There's something about dan's house in atlanta. It gives me the feeling of being in Pensacola at my grandparent's house. I don't quite know if it's sitting around a kitchen table drinking coffee or the lazy sunday conversation but whatever the case, it's nice to be away from my busy fast-paced grad school life and be sitting here in atlanta without a care in the world-except for Gustav.

So the latest on the Hurricane front is that Gustav is expected to make landfall sometime early tomorrow morning and hit slightly west of New Orleans. It's currently registering as a Category 3 hurricane but has the potential to strengthen over the next 24 hours. I spoke with Mom this morning and she said they are headed to my brother's house in Baton Rouge which is more in line with the direct path of the storm but hopefully flooding should be less and they wouldn't be stuck in New Orleans.

Hard to believe it was almost 3 years ago to the date that Katrina struck and missed the city. Sadly, everyone celebrated a bit too early as the levees then broke and the city became inundated with water. A city 3 years later that has made great strides in becoming the city it once was and in many ways, a better city. But a city I fear that may not recover should we be hit head on with Gustav. I'm saying some prayers today that my home is spared and the people of New Orleans are not forced to once again be faced with the loss of their homes and the rebuilding of one of the greatest cities in the world.

Godspeed New Orleans.