Working Remotely

Don't let news reports fool you. The situation in Houston is dire. FEMA lines are long ... if and when FEMA even shows up. They have stations for water and ice but they run out quickly ... schools are shut down, grocery stores are shut down ... it's a nightmare.

No food, no ice, no water, no gas ... no nothing. 2.6 million people were without power following the storm. Houston is set up on some sort of a block by block grid. Just because your neighbor across the street has power, does not mean you do. They are handling this block by block. As of last night, almost 150,00o customers had been restores, by this morning, 500,000. I know they are working on it and people are coming in from all over the country to help, but HURRY.

Our water system runs on electric pumps, so we lost both and it's hard to live that way ... the blessing has been a cool front that came in.

Conrad and I are still working remotely in a town between Houston and Dallas and its so hard to know what to do. We can buy a generator here, and get gas and gallons of water and plenty of fruit and canned food to bring home. Then the problem is simply gas - we can not drive to work where there is no gas. My supervisor just called me and told me she sat in line for two hours before the station RAN OUT OF GAS and turned everyone away ... so do we stay here or head home? We just don't know.

I am working as hard as I can from where we are ... but I know my company would feel better if they could SEE me sitting there in my chair ... and THEY have full power and water ... it's just so hard to know what to do. Employees who did come in, I'm sure are wondering why the rest of us didn't ... I feel like a refugee with nowhere to go. The shower I had last night was the first in three days and the stop at Jack in the Box was the first real food in 22 hours and WE are the LUCKY ones ... it's so weird to be here, you feel so out of sorts ... I don't have any of my stuff, living out of suitcases and wearing old T-Shirts and work out pants ... feeling and looking old ... and again, WE did just fine, so many people lost everything.

It's a very scary and weird situation. But we are here for now ... I'll keep posting if I can.

Kah