The bad news is that once these long range forcasts start to move, they tend to keep moving. If it was supposed to hit west Texas and is now supposed to hit Houston, that means that it will probably hit to the East of Houston.

Ugly, but fairly true. Anything this far out is a guessing game, though the forecasts through 48-72 hours generally will be in the ballpark. It's the 96-120-hour forecast that keeps moving around. If I had to call a shot based on nothing but gut and general understanding of how these things tend to shake out, I think this will landfall somewhere in SW Louisiana or far east Texas right now. The problem with Katrina was that it moved SW out of Florida and then circled back north which is a rather unusual path for a storm. Most storms will go like Rita's going, a generally W-to-WNW track for some period of time until some weakness is reached in whatever ridge is steering it west and then it begins cycling towards the north.

Here's a map with flood depth surveys.

http://mapper.cctechnol.com/floodmap.php

I've gotta think that's an impossible situation, too. There just is no demand to move in to New Orleans so who may even buy it?

SI

Well, who knows what the real-estate markets are doing or will do long term, but I am hearing that in areas that did not flood, rental property is at an ultra-premium (500+ people on waiting lists for apartments). I imagine that home prices in non-flooded areas might experience a similar bump.

There are less people who want to live in New Orleans than there were pre 8/29. But there is a LOT less space in which to put them. If EF27's friend's house stayed dry, she may be able to get a pretty penny for it.

That is what she is thinking as well. Her home stayed dry, and she thinks she will actually make a nice profit on it.

I've also heard that it is going to be much more expensive for me to buy a home in New Orleans or LaPlace in the next year like I planned. :(

However, as you point out, who knows what the market will do in a year or longer...

Dola -

I'm also hearing that waiting lists are VERY long for apartments in the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, to a lesser extent the Shreveport area. I called dozens of apartment complexes in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette area a few weeks ago and was told they were all full, and I rented the last two apartments that were available at this complex in Shreveport.

5 PM EDT info is in. Rita remains a strong tropical storm, but an expected nudge upward in strength will make her a hurricane. She's still forecast to shoot the Florida Strait between the Keys and Cuba over the next bit.

No significant changes in base NHC forecast, though significantly the discussion mentions some of the models are moving back west again. The human doing the forecasting has decided that's more an affirmation of his prior forecast from 11 AM EDT so the forecast holds from six hours ago. This will put Rita onshore in the Houston/Galveston area by Saturday morning. The timeline to watch for anyone in SE Louisiana is to see whether any sort of turn is forecast to be made in the next 24-48 hours. It's due to be off Louisiana by Thursday or thereabouts and any hit on Louisiana by then will require the storm to begin turning northward by Wednesday at the latest.

Mayor Nagin under pressure from Bush and other officials has suspended the re-entry plan into New Orleans. He says that he is suspending the re-entry plan because of the threat of Rita and the weakened Levees and pumps.

I think the folks in Louisiana can start breathing a little easier right now. 11 AM discussion continues to forecast a mid-Texas coast landing and feels pretty confident about it with all the models lining up in that area. New Orleans is no longer in the margin of error cone and it looks like the storm will pass well south of the coast unless the ridge that Rita is passing south of over the next several days suddenly decides to break down. It'll still probably be a little blustery along the south Louisiana coast and the waves will probably kick up some as well, but that will likely be the extent of it in that area.

Yeah, I agree that at least the New Orleans metro area can start breathing easier. The interesting thing will be to see if Nagin resumes the repopulation plan in the next day or delays it further like federal officials seem to want. Personally, I want him to delay it until the water is at least safe to bath/shower with. Once that occurs, I want to return home.

I am really happy to have your insight here. Just curious, is weather a hobby of yours, or is this related to something that you do professionally?

Just a hobby. Meteorology is likely what I could have (should have?) chosen to do if I hadn't decided better money was being made in computer programming. Being a map geek from as long as I can remember, my favorite part of any newscast was the weather, so not only did I indulge my interest in maps, I ended up understanding quite a bit of meteorology after a while. I find hurricanes to be the most fascinating of any storms, probably due to having grown up in North Carolina and having to deal with them every year (though I did live several hours from the coast). Therefore, I usually skip all the dull advisory stuff and just read the actual discussions that the NHC puts out. I get better insight than I could ever hope to get from anybody on TV because all they're doing on TV is parroting the NHC forecaster. They're mostly lying to you when they say "we think" because only a few of them actually are doing so, the rest are reading copy. If you read the actual discussion on the NHC site related to storms, you get an understanding of why forecasters are saying what they're saying, not just that they're saying it.

Apparently, NHC felt Rita's strengthening over the last several hours merited an updated discussion to go with their 2 PM advisory. Since it looks like New Orleans is no longer in the crosshairs, I've posted my translation of what they're thinking over in the Galveston thread for any that care to follow along.

My parents got back in the house this morning. They went on very short notice, so I wasn't able to fly in to help. There was about 5ft of water in the house, and our house is built about 5-6ft above the street level (and thus above sea level). Almost everything on the first floor is ruined, but a few random things were salvagable. For example, the cabinet with my parents wedding china had not moved (unlike all the other furniture), and everything in it appeared okay. The second floor is apparently fine. Although the only rooms up there are my sister's and my bedrooms. Since neither of us live there anymore, there wasn't much left. I should find out much more later today.

Well I am back down here. Weird walking into my parents house and seeing a stack of Meals Ready to Eat. Just tried one, they have gotten tastier over the years, the chemical ways of heating them up are kinda freaky.

Family isn't doing too well, my grandparents who lost their home in Waveland Miss have taken things badly, especially my grandmother. Shes gotten paranoid and won't stay with any family members. They took a car heading north to God knows where. The worst part is they are 85 and need to be around people that can help care for them. Hopefully they will realize that and come back south.... But despite that I am glad to be home, I'd much rather be in the thick of things than far away.

Tigercat and any of my fellow members from Louisiana:

Keep an eye on Rita as a few of the models have it hitting as far east as Morgan City with significant impact on SELA. Brad, the meteorologist from WWLTV now thinks that a South West LA hit is becoming much more likely. I just hope that prediction doesn't continue to shift east.

huh. Texas news is saying a Galveston strike is very likely. Guess it depends on where you are sitting.

On top of that, Dallas could see 8-10 inches of rain if the Galveston thing comes to pass. Far cry from what will happen to the coast, but that's a big deal for this neck of the woods.

I'm guessing that each of the local meteorologists want to protect their areas. Brad (I can't remember his last name) the meteorologist from wwltv.com is saying there are many factors that he thinks are going to cause a signficant eastward shift of the track in the next 24-48 hours. I'm sure every official wants their area to be prepared..

Any amount of rain from rita wouldn't be fun right now, i have a roof with holes in it above me. Hopefully the corps of engineers people will be by to do the tarp fix it tomorrow, if not we are going to have to play roofers tomorrow afternoon.

Dola, I just saw a couple of models that have been run since 8pm, and they still have it safely in Texas for now. I haven't seen an update on the European model, which I find to be the most consistently close to accurate, but as of this morning it still had it landfalling well west of Houston even, hopefully that model is right this time around too.

Here is a copy of the pic that I was viewing with a bunch of the models (which I don't understand that well):

Dola -

Brad was discussing these models on wwltv's forum and said that the curves at the end are indicative of a great deal of uncertainty and that he is going to review these again tomorrow (he is flying into Baton Rouge to broadcast on wwltv's newscast tomorrow. Certainly, a great majority of the models predict a TX hit, but we in LA need to keep an eye on this still.

Here are the most recent models from wwltv (which only focuses on the major models.) Note that most of them have shifted to SW LA or right at the border between the states with one going further east :(

Looks to me like most of those are nailing Galveston and only one is on the TX/LA border...

Also, it seem like all the hurricane's that have come along Rita's path have somehow avoided Texas in the past...

I was extremely bleary eyed when I made my last post. :redface:



I've made a pledge to myself to not constantly watch this storm all day today and try to figure out where it is going. I'll pay attention to the 6 hour updates, but otherwise I'm going to try to relax.

I say baseball's the answer. Gary Thorne and Steve Stone doing Astros/Pirates on ESPN. Good announcing team :D

(don't see any good movies out and have no idea what else there is to do where you're at so I stick with what I know)


SI

Thanks for the heads up for me to avoid ESPN. If I watch the Astros on TV they ALWAYS lose. I swear to god, it never fails...

Baseball is a good answer, but my wife is insisting on us buying "just a few" storm supplies in case it hits Shreveport with some force left.

However, I've found several gamespots with Madden for the PSP, and I'm buying that today. Hopefully, it will be fun and relaxing (as long as T.O or McNabb doesn't get hurt ;))

Try a Saints franchise where they don't have to play a "home" game on national tv in New York :rolleyes:

SI

My parents, who left New Orleans because of Katrina, were staying with family in Lake Charles, La which is near the Tx/La border. Since Lake Charles is under a mandatory evacuation order, they had to evacuate from their original evacuation destination and are back in the metro New Orleans area.

I don't know if this is false info from trolls on wwltv's weather forum, but I don't believe it is. According to several different people, levees in St. Bernard and near the 9th ward are starting to "seep" and break again. This is without the storm even hitting yet :( I'm very afraid that parts of the city and surrounding area are going to flood again.

EF - Doesn't appear to be trollish, at least not entirely.
www.nola.com has a photo gallery titled Lower Ninth Ward Levee Seeping

Apparently the situation has gotten worse again. The levees are just too damaged to handle a 3-5 foot rise of the water in the lake.

Expires 3:45 PM CDT on September 23, 2005

Statement as of 9:52 AM CDT on September 23, 2005


The National Weather Service in New Orleans has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
Orleans Parish in southeast Louisiana
this includes the city of east New Orleans and lower ninth Ward
St. Bernard Parish in southeast Louisiana
this includes Arabi and Chalmette

* until 345 PM CDT

* at 948 am CDT... several reliable sources are reporting an
overtopping of the levee on the Industrial canal between Claiborne
Avenue and Florida Avenue. Those areas flooded during Hurricane
Katrina will flood once again with 3 to 8 feet of water... mainly
in the lower ninth Ward... Arabi and Chalmette.

My boss finally called me again. Apparently, I've been prohibited from working or volunteering due to contracts! Very annoying. Now, I have to report to Jackson, LA by Monday or Tuesday "at the latest if weather doesn't permit" me to be there on Monday to move into an apartment with 2 other male docs. I'll be running an inpatient unit for about 40 hours/week (the doc just quit that was running it.) I'll also be working at 3 shelters for 4 hours/night 2 days a week, and a mobile psychiatric crisis team 1 day a week for 8-10hrs/week. My wife can't come with me because of lack of housing at this point, and if I don't report, I lose my job. He told me that they are trying to procure additional housing for me and my wife but that may take a long time.

I want to go and help, but I'm annoyed at the prospect of being seperated from my wife by 250 miles for a potentially extended period of time..

Dola -

I might be working at a Baton Rouge Mental Health Clinic for 1 to 2 nights/week as well..

Very shitty. I'll be praying that things work out for you soon. Now is not the time to be separated from loved ones.

A few updates on New Orleans from today from another forum, fyi:

Went through CBD and French Quarter today

French Quarter looks very good... in fact... I would say better than normal. With all the rain and few people the streets look clean. Very little traffic actually makes it a pleasant place to be. I did see people walking down bourbon street with drinks in hand about 4:00 today.
Also, CBD took a hit but believe me things are rocking back pretty quickly. Buildings are operational for the most part... elevators, etc. Went to Energy Centre and tenants can get in from 10:00 to 2:00 and can say and work if they want to. According to bldg mgmt things should be back to normal in 1 to 2 weeks. Keep in mind there was no flood water there (and it is a little high up) but most of the buildings down there came out in great shape.

Hyatt is still pretty bad but missing glass is replaced with plastic and plywood. So is the (was Texaco) building next to it.

No water anywhere but parts of the lower 9th ward.

Went by the Dome and was amazed by the water line.

New Orleans will be back soon folks... don't get too comfy in Houston!

###

Agree

I was in the CBD today & toured 4 buildings. Worked at my office all day today in basically normal conditions.

###

I took poydras exit (dome)

drove through vieux carre and assume that the exit was open. No more checkpoints and you can get under the I-10 tracks at the split now.
No exit between the split and poydras though (metairie road, carrolton etc) you gotta stay on till the CBD.

No traffic lights at all so watch out for the Hummers, they are everywhere.

Not sure if this is the best place or not, but I guess so. Here is my update:

First the good: I was able to ride in the hospital van yesterday to my apartment which is on the hospital grounds. My apartment wasn't significantly damaged (an attic window broke and let in a bit of water, but nothing serious.) None of my stuff was looted or damaged! That is excellent.

Now the bad news, my boss brought me here to Jackson Tuesday. He had no place for me to sleep. I slept on the floor (no mats, mattresses, or cots, or any other sleeping apparatus was available) of a cottage that has bugs crawling on it. Last night, I slept in a bed with actual bugs of some sort. I also had 3 other people in my room, and shared a bathroom with 12 plus people. I'm not getting paid for this until October since I'm still on special leave. I have no idea what I'm going to be doing, because my boss was talking out of his ass earlier. There is a possiblity that I won't even have a job in the near future with this institution as I'm one of their newest professors and they are scrambling to find jobs for all of their professors and I'm on the bottom of the totem pole.

I've been offered jobs by several places, but I don't want to abandon my current job. However, I'm just not sure that I'm not going to get reemed by that very job. So, I'll be living in bad conditions for "3-5 weeks" 4-6 days a week with no guarantee that I won't be laid off in the near future... I'm just very frustrated, angry, and trying to prevent those feelings from affecting my patient care. Oh yeah, I still haven't gotten to do any real patient care other than helping with 1 code (for behaviour not breathing or heart problems) because of beaucratic red tape....

My "slot" of time on the dial-up internet is almost over. Hope to be heading home to my temporary apartment in Shreveport sometime tomorrow for a weekend break.

Just read my previous post (before the one I just made), and realize how many lies I was told. This isn't an apartment with 2 male docs, but 11 other staff of all jobs and both sexes..

Many other lies I was told too.

Take another job. Take it now.

What he said.

EF27, I love New Orleans as much as anything and want you to stay there and make it better, but you have to do what is right for you and your family.

Mrs. A. and I love it here in the Raleigh-Durham area. Many other parts of the country rock, too, and are in need of good doctors.

I was pissed and at my breaking point the other day. I went into my boss's office after he returned from a meeting in Baton Rouge. We had a long talk. I'm now back at my apartment in Shreveport after working last night. There is a good chance that I will be re-assigned to the first of the clinics to re-open in New Orleans as there are needs for clinics there with people starting to return to the city today.

However, I likely won't be able to return to my apartment in New Orleans as the military has taken over the area around my hospital (which I'm grateful for as that is probably a big part of the reason my stuff wasn't looted and I won't have to worry about it getting stolen in the near future..) I'm looking at a possible trailer in Baton Rouge and commuting into New Orleans, or possibly staying with my Mother-in-law in Metairie (which is just outside New Orleans.) As much as I dread the idea of living with my MIL for 4-6 weeks, either of those possiblities sound 1000 times better than going back to where I was (which is a place where criminally insane used to be housed long term and are still housed long term, but that is a whole another discussion..) There is a chance that I will have to return to horrendous hospital where I just drove from and live there another week as well until a clinic can be opened.

My wife loves this city. She was born and raised in Metairie, and she doesn't want to leave it. I want to make her happy if I possibly can and I want to help rebuild this city, however, I will keep all options open..

Dola -

One thing I forgot to post yesterday is that there is significant talk that either the military or much more likely the state may permeantly take over the hospital where I live. If that happens, I will be evicted and we will have no place to live as almost all of the apartment complexes in the state have a waiting list of 700-1000 people (from those I've called in the past day or so.) It could happen in a week, 2 weeks, a month, or not at all. Therefore, as much as my wife would hate it, we may have no choice but to move to either Shreveport or out of state. We are certainly holding onto our 2 bedroom apartment in Shreveport (which would never fit all of our stuff) until more information is available. The uncertainty about our living situation is very distressing to her, and somewhat distressing to me as well.

Double Dola -

I'm absolutely thrilled right now. My boss called and said that for at least tonight into tomorrow I don't have to go back to the horrendous hospital as he has enough doctors there, and really can't afford to pay me at that spot. In reality, I suspect he made it so I don't have to come back because he knew I was so miserable there.

I would feel worse about talking my way out of that place, but I wasn't doing anything of real worth up there and I was living in terrible conditions.

Instead, I reminded him of how much I want to be one of the first child psychiatrists to reset up in New Orleans. He is going to propose that I become the acting Chief of Child Psychiatry at Children's Hospital in New Orleans!!!! :)

Children's Hospital is about to completely reopen, and they currently have no child psychiatrist working there (secondary to their old chief of child psychiatry leaving town because of the hurricane and temporarily relocating to Baton Rouge for at least the next several months until his place can be fixed.) I'd be the only Child Psychiatrist on staff and I'd have one resident working with me. It'd be long hours, hard work, including plenty of night call again, but I'd be in my own apartment with my wife!!! :)

I just extended this apartment (in Shreveport) for another month, and I still run a real risk of losing my apartment in New Orleans on the hospital ground, but my wife is going to start looking for an apartment somewhere in the vicinity of New Orleans tomorrow and things are really looking up. I was becoming depressed myself, and this just significantly brightened my mood.

Sounds like it would be a great and prestigious position for you.

seriously EF, that's awesome news. Congratualtions! I hope you get the post.

as an aside, i think i might have mentioned before in a Katrina thread that my cousin's roommate's father is the COO of Charity, if that can be of ANY help to you at all, feel free to PM me and let me know, although it sounds like you're pretty well setup all things considered.

It's just a temporary position, and I fully expect to give the position back to my colleague once he is able to return to New Orleans. Also, my boss is proposing it tomorrow. The powers that be at Children's Hospital have to accept me for the temporary position. However, it would be great to be able to return home and work by my home, even if I might eventually lose that apartment. Furthermore, it will be good to directly care for people affected by Katrina.

Besides living in bad conditions in Jackson, LA in which I never felt like I was at home, none of the kids I was treating were evacuees.


Thanks, DaddyTorgo, I appreciate the offer of help.

Acting Chief. Sincere toast to your efforts and station, whatever may come later. Well done, EF.

::thumbs up::

Now all you have to do is crush the competition when they return and you will be king, king of the hospitals, king of all you can see and, um, heal. Wait, that doesn't work. Hmm... before noon is just too early for non-sensical megalomaniacal rantings.

SI

And along with my earlier congrats...

...I have to imagine that the job you'll be doing will be unimaginably difficult. Best wishes on doing your part to help those kids through the disaster.

Just wantd to chime in with my congrats to EF. :)

Also, wanted to say to EVERYBODY reading this thread:
1. Thanks for keeping it on-topic and politics-free. This has been a wonderful resource for keeping tabs on our friends and families, and I really appreciate how everybody has respected the "no politics" plea.

2. I'm glad to hear that everybody somehow touched or affected by Katrina (and Rita) is returning to "normalcy," no matter how slowly this "normal" thing returns. Here's hoping for continued recovery. :)

/tk

I just got off the phone with my boss. Now, the current Chief of Psychiatry at Childrens Hospital wants to see if he can get his place "rush repaired" within 2-3 weeks. If so, he wants to keep his job and just drive into the city each day and I won't get that job temporarily.

The good news is that my boss didn't demand or even ask me to return to the horrendous hospital. He just told me to hang tight in Shreveport, and keep calling him each day. He is going to try to get me into the first (to reopen) Mental Health Clinic in New Orleans (if the Chief of Children's Psychiatry does keep working at his job) which is hopefully going to re-open within the next week. I don't mind the loss of income from these days off one bit, as long as I don't have to return to the horrendous hospital.

I'm puzzled at the Chief's decision. I'm friendly with him, and I didn't think he would see me as a threat as he is Harvard trained and very well regarded.

Oh well, I'm just thrilled that I don't have to drive to the horrendous hospital in the woods.

This is so stressful. I now know that the Chief of Psychiatry at Childrens Hospital is keeping his job. Also, the politics in the state and the medical school are so trecherous right now. Another doctor appears to have scooped me for that job at the first to re-open MHC. I now have no idea where I'm going to be working in the next week or next month. I'm being told by my boss to hang loose, and keep checking with him every day. It is also looking more likely that the land on which my apartment is located is going to be sold. If so, I'll have to move, but that is unclear at this point.

Also, I had a side job with the city of New Orleans doing civil committment evaluations for them. It was my most cushy job ever, although it was important work that I took seriously. The city has announced they are laying off 3,000 employees and since I'm the newest in that department, I'm almost certain to be layed off from that side job (which could have supported me if necessary - albeit at a drastically reduced salary.) I won't find out if I'm one of the layed off ones until it is officially announced on Oct. 14 or there about.

As far as housing, most apartment complexes that weren't damaged now have a 800-1,000 person waiting list. One of Mrs. Eaglesfan's friends has a dad who owns a house that he used to rent out. He is fixing it up and we might be able to rent that, but he might decide to live in there. If he decides to rent it, we feel confident that we are his first choice, but I really need to know more about the work situation before I committ to that house's rent for a year.

So, there is just so much uncertainty right now. I'm so used to having control of my situation and this is really frustrating. The good news is that one of my uncles in New Jersey (most of my family is still in NJ) is a lawyer and he has a psychiatrist that he uses as an expert witness for certain cases. That psychiatrist doesn't have any child training, and he wants me to come join him as a partner seeing kids up there. Also, while I might not be able to find housing anywhere around New Orleans, it should be easy enough to find a suitable place in NJ.

However, my wife wants to stay in the state if at all possible. I already have this apartment in Shreveport, which I'm leaning towards extending for at least another month. I have a current strong lead on a job at the medical school in Shreveport, but I don't know if that will be as available if I wait much longer to jump on it. I don't want to make any premature decisions, but if my boss can't come up with a definite plan for me by the middle or the end of next week, I think I'm going to have to make a decision on what to do next.

Sorry to hear about this turn of events, man. Stay strong.

I don't know if you are a religious man or not, but perhaps pray for guidance. It sounds like the roads are diverging in the yellow wood for you.

Also, is the New Jersey job a full time gig, or is it on the side while you see patients, too? I can imagine that full time work of seeing disturbed kids and arguing that they should or should not go to jail and then watching while a jury decides one way or the other--that could get pretty cynical and depressing pretty quickly. Not really as satisfying as actual treatment, I bet. Of course, since I know nothing, I am just talking out of my ass here. I just felt like saying something other than good luck and God bless.

I'm definitely praying about this.

The job in New Jersey would be primarily offering care to patients (he would provide office space and such), with occasional seeing forensic cases that he needs help with. I believe doing full time forensic work or even a majority of forensic cases would quickly burn me out. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes and advice. I believe this next week will likely be a pivotal week.

I'm unfortunately beginning to think that your wife will need to come to grips with the fact that staying in Louisiana and furthering your career are becoming incompatible with one another. How much persuading will she need to move on if it comes to that?

If you were to move out, how challenging would it be to go back to Louisiana at a future date once things have settled down?

She has accepted moving to NJ or another state as the "plan of last resort." So, if I've pursued every other possibility, she is set to move out of state. It won't be that hard to move back down here if I keep my license up to date (which takes some money and paperwork.)

I'm sorry for the headaches, but I know how it goes. My wife is the primary reason I have stuck at a job I have grown to dislike for so long. She is finally becoming more reasonable, but it really just took me putting my foot down about it to do so. She supports the desicion now, but I went through a lot of passive-agressive pain to get her there.

Today was a big day. We (my wife and I) had a long talk in which we decided that if there was no definitive job information for me by the end of next week that I would actively pursue getting a job at LSU Shreveport's Medical School. We would also pursue finding a bigger apartment up here, and moving our stuff up here. Then, we decided to go out to a nice dinner and a comedy club show.

Dinner was great, and Jamie Lissow is hilarious. This was my favorite live comedy show ever. He had me and the wife laughing during almost his entire set which is a rare feat.

After the show, I called my boss for my daily update. Apparently, he is "almost certain, but it is not written in stone" that the hospital will move back to their grounds on October 18th. That is excellent news, if it comes to fruition. It wouldn't make sense for the state to have us move back there if they were going to re-assign the land to some other purpose. Therefore, that makes me feel quite a bit better about the security of my living in my current New Orleans apartment as there is no real reason for my boss to move me out if we go back there. Also, there is talk that one of the inpatient unit doctors is going to stay in Atlanta for at least the next year, because she enrolled her daughter in High School there. If that is the case, perhaps, I will get the open inpatient unit job as my new employment since my outpatient clinic was destroyed by the flood water. That would provide more teaching opportunities to me which is a primary reason I took my old job anyway.

I'm not getting my hopes too high in any case, as I've had the rug pulled out from under me several times in the past few days. The good news is that Mrs. Eaglesfan is becoming somewhat excited about the prospect of living in Bossier City/Shreveport for the long term a variety of reasons that could be a long post in and of themself. LSU Shreveport's medical school offers me some unique job opportunities as well with only one signficant downside. I also find myself enjoying the Shreveport weather MUCH more than New Orleans' weather. I need to do some research to see if this is an anomaly, but tonight really felt like a fall night. I miss having some semblence of 4 seasons, and I think I will get more of that from Shreveport/Bossier City than I ever will in New Orleans. So, if things end up not working out over the next weeks/months, I think I have a more solid backup plan in place.

She caught the riverboat bug, eh? ;)

Best of luck to ya both, Doc... :)

Actually, more of the idea that

1) She would be further away from her mother, which she would consider a good thing.

2) Our house could serve as a free evacuation zone for her mother who is poor as well as a few of her best friends should the need arise.

3) Ok, the riverboats have something to do with it ;)

4) I promised that she could either fly or drive down to visit friends at least one 3-4 day weekend per month. This is a heck of a lot more time than I get to see my friends that are still in NJ.

5) I told her she doesn't have to work anymore. Heck, I've told her that before, so I'm confused why this is a point that would convince her. But, I won't argue the point. I'll gladly use that ;) Actually, I want her to stay at home when we hopefully start having kids in 2 years or so, and always thought she was the one determined to work.

6) I've taken her out to a few happening places in Shreveport and Bossier City and she has decided this isn't SO boring to live here. By the way, she really likes a shot she discovered called the Ocean Mist. I thought it was just ok.

7) I reminded her of the professional benefits of being here in Shreveport. There are very few child psychiatrists in Shreveport or the surrounding area. There is a good chance I could make more money here still doing what I love..

There were other reasons as well, but they escape me at the moment as I'm finishing a drink. Tonight was fun.

Thanks for the well wishes :)

Dola -

There were a bunch of other reasons that I was telling her as well, which I can't remember at this moment

I know one should never make a major life altering decision while under very stressful conditions or while intoxicated, but I have to admit that I was really excited about the possibility of moving up here before I heard from my boss tonight. The idea of actually having seasons shouldn't be a deciding factor, but it is nice. Also, the humidity here is SO much lower than New Orleans. I still consider moving here a good plan if things don't work out in New Orleans for whatever reason in the future.

Also, as I suspected, home prices appear to be a fair bit lower in the Bossier City/Shreveport area as well. I just looked at Century21's site, and they had houses listed that meet our size demands for some very nice prices (at least in comparision to the outskirts of New Orleans that I was looking at before the storm.)

I've only got about 10 months left in Bossier City before I leave for Germany, but the place really grows on you.

I love my house. I love the fact that I have a yard and a garage. These are things I only could dream of when I lived in Los Angeles. :) But for you guys, man, you can buy a killer place here, I'm sure!

You have the right profession to be in Shreveport/Bossier. It's been growing steadily. It's be a great choice! :)

Yeah, I'm really salivating over some of the places on the Century21 website right now. We could get a huge place with a huge yard, and I've always wanted my future kids to have a good size yard...

If you are interested in a real estate agent, I know a good one for the Bossier City area.

We're probably about 6 months to a year away if we stick to the plan of putting 20% down, but I'm definitely interested in the info for future reference.

Neat article, but LONGGGGGGGGGGG!

I'm very excited right now. I just received word from my boss a few minutes ago that once security clears my place (which having seen it for an hour, I can't see any reason they shouldn't) that I can move back into my apartment this weekend!!!

Better yet (well bad from one perspective) 4 of the 7 doctors in the system that I work (not LSU but the state health system - New Orleans area) have quit. Among those is the head of the inpatient unit for adolescent psychiatric services. She has permeantly moved to Atlanta because her daughter is enrolled in H.S. there and doesn't want to leave, plus she has family in the area. Also, the other doctor on that unit has asked for at least a 3 month leave of absence from that particular job due to his wife being 9 months pregnant and him not wanting to expose the baby to anything that might be in the New Orleans area that might not be good for kids. Therefore, he is going to continue to live and work in the Baton Rouge area.

This means that I'm now 99% certain (not 100% until it happens) that I will be the new inpatient director for the adolescent unit at the hospital! Also, the hospital is definitely not closing which is a miracle considering how many times certain political forces have tried to close it. I don't see any possible doctors that are going to come and swipe this one away from me either. The doctor at Children's will have his hand full there, and he doesn't like inpatient work. The other doctor is quite clear that she wants to continue to be an outpatient doctor.. So, I'll possibly have to do an extra load as I might be the only inpatient adolescent psychiatrist, but I don't mind that one bit. I'll gladly carry 20 patients to be able to work at the hospital which means I'll be able to walk to work every day, teach residents, and have a somewhat normalized schedule. The only bad news is that I was informed that due to the budgetary crisis the state faces, my salary might be reduced by about 8%, but even that can't temper my good mood right now :)


Edit: Oh yeah, my boss told me to be prepared to start work next Weds. :)

Sounds like it all fell together for you! Great! However, it sounds like you'll be quite busy. Reminds me of an anecdote when Jimmy V still coached at State. One year, the team lacked depth, particularly at point guard, but fortunately we had Chris Corchiani for the starter's job, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Anyway, there was one game where Chris was getting particularly worn down from playing so much. He asked Coach V if he could come out. V said, "You come out when you graduate." :D

Hot damn, EF!
Congrats!!!

/tk

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately, I just got some bad news today. The contractor that was performing security, maintenance, housekeeping, and food services for the hospital has announced that they are unable to provide service to the hospital for now or the near future. The hospital is attempting to procure the services of another contractor(s) to provide these services. However, they now believe that the hospital will not be able to re-open for 2-4 weeks due to this set back :(

Furthermore, I *might* not be able to move back due to the hospital considering locking the gates around the facility due to the lack of security. This would appear to be unfair to me, preventing me from lawful access to my apartment. In any case, my boss is supposed to let me know within the next 24 hours if they are going to lock the gates or they are able to keep them open ( in which case I can return home Saturday as planned.)

If I am able to move back, I'll have to either a) Work at the inpatient unit of the horrendous temporary hospital until they are able to move back to the permeant hospital in New Orleans and live in squalid conditions there or b) Work at a clinic just outside of Baton Rouge and drive the 80-90 miles each way every day. Option b is looking more attractive if I have a choice..

Oh yeah, my boss asked me about rumors that I was working in Shreveport. I told him that I wasn't (I'm being paid by LSU on special leave until November 6th and that would be illegal double dipping) but it is true that I have offers up here. I made it clear to him that I want to return to New Orleans and I hope the job and living status makes that possible. However, I think it is ultimately in my best interest that he does know that I have other options out there.

Oh well, down from the jubiliation of knowing I was going back home in 48 hours and back to waiting to see what happens in the next 24 hours or so..

At least the NFL Week 5 in pictures cheered me up :)

That really sucks...I am so sorry! I hope everything works out for the best...

I hope you don't mind, EF, but I forwarded this post to a friend of mine whose family has a business that provides maintenance/housekeeping/etc. services to businesses in New Orleans. They're trying to get in touch with Children's as I type.

I don't mind, but Children's already has these services in place. They were providing it to us at the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital. It is the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital that now needs those services :)

Dola -

Thanks to Oliegirl, TK, and everyone else who has voiced support (or who has sent good vibes my way without voicing them necessarily.) This has been an emotional roller coaster and an "adventure" as my boss likes to call it. I just want to return to my apartment already. I appreciate you all who let me vent, provide encouragement, etc.

I'm cautiously hopeful that when I call my boss in an hour or two, he will have some good news and tell me that I can return home Saturday as planned (even if I have to drive 63 miles each way every day to the clinic that he might want me to temporarily work at.) I just looked up the clinic where I might work temporarily, and it is closer to New Orleans than I thought :)

Gotcha. I'll pass that along.

Just finished talking to my boss, and he said we can return home! He said we just have to understand that there will be no maintenence service for at least the next 2 weeks and possibly longer. Also, there are currently still a few national guard stationed at our hospital, but once they leave they will start locking the gate to the place. However, the hospital is going to give me and Mrs. Eaglesfan a key to it and we'll just have to get out of our car to unlock and relock it as we enter and leave. All in all, very good news. However, I'm going to be a "roving doctor" and I'll be working all over the place the next few weeks until they can return to New Orleans. I don't mind that as long as it doesn't persist once they return to the hospital. I can deal with a few weeks of driving 50-75 miles to work. So Saturday I'm moving back home! The only negative is that I might miss the USC-ND game, but I'm willing to give even that up to get back to our place (although I'm hoping one of my buddies can tape it.)

Big time WOOT !

Danged happy to hear good news for ya.

I'm home. Actually, I've been home for about 2 and a half hours. Mrs. Eaglesfan and I tried to clean our refrigerator/freezer for about an hour. Then, we realized that the blood from the meat appeared to be inside the refrigerator. We have heard it is game over at that point. Plus, the freezer wasn't really working. So, despite it being state property (gulp!) we dragged the refrigerator to the curb (with Mrs. Eaglesfan nearly crushing me as she shoved it down the steps...) Anyway, I just ordered a new refrigerator from Best Buy that they can deliver by Friday! Hopefully, the state won't be too unhappy as it is nicer than the one I had, but was one of their cheaper models.

So, I face uncertainty about how long we will be able to live in this apartment. I face uncertainty about my job (one of my friends who is a forensic psychiatrist has been told that he is being layed off as there is just a lack of work at this time. I guess it is good news that I haven't gotten that message yet.) But, I'm very happy to be home! Also, I'm happy to have seen the last minute or so of the USC game ;)

I imagine that with the amount of lost state property, nobody's going to sweat your fridge much. :)

Discarding state property, those lawless Nawlins'ers ;)

One thing I forgot to mention. It was eerie (sp?) seeing how vacant the city appears even two weeks after this part of the city was re-opened. There are some traffic lights still not working. There are many many homes that appear dark and vacant, and only about 1/5th of the homes or less had refrigerators on the curb. I'm guessing that most of the population hasn't moved back yet.

Oh yeah, having a soldier stop me at the gate (to the hospital) and point a gun in my general vicinity while asking me for ID was a very odd experience as well. However, I'm very glad they are protecting the hospital (and my stuff by association.) :)

You think?

Yes, in fact I do.

Talked to my boss earlier this evening, and he told me not to worry about needing to discard the Refrigerator. Also, driving around the city this afternoon it is not as dead as I thought it was. Lots of people working on their homes in the area, and the supermarket was rather busy with lines that lasted about 15 minutes. All-in-all not too bad. Most stores are still closed, but many are scheduled to re-open within the next 2 weeks at least for limited hours. My boss told me that he should have some work for me to do somewhere in a 80 mile radius within the next few days and I should expect to be working again by Weds.

I just got the call from Best Buy! My new refrigerator will be delivered between 1:30 and 3:30 PM tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the job situation continues to be extremely chaotic, and I'm being used at various sites for a few hours here and there to fill in, with no regular job yet. I'm told that I should have a regular job in the next few weeks, but I also notice that LSU is laying off any unnecessary employees on November 7th (they are paying us until the 6th.) I hope I don't end up being one of the layed off ones, but there should be some good options around the country (and perhaps in Louisiana) if that does happen.

I'm sure you and your wife are thrilled about the fridge. :)

As for the rest of the mess, keep thinking good thoughts, SOMEHOW it's going to work out. Sounds like you're managing as best you can. Hopefully you'll get some resolution be able to return to your regularly scheduled life and career soon. We're still all thinking about ya! :)

/tk

Considering the kind of work you do, how hard is it to be used for a few hours here and there. I have a sense of psych work as relying on stability and relationships, etc. Unlike a doc. who is patching up broken arms and can go from one clinic to another.

Is my impression wrong, or are you noticing that problem?

Your impression is correct. This is very frustrating professionally as well as personally. The plan on where to use me changes every day, and I don't get to know any of the patients that I treat. Before the storm, I was used to running a clinic with about 150 patients that I see once or twice a month, and I was starting to develop relationships with them. That is part of what attracted me to psychiatry in the first place as opposed to another speciality where you rarely see your patients. The way they are rotating me now, it is nearly impossible to be truly productive.

I've been told today that I will be working at a clinic in Baton Rouge (about 80 miles away with some very heavy traffic likely) for 4 hours on Monday and Thursday but I won't even be seeing any patients. I'll be supervising 3 or 4 residents. I love teaching, but that is going to be an odd situation as well. I'm not sure if I'll be there for 1 week or longer. Heck, I'm not sure the plan won't change between the time I was told it at 8:00 this morning and Monday. I've realized that the lack of organization throughout the state means that no plan is definite and anything can change at any moment. I have no idea if I will still be taking over the inpatient unit when it moves back. Again, this is all so frustrating.

However, I keep reminding myself that I'm one of the lucky ones who has a place to live (for now) where I have basic cable, internet, power, AC, etc. Also, my refrigerator should be arriving sometime in the next 2 hours and 15 minutes :)

Thanks :)

Like I said above, I'm doing my best to keep focused on the many ways I've been blessed throughout this situation. I'm much more fortunate than many people who were affected by the storm.

A lot has happened since I last posted in this thread, but there were some things I was compelled to keep quiet about. However, having heard most of them announced on the news, I think I can talk about them now.

Tulane has slashed it's medical school faculty. They cut about 180 positions, plus another 50 positions from their undergraduate department. They also cut half of their athletic programs including a men's tennis team that has had a very successful history. It is rather sad. I did some of my training at Tulane, and unlike some LSU staff, I have a great deal of affection for Tulane.

LSU also had massive cuts in their medical school faculty list. A few of my colleagues were let go. My job was in jeopardy at times, but I survived the first round of cuts as well as the second round of cuts which were announced recently. In fact, the former Chief of Psychiatry (who was also an LSU Medical School Faculty member) at Children's Hospital quit and moved out of state. I'm now the Chief of Psychiatry which is a nice promotion. However, given the current financial realities facing the state, I find myself wondering how long that will last.

The good news is that I've got leads on several other jobs in the State should this current job fall through. The bad news is that one of those jobs might want me to take over soon. From an email I received tonight, that seems a likely possibility now. It's a state job, so I'm not sure how much more stable it is than my current job. However, it is in another part of the state that hasn't lost much of it's population and has actually grown in population. Therefore, that likely means it is more secure. I'm going to be praying for guidance as well as analyzing the situation. Should anyone feel inclined, I'd appreciate prayers to help me make the right decision as well as any advice. :)

EF, good luck to you. I know that you will make the right decision, and I trust that you and your wife will soon get to settle someplace and really get used to just living your lives again. I'm sure that it has been difficult with the volatility of everything down there right now.

I have some really quick news. My sister only needed one more semester's worth of credits to graduate from UNO. She had enrolled in every necessary class except for a single, 1-hour geology lab before the semester. Of course, a week after the semester started, Katrina rolled through, and my sister had been on the move with my mother after that. A few weeks later, my sister enrolled for some online courses, but she didn't know if she would be able to go back to the New Orleans area for the spring semester. She was afraid of falling one credit short of graduation with no clue as to when she could complete it. Anyway, the good news is that she got an e-mail stating that she has satisfied the Louisiana Board of Regents science requirements, and the university has waived labs for graduating seniors. In a couple of weeks, she'll be a college graduate. They won't be holding a commencement ceremony at UNO this winter, but they are going to have one in May for all of the December 2005 and May 2006 graduates, and I'm sure that she'll make the two-hour trip to New Orleans in May for the ceremony. I will most likely be making my first visit down there at the same time so I can see my big sis graduate (she went part-time for several years, so she finished after me). I'm excited. :)

Congrats to your sister, Pumpy! :)

Congrats to both of you

Thought some of you might find this flash of the flooding interesting....


http://www.nola.com/katrina/graphics/flashflood.swf