It was on the 29th of August that Hurricane Ida made landfall in Southeast Louisiana. That day alone caused much devastation and left over 1M customers without power. I was one of those customers.
Saturday, August 28th, I left my place around 1:15am to beat evacuation traffic out of the city. Thankful that I did! According to the news there was incredibly horrific traffic later that morning. The goal was to get to the west of Baton Rouge and sleep at a rest area along the way. At about 6:00am I continued my journey and ended up in the Dallas/Forth Worth area to ride out the storm. Little did we know, we would all be out of town for nearly two weeks.
While I was evacuated I was able to work from “home” (hotel), eat some pretty great food, and see some friends. I even got to see my old pal from high school, Damon! It had been nearly 10 years since last we saw each other so that was a great reunion. There is a barbeque place I go to at the DFW airport called Cousins BBQ. I was pleasantly surprised that their brick and mortar location was less than a mile away from my hotel, so I made the trek over and enjoyed some food. Evacuation wasn’t so bad, but keeping up with the news and the anticipated return to New Orleans made the last few days uneasy.
The entire city of New Orleans lost power due to some main towers having collapsed, so my building was without power for at least nine days. When I returned home there was spoiled food and a smelly living room. Before leaving home I placed towels at each window so as to soak/stop water because high winds cause water to seep through the tops of the windows. The towels were dried up when I got home, but there were spots of mold underneath. The smell should be gone soon. My minimal damage was nothing compared to what other people found upon their return.
If you are ready to pray for the people of New Orleans, please pray for a speedy repair of all damaged roofs and residences, that any new hurricanes will be withheld this year during recovery, and that city services (primarily trash) will be able to catch up and operate soon. What a mess! The people are hopeful and insurance is a blessing to say the least. Insurance is not always fun or easy to navigate, but I am grateful for my renters insurance through USAA. They have really pulled through and provided great assistance to myself and those military folks all around. Some claims are more complicated so pray for swift actions to aid in people’s recovery.
Thank you to those that prayed with me regarding whether or not I will be in New Orleans beyond September. My orders have been approved and, as it currently stands, I will be out of here around April 2022. Here’s to another six months! As we get closer I will share some of my plans beyond April, but right now they are not solidified.
Since August, the biggest life event has been the hurricane evacuation and planning to be here until April. My part-time job out in town has us off until October since the hurricane recovery has taken longer than anticipated. I have been working on a lot of logistics/planning for upcoming trips both for work and leisure before the end of the year. If you haven’t caught on, I’ve been doing a lot of traveling! Travel can be exhausting, but traveling is exciting for me.
Next month will make 10 years since I went to Marine Corps bootcamp down in Parris Island, SC. Who would have thought that I would still be in and updating this blog 10 years later? I have been blessed and most fortunate with my time and experience the last 10 years. They haven’t always been easy, but retrospect has shown me that refusal to trust God is foolish. I could not have worked some the most minute details out myself, but God has done just that. Thankful for His sovereignty and His leading in my life.
Until next time: Be strong. Love God. Love others.
rejoice.always
The Wild Ride 
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