36 Hours . . .

And counting.

That is how long I've been without power in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Growing up out in the country in south Alabama, I was quite used to a storm of any magnitude knocking out the power for hours or sometimes even days.  After Hurricane Opal we didn't have power for a full week.  But we were equipped for it.  We had lots of camping supplies, and a deep freezer that we could load up with ice.  It was an inconvenience, to be sure, but not that bad.

Now I live 350 miles inland, downtown in a decent sized city.  You just don't expect a hurricane to knock power out for several days.  Ivan was a monster last fall, but all that was around here was a little wind and rain.  But Katrina was still a category one storm even this far in.  I know that there are trees down all over the county and utilities workers have been working non-stop since Monday night, and one residential block (I don't think the people across the road from me ever lost power) isn't high on the priority list, but still, it's been almost two days.

I hate to sound like I'm whining about a little inconvenience with what's going on in Louisiana and Mississippi, but right now I am concerned about getting my life back in order before thinking about any of that.