So far, not so bad

Sorry to all that I haven't posted in a couple of days.

Just a little update to my friends who may have left town and wonder what's going on. Figured I'd write a little something while we still have power.

First, anyone with access to DirecTV can watch WDSU coverage live on Channel 361.

As of now (midnight CDT Monday), the weather has not detoriated all that much in Metairie. I did go to work for a few hours, but was allowed to leave at about 9 p.m. Many of the people who went in tonight stayed. I am going to try and head back in the morning, assuming the wind won't blow me off the road and there's no flooding. So far, we haven't received too much rain. My guess is less than a half-inch.

UPDATE (2 a.m. Monday): Conditions remain the same as two hours ago. Little rain, and we still have power. DirecTV still has not gone out. (Knock on wood.) Winds have slightly increased to about 30 mph, with gusts in the 40-45 range.

We had a couple of mini feeder bands come through, but I don't think the wind ever reached 40 mph. I'm sure you all are watching the news, but it looks as if we'll be spared the brunt of Gooostav. I felt confident it was the right thing to do to keep my family here, despite our mayor's over-the-top speech last night that we were all going to die if we stayed. (I will definitely be doing a blog on that in the coming days, but I don't have time to waste my keystrokes on that right now.)

The power is still on, as still is DirecTV. It hasn't even gone out a bit, yet, but I suppose that will change in the coming hours. I will be surprised if the power doesn't go out for at least a little while. (Although I was surprised that I was able to leave work. I fully intended on staying there tonight.)

We are hoping this takes even a miniscule jog to the west. Even 20 or 30 more miles than the projected landfall could save the Westbank from some severe flooding. Here in Metairie, we aren't expecting much water, and it's beginning to look like we won't even have sustained hurricane-force winds.

Before I sign off, everyone should know that we're all OK. The newsroom seemed to be in good spirits, and I did not get a feel that the managers seemed to be worried all that much. In fact, I believe half of them had left before I did. Now, tomorrow could be another story, but I don't think so.

All of you stay safe, and keep watching. We'll be OK, even though this is "the Mother of all storms."

I will try to update tomorrow afternoon from work, assuming we have power and internet access. I am thinking about you all, and hoping you can come home soon.

God Bless.