Final near-term Katrina mass mailing

Hello from Austin, Texas!

Cat and I arrived safe last night in Austin after a long, long, drive. Final numbers are as follows: 1579 miles driven in total since Sunday August 28th; 1107 miles driven since Monday, September 5th.

Most of today we spent securing housing. We eventually followed my brother's advice and used an apartment locator. The second place we looked at was a keeper- the rent is cheaper, the neighborhood is good, and we can move in tomorrow. Shelli, the apartment complex lady, gave us a break on moving in. First, she waived the move-in fee and application fee (both of which are totally alien to my mind, having never before really lived in an apartment complex), and we don't need to pay the first month's rent. She asked us if there was anything else we needed, and I asked for a place to get cheap furniture. She spontaneously offered us a couch.

We're also getting the power turned on tomorrow, so that's a plus. Now that we had a place to sleep, we needed a place to sleep, so we went and got a futon.

The awesome Nikki at Beds, Beds, and More (as seen on MTV's The Real World, the marquee informed us) helped us out and gave us a discount once she heard we were from New Orleans. She also threw in two pillows and a beanbag, so once again the kindness a stranger showed us pressed the same emotional button. Me and Cat both got hugs from this total stranger and all three of us were holding back tears. She also told us that their current stocks were low because she had sent many mattresses to Houston for the relief effort.

We're not due to get phone/cable/internet turned on until next Thursday, so my email access will be intermittent. But don't fear, as this is Austin and many places have free wireless. (For all I know, one of our neighbors may be giving away wireless.) Until then, call my cell. Cat is using a pre-paid cellphone and has to switch her phone number to become a local one, so be advised.

If anyone wants to reach us via snail mail, our new address is [Ed. Note: DELETED FOR SECURITY REASONS]

Since we've arrived at our final destination for the indefinite future, I don't think I'm going to be sending out any more mass emails. I may [Ed. Note: May, I said. More like will.] take up blogging this experience, even though Cat's the official chronicler (she's already used up two pens). If so, I'll distribute that URL when it happens. I'll also catch up on my backlog of emails, so please excuse the lateness of my replies. :)

To better times,