Update from Southeast Texas

Water Cooler
#1

I’ve been quiet on here for the last week or two, and I wanted to check in.

Those of you who are familiar might remember I’m in College Station, Texas, which is about an hour and a half north of Houston. Harvey shut things down around here for about a week and I had my sister, her husband, and her 3 month old staying with me from Houston. With my 9 month old, it was a week built around baby schedules and cooking.

Good news, though. Everything is perfectly fine here. We ended up being the very edge of “dry” civilization and the logistic point for Houston response. So no real damage this far out. My family is back in Houston and doing fine; their house didn’t flood at all and they got out quite early.

In other news, I’ve finished my final data collection for my dissertation, which was the other reason I went dark. (It’s not easy running 2-3 participants a day with 3 hour shifts). I’m in data analysis and writing mode and have about 85 pages of dissertation ready. After I finish this bit and get its paper written, I should be at around 110-120 pages before I’m finished.

Now all I need to do is get a draft ready in the next week-and-a-half. :sweat:

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#2

Good to know that you and your family are doing ok!

#3

Great to hear all’s well! I used to live in Bastrop (about halfway between Austin and College Station, for anyone familiar with that part of Texas.) I heard the Colorado was crazy high out there, so it’s great to know that College Station manged through things okay.

#4

Bastrop’s pretty. A few years ago, I actually ended up driving through there on the way back from Austin right ahead of the big fires that hammered the pines. They were beautiful beforehand, so it was hard seeing such an immediate before/after shot of them. :disappointed:

#6

Glad that you did and that you’re safe. Must have been an awful time for everyone. Thanks for checking in.

#7

I’m rooting for you!

PS - I remember the Bastrop fires. I live over an hour away from there and I could smell the smoke.

PPS - I’m also glad that you and yours are doing well.

#8

So what’s the update? How are things going now?

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#9

Well, that draft isn’t ready yet. I know, everyone’s shocked.

I’m making really good progress on it and am about 2 chapters away, but I’ve had lots of lab and parenting responsibilities.

I’ve also recently upgraded my laptop, so that’s been helping me get stuff accomplished.

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#10

:joy:

How are things around Houston now? Are they getting back to any semblance of normality?

#11

As far as I’m aware, it really depends on how it really hit you. Those who lost a lot are still rebuilding heavily. My sister and her family escaped unscathed, so their day-to-day is pretty similar, except that they’re spending a lot of their off-work hours doing relief and repair work.

I haven’t had as much chance to see for myself, as my calendar has been pulling me towards Austin and Dallas this month, but I imagine I’ll get a chance to see more of it firsthand after things settle a bit here.

At least Houston has the advantage of having a large group of pretty wealthy citizens, so they have an effect on relief efforts, as they want to clear up a lot of the most notable spaces. The real question is how some more the more isolated neighborhoods are coming along.

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