The above picture is of myself and the interns at the National Christmas tree lighting Dec. 7.
I'm in the middle of putting out our magazine at the SPLC, and my three interns, Marnette, Karla and April, all left me last week. So our newsroom is a lot quieter these days. My friend Abbie (who I share a cubicle with) has gone home for Christmas already, so actually it's just me. I go home (again) on Friday, for my birthday on the 23rd and Christmas. My dates in Louisiana/Mississippi will roughly go as follows:
Dec. 22-Dec. 23 New Orleans
Dec. 24-Dec. 26 Natchez
Dec. 27-Jan. 1 New Orleans
With a stop or two in Baton Rouge, of course.
My friend Lauren Tanner got married Dec. 16 weekend, and I was lucky enough to catch a late flight into Baton Rouge Friday night in time to be there. The wedding was great, and it was good to see so many friends from Natchez. I didn't leave until late afternoon on Sunday, so I got to spend some time with Breland. Leaving wasn't hard, it helped knowing I'd be back in less than five days.
Christmas in the district is interesting. Everyone is a.) working to get stuff done, particularly financial documents, before the new year. b.) running around buying christmas presents and c.) attending holiday parties. I've been doing A, B and C while negotiating a rather hectic travel schedule. Needless to say a lot of my Christmas gifts have been ordered online to save time.
Today I ran to the White House and stopped at the Christmas tree. Around the tree there are smaller trees for all the 50 states and other various U.S. Protectorates, etc. Louisiana's tree is covered with clear ornaments, inside of which are neatly written pieces of paper that say "Rebuild New Orleans" and expressions of thanks to every state in the union for their help during Katrina.
Hope to see everyone over the holidays. Call me at 225.978.7132.
