Day 22 (Thr., Sept. 22)

On the wall of my room there's a cork board. On it there's a group of postcard from Houston and Galveston that I received this past summer. Looking at them today made me scared for what's going to happen. The questions of "what if?" kept brewing on my mind. Morning reports kept saying the hurricane is going to strike down near Galveston. Only God knows what's going to happen and how many lives are going to be changed and scarred by this event. Two postcards that stand out are the photos of the Bishop's Palace and Sacred Heart Cathedral. Both landmarks stand facing each other on the corner of Broadway and 14th. Galveston was a wealthy place that gave Houston rivalry one hundred and five years ago, a television show mentioned this morning. That was when Galveston was described as the Wall Street of the Southwest. Then the unnamed hurricane swept through the island, broke bridges connecting it to the mainland and people were stuck there as almost everything was destroyed. It's scary to think about what could happen this weekend. I love Galveston. It's a peaceful place where you can drive your 4x4 on the beach as you enjoy the setting sun. It's a family place where you can sit on the deck and watch a movie while sipping on a coke and digging on some chips.Overall, the island is a great place to be. A place where you can splash around and submerge into a wave of summer. It's going to be painful to see what will happen.

The radio, television and internet reports said something that gave everyone hope today. Rita went from a category five to a four as its wind speeds dropped down to 150 miles per hour. Some reports say that it's now slightly moving toward Louisiana and that it might calm down to a category three by landfall. Those are preliminary reports as it's still to early to tell. Whenever, wherever and however it reaches land, it will be strong enough to cause chaos. So, the hope is minimal. We are 24 hours away from strike down. And all we can do is watch. Wait, watch and pray.

Today was kind of a weird day at work. First, I had to face the music as I got in trouble for going to Key West yesterday in search for post-Rita coverage. I felt really bad for what happened. All I can say is that I learned a big lesson because this was the first time I was put to the test as far as newsroom politics are concerned. I guess that's exactly what internships are for, so you can learn how things run in the real life. So that when you get hired you don't get fired for doing something stupid. It was a good lesson. A lesson that I could have not learned in a classroom, that's for sure.

I finished my shift by going to a high school football practice. It was fun being at a football game fore the first time this season. I really miss doing high school, college and pro football. So this was a good way to visit one of the reasons why I got into journalism to begin w/ -- sports.

I had fun and I ended the day by shooting the above photo as the team gathered to do their practice-ending break. It was funny how the star running back of the team showed his dislike for a teammate's helmet and uniform stench. Haha! I found my way to the perfect place at the perfect time. All I was looking for was to get a photo of the guy's shoulders as they all put their helmets in the air. I got lucky.

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