:mattLandia:

I hate tornadoes. Always have. They scare the crap out of me. Not as much as earthquakes, but pretty damn close. I have recurring nightmares about tornadoes approaching across the horizon, and I'm stuck, helpless to hide or get away. I wake up in cold sweat, with nothing but hate for tornadoes.

So, it's no small thing to have a level F-2 tornado miss my neighborhood by just a few blocks -- in downtown Atlanta. It hit last night around 9:30 pm, doing heavy damage to downtown and to Cabbagetown a few miles away. Thankfully, there has been no damage to my building, or any buildings in my neighborhood that I am aware of. We were blessed.

Last night and today has been eerily quiet. The halls in the old loft building are pitch black, we are without power, and for awhile, without water. My phone died last night, so when I woke up today, I felt completely isolated. Although the damage to the city was minor compared to Katrina, Andrew and what not, I still was struck deeply at the feeling of desolation. I had a twinge of needless panic when I realized I had no drinking water, couldn't find my flashlight, had no food in the loft to speak of and no way to reach friends and family. Imagine if this had been worse -- an earthquake, a bombing, etc. It's time to put some real thought into how to better prepare myself for that unlikely, yet unforgiving event.

Anyway, I am safe, even though still without power for another few days most likely. I'm writing this entry from my laptop batteries, on a cell card. Thanks so much to all of you who have called or texted me to inquire if I was safe or not. I feel blessed to have so many people who care enough to check in!

I took a walk today and took photos of the damage downtown...