Smugness is finding the $5 and under section of http://www.bn.com/ when you have a $50 gift card for your birthday. With $6 tacked on to that, I ordered nine books with free shipping. All brand-spanking-new books, sans suspicious yellow stains, odd smells, and/or mouse poop. (I found out I'm allergic to mouse poop in college from mysterious used books.) They should get here by Tuesday of next week, if not before. How frickin' awesome is that? I'm fighting not to grin like an idiot or do a pointless booty dance in my computer chair. I feel like He-Man must've felt after winning a battle. There must have been a reason for that silly looking grin of his, right? Oh, yeah....
*grin*
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Post Ike
I can't believe I can say I've lived through a hurricane. I think, I was in a hurricane, what? And then I remember Saturday around 4 a.m., hearing the wind blowing outside our apartment, hearing things being picked up and hurled outside our windows. And then I know, yes, I've lived through a hurricane. I knew those winds were around 100 mph and not just 80 to 85 mph. And I didn't dare look out the window to see the devastation the winds were causing because I was afraid of that being the moment something came crashing through the glass. We moved to a pallet in the hallway around 2 a.m. when the winds started picking up and Natalee woke up scared. We pulled the mattress off of her bed and stuck it in the end of the hallway; she slept after that as if nothing was out of the ordinary. The power flickered on and off for a few hours before it finally went out around 4 o'clock.
When it was bright enough to see outside, the parking lot was filling with water. Leaves, twigs, and branches were (and still are) everywhere. The ground seemed preternaturally green with the leaves. Leaves and twigs were jammed between boards on the buildings and glued to cars and windows. The gutter on the neighboring building was ripped off and leaned against our neighbors' porch at a low slant. Nothing crashed through our windows, thank God, but an ornamental tree maybe a foot and a half away from our front window lost the top half of its main trunk. Its secondary trunk is still attached, but the winds were so crazy and violent that the little trunk was twisted around and around before it finally shredded and fell over. With its top trunk sticking up into the air broken and the other trunk and branches leaning down to touch the ground, it looks like the tree is flipping us off.
It rained hard for 12 to 13 hours straight. We got about 18 inches of rain in less than a day. The water in the parking lot was starting to spill over the curbs and was reaching over wheels when a group of residents pulled open a storm drain in the middle of the lot. I thought it was the worst kind of stupid at the time because all the debris would start washing down into the drain and possibly block it up worse, but I was wrong and the open drain kept the lot from flooding the whole complex. We've always had a problem with Natalee's closet leaking when it rains hard. This time the water reached almost to the door of her room, covering 3/4 of her floor. Where the exterior rebuilding crew hammered holes through our wall and cracked portions of it, water leaked through onto our bedroom floor under our bed.
Being without power got old fast. I grew up in a family that went without power for a few days at a time when we couldn't afford our electric bill, but I don't remember it ever being this hard dealing with the food situation. Or dealing with the amount of things to be done with little ability to do any of them. And we usually had a phone line growing up even if we didn't have power, or vice versa. It was rarely both. But we have digital phone service now, so when the cable/internet goes down, so does our phone. And the cell phones all over were (and I think still are) in digital roam. So we lacked a way to contact our family to tell them we were okay (without incurring huge charges) or to check on family or friends who weathered the storm. Matt has a tv/radio/lantern combo that we watched TV on for updates on the storm and the power. We have windup radios to listen to the news and music on, one of which we loaned to a neighbor who had no way to hear the news about boiling and conserving water and other updates. We napped a lot in the humidity and rain. I finished Kara's baby shower invitations with embellishments. Natalee decorated an envelope, too. We took a walk but had to turn back almost immediately because of downed powerlines and debris blocking the way. We tried to leave in the car around dinnertime to see if there was anything open, to survey the damage, etc. We got about 50 feet before we had to turn back - huge knocked down trees blocking our way, and power lines dangling from posts and trailing across the street like jungle vines or ribbons. I got terribly antsy, being trapped inside the apartment with all the windows closed because of the rain and no air circulating, and so many things to be done and no way to do them. We finally made a stirfry on the butane-powered single burner stove I bought Thursday. It seemed sinfully luxurious to eat a hot meal. We finished it off with melting ice cream from the freezer. We caved and called family to check in briefly. And just as we were settling in with our melted ice cream, watching the news in black and white on a three inch screen, the power came back on.
We have been so truly blessed throughout this. We are all safe and well, as is my family. My grandfather is still without power, but has a generator. My mother's house didn't lose power during the storm, but yesterday when they fixed the lines so all of their neighbors got their power back, they lost it. They have a generator, too, though. Gas lines are awful, but more and more stations are getting their power back, so more will be opening. Please understand, when we got our power back after 18 hours without, there were still 16,000 people without it, and closer to 2 million in Houston without. Only after last night did our town get most of its power back. We were able to buy groceries Sunday. We felt guilty, able to buy food that has to be cooked, when so many people are struggling to find food that doesn't have to be heated, or can be heated on a little charcoal grill. There were no frozen or cold items at the store. None. No milk, no eggs, no meat, nothing. But the line to check out was still 30 minutes long. A small portion of our town never lost power, so for my birthday on Sunday we were able to get Arby's sandwiches through the drive-thru after waiting half an hour. (That's all they were serving - Arby's roast beef sandwiches in three sizes, fries, and soft drinks. Chili's was packed with a line out the door and down the sidewalk in the late afternoon.)
Matt (and I to a smaller degree) spent the past few days pulling up carpets, drying up the wet padding and the concrete below, airing rooms out to get rid of the mildew stink, shifting furniture around to accomodate the carpet clean up. Matt still doesn't have work today. And Willis ISD, where I work now, is closed through the end of the week. I'm hoping nothing terrible has happened to the school where I work, or to any of the kids or employees. I know Willis residents are still without power or phones. Hopefully they have running water and sewage. So many people are without even that. It's seemed like a vacation, all being home together, and sleeping in, that I occasionally forget the reason. I feel like a terrible person for that, watching the news and seeing what so many people are dealing with and going without, but there's not much I can do to change that. We don't have money to share - I'm not getting paid for the work we're missing. We've offered our home to friends and family and coworkers with no result. There's not much else we can do. So I'm enjoying this time with my family and thanking God with a very sincere heart that we have so very much and that we made it through the storm without harm.
I've been teasing Matt that getting our power back was God's birthday present to me. Because He loves me. Don't know about Matt. :-p
When it was bright enough to see outside, the parking lot was filling with water. Leaves, twigs, and branches were (and still are) everywhere. The ground seemed preternaturally green with the leaves. Leaves and twigs were jammed between boards on the buildings and glued to cars and windows. The gutter on the neighboring building was ripped off and leaned against our neighbors' porch at a low slant. Nothing crashed through our windows, thank God, but an ornamental tree maybe a foot and a half away from our front window lost the top half of its main trunk. Its secondary trunk is still attached, but the winds were so crazy and violent that the little trunk was twisted around and around before it finally shredded and fell over. With its top trunk sticking up into the air broken and the other trunk and branches leaning down to touch the ground, it looks like the tree is flipping us off.
It rained hard for 12 to 13 hours straight. We got about 18 inches of rain in less than a day. The water in the parking lot was starting to spill over the curbs and was reaching over wheels when a group of residents pulled open a storm drain in the middle of the lot. I thought it was the worst kind of stupid at the time because all the debris would start washing down into the drain and possibly block it up worse, but I was wrong and the open drain kept the lot from flooding the whole complex. We've always had a problem with Natalee's closet leaking when it rains hard. This time the water reached almost to the door of her room, covering 3/4 of her floor. Where the exterior rebuilding crew hammered holes through our wall and cracked portions of it, water leaked through onto our bedroom floor under our bed.
Being without power got old fast. I grew up in a family that went without power for a few days at a time when we couldn't afford our electric bill, but I don't remember it ever being this hard dealing with the food situation. Or dealing with the amount of things to be done with little ability to do any of them. And we usually had a phone line growing up even if we didn't have power, or vice versa. It was rarely both. But we have digital phone service now, so when the cable/internet goes down, so does our phone. And the cell phones all over were (and I think still are) in digital roam. So we lacked a way to contact our family to tell them we were okay (without incurring huge charges) or to check on family or friends who weathered the storm. Matt has a tv/radio/lantern combo that we watched TV on for updates on the storm and the power. We have windup radios to listen to the news and music on, one of which we loaned to a neighbor who had no way to hear the news about boiling and conserving water and other updates. We napped a lot in the humidity and rain. I finished Kara's baby shower invitations with embellishments. Natalee decorated an envelope, too. We took a walk but had to turn back almost immediately because of downed powerlines and debris blocking the way. We tried to leave in the car around dinnertime to see if there was anything open, to survey the damage, etc. We got about 50 feet before we had to turn back - huge knocked down trees blocking our way, and power lines dangling from posts and trailing across the street like jungle vines or ribbons. I got terribly antsy, being trapped inside the apartment with all the windows closed because of the rain and no air circulating, and so many things to be done and no way to do them. We finally made a stirfry on the butane-powered single burner stove I bought Thursday. It seemed sinfully luxurious to eat a hot meal. We finished it off with melting ice cream from the freezer. We caved and called family to check in briefly. And just as we were settling in with our melted ice cream, watching the news in black and white on a three inch screen, the power came back on.
We have been so truly blessed throughout this. We are all safe and well, as is my family. My grandfather is still without power, but has a generator. My mother's house didn't lose power during the storm, but yesterday when they fixed the lines so all of their neighbors got their power back, they lost it. They have a generator, too, though. Gas lines are awful, but more and more stations are getting their power back, so more will be opening. Please understand, when we got our power back after 18 hours without, there were still 16,000 people without it, and closer to 2 million in Houston without. Only after last night did our town get most of its power back. We were able to buy groceries Sunday. We felt guilty, able to buy food that has to be cooked, when so many people are struggling to find food that doesn't have to be heated, or can be heated on a little charcoal grill. There were no frozen or cold items at the store. None. No milk, no eggs, no meat, nothing. But the line to check out was still 30 minutes long. A small portion of our town never lost power, so for my birthday on Sunday we were able to get Arby's sandwiches through the drive-thru after waiting half an hour. (That's all they were serving - Arby's roast beef sandwiches in three sizes, fries, and soft drinks. Chili's was packed with a line out the door and down the sidewalk in the late afternoon.)
Matt (and I to a smaller degree) spent the past few days pulling up carpets, drying up the wet padding and the concrete below, airing rooms out to get rid of the mildew stink, shifting furniture around to accomodate the carpet clean up. Matt still doesn't have work today. And Willis ISD, where I work now, is closed through the end of the week. I'm hoping nothing terrible has happened to the school where I work, or to any of the kids or employees. I know Willis residents are still without power or phones. Hopefully they have running water and sewage. So many people are without even that. It's seemed like a vacation, all being home together, and sleeping in, that I occasionally forget the reason. I feel like a terrible person for that, watching the news and seeing what so many people are dealing with and going without, but there's not much I can do to change that. We don't have money to share - I'm not getting paid for the work we're missing. We've offered our home to friends and family and coworkers with no result. There's not much else we can do. So I'm enjoying this time with my family and thanking God with a very sincere heart that we have so very much and that we made it through the storm without harm.
I've been teasing Matt that getting our power back was God's birthday present to me. Because He loves me. Don't know about Matt. :-p
Friday, September 12, 2008
Ike
Friggin', stupid hurricane crap...
(moment of silence for bleeped out rant)
.....
.....
....
..
.
Hopefully I'll have more to tell you after the storm. Hopefully I'll have power after the storm. Cross your fingers and say some prayers for us, please.
hmmurrrphretickingschmurfinmuckerstinkingoinwidoutpoweronmybirthdayikeblurginflurpin...........
(moment of silence for bleeped out rant)
.....
.....
....
..
.
Hopefully I'll have more to tell you after the storm. Hopefully I'll have power after the storm. Cross your fingers and say some prayers for us, please.
hmmurrrphretickingschmurfinmuckerstinkingoinwidoutpoweronmybirthdayikeblurginflurpin...........
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