Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Hey, Rita!
I've never experienced a hurricane before so this one will be a first. It seems that Katrina's ugly big sister, Rita, is bearing do
wn on the Texas coastline, which will effect us as we are only twenty minutes away from Galveston. I'm not sure what we are supposed to do, really, as evacuation requires money for gas and cars that don't overheat while idling. (We have TWO of those!) We are pretty close to a bunch of bayous that will probably fill up and overflow, so I'm expecting to have to put all of our "stuff" in the top shelf of the closet. If this happens, we will be starting over for the third time in two and a half years, and I'm not sure how to deal with that--should I look at it from the standpoint of, "Well, I'm already used to it...", or should I throw up my hands in despair and say, "Not again!"
Yesterday, the search for water was on. Wal-mart shelves were empty! There was no water to be had anywhere. I had two empty gallon jugs which I figured I could fill that would last us a few days if worse came to worst, but finding a water vendor that wasn't flashing "out of water" was a headache. I finally found one near our home, but I wouldn't want to do that again for the world. There will be a couple extra jugs of boiled water in our cupboards "just in case". From what I understand, Home Depot was out of plywood early yesterday, so if I WERE to want it, I couldn't get it. Oh, well! If the windows fly out, at least we will have a nicely circulating breeze to counteract the heat and humidity afterward. About an hour ago, the maintenance men of the complex dumped all the patio furniture into the pool and carried away the umbrellas and garbage cans. I took it as a sign that this could get nasty.
Karim is the one I worry about. I am certain that given the choice between staying out in the hurricane and coming indoors where it's almost safe, the lizards and cockroaches will choose our apartment as a safe haven. This will almost assuredly not sit well with my lizardophobic husband, who still thinks they are poisonous. I'm not too keen on the idea of all the "swamp things" that might slither in. At the moment, I have been watching the lizards running around helplessly back and forth on my porch in larger numbers than usual, and this morning, I found one in my jeans that jumped out, luckily, before I slipped my leg in. (It's a good thing Karim was asleep and that it was MY jeans, or we'd have packed up and moved to Seattle immediately!) I think they know instinctively that they must seek shelter. I wish we were as smart as they are.
It's beautiful outside now. Sunny. Hot. The way it's supposed to be. I guess this is where the phrase, "the calm before the storm" comes from. In a couple of days, it's not going to be so tranquil, and our lives may change forever. I can't say that I put my faith in FEMA, which doesn't help matters any. But, I hope that if things here are bad like they were in N.O., I hope that rather than cowering and crying about the situation, I can load all that anguish into helping out those who need it more than we do. Can I be a Molly Brown?
Needless to say, although we will try to defend our beloved laptop at all costs, I probably will not be posting much after Thursday. The Big, Bad Mama is supposed to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday. Wish us luck! And may God be with us all!
wn on the Texas coastline, which will effect us as we are only twenty minutes away from Galveston. I'm not sure what we are supposed to do, really, as evacuation requires money for gas and cars that don't overheat while idling. (We have TWO of those!) We are pretty close to a bunch of bayous that will probably fill up and overflow, so I'm expecting to have to put all of our "stuff" in the top shelf of the closet. If this happens, we will be starting over for the third time in two and a half years, and I'm not sure how to deal with that--should I look at it from the standpoint of, "Well, I'm already used to it...", or should I throw up my hands in despair and say, "Not again!" Yesterday, the search for water was on. Wal-mart shelves were empty! There was no water to be had anywhere. I had two empty gallon jugs which I figured I could fill that would last us a few days if worse came to worst, but finding a water vendor that wasn't flashing "out of water" was a headache. I finally found one near our home, but I wouldn't want to do that again for the world. There will be a couple extra jugs of boiled water in our cupboards "just in case". From what I understand, Home Depot was out of plywood early yesterday, so if I WERE to want it, I couldn't get it. Oh, well! If the windows fly out, at least we will have a nicely circulating breeze to counteract the heat and humidity afterward. About an hour ago, the maintenance men of the complex dumped all the patio furniture into the pool and carried away the umbrellas and garbage cans. I took it as a sign that this could get nasty.
Karim is the one I worry about. I am certain that given the choice between staying out in the hurricane and coming indoors where it's almost safe, the lizards and cockroaches will choose our apartment as a safe haven. This will almost assuredly not sit well with my lizardophobic husband, who still thinks they are poisonous. I'm not too keen on the idea of all the "swamp things" that might slither in. At the moment, I have been watching the lizards running around helplessly back and forth on my porch in larger numbers than usual, and this morning, I found one in my jeans that jumped out, luckily, before I slipped my leg in. (It's a good thing Karim was asleep and that it was MY jeans, or we'd have packed up and moved to Seattle immediately!) I think they know instinctively that they must seek shelter. I wish we were as smart as they are.
It's beautiful outside now. Sunny. Hot. The way it's supposed to be. I guess this is where the phrase, "the calm before the storm" comes from. In a couple of days, it's not going to be so tranquil, and our lives may change forever. I can't say that I put my faith in FEMA, which doesn't help matters any. But, I hope that if things here are bad like they were in N.O., I hope that rather than cowering and crying about the situation, I can load all that anguish into helping out those who need it more than we do. Can I be a Molly Brown?
Needless to say, although we will try to defend our beloved laptop at all costs, I probably will not be posting much after Thursday. The Big, Bad Mama is supposed to make landfall late Friday or early Saturday. Wish us luck! And may God be with us all!
