Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Link this
I should just go ahead and add the National Hurricane Center's Web site to my links list.
Current mood: Sleepy
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:34 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
Monday, September 27, 2004
Life is (somewhat) back to normal
Good news: Power's back! Power's back!
Bad news: Air conditioning unit outside making weird noise; washer dripping water underneath.Current mood: Full
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:52 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
We're fine
I finally fell asleep at around 5:30 a.m. Sunday. It was during the worst of Hurricane Jeanne, but I couldn't hold my eyelids open any longer, after having been up since 7 a.m. Saturday morning.
It was loud outside. It sounded like a war zone, with swishing trees, relentless, howling winds and the occasional explosion of a electrical transformer outside. From what I could tell, we experienced up to 70 mph wind gusts. Even 12 hours after Jeanne passed, we were still getting wind gusts up to 40 mph, to my amazement. When would it end?
But we and our house made it out just fine. There were a few branches and limbs in our front and back yards. Two oak tree limbs in our back yard that had been damaged by Hurricane Charley, which were just barely hanging on, came completely down. Fortunately, they didn't hit anything. They're too big for us to move, so it's just a matter of having someone come out and take them away. The pool screen, to my relief, is completely intact.
A section of the next-door neighbor's privacy fence, which was repaired less than a week ago, was lying on its side this morning. I could see into their house from their back patio.
We lost power at 10 a.m. Sunday. We spent Sunday night by candlelight, listening to the Buccaneers game on a battery-powered boombox. It was either the game or relentless Jeanne news on every other station. At that point, I was sick of hearing the same news over and over again and just wanted some normal programming. For dinner, we had what the BF had prepared for us for work earlier in the week: grilled chicken breasts, canned corn and vegetarian baked beans -- cold, because we couldn't heat them up. I was starving, so they tasted great. The fridge was getting warmer by the hour, and we were trying to eat the perishables before they went bad. I think I've had my fill of fat-free yogurt cups.
One good thing about not being able to go anywhere was that I ate well yesterday, which made up for the day before, when I had fettucine alfredo The Company had ordered in for the staff.
I'm typing this from a local Internet cafe. Hopefully, our power will be back by the time we get home.
Current mood: Awake
Posted by Lynniechan @ 02:28 PM EST [Link] [2 shoutouts]
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Flash -- and boom
Another explosion outside. I flinched.
Current mood: Awake
Posted by Lynniechan @ 03:12 AM EST [Link] [1 shoutout]
Jeanne approaches
The winds are whipping through the old oak trees in our back yard, where they relentlessly howl and sway back and forth as if pleading for their lives. Their pleas have gotten louder and louder by the hour, to the point that I'm deeply concerned both for them and our recently repaired pool screen -- and I'm not typically a worrier. It's loud out there.
What's most troubling is that the wind isn't even supposed to be at its worst for about another six hours. Jeanne has the ferocity of Charley and the size of Frances, which is the worst of both. I've heard at least one explosion in the neighborhood, and I'm shocked we still have power and cable.
With the two previous storms, I was at work, in a large, institutional, windowless office that blinded me from the fury outside. I'm home for this one, and I can hear and see everything going on in my yard and house, which is testing my nerves.
Kitty is resting comfortably on my belly as I type this. Amber -- who's (mercifully, in a way) deaf and can't hear the chaos going on outside -- and the BF have managed to fall asleep. But I can't.
Current mood: Worried
Posted by Lynniechan @ 02:58 AM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Oh no!
Current mood: Tired
Posted by Lynniechan @ 09:18 PM EST [Link] [1 shoutout]
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
My demographic has officially been left behind
Double-take while channel-surfing: 21-year-old Surreal Life roomie/washup Ryan Starr didn't know who Flavor Flav was when she first met the rest of her housemates, but she immediately recognized and was awestruck by Jordan Knight of New Kids on the Block.
Current mood: Old
Posted by Lynniechan @ 09:14 PM EST [Link] [1 shoutout]
Thursday, September 9, 2004
Ours is to reason...
... why hurricanes keep coming this way.
Current mood: Awake
Posted by Lynniechan @ 05:50 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
This blows
Current mood: Weary
Posted by Lynniechan @ 02:46 AM EST [Link] [5 shoutouts]
Ventures into parts unknown
I've finally taken the first wobbly, baby steps toward a new career and better future, which was my 2004 new year's resolution.
First of all, I'm helping to coach a high school rowing team. So far, I've only had one session with the kids, thanks to the two hurricanes that have washed out nearly two weeks' worth of practices. Tomorrow will be my second day. Why am I doing this, considering I've never had an interest in teaching or working with kids? Well, the coaching experience could perhaps lead to either a full-time or part-time job as a coach at an area club or high school. There always has been a shortage of rowing coaches -- most people would rather just row themselves -- so I don't think I'd have too much difficulty finding a job as a coach, assuming I had some experience for the resume. This assistant coaching gig, plus a few USRowing clinics under my belt, would be enough. I know the head coach well, and he nearly begged me for my time. Plus, it keeps me around something I love, considering I'm about to quit rowing for year, which leads me to my next subject...
I've also enrolled in school. Massage therapy school. I start at the end of this month, and the program is approximately a year long. I'll take day classes while continuing to work at night. That's why I'll have to give up rowing for a while. I've rowed three days a week for five years, and I dread giving up something I love so much. But I need time to study (and sleep).
As for massage: I've had many months to evaluate the things I enjoy in life, and what I could take from those and turn into a rewarding career. I enjoy working out, I enjoy listening to others, I enjoy learning, I enjoy science, I enjoy biology, I enjoy relaxing. I'm also a mellow person by nature. Massage -- specifically, sports massage, which is what I'll concentrate on -- just seems a good fit for me. All of that, combined with my desire to get out of my current career as soon as possible and be my own boss one day, is what's behind this. (Bashing my current job would easily become my longest post to date, but I really don't want to dwell on the negative.) My hope is to open up my own sports massage practice at some point. Or perhaps I can hook up with a local sports team. That may be many years down the road, but at least I'm now on that road, instead of riding around and around a cul-de-sac. The best thing about school is, I have no hesitations or reservations about it, the student loans I've just taken out or my career about-face. I had the usual fear-of-the-unknown butterflies during my school entrance interviews, but I haven't and do not question what I'm about to do. It just feels right.
Current mood: Anxious
Posted by Lynniechan @ 02:33 AM EST [Link] [1 shoutout]
Where is the pride?
If I've taken one thing from the recent natural disasters, it's that when you don't have electricity at home, it doesn't matter whether or not (1) you've blow-dried your hair, (2) you've put on any makeup or (3) you're wearing shorts, a T-shirt and flip-flops to work.
I never used to leave the house without at least straightening my hair and troweling on a layer of foundation -- even for a quick trip to the grocery store -- for fear of frightening innocent children and animals with my bird-nest hair and pock-marked face. It would easily take me an hour and a half to get ready for a casual dinner with friends. I wouldn't consider myself a diva; it's 10 parts insecurity, sprinkled with a dash of anal-retentiveness.
But Hurricane Charley gave me an excuse not to care, so I quickly adapted. When you have approximately 15 minutes after you take your cold shower before you start sweating through your clothes, you learn to cut the prep time down to the essentials: Brush hair and teeth, dress and quickly get into your air-conditioned car.
And after a week without power, I found that your friends and co-workers treat you the same whether or not you've painted on your face today.
Current mood: Mellow
Current music: !!! | Hello? Is This Thing On?Posted by Lynniechan @ 01:37 AM EST [Link] [1 shoutout]
Monday, September 6, 2004
Funny photo
Current mood: Munchy
Posted by Lynniechan @ 11:47 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
Relief
Power's back, reports the BF from home. Perhaps it's temporary -- again -- but I'll take it!
Meanwhile, these hurricanes are doing a number on my waistline. I've been eating for free for the past two days, courtesy of the company and the hotel at which I stayed. The bad thing is, it's been either mess-hall slop piled high in a white styrofoam container, or plates of pasta with alfredo sauce, breadsticks, muffins, danishes and iceberg salads. Yum, but ugh.
Current mood: Bloated
Posted by Lynniechan @ 10:44 PM EST [Link] [No shoutouts]
Spoke too soon
We lost power this morning.
Yes, this morning. After the worst of the storm had passed.
That's worse than losing it during the storm.
Current mood: Busy
Posted by Lynniechan @ 06:03 PM EST [Link] [1 shoutout]
Good news
We had a chance to break away this afternoon, so we drove home to check out the house before it got dark.
Everything's fine. And we actually jumped up in the air when we discovered we had power and cable!
Current mood: Relieved
Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:29 AM EST [Link] [1 shoutout]
Sunday, September 5, 2004
The latest
Frances is traversing the peninsula of Florida now, passing south of here on its way to the west coast and north of Tampa.
I just took a peek outside, and from where I am, it's not terrible and frightening like Charley. It's a steady, hard wind, which isn't supposed to let up for another six hours or so.
So it's not nearly as intense as Charley, just unrelenting.
What's just as unrelenting is the 24/7 weather nuts, standing in their rain slickers, telling us over and over again that it's windy and rainy while holding onto their hoods and hats. The east-coast beaches must be crawling with TV and radio reporters, fighting and bumping into each other over every square inch of space.
My BF and I have been put up in a downtown Marriott, courtesy of our employer, since our power is out at our house. I'm thankful for that. The pets are at my folks', who don't have power either but are otherwise safe.
Between Charley and Frances, the hotel we're at has sustained some damage. There's a three story-high patch of siding that's come off the parking-lot side of the building. It looks as though the top layer of skin has been ripped off, revealing the flesh underneath.
We are in room 911. I don't know if that means anything.
At 6:30 this morning, the manager came on the PA and requested everyone to leave their rooms and come down to the second-floor meeting halls. Apparently, a few windows were leaking, and there was water in some stairwells. We found a couple of chairs and got comfortable. The hotel, to my glee, is also a pet-friendly shelter, so I was entertained by the pooches that had come down to the meeting halls with their owners. One woman had a fluffy, golden chow mix and two beautiful great danes. I was like a kid in a candy store. The great danes had to have been 4 feet tall at the shoulder. Another woman jokingly said, "I didn't know they let horses in here." The danes were incredibly well behaved; they found a comfy spot next to their owner and sat quietly as guests came to pet them. I was entranced by them like a kid furiously rapping on the keypad of a Gameboy. I love big dogs.
About 20 minutes later, those whose rooms were not near the damaged side of the building -- that included us, thank goodness -- were allowed to return to their rooms, but not after being given a free breakfast buffet. That was worth the inconvenience to me! I'm such a whore for free food.
Meanwhile, I'm back at work. We returned here early this morning, trying to beat the worst of Frances before we got trapped at the hotel. I think I'll be here until early Monday morning.
Current mood: Bored
Posted by Lynniechan @ 12:53 PM EST [Link]
Thursday, September 2, 2004
Waiting for tomorrow
Hurricane Frances still on course to hit here Saturday evening.
I'm still not scared, just taking it much more seriously now.
I think the constant barrage of news coverage is freaking people out. Switch on the radio, and you hear the announcer's voice crack, himself one step away from a panic. Turn on the TV, and you see nothing but evacuation orders and routes, lines of cars at gas stations, crawls along the bottom of the screen, maps and forecasts updating information by the second. It's information overload.
It's good that technology has allowed us to instantly update information. But the news alerts every two minutes -- and the inescapable exposure to this overwhelming level of information -- just serves to make people jittery instead of focused and calm.
Many of us have taken every necessary step to prepare for the storm, whether it be running out for ice, stocking up on supplies, food and water, calling relatives, taping windows and bringing plants inside.
That's really all one can do.
I used to live my life by the Golden Rule: Do unto others.
But in the past few years, my philosophy on life has changed, and the past 48 hours have served to reinforce how I feel:
Worry and be secure in what you do have control over, and don't give yourself an ulcer worrying about what you can't.
Current mood: Resolved
Posted by Lynniechan @ 05:09 PM EST [Link]
Charley aftermath
Pictures from last month's hurricane are here, just beating Hurricane Frances, which is currently on a collision course for Orlando.
Everyone is scared out of their minds but me. I'm still not totally convinced it will pass directly overhead. As of now, it's still about two days away. Which means it has plenty of time to turn north or south of us. Oh, I'm pretty sure it will still storm hard here; I just think it's perhaps too early to be a doomsayer. Remember how Charley was supposed to hit Tampa, then hours before its predicted landfall suddenly veered away? Frances may do the same.
Then again, I could be dead wrong.
Have I been lulled into a false sense of security, or is everyone overly sensitive after Charley?
Current mood: Calm, but why?
Current music: Backlash | LodestarPosted by Lynniechan @ 12:21 AM EST [Link]