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Hmm... you know, it's not ALL bad!
Sep. 7th, 2004 05:26 pmI was just re-reading some old entries, and it occurred to me that I've spent a great deal of time complaining -- mostly about hurricanes. So it seemed to me that it's high time for a positive post. Because, really, I'm usually an optimistic person, and my last five (or so) entries just haven't sounded like me.
We're home, and it's been wonderful. We have power and while our pantry is a bit on the bare side, we're quite well off -- it just means having sandwiches (tunafish, PB&J, egg salad) for a few days before I can make a proper trip to the grocery and get some real food.
I'm really, really thankful that our building survived with no damage whatsoever. The trees around the complex... well, I can't say the same for them. Some are snapped, some are uprooted completely, and the ones that haven't snapped or toppled over seem to have a permanent lean to them.
But, honestly -- all of my loved ones are safe and sound, my mother's house is fine (though her grapefruit tree took a beating -- I think I picked up about 400 grapefruit today), my uncle's home on the beach underwent very little damage (that positively shocked me), and aside from the fact that I have the sneaking suspicion that my mother is going to strangle my aunt with her bare hands (my mother's sister -- she was staying with my uncle, his wife, and their two small children at the time), everybody seems to be coming along just fine.
I'm severely remiss in my housekeeping, which is rather annoying, but I'm not going to let myself get into too much of a tizzy over it. I think I'll do some laundry today and perhaps tomorrow will clean the bathrooms and kitchen. I'm just beat from the whole experience. I know it sounds like great fun rushing off to Tampa and drinking a great deal, but I spent a lot of time worrying about how things were going at home, so while it was fun, it was also very, very draining. So today I helped out at my mother's house and then came home when it started to rain. I stopped for sandwiches (our favorite deli was OPEN!!) and got a nice hot shower. I'm presently boiling water for teeth-brushing purposes (since, apparently, you're not supposed to brush your teeth with tap water if you're under a boil water advisory). I need to do dishes as well, but I'm not sure what the guidelines are there. Do I have to wash dishes with boiled water, or does the dishwasher get the water hot enough already? I'm inclined to say that the dishwasher gets the water hot enough, but I figure I'll check online to be sure.
I saw some pretty amazing things while I was driving around today. Huge pine trees snapped in half, giant oak trees lying on their sides... and, omg, some really, really hot national guards. Oh my stars. *fans self* Mind you, getting from my apartment to Mom's house was something of a pain (no traffic lights), but traffic was being directed by local police, the sheriff's department, and nat'l guard (so I got a pretty close peek at the boys in uniform -- mmmm...). She wants me to come back tomorrow, and I think I will, provided I'm able to get some other things taken care of in the meantime.
All in all, I'm tired, but happy. Happy that we're home, happy that we had a home to come home to, and so completely grateful that everything was unscathed. I know there are less fortunate people in our county, and my heart goes out to them.
Theoretically, classes resume Thursday, so it looks like I'll be getting back to work by then. (This also means I've missed three days of work, which I won't be paid for, which is a small annoyance -- but, again, I'm not going to let myself get into a tizzy over it.)
We're home, and it's been wonderful. We have power and while our pantry is a bit on the bare side, we're quite well off -- it just means having sandwiches (tunafish, PB&J, egg salad) for a few days before I can make a proper trip to the grocery and get some real food.
I'm really, really thankful that our building survived with no damage whatsoever. The trees around the complex... well, I can't say the same for them. Some are snapped, some are uprooted completely, and the ones that haven't snapped or toppled over seem to have a permanent lean to them.
But, honestly -- all of my loved ones are safe and sound, my mother's house is fine (though her grapefruit tree took a beating -- I think I picked up about 400 grapefruit today), my uncle's home on the beach underwent very little damage (that positively shocked me), and aside from the fact that I have the sneaking suspicion that my mother is going to strangle my aunt with her bare hands (my mother's sister -- she was staying with my uncle, his wife, and their two small children at the time), everybody seems to be coming along just fine.
I'm severely remiss in my housekeeping, which is rather annoying, but I'm not going to let myself get into too much of a tizzy over it. I think I'll do some laundry today and perhaps tomorrow will clean the bathrooms and kitchen. I'm just beat from the whole experience. I know it sounds like great fun rushing off to Tampa and drinking a great deal, but I spent a lot of time worrying about how things were going at home, so while it was fun, it was also very, very draining. So today I helped out at my mother's house and then came home when it started to rain. I stopped for sandwiches (our favorite deli was OPEN!!) and got a nice hot shower. I'm presently boiling water for teeth-brushing purposes (since, apparently, you're not supposed to brush your teeth with tap water if you're under a boil water advisory). I need to do dishes as well, but I'm not sure what the guidelines are there. Do I have to wash dishes with boiled water, or does the dishwasher get the water hot enough already? I'm inclined to say that the dishwasher gets the water hot enough, but I figure I'll check online to be sure.
I saw some pretty amazing things while I was driving around today. Huge pine trees snapped in half, giant oak trees lying on their sides... and, omg, some really, really hot national guards. Oh my stars. *fans self* Mind you, getting from my apartment to Mom's house was something of a pain (no traffic lights), but traffic was being directed by local police, the sheriff's department, and nat'l guard (so I got a pretty close peek at the boys in uniform -- mmmm...). She wants me to come back tomorrow, and I think I will, provided I'm able to get some other things taken care of in the meantime.
All in all, I'm tired, but happy. Happy that we're home, happy that we had a home to come home to, and so completely grateful that everything was unscathed. I know there are less fortunate people in our county, and my heart goes out to them.
Theoretically, classes resume Thursday, so it looks like I'll be getting back to work by then. (This also means I've missed three days of work, which I won't be paid for, which is a small annoyance -- but, again, I'm not going to let myself get into a tizzy over it.)
