traveling tales from the exotic dinda

I have electricity back on at my house!!! Can you see me finally doing the happy power dance? Can we get an amen lightbulbs?!!! Even better the whole house did not (as of yet) spark up and burn when I turned the master breaker back on. Woohoo!!! and only a mere 42 days since the storm hit. Can't tell you how thrilled I was to drive up to the house and see a brand new digital meter with 0000 just waiting for me to start consuming power again. Progress but just one step of many to come.

Next - sewer line is the most pressing. Then a water heater and a hundred other little things. For my own planning purposes, the current todo list:
( need to get done . . .  )

My next house will walk away from danger.

Of course I won't actually be able to live in my current home for at least a few more days; hot water would be nice, and there will be no internet until sometime in November so obviously can't work there until that happens but ya know what I can so do without a TV way moreso than net access.

Got this in an email today - so totally true about Jim Cantore. When I drove through town and saw him on the Seawall I knew it was gonna be bad. Man has a target painted on his back. I hope to never see him again. . .well, cept he is kinda hot in that bald man luv kinda way. ;-)

And now for some brevity.
Hurricane Preparedness Drinks:


Be sure to follow the instructions at the end of the ingredients.

MANDATORY EVACUATION

1 1/2 oz. Absolute Ruby Red vodka
1/2 oz. vermouth
Clamato
Prune juice

Combine vodka and vermouth in cocktail glass. Fill remainder of glass with equal parts Clamato and prune juice. Stir. Drink. Ask next-door neighbor whose oak tree blew over and crashed onto your roof - even though you'd warned him for months to uproot it - if you can use his bathroom. Repeat.

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CATEGORY 5

1/2 oz. vodka
1/2 oz. tequila
1/2 oz. rum
1/2 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. gin
Sweet-and-sour mix
Splash of fruit juice

Combine vodka, tequila, rum, bourbon and gin in a tall glass. Fill remainder of glass with sweet-and-sour mix and splash of juice. Stir, then garnish with an inverted drink umbrella. Drink during peak storm hours, and vow not to believe anyone who tries to tell you the hurricane that flooded your garage and destroyed your shed was just a Category 1.

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CONE OF PROBABILITY

1 oz. cinnamon schnapps
1 sugar cone

Pour the schnapps into the sugar cone. Every time you hear a TV weatherman say, "cone of probability," bite off the end of the cone and down the shot. If you hear Jim Cantore say it, drink two shots consecutively. (they should change this to the "Cantore Zone"... damn him. Have you ever noticed that, despite all the cone of probability talk, if Cantore is parked in front of your house your ass is toast?)

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FEEDER BAND

2 oz. Midori
2 oz. rum
1 scoop vanilla ice cream

After your home loses power, combine Midori and rum in a cocktail glass. Add a scoop of the vanilla ice cream that is melting in your freezer. Stir, and drink through a straw.

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BEACH EROSION

1 1/2 oz. Goldschläger
1 1/2 oz. apple brandy
1 pack Sugar in the Raw

Combine Goldschläger, apple brandy and sugar in cocktail glass. As you drink, seriously contemplate moving your Yankee ass back to New Jersey where it belongs.

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DOWNED POWER LINE

1 1/2 oz. rum
5 oz. Jolt Cola

Combine ingredients in a cocktail glass.. Drink while trying to figure out how the heck you're supposed to go two freakin' weeks without television and AC.

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FLOOD ZONE

2 oz. Kahlúa
2 oz. Baileys Irish cream
4 oz. rum

Serve in a 6-ounce glass and laugh-cry deliriously as the mess spills all over the countertop.

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COLD SHOWER

2 oz. Blue Aftershock
4 oz. Sprite

Combine in a cocktail glass with crushed ice you received after waiting in line for three hours at a mall parking lot. Take a deep breath, sip and scream like a little girl when the cold beverage hits your tongue.

Repeat.

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LOOTERS WILL BE SHOT

1 oz. Jack Daniel's
Splash of sarsaparilla
Rock salt

Load both barrels of a shotgun with rock salt. Climb to the roof of your house with gun, bottle of Jack Daniel's and can of sarsaparilla. Fill shot glass with Jack and splash of sarsaparilla. Watch for looters. When you spot one, blast his ass with rock salt. Drink shot.

Repeat.

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THE CHAIN SAW

1 oz. Goldschläger
1 oz. Rumplemintz
3 oz. Jim Beam
Splash of vermouth

Combine Goldschläger, Rumplemintz and Jim Beam in an empty soup can. Add splash of vermouth. Drink. Remove chain saw from garage and attempt to cut up fallen tree limbs in yard. Ask neighbor to drive you to hospital when it all goes horribly wrong.

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FOUR-WAY STOP

1 1/2 oz. vodka
1 1/2 oz. vodka and Midori
1 1/2 oz. vodka and Galliano
1 1/2 oz. vodka and grenadine

Pour each ingredient into a separate shot glass. Serve one to yourself and three other people. The person with the clear shot of vodka drinks first. The person to his right drinks the Midori shot, and so on. If somebody drinks out of order, develop a quick case of road rage and beat the living crap out of him.

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BLUE TARP

1 1/2 oz. Curacao
2 oz. pineapple juice
Splash of lime

Combine ingredients in a leaky paper cup and serve. Wait six to eight months for someone to repair the cup. If you're impatient, hire an unlicensed, out-of-state contractor to do the job for an exorbitant sum and pray he doesn't hurt himself in the process.

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FEMA FIZZLE

1 oz. Southern Comfort
2 oz. sloe gin
Tonic water

One week after the storm has passed and your neighborhood is still in ruins with no sign of help on the way, combine Southern Comfort and gin in a cocktail glass. Fill remainder with tonic and add a dash of Angostura bitters. Serve with a nut brownie. Before drinking, raise the glass and say the toast, "Doing a helluva job Brownie"

Scott C

Roaring Generator's in my ears on Dixie Lane

Amazon delivered my Moodle book yesterday and I just opened it and can't read it. I'm "sure" it's b/c I'm tired and my eyes are dry and not b/c the other side of 40 is getting longer each day, huh? Dang publishers making all this tiny print to save trees. argh - gonna have to give into the reading glasses thing soon, I suppose.

In better news I was able to visit my house this afternoon for the first time without having to go through any police roadblocks. Spent an hour or so starting the general clean up process. Sorted through the pile of debris to see what, if any, was mine. A few fishing poles and garden tools were about it and fortunately no snakes or other unwelcome reptiles or animals. Still no water, power or sewer service so time out there is limited to a few hours at a time. Will go back this weekend to continue the fun.

Neighbor had a great sign up in her yard I took a pic of that read:
Hot Woman
Seeks Electrical Lineman
No Power
21 days

I had a similar moment when preparing for the flood adjuster dude to show up. Was advised to "glam up a bit" and perhaps receive better service but ya know, "you just don't wear a mini-skirt to a natural disaster." totally not practical ;-)

Water on the beach is absolutely gorgeous - nature she loves irony does she not?

We went back to the Island yesterday so my sister and her kids could see what's left of their home and wait for the FEMA dude, and trust me he was a dude - board shaper from New Jersey of all places. She had already seen the photos so was at least well prepped of what to expect. I've been able to get back to my house a few times to retrieve some things but yesterday was all about listening.

As we began our tour of my sister's house, the neighbor from across the street came over and sat on the brick ledge planters in front of the house. He had been there 40 years and on the Island for at least another 25 and never saw anything like this storm. His home was left with nothing but a few studs holding up the roof and most of his contents strewn across his lawn and my sister's yard. The rest claimed by the bay.

Then the other neighbors walked over, their house did fine, already had power and water, but being from Tennessee, were a bit shell shocked to have weathered a hurricane in their first year on the Island. We all wanted to ask but waited until they told us that "the donkey is okay." Yip, they have a pet donkey they keep in their backyard and everyone was worried they had left him behind when they evacuated. Turns out some equine boarding place took him in, the donkey is actually living the high life in a barn so clean you can eat off the floor.

Everyone had a story, all had concerns, all were amazed at the amount of water that went through the Island. I had a list of things to get done yesterday afternoon and I did manage to get one or two done but mostly I just listened. These neighbors, my neighbor in Jamaica Beach, others down on 40th & Ave S, everyone I could tell just needed to talk. There would be plenty of time to continue the clean up, like today, but for one afternoon it felt right to just sit with the neighbors and listen. . .

They just reported to me that my house is okay - all things considered. Even more miraculously no broken windows and everything inside the house is still there, still dry, just as I left it! So PHEW, a HUGE sigh of relief on that front. There is damage but minimal compared to others and considering the storm surge that went through. As designed the downstairs garage walls broke away and there is now a huge debris field of both my and other folks stuff. Apparently I now have a kayak and dumpster in my yard but my dryer is buried in two feet of mud.

I'll post up before and after pics later when I stop happy dancing around the room.

Anyone wanted to make donations to help the thousands of displaced Hurricane Ike families please do so through the Red Cross. Those folks do an amazing job of helping those who need it the most. We're gathering up donations and will be volunteering in the next few weeks as time allows from helping our friends.

Oh and I had a whole post about having your own family emergency plans; fire, flood, terrorism, etc. but for now just start with backing up your computers, your most valuable documents and photos, contact info and using some sort of online storage so you can access stuff later. And be sure to have an out of town emergency contact that your family and friends can check in with b/c local cellphone service will be really bad, if any. In some cases it's easier to reach out of town folks than local folks. Use text messaging only if possible. . . .okay, better get to work. . . . oh and always at least 3 days of supplies of water, food, fuel, flashlights, etc. - you know the drill, or you should know it!

Woke up at 3am not able to sleep b/c, well, don't recall what exactly woke me up but I was dreaming about gardening and selecting seeds for my garden. At least I was able to use the time to check in with my awesome new Boss person. Who's first question was "Why are you awake at 3 AM?" ;-)

For those of you who don't know I just started my new job with Canonical as their Training Project Manager reporting to their Training Programme Manager. It really is amazing how much Canonical can get done with so few resources. I'm really looking forward to all the challenges ahead with the new job and soooooooo thankful that it's the kind of job that let's me work anywhere with broadband. Catching up on email and trying to remember the thousand and one things we went over last week is a welcome distraction from the constant news coverage.

And I just went back to proofread this post and see how many typos it contained so I better get some sleep now. . . talked to some neighbors and had an update on my home too. . .but that can wait for now, I go sleep now.

cheers

Power finally restored at my parents, internet and cable tv too - yeah we're spoiled. Power, water, internet, pick any two - guess which two we want most? but being back online is the start of 'normalcy' so that's a good sign. Things are still pretty fluid as we wake up each morning and await to see my house, or what's left - HOLY CARP - they're showing my neighborhood now on tv - it almost looks normal!!!!


hey, if anyone is online, catch me on aim/iChat!

hope this one moves through fast - sometimes knowing something bad is coming doesn't help much. I'm at my Mom's now and my Grandmother will be coming over here in a bit as well. Sure hope we don't lose power as no a/c at this time of the year is very bad for Grandmas and kitties too. Although I suspect if any of us can take the heat, it's my Grandmother who often refuses to turn on the a/c at night b/c it's 'too cold' for her.

There is something reassuring about having really good weathermen who have, well, weathered so many of these storms with us. One channel even keeps bringing Dr. Neil Frank, who is supposed to be retired, out as a special hurricane consultant. Neil is a real weatherman, not one of those pretty boys weather reader types. Two other long-time weathermen retired this year too so it's strange to see these new "kids" who are just a bit too pretty to be taken seriously, tell us what we all already know.

It was good to see everyone on the Island making their preparations and some, like me, heading out for higher ground. Everyone takes it serious and everyone knows the drill. Now it's up to Mother Nature.

I suppose I should try to get some work done now. Not really feeling like working atm but there's not much else to do but wait. . . and hope the lights stay on.