Hurricane Ike is expected to hit land by late today or early Saturday morning. We are expected to have heavy winds and rain here in the D/FW zone by around noon.Meanwhile, this morning I got a fresh update from Alma down in Port Aransas on the Texas Gulf Coast, on her preparations to deal with the incoming storm surge.
Alma's email.....
Hey there friends....
I just woke up. I was watching Lettermen interview Jessica Simpson (I like her. I don't care for her singing, but I think she gets a bad rap) when they cut in with an update. They scared me pretty good with this storm surge talk. So, there I was in the middle of the night putting my XP desktop and PA in the car and rearranging the clothes already in there from doing laundry yesterday. It was hard to fall asleep as my brain wouldn't stop and part of me is in fear for my life and part of me is in denial. YOU try to sleep with that in your brain!
I didn't sleep well. This morning at 8am, I woke up. I feel like crap. Tired. Sick. I need caffiene. I walked outside to see who was gone. All my neighbors are still here, probably sleeping soundly. I called a Stripes store to see which, if any were open. Someone answered! I thought everyone would be closed and gone. She calmly explained to me (like I was retarded) that the storm is not hitting here. They will have some high tides and dinky tropical storm winds but we are OK. We get tropical storm winds with just a normal thunderstorm. And folks, we do. The thunderstorms here sound like the end of the world. I've been thru some on North Beach (on the north side of the Harbor Bridge where I usta live) where we got 14 inches of rain and I had to wade to my car in knee deep water after a "thunderstorm". I will be heading there to a Stripes to get a much needed Vanilla Frappacino (my big weakness and indulgence - and substitute for booze) so I can think and wake up and get on with my preparations.
I don't want to be sitting here alone with my boyz freaking out in fear as the storm howls and I breath in uncertainty whether this little shack will hold up or not. I wish I could be as cavalier as my neighbors, but I just cain't.
Things I'm taking -
Papers like my birth certificate
My songbooks
the PA
my XP desktop and printer
Data CDs with valuable information
My guitar
My boyz (I can't find Selena)
Clothes
The Cheese and Meat in my ice chest (I will add water and maybe a coupla Fraps, a coupla burritos))
My laptop
Dog Crate and the Sherpa for Papi Chulo (he'll probably be in my lap, he scares easy because he's so tiny)
My backpack (already has stuff like driver's license, my Disaster Card so I can get back into town)
A bit of dog food
And that's about it....
I will unplug eveything. Turn off the AC. Leave the TV. Tape shut all the rubbermaid containers filled with stuff. Shower and pack the bathroom stuff. Turn off all the lights. Put Gorilla tape along the lower half of the windows (OK..that's just to make me feel better). Our drains on Oleander drain to the Bay, so conversely, I think water will be pushed back up those drains as the path of least resistence to the sea and flood us that way - that's just my thinking. The "locals" are not leaving the Island. I feel like I'm overreacting but I'm scared. I told my sister I will be outa here by 2pm. I will try to take the Ferry if they are still going. It's the fastest way to the mainland. I feel the irritable bowel kicking in. My boys are blessedly calm and sleeping right now. They normally sleep when I am at work and this is when i am normally at work I haven't seen anything on TV yet and I'm glad. Sometimes I think they like to scare us. Why are the Island people so damn calm?
I will bring everything in from the outside and stack it on top of the containers. My porch will be bare bones. This is the porch with the heavenly seabreeze. I never did get to sit out there and chill with a beer.
I have been living here since 05-27-08. Almost 4 months. I drove by Sips and they are all boarded up. Oceans of Seafood is boarded up across the street. Sips is right on the Marina. Maybe 100 feet from water. I will drive down Beach Street right after my Frap and see where the sea is now. I promise I will not set a tire on wet sand.
Well, that's all I can think of at this time. I won't write again until I am on the mainland at my sister's. I have to unplug everything and pack up the modem, etc.
I feel very nervous and still can't quite believe this is happening tho I've been writing about it for a coupla days now.
More later cuz this ain't over.
love,
alma
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