11 September 2008

Live hurricane reports from Houston!

A has decided to "hunker down" and weather hurricane Ike. Read what happens.

Saturday, September 13, 2008
2:48 AM. Power just went out for a bit but came back on. It was perfectly black. I can hear things moving around outside. You're just waiting for it to hit a window.

2:42 AM. Light just flickered.

2:20 AM. Just turned on the television. Apparently 1.3 million customers without power. But for those of us with power, we have yet to deal with the edge of the eye and the back of the storm. As Liz Lemon would say, BLURG. I confess the news reporters are lovely company. They're informative, etc., etc. Watched some Mad Men. I'm not in love, but I'll watch it.

On the news: footage of reporter Wayne Dolcefino being blown around. A tree snapped at the base in The Heights. I do not want to see that happen here. The sportscaster is reporting from Baytown. It's like when your high school football coach also teaches English.

2:13 AM. It sounds like there is an ocean outside. Will most likely be sleeping with one eye open.

Friday, September 12, 2008
10:38 PM. I moved my mattress away from my bedroom windows to a more central spot in my apartment. It feels like I'm at the fifth grade lock-in again, except it's just me. Earlier, a news reporter described how a broken window can send shards of glass across a room. Which would suck. I filled my bathtub with water for what, I'm not entirely sure. For flushing the toilet? Not for drinking, I hope. Anyway, I plan to camp out like this until Ike blows over. Ha, ha. I recently downloaded the first season of Mad Men, so I guess you know what I'll be doing until the power goes out, or until my MacBook battery dies, rather. I have a such a headache. 415,000 CenterPoint Energy customers are without power right now. Another 32,500 from another power company.

9:53 PM. 315,000 CenterPoint Energy customers are without power. I still have power here in 77019.

9:12 PM. I've exhausted my Netflix disc of The Office (Season 4: Disc 1). Earlier, I moved my furniture away from the windows. I also filled up several water bottles. Now, when I'm on my couch, I face Park St, as if I'm waiting for a show to begin. After inhaling macaroni and cheese and some leftover steak, I'm tired again but not about to fall asleep, only to wake up face to face with Ike. The wind in the trees is so loud, I feel like it's a matter of time before a window breaks. Also, when do the news anchors and reporters throw down their pencils?

7:44 PM. It's darker out now. I've got box macaroni and cheese on the stove, and I'm listening to the drone of the news reporter and the trees moving outside. It's not raining yet, but I imagine it will get a bit scary when it does. Earlier, from my living room window, I saw a few neighbors in and out of their houses, with a cigarette in hand, or a drink, or a dog. My mind is intermittently flooded by images of my car getting picked up by the wind or a tree crashing through the windows. Galveston Island is without power.

6:03 PM. Need a laugh? Hurricane Bound For Texas Slowed By Large Land Mass To The South.

5:30 PM. Passed out after watching an episode of The Office. Just woke up and wondering why I'm so tired. Turned the TV back on; I like the company. WHOA, just saw a live image of Houston's downtown. A blanket of gray clouds over those iconic buildings. 1900 marines are coming our way!! If this were a pregnancy, I think we are in the hospital. Oh my…

11:41 AM. I'm stayin'.

10:48 AM. Just woke up to a voicemail from H, who broke and took off, to Austin. H says I should be with people. Do I go to my parents, who live thirty minutes away? Do I drive to a friend's nearby? Or do I stay here, at my apartment? I don't know what to do I don't know what to do I don't know what to do. In Houston, the trees are moving a bit. Predicted 25-35 winds by noon. In Galveston, they're enforcing an 8 PM curfew. "The wind field is extremely broad," they say.

1:25 AM. Had a homestyle dinner with H and M at Buffalo Grille, then beers at Rud's. Just heated up some old pepperoni pizza to eat while I watch The Office until I pass out. Also plan to go to the grocery store first thing tomorrow. The news channels love this web site. Can currently anticipate 69 mph winds!

Thursday, September 11, 2008
6:59 PM. I just woke up from a couch nap and am wondering if I have enough food and water for the weekend. Why do I need food and water? Because of flooding and crazy winds, I could be stranded at my house for a couple days. My friend MDM makes a good point: "Wine and cheese does not count."

3 comments:

jose said...

in cypress and just opened my first disaster beer. subscribed to your RSS feed. keep it interesting, will ya?

jose said...

this thing is scary. we were standing in our backyard at sunset and you could see the giant bands of clouds extending out to the horizon, rotating

it's like something out of a science fiction movie. wind considerably heavier, and i just saw a very big flash towards the horizon. my guess is a transformer blowing. dogs are shitting bricks.

Laura said...

I disagree; wine and cheese sound like perfect hurricane provisions to me.