This storm has passed

On Wednesday, just as the winds and rain were beginning their strongest push towards this state, I was made to say home from work. I puttered around, read stuff on the internet, did a small batch of laundry, and stayed off of the constant drone of impending doom which was the news. There was video of the hurricane when it swept through the islands causing destruction, houses being hit by trees, water climbing up high and making a damned mess. On that morning, knowing I did not have to go to work, I slept until late. My brain and body was so drained from the mental worry that I wound up getting out of bed around 9am. On the day we were going to be bombarded by the strongest rain and conditions, my brain shut down until 10am. Again, the mental stress of it all just broke me down. I missed out on several texts from work, my manager inquiring how everyone on his team was. My cellphone reception was spotty, network was down.

Frustrated but making the best of it, I stayed inside. I could see that the large tree in front of my house had some branches which were definitely hitting the ground. Luckily, none of them touched the house. I would get an occasional incoming text but could not hold a phone call for longer than a minute due to the line being spotty. I managed to ease my parents worries and a message got through to my best friends.

Later in the day, my manager texted to inform us we were cleared to go in tomorrow – so who was going? I went into the office – partially because I was bored but I also wanted to get online and see what had happened. The news was grim. Many parts of the state got smacked hard. Damage, flooding and some loss of life happened. I sit quietly, taking in the bad but also the good – my family, friends and many others live to see another day. The storm has passed and we continue. It’s the best case scenario. Let’s just be joyous we can still meet tomorrow with both feet on the ground.

The lights have flickered but the power is still on

According to the news they are stating that around 2 million people are currently without power. There are many videos showing the water surging throughout streets and cars inundated by so much water. Houses have been destroyed and we will continue to see more once morning breaks and the news shows the devastation which this storm has brought.

As I stated before, for a few years we had gotten some false starts – threats of possible storms which either did not fully develop further than a tropical storm, moved to another location or blew out to the ocean, threat gone. Some folks would make jokes, some would be angry or frustrated over spending money on supplies when nothing came but then when it truly does come through with all of its category 3 or 4 strength, peeling off the roof tiles, knocking over trees and flooding the hell out of everything – that’s when the respect and fear needs to be acknowledged. Mother Nature does not bend for us. It is a force we will always be powerless to tame. This is when the Earth smacks us and teaches one heck of an expensive and heartbreaking lesson. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and tornadoes are just some of the things which teach us how small we are.

Right now, I am going to bed. The storm continues to rage outside and hopefully the power holds.

It’s that hurricane slow roll that irks

From what I have seen of tornadoes on the news, they come down and eat up the path they are going through quickly, destruction is a massive toll but it seems to run through quickly. It’s a painful and horrendous time which means people need to see if their ways of life have been changed and they will need to rebuild.

Hurricanes give us a long time to play wait and see. It crawls across the Atlantic ocean, beginning as a tropical wave which takes warm air which will make it grow and build its way up to a hurricane if the conditions are right. This slowly crawls through the water as it grows while the ones in the possible path watch, sometimes with worry and other times with not a care. It can be a hit or miss in many cases. In the past three years we have been ‘lucky’ in that there have been misses of the incoming storms but this latest one is going to go across the middle of the state. Yippee. Not happy but I cannot do anything against Mother Nature.

It is currently the middle of Wednesday and by later tonight we will begin to really feel the effects. Meanwhile I am cleaning the house, watching tv and just trying to occupy myself and the day drags by.

And the cancellation happened

Around noon, the email came in stating that my upcoming cruise was cancelled because of that hurricane which is coming in. I was looking forward to spending at least an hour inside of a hot tub, letting the heat seep into my bones. To view the skies while out in the middle of the ocean, be amongst unseen creatures and deep crevices miles beneath us. Luckily, we had purchased the insurance and we have secured a new cruise… in December which hopefully will be un-hurricane season.

A storm is brewing

Later this week, I have the cruise scheduled – we leave port on Thursday but there is trouble climbing up the waters, heading towards this state. A storm which looks like it wants to take a side swipe at the land, brining lots of water, strong winds and possible damage to property. Am I worried? A small bit. Am I watching the news constantly? No.

I am 85% packed up because I have not heard anything official from the cruise company so the figuring out of how many pajamas and socks I can squeeze into my large suitcase is the plan for today as I side eye the skies, hopeful that the weather behaves later in the week.

Do you count down to your vacation?

I am a week away from my first cruise. In just seven days, I will be boarding a very large machine which will be loaded with a lot of other folks and slowly drift over to a small island for two days and then head back home. I will be in the middle of a lot of water which is something I have never experienced for days or even hours on end (disclaimer, spent a few hours on a ferry cruise a few years ago but we did not sleep on it). I’ve seen videos of how dark the middle of the ocean is with a guy who works on a fishing barge, and I am trying to not freak out about it.

I digress. Seven days is both a short time and the longest time ever. Each day drags. Each hour is slow. Then I am on vacation, and it feels as if in the blink of an eye, the time has passed, and it’s done. Ouch. Let’s just keep counting down till this same time, next week. Just 168 more hours to go. LOL

I had McDonald’s today… after several decades of not

Today I was nearly home when I suddenly had the urge for a McDonald’s apple pie. Now, if you know me, you will also know that it has been at least ten years since I have had any food from McD’s. If I want some fast food, I do not pass by the inside of any of them. Yet today I had an urgency for the apple pie, so I went via the drive thru and also ordered the two-cheeseburger meal which came with a drink and those renown fries that McD’s is famous for. By the time I arrived home, showered and changed into my jammies the food was a bit cooler, but I was able to enjoy the fries and really enjoy that apple pie. No, it’s no longer fried like it was many years ago, but the flavors are still decent for the portion it comes in. The cheeseburgers were nothing compared to other places but it served its purpose and filled my belly. Granted, I ate a bunch of salad and fruits hours later to combat the not healthy in between that McD offered and it will definitely be another ten years before I dip into that food again. Hopefully they’ll still have apple pies then.

Kettle corn is magic to the tastebuds

I like popcorn but do not eat it all the time because those kernel remains lodged in places that can be such a pain to get but I like the buttery and saltiness of it. Yes, I also like some which come with powdered cheese on it but kettle corn has become this magical thing that I can delve into in a way that an entire bag can be gone in a night if I am not careful. Trader Joe’s does a really good one. I tasted a small amount from someone who brought a bag at some fair once and it was just this delicious blend of salty to sweet that made me both wish I could have attended that fair but know it was not a good idea because I would have purchased ten bags of the stuff. I have never tried making a homemade kind of kettle corn. Have heard it’s a lot of work and when it comes to popcorn, I usually buy the store brand kinds because I have burned too many making it in the microwave and the one time I tried it via stovetop. Oh, that was a terrible event.

Do you over pack?

I have my first ever cruise coming up in just over a week and I am allowed to bring two largish suitcases for these three nights we are out. This is going to be interesting because I tend to overpack but not in the best way. I throw in a bunch of extra panties, socks and sometimes hair ties or things for this massive poof ball that is my hair. Why? The last trip the group of us did was to New Orleans for three days and I took like twelve pairs of undies. Yes, I shower in the morning and in the evening but still… logically, a part of me knows it’s too much but I have a worry that something will require me needing all those panties. (I did not). Wound up washing perfectly unused panties to put into stock when I got back.

This cruise for the three nights will most likely also include a whole batch of undies for the just in case practicality. Am I being logical? Nope. Am I being prepared? Maybe?

Disney’s live version remakes

There is a bit of a rift happening for some folks about Disney making live version remakes of their previous cartoon movies. Am not going to lie, I have watched quite a few and have been on the liking and not fully liking spectrum for some. The most recent one is the Little Mermaid and it is has had controversy over a fictional creature who now is being portraited by an African American actress. Halle Bailey is lovely, has a beautiful singing voice and the teaser trailer made me ready to go sit in a theatre alongside my best friend to watch it when it comes out and probably get a bit teary eyed when the emotional scenes happen. (I get teary eyed over holiday commercials – it does not take much for me to weep).

I have watched Angelina Jolie play my favorite character of Maleficent, have seen Emma Watson try her best to sing as Belle. Saw Will Smith do a decent Genie (sorry but Robin Williams will forever be the blue dude for me) and viewed Lilly James as Cinderella with that all too small waist charm her Prince. Is Disney just making loads more money from nostalgia? Probably. Yet they are also re-sparking stories for new folks as well. Little ones are seeing themselves in the new retellings and that is what stories need to do. Some will do it wonderfully and some will falter but it’s a step forward and I for one am open to it.