Sunday, September 21, 2008

A/C, Lights, Cable, Internet and Temporary Fences (After Ike: Day 9)

We are in the 9th day since Ike hit.  As far as we know, there is still no power at our house.  Friday (19th) was supposed to be our day for getting electricity restored.  The 2pm Centerpoint Maps mysteriously moved our area from the Friday group to the "after Thursday" group.  This means they have no idea when our power will be restored, but it probably will be another week.  With this news, Ryan and I decided it was time to move in with his parents.

We had been putting the move off for a few reasons.  One, the lack of power was not unbearable as the weather has been really mild.  Two, we had hope that ours was the next in line to come on. Three, at least 8 feet of their fence fell during Ike so we would have to come up with something to do with Admiral.   
And Four, his parents cable was not restored so all we would "gain" was lights and A/C.  Both are nice but not were not worth the moving and fence trouble up until Friday.

Thursday night and Friday were hard for me.  I have tried to be really positive, as I am normally a "look at the bright side of things" kind of person.  I knew Ryan was really frustrated with the power situation so I was trying to keep my chin up.  Thursday night I just had knots in my stomach.  We had to throw out at least 10lbs of great fish Ryan caught in April as they finally started to melt and the fridge was leaking on the floor. I think the work of cleaning this up and the smell of fish, along with the frustration with the power situation just really started to sink in for me.  Friday was hard on me as well.  I couldn't keep focused at work and again started to get sick to my stomach.  I was starting to not be able to hold it together and finally had to leave work for the day.  

I know I should feel lucky.  We are lucky.  We have a house with absolutely no damage.  All of our family and friends are safe and healthy.  We are pretty sure our friend Ben's parents lost their beach house and their boat since Bolivar was basically destroyed.  A co-workers apartment had substantial damage and when she returned after the storm, all her belongings... EVERYTHING... was ruined.  We are very lucky.  Having no electricity is NOT a disaster, it's not the end of the world.  I could never compare my situation to those who have actually lost things, lost family members, lost their homes in storms like Ike, Gustav, Katrina. But, it is frustrating.  It changes our routine, it's hard, it's boring, it's stressful. 

So Friday night we decided it was time to move.  The cable and internet were then up and working at Ryan's parent's house.  We examined the fence and came up with a plan of action for a temporary fence.  Saturday morning we woke up (at home) and started gathering supplies from Ryan's job sites.  

We got the fence built just in time to watch Eric's game on the internet (Dartmouth vs Colgate).  Dartmouth lost but Eric had some awesome catches, one for a TD!




Saturday afternoon we went home and gathered our belongings and Admiral and headed out.  Ryan's parents are out of town till tomorrow so we have taken over the house until they get back.  I leave in the morning for Jackson and Starkville to do some recruiting for work.  It will be nice to get away, have some time to myself.  I love Ryan but we are tired of each other.  Long nights of puzzles and board games start to wear on you!  :)  I was worried to leave him home alone with the power situation but I feel better leaving him with his Mom and Dad... I know they will take good care of him, probably spoil him a little too.  Thanks for taking care of us!

It's great to have A/C, Cable, Internet, and an oven (I already baked cookies today)!  It will nice to be able to go home, but for now, we have all the comforts and are fortunate.  Admiral has the pool to swim in, which he LOVES.  He is going to be very spoiled this week with daily swimming.  I know he won't want to go home.

Thanks to all for keeping us in your thoughts and for checking up on us.  As I've said, we are very lucky to have fared as we did in this storm, and very lucky to have such wonderful friends and family.  Please keep Houston and Galveston in your thoughts and prayers as many, many, many people rebuild their lives.  I know that with the current economic and political headlines, this storm is not getting much attention, but the devastation in parts of this great city and surrounding areas is substantial.  

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