Minneapolis Tornado
So a huge tornado hit my neighborhood yesterday. Luckily we have no exterior damage, but my basement studio was flooded. I think I may only lose a few hundred in material, but it'll be more to fix it (pull up the carpet, rent fans, tiles, etc). The the power went out so sump pump failed. Ryan went to fix it once the power came back on, but found out it was broken again anyway. So two friends came over last night to try and clean up as much water as we could and throw away ruined stuff. I'm so glad I'd transferred most of my stuff to plastic bins.
We're going to contact the insurance company today. Some more friends are coming to help me clean up some more. Ryan is stopping at the hardware store after work to get bits to fix the sump pump. Our cable is out so I'm listening to the live streaming news. Thank goodness for phone tethering.
I'm hungry but I'm worried about opening the fridge. I'm sure we only lost a few things, but I hate the smell of off food. Ohh! Toast! Toast isn't contaminated.
All in all, we were lucky compared to most of the families in our neighborhood. Ryan was home, I was out and when I finally got home I just held him an cried. I don't know what I'd have done if he'd been hurt. I'll take a flooded basement any time if it means a safe hubby. It took me an hour to get home from the initial site of the touchdown (it usually takes 6 minutes). Below are images from my car drive home.
So yeah, we'll just be working on cleanup, figuring out the insurance claim and what we need to do next.
Statuses from Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/blasphemina/posts/10150199839195745
https://www.facebook.com/blasphemina/posts/10150200210360745
https://www.facebook.com/blasphemina/posts/10150200210360745
There's a curfew in effect because my neighborhood is full of looting assholes:
https://www.facebook.com/blasphemina/posts/229391273742182
Basement Damage
Neighborhood Damage
An aside: I am actually really scared about what this will do to my business. I have finally gotten to a place where I am comfortable. This was my first year turning a profit. Not a huge one, but at least I was in the black. I have to run this business so tightly. I'd actually just come to the conclusion that I can't afford an off-site studio (out of my house, I mean), because it's either that or a new car, and if Ryan's going to get to work safely we need a new car. And if we're going to get a new car, I'll need to make that payment each month. This is a setback we cannot afford in the slightest. I am really worried and I just don't know what to do. And on top of it, my phone is broken so the second I make a sale on Etsy I have on reserve I have to buy a new one and hope it gets here as soon as possible.
I hate feeling helpless.
EDIT: Ryan has lost his job as of today. So now we're fucked.
EDIT: Even better! We don't have flood insurance on our homeowners, so there's no way to pay for any of this.
EDIT: Friends have been asking me to post a donation page. I feel weird and guilty about it, but I know it's rude to turn down kindness. I am not asking for help. I am simply willing to accept it if it's given. I'd rather sell some of my stock and earn the money. http://www.blaspheminascloset.com/uncategorized/minneapolis-storm-disaster/
We're going to contact the insurance company today. Some more friends are coming to help me clean up some more. Ryan is stopping at the hardware store after work to get bits to fix the sump pump. Our cable is out so I'm listening to the live streaming news. Thank goodness for phone tethering.
I'm hungry but I'm worried about opening the fridge. I'm sure we only lost a few things, but I hate the smell of off food. Ohh! Toast! Toast isn't contaminated.
All in all, we were lucky compared to most of the families in our neighborhood. Ryan was home, I was out and when I finally got home I just held him an cried. I don't know what I'd have done if he'd been hurt. I'll take a flooded basement any time if it means a safe hubby. It took me an hour to get home from the initial site of the touchdown (it usually takes 6 minutes). Below are images from my car drive home.
So yeah, we'll just be working on cleanup, figuring out the insurance claim and what we need to do next.
Statuses from Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/blasphemina/posts/10150199839195745
https://www.facebook.com/blasphemina/posts/10150200210360745
https://www.facebook.com/blasphemina/posts/10150200210360745
There's a curfew in effect because my neighborhood is full of looting assholes:
https://www.facebook.com/blasphemina/posts/229391273742182
Basement Damage
Neighborhood Damage
An aside: I am actually really scared about what this will do to my business. I have finally gotten to a place where I am comfortable. This was my first year turning a profit. Not a huge one, but at least I was in the black. I have to run this business so tightly. I'd actually just come to the conclusion that I can't afford an off-site studio (out of my house, I mean), because it's either that or a new car, and if Ryan's going to get to work safely we need a new car. And if we're going to get a new car, I'll need to make that payment each month. This is a setback we cannot afford in the slightest. I am really worried and I just don't know what to do. And on top of it, my phone is broken so the second I make a sale on Etsy I have on reserve I have to buy a new one and hope it gets here as soon as possible.
I hate feeling helpless.
EDIT: Ryan has lost his job as of today. So now we're fucked.
EDIT: Even better! We don't have flood insurance on our homeowners, so there's no way to pay for any of this.
EDIT: Friends have been asking me to post a donation page. I feel weird and guilty about it, but I know it's rude to turn down kindness. I am not asking for help. I am simply willing to accept it if it's given. I'd rather sell some of my stock and earn the money. http://www.blaspheminascloset.com/uncategorized/minneapolis-storm-disaster/