Thanks for the mammaries...
Ok, this is in response to Evil Lynn's post about finding the closest post to today's date from the year you started your journal. I post that post in full here since it was a major happening. I remember most of this in general and some of it in detail, but man that was some day. We were actually out of power for nearly a week and I had to deal with my dad during this. This was the only time he ever came and visited me in Virginia. The ex and I were still living in the same house. We had to sleep in the same room during the week my dad was there, since he got the guest/music room. That was pretty fucking strange since we had been separated/living in our own rooms for 2 years by that point. It was the next summer when we finally sold the house and moved to separate domiciles. Good times. I am so much better off now than I was then, both emotionally and financially, and my relationship with Mari.
This was from 27 August 2003. Damn I am getting old.
Power to the people?
Not in my 'hood. :-(
The storm yesterday took its toll, and it was a heavy one. I sat in my office of 28, and watched the rain coming across in horizontal sheets. I thought, "Hmmm, those winds are pretty bloody strong. Like hurricane force." I was not far wrong. The storm cell had picked up energy since leaving Leesburg, and the winds hit 70 MPH in Sterling. Needless to say, that can cause some mayhem and destruction. So after it passed I headed out to Broadlands to pick up Mariko from her friend's house. We had to go to the Nova Urgent Care (yes, I am getting her a regular, non-Pediatrician doctor now) to see why she was not getting better [a]. I noticed on the way in that power was out in Countryside[b], but not the next block up. So after the Doc visit, we dropped off the prescips in a darkened, Resident Evil Safeway. Mariko wanted to run barefoot through the store knocking stuff off the shelves. My parent-side said No, although the kid in me thought that might be cool.
So we then tried to drive home. Tried being the operative word. We encountered heavy resistance at the Persimmon entrance. In fact its was blockaded by the local militant wing of the Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad. They rebuffed my attempts to get past, and indicated I should proceed to the Command Post set up at the Religious Establishment around the corner. We proceeded down there, and bivouaced with the other displaced masses. There were crews news, trire fucks, and crilling mowds. [c] At least they had chips, water, and SNICKERS BARS!!! After about half an hour, they gave us the first of two briefings on the SitRep. It was not pretty, and they were trying not to alarm people more than necessary. [d] There were a lot of trees down, numerous houses hit, and over 15 power lines confirmed down. They had several crews in the development to check on people and to try and safe the area. They did a good job of checking on specific houses and people when asked. They indicated it would be at least an hour before they got the main trunk line restored and could give us the go ahead to enter the development.
Mariko was being pretty stoic after an initial spate of tears when we got turned back at the initial foray. She was worried about the cats. I told her they would be fine, though it is hard to convince a 12-year old of that. She at least had some other kids to talk to during the wait. Her mother came by to pick her up and take her back to her friend's house, as we felt that was the best plan, since it was highly probable that we would have no power for 16-24 hours.[e] A neighbor gave us preliminary indications that our house was ok, but they were not sure. They did indicate that there were 3-4 trees down in our neighbors yard, and at least one on the house/garage. So 15 minutes ahead of schedule they had restored power to the Religious Establishment. They had also brought in Pizza donated by the local Domino's. At the appointed time, they gave us the second debrief, and indicated we could go back in to our homes. They did an ok job of all the safety briefing stuff. Our Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors was even there and gave a speech. It was hard to tell if he genuinely cared, or was just making an appearance and photo-Op. *Shrug*
There were trees down all over. The streets had been cleared enough so that at least one lane was passable, at least as far aas my house, although they indicated some people would only be able to get in by foot. Our neighbors who had been hit had been able to evacuate their kids out earlier, but they were a bit stressed. They have had nothing but problems since buying the house late last year. At least insurance will cover this one for them, unlike the termites that had ravaged their house. Fortunately, there was no apparent damage to our house. Tiger was inside, and the other cat(Bonkers)came to the door soon after I got in and lit some candles. A quick scan of the area indicated that no colateral damage was sustained from the trees and limbs displaced by the attack of nature. House was ship-shape.
Of course, it was just after the call from Mariko and her mother, in which I indicated that things were ok, that Tiger indicated that he was not, in fact, ok. [f] So after a scramble for the phonebook, calming down an agitated Ex, and recovering the cat carrier from the dark Resident Evil basement, we were on our way to the emergency vet in Leesburger. Yes, I blew out the candles and safed the house. So Tiger presented with a urinary tract blockage of Epic Proportions. $650 and the harrowing experience of having to get up before 7 IN THE MORNING later, he is doing ok at the normal clinic. I can understand his displeasure at having a catheter shoved up his prick. I know I howled about the same way, and was just as indignant.[g] He should be able to come home tomorrow, not much worse for the wear, and loaded up with valium to ease his discomfort.
I survived the ordeal. It is hard being stoic sometimes for the benefit of the kid. I told her not to worry until there was something to worry about. In this case, I guess there was something to worry about, and it was not all ok like I said it would be. Hopefully she will still trust me in the future. I was a little emotionally drained after the vet visit and saying goodnight to the kid. She was grateful that I got the cat there and paid for it to get well. Did they think I wouldn't? Its only money, and a small price to pay to make Mariko happy or less stressed. This is nowehere near the line I draw on pets. I cannot see treating one for cancer or other terminal type illness, but this was a no brainer. No it is not my cat, but I still am fond of it, and Tiger deserves to be in good health. It was also hard to accept thanks from the Ex and her emotion. I was not at all comfortable accepting the hug she gave me.
I ended up getting a cup of coffee at Sheetz to calm my nerves and chill out on the drive back home. I called a friend to make sure they were ok and not affected. When I got home I decided to see what book I wanted to read next, and ended up spending 20 minutes looking at most of the shelves of books, and pulling out many of the Heinlein and Orson Scott Card books. I figure I will reread those since it has been a long time. I did not get alot of sleep. It was a very restless night filled with the sounds of chain saws and heavy trucks clearing up the mess.
The worst part is not getting a shower this morning. I feel dirty. Oh so dirty. I have to have a shower in the morning, lest I be grumpy and cross all day. Bite people's little heads off, I will. Oh yeah, and my dad is flying in today. 2 hours ahead of what he said. Sure hope we have power by then.
* $1 will be donated to Eric's Nautical Aquarium Restoration Fund (NARF) for use of the footnotes.
[a] They now say it is a sinus infection and not bronchitis, so that is why the Z-pak did not work.
[b] Being an observant chap, the traffic lights being out and the cop directing traffic clued me right in. ;-)
[c] Credit to the Capitol Steps for their Wirty Dords routine
[d] They did not do a great job. There were many stressed out people, especially when you overheard them talking about the worst "destruction" being on my street and the intersecting ones.
[e] The Ex said Mariko burst into tears as soon as she got in the car. I feel like a cad, and like a terrible father for not being able to get her to deal with the emotions sooner and with me.
[f] He did this by howling in an extremely loud voice every time he moved. So loud in fact that I had to call a second time to get the emergenecy vet number, since he drowned out the last 4 digits of the number the first time.
[g] If you have not had this procedure done before, DON'T!!! It is not in the least pleasant. In fact it downright hurts. Even more than getting a tube shoved down your throat. Insist on making them anesthetize you first. There is never that much urgency, they can fucking wait! Just a suggestion, should you ever find yourself this position. Do not believe them! They lie!
Current Mood: tired and dirty