For those of us who have lived in Texas and specifically, the Gulf Coast area our entire lives, we don't exactly get too worked up over hurricanes or the potential threat of hurricanes. However, when Katrina hit several years ago that all changed. It used to be that the threat of a hurricane meant no school or work, and that was great news....a day off...yay! I guess it was because no hurricane did more than tear down trees or knock out the electricity in my neighborhood. When I was a kid it was just exciting. Not really sure why...I guess I've just strangely always liked storms. Anyways, before Katrina I don't think I ever appreciated the destruction that a hurricane could leave behind. I guess because none had ever left that type of destruction so close to home before.
The distaster that was Katrina left the city of Houston in a panicked frenzy when hurricane Rita threatened our city. Although the hurricane itself did not leave a path of destruction, one was created as we remembered what happened only several weeks before in New Orleans and city officials urged us to evacuate the city. It was a nightmare. I returned home from a fabulous vacation in Cabo San Lucas only to find the city in a frenzy. Gas was completely sold out and everyone was fleeing. I didn't stress too much as I was supposed to head to Austin for the Austin City Limits Music festival anyways. However, after 8 hours on the road and having only made it 10 miles down I-10, I realized I wasn't going to make it out of the city, let alone all the way to Austin. We ended up staying at a friend's mom's house in Katy (thank you Jen's mom!) and just hung out and waited for the hurricane....and waited....and waited. We got nothing. It didn't even RAIN! Ok...to be fair, the wind picked up a bit and we had a nice breeze. What a waste.
Because of the evacuation nightmare that occurred in Houston during Rita, city officials have made it their mission in life to make the city prepare...or scare the city into preparation. For the last several years I have driven past large billboards with the message "It's Hurricane Season, Fill Up Your Tanks!" or "Storm Forming in Gulf, Be Prepared!." Come on...you all have seen them. You all know what I'm talking about. I guess they just don't want to say that they didn't warn everyone but sometimes it seems a little premature. I think the city is just hurricane-shy at this point. But I guess it works. Just last week as I was grocery shopping I started thinking about hurricane season so I felt the need to be prepared. By be prepared I mean that I bought 3 large packs of water, about 20 cans of raviolis and batteries. I didn't even know what I was buying the batteries for but I bought them.
What is her point, you ask? I've said all of this to say this:
I found out just yesterday that there is a tropical storm/potential hurricane forming in the Gulf. I checked the weather today and saw that it was true so I immediately felt the need to leave work early to prepare. Prepare for what, I don't know. Just prepare. So, I've been home since 3:30....preparing. I washed the dishes, put my car in the garage and now Andrew and I are sitting on the couch watching tv. We are very prepared. So far, it looks like a beautiful evening. I guess we will just have to wait until the morning to see if we are prepared enough.
My guess is, it might rain a little and wind will blow. However, I've got my batteries so I'll be ok :)
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Maybe you could get a battery powered microwave to cook your raviolis
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