Ummm...

So this week sucked. My cat, Sasha, died on Thursday. She was 6 years old, and died while we were on the way to the emergency vet clinic of an infection in her paw that she got when we evacuated.
I also started back to work, but since my office is out of commission, I got shipped to Angleton to work. On one hand, it's good because I used to work there and it's so nice to be back with old co-workers. On the other, it sucks because I do miss my G-Town buds. And being back in Angleton with the same old people but in a totally different situation just reaffirms the fact that everything's so out of whack right now.
We do go back to Galveston as an office on Wednesday to gather what's left of our belongings and files from our office. I'm nervous, because I'm anticipating that it will be shocking to go back there for the first time and see all the destruction after the storm. I know it's not going to be pretty.
Wish me luck.

Bad Mama!

So obviously, things have been anything but normal lately. But I must be feeling more anxious than I realized, because I'm now having anxiety dreams. In my latest dream, there was a massive roach running around my house.
I'm a Texan. Roaches, as gross as they are, are a part of life here. You RAID their asses, add a mark to your own score column (Courtney: 321, Roaches: 0) and move on about your business. In my dream, I did just that. And all was going well as I waited for the roach to die, until I turned around and realized that it was, in fact, my dog that I had poisoned, and not a roach.
But it wasn't actually Allie - it was more of an Allie/poodle mix (Allie's body with a poodle's face), which is really a strange looking little creature. It was AWFUL though, seeing this cute little furry puppy looking at me with it's massive brown eyes all sad and wondering why I would ever do such a thing.
Feeling extremely panicky, I started to berate myself in my dream: "Courtney, HOW COULD YOU MAKE SUCH A MISTAKE?!? THAT'S CLEARLY NOT A ROACH!"
I woke up all out of breath and sweaty. NEVER EVER have I been so glad to have been dreaming.

My Girl, Karen

So with all this time on my hands, I have so much time to write. I'm making up for the months that I went without blogging, I guess.
I just talked to my friend Karen, who lives about a mile away from me, and evidently she got home the other day to find that somebody had left a pony chained to her front gate. Weird. So she sent me a picture of her new pet pony.
How freaking awesome is that? It's like every little girl's dream!!
I want to go play!

Pictures

So at this point, the only remnants of Ike at my household (other than sitting at home with no office to go to) are the following:



A shot of our "drinking water" - not so drinkable. Not even bathe-able for that matter. Yuck.




Yay!! Our fence is replaced. Even if it's ugly and mis-matched, it's still replaced and back to normal. I didn't get a shot of our front fenceline, because we were actually able to just replace it with the boards that were knocked down, so there's no color difference in the boards that can be seen from the road...

Today, I have to figure out if there are any stores that are open. My dad's birthday is on 9/21, and I don't have a present for him. We might have to postpone his birthday, because I'm not sure there's going to be a way to get a present for him in time. Although, I could just give him cash :) Nothing says, "Happy 56th" quite like cold hard cash.

Grit Your Teeth and Smile

Wow - so yesterday, I was sitting outside talking to my neighbors, Jason and Valerie, and their parents (who live in Galveston and may or may not have a home), when Jason's mom asks me out of the blue: "Courtney, you're not a liberal are you?" I was caught off guard, because we were not at all talking politics, but I answered, "Well, I'm actually more independent, but I am more liberal than conservative." And she follows with, "Oh, well it's just because you don't know any better. All liberals are only that way because they don't know any better. Liberals are nothing but communists. Don't you dare vote for Barack. He's a communist."
"Umm - o.k."
That was my response. Because the last thing I wanted to do was to get into a political debate with the lady who may have just lost everything. But that was rude, right? I mean, fine if you want to talk about politics. Great if you want to give me your point of view. I'm ok with that, because I don't believe that everybody has to feel the way I feel. We each get a vote, and you should vote the way you feel you need to. But to straight up tell me that I just don't know what I'm talking about? To call me a communist? Well that's just un-called for, biotch.

Getting Back

So we're home. Cable's restored, electricity's on, telephones are sketchy but mostly in service. We now share a back yard with our neighbors because the fence that separates our yards got torn down, but I feel blessed to have a home. Though our community's not exactly pretty right now, things are slowly getting back to normal. Taco Bell even opened up today with a limited menu. Anybody who knows me knows how excited this makes me!!
I'm trying to avoid gas stations and grocery stores, since there's a definite wait to get inside these places. Thank goodness I brought home enough groceries to live through Armageddon. Perhaps I'll even cook a meal or two. Livin' on the wild side, you know.
Kevin's already back at work, and I'm waiting to hear about my job and when/where I'll have to go back. I definitely won't be going back to Galveston for awhile...
Tomorrow will be my seventh day off, although it seems much shorter than that since the entire evacuation experience seemed like one really long, really crappy day. Thank God that part's over with.
Please keep the people in Galveston/Bolivar in your prayers. It definitely doesn't look good there. Health conditions are horrible since they have no water, food, electricity, or sewer and the newspaper said a man actually got airlifted off the island with one THOUSAND mosquito bites. That can't be good...

Looking Forward to Looking Back

This is definitely one of those moments where I wish I could just fast forward a few weeks/months to a time where things are back to "normal." Or maybe just to a place where a new normal feels ok.
Tomorrow morning, Kevin and I will head back home. Home. Nothing feels better than just being at home, but I'm so nervous about going back and seeing first-hand all the destruction that I've been watching on the news. Things right now seem surreal, and I'm ok with that. I'm not looking forward to the moment where they actually become real.
The last evacuation experience was so different. In and of itself, it was awful. Traffic was horrible, gas was scarce, and it was not fun at all, but the end result was so different than this time. Rita turned at the last minute and missed us. Not that I ever wish storms on anyone, but obviously you never want your hometown to be destroyed. This time was totally different. This time, I watched the Weather Channel broadcast live from my office building, and we saw the flooding and the debris. So I already know that the end result is going to be much different than last time.
I'm thankful for so many things: that my family is safe, that my property suffered minimal damage, and that I have a job (though not an office) to return to. I've been really blessed. But at the same time, I'm sad. I'm sad for the people who lost everything, for those who are still looking for loved ones, and for those who are risking their lives to save others. I'm even sad for Galveston Island itself. Sure, it's never been an exotic vacation destination, but it is cool. The island has its own vibe, and I have really taken for granted the fact that I can drive 15 minutes down the road and be at the beach...
I think I'm soaking up the technology right now. Obviously, we'll be without internet/phones/cable for awhile, but I definitely will post again when I can.

George

And p.s. I was just reading CNN.com and saw where they said that Galveston residents who decided not to leave would face "certain death."
Is it ok to tell people that? That they're facing "certain death?"
I mean, they're not, right? People have survived much worse. Granted, it's not an environment where I'd like to be, as is evident by the fact that I sit watching the storm from the security of a hotel room some 150 miles off the coast. But it doesn't mean that everybody's going to die!!
I really hope they're just being dramatic. I've actually befriended several of the homeless people in G-Town. Especially one guy - George, who walks around barefoot regardless of the temperature/season, and who talks to everybody and waves every time I see him (which is usually every few days). He walks the island, watches the water, waves at people, and even joins this other guy who always stands on the seawall, waves an American Flag and gives the peace sign to passing cars. They're like "peaceful protest" buddies or something.
Jeez - I really hope they're ok...

Bite Me, IKE

We survived yet another evacuation. This one was much better than the last. It took us about 4 hours to get to College Station, which is normally a 2 hour trip. To put that in perspective: It was a 12 hour trip just to get to College Station the last time we evacuated, which is why I was freaking out about going through it again.
There is nothing stranger than packing up your house and deciding what to take with you when you go. Obviously, the important things like, you know, your pets and whatnot, go first. But then what? Clothes? Shoes? DVD's? Sadly, these are the things that seem to be so important. But then you realize that these are the things that can easily be replaced. These things that, yesterday, seemed so valuable.
I opted for my computer (obviously), my Sex and the City DVDs (of course) and then all the sentimental things like pictures and quilts, home videos, wedding videos, etc. that can't be replaced.
So now all that's left to do is to sit and watch the news, I guess.
The weather channel is actually broadcasting from the upstairs of my office building right now, which is so bizarre. The water's already coming over the Seawall in Galveston, so I'm assuming my office will be flooded. I guess that's the downside of working in a glass building that sits something like 100 feet off the water. Right.

Sweet Shib-a-line...Dun.Dun.DUN.

...Good times never seemed so good!!!

The above line is in reference to the time that my BFF, Shibbie, and I sat in the kitchen of her mom's house singing "Sweet Caroline" at the top of our lungs while dancing around like crazy. That's what happens when you're with your best friend. You can look like a fool and not give a damn. Love it. Good times :)

And today just happens to be her birthday. Her last year before the big 3-0!!!

So Shibbie - hope your birthday's a great one. Love and miss you bunches!!

3:00 Update

Storm weather days to begin tomorrow. Four day weekend, baby :)
Hopefully it will be just that. A four day weekend. Because that, in and of itself, is sweet. It would not be so sweet if it was accompanied by a certain storm by the name of Ike.

On the upside, Cory Corolla (my car) is super pumped about the days off. She was beginning to stress about the idea of driving the massive bridge that connects Galveston to the mainland in 60 mph winds. Don't judge her.

Storm Pulse

I think the worst part about living on the Coast during Hurricane Season is the constant uncertainty when a storm is coming in. You feel like you're dodging a jagged-pathed bullet or something. The constant, "It might be coming at you. It's definitely coming at you. EVACUATE NOW! No, nevermind, but keep an eye out. Have your supplies ready just in case! GAS UP!" Blah blah blah.
It makes you crazy. It really does.
I always think about how it would be at my job if I told my claimants, "You might get a check this month. It could be today. Nope, nevermind - but maybe next week. OH NO - WE MESSED UP AND NOW YOU'RE NOT GETTING PAID AT ALL!" People would not be happy about that one bit. I'm just sayin...
That's how I feel about you right now, weather forecasters. What do you get paid for? I could easily tell people that the storm MIGHT be coming their way.