Nomen Est Omen

Katrina

At long last I can get on the internet again. Granted our little brush with Katrina wasn't nearly as terrible as those in the Gulf states but she did pack a nice wallop upon us anyway. As this is my first hurricane, I decided to document the event and will now share it with you:

Last Wednesday a little storm was born and named Katrina. She was fed well and grew a little bit faster than anyone expected. As she made her way towards land, she over did it on dinner one night and became a category one hurricane and made threatening moves to the locals. The locals all laughed and laughed at her, "Pshaw! We've been through Andrew, you're nothing!" and promptly ignored her. This caused Katrina great angst and she fought back with a vengeance.

Never let anyone tell you that a category one hurricane is nothing because they either lie or are fools.

Thursday

1:00pm: After being ordered to come into work early, the staff is let off to go home and "hunker down" as they like to say round these parts and prepare for Katrina to pass over. Offices will be closed Friday and will probably open back up Saturday. (HA! HA! HA! What fools we were!)

1:30pm: Get home. Decide to go to store and buy non refrigerated food just in case. Debate purchase of water but think to self, "Self, you have a water filter at home on your tap, you don't need to buy bottled water." Realize later how stupid that was to say. Buy cup o noodles for food. Realize later how stupid that was to buy. Hi, I'm cup o noodles and I need water...heated water...to cook? Yah, remember me? Dork. Go on and buy me then, I'll just sit on your shelf, useless.

2:05pm: Walk back the two blocks home. Am drenched...as if I had taken a shower fully clothed, by the time I get home. As in, water was pouring down my face making it hard to see, drenched. Katrina's coming!

2:15pm: Groceries, (HA!), put away. Stand at window and watch trees sway in breeze. Think to self, "Eh, this isn't such a big deal."

4:05pm: BANG!!!! Almost shit self. Transformer nearby blows.

4:19pm: Standing watch at window. See satellite dishes which are connected to roof being blown back and forth. Think to self, "those are going to fall."

4:19pm: Watch part of roof/overhang rip off, satellite dish included, fall past window. Almost shit self.

4:25pm: Go downstairs and watch hurricane approach with neighbors out doorway.

4:50pm: See new Russian neighbor hauling bags of groceries, drenched, run out to help. Hang out in her apartment for a spell.

4:55: Clink cigarettes that we are having, together as we are both celebrating our very first hurricane together. Watch her sliding glass doors, which face the west, bow in and out and wonder when they will shatter. Guard eyes.

5:20pm: Sharing semi-nervous conversation with Russian neighbor and watch perfect circular green ball of electricity glow as two power lines rub together repeatedly just outside window. Think to self like it better in own apartment. No electric lines to watch and no sliding glass doors. Contemplate excuse to escape.

5:25pm: Watch pieces of roof fall off and land on Russian neighbor's balcony. Think harder for excuse.

6:00pm: Successfully came up with excuse and am now back in own apartment. Not so bad here. Kinda peaceful on this side anyway. Open beach windows, poke head outside, look down to ground and notice all satellite dishes are on ground, some bent, some dented, some strangling themselves on their cables, some broken in two. Thank self for not getting satellite.

6:02pm: More pieces of roof fall off apartment building and bam! into side of apartment. Not liking noise. Consider joining cats glued under the bed.

6:21pm: Katrina shifts, eye goes directly over house. Think, "cool!" Get some peace for awhile. So peaceful, doesn't even seem like hurricane is still there. Have visited Noaa site enough to know better.

6:30pm: News states eye of storm over my area. Think, "Duh." Boy, they're quick.

Fall asleep. Yes, that calm.

8:00pm: Wake up.

8:01pm: Wind picks up again, ferociously, power flickers but does not go out, lose cable. Neighbors in two apartment buildings over not so lucky. They lose power.

8:16pm: Fuzzy local channel news, no sound. Loving close captioning right now.

8:26pm: Lights flicker on and off. Wind at 80mph now.

8:32pm: Sound back, still fuzzy, still no cable.

9:41pm: Still windy but not so bad anymore.

9:50pm: Overpass on major freeway collapses. Thankfully no one on that road. Still stupid fools driving around my neighborhood though.

10:01pm: Massive rain. Did Noah come back to build ark? Think to self this would be good idea. Too late. Note for next time: build ark.

11:00pm: All the excitement makes me tired. Pass out.

Friday

Aftermath. Bored. Bored, bored, bored. Trees down, debris everywhere, million without power, no phone service....can't go outside...bored, bored, bored.

Saturday

Get up for work since can't reach emergency hotline to know if work open today. Get to work at 8:15am. Building has no lights on. Call Supervisor. Poor planning. Everyone shows up, stands around for a half an hour till boss shows up and says, "We're going to call it a day. No power." Think to self, "Duh. Could have slept in." Go home. Bored, bored, bored, bored.

Realize I got lucky. Where my work is and where many co-workers live got hit hard.

Saturday night

Go out because there are celebrities in town and I promised to snap photos. Walk and walk and walk. Can't get in to so many clubs. This bites. Start to walk back up the avenue in South Beach and am stopped by police escort for a certain celebrity rapper. Crowd finds out who it is and screaming and thundering herd ensue. Get shoved around. Think this person is full of self. Police escort? Looks like it was a presedential motorcade and is only a rapper. Pscht! Screw this, I'm going home. Can't go home. Cannot get past hotel because Mr. I'm So Famous Rapper's police escort is holding us all back. Start to get annoyed. Ears bleeding from all the screaming. Want to vomit.

Watch bus go by. Fuck! Miss bus by two second because of Mr. Fancy Pants Rapper and his police escort. Hate rapper. Walk. Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk. Never see another bus going my way till 10 blocks from home. By this time I have already walked 65 blocks. Am tired. Blisters forming. Legs killing me. Sweating up a storm. Want to beat rapper. Luckily am cooled by wind blowing from Katrina's arm bands still reaching us.

Make it home at exactly the same time that Shug Knight was shot at the Shore Club. Coincidence of course but still odd. Collapse. Walked a total of 90 blocks Saturday night and gained a pound. The fuck?!

Sunday

Bored, bored, bored, bored. Still no cable. Thank lucky stars have power. Poor neighbors in two apartment buildings over still no power. Feel bad for them. Enjoy a/c. Sleep tons. Watch DVDs all day.

Sunday night

Am pissed can't watch VMA awards but still thankful I even have power. Decide to watch PBS as that is the only channel coming in clearly. Learn a lot about cows. More than ever wanted to know. Also learn that in the Masai tribe in Africa, one member was so distraught over news of 9/11 that he gave up some of his cows to the people of NY City. To the Masai tribe, the gift of a cow is considered the ultimate gift of friendship. Am touched. Wipe tear from eye.

Pass out.

Monday

Go to work. Holy shit! Major backlog. Phone never stops ringing. We don't get lunch break. Want to scream. Need cigarette! Will kill! Finally am off, get home, have cable again! YAY! Look out window: Poor neighbors in two apartment buildings over still have no power. Feel pity for them.

And of course the people in the gulf states had it far worse than we did. I suggest that everyone donate something to the Red Cross for those poor souls. Some have lost everything...before I left for work today, I saw on the fuzzy news that some people's homes were flooded to the ceilings...and that was half way through the hurricane. A category one did this much damage around here....they had a category 4 and are not nearly as equipped to handle it like we are. Those people need help. Take what I went through and multiply it by 100 and you have a glimpse into how dreadful it's going to be for them for some time.

And now I'm tired. I must go. There is another storm brewing off the Lesser Antilles and hopefully nothing will come of it but still need sleep just in case it does. And hope for the best.

Posted by S. Faolan Wolf at August 29, 2005 10:42 PM | TrackBack