calliopes_pen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
calliopes_pen) wrote2009-01-30 06:41 pm
calliopes_pen) wrote2009-01-30 06:41 pm
Entry tags:
We Live--We Survived
I just want everyone to know that I’m alive, first of all. People at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
x_journal, due to the following drama (it’s long, and I’ll put it behind an LJ cut) I won’t be around the game for a while. Of course, I have a feeling everyone probably knows, since it’s apparently made international news.
What happened is as bad as Hurricane Katrina, says the governor.
Tuesday
-At 7:30 PM, right as someone hit that high note on American Idol, the power went out.
-Dad went to sleep in my room, since I wasn’t willing to stay. The limb shifted, and hit the wall, and he ran out and opted to sleep in the chair.
-10:30 PM, the power comes back. Midnight, it goes out for good.
Wednesday
-Temperature begins to go down too much indoors. Frostbite imminent at this point, and I’m wearing two pairs of gloves, pants, two pairs of socks, a scarf, three coats, a jacket, and regular winter clothes. I could not feel my hands or feet at one point, so huddled beneath the cover, afghan and three extra blankets.
-We headed for a warming center, but they had no heat. We drove around town. No power anywhere, until we made it to the hotels. There was no room at the inn, basically, for those few that had power. We tried 6 hotels near the mall.
-A curfew was instated. Nobody allowed out after dark. The governor (via the radio) says it’s as bad as Hurricane Katrina.
-No calling 911 allowed—just put a sign in your window, and they’ll try to find and help you. You’re on your own. No power in hospitals, either.
-No mail, newspapers, or garbage pick-up until further notice.
-That night, it’s so cold after we get back that (despite getting warm in the van) I couldn’t feel my hands when we made it back inside. Went straight to bed in the dark, and my cat saved me. She sniffed me everywhere, found the coldest spots (through the blankets!) and laid down on them. I got warm, and she went to Mom next. Got her warm, and she went to Dad—then, my sister.
Thursday
-Still too cold. Temperature was around 30 indoors.
-Only 25 people allowed in Wal-Mart, once they got some power. Only allowed essentials.
-AT&T towers were down, so no phones for most places. But Verizon had troubles, too, and people were asked not to call outside the state for right then.
-10 AM, still nearly frozen to death. A neighbor showed up to check on us, and gave us his propane heater for nothing.
-11 AM. Rhonda (lady that owns Toby) came to see how we were. Said she would bring us dinner that night, since she had a gas stove that worked. She would go on to bring us (at 5:30 PM) macaroni and cheese, veal cutlets, and groceries. And four propane heaters. (Dad mistakenly ran out and bought two before her, so we have six, and the borrowed one now.)
-Noon. We found the Cheerios. To prove how sad it was, Mom spilled it. I ate it from where it landed on the couch, since I was starving. Wasn’t far enough gone to eat from the floor, so that little bit went in the trash.
-2 PM. We realize we have potatoes from what would have been a pot roast in the crock pot. We eat them raw, which is how I like them anyway.
-3 PM. Mom wonders (and hopes for it) when Sean will call us, since calls couldn’t go out at that point, but they could come in. Wonders if we’re trapped long enough, if flowers will be sent from online friends.
-5:45 PM. Power comes back. Everyone sits for 3 minutes before realizing there is light coming from the kitchen. There are tentative cheers and everyone’s near tears in relief, as we expect it to go out again. I wonder how much e-mail I’ll have when the internet finally comes back. The internet came back a few minutes ago, and I can answer this—545 pieces of e-mail.
And I have to say thank you for e-mailing me things Sean—thought you might. Mom was amused by me nearly exploding with joy when the internet came back. She laughed when I pretty much forced the cat out of the chair, so I could tell people I was alive.
As of Friday morning
8:15 AM—lights flicker, everyone waits. It stays okay.
-More snow expected Monday. Icy fog tonight.
-Certified tree chopper (a real one this time) comes to tell us that he can help get rid of the trees. He spotted one last tree limb (from the back yard) hanging over the house, ready to fall if it shifts wrong when the ice thaws.
-Ice begins to thaw—sounds like rain, but it’s just melting. Chunks fall off trees, landing on the roof. Traumatizing everyone for a moment.
-Reportedly, Obama has sent $43 million in federal aid if I’ve heard right. The National Guard arrived just as we left from being unable to find a hotel. Ambulance were sent from other states, and generators.
-If you were unfortunate enough to have TVA giving you power, you won’t have it for at least a month.
-Dad has the pictures of the horrific damage everywhere uploaded to his laptop. I’ll post them tomorrow if I still have power or internet. You have to see the trees across the street—if there’s one wrong wind, I think it will go through Nellie’s roof—she’s currently trapped in Henderson, KY, with her sick brother. Dad got pictures of that for her. You can’t see the roads in the pictures, as I’ll explain later.
-It was basically three nights of no sleep, and everyone’s still catching up. Also, at my grandmother’s old house a tree fell—one that had been there since Dad was a baby—and took out the fence. Another tree at a person next door’s house split in half—half of it fell on one house, and half on someone else’s. That other house of ours is still without power, I think.
-I’ll tell more as I remember, but there was a riot at Wal-Mart today when the power went out there again. People had been standing in line and lost it.
ETA: I might withdraw from the second half of the OT3 ficathon, just in case things get bad again. We haven't even begun the clean-up.
x_journal, due to the following drama (it’s long, and I’ll put it behind an LJ cut) I won’t be around the game for a while. Of course, I have a feeling everyone probably knows, since it’s apparently made international news.What happened is as bad as Hurricane Katrina, says the governor.
Tuesday
-At 7:30 PM, right as someone hit that high note on American Idol, the power went out.
-Dad went to sleep in my room, since I wasn’t willing to stay. The limb shifted, and hit the wall, and he ran out and opted to sleep in the chair.
-10:30 PM, the power comes back. Midnight, it goes out for good.
Wednesday
-Temperature begins to go down too much indoors. Frostbite imminent at this point, and I’m wearing two pairs of gloves, pants, two pairs of socks, a scarf, three coats, a jacket, and regular winter clothes. I could not feel my hands or feet at one point, so huddled beneath the cover, afghan and three extra blankets.
-We headed for a warming center, but they had no heat. We drove around town. No power anywhere, until we made it to the hotels. There was no room at the inn, basically, for those few that had power. We tried 6 hotels near the mall.
-A curfew was instated. Nobody allowed out after dark. The governor (via the radio) says it’s as bad as Hurricane Katrina.
-No calling 911 allowed—just put a sign in your window, and they’ll try to find and help you. You’re on your own. No power in hospitals, either.
-No mail, newspapers, or garbage pick-up until further notice.
-That night, it’s so cold after we get back that (despite getting warm in the van) I couldn’t feel my hands when we made it back inside. Went straight to bed in the dark, and my cat saved me. She sniffed me everywhere, found the coldest spots (through the blankets!) and laid down on them. I got warm, and she went to Mom next. Got her warm, and she went to Dad—then, my sister.
Thursday
-Still too cold. Temperature was around 30 indoors.
-Only 25 people allowed in Wal-Mart, once they got some power. Only allowed essentials.
-AT&T towers were down, so no phones for most places. But Verizon had troubles, too, and people were asked not to call outside the state for right then.
-10 AM, still nearly frozen to death. A neighbor showed up to check on us, and gave us his propane heater for nothing.
-11 AM. Rhonda (lady that owns Toby) came to see how we were. Said she would bring us dinner that night, since she had a gas stove that worked. She would go on to bring us (at 5:30 PM) macaroni and cheese, veal cutlets, and groceries. And four propane heaters. (Dad mistakenly ran out and bought two before her, so we have six, and the borrowed one now.)
-Noon. We found the Cheerios. To prove how sad it was, Mom spilled it. I ate it from where it landed on the couch, since I was starving. Wasn’t far enough gone to eat from the floor, so that little bit went in the trash.
-2 PM. We realize we have potatoes from what would have been a pot roast in the crock pot. We eat them raw, which is how I like them anyway.
-3 PM. Mom wonders (and hopes for it) when Sean will call us, since calls couldn’t go out at that point, but they could come in. Wonders if we’re trapped long enough, if flowers will be sent from online friends.
-5:45 PM. Power comes back. Everyone sits for 3 minutes before realizing there is light coming from the kitchen. There are tentative cheers and everyone’s near tears in relief, as we expect it to go out again. I wonder how much e-mail I’ll have when the internet finally comes back. The internet came back a few minutes ago, and I can answer this—545 pieces of e-mail.
And I have to say thank you for e-mailing me things Sean—thought you might. Mom was amused by me nearly exploding with joy when the internet came back. She laughed when I pretty much forced the cat out of the chair, so I could tell people I was alive.
As of Friday morning
8:15 AM—lights flicker, everyone waits. It stays okay.
-More snow expected Monday. Icy fog tonight.
-Certified tree chopper (a real one this time) comes to tell us that he can help get rid of the trees. He spotted one last tree limb (from the back yard) hanging over the house, ready to fall if it shifts wrong when the ice thaws.
-Ice begins to thaw—sounds like rain, but it’s just melting. Chunks fall off trees, landing on the roof. Traumatizing everyone for a moment.
-Reportedly, Obama has sent $43 million in federal aid if I’ve heard right. The National Guard arrived just as we left from being unable to find a hotel. Ambulance were sent from other states, and generators.
-If you were unfortunate enough to have TVA giving you power, you won’t have it for at least a month.
-Dad has the pictures of the horrific damage everywhere uploaded to his laptop. I’ll post them tomorrow if I still have power or internet. You have to see the trees across the street—if there’s one wrong wind, I think it will go through Nellie’s roof—she’s currently trapped in Henderson, KY, with her sick brother. Dad got pictures of that for her. You can’t see the roads in the pictures, as I’ll explain later.
-It was basically three nights of no sleep, and everyone’s still catching up. Also, at my grandmother’s old house a tree fell—one that had been there since Dad was a baby—and took out the fence. Another tree at a person next door’s house split in half—half of it fell on one house, and half on someone else’s. That other house of ours is still without power, I think.
-I’ll tell more as I remember, but there was a riot at Wal-Mart today when the power went out there again. People had been standing in line and lost it.
ETA: I might withdraw from the second half of the OT3 ficathon, just in case things get bad again. We haven't even begun the clean-up.
no subject
no subject
no subject
And if it does, we can put it in the garage if we lose power. Dad's going to buy a generator soon, when he can.
Sidenote: Some cans of soda apparently contracted and then exploded out there since it got so cold.
(Internet's currently spotty, as I think I mentioned somewhere in there. Dad has his laptop doing an internet check every 10 seconds, for any changes there.)
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
stay safe
no subject
no subject
(and yes you have made international news...me aunty in New Zealand asked if I knew anyone dealing with this shite...they're keeping you and yours in their thoughts)
no subject
no subject
Stay safe! I'll be thinking of you.
no subject
no subject
*hugs you*
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
I know I at least saw a story on this in... probably Thursday's possibly Friday's West Australian - I was keeping a look out for it. I didn't try the Oz because I can't really get away with a quick flick-through of a broadsheet! I don't know about the tv news, I find the evening bulletins usually dire and have tuned out by the time international news is mentioned if I was watching in the first place. ANYWAY, you saw in my emails that I was following the AP feed from your local newspaper's site (the amount that I can follow without subscribing, anyway) to get the most up to date news I can.
Yeah, Dad was always pleased to have gas cooking and hot water in case of power cuts. From what I've read it seems like some people not only had that, but possibly what we had when I was a kid, a wood-fired range (I'd say esp with older houses). And one of the articles said some people were sleeping in cars instead of inside just for the warmth.
Ah, it was that reading again that stopped me from calling - one of the early news items I read said that phones and internet were out for most of the state too, so I figured there wouldn't be much point calling until the power was back (and by the time I woke up and read this on my phone, I figured you'd be asleep already).
Still, farbeit for me to disappoint... :D
*bows* I figured you might need some "headlines" sent, since you wouldn't be getting papers or internet or tv news, and would need to save the batteries in your radios. Plus some of it wouldn't be on telly anyway... ;)
How many tall trees do you have still over your house? Between this storm and last year's, it sounded like all your trees would be gone by now... of course, my suburb's only about 30 years old, we don't have that many tall-enough-to-overhang trees around, not like the trees I mentioned in email the other day, in a rather older suburb.
no subject
Going by what they've shown since the news came back, there pretty much aren't many trees left in Paducah at all. The only ones left in our yard might be the one over our house (vaguely) in the back yard, and the one I planted when I was 5 back there. The latter one is doing fine, amazingly.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
That sounds awful. :(
no subject