Share your Hurricane Ike experiences!

[PurpleDragon]

Day 14, still no power for Dragon... truly starting to become perturbed at this point.  I don't mind not having the convenience of electricity when camping at Faire, but dangnubbit,  I want it at home.

Now, for something a little "light"...





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You know you're from the Gulf Coast when....


1. You have FEMA's number on your speed dialer.
2. You have more than 100 'C' and 'D' batteries in your kitchen drawer.
3. Your pantry contains more than 20 cans of Spaghetti O's.
4. You are thinking of repainting your house to match the plywood covering your windows.
5. When describing your gutted house to a prospective buyer, you say it has three bedrooms, two baths and an open air feel to it.
6. Your SSN isn't a secret, it's written in Sharpie on your arms.
7. You are on a first-name basis with the cashier at Home Depot.
8. You are delighted to pay $3.50 for a gallon of regular unleaded.
9. The road leading to your house has been declared a No-Wake Zone.
10. You decide that your patio furniture looks better on the bottom of the pool.
11. You own more than three large coolers.
12. You can wish that other people get hit by a hurricane and not feel the least bit guilty about it.
13. You rationalize helping a friend board up by thinking It'll only take a gallon of gas to get there and back
14. You have 2-liter coke bottles and milk jugs filled with water in your freezer.
15. Three months ago you couldn't hang a shower curtain; today you can assemble a portable generator by candlelight.
16. You catch a 13-pound red fish - in your house.
17. You can recite from memory whole portions of your homeowner's insurance policy.
18. You consider a vacation to stunning Tupelo, Mississippi.
19. At cocktail parties, women are attracted to the guy with the biggest chainsaw.
20. You have had tuna fish more than 5 days in a row.
21. There is a roll of tar paper in your garage.
22. You can rattle off the names of three or more meteorologists who work at the Weather Channel.
23. Someone comes to your door to tell you they found your roof.
24. Ice is a valid topic of conversation.
25. Your drive-thru meal consists of MRE's and bottled water.
26. Relocating to South Dakota does not seem like such a crazy idea.
27. You spend more time on your roof than in your living room.
28. You've been laughed at over the phone by a roofer, fence builder or a tree worker.
29. A battery powered TV is considered a home entertainment center.
30. You don't worry about relatives wanting to visit during the summer.
31. Your child's first words are "hunker down!"
32. Having a tree in your living room does not necessarily mean its Christmas.
33. Toilet Paper is elevated to coin of the realm at the shelters.
34. You know the difference between the good side of a storm and the bad side.
35. Your kids start school in August and finish in July.
36. You go to work early and stay late just to enjoy the air conditioning.
37. Your garage smells like gasoline.
38. You're more concerned about someone stealing your generator than your car.
39. You get excited when you see a bucket truck in your neighborhood.
40. You get really excited when you see the cable guy.
41. Adults chase power company trucks with greater enthusiasm than a 6 year old flagging down an ice cream truck.
42. You can create memorable meals wit h a can of SPAM and one gas burner.
43. Waiting in line at Starbucks for 2 hours to get a cup of coffee seems perfectly reasonable.

[Broadside]

Following your lead Karl,


Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season is Like Christmas

10. Decorating the house (boarding up windows, putting up shutters).

9. Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season (camping gear, flash lights).

8. Last minute shopping in crowded stores.

7. Regular TV shows pre- empted for "specials".

6. Family coming to stay with you, or mandatory evacuation requires you to visit them.

5. Family and friends from out-of-state calling.

4. Buying food you don' t normally buy ... and in large quantities.

3. Days off from work.

2. Candles.

1. And the number one reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas ...
At some point you know you' re going to have a tree in your house!

[Tipsy Gypsy]

Oh, those are goood. A few more, courtesy of a friend:

Coffee and frozen pizzas can be made on a BBQ grill.

Your car gets 23.21675 miles per gallon, EXACTLY (you asked the people in line who helped push it).

He who has the biggest generator wins.

Flood plain drawings on some mortgage documents were seriously wrong.

People will get into a line that has already formed without having any idea what the line is for.

Cell phones work when land lines are down, but only as long as the battery remains charged.

If I had a store that sold only ice, chainsaws, gas and generators...I'd be rich.

Waterfront property can quickly become someone else's fishing hole.

MATH 101: 30 days in month, minus 10 days without power equals 30% higher electric bill??

Heat makes you brutally honest.

A MUST for all blackouts with kids... GLOWSTICKS!

It is a great time to teach the children the fine art of gambling (penny ante poker) card playing.

You can never have too many gas cans.

7 dogs that do not normally live together still do not get along during a hurricane; they have no comprehension of sharing.

5 gallons of sweetened iced tea a day is not enough for 9 teenagers.

Neighbors are much more sociable when your trees are being removed from their houses.

That neighbor who knows how to use a Chainsaw is your new best friend.

What looks acceptable by candlelight in your bathroom will scare you when you look at yourself in the mirror at the office.

Ice is a form of currency.

You run out of things to barbecue after Day 3.

Hair can dry without a blow dryer, but it may not look the way you planned.

Baseball caps go with any post-hurricane ensemble.

You can't train yourself not to flip on light switches when entering a room.

Lukewarm is the new cold.

It's easier to ignore a dirty house when you can't see it.

A new opening phrase when seeing someone: 'Got lights yet?'

Daydreaming consists of thinking about what you will do when the freak'n power comes back on!

And Finally*****
Ike showed many of us who our true friends are!!!!

[PurpleDragon]

Like I've said before,  sure this is a serious situation we are living in, but we are LIVING, and while our homes may be damaged, our property damaged, we are still alive and well. A little humor is a wonderful thing and sharing a smile can help brighten anyones day.

[PurpleDragon]

So, I'm sitting here at the office and my phone rings, it's playing "The Phantom Of The Opera", so I answer as I always do when that song plays "Hello Beautiful", it's the wife, and she is crying on the other end of the phone.  "Babe", she says through the tears                    "WE'VE GOT POWER"!!!!!!!!!!  ~does a little happy dance~  I can sleep in air conditioning again tonight after being without power since 11:30 PM on Friday September 12. 

[Fenster]

Hooray!  Now you have to adjust to life with lights again.   

[valt]

Welcome back to civilization.

[Var Greyshadow]

Huzzah!  I hope I'm giving Lawrence that call in about a half an hour.

[Just Randall]

Damn, Karl, just one more day and you would have qualified for your Rennie Scouts roughin' it badge. Oh, well, better luck next time.

[*Teach*]

Anyone got the guts to sneak over and flip off his breaker?
The primal rage scream would be quite interesting... I bet I would hear that all the way over here in San Antonio

*I'm not even going to offer rum as an incentive on that one...*

[PurpleDragon]

Damn, Karl, just one more day and you would have qualified for your Rennie Scouts roughin' it badge. Oh, well, better luck next time.

BUGGER IT ALL.. and that's the ONLY badge I needed to get my promotion to Beagle Scout. 

[PurpleDragon]

Anyone got the guts to sneak over and flip off his breaker?
The primal rage scream would be quite interesting... I bet I would hear that all the way over here in San Antonio

*I'm not even going to offer rum as an incentive on that one...*

Then I'd let YOU deal with Pam personally...

[Var Greyshadow]

Damn, Karl, just one more day and you would have qualified for your Rennie Scouts roughin' it badge. Oh, well, better luck next time.

Well, I guess WE qualify for the badge.  Still no stinkin' power in my part of the complex.  The rest of the blighters got it back a WEEK ago!

[Anna Iram]

Oh my gosh Var I sypathise with you. That happened here a few years ago. The entire town and all neighborhoods around except my block had power. I called (as I had been) for yet another update and was told our grid showed as being online as well. Seems they missed something and the power was on by that evening. I'd call again, if you haven't already and give them the heads up.

[Ronald the Bald]

Reminds me of when power went out due to a winter storm in west Texas. The city owned power company hooked power back up that night, but missed 2 houses. Mine and the mayor's. (across the alley.)