Que the Cheesy Inspirational Music!
So, the last few days have been...trying. To say the least. Not knowing whether you’ll have a home to return too is almost as bad as having that home and it not being fully functional. We are only now completely up and running (internet and all ^.^ ). So, I shall now post what has happened over the past following days. I’ve been writing a lot...that is your only warning. This entry is gonna have some serious tags...Enjoy!
August 28, 2005
Title: Departure? More like Deeepaaartuuurrrre...
Time: 1:20 p.m.
Mood: 
anxious
We’re just leaving the house. We’re all packed up, fed, and comfortable...as comfortable as you can be when you’re leaving your childhood home to face God-knows-what. So, we’ll see what we see.
Mood: 
aggravated
We’ve just hit traffic congestion. We were going on 310 and we were made to turn off onto 61 North towards Baton Rouge; but, we’ve been stopping and going over the entirety of the 61 turn! Let’s see how long this lasts, shall we?
Mood: 
annoyed
Well...we’ve just eaten and used the restroom and...We’re almost into Baton Rouge. It’s been raining since 4:30ish. It’s been bumper to bumper, and consequently, what could’ve taken an hour and a half took 5 hours!
We saw a gas station that actually had power in the middle of no where, and Mom & Dad had been having to go for 2 hours...So we pulled over to wait in line for 20 minutes (after fighting to actually get near the parking lot). The bathrooms were atrocious, but that could’ve been because of the hundreds of people that’ve been taking the journey with us. They had a line for men’s and women’s restrooms, there was tissue paper all over the floor which had spewed out of the trash can, there were 2 toilets but no partitions at all! There were a few women going in the men’s restroom...desperate times, man.
We went down the road and found a McDonalds that was only open by the drive through. They only had double quarter pounders, Mcnuggest, fries, and of course, drinks. Since we hadn’t eaten since around 11:00 a.m.-ish, we decided to deal. Dad and I got 2 double quarter pounder value meals and Mom got a small order of Mcnuggets. It was my first time eating a quarter pounder...so I guess it wasn’t a total loss.
We are now going up to 45 mph. (in a 65!) which feels like flying considering we’ve’ rarely gotten past 15 mph since 2. Well...it’s raining again...and nothing to do…I’ll go ahead and sleep now...
...to be continued...
August 29, 2005
Title Brunt of the Beast
Time: 12:16 a.m.
Mood: 
exhausted
It is now about 12:15 a.m. by my watch, which is the only watch that counts (in this journal at least), and we’re here. Imagine our shock to find bumper to bumper traffic all the way from the Natchez Bridge to Faraday! It was insanity! On the way my parents asked me to keep them awake, but they kept telling me to lay back down when I started singing Weird Al songs. It was funny at first though, because my Dad asked me,
“What is this?” and I said,
“It’s a Weird Al song, Dad.” And he said
“A Weird Ass song?..Well...I guess it is...” Mom cracked up. But that’s what happens when people are trapped in a car for hours and hours and it doesn’t feel like they’re going anywhere. It took us an hour & 40 minutes to get from the Natchez Bridge to Faraday...10 miles! God, that always stumps me...
I think from now on, if they tell us to evacuate the day before landfall, I’m gonna tell them right where they can stick it. And they keep bragging about the state’s new contra-flow system. Bull! We now laugh and mock them and their systems! It’s terribly organized...but then again, it’s run by the state.
Well. That’s all for right now. Still gotta take pills and bed down. Goodnight.
Mood: 
awake
Just woke up a little while ago, and boy is it raining! The wind is making the trees and cotton look as though it’ll be permanently bent...but plants are resilient...they bounce back easily...sometimes. Nothing to do now but hang out with Uncle Harvey and watch the news. It’s like...I wanna see what’s happening, but I really wanna stop watching all at the same time. It’s craziness. Dad did say something about heading into town to get a few things we need...maybe it’ll be a good distraction...
Mood: 
amused
Well the power went out over here about 15 minutes ago. Uncle Harvey & I were watching a local news station (because everything else wouldn’t come in. Damn Katrina!), and when the power went out, we looked at each other and I said,
“Well, looks like a good time for a nap, don’t you think?” And since he’d been napping before the power went out, he laughed and obliged within moments.
Now all that’s left to do is listen to the wind & rain badger the trees outside. The wind; constantly varying from steady, to groaning, to pounding violently. Likewise the rain comes steadily, then aggressively, then a near nonexistent drizzle, only to restart the cycle again. I suppose I’ll read one of the books I’ve brought. Even my own writing has begun to bore me -.-
Mood: 
irate
Well, it’s time for bed out here...all day it’s been raining and the wind’s been blowing...and all day, we watched the weather channel & various other news stations. The weather finally cleared up right around the time when the sun begins to hang low...I went outside and took various pictures of the clouds in the distance and the trees. The images are very nice, if I do say so myself.
My dad called my Uncle C. early this morning. Uncle C had decided not to evacuate...He informed my dad that other than having no power, no water, and loosing a few trees, our house sat virtually untouched. The A-Frame was equally resilient and still stands.
While I’m very grateful for that peace of mind, I find myself equally sympathetic towards those who lost everything and then some...
The thing to know about hurricanes is that the east side of the hurricane is the worst side. You look at the storm’s eye, and anything to the east of that eye is what will bear the brunt of the beast. That’s why a hurricane that Louisiana evacuated for devastated Mississippi and Alabama and why Georgia, parts of the Carolinas, Tennessee, the Virginias, Kentucky, Ohio, New York and so on and so forth. It’s also why the northern and eastern states will feel what is left of a hurricane even when it’s no longer a hurricane. So my apologies to those of you in the East who are feeling this as well.
Dad wants to try and drive home tomorrow /rolls eyes. Mom and I heard on the news that the roads are underwater in certain places...and when Dad asked Uncle C about it, he told him to call the police first. He said he’d asked the police if he could ride to his daughter’s house (a few streets over), and they told him if patrol catches anyone in a yard that isn’t theirs, they’ll be arrested for looting.
And that’s another terrible problem; looters. I don’t know if anyone’s seen the ‘looting footage’ on the news, but I have to say...it disgusts me. There are people dieing out there, and you’re gonna go capitalize on the chaos and raid Sears?! WTF!!!! We heard them saying how these people were essentially grave robbers, but I think they’re much worse. It enrages me to a degree that I can’t even describe.
All right...calming down...What else did I want to mention? ...Oh yeah...I wanted to call my Twin(![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
animequeen), but we have so few bars on our cell phones out here, it’s nearly impossible to get a call through. It’s odd because people can call us...we just can’t call anyone.
When we were passing through Baton Rouge yesterday (XP), I did put a call into Chibi (amai_tenshi), but I only got her voice mail...and she hasn’t called me back. I wanted to see how/if her parents were preparing...but knowing how uninformed Chibi is, it could be that she doesn’t even know.
Ok...it’s 9:30. I’m gonna go ahead and crash. Goodnight everyone...I hope.
...to be continued...
August 30, 2005
Title On the Road Again
Time: 11:15 a.m.
Mood: 
hopeful
Another day in Couters Point. Everyone thinks I slept till 9:30...the truth is I woke up around 7:45ish ...I just didn’t want to get up. When I did get up, no one was home, but they had left the TV on...wtf?..
The first one home was Uncle Harvey. We watched the news together (again). Found out they’ve declared marshal law in New Orleans, and they’re encouraging people to leave. But where can these people go and how? It’s so depressing. I really need to stop watching the news.
Mood: 
nauseated
We are heading home. No sooner had I stopped writing, and Mom came in and said she’d called the police and they said the roads were open to Houma. We’ll be going to Alexandria, and then heading down 49 south. We’ll have to see how the traffic will be before we can make assumptions as to how long it’ll take. I feel sick already.
Mood: 
thankful
We are home. Our house is in tact and we have water. No power yet, but we do have water. So, it is very hot here. Dad said he’d put a window AC in the kitchen and plug it to our generator. We need to get 2 out-door freezers, our fridge and the Window AC on that generator...so, I don’t know if it’ll work...but, Dad says it will, so we’ll believe that until/unless it is proven untrue. Oh well. Gotta raise some windows. Later.
Mood:
hotWell, the generator isn’t really working so hot. Mom and I managed to get a few matches and light up some kerosene lanterns. /imitates Jeff Probts Because, as everyone knows, in the suburban areas of South Louisiana, Fire means life...God, I miss that show. Survivor comes out on Sept. 16 and it’s August 30th now...they’re saying we may not have power till Monday.../sigh. Mom’s birthday is on the 2nd...I was hoping we’d have power for that.
Dad’s still trying to get the generator to work/winces as the generator backfires & stops. I’m gonna go and try to talk Dad into getting a large, battery-operated fan or something...
Mood:
irritatedWell, negotiations for a fan fell through...evidently Dad has ‘something just as good,’ again. He’s hooking up this huge box fan to the generator and putting the fun in the living room (where we all intend to sleep tonight.) We’ve used this fan in the past on hot days while we peel shrimp. If tit works it’ll be fine...I guess...Goodnight
August 31, 2005
Title Trial & Relief
Time: 8:00 a.m.
Mood: 
sick
Well everyone’s awake, and fed. Last night was possibly the worst night’s sleep of my life. The fan shut off an hour (or less) after we’d lain down. The sucker hadn’t run out of power of anything, it just overheated.
Well, after falling asleep without the fan, I woke up at 1:30 miserable and sticky. So, I tossed and turned till about 3:30, when Mom woke up hungry. We went in the kitchen and ate a bit, then settled down and tried to sleep. I didn’t fall asleep till like, 5:30; and even then, my sleep was terribly fitful. Woke up at 7 covered in sweat :p
Everyone else started waking up too, and we were all hungry. Dad got Mom’s skillet, a butane tank, along with other necessary equipment and made pancakes and eggs. I mentioned the idea of getting a fan again, but Dad insists he has a ‘blower’ that will ‘fill the whole house with air.’ You might think his tenacity is more geared towards using what he has without needing to purchase new things. The truth is, he’s just too damn cheap.
Dad maintains that Uncle C said the power should be on today, and thus there’s no reason to spend ‘a bunch of money’ on something we’ll just use once. While Uncle C did say the power would be back on today, Mr. Mickey (our other neighbor) says when he called they said it won’t come on for 3 to 7 days...I hope the power does come on today, but I’m more likely to believe it won’t come on again for quite some time.
I was thinking of soaking in a cold bath...but then I’d get out and sweat. Blah. I feel so tired and sick to my stomach. I hope this blower thing improves things...this day’s only just started, and it already needs improvement.
Mood:
giddyWell...today did improve a bit. Still no power (still terribly hot XP). But we went over to Grandmere’s house, and —wonder among wonders!— she had power! We asked if we could spend the night in their living room, but they might be having other people over...so we might be sleeping over there...and we might not. I sure hope so
And...it...just ...started raining...The sun is shining, the birds are tweet-tweetin’, we just got over a hurricane, and the sky has the nerve to dump on us...I may just go and stand out in it...
Another thing —this one is on the ‘good’ list— We’ve seen at least 3 dozen Entergy, sleca, LA Lighting, etc (electricity trucks -.-) working all up and down our road...they’re all over town too! Some have come from Texas even! We stopped and asked one if they’d be working in our area and they said they were working on trying to get power back tonight...I’ve never been unfaithful to my beliefs, but I coulda made love to one of them right there. *clears throat* but anyway! We’re all grateful for the volunteers...yeah.
Hopefully this will be my last ‘written’ post. I don’t want to hope for power, when I know I may not get it...Oh well. Ja for now.
Mood:
jubilantPOWER!!!!!!BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!
*cough cough sputter sputter*
Mood:
satisfiedI guess that’ll be all for tonight.