WAITING FOR WILMA

We're down to just hours before Wilma comes knocking at the door. The news is saying that the worst of the hurricane will hit in the morning. Pretty much all of Orlando is closed tomorrow, and although I haven't gotten word yet, I expect I'll be getting the day off from work. Even though we're north of where the hurricane is going to hit, the people I've talked to have told me to expect the power to go out.

Wilma will be my second Hurricane. The first was Hurricane Isabel which bitch-slapped DC in 2003. That storm left me without power for a week. I'm really not looking forward to going through that again. We'll just have to wait and see. I've got my bottles of water, dry food, flashlights and candles, so all I can do now is wait and see what happens. I'll report back when I can. Wish me luck.

UPDATE:

6:34 p.m.
- Two tornado warnings have just been issued.
- One Tornado is confirmed on the ground.
- Wilma is 409 miles from Orlando.

8:00 p.m.
- A third tornado warning.
- Wilma is 366 miles from Orlando with 110 mph winds.
- Disney has closed all the parks tomorrow.
- It has started to rain here.

10:08 p.m.
- It's raining hard and there's lightning everywhere.
- Tornados are still touching down and causing damage.
- Universal has closed it's parks tomorrow.

10:45 p.m.
- Wilma is now a category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds.
- Wilma is 315 miles from Orlando.
- I'm just waiting for the power to go out.

11:56 p.m.
- An apartment building and a pet store have had their roofs ripped off by a tornado.
- The tornado warnings have been extended until 12:45 a.m.
- They are now issuing flood warnings.
- Mother Nature is seriously pissed off.

Monday, 1:06 a.m.
- Wilma is 285 miles from Orlando.
- "That eye is huge!" -Florida Weatherman.

1:41 a.m.
- Another tornado warning was just issued.
- Landfall for Wilma is now estimated at 6:00 or 7:00 a.m.

3:20 a.m.
- I would love to get a few hours sleep right now, but the latest tornado warning is kind of close.
- The rain had stopped for some time, but now it's coming down pretty hard and the wind has picked up.
- Wilma is 247 miles from Orlando with 120 mph winds.

4:27 a.m.
- The power has flickered twice in the last hour.
- The rain is really heavy and there's been a lot of lightning.
- There have been continuous tornado warnings for over 10 hours now.
- They are saying that Wilma is getting stronger.

5:04 a.m.
- It's raining like a son of a bitch and the sprinkler system just came on to water the grass.

5:43 a.m.
- It has completely stopped raining.
- There is another tornado warning.
- Wilma is 213 miles from Orlando with 125 mph winds.

6:32 a.m.
- Wilma has officially made landfall.
- The wind is very strong.
- It's raining almost horizontally.
- There is a tornado warning just to the south of me.

7:16 a.m.
- It's getting really ugly out there. The wind is howling and I'm amazed that the power is still on.
- Wilma is 161 miles from Orlando with 120 mph winds.

8:11 a.m.
- Another tornado has touched down. That makes at least three now.
- The wind is still screaming.
- They are saying that the strongest winds will hit my area around noon.

9:28 a.m.
- The wind is still blowing like crazy.
- Wilma is 152 miles from Orlando with 110 mph winds.
- Reports say that power lines and traffic lights are out all over the place, but I've still got electricity.
- The cable is starting to flicker in and out.

9:52 a.m.
- The air has gotten cold.
- The news just said that in the next two hours we can expect wind gusts up to 75 mph in Orlando.

10:44 a.m.
-I just discovered that the ceiling in my bedroom is leaking.

1:13 p.m.
- It's still very windy out, but it looks like the worst of it is over.
- The leak isn't terrible, but it left a stain on the wall. Florida has a mold problem so it's going to have to be fixed.
- I can't believe I never lost power.
- I'm ready for a nap.

2:28 p.m.
- I just got a call from work. Since the weather is clearing up they're going to need me to come in. Calgon take me away!

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A ROOM WITH A VIEW

I have arrived safely in Florida, and all is well. I'm really happy with the new place. It's smaller than my last place, but it has a little more charm. With the housing boom going on here in Orlando, I feel pretty luck to have found a decent place at all. One thing that really screams 'Florida' is the palm tree that's directly outside my bedroom window. When I first saw it, I broke out into laughter. It almost completely blocks the view. This is the kind of stuff you see on sit-coms.

The trip down here was not easy. I rented a big moving van and a tow dolly for my car. My dad drove down with me, and between work and packing, we were both pretty tired starting out. Driving the truck and towing a car isn't necessarily difficult, but it requires a lot more concentration. You can't see worth a damn, you can't go very fast, you have to make really wide turns, and you can't back up. With such a big, heavy load, we didn't make very good time going over the mountains of West Virginia. On some of the steep inclines, we were only able to get the truck up to 40 miles per hour, and at other times we were totally riding the brakes.

THE BIG BANG

I'm back in Erie after a four week stay in Washington. This was a long and busy trip, but it was a good one. The whole month was pretty uneventful up until last Saturday night. It was about 10:00 and only two of us were left at work. Yes, I know - no one should still be at work at that hour, but it was necessary. Anyway, we suddenly heard a loud, long, rumbling boom from outside that was like nothing I'd ever heard before.

"What the hell was that?"

"Was it thunder?"

"It sounded like a bomb!"

Several minutes went by and then we heard it again. BOOOOOOOM!

"Ok, that was definitely not thunder!"

Fearing that it really was a bomb, we headed to the roof deck to take a look around. When we opened the doors that led outside, there was a very strong burning smell, and the cloudless sky was filled with smoke.

"Oh my God!"

BUSINESS TRIP

The other day at the Washington office, we discovered that in the off season, Santa Clause attends conferences such as the one being held this week on elf retirement plans.

Also, here's a site not to be missed. It's called Stuff on my Cat.

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