29 October 2012

Stormy weathurrrrrrr...


Hi all! I have a long post that I've been working on, but based on a concerned e-mail I received I thought I should do a quick post about Hurricane Sandy.

So far so good for everyone here: Colleen and I are both home today (I'm off work; she's working from home, and cussing extravagantly in a way that gives me new insight into her professional life), and everyone we know is safe, including my auntie who lives in D.C. who was my biggest concern.

We went out this morning to take the dog for a walk and the wind was already up, but the worst isn't supposed to start until around noon (about an hour from now). I'm not sure how in-depth an explanation of the storm you-all got down there, but the short version is that for New England, the hurricane is only part of the problem; around here we're also getting a Nor'Easter, which is the standard-issue brutal storm in this region that brings high winds and rain or snow depending on the season, so we're actually getting what's called a hybrid storm - in this case, a Nor'Easter sandwich with a big ol' scoop of hurricane in the middle. Add to this a full moon that was already going to give us exceptionally high tides, and, well, it's a mess. The last time we had a storm like this was in 1991, and that's the one they made the movie 'The Perfect Storm' about; fortunately, this one isn't predicted to be quite as bad as that because the hurricane will be making landfall south enough of us that we'll be buffered from the worst of it, but it's still going to be a hell of a thing.

It doesn't look like we'll have too much rain in Boston, but the wind's going to be brutal - I'm watching it pick up outside my window even as I type - and parts of coastal Massachusetts are going to get battered by waves and tides, including an area called Plum Island, which may not survive the storm at all... but then, it's predicted to be gone in 20 years anyway, so it's really only speeding the problem. The big concerns apart from the coastal flooding are wind damage and downed power lines. But we've got lots of food and the animals to keep our feet warm, so hopefully we'll be okay. I'll check in when it's over, but honestly, I'm pretty confident that we'll be okay. I'm planning to spend the day doing housework and roasting a chicken, so it's really pretty much business as normal until it isn't, if that makes sense.



XOXO

 

03 October 2012

Verbatim


Me, to Flattie Karen: You know, I never worked until I drank for a union.


XOXO