Caterwauling

Things are going swimmingly here in Alexandria, Va., during the early hours of Hurricane Isabel’s rag upon the East Coast, minus the 1.2 million without power in Virginia.

Meryl gives us tips on how to tell when you’re in a hurricane. Junk food and popcorn on the grill. Good times, I tell ya.

Dave called earlier to say that he’s lost half the power at his apartment. Unfortunately, that’s down the street, so I’m hoping his power gets restored quickly and that the rest of this city stays happily hooked up. I’ll be taping “Survivor” for him — sounds like a good time to catch up on blog-reading, or (gasp!) read a book. 🙂 Update: Read 70 pages of “Good in Bed.” Not bad for an hour and a half!!! 🙂

The federal government was closed today. I heard D.C. government is closed again tomorrow, which is great news (assuming the federal government follows), even though it’s not like there was a snowball’s chance in hell that I would be returning to work anytime soon. 🙂 But it would be great for me to put the publication of the paper on hold for a week, and this is just the excuse I’d need (seeing as though near-death doesn’t qualify for a deadline extension). Update: the feds are closed! Party on, Wayne!

It’s been raining steadily here for hours. A lot of branches have snapped off the trees in my apartment complex. There is one massive branch right in front of my car, but it doesn’t seem to have hit it. *whew* Then again, the worst is yet to come, but let me tell you, if there weren’t two flights of steps leading into my apartment, I’d bring my car in here. 🙂

I got a new oven today. w00t! The old one was emitting fumes and had all the wrong knobs on it (i.e., you couldn’t turn the fucking thing on because the knobs didn’t fit and they came off in your hands). This one is the same ugly almond color as the other one (damn these apartment complexes and their bland almond fixtures, floors, walls and tiles!), but at least it’s brand-new. I SO need my apartment to be “Queer Eyed” because it’s so damn boring to look at right now. 🙂

Anyway, that’s news for now from the Axis of Isabel. I’m sure I’ll blog more, assuming the power doesn’t cut out! 🙂 Stay dry, kids. And try not to blow away!

Rejected title: Three to six inches coming tonight. And it’s only rain.

Well, looks as though armageddon is drawing near. Signs are posted throughout my apartment complex for us to clear off our decks and balconies, and we’ve been urged to remove any satellite television systems, if applicable.

I only felt the effects of one hurricane before — Floyd — back in 1999. It rained like a mofo and my entire wall-o-kitchen-windows blew in. I came in the house absolutely soaked (umbrellas were worthless in those winds), and I was terrified because I couldn’t find Maddie for three hours. I worried that she had jumped out the hole in my kitchen wall, but she had smartly blended herself into a hamper in my closet until the storm had passed.

At any rate, I have a wall of windows in my living/dining area now, but I’m more worried that I parked my car under a tree. I’m supposed to see Bryan today to get the Short Bus cat back for a day or two, but maybe I can wiggle out of it. 😉 Or maybe I can let her out in the hurricane. Heh. That might be fun. 😉

Shawn and I took an adventure voyage to Wallyworld last night to stock up on necessities. I couldn’t find a flashlight to save my life (Bryan said not to burn candles, in case of a gas leak), but I saw some in the toy aisle that were shaped like lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) and appropriately roared or squeaked or oinked or mooed. I loved them, but Shawn wouldn’t let me get one without the promise of humiliating me for it. 😉

We stopped by the new Macaroni Grill at Kingstowne for dinner. Oh. My. God. Yum. I had Pork Chops Emilia, and I’m not a pork chops fan, but I could have ridden those straight up the Beltway, they were so good. We tried a wine sampler, which blended very well with my Percocet. 🙂 The tiramisu sucked, as it was caked in a cocoa powder fiesta that made me sneeze, but all in all, it was lovely to go out for dinner and not munch at the fridge door on whatever’s handy.

It’s windy as all hell here this morning. Shawn graciously brought my grill and balcony furniture inside last night, so I don’t have to worry about it blowing away. I’m expecting three to six inches tonight … and it’s only rain. *damn*