Oh, and by the way

it's raining pretty hard and thundering, which is one reason the light didn't wake me up. Should be a good setting for the game, though. :)

Should I be concerned

that a fire truck or two and an ambulance came up with lights flashing (but no sirens) in front of my apartment building, stayed awhile, and then eventually left? Hopefully nothing was truly wrong. One of my gaming buddies got a scare Saturday night when part of her complex caught fire and burnt down. She and her things were alright, although she and her neighbours were evacuated until 4 am and the smoke detectors didn't go off--they were roused by people banging on doors. The apartment her sister occupied until recently was gutted, having been close to where the fire began. Scary.

It's been a weird day in that we had a huge storm with lots of lightning, car accidents all over the place (including a very bad tractor trailer accident that closed the Interstate), and flash flooding (although I don't think it was on Louisville's scale). Fortunately I got from one workplace to another right before the storm hit.

Just so you know

we weathered the storm pretty well. I slept through it, actually, waking to a telephone call--my mother checking up on me. Some of our schoolkids were sent home because they were on emergency power and there was wind damage and downed lines, but all in all it was very mild. A friend of mine had her window screens blown off, and she, her husband, and son huddled in the bathroom since their house isn't rated for a lot of wind.

Other parts of the state and surrounding ones didn't fare so well. There's a college in Tennessee whose main dorm complex was virtually destroyed. In another town they found a baby covered in debris but alive, with no word on its parents. One woman in Arkansas was found yards away from her family home next to the body of her 14-year-old Labrador. She'd been in the hallway of their trailer. The rest of ehr family survived, at least. Scary.

Of course, one of the most dangerous things to be in if you're hit by a tornado or high winds is a trailer. When I was a kid, we lived in one at my grandmother's and actually as part of base housing when I lived in South Carolina. I hope never to live in another--they just aren't safe. I know other houses and buildings can go to kindling, but they don't normally lift up and wind up yards away from where they'd been.

In the apartment building I live in now, I'm on the first floor and have a couple of interior rooms I can go to, like the bathroom and kitchen, away from windows. If the roof came off, I'd more than likely be okay. Of course, I slept through the storm, so who knows...

To those injured or affected by the storms, and certainly to those who lost loved ones, my thoughts are with you.

Storms brought devastation

It is very W-I-N-D-Y and

67 degrees in February, storming slightly--although some of my friends have already lost power tonight, and now it's back on--but look what's coming towards us (Lexington is printed in orange--click to enlarge):



I can tell the thunder's getting closer. It's hailing and my lights keep flickering. That big red line is a little scary. I just hope my power stays on. I'm parked next to the building rather than the trees, at least. And most of all, I hope we don't have any tornadoes like those that have been hitting some of the surrounding region.

Yay, KU!

No, that's not a college. It's Kentucky Utilities, our electric company, I'm talking about.

So it's been warm here the last couple of days, in the 50s (Fahrenheit), and we've had a cold front come through tonight with lightning, hail or sleet, winds up to 50 mph, and the temperature has plunged 20 degrees, with wind chills expected in the single digits tomorrow. Ack.

Coming home earlier, three of the traffic lights along Man O'War Blvd were out completely--not flashing, just out, and with the driving rain and foggy car, I didn't even realise it until I'd gone through Alumni. I stopped at Easthills and Beaver Creek. There were no police on the scene, and everything to the right of the road was dead black. I went on home, felt my way to a candle (I have a flashlight, but I carried it in my purse and it must have gotten turned on at some point, because it, too, is dead. So I sat in my comfy chair and got warm from where I'd gotten wet by snuggling under a comforter, and waited for a call on my cell to pick up a friend.

At least when I went to pick him up from work, the rain had stopped. Beaver Creek was out still and people were blowing through that intersection without pause, so I knew I'd never be able to turn left towards Alumni. So I turned right and went via Richmond Road, going past the gas station, which still had power.

When I delivered my friend, parts of his street were without power, including his house. I headed back, and reached Alumni, which was miraculously lit. So was Easthills. And Beaver Creek was at least flashing--and there was a cop car finally. Of course all the lights between were on, too. So when I got to my apartment there was blessed light, thanks to the electric company. I just hope they get my friends' power back on soon. They, like most of us, need it. It's funny how much you take it for granted, when there are so many in this world that have none.

Wow

It wasn't just a tree fire. The transformer that started the fire was atop a pole that split in two due to the heavy winds (or possibly a lightning strike), with the jagged end falling right back down into the earth, leaving the pole quite a bit shorter. So, Kentucky Utilities had to come out and replace the whole pole. I guess it's a good thing that nothing fell on anyone's house or fence.

My, what an interesting day

First of all, there was the fact I had Indian goodness to bring for lunch. This was followed by pie, with which a group of us at work celebrate each other's birthdays. So it was like a birthday extension. I had coconut cream, and it was yummy. Plus, I still have plenty of aloo ghabi and peshwari naan for tomorrow.

This afternoon I took back the blouse I bought last night, because sadly it was too small. I got two others for the same amount of money, which was cool. It is, however, truly frightening what my shirt size has become. The gym and a food diary are calling. Plus, I definitely need to weigh myself tomorrow. At least my stomach wasn't the problem; it was my chest. But still...it would be nice to get into fairly normal clothes.

I finished Rutland Place by Anne Perry. I love the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novels, but I'm going through them slowly since I was getting them from the library and there are gaps--and I think I bought Resurrection Row at least twice plus checked it out because I kept forgetting which one I'd read. Yes, I can be a scatterbrain sometimes.

I also got my hair cut short with some layers in it so it's not so weighed down. Of course, it got rained on shortly after that, so it's hard to see how well it will come out on a daily basis. The lady at the shop really wanted to colour my hair auburn with soft highlights. I put her off for now, although I've always wanted to have auburn or red hair. And after all, I'm forty and turning grey a little at a time. It's time to have fun, right? But like I said, not right now.

I went home for a couple of hours and the sunny day quickly turned to thunderstorms complete with hail. I went to do the notes and instead wound up calling the fire department because there was a tree on fire and spreading to others and I didn't want it spreading to anyone's house. They were there for a couple of hours taking care of that, so instead of doing the game notes, I wound up watching The Devil Wears Prada, which was quite excellent. I really enjoyed it. Of course I loved Glenn Close and Anne Hathaway, but there was a guy I just thought was adorable, Adrian Grenier, too.

So now I'm home. My mom called and left messages. I think she may have forgotten my birthday yesterday. But she wished me a happy fortieth today instead.

I have to get up early for our semi-annual birthday breakfast tomorrow. Our administrator makes omelets and the various directors serve breakfast. And I love breakfast, especially when it's free. That's three days of birthday. :)

Good night.