Posted in hurricane, weather

HURRICANE IKE

Posted on by sassysheisme


This is why I am not evacuating. Much like what happened with Rita, the freeways were clogged today with people who needed to evacuate, and many people who did not. Though the freeways are not as packed as they were three years ago, I still had no desire to go sit in traffic and go 5 mph for hours on end.

This picture was taken around 3:15 PM at Blalock Road and I-10. I was dismissed from work at noon and the freeways were not nearly this busy. Even now, six hours later, the freeway situation has not improved much. We may see contraflow lanes open in a couple of hours, but still, I feel the need to stay put.

I walked over to my neighborhood grocery store and the parking lot was full all the way to the freeway. Either people are staying put, or they are buying supplies so they can cook dinner while they wait in traffic. Either alternative is plausible.


That poor lonely loaf of bread… but it was gone when I went back with Jene’ a couple of hours later.


And of course, the obligatory shot of the bottled water aisle.


What I’m sure will be a more common sight by tomorrow morning:


Right now, the most I expect are some fallen tree limbs, and some loss of electricity. I am as prepared as I can be, and maybe I’ll sneak out for more pics tomorrow.

Posted in friends, random, Yahweh's fingerprints

REMEMBERING 9/11

Posted on by sassysheisme

Today a co-worker of mine told me her 9/11 story. She has a plane ticket from Boston to Los Angeles framed on her wall. It’s a reminder to her that she’s here for a purpose, though that purpose often escapes her.

She missed her flight on the morning of September 11, 2001, because she had to take an earlier flight to make a very important doctor’s appointment in Los Angeles that afternoon. She couldn’t reschedule that appointment, so she left the night before her originally scheduled flight. What had been a frustrating series of events turned out to be a series of events that kept her from an untimely death in the prime of her life.

I’ve heard other stories from that fateful September day that remind me that the next time I’m stuck in traffic, or I miss an appointment, or I end up someplace I hadn’t planned on one afternoon that I just need to calm down and let things flow as they do.

Posted in meme

WHAT WERE YOU DOING WHEN – MEME

Posted on by sassysheisme

Dana tagged me, so here goes…

The following are 5 major events and the impact they had on me:

Princess Diana’s death – August 31, 1997
I remember coming home and one of my roommates was sitting on the edge of her bed, staring numbly at her tv saying, “can you believe this? Princess Diana is dead.”

It was a surreal moment for me, because I was a big Princess Diana fan and a girl I knew won a look-alike contest right before the fairy tale wedding so I was tied to Diana forever.

Margaret Thatcher’s resignation – November 22, 1990
I was in college and I think this was the year I was at a friend’s sister’s wedding in California, so I really wasn’t near a tv when this happened.

Attack on the Twin Towers – September 11, 2001
I had a really bad sinus infection and was running a fever when I woke up at 9 a.m. I called one of my co-workers and told him I wasn’t coming in because I was sick and he asked, “haven’t you turned on a tv yet?”

I watched the replays of the morning’s events over and over and felt sick and numb all day. It had been a stressful year so far… my brother had died that January and in early June the city had been flooded by Tropical Storm Allison. The attack was another in a long line of surreal moments for me that year.

I finally had to turn the tv off because over 50% of the tv stations were carrying coverage of this event and I couldn’t get away from it. I also lived in the shadow of one of the tallest buildings in town and as they evacuated that building, I felt that tension. “What’s next?”

I also had friends who were all over the country trying to get home by any means possible, driving from Maine, Arizona, Nashville… and I spent the rest of the day trying to ascertain their status as well.

The oddest feeling was walking outside for the next few days and not hearing any airplanes fly over. That day changed the world I live in forever.

England’s World Cup semi final v Germany – July 4, 1990
I’m sure it was a good match.

President Kennedy’s Assassination – November 22, 1963
I wasn’t born yet, so… I don’t remember. I do remember what I was doing when the Challenger exploded, so if you want to know about that…

Posted in pics

RAIN TURNS TO RAINBOWS

Posted on by sassysheisme


It’s been raining for days on end here in Houston. Rain, rain, and more rain. Today, however, I saw a full rainbow on the way home from work. It was much more vivid than this picture shows, but by the time I got home and ran up the stairs and grabbed my camera, it had faded a bit.

Apparently, rain is on the agenda tomorrow as well. Perhaps some sun will break through and give some soggy Houstonians a treat again.

Posted in random

NEXT?

Posted on by sassysheisme

Though I still have moments when I ask, “what next?” or “What else can happen?” I’ve learned sometimes I don’t want to know and probably shouldn’t ask. Today was one of those days.

Perhaps you’ve knowm me long enough to know that I can have severe allergic reactions to fire ant bites. About 12 years ago, I had a big episode with 20+ ant bites on one ankle which resulted in some scary reactions and a big fat shot of something from the doctor in my hip. It wasn’t fun and I’ve been careful about ant bites since.

That I knew of, I was bitten once Sunday night by a fire ant. Wrong. Today, 6 welts showed up and first thing this morning my breathing was a little off. Nothing major, just noticeable. One pink antihisthamine later, I was groggy but no longer itchy and it made work interesting to say the least. This also means no chocolate for about two weeks just to be sure I’m ok. Not fun.

The day was odd, but I made it through. I did not ask, “what now?” Around 4:30, one of my co-workers informed me my tire was flat. Two men I work with changed to the spare tire before they went home and off to Discount Tire I went.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Discount Tire. They’ve always been super good to me. I’m usually out of there in under an hour. It’s a great place. Good management. Tonight, however, I was there two solid hours and I was hungry, tired, and my ant bites were starting to itch badly again.

Fortunately, I sat with a young college student who had been there about fifteen minutes longer than I had. We talked a good hour or so and the thing she likes to do is ask people about superstitions or traditions they have. She left, however, about 25 minutes before I did, so I sat and texted some friends and tried to concentrate (though I had a small snack at 3, my mind was starting to wander) until I was able to get home.

I finally sat down to eat around 8 PM (I had a small snack while I cooked). I call tonight’s dish, “Pasta SURPRISE!” because there were ingredients in there I didn’t remember putting in there per se, but it tasted great.

So, now I’m watching the Olympics waiting for a friend to stop by, then I’m taking another pink antihistamine and going to bed. Hopefully these ant bites will go away without another big fat shot of something from the doctor in my hip (that I will have to drive to Katy to get).

How was your day?

Posted in random, sports

8-8-08 OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONY

Posted on by sassysheisme

I watched a good portion of the of the opening ceremonies from Beijing this evening and it was spectacular! Whatever happens from this point on, China can be proud of this moment. Some of my favorite parts were the tai chi and the sphere and the joyous faces of all the athletes.

The best part, by far, was this:

We all know Yao Ming is a superstar in China. I’m proud he’s a Houston Rocket. What touched me most, however, was the 9 year old Lin Hao waving his tiny flags next to the 7’6″ NBA star.

Lin Hao escaped the rubble of the May 12th earthquake that devastated the Sichaun province. What makes him remarkable is that, after escaping the rubble that entombed 20 of his 30 classmates, he risked his life to go back into the rubble and saved the lives of 2 of his peers.

He probably is too young to have even thought about the danger. The commentators said, when asked why he ran back into the rubble, he said he did it because he was a leader in school and it was what a leader would do.

I could expound on that, but I believe those words say enough. I hope this little boy grows into that character and can be a bright light in China’s future.