Hang in There, Guys...It'll Get Better!

I just got off the phone with Rebecca and Shannon, and amazingly, they are still in good spirits. While they had wind damage to porches and trees, their home is still intact. But...they have NO electricity, none in all of Liberty County, and are looking at 14-28 days more without it. Rebecca called after a long day of hunting for a generator and gas. [Their current game plan is to move into their travel trailer in order to be able to sleep in the a/c and even cook some light meals with propane.] While they were able to locate and purchase a generator, the gas tanks they've located are WAY overpriced. (Why would people do such a thing to each other?) They have less than one hour to get back into town, or they will be locked out due to the 6pm curfew. There are no places in town to buy a hamburger, milk, or cold drinks. They have a freezer full of thawing meat, and the weather is unbearably hot. One of Rebecca's co-workers, a woman, came to work with loose teeth and black eyes after an altercation in a parking lot during the "exodus". Today, they watched as police arrested two men in another parking lot brawl. Tempers are high, relief is slow in coming, and the situation doesn't appear to be changing for weeks to come. Still, they seem to be faring well and are resigned to the situation. They saw much worse than what they are dealing with in the towns to their east and still have the capacity to feel sorry for their neighbors in that direction. They are healthy, happy, employed, and their property is pretty much intact. They fared worse than any of us and are still able to feel "blessed". Hang in there guys...I promise...it WILL get better!

Back to "Normal"

For the first time in several days, we got out and about a bit today. The roads through Port Lavaca (Hwy 35) and Victoria (Hwy 59) were full of returning travelers, but traffic was moving smoothly and quickly. We saw lots of families stopping for meals and to fill up with gas before the home stretch. In response to the Mayor's request, I've decided to wait until Tuesday evening to return to Houston. Okay, okay. It's not really in response to his request, I'm just incredibly tired and am going to take a couple of days off. I worked on homework yesterday and today and am caught up in all except math. Pre-calculus, I'm saving for tomorrow. I bought an iPod today. Yeah, the 60 Gig version, and am already regretting it. While it was not an "impulse" purchase--I've planned on it for a couple of weeks now--it was definitely one of those things falling in the "want" as opposed to "need" categories. So, most of the evening I've spent finding out what's availble for free online, and getting ready to do my first download. To make myself feel better, I think, I encouraged Leo to make that weedeater purchase he was thinking about. [He did not, by the way, come home and begin playing with his weedeater.] I don't know why I should feel bad. I work hard for a living, and put up with a lot of stuff that I wish I didn't have to (I'm a 'contractor' you know, not an 'employee'). I should be able to buy something nice/fun/useful for myself now and then. Perhaps my feelings have something to do with the fact that I'm sitting in what will someday be my 'office', working off a laptop which is set up on a hollow core door laid on its side, looking at an unpainted door with paper curtains over the glass, and plugging items into a power strip attached to an extension cord, run into the room from the working outlet in the garage. In other words, my house has a LONG way to go, I haven't done anything to help make any progress on it in months, and I had the audacity to buy an iPod today. What was I thinking!? On the other hand, do you know how cool these little guys are? I mean, really cool?

Here's a map showing where we all live on the Texas gulf coast. As you can see, Leo and I, as well as Jess and Grace, are in the best location for the current predicted landfall.

Roll Call: Leo and I

[Photo taken at 7pm from the back porch.] I just got a call from Leo, at work. He was expecting to be turned loose early tonight, and let the hurricane crew take over. But with the latest storm coordinates, the plant is ready to cancel the hurricane warning, send the extra crews home, and get ready to start back up. Leo is ecstatic that tonight will be his last for a while...at 6am, he's "officially" on vacation! While the water is a bit choppy this evening, it just looks like another hot September evening. Of course, for those of us this far down the coastline, it just might be. I'm going to do a little washing this evening, maybe tackle some homework, and rest up. We currently have no plans to make a run for it. It looks like we just might be out of the woods. [Photo taken at 7pm from the back yard.] We are very concerned about all of our family members, and the problems they may be facing after this is all over. But at the moment, it looks like we are coming out the best. We hope you'll all keep in touch and let us know what we can do to help. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you all while we wait on the storm to arrive. Morning will make the next few days a WHOLE lot more predictable!

Roll Call: Other Family and Friends

Please, please...feel free to post your updates here and let us know how you are doing!

Roll Call: Rob and Donna

My younger brother, his wife, and my neice, living in Texas City.

Roll Call: Ginger and Wade

My sister, her husband, and two nephews, living in Danbury.

Roll Call: Mom and Paul

My mom and step-dad, living in Galena Park.

Roll Call: Rachael

Our daughter, and two grand-children, living in Spring.

Roll Call: Rebecca and Shannon

Our daughter and son-in-law, living in Hardin.

Roll Call: Michelle

Our daughter, who lives with her mom in LaPorte.

Roll Call: Jess and Grace

Leo's sis and brother-in-law, our next-door-neighbors, and best friends as well.

Run or Stay? Part 2

CONTINUED... NOTE: As I drove, I saw some "unusual" sights along the way. The amount of traffic in this region this late in the evening was one of them, but there were others. One was the sight of military vehicles and personnel appearing. In some conditions this might have been alarming. In this situation, it was downright comforting. The other was the appearance of the white painted busses, with little or no markings. For people in this area (at one time, "this area" was mine as well!) those busses mean the transporting of prisoners. As I watched, more of these busses than I could count began to approach the end of the lines of stacked-up traffic. I just could not imagine 1) being trapped in traffic next to busloads of convicted criminals for hours and hours, or 2) being packed on one of those busses with a lot of OTHER convicted criminals, through the night, stuck in traffic. I thought about turning on Hwy 35, thinking it would be more of a "sure thing". When I passed it, however, I saw there were police officers prohibiting traffic entering, so I kept driving. My next possible take-off, at 521, was not blocked, but I would have to come back a long way if it was blocked further down, so I passed it up as well. At this point, I was still headed due south, toward Freeport. I was the only vehicle visible going my direction. When I finally reached 2004, just in back of the mall in Lake Jackson, I turned right, trying to work my way through to Brazoria down Oyster Creek. When I reached Oyster Creek, the road to Brazoria was barricaded. So, I kept going south. There was only one opportunity left, and I had come to far not to try it. As I approached Jones Creek, my optimism started to falter. I could see police officers in the intersection ahead blocking traffic headed straight, down 2611. I crossed my fingers, put on my right blinker, and drove toward the intersection. The nice officer waved me on, and I began my trek back to the north-west toward Brazoria once again. Brazoria was shut down tight when I drove through. All stores boarded up, shut down, and emptied out. I was able to make my turn south-west again down 521 with no interference. I didn't have trouble again until I was past Wadsworth, headed toward the nuclear plant. At Wadsworth I turned south on 60, then back south-west on 521. I caught sight of the road-block as soon as I made the turn. I couldn't believe I had made it this far before getting turned around! I drove up and rolled down my window, driver's licence in hand (ready to "prove" I was headed home). As he walked up to the window and asked where I was going, he informed me I would have to take a detour. It seems there was a very bad wreck ahead, requiring life-flight, and blocking the way. A mixture of sadness as well as relief swept over me. I turned due north on 2668. When I was at the intersection of 2668 and 60, I turned north and cut over to Bay City. I was able to pick up my direction again at Hwy 35 and headed toward home. I routed through Blessing, down and over to Point Comfort, and finally across the causeway into Port Lavaca. The lights were on at the gas pumps in the Walmart parking lot, but I was not the only one at the pump trying all of the grades in order to get one that was still available. With less than 1/4 tank left, I realized we were probably now committed to stay through the storm. I called my husband at work (night shift, in Point Comfort) then settled in to wait for him to come home. In spite of everything, it is so nice to be home!

The Storm Approaches...Run, or Stay?

I was on a roll, making measurable progress on my projects, and looking forward to a productive week when I got word [Monday] that the storm was intenesifying and beginning to head our way. By Tuesday, classes were cancelled and everything shifted to hurricane preparation mode. Today, I tried to get some work in, but the buildings (my offices at Buffalo Speedway and at 800 Bell) were buzzing with discussions about the storm. I went back to my U Place apartment about 5pm for a nap before beginning the long drive home. The 5 mile drive took me about 30 minutes, at 4pm, with all delays I encountered being caused by gas lines. After my nap, I packed my vehicle, checked the internet news, and started my trip home. I chose not to try getting on 59, driving south on Kirby instead, then cutting across to 288 before getting to the 610 S. Loop. I was pleasantly surprised! Both directions of 288 looked like 5pm traffic conditions, but nothing more. So, I got on and headed south. Um...my surprise was short-lived as I approached 610. When I passed over, and could see cars stacked up in both directions, barely moving, I realized the evacuation of the city was now a major event. Still, my decision to drive due south before turning west still seemed a good one. While the cars were stacked up on the north-bound side, the further I drove, the fewer cars there were heading my way. My only concern was whether or not I would be stopped in my progress somewhere along the way. When I passed the beltway, I almost pulled over to take a picture. I remember when that part of the beltway opened, there was a big "street dance". People were parked all along the beltway, in both directions, to party and celebrate. What I saw tonight is the only other time I've seen so many cars "parked" on the beltway in both directions. This time, however, it was certainly no joyful event! I just kept driving. By the time I reached Hwy 6, even 288 North was at a stand-still. I could see one car in my rear-view mirror, and one car in front of me, but no others on my side of the road. I called my sis to give her a "traffic report" knowing she was hoping to begin her run sometime in the middle of the night. I just had absolutely no advice for her about when or how to get out. CONTINUED IN ANOTHER POST...

Is it the Weekend yet?

It is WAY too early in the semester to be missing a class, but that is exactly what I'm doing today. I felt okay this morning, and was able to keep my appointment with an Advisor in the Technology College at the University of Houston main campus. The news about my transcripts (all 5 of them!) was good, so I applied for acceptance starting with next term. Now I get to start the very tedious task of getting all my transcripts to them. [Aside] Why can't they make that process easier? If you can fill out a "common" application for acceptance into college, why can't the colleges submit your transcripts to a "common" database for retrieval? Some of the transcripts require a fee be paid. Some can be requested only in person or by fax. Some can be requested only in person or by email. And one, San Jacinto College, will let you request it via fax only to send you a letter back, via "snail mail", saying you must come in and present your i.d. in order for them to send a transcript to another college. What? My gosh...what are they thinking? Anyway, by early afternoon I was worn out. It's just been TOO LONG of a week. So, I emailed my Pre-Calculus instructor telling him I would be missing class, and am presently working on absolutely NOTHING! Yup...nothing. Ain't it sweet?

A New Project, and a Stickler

3:30am and I was up and going. I had homework due that took a bit of thought and work to accomplish. I was able to get to work before 7am, and started in on my "recovery" efforts for that old PM Database. I made all kinds of progress, but hit a snag that is driving me a bit batty. The original programmer set an Append Query up that looks at the current date [Date()] and compares it to a ScheduledDate field, along with IntervalPeriods and Intervals to determine what items need to be printed out for the next Week, Month, Quarter, etc. The problem with this is, the users have NO IDEA what items are scheduled to come up NEXT week, as the routine runs every day (I'm guessing on this point...while I can see and edit the Query, I have no idea what triggers it to run since I am locked out of viewing the form codes). Anyway, I'll get there--I'm not worried about it. I'm guessing sometime Friday I'll decide on a plan of attack and work it out. I also picked up a new little project today that I am going to LOVE. It is in my favorite "flavor"--Excel. I was asked to convert an Excel spreadsheet (this one is tracking personnel and actions from one of the Safety Programs) into a database that would allow for some customized reporting options. When I explained that the data was so straightforward it would be just as easy to design some Excel macros to accomplish the same thing, the customer agreed to let me take a shot at it. [As a matter of fact, they seemed quite happy about it.] I accomplished several other things during the day, set up a Blog for my nephew in elementary school, made that 60-mile r.t. to attend my Geography class [we had a blast, by the way], got home just in time to get my last two paragraphs submitted for my literature class, and here it is just midnight:05 and I think I'm going to go to bed. Tomorrow's another BIG day, of course!

24 Hours of Craziness

My Accounting II class last night was surprisingly good! I really disliked Accounting I and did not find it interesting, entertaining, or enlightening. Business Accounting looks like it is going to be a lot more interesting topic. It may just be the instructor, however. My instructor this semester is ALL of the things I mentioned--interesting, entertaining, AND enlightening. After class, it was back to work for another few hours. At 1:30am, I was just too tired to go on, and went back to my apartment [1.1 mile drive, thank goodness!] for a few hours' sleep. Up again at 5:30am, and at the Greenspoint site by 6:30. Today was spent on spreadsheets and on a PowerPoint presentation designed to show building tenants alternate exit locations during upcoming construction. I really like the product on this one, as it has quite the "WOW" factor we wanted. But it is very tedious work outlining phased work areas (52 phases!), alternate exits, alternate restroom locations, etc. as semi-transparent (some blinking) overlays to building diagrams for a 6-story building. Again, the project was a bit tedious and we were pressed for time trying to get it in, but what a nice little project! I really enjoy doing things I haven't done before, and I enjoy projects with a very simple, fixed, timeline. Now (4:30pm) I need to do my homework, but I am SO ready for a nap! I think the homework will have to wait until morning. [Think I can get a couple of hours' study time in before 7am?] P.S. Since I didn't go home this weekend, I am really missing my husband. Someday I'll tell you about our unusual living arrangement and why it is not as bad as some people [co-dependents?] might imagine. Nightey-night!

Switching Gears

Whew! Back at "home" again after a long day with my head stuck in a database. It seems to be working out fine, and I'm starting to be happy with the results, but the next step, getting the customer's input for all the tweaks and updates, is always a bit more, um, "interesting" maybe? It's time to switch gears, however, and get ready for a couple of other projects. In the morning, I'm working on a PowerPoint presentation (a project report) that gets updated from data stored in a spreadsheet. I'm happy with most of it. I put in some nice little routines that allow for "automatic" reporting of monthly data as well as cumulative totals in the ppt. But there are a few "manual" maneuvers (or "manomatic" as my husband would say) that we just can't seem to get around. THESE are what we will be looking at again tomorrow. I'm looking forward to Tuesday as well, when I will be working with one of my favorite "interfaces" on a bit of a complicated spreadsheet. My friend Ed is a lot of fun to work with. And he is really quick to pick up on things. Whenever we see each other, if I give him a little snippet of code (Excel is what we are usually working in...one of my FAVORITE programs) or even an example file, the next time I see him, he's worked with it enough to learn what it does, and often figures out something really neat to try it out on. Ed is getting ready for one more round of site visits, in Africa, so I'm hoping we'll get some things accomplished this week that will allow him to share some really useful "tools" with those folks. Yup...I'm looking forward to a really fun week. Last, but not least, I did something for myself today. Yes, that's right. Something for ME. I got my hair cut. I got it done at one of those little one-cut-fits-all places (it's all I could find open on a Sunday afternoon in my new neighborhood [more on that another time]). Actually, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I liked it so much, I might even go back before my "normal" interval of 6 months! Yikes! 10:45! I'm headed to bed now. ("Sleep fast. Sleep fast. Sleep fast...")

PM Database Weekend

For 12+ hours yesterday, and 5 hours (so far) today, I have been working on salvaging data from an "old" (1998?) Preventive Maintenance database. What a mess! First of all, the company I'm contracting for is a bit in the "dark ages" of computing, so I'm having to work with old files from, and create everything new in, Access 97. [It's not bad, I'm VERY familiar with Access 97...it's just not the best solution.] Secondly, for the last 2 years, the people operating the database are NOT familiar with Access, so they have been coming up with some very unusual "workarounds" to help them get to, print, and manipulate the data for that entire period of time, making the data itself a bit of a mess. Okay, okay, it's making the data itself a BIG mess. Lastly, I ONLY have access to the mde files and can't get a copy of the original mdb, so while I can pick apart tables and queries, the forms, reports, macros, etc. are ALL unavailable to me. So, I'm trying to rebuild using someone else's construction plan. Well, after all this complaining, you know what? This is the most fun I've had with a project for a couple of months! I can't wait to get back to it! [It wouldn't be such a strain on my "system" if it weren't for those 13 hours of college classes I'm currently taking. Oh well...live and learn!]

Bad News from Friends

Tonight I received some tragic news from some friends back home. Their 18-year-old son has been diagnosed with a very serious brain cancer, Grade 4 Astrocytoma. Jeff is a wonderful young man, and we are praying for a miracle here. The situation is so serious, I can't even talk about it right now. You can find out more about Jeff by visiting his website at http://jeffreyk.net. That's all I can write tonight.

Group Work Blues

I'm currently enrolled in a web-based World Literature course at a small community college in the Gulf Coast area of Texas. I absolutely LOVE literature, so it is not the subject matter that has me blue...it is the "groups". I know that I'm an "older" student [though not much older than some of the others in the class] and have had a lot more experience out in the world, but I was really hoping to be exposed to some interaction with free-thinking, even exciting, young people. Boy, was I ever wrong! Our current assignments have us reading passages, commenting on our readings by posting responses in small groups, and submitting those responses online for the comments of the rest of the class. Can you guess how those comments are going? "Nice job." "Good point." "I totally agree with your assessment." Where's the excitement in that? Where are the comments that reflect what I'm thinking? Where are those comments like "What were you thinking?", "While your arguments were well-expressed, I TOTALLY disagree with your stand.", and the ever-popular "Sorry dude, but I think your answer was pure baloney."? Well now I'm in a real pickle. If I express my TRUE thoughts to the class, I will automatically become the outsider; the woman in the do-you-remember-that-old-lady-who-wanted-to-argue-with-everybody comments; the one who gets on everyone's nerves. [I know this because I actually responded by expressing some disagreements on the very first assignment, and I was the only one to do so.] My gosh...I was actually hoping someone would disagree with me so we could get some debate going! I've decided there's only one way to handle the situation...capitulate, conform, and play the game their way. If you happen along on the most boring discussion of "The Role of the Gods in The Iliad" you've ever seen, you'll know it's from my class. And feel free to look for my boring (lying) responses along with the others', because that's exactly where they'll be. "Nice job. Well thought-out. Really good work!"

Welcome

Welcome to my Space. This space is intended to be my place to vent, share, ramble, carry on, interact (or refuse to interact :-) and so much more. It is, in essence, a sneak peek into my life at occasional (and sometimes odd) times. It is the key to my diary. Enjoy, or not, at your own whim.