LUCKY

I am so damn lucky! I have water! I never lost phone! I lost power for less than 24 hrs!!!! No water entered my apt (just some sand??)!! It amazes me that sand can get inside a 25th floor balcony. Almost every one else in the bldg had water coming in, but those of us on the northwest facing corner fared very well b/c the storm came from the southeast. Some windows did break though not as many as i had thought.

Statistics:
*98% of Dade county is w/o power. That would be 2.9 million. I am one of those very lucky 41,ooo with lights. I knew the beach would get pwr first b/c they do it in a way that gives the most people pwr at once. The hotel next door went out at the same time we did and here, tourists are more important than locals, plus this is a very tall bldg and elevators are really nice when they work.

*22,000 sq miles were affected

*Broward county got hit the hardest - harder than were the storm hit landfall.

*Out of 2,600 traffic lights in Miami-Dade county only 18 are working.

*All schools in Dade, Broward and Monroe counties are closed this week

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Ok - I JUST heard that Miami Beach is under a boil water order. After I drank about 2 glasses of water and fed the kitties water. This is something I really should have assumed but was so psyched by that fresh glass of ice water that I wasn't thinking. I really hope we don't get sick but I guess considering my other wonderful luck something bad has to happen. I really hope the kitties don't get sick. They should not have to suffer from my stupidity, and i guess i would suffer too from picking up their runny poo. NOT ON THE CARPET PLEASE!

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Nature can be a wonderful self cleaner. During the night all the windows and balcony were covered with leaves and twigs. The balcony floor was all mud. But when the winds shifted in the morning they wiped the windows and balcony squeaky clean.

Its so weird when you have no power. I knew things weren't that great for me but I also knew that things were horrible for others but I had no idea. Now that I can watch the news I know that all of South Florida is fucked in comforts but mostly safe.

There are only 8 ice and water distribution centers in Dade. Thank god I don't need to go to one b/c the lines are hours long. -Just heard my first complaint about FEMA - we really need to have more of these and have them more spread out b/c this is a huge county.

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My power went out right after sunrise and that was when the wind REALLY started to howl. The metal frames were squealing and the windows were vibrating like crazy. I got some video w/ the camera against the window so you can really see the vibrations. All the paintings on the wall were crooked afterwards. The chandelier was swaying so I guess the building was too - probably why the non-opening window frames were also squealing. The wind did not stop howling until last night - about 8 hours after the all clear. Basically this morning was perfect. I woke up w/ all the lights on and everything stopped shaking.

I was so happy that the worst of the storm hit during daylight. I would have been scared shitless hearing all that wind and squealing in the dark. I have been watching the bridges and they have had stopped traffic all morning. Now they seem to be letting people on and off the island so I think I am going for a drive.

not quite sure

Just took a walk around the floor. Wind is really howling though the elevator shafts. Don't know if they are working. Normally the hallway is a crisp 40 degrees. Now it is humid and hotter than my apt. That and the fact that a door of an apartment that faces south is really rattling and I swear I hear rain inside makes me think that a window broke. The cats are also (were) crowded by the front doors. It is getting so loud. My windows are definitely shaking (only a little) and I hear really loud noises. I think the penthouse of the hotel next door lost an awning just now. Something loud flew by. That fine. Just keep flying by -NOT IN. GOT IT YOU "W" STORM (lack of sleep makes me forget what his name is but its fun to associate him with the other W dontcha think) I don't pray. I talk to the weather and the ocean. As if it normal. Yelling at the waves for keeping me out - damn they were tossing me out. Cant wait till sunrise!! Only 40 minutes to go!
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With some light I can see that one of the penthouses in the hotel next door lost about 3 sliding glass doors. I think the hotel was built in the 60's and the penthouses were under renovation but I think this was the one they were working on b/c the lights have been on for about a month in it and still are on despite the hurricane going on inside. I went to check another floor to see if it rattled as much and ran into a security person. She said the 43 and 44 floors were shaking like crazy. The apt below the one in question had no shaking door and no rain sounds so I do believe we lost a window on our floor. As the bad weather is just starting to begin I wonder if that could pose a real danger? If the door blows open it will suck.
I cant believe it but there are actually twigs and leaves stuck to my windows. So long for my theory that debris wont make it 25 stories up. I still don't think heavy debris can do it in a cat 3; maybe a 5 though. So would not be here if it was a five. The building lost its ground flood lights but my apt is still brightly lit. For a last resort the stairs were completely silent w/o a hint of shaking.
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Looking north I see nothing but a periwinkle cloud. What I originally thought to be one penthouse w/ broken window was really all four. It is so surreal watching the curtains whip around. The lights of 2 letters also went out on the hotel. Indian Creek Canal, normally resembling glass, now brings white water rapids to mind.
Sing to the Beatles: The wind, its getting louder every minute.
Now that I can see, its getting rather disturbing. Large debris is flying by. Its going to fast to see what it is but I am really hoping they are palm fronds and not something a bit less flexible, not that the right frond couldn't totally fuck things up - I just picture it stuck to the window until it dries up and fall back down from where it came. More red bull & noni.
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Another walk around my floor led me to discover that the 3 doors on the other side of the bldg are also strongly shaking w/ rain sounds inside. The pressure in the hallway is high/low/different. When I close the door behind me w/ the deadbolt out so I don't get locked out the door normally slams into its proper place. Now it stays open about an inch.(8am)

Windy

Cant sleep. Bad weather keeps me excited plus the fact that I am trusting my life to glass panels, one of which once pretty much exploded on a clear sunny non-windy day. The developer of this bldg is from Brazil. He built a vaguely similar structure in Rio. 2 big towers that are exactly same. Really cool looking - Round. One teeny problem. One of them is uninhabitable. And b/c of all the bldgs nearby, undemolishable. So it will be there until a natural disaster takes it down.
Have given up on sleep. Now drinking red bull and noni. I find the noni gives me a healthy joint. Hmmm. Meant to write jolt. I have never had a Freudian slip typo before.
Lovely - storm is stronger than expected. I hear a little bit of wind howl and see madly swaying palm trees and street lights. The Miami/Aventura skyline is significantly darker and I am still seeing at least one green explosion per minute. I am pretty sure the green is a transformer blowing but I also see huge orange bursts every so often and don't really know what they are. Now it is either pouring or shitloads of people have no power b/c looking north is very dark. Its weird living high up. For some reason, even during a hurricane, the rain rarely hits the windows so you can only see it - not hear it. I also thought I saw lightning which I did not think happened during hurricanes - kinda like a blizzard I guess.
I told my parents I would stay away from the windows put I am pretty much pressed up against them most of the time. The green explosions and all the twinkling lights, combined w/ lack of sleep are fascinating. I just started the dishwasher and it is freaking me out by making noises that sound too close to wind.
The worst is supposed to hit between 8 and 11 and I want to see it! So I cant sleep b/c I am the worst waker up ever.
OOOHH - getting the 6 o'clock update: cat 2 & 3 winds are hitting Naples and the eye is just off shore. They say that if the eye passes over, b/c it is so huge it could take over an hour and this storm is moving about 15-20mph. One good thing - the largest storm surge is hitting the 10,000 islands which is uninhabited.
The green flashes keep coming, but my lights have stopped flickering and the view keeps losing more and more points of light. I have almost every light turned on at the moment. I rarely do this. Damn. Just heard a random noise. They kinda freak me out b/c this place is normally as quiet as a tomb. The kitties are acting stranger than normal. They are walking very close to the ground. So Want To Walk The Beach!!!! In daylight - i can wait. I think I ought to get a job w/ the weather channel. Send me into the worst storms. Make me one of those idiots I used to make fun of. I would love it! Lights just really flashed - no battery - posting! Chaio!

Katrina....Rita......Wilma

Many changes. So many. Katrina dropped a beautiful large tree that made our driveway what it was. Where we lived we lost power and cable so we went to Miami Beach where surprisingly enough there was power and cable. The "we" didn't last too long. Too much fighting. I decided that we (mainly I) needed a break. I needed peace and quiet and solitude. I feel that a few months ago I fell of the horse called Life, and I am still scared to get back on. It feels like it's something I have to do by myself, though sadly I am still stalled. I first few months after I liked going my shrink b/c I KNEW I HAD to get better, but now I am back to not knowing what to talk about. Its like I am paying someone to look at me trying to talk for half an hour. When I do get on a talking roll and he doesn't have a following appt he does extend mine w/o charge though. Its weird - I sometimes slip and call that day the day I killed myself though I am obviously still alive and bitching. Doesn't seem to healthy does it.....But I did make a great new friend. The Ocean. It has given me a great body. Almost as good as when I was 21 - 10 YEARS AGO! Not only did I lose fat, I have muscle in my arms! The Ocean -she resists me, shoots stinging water up my sinuses, but still softly envelops me with what I feel is a great positive universal energy. I find it mind boggling that little ole me is swimming in this huge gigantic body of water that is literally a primordial soup. Life came from the ocean. Cheesy, but it feels like a womb. I love bobbing like a cork in the waves. So comforting. Unless there is a hurricane near by. I swam daily until H Rita was near. My new found friend, Ocean, would not let me in. I wasn't thinking about swimming, merely getting in. A wave knocked me flat on my back and I had to fight like hell to stay on the shore. I liked it and proceeded to let Ocean Waves to pound me as I walked along the shore. The power of water fascinates me. That day I did some laps in the pool and was put off by the chorine. I cant believe how attached I have become to the beach. I used to love pools and now, well quite frankly, they suck. Unless you see sharks which I have not, though others have. And jellyfish - those fuckers scare almost more than sharks b/c they're damn near invisible w/ tentacles that can reach 10 Ft. Bastards. But I figure I gotta go swimming at least every other day so I wont feel it when the water gets colder. When I lived in VA I used to go swimming every Christmas - last year I thought it was too cold in October. When someone tells me its cold that day I just run for the shore and dive right into a wave. Its so much fun. I used to be one of those sissies who go in little by little. Jumping right in is so much better - got to stretch that theory to LIFE.
Which some way or another brings me to the here and now. I am currently in a beach front condo on the 26th floor - where my sideways picture was taken(actually 25th b/c there is no 13 - so all you people on the 14th stop kidding yourself - doesn't matter what its called - it is what it is) on the north west facing corner which is good for this hurricane because the strongest winds are coming from the south east. This bitch has been really annoying. Almost 24 hr storm footage since TUESDAY. Some poor people evacuated Key West on WEDNESDAY. I cant imagine spending so much time in a shelter, it seems like it might be worse than the mental hospital with all the nervousness and anxiety and uncertainty brewing with so many people in such close quarters. We Americans like our personal space - such thing does not exist in Mexico.
I am a bit scared b/c 4 windows in the building did break during Katrina and the apartment is pretty much mostly floor to ceiling windows except for the smaller bedroom where me and the kitties will spend the night. That one has one window that unfortunately wont lock - at least I got it firmly closed for the first time in years. Miami has been over reacting to hurricanes b/c we ignored Katrina and she gave us a big surprise. Hurricanes don't like trees. Even if it is only a category one. Which is what Wilma was supposed to be. She just turned into a 3 - should hit Miami w/in 8 hrs as a 2, hopefully 1, but her damn track changes every half hour. Sometimes she is predicted to go north (sorry Ed) and sometimes she is headed straight to Miami. The higher north she hits the better for the east coast b/c FL is quite narrow at the bottom. Sweet - just saw a projection that takes her pretty north.

Its almost funny. Nobody gave a shit when Katrina passed though until morning when we saw the damage. So many big old trees down. So sad - Miami has the smallest tree canopy out of any major city already. The storms don't help. The houseboat still floats but she has no walls. Its pretty cool. Its like she is unsinkable. We found her pretty much under water - waves were lapping in over 3 sides but she stayed level and her bow was proudly floating. She don't got shit, but she got float, and damn, she got it good. But just as much as we were under-prepared and under-warned for Katrina - the news is making it up for us. Now they send us into a panic if there is a slight chance of any bad weather. It's hitting the other side of the state - you would think that that buffer would mean something but she is moving about 20mph so they say she won't have much time to break up. I shall see by tomorrow afternoon. At least a cold front is following this wind - we on the south side of the storm aren't supposed to get much rain, merely most of the strong winds- so at least we wont be sweating our asses off during clean up.
BTW - have not posted in forever b/c I had no internet or computer in the condo and just get really down when I am in the townhouse. I found a 5yr old laptop in the office closet and as they didn't know it was there they said I could keep it! Helps to be related. My only (ha!) complaint is that it wont hold a charge. A new battery shouldn't cost too much right?
My mom is losing her mind w/ all these damn storms and I think I have finally convinced her to get a summer home in the Blue Ridge or somewhere nearby. I think she's biting! It would be perfect. As soon as June hits you go north and stay till the leaves are done turning to come back south to enjoy the nice Miami winter. Anybody know of anyone who has land w/ lake or large pond in the area?

Just had a brown out so posting - BYE!
Summary - still hiding from life but loving the ocean (w/ tons of sunblock cuz I like looking 25)

More bitching - I can't believe the is a fucking tropical storm ALPHA out there. I don't even hear any wind but the news just said over 1,000,000 were already w/o power in Dade and Volusia counties.

I have faith in this building. AC is good. TV is good. Computer is good. Non broken windows are good. Cable is good. And most of all, nice fat, furry healthy kitties are good. May they all be as good tomorrow afternoon. The flickering lights are bugging me though. OK - new TV update - seems Miami will not see hurricane force winds! Slightly just north of us though. Hope things are good for you Ed and everybody else. Just cuz I am happy does not mean that I don't feel really bad for those north. Just heard a new word - "tornadic conditions". Never have heard that one before. Neither has blogger spell check, but then blogger spell check does not recognize the word "blogger". Are meteorologists making up new words now? Depleting the state of its supply of Xanex isn't enough? Now you gotta make things up??

Update - news people fucked up - not 1,000,000 w/o power just 11,900.
Cool - I went near the big window to kiss the big kitty and saw a transformer blow across Indian Creek. Naturally this led me out to the balcony. As I was looking at all the multi-million $ homes below in the dark their lights popped back on. Lucky bastards but it was damn cool to see. Everyone told me not to go to the beach but I REALLY want to. Only fear is that the elevators will stop working and I will have to do 25 flights or that a coconut will bonk me on the head, but that just might do me some good.

If this post is a sign of anything (I have posted and updated it about 5 times already) you might see something close to daily spewing/posting. Maybe.