Slowly returning to normal....

We finally got power restored on Wednesday afternoon. Things seemed to be up and running well...thank goodness. Our tempermental air conditioners both kicked on and started working and all our appliances are in good working order. We had to reset our water softener.....especially when we discovered that the transformer box had been compromised....but we were able to fix it without a service call. There still is no cable...but that will require a service visit because it was attached to the pole that had to be replaced. We requested the service but we are still waiting. I have been able to keep up with (most ) of my shows on-line. The house is almost back in one piece (execpt the garage, which is always a disaster), and the dining room, which Randy turned into a temporary office. He will need to relocate back upstairs.
Jordana spent her first night in her big girl bed last night and did well. She is currently napping in it right now. Considering how bad of a day we had yesterday...I'm surprised it went so well. We took her to get a haircut yesterday...not something new...and she had a total meltdown. We left without the haircut. She carried on for over an hour. After I put her down for a nap, she slept 3 hours and woke up and said, "I want a haircut". I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. We decided not to go back out...and it is a good thing we didn't, she had another meltdown at dinner. She refused to sit with us and eat. We are not allowing her to be the wanderer that she is during meal times and it has not been easy. After Randy and I finished, we put her in her PJ's. She started crying again and said she wanted dinner. We made her sit at the table and eat. She scarfed down her dinner like she hadn't eaten in a week. She was in a better mood, so we decided to try the big bed. She was asleep rather quickly. She tossed and turned a bit, so I pulled the comforter off, and we didn't hear a peep from her until 7:30 this morning. (we set up the new video monitor we got for the baby so we could keep an eye on her). Today she was in a better mood, but is still not too keen on the hair cut. We may try later this afternoon.
The bad news I have is that I may have lost my computer. It was running fine after the power was restored. I watched 3 hours of TV on it on Friday night. Yesterday, when I went upstairs, the battery backup was screaming. My computer was off. I rebooted the backup, only to hear it screaming again a few hours later. So I shut it off. This morning, I plugged the computer into a power strip and rebooted....and it won't boot. It has been doing this repair thing for a few hours. HP said it may take a few hours to complete, but I see no progress. Of course the battery company is closed on the weekend. I feel that their product caused this problem. According to the warranty, they will replace damaged batteries and computers...but that will not help me if I lose everything. This will be the 4th time in 5 years that I have had complete computer failure. If they replace the computer....I'm getting a DELL!!! It will take me weeks to get everything back to normal. So if correspondence is slow from me...you know why.

Progress....

Yesterday I called Centerpoint. I wanted to report the lack of progress on our power pole. The operator said she would re-enter the work order. I came home from work and found this. Why didn't I do this days ago??? By the time it was dark out we had a new power pole in place. the lights flickered for a few minutes....but no power. I know the pole is not the only source of damage but it was the biggest. It brought workers to our subdivision quicker that the web site promised (website said SUNDAY!!!) and they are back again today...hopefully working on the rest of the problems. Watching them work was interesting. The down side....they tore down our fence, drove their trucks right into our backyard and tore up the grass and curb on the side of the house. Centerpoint told us to file a claim but we cannot do it until next week, as the claims office is closed to allow the workers to help out in other areas. There are still about 580,000 people without power....13,000 of them in my zip code alone. This morning they came back and propped up our fence and then left....I only hope to hit the other areas that are not working...to complete the job and get us power. It's been 12 days.....

The last to get power....

I am officially the last person on this planet to get power....and I still don't have it!!! My employees who didn't have it, got it last night. Jeff got it today. My zip code says "after Thursday". There are alot of days after Thursday!!! There has been NO Centerpoint activity in my neighborhood, let alone in the backyard where the pole is down. There are 13000+ people in my zip code without power. According to the Centerpoint map, it is one of the largest populations without power. So why aren't they working here first!!??? I am tired of hand washing dishes, stumbling around with a lantern, tripping over extension cords, having the generators trip, spending god awful amounts of money on gas, sweating in my sleep and having to pay for laundry (45 to have 3 loads washed, dried and folded). I will NEVER EVER go camping!!! Not to mention putting makeup on in the worst lighting possible and having my skin break out because the water softener has been out of commission for 11 days, showering at night so I can have some control over my hair in the morning....and having to watch my tv shows on the internet way after everyone else has seen them. I have seen the life I could have without power....and I never want to do this again!!! Those of you with air conditioning, cable, lights etc...be thankful.

Things I have learned from the storm...

Tree roots and the sprinkers that it ripped up
.


The "clean side" is just as bad as the dirty side...just less flooding.


Living in a forest has it's down side...during a hurricaine.


I can live without electricity (as long as there is a generator)...but not without water.


Insurance companies suck...filed a claim a week ago and have not heard a peep from them.


Neighbors can surprise you.

So can landscape companies...Aaron got a quote to remove his falling tree....$6500....he then found someone to do it for $1500. Some people have no shame.


Jordana says "oh my gosh" alot.


I'm glad I work....I could not be a full time mom.


Jordana thinks the bread at Outback (the pumpernickel kind) is "Chocolate bread".


My Palm Centro is WONDERFUL....kept me online and with email all week.


My dogs drive me crazy when I am cooped up with them all day.


Braxton-hicks contractions are not fun....especially when they happen the day of the hurricaine and you don't know if there is a hospital with power anywhere...let alone clear roads.


Traffic lights are a GOOD thing.


I discovered the joy of watching TV on the internet ( I was able to watch BONES from Wed night)


2 Generators are better than one....especially if you have DSL and your phones work!!!


Swollen ankles are NO FUN!!!


Jordana LOVES taking showers now...we do it every night before bed (since I am not comfortable giving her a bath at night with no lights!!!)


Most of my customers have been understanding....which make me love my store even more. then there are those who are not regular customers, and are just using us because everyone else is closed, and think their problems are the only problems.


Walgreens shocked me by providing gasoline (free) for its employees when the local tanks were empty, and lunch for 2 days. Oh and blowing OT and budgets out of the water.

I may feel like I have it bad...but there are others who have it worse:
Angela who lost her entire roof...and her house
Jeff who has no power or generator, bad roof damage...and some nasty neighbors
The residents of Galveston, Boliver, Jamaica Beach.....who lost everything
The power workers who lost their lives trying to restore power to the city

I am grateful for
no injuries (except Randys wasp sting and my dads busted up leg)
No major damage to homes for my family
The animals of Moody gardens, the Aquarium and the Zoo making it through the storm unscathed
The cold front which has made it more bareable the past few days.

Hurricaine Ike...the aftermath

It has been 8 days since Ike made landfall here in Houston....probably the longest 8 days of my life. The pix you are seeing is just some of the damage to my home. I'll give you a play by play.

Friday: We closed the pharmacy at noon. I headed home to finish preparing. Randy got all the projectiles brought in or tied down. We moved Jordana into our room and settled in for the night. The rain and wind started around 6 pm...not enough to worry about. We lost cable around 10pm, and switched to our little camping tv. We finally went to bed around 1 am. According to the clock in the kitchen, we lost power at 2:52 AM. During my many trips to the bathroom during the night, I heard the wind and rain. Although it was very loud, I wasn't too concerned by it.

Saturday: Randy woke up and took the dogs out. I stayed in bed, not realzing that what woke Randy up was the sound of a tree falling. By 8, Jordana and I were up, trying to get breakfast. The rain was still coming down and the wind was still blowing. I turned on the mini tv to see where the storm was. At this point, it was a category 1 and the eye was almost non-existant. We were expecting it to end around 4pm. Around 9am, I was in the bathroom in the master, when I heard a loud screeching noise and a thunk. Randy was still outside surveying the damage. I didn't realize what was going on until now. I peeked out the master window.....and saw branches....that were not there before. I also saw a guyser of water. Jordana and I got dressed and ventured outside. We could not walk out the front door...there was a tree laying on the path, our neighbors tree. We went out the side door and walked around the front. I saw 2 trees down, one laying across the front yard and into the street, blocking traffic, and one laying parallel to the front of the house. There was water spraying everywhere. Turns out that the first tree that fell, the one in the street, took the sprinkler system out with it. Randy and our neighbors desperately tried to find the bypass to shut off the sprinklers....but discovered we did not have one. We were forced to turn the water off. Luckily, Jordana and I took a shower on Friday night with the anticipation that we would not have power on Saturday. We went over to a neighbors house (aaron and Sharon) for a bit so Jordana could have some play time with Chloe and Alyssa, and the boys could survey the damage. They had a tree that was leaning and holding on by the tap root...and hovering over their master bedroom. They also had a flood in their backyard..whick I promptly fell in and twisted my ankle. We stayed for a bit and had some food and then went home. Turns out our new neighbors who just moved in a few weeks ago....are tree experts. Mark was already out there with his chain saw, clearing the road. He was just grateful that his tree didn't crash through our house. I put Jordana down for a nap and took one myself. At this point, Randy had the generator up and running to keep the fridges going. He had also installed a window unit air conditioner in the living room, which was turned on low at this point. The generator was in the backyard under the patio covering to keep it dry. Half way though our nap...I woke up to this beeping noise. I got up to investigate...it was the CO detector...the one I forgot we had. The air conditioner was pulling the CO from the generator into the house. Without that detector....I don't want to know what could have happened. I texted Randy (cell service was very spotty) and told him to get home....he was across the street. He moved the generator and we got out of the house. At this point our amazing neighbors had started the clean up, even thought it was still raining. We all helped with each others yards...Mark with the chainsaw...cutting up the fallen trees. I took pix for the insurance co. Marks tree ripped up our front walkway, the sprinkler was totally shot and I found a water leak in the window box on the kitchen. We had a neighborhood BBQ for the evening, Jordana and I took a shower at the neighbors house (thanks Clay and Suzanne) and called it a night. Luckily....there was a cold front moving in.

Sunday: Randy worked hard with the neighbors to get the sprinker pipes repaired. We had the water on by late afternoon. Thank goodness. We won't be running the sprinklers anytime soon.....We spent the day sitting around, hanging with neighbors and watching TV. Jordana watched movies on a little TV hooked to the generator. We discovered that a power pole in our neighbors back yard (we share a backyard fence) had fallen and was leaning on the fence. Ceneterpoint told us that they would fix the pole by Wed.

Monday: more of the same....no power at work, no daycare....more movies, naps, BBQ's with neighbors....Randy watching football at Rob's house on Direct TV with our generator. Centerpoint delivered out new pole.

Tuesday: more sitting around, watching movies, learned the store had a generator but I had no employees...so I didn't open the pharmacy. With the cold front, we opened all the windows and turned off the air cond.

Wed: back to school for Jordana and back to work for me. Closed the store at 7pm...not a peep from Centerpont about power pole. Jordana was "cold" so we sent her to bed with fleecies.

Thursday: Supposed to be my day off..but since I missed Mon and Tues...decided to go in. Jordana woke up HOT! She had a mild fever (99)but I thought it was the fleecies. She was in a good mood. Took her to school and barely made it out of the parking lot when they called me to come get her. Her fever was 102. I took 2 load of laundry to the wash and fold (not going to be done until Sunday!!) and went back to get her. Took her home and went to work. Filled almost 700 rx's....second busiest in the district. Beat all the 24 hour stores. Came home...still no power...parents got theirs on thurs night. Was told by centerpoint Monday was our day.

Friday: Jordana still had fever. Randy took her to the md and I went to work. Jordana has strep throat. Randy took her home and her fever spiked to 105. He managed to get it down after she cried her eyes out for 15 minutes. Work was a bit better....the chaos was more controlled. Randy got a second generator so now we have more power, but are burning more gas.

Saturday: Jordana still has fever but in better spirits. Randy went to do some work....discovered traffic is HORRIBLE when half the lights in town are out. Jordana had a meltdown after a 30 minute nap and cried for over an hour. Then she was fine. Daddy came home and played outside with her while I napped. Found out we will not get power until AFTER Thursday the 25th. Not ON Thurs...after Thurs. Parents got cable back today. The cold front is leaving....and I am slowly losing my mind.

Remembering...

Although I suffered tremendously today at work, it was a bit of a blessing, because it took my mind off the real meaning of today. It's been 7 years and the pain is still there. I still hurt for my family and friends who suffered emotionally and physically on this day, and I remember the panic I felt being so far away and not being able to reach anyone. I may not be in NY but I will always be a New Yorker. I think this day, 7 years ago, made Randy and I realize that there was no one else for us...and we were engaged in less than a month. The events of the day helped my dad in his new job, and brought my family to Texas, right around the corner, instead of a 3 hour flight away. Although there were some good that came of it, it is still a day I wish was just another day on the calendar. It would just be the birthday for my tech, Janet, and the anniversary of a hurricaine in Texas, instead of the worst day in US history. Love to all my family and friends, whereever you are and whatever you are doing...and always remember.

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Here comes Ike!!

Looks like this time we will have direct hit from IKE, unlike the last time, when the wind barely blew over a beer can. We expect to feel the winds beginning late tomorrow afternoon. I am going to work and we still stay as long as we have power, but I have no intention of going on Saturday. It has been absolute HELL at work. Today was beyond busy, and we had no fax line, printers jamming up and non stop prescriptions. Becuase of all the computer problems and the approaching storm, the warehouse from TUESDAY is still on the floor, not put up. My inventory is destroyed. By 5 pm, we were telling people the next day for their prescriptions. It was so bad, the nurse practitioner, who works in my in-store clinic, was not busy and came over and offered me help. I threw her into the fill station, gave her a crash course and she stayed there ALL DAY. What a team player!!! I will be sure to tell her boss how helpful she was. She didn't have any patients until around 6 pm. She never took a break and ordered pizza for all of us. Any suggestions on how to thank her!?? My only hope is that Sunday will be dead and we can catch up (as long as we have power). Jordana has no school tomorrow and will probably spend the day with her Aunt Courtney.
So communication may be non-existant for a while. We are only worried about the winds, flooding is not an issue where we are. this area didn't flood during Allison, and that was a 500 year flood...so we should be ok. During Rita, we lost power for about 5 hours (I was 5 months pregnant then). We expect to sit in the dark for a while and we have a generator and an air conditioning unit. We will camp out in our master bedroom to stay cool and hope for minimal damage. Randy will board up tomorrow if the winds are sustaining. If they are gusts, we may not bother. Tonight we bring in all the projectiles, the wind chimes and bird feeders (we have a ton of them) and Jordana's swings and toys. I will be emptying out the hall closet in case of tornados, and we have a ton of flashlights and candles.
That's the plan, wish us luck, and track the storm at www.weather.com
We'll see you on the other side!!!

hell at work...it's the only way to describe it...

Monday started out without a hitch. We were upgraded last Monday and the computers have been acting a little cranky. Afer multiple calls to the help center...things seemed to be a bit better. I went to lunch, got an interstore, and went back to finish my shift. That's when all hell broke loose. By 4:30, right in the middle of rush hour...my computers gracefully slipped into central mode...not a good place to be. We rebooted everything, but to no avail. After calling the help center and a call was promised back, I realized that the phones were dead to incoming calls. I called the help center back and together we tried to reboot the sever. No luck. They decided to send DTR out. When the DTR tech called me (turns out he was home eating dinner and he lived in my subdivision!!!), he told me we probably will lose the drive and have to be recloned. NO!!! I've been at this for 10 years and I have never had to be recloned. It is a pharmacy managers nightmare! Becuase we were already crashed, we could not even prepare for it. when I left at 8:30, the work was still being done.

Tuesday morning, we started with a fresh server and almost a brand new work queue!!! There was like 30 in there....never happens at my store!! We were trucking along, trying to catch up with the 100 scripts that we couldn't process on Monday night. At about 11 am, the computers started acting up again. I called the help center and found out that the central server was down. ARGH!!! This time we had to wait for the central server to be repaired and that was out of our hands. My Sr. Tech and I went to a meeting and we got back to the store around 4pm. The computers had just come back up but they were still some problems. the pharmacy was a complete disaster. I stayed until 5:30, when I left to meet Randy for dinner with Jordana. He sent me this picture while in route. the only high point in an otherwise dismal week.

I took today off to rest and the floater called me this morning and told me "She couldn't take it". I told her to call the store manager to help out. I am SOOO not looking foward to tomorrow!!!

Car damage repaired

Oh yeah, the damage to my front fender is gone thanks to Danny D!! He worked his magic and got all the paint off. There is still a little dent, but you can hardly notice it!!! Thanks Danny!!!

Mommy and me weekend

Jordana and I spent the weekend together. Randy went to the deer lease to do some work. Saturday we did some shopping. Jordana picked out a new Clifford book at Border's as well as a new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse DVD, which she watched right away in the car!!! Then we went to Ulta where she picked out some new bubble bath.....she asked for purple right away. This girl LOVES purple!!! Then we had Panera Bread for lunch (YUM!!!) and we both went home for naps. Jordana slept 3 hours!!!! I was exhausted from our little morning excursion. We stayed in the rest of the day watching movies and playing. Today we spent the day with Grandma, Poppa, Aunt Barbara and Uncle Jeff. Jordana went to the park with Grandma and Aunt Barbara, while Poppa and I took naps while watching the dismal Texans game.
This pix was taken a few weeks ago but this is a common scene from the backseat of my car. Jordana LOVES her stuffed animals. When she is tired, she likes to snuggle with them in her car seat and watch a movie. I think it is adorable! You can see she still has a paci problem.
This week starts my 10 day stretch and we await to see what IKE will do, if he heads this way, I may get the weekend off after all!!!