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Some rainbows are bright, some gray, some in colors you've never seen. |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** The sun is always shining and there are always rainbows. If it's cloudy, the rainbow may be covered or in shades of gray. If the rain has just passed, the rainbow may be strong, clear, and brilliant. If the sky is crystal clear, the rainbow may appear in colors unexpected. Whatever is going on for you, there's a rainbow out there somewhere. Look for it. And if you find it, let it brighten your day. Keep it in your heart to tide you over until you see the next one. Gonna give this Johari Window thing a shot. If you think you know me or want to see what others think about me, follow the link then follow the directions. Life is words in motion: Flowing from mind, to hand, to page; Sung from heart, to voice, to ear; Life is words in motion. ~Douglas The Human Touch By Spencer Michael Free
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| The old saying goes: "Cleanliness is next to Godliness." After this weekend, I kind of doubt that. I mean, the next time God wants to prune every tree in the Gulf Coast (or anywhere else for that matter), God needs to be sure to clean up God's own mess. Isn't that what parents teach their children to do? "Go clean up that mess. You made it, you need to clean it. I'm not going to." It's all a matter of responsibility, right? |
| Greets to all my readers! Houston is slowly drying up and recovering painfully. Power just came on for my apt and office last night. But I'm still waiting on cable and 'net service. Just wanted to pop in and let y'all know I'm alive an well and have a few tales/observations to bring in the coming days once things begin to settle down. Hope you are all doing well. And I'll see ya around. Right now I need to finish setting up the office.  TC, Doug |
| Galveston is now feeling the of the first effects one would expect from a hurricane with wind and rains. And here in the middle of Houston, winds are just beginning to gust up to 25 miles an hour. But between the cloud cover, the wind/breeze, and below normal temperature of 85 degrees, it is cool enough and still safe enough for me to keep my one door and one window open and just have the fan running on my AC unit and still be comfortable. I just checked with our local ABC website and according to this link (http://houstonhidefromthewind.org/), the projected maximum winds for my zip code (77006) are only supposed to be 80 mph. I guess that's actually supposed to be max sustained winds and doesn't count gusts. Still, at worst for me, it's supposed to be only a category 1 level storm for me. I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed but still be sure that I'm ready for the worst. So far, so good. But I don't know how much sleep I'll be getting tonight because of the amount of noise the wind and rain is supposed to make according to the newscasters. Obviously the power is still on for me so I'll keep posting the occasional update as long as I can ~ or until I feel I need to try and get some sleep during the night. Thanks to all who have wished me well and safety. Keep your prayers and thoughts coming. The worst is yet to come. |
| Well, it's 4PM here now and we've just had our first shower. And that's all it is so far... a light misty shower that looked and felt like spring, except hotter like a Texas gully washer. This is most certainly going to be something more that a gully washer before it's all over though.  |
| It's 9:15 AM, here in Houston and I've been keeping an eye on the local news covering the storm, especially how Galveston and Galveston County are faring right now. All I can say is "Wow! Unbelievable!" That area is not even getting tropical storm force winds or any rain yet and the surge has yet to come in, but the bay area waters and Gulf waters are both rising tremendously already. Personal and large public piers are already damaged, the areas of the Island that are not faced with a seawall are being inundated. Galveston's Seawall, about 12 feet over regular sea-level, is now being overwashed by incoming waves. Some homes on stilts which are normally 30 to 100 feet away from the shore line at high tide, now look as if they are sitting in the middle of the Gulf. All this high water is due to coastal flooding and tides and is not included in the predicted storm surge currently at 15-20 feet. With that yet to come (and in the dark of night), I doubt we'll be able to see much if any of Galveston Island above the water by the time the sun comes up tomorrow. Unbelievable... or at least it would be if I haven't seen all this with my own eyes. 15-17 hours to go and counting. Keep us in your prayers. |
| There are a couple of things I've always wanted to experience in my life (and you are free to call me crazy when you finish reading this if you want). In my lifetime, I've been through nor-easters, massive thunderstorms, and tropical storms. Various natural phenomena which can be dangerous and deadly if proper precautions are not taken - and then sometimes even then. But there are a few other phenomena that I've wanted to experience: a mild earthquake, a volcanic eruption, and a hurricane. Well, over the next thirty-six or so hours, I'll get one of those wishes granted. Only with it being a bit bigger than I would have liked - or expected. I don't live in a storm surge area, so there's no mandatory evacuation. But most projections of Ike's path looks like the center of the storm will pass either directly over downtown Houston or within 10 miles to the east. I live just south of downtown. Other expectations the local forecasters are calling for include 5-10 inches of rain and winds of 75-100 mph. I live in an older apartment complex, but one which has been around since before Hurricane Alicia, the last hurricane to really hit the Houston area in 1983. And I'm on the second floor, so flooding of my actual living space is not a concern. My biggest immediate concern is power going out. Oh I might be able to do with no tv or computer, but my apartment acts like a car interior. Even with temperatures in the low to mid 80s, my apartment will heat up and be up to 20 degrees hotter than outside if my AC isn't working. And these winds aren't going to be very conducive to leaving the door and window open to let air circulate through and cool the place naturally - like I would do in Upstate New York. No lights? I've got candles and oil hurricane lamps. Water shut off? 4+ gallons in the fridge (I live by myself) and I'll be filling the bathtub soon to give me water for sponge baths and flushing the toilet. Boredom? Batter operated radio, four bookshelves filled to capacity plus a few stacks on the floor, notebooks with paper and pens, and a fully charged portable DVD player. I'll most likely use that last item as a CD player to listen to music instead of to watch only a movie or two. Gas turned off? Foodstuffs that can be eaten raw or right out of the can. And yes, I have manually operated can openers. So, I'm going to treat this something like a roller coaster ride. Take all the precautions you can, make yourself as safe as possible, then just sit back and try to enjoy the ride. I did buy a new cell phone and it's still fully charged. So I'm not going to make many phone calls just in case the power does go out and I can't recharge. All I ask from my WDC family is your prayers if you pray, or your best karma or wishes if you don't. And be sure to keep MaryLou  and tinytalegirl and any other members you know who live in the Houston/Galveston area in your thoughts as well.I hope to see you all shortly soon after. I'll hang around as long as I can today. |
| I just saw a news article on tv that was talking about the "new style malls". Basically, if you take small town Main Street type shopping centers from decades ago, up-scale the stores, widen the street to allow for four rows of perpendicular parking with driving space (think mini parking lots) so that the whole place is pedestrian friendly, you have the new mall. People interviewed reacted as if the whole concept of open air shopping is something new and wonderful. *sigh* How did they think people shopped before malls were invented some 50 years ago? |
| A friend and fellow handbell ringer sent me this poem today. Neither of us knows who wrote it or where it came from (a very close straight friend of his sent it to him and she doesn't know either). I love it. Such a powerful message tucked away inside. Stay blessed my friends. I was shocked, confused, bewildered As I entered Heaven's door, Not by the beauty of it all, Nor the lights or its decor. But it was the folks in Heaven Who made me sputter and gasp-- The thieves, the liars, the sinners , The alcoholics and the trash. There stood the kid from seventh grade Who swiped my lunch money twice. Next to him was my old neighbor Who never said anything nice. Herb, who I always thought Was rotting away in hell, Was sitting pretty on cloud nine, Looking incredibly well. I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal? I would love to hear Your take. How'd all these sinners get up here? God must've made a mistake. 'And why's everyone so quiet, So somber - give me a clue.' 'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock. No one thought they'd be seeing you.' JUDGE NOT. |
| I have to admit it now, and I do so freely and willingly. I am addicted to my internet connection. Last night as I was about to send off an email reply, my modem decided to die. Once and for all. It had been sputtering on occasion over the past several months. Sometimes it was the line and provider, but even then I had my suspicions. So last night, I did the whole reset scenario a couple of times and no luck. So I thought I'd give the provider a chance in case it was their fault. I turned off the computer and turned on my PS2 for the rest of the night. But when I turned everything on in the morning there was still no go. I called the provider and after a couple of tests from his end of the line, it was determined the fault was most likely in the modem itself. He was going to set up an appointment for a tech to come out, but that wouldn't happen until Thursday. THURSDAY!!!??? WHAT!!??? NO WAY! So I made mention that I was only a few blocks from an office and suggested that I would instead take it in for exchange. So after work today (and thankfully it was one of my short days) I made my way up to the office and did just that. Of course, I had to wait in a line of about 15 people with only one person working the counter. And when I was the next in line, haha, that's when someone else came in and opened a second register. And because I knew exactly what I wanted and had all the information and questions ready I needed, I was out of there before the person who had been in line ahead of me finished. Home I came, hooked everything up and turned it all on. I called the provider to have them activate my new modem but before I could confirm that everything was a go, I ran out of minutes on my phone. Murphy's Law strikes again. Fine, well, with the hurricane (actually only a tropical storm right now) setting its sight on where I live, I decided to go grab something to eat, buy more minutes for my phone and buy a couple of things from the grocery store. Everything going well until I walked past the grocery store parking lot. Not one empty parking space, so I knew I didn't want to bother with the lines and emptying shelves. I figured since I'm only a block away from one convenience store and three and a half blocks from two more, if I need anything tomorrow, I can always make my way there. So I get home and turn everything on again (reset procedures) and VOILA! everything is up and working and I'm back online again. *breaths a heavy sigh of relief* My office has already decided to close tomorrow, but I may still go in in the morning as it doesn't look like Edouard isn't going to get here until sometime around or after lunch. I have keys so getting in to do some work isn't going to be a problem. But for when I'm home, as long as there is power, I'm all set with cable and internet and AC. And enough food. All's well that ends well. And my nerves can finally settle down. |
| I woke up this morning a lot earlier than I anticipated. The words of one of the songs from Rent haunting my thoughts. A simple poem. A prayer. A plea. Will I loose my dignity? Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow From this nightmare? The song is sung, in the movie, in a group meeting for people living with AIDS. But what makes the song accessible is when Mark joins the song. In truth, the fact that Mark sings along doesn't mean that non-HIV positive, non-AIDS sufferers wouldn't be able to connect to the message. What his joining means, to me, is that it doesn't matter what you are going through, the fear is common to everyone. Being something of a Unitarian Universalist in religious though, if not membership, another thing I like about the song/poem is that it doesn't matter if you believe in a greater power or not, you can still cry it out to whomever or whatever you believe in. A cry of desperation does not necessarily need to be called out to anyone or anything else. When a soul/spirit is in pain it will just call out, which is what this song does. |
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