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Entry tags:
rl update, since I haven't done that in awhile
I haven't made a RL update since June, where I said OMG I GOT A NEW COMPUTER. (The new computer is still lovely. I really adore it. It's a Lenovo.)
The summer was good. Zach came but for a shorter visit than usual since we got a later start on it. He got a girlfriend in Spring and they were inseparable for awhile. They've recently broken up, I THINK.
First Zach decided he was a Libertarian. Then he decided he was all for the downfall of the government because they curtail freedom too much. No regulations! No taxes! So he was an anarchist. He read Ayn Rand and drove me crazy, pretty much, and I've been trying to point out at every juncture how laws and regulations keep us safe. I've used the recent romaine lettuce recalls as an example of what happens when regulations get cut back - people get sick. Or worse. I think I'm starting to get through to him, but we'll see. He's very much into the whole idea of Individualism. But he says he likes talking to me because I have a clear view of what I believe and that I don't compromise with my politics. lol
So he'll be coming soon for holidays and I feel like I should be doing some last-minute studying so I can kinda wheedle him into better political stances but we'll see.
OH LEMME TELL YOU ABOUT THE BIG EVENT OF THE YEAR: HURRICANE MICHAEL! First of all, the hurricane didn't total our house. We are very thankful for that. We lost our pump house - it blew away down the road. (we are still trying to figure out how to replace it, and so far the people who might have been able to help are SO BUSY that we can't get it done yet) Our front door blew open and broke the doorframe, but we've gotten that fixed. So many trees came down in our yard, many of them fell on our chain link fence, but only one hit the side of the house and it just put a little dent in that could probably be pounded out or ... something, idk. It's not TOO bad. Our gutters need redoing and who knows when that'll happen.
The biggest challenge with the hurricane was the aftermath. We were without power for about 3 weeks. No electricity, no internet except on my phone, and no running WATER, since we're on a well and need power for the water to work. Losing all the food we had in the fridge and freezer was heartbreaking because that was a LOT of money we had to throw away.
The first week we were without power was hot. Record highs. No air conditioning. Meg started having seizures from the heat. FEMA was no help - they didn't have any cooling stations set up nearby and the advice they gave was to put Meg into the car with the A/C running. But then the local LDS church heard about our problem and immediately sent over a generator so Meg could at least have fans on her. (The Mormons did a LOT of work in the community, clearing debris and making meals and so much other stuff I'm sure I don't even know about.)
The National Guard handed out MREs and that's the only way we had hot meals for a long time. MREs are delicious when you're existing on tuna and crackers. I lost 10 pounds.
Thankfully, mom had the foresight to put in another well with a handpump on the property so once we got the trees cleared out of the way so we could get to it, we had fresh water! We didn't drink it but we used it for washing clothes (and ourselves!), flushing toilets, etc. and the neighbors had water from it, too. The neighbors who were around, that is.
Unfortunately, the house across the street was totaled by two trees falling right through it. The women who lived in the house are going through a lot as it is (cancer/chemo, a recent death in the family, problems with their son) and this has just heartbreaking to them. They're an old lesbian couple and they put so much work into making that house their happy home and now they've lost all that. They're living in Tallahassee now with a brother which on the one hand is closer to Bonnie's treatments but on the other hand, it isn't HOME. I feel for them so much.
One thing I definitely learned from the hurricane is that I need a new phone. Keeping my old iPhone charged was a major ordeal and I'm looking into buying an Android, maybe a Galaxy 7ish thing, refurbished of course. I've got to figure out how to add a new phone to my Tracfone account while keeping the same number and getting rid of the iPhone. I don't think I can do all that online.
BUT THAT WAS OCTOBER. November went much better. I wrote about 18k, and then I discovered AC Odyssey, and that's been it ever since.
The summer was good. Zach came but for a shorter visit than usual since we got a later start on it. He got a girlfriend in Spring and they were inseparable for awhile. They've recently broken up, I THINK.
First Zach decided he was a Libertarian. Then he decided he was all for the downfall of the government because they curtail freedom too much. No regulations! No taxes! So he was an anarchist. He read Ayn Rand and drove me crazy, pretty much, and I've been trying to point out at every juncture how laws and regulations keep us safe. I've used the recent romaine lettuce recalls as an example of what happens when regulations get cut back - people get sick. Or worse. I think I'm starting to get through to him, but we'll see. He's very much into the whole idea of Individualism. But he says he likes talking to me because I have a clear view of what I believe and that I don't compromise with my politics. lol
So he'll be coming soon for holidays and I feel like I should be doing some last-minute studying so I can kinda wheedle him into better political stances but we'll see.
OH LEMME TELL YOU ABOUT THE BIG EVENT OF THE YEAR: HURRICANE MICHAEL! First of all, the hurricane didn't total our house. We are very thankful for that. We lost our pump house - it blew away down the road. (we are still trying to figure out how to replace it, and so far the people who might have been able to help are SO BUSY that we can't get it done yet) Our front door blew open and broke the doorframe, but we've gotten that fixed. So many trees came down in our yard, many of them fell on our chain link fence, but only one hit the side of the house and it just put a little dent in that could probably be pounded out or ... something, idk. It's not TOO bad. Our gutters need redoing and who knows when that'll happen.
The biggest challenge with the hurricane was the aftermath. We were without power for about 3 weeks. No electricity, no internet except on my phone, and no running WATER, since we're on a well and need power for the water to work. Losing all the food we had in the fridge and freezer was heartbreaking because that was a LOT of money we had to throw away.
The first week we were without power was hot. Record highs. No air conditioning. Meg started having seizures from the heat. FEMA was no help - they didn't have any cooling stations set up nearby and the advice they gave was to put Meg into the car with the A/C running. But then the local LDS church heard about our problem and immediately sent over a generator so Meg could at least have fans on her. (The Mormons did a LOT of work in the community, clearing debris and making meals and so much other stuff I'm sure I don't even know about.)
The National Guard handed out MREs and that's the only way we had hot meals for a long time. MREs are delicious when you're existing on tuna and crackers. I lost 10 pounds.
Thankfully, mom had the foresight to put in another well with a handpump on the property so once we got the trees cleared out of the way so we could get to it, we had fresh water! We didn't drink it but we used it for washing clothes (and ourselves!), flushing toilets, etc. and the neighbors had water from it, too. The neighbors who were around, that is.
Unfortunately, the house across the street was totaled by two trees falling right through it. The women who lived in the house are going through a lot as it is (cancer/chemo, a recent death in the family, problems with their son) and this has just heartbreaking to them. They're an old lesbian couple and they put so much work into making that house their happy home and now they've lost all that. They're living in Tallahassee now with a brother which on the one hand is closer to Bonnie's treatments but on the other hand, it isn't HOME. I feel for them so much.
One thing I definitely learned from the hurricane is that I need a new phone. Keeping my old iPhone charged was a major ordeal and I'm looking into buying an Android, maybe a Galaxy 7ish thing, refurbished of course. I've got to figure out how to add a new phone to my Tracfone account while keeping the same number and getting rid of the iPhone. I don't think I can do all that online.
BUT THAT WAS OCTOBER. November went much better. I wrote about 18k, and then I discovered AC Odyssey, and that's been it ever since.