Houston: Hunker down!

During the highly anticipated and destructive storm that was Hurricane Ike in 2008, one of the city's elected officials was on the news around the clock.  On the last update before the storm actually hit, he uttered the words, "Hunker down!" and so, it seems fitting that tonight, in anticipation of a storm of a different kind, I utter the same words: "Houston: Hunker down!"  Oh it's serious, folks.  My normal 15 minute trek in the grocery store this evening told me how serious it really is.  It took me an hour standing in line to pay for milk.  Yes.  Milk.  That's it.  That's all I was buying.  Meanwhile, there was chaos all around me.  People dashing in loading up their carts with anything that wasn't tied down.  The entire city is on lockdown until further notice.  I mean, did I miss something? Was the second coming of Christ announced?  It doesn't take much for people to panic, that's for sure.  I suppose I shouldn't be so dismissive about the pending winter blast that is forecast for Tuesday morning.  And I'm not.  But to go all crazy buying every single case of water and who knows what else.  Well, that to me just seems extreme.  But that's us.  We do things big down here in Texas.  Oh come on, stop making fun of us.  You all know darned well that we are lost when it comes to freezing weather.  We buckle down and cry uncle when that happens.  Hurricanes? No problem.  Tornadoes? We got it.  Flooding? Bring it.  But snow and ice and precipation?  Uh, yeah we turn into frightened and hysterical souls.  The forecast for tomorrow is sleet, ice and possible snow.   Those are words that are never heard here, and yet this is the second time in in less than a week that they are mentioned.  Yay us.  The kids are delirious  for a second snow day in less than three days.  I still haven't gotten the word that we are closing the office tomorrow.  One can only hope.  Stay tuned kids, it's about to get crazy.  Oh and for all of my friends up East, laugh all you want, but come Summer time and you are melting due to the heat, guess who will laugh the loudest?  :)

In other news,  have any of you ever been bitten by a dog?  I have.  Sunday afternoon I was at the office with pretty much all of my team.  We were working on a project that was due on Monday.  Anyway, my boss took her doggie named Sofie, to work.  Now Sofie is a small, pudgy, adorable little Bulldog.  Cutest thing ever!  Sofie had been to the office before and was friendly and playful with all of us.  Well for whatever reason, she decided to lunge at me yesterday.  I instinctively put my hands over my face.  She got a hold of two of my fingers and bit the hell out of them in the process.  I have a high threshold for pain.  Or I  did until yesterday.  That cutest thing ever bit me so hard I cried out in pain.  What happened next is still kind of murkish for me. I know that my boss grabbed Sofie and there was yelling involved (or maybe it was my screaming) and one of my coworkers led me to the kitchen sink where  she proceeded to wash my hand out and then drove me to the nearest Urgent Care to have it looked at.  I really didn't think that was necessary, my boss assured me that Sofie had all her shots and they were up to date.  But still, everyone insisted, so I went.  I remember this and I remember the pain distinctly.  I've never felt anything like it before.  I'm a dog lover.  My siblings and I always had pets growing up.  But none of them ever bit us before.  Ugh.  I felt bad for Sofie and I felt bad for my boss because she was beside herself with worry for me.  In the end, I have big ol ugly teeth marks, broken skin, a little bruising and swelling and slight discomfort.  The scars will heal and the pain is almost forgotten.  Almost.  Sofie is not welcome at the office anynore and that sucks a little.

Oh well, tune in tomorrow for Snow day in Houston: The Aftermath.

Meet Sofie