Tuesday, January 28, 2014

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


5 comments:

Don said...

Hunker down, Yvonne. You aren't alone.

Having snow is a rare event in Alabama, but a Winter Weather Warning is in effect here starting today and lasting through tomorrow, with sleet, freezing rain, and snow in the forecast. Yesterday I heard that our local Wal-Mart store was jammed with people buying things like crazy.

I have an appointment for an eye exam just at the time the heaviest snowfall is predicted. I may cancel it because people here don't know how to drive when snow and ice are on roads and it may be too dangerous to go.

Memphis said...

In Memphis people stock up on beer and cigarettes before these ice storms. I'm not joking. I get in line with my groceries, milk and bread and stuff, and the native Memphians will be ahead of me with carts full of beer and when they get to the register they ask for several cartons of Marlboros and menthols and all that. Apparently thats all they live on so its all they need.

Robin said...

This is how I feel about storms now... You should always have a stash of essentials on hand in the event that you lose power for a few days. If you do, you will NOT be one of those crazy people buying out a store before a storm warning. That means I believe in having enough extra bottled water to last a few days in the event of a power outage. I also believe in keeping extra stock of other essentials that are likely to get snatched up when bad weather rolls around. If you ever want to know what are the "essentials" just look at what is missing on the shelves RIGHT NOW.

Never been bitten by a dog, but used to have dogs that would fight now and then. Very scary. And the biting that they did to each other... let's just say not pretty. And costly with the vet. Their teeth are so sharp and their jaws are so strong. I am glad that Sofie didn't get your face!!!

BB said...

OMG..good thing you tried to protect your face or else those teeth marks would be on your face. That's scary. My son got bit on his lip by my brother's dog because he was playing on the floor with the dog and he got too close and she lunged. He was afraid of dogs for a few years after that. Just glad you're ok. Hunker down!! What a winter huh?

Yvonne said...

Don- We can't drive in that stuff here, either. Fortunately, Houston survived. Ha!

Memphis Steve- Haha, yeah they do that here, too. People were buying all kinds of stuff. It was quite funny.

Robin- Yeah, after Hurricane Ike hit, we all learned our lesson. We keep reserves and always have the essentials to last a few days if we needed to. Being bitten by a dog is awful. I love that sucker but she bit me. My hand is much better no swelling but still bruised a little. It will be better. ;)

Bouncin Barb- I know!!! It was scare and came from nowhere. We hunkered down, all is well again. :)

Chapter 56

The sunlight peeping through the curtains, stir her from her sleep.  Her eyes open and she rubs them a bit before sitting up in bed.  Eyes n...