Well, this is my first experience as a blogger, and i hope i live up to the expectations. I guess this has been a loooong time due...ehhh.. the name of my blog should pretty much tell you why....
What finally got me out of my hibernation and got me started? hmmmmm....i must say, iv had too much time on my hands ..hmm..not that i wear more than 1 watch at a time(Please refrain from swearing at me, i have an unnatural ability to come up with the most repugnant of jokes which u will end up laughing at :) ), but i got tired of trying to figure out if my fingernails actually grow faster than my toenails.
In spite of of my daily drudgery(unlike some ppl who have daily adventures), i did find myself in one of those situations, which makes u go "if i ever write a blog, I'm gonna write about it".
Hurricane season in Texas can be an overwhelming experience the first time...(PS: if you don't follow international news, Sept-Oct is hurricane season for the gulf coast in America)
Being in India, we do get our fair share of natural disasters, but not having had much experience with hurricanes, the experience is something to write home about...
The "hurricane experience" begins almost 2weeks before it comes in....
we were asked to fill out evacuation forms, given explicit instructions on what to bring during an evacuation,mails from university president asking us to stay calm,all profs going on and on about their own previous hurricane experiences....blah blah..yada yada...
And the worst of all, the TV channel, called the "Weather channel"...i mean, cmon guys! who came up with the idea of a channel giving you weather 24/7??!!! I would rather watch ekta kapoor soaps than weather the whole day! (on second thoughts, id rather stare at the clock all day)...
Hats off to their technology though,These guys track the movement of the hurricane in real time...guess this is the time their TRP is higher than any show on television :) :)
"The hurricane has winds of 330mph (eh, how fast is dat kmph? im still not used to american units) and is moving at 60mph and is large as the whole of Texas" ..well im already shiting in my pants, wishing i had picked some other university to apply to, they show pictures of previous hurricanes and the devastation, destroyed homes,flooded streets..OK Mr. messenger of doom, we get the point!!
Well,actually,I still think the buildup to the hurricane was scarier than the actual hurricane!!
A day before the hurricane...i am evacuated from near my university (it was "apparently" in the danger zone) and move into my uncle's house near the Texas medical centre(safe zone)...after stocking up on food and water to last for three days (eh..electric stoves..no power..no oota..get the drift?)...we sit down to watch the weather channel (i told you, high TRP during hurricane season)...the hurricane is headed straight at Houston and will make its landfall at 2am...hmmm..time to board up the windows, secure all glass panes, sit tight and wait for it to hit..
Power blows out at 12am and we are plunged in darkness....The hurricane finally is here!!
The hurricane makes its landfall, heads towards Houston...Howling winds and torrential rains batter the windows..trees swaying violently, first in one direction then in another...the wind seems alive, making a loud howling sound, like an approaching train....branches are thrown to the ground, trees uprooted...loose wooden boards are ripped off the walls..yea, every bit like a hollywood movie...
And if u ask me wat i was doing amidst all this? Standing bravely next to the window, marvelling at the destructive force of nature?Wondering if chaos was the answer to order in this universe???? Hmmm...Sound asleep cozily tucked under a comforter, dreaming of...eh..lets not get there..
I mean, cmon, its not my fault...its freaking 3am in the morning..and trust me, if you are conditioned to sleeping through 60 diesel buses starting together(my room back home is next to the bus depot), a hurricane is child's play...
Morning light shows us leaves and branches strewn everywhere,a few uprooted trees, slush and water everywhere...no major harm done...v survived!!!
There you go, my first experience of a hurricane narrated first hand (read "in dreamland")
Two days without a bath, yummy home made food courtesy my aunt, and a trip to the Texas medical centre....not a bad experience with my first hurricane...
Signing out...
The "hurricane experience" begins almost 2weeks before it comes in....
we were asked to fill out evacuation forms, given explicit instructions on what to bring during an evacuation,mails from university president asking us to stay calm,all profs going on and on about their own previous hurricane experiences....blah blah..yada yada...
And the worst of all, the TV channel, called the "Weather channel"...i mean, cmon guys! who came up with the idea of a channel giving you weather 24/7??!!! I would rather watch ekta kapoor soaps than weather the whole day! (on second thoughts, id rather stare at the clock all day)...
Hats off to their technology though,These guys track the movement of the hurricane in real time...guess this is the time their TRP is higher than any show on television :) :)
"The hurricane has winds of 330mph (eh, how fast is dat kmph? im still not used to american units) and is moving at 60mph and is large as the whole of Texas" ..well im already shiting in my pants, wishing i had picked some other university to apply to, they show pictures of previous hurricanes and the devastation, destroyed homes,flooded streets..OK Mr. messenger of doom, we get the point!!
Well,actually,I still think the buildup to the hurricane was scarier than the actual hurricane!!
A day before the hurricane...i am evacuated from near my university (it was "apparently" in the danger zone) and move into my uncle's house near the Texas medical centre(safe zone)...after stocking up on food and water to last for three days (eh..electric stoves..no power..no oota..get the drift?)...we sit down to watch the weather channel (i told you, high TRP during hurricane season)...the hurricane is headed straight at Houston and will make its landfall at 2am...hmmm..time to board up the windows, secure all glass panes, sit tight and wait for it to hit..
Power blows out at 12am and we are plunged in darkness....The hurricane finally is here!!
The hurricane makes its landfall, heads towards Houston...Howling winds and torrential rains batter the windows..trees swaying violently, first in one direction then in another...the wind seems alive, making a loud howling sound, like an approaching train....branches are thrown to the ground, trees uprooted...loose wooden boards are ripped off the walls..yea, every bit like a hollywood movie...
And if u ask me wat i was doing amidst all this? Standing bravely next to the window, marvelling at the destructive force of nature?Wondering if chaos was the answer to order in this universe???? Hmmm...Sound asleep cozily tucked under a comforter, dreaming of...eh..lets not get there..
I mean, cmon, its not my fault...its freaking 3am in the morning..and trust me, if you are conditioned to sleeping through 60 diesel buses starting together(my room back home is next to the bus depot), a hurricane is child's play...
Morning light shows us leaves and branches strewn everywhere,a few uprooted trees, slush and water everywhere...no major harm done...v survived!!!
There you go, my first experience of a hurricane narrated first hand (read "in dreamland")
Two days without a bath, yummy home made food courtesy my aunt, and a trip to the Texas medical centre....not a bad experience with my first hurricane...
Signing out...
