Every once in a while I find myself asking this question and sometimes it comes in different inflections. What really matters?
OK, so I spent hours over the last few days watching clips and video on some reality show I have followed for a few years now. At the end of the show the winner is usually either sickly arrogant or sickly pathologically a liar. And I wonder to myself why I wasted my time again watching this out of boredom.
What really matters?
As I layed there watching all this bullshit stuff, I was avoiding taking steps on putting my life on a more resistant free life. If I could get my finances together - ever - in my life - maybe I could concentrate on what really matters - whatever it is.
Personal relations are one of the things I think does matter. Over the last few days I have had some really great and simple moments with my friends. Thursday night I laughed with a friend who I thought months ago would surely not be friends with me if I was honest with her about certain things. I was honest and I thought as we talked last night how fortunate I was to have such a good friendship that went both ways and wasn't just about me and wasn't just about her.
Tonight I hung out with another friend and his girlfriend. After we ate, we eventaully ended up in the parking lot talking and cutting up. No walls were up or egos bolstering, we were just hanging out on a Friday night.
I came home a cuaght up on an email which someone has been trying to persuade me to build a website which I don't want to do. My reasons for refusal are diffent in their natures. My professional reason is lack of knowledge with an underlying egotistical rationalization and relief that I can't do it. But reading these emails from this small group of men, I realize that they have no walls with each other and really support each other. So do I do it for what really matters, to help these men communicate with each other and overcome my selfish thought on what a bad idea their site is? I guess the thoughts are irroneuos due to my lack of technical knowledge of this request.
What really matters?
Hurricane Ike was a pain in the ass more after than during. The slow reconstruction and recovery from the storm from traffic lights, gas availability, cable outage, cell phone outages and lack of power (that sleepless, sticky Saturday afternoon was a killer).In the process, I spent time with my siblings and their families. I watched my sisters' block communicate and watch out for each other. I came home Sunday night with an inspiration to not give up on things.
Anywho ....
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
I survived Ike - but I;m still waiting at this light
First off - I got too quiet in here - so I'm leaving this invitation open - come back and "Check the Pizza" - we can supply new passwords and whatever else is needed.
So Hurricane Ike:
Two ways of looking at this. I could just o on and not write about it and maybe 10 years later someone asks me, "What was Hurricane Ike like?" and I'd already have forgotten OR
I can remember all the times and pics and share it with whomever.
I'm choosing the later and hope to hear others stories and thoughts on it.
So here it goes:
Day 1: Thursday September 11, 2008
On the seventh anniversary of 9/11, I think most of us didn't think about it as much. Ike had narrowed in to hit Galveston. Going into work on Thursday, I was already mentally prepared on having a long weekend. In my favor, I didn't have to be too prepared for work. By noon, we were packing up boxes to go out early and it was supposed to be a shorter day. First sign of the storm was the traffic and evacuation. My boss and I witnessed a little chaos at the Fed Ex office where dozens were pouring in to send packages. My usual Thursday night routine of a meeting with my friend Tammy was altered to dinner and hanging out with a few friends. I went to Krogers before dinner to stock up and the pre-storm preparation was clear in there, but not too crazy. I returned home and went out again to fill up on gas. I came home with money, gas and groceries and only had three things to do before I slept.
First I had to catch up on laundry before any expected power outages and then I decided I'd do a quick picture inventory of the apt for insurance purposes. That lasted for a while longer than I expected and I think I got a little carried away. I actually inventoried my boots which were given to me anyway! I was tired, alright?!! I decided to board up and pack the next morning.
Day 2: Friday September 12, 2008
This is kinda foggy, more the purpose for blogging this. I did a little more laundry and then prepped for the storm. I unplugged everything, put things up off the floor and put towels in front of the doors. I went to stay with my sister during the storm. We cleared the backyard and watched a few hours of storm tracking. What we watched was the storm surge begin to overtake Galveston and witht the storm hours away, it was apparent this wasn't like Rita. Sometime about 9 pm, the power went out. By 11 pm, my sister and nephew went to bed. I called my friend Jessica and talked for an hour as I looked out the window by candlelight.
Day 3: Saturday Septemebr 13, 2008
As the winds picked up - I tried to go to bed on the living room fold out bed. The winds were picking up and all I could think about is something coming through the window. I must have sat there for close to an hour before giving up and crashing out in my sisters room at 1 am.
We were awaken at 4:30 am by a loud noise. My sister got a flash light and looked out the window.
"Oh, it's just a shingle"
"What time is it?", I asked.
"Holy shit, Brad, take a look at this."
I got up and looked, "The whole fort is down"
"And see the whole in the fence?"
We decided to move to the bathroom and sleep in there to avoid any debris coming through the window. We carried lance in there and called the dog in there. Most times you gotta lure the dog out under the bed when she is tired or scared. She came, this time, at the call of her name.
We didn't sleep at all. We listened to the radio and talked the whole time. My sister told me there was a leak in the kitchen. I thought it was a small leak, but it was streaming down. We grabbed an Igloo and placed it under the leak. An hour later we checked on it and poured it out. At 6:30 am, we saw a little light and went to check on the leak. The spout on the Igloo was open! There were alot more leaks and the kitchen floor was soaking. I went upstairs and checked out the front yard and street.
We stated cleaning at 6:30 am and worked most of the morning on cleaning the kitchen. It took a few hours to clean it and squigee it out. Looking at the backyard - the entire fence was gone.
So Hurricane Ike:
Two ways of looking at this. I could just o on and not write about it and maybe 10 years later someone asks me, "What was Hurricane Ike like?" and I'd already have forgotten OR
I can remember all the times and pics and share it with whomever.
I'm choosing the later and hope to hear others stories and thoughts on it.
So here it goes:
Day 1: Thursday September 11, 2008
On the seventh anniversary of 9/11, I think most of us didn't think about it as much. Ike had narrowed in to hit Galveston. Going into work on Thursday, I was already mentally prepared on having a long weekend. In my favor, I didn't have to be too prepared for work. By noon, we were packing up boxes to go out early and it was supposed to be a shorter day. First sign of the storm was the traffic and evacuation. My boss and I witnessed a little chaos at the Fed Ex office where dozens were pouring in to send packages. My usual Thursday night routine of a meeting with my friend Tammy was altered to dinner and hanging out with a few friends. I went to Krogers before dinner to stock up and the pre-storm preparation was clear in there, but not too crazy. I returned home and went out again to fill up on gas. I came home with money, gas and groceries and only had three things to do before I slept.
First I had to catch up on laundry before any expected power outages and then I decided I'd do a quick picture inventory of the apt for insurance purposes. That lasted for a while longer than I expected and I think I got a little carried away. I actually inventoried my boots which were given to me anyway! I was tired, alright?!! I decided to board up and pack the next morning.Day 2: Friday September 12, 2008
This is kinda foggy, more the purpose for blogging this. I did a little more laundry and then prepped for the storm. I unplugged everything, put things up off the floor and put towels in front of the doors. I went to stay with my sister during the storm. We cleared the backyard and watched a few hours of storm tracking. What we watched was the storm surge begin to overtake Galveston and witht the storm hours away, it was apparent this wasn't like Rita. Sometime about 9 pm, the power went out. By 11 pm, my sister and nephew went to bed. I called my friend Jessica and talked for an hour as I looked out the window by candlelight.
Day 3: Saturday Septemebr 13, 2008
As the winds picked up - I tried to go to bed on the living room fold out bed. The winds were picking up and all I could think about is something coming through the window. I must have sat there for close to an hour before giving up and crashing out in my sisters room at 1 am.
We were awaken at 4:30 am by a loud noise. My sister got a flash light and looked out the window.
"Oh, it's just a shingle"
"What time is it?", I asked.
"Holy shit, Brad, take a look at this."
I got up and looked, "The whole fort is down"
"And see the whole in the fence?"
We decided to move to the bathroom and sleep in there to avoid any debris coming through the window. We carried lance in there and called the dog in there. Most times you gotta lure the dog out under the bed when she is tired or scared. She came, this time, at the call of her name.
We didn't sleep at all. We listened to the radio and talked the whole time. My sister told me there was a leak in the kitchen. I thought it was a small leak, but it was streaming down. We grabbed an Igloo and placed it under the leak. An hour later we checked on it and poured it out. At 6:30 am, we saw a little light and went to check on the leak. The spout on the Igloo was open! There were alot more leaks and the kitchen floor was soaking. I went upstairs and checked out the front yard and street.We stated cleaning at 6:30 am and worked most of the morning on cleaning the kitchen. It took a few hours to clean it and squigee it out. Looking at the backyard - the entire fence was gone.
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