There is another hurricane bearing down on Orlando. Hurricane Matthew is currently a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale as it batters the Bahamas right now. It is expected to drop to a 3, then rev back up to a 4 again by the time it hits Orlando.
As expected, nothing of import really happened.
…And then is heard no more: it is a tale. Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. – Shakespeare, Macbeth
Let me be clear – it’s not that there wasn’t flooding, downed tree limbs, wet roads, and brownouts; it’s that this is just a thunderstorm, which is a normal occurrence in Florida. Normally we get a thunderstorm every day – a blue sky in the morning might be rumpled with charcoal clouds by around 4, with the appropriate thunder and lightning, and sheets of rain. Sometimes the rain falls so hard you can’t even see out your windshield.
There’s a Tropical Storm/Depression/Hurricane/Whatever heading our way tonight – Hermine will be paying us a little visit in the next few hours.
Honestly, Central Florida encounters worse than this all the time. We are supposed to just get the mildest of rain bands, and a lot of thunder and whatnot. I am expecting a lot of rain, and possibly my tiny car to be battered about by the wind as I make my 3-mile drive home after work, but not much more than that. At worst, my power goes out, and since I naturally wake up at 5 AM* I’m not too concerned about being late to work tomorrow–although showering without a water heater sucks. And I won’t be able to make my breakfast like I normally do. I hope that’s the worst that happens, anyway.
If you are expecting a visit from the storm, I hope it is as mild as possible! Stay safe!
Have you ever been in a hurricane or other natural disaster? What was it like?
*In defiance of all that is good and just in the world. It doesn’t matter what time I got to bed, I always wake up at 5, although I can sometimes go back to sleep.
Two years ago, the world lost a great entertainer. On August 11th, 2014, we all found out about Robin Williams’ passing, and the manner of his passing.
I was at the Nine Inch Nails concert in Tampa. It was supposed to be a fun, memory-making occasion – I had loved them since 1995, yet had never seen them live. Somehow I was either always broke, or had some other feeble excuse. in 2014, I bought tickets for me and my then-boyfriend, who wasn’t a fan. In a weird way, I was trying to reach out to him. Our relationship had been on the rocks for most of the year, for lots of reasons, none of which I will go into here.
Sometime between Soundgarden’s set and NIN coming on, the news hit. It went through the crowd like wildfire, I suppose because it hit the newswires about the same time. Still, the show went on, and for many reasons, some mentioned and some not, it was one of the most memorable shows I’ve ever seen.
Mr. Williams’s death still too big a thing for me to address. I don’t have the hours to find the perfect words that would tell you what his career and battle with alcoholism and mental illness meant to me, a stranger who never met him. You probably already know, quite honestly.
Local Art Stuff!
Disclosure: Steven Nedley and his lovely wife Gabby did not pay me to write this entry. They do, however, feed me, bless me with the honor of their company, and put up with my foolishness, so I decided to spread the word about Steve’s art show.
This Thursday in Orlando, my friend Steve is doing an art show! If you’re in Central Florida, come on out and support local artists!
Seriously, come out and see his art. It’s gorgeously detailed, and his characters range from sculpted adonis to Cronenbergian grossness. It’s just superb!