Quick Update

Well, it's a fine mess I find myself in.

When I went to work on Wednesday, the best prediction for Rita's landfall was a fair bit south of here and as a Category 3. They closed the university at noon, but I was stuck there late because no one thought to bag the conference room equipment. Then I had to do my own and I had also brought some stuff from home to store in my nice sturdy office building and that required bagging, too.

I got home around 2 pm to find Rita was nearly a Category 5.

I started wrapping stuff in plastic, still not terribly worried because according to the best thinking of the moment, I wasn't in the projected path of a direct hit. But all that changed by nighfall and now I'm sitting in the bulls-eye of the biggest hurricane to ever threaten the Texas coast.

Oh, and did I mention that it had never been my intention to ride out anything bigger than a 3 in my apartment complex? I'm on the third floor and there will be roof and window damage. I'm petsitting on the first floor, but that apartment flooded during Allison in 2001. Yeah, I can swim, but... sheesh.

I can't evacuate. The traffic is moving at 4 mph in every safe direction and even though I topped off my tank yesterday I'll be out of gas before I hit the city limits. Too bad, because I have people who will take me in in every major city in this state. But there's no gas to be found on the roads out of town-- it was mostly used up earlier in the week by people fleeing parts further south where evacuation is mandatory. It's neither mandated nor requested for my area. I'm just not confident I'm in a Category 4 or 5 structure.

Damn.

This area has never emptied out this far in advance of a hurricane! Stupid Katrina.

If Tidbit has any helicopter-owning fans out there, get in touch!

In the meantime, I have a few options I can explore. At least two of them would most likely keep me with some kind of internet capability until landfall and maybe even afterwards. At one possible shelter I might be able to get online. The other option is a guaranteed no-internet one, but it might actually be the safest one. So far Dan is resisting because it involves downtown, and glass will be a huge problem in our shiny, modern downtown. It wouldn't be a problem in the shelter I've suggested, but he's not seeing that for some reason.

And so today will be an interesting one. If you praying types would pray for an absence of hostile security guards at our shelters of choice today, I'd be much obliged.

I, Dan, Pixel and most of all Tidbit will be safe, so don't worry! I'll try to post again, but if you hear no more from me before landfall, consider me safe, high up in the enclosed stairwell of a very, very safe downtown parking garage.

Tidbit sends her love to all her fans... and wants to know what the heck all the duct tape is for?!?!