The heater is installed, wired properly, and working. It did not necessarily have to be replaced, but it was due.

The new timer is installed, wired properly, and working. The one it replaced was wired wrong when it was installed (not by me), and didn’t have to be replaced. I had to call the company to figure out how to wire it properly. Now I have an extra, I suppose, in case the new one dies.

I have started over with the seal leak. The first layer is setting. I will put on another layer tonight when I get home from rehearsal, and another tomorrow morning before work. I will then let it sit until Saturday morning.

Saturday morning is the pressure test.

If all goes well, there will be hot tub action on Saturday night.

Still.

No.

Power.

That is all.

I swear, if I leave anyone out I’m sorry…but shit is a bit crazy, ya know?

Thanks to hel_ana and ross_winn for the offer of shower usage (and checking on us in general). Haven’t had to take them up on it yet, but that may very well happen tomorrow.

Big time thanks and kudos also go out to treetracer. She called today and offered to drive down here from Jacksonville to help us clean up if necessary.

One other bitch, though…I also seem to have seriously pulled the muscle on my leg that I first damaged during Maxwell back in ’01. It’s swelling up a bit and I’m limping. I have an ace bandage on it and am hoping the pressure helps a bit.

Le sigh.

Today I have seen evidence, yet again, about how much my job rocks. This time, however, it isn’t because of the job itself. It’s because of my co-workers. I’ve talked many times about how much my boss rocks, but he isn’t the only one. I had to go into the office today because, as some of you know, we still don’t have any power, and from all indicators it isn’t going to be back on until Saturday. I found this out last night after getting back home from taking Netgoth to the emergency room last night. One of the candles had spilled hot, burning wax on the entertainment center and in order to prevent a fire she grabbed the metal holder and threw it on the floor. The heat from the metal instantly caused her hand to blister and burn. So yeah, when I heard the recording say that our power wouldn’t be on until Saturday I had a bit of a break down.

My house is pretty much the source of my zen. Whenever my life has turned to shit, I have taken comfort in the fact that my house I could control. My house could be neat and orderly, and no matter what else was going on in the world I could look at, say, my clean kitchen, and know that everything would be ok.

Without power, I can’t achieve that zen. I can’t clean properly. I’m not comfortable. I don’t sleep well. I’m sure many of you here in Florida can sympathize. After hearing that our power was going to be back on yesterday and then having that ripped out from under our feet. I just lost it.

This was at 2 AM this morning.

So I got up this morning, took a cold shower, and went to work. Miserable. Tired. Depressed. Worried. You name it.

Well, about an hour after I got there I got a text message from the head of Internet Security.

“Do you want to borrow my generator?”

Yeah, that’s right…Without my even asking (hell, without my even knowing that he had one), he offered to let me borrow his $500 generator. THEN, he offered to let me borrow his relatively new Ford truck to take it home if it wouldn’t fit into my car. He gave me several power cords and a six gallon can of gas as well.

No strings. No conditions. He even wrote me a huge email with instructions on how to operate it.

This is the environment I work in.

So we have a generator now. The fridge is running again, and because of the huge amount of ice that I threw in there our food survived. We have a fan. We have computers and internet access. Tonight while I am at rehearsal they will have television if they want it. While it will be hot overnight, it won’t be as hot. Maybe we can get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep in. Maybe I won’t wake up 5 times wondering if the power was back on, or worse having dreamt that it was only to wake up and find it still off.

Next year we’re going to be prepared. My finances won’t allow it now, but after Christmas I’m going to be making some major hurricane season investments. I’m getting a generator. I’m getting a small wall unit air conditioner. I’m getting plywood for my windows. I’m getting a decent portable stove (or just investing in a really expensive propane grill). In other words, I’m not letting another hurricane season fuck my life over like this one has.

And yeah, I think about the shit that people like holliemonster and the people in Polk County have gone through, and I know I’ve got it lucky, but knowing all of that doesn’t do a damned thing to make me feel any better when the frustration and anger well up.

But I’m thankful we are all ok, and I’m thankful that the food survived (that was $200 worth of food we could not afford to replace). I’m glad my house is ok, even if it is a bit messy now. I’m glad that my roof finally seems to be fixed, and I’m glad that my hot tub is almost there as well. I’m glad I have my family and my friends to help me get though this stuff. And I’m very glad that I have the privelidge of working with such amazing people.

Now if I can just find the energy to get through rehearsal tonight…

Ayup. We’re without power again, just like many of our friends. This sucks. I’m currently plugged in to the UPS with one of the laptops and the cable modem. Fortunately we still have cable. It’s the little things, ya know?

My sister is out this time, as are my son and the family over there (he said it came back on for about a minute but then the transformer blew. Must have been too many people with stuff plugged in. I’m a good doobie. We turned a lot of stuff off).

We’re sticking it out this time. I don’t want to deal with uprooting our lives and going somewhere else unless it becomes clear that it’s going to be weeks before life returns to normal. My server is down right now, so my critus.net email isn’t working. If you need to email me do so at my gmail address (mcmcgreevyATgmailDOTcom). Same goes for Krystalle (netgothATgmailDOTcom). Oh yeah, speaking of K…Those of you who are trying to view the video she took earlier are SOL. It’s on my server. You know, the one sitting on the floor next to me turned off? Yeah, that one…

Wheee.

Going to go check out the phone post options so I can continue to update if necessary. Hang in there, friends. We’re going to get through this season, and when we do? Party time.

In fact…

Saturday, November 27th. Party at our place. Theme? “The Final Hunker Down” Everyone can bring their favorite Hunker Down recipie and booze. There will be hot tub goodness and plenty of floor space as we turn the McGreevy household into the ultimate Hunker Bunker.

Yeah.

And we can celebrate my birthday too.

Boo yah.