I Don't Enjoy Hurricane Prep Very Much

But I guess it's better than getting e.g. a wheelbarrow through the front window.

Got some cases of bottled water and a few other "might need" food items arriving via Instacart shortly, and Tamara and I will go out tonight for some rope/bungee cords/tarps, etc. I've got convenient containers of water freezing in the freezer, for use in coolers if (let's be honest, when) the power goes out.

Tomorrow morning I'll be covering, tying down, tarping, etc. anything in the yard that seems like it could plausibly be lifted and sent flying by high winds.

As of the last I saw, the most likely future is:

• The storm makes landfall as a Category 3 hurricane about 50 miles west of me on Wednesday morning; then
• Rapidly loses energy, passing over me as a Category 1.

But I wouldn't count on the latter. For all I know, it may pick up enough energy from the warm Gulf water to land as a Cat 4 and still be a Cat 4 or 3 when it hits me. Or it could take a left turn and head right at Pensacola or even New Orleans. We'll be making decisions tonight as to whether to evacuate, and if so to where, or whether to ride it out here at home. Since we have animals, bugging out is a real pain in the ass. Our daughter and her boyfriend usually go to a friend's house, which is supposedly as close to stormproof as humanly possible, when we have incoming. Our church is usually open as a shelter, but it's usually also not on the expected direct path, and most of the people who shelter there are usually from out of town.

Speaking of which, I hear that our pastor got a lovely birthday present -- a getaway weekend in Cedar Key. This weekend. Cedar Key is pretty much dead center of the likely landing spot, so she'll be rescheduling. There probably won't be much working in that town for a month or so if it goes where they say it's going at the strength they say it's going to arrive at.

To me, one of the worst parts of hurricanes is that usually I'm without electricity for several days ... but the outage somehow never seems to affect my next power bill by anything like the percentage of the month it comprises.

OK, I'm gonna go see if I can find a little cheese to go with this whine.