Day 5….no power but getting closer
Filed under: World Events
The cold front has finally arrived! Temperatures are really cooling down around here which is helping since my home doesn’t feel like a sauna anymore. Let’s hope that the weather keeps this way until electricity is restored to most of the city. The “cool” in the fridge finally ran out and I trashed pretty much everything that was in there. Trust me, it wasn’t a pleasant experience and it looks like my meal choices if I stay home will be peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, nutrigrain bars, or canned congee. Around the city, it looks like the people who have been cooped up at home have finally decided to escape and go roam the malls, supermarkets and other public venues. The Galleria Mall was pretty packed today.
Today I went over to one of the FEMA point of distribution sites following a call for volunteers which was broadcasted on the news websites and on the radio. I will tell you that everyone that was in that line was really appreciative for the supplies that were distributed. We had water, food and ice available. For those curious about the food, they are basically meal packets which are precooked and sealed. I assume that they were previously frozen since each box is marked with a statement about handling contents when frozen. Some of the boxes were marked “Heaters included” which I would assume implies that the recipients of the food could have a hot meal. There were a variety of Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) available, but we basically just dumped whatever was in the pallete into each vehicle. I haven’t tried the MREs, nor have I asked anyone what they tasted like. If there’s any around tomorrow, I might ask if I can sneak a packet away to try at a later date and time.
It looks like the power is slowly coming around to my neighborhood. The street lights are back on but there is no power inside my home yet. Today I once again heard the sound of the power coming back online via radios and TVs in the neighborhood followed shortly by a boom outside and everything going dead again…*sigh*. I know the repair crews are working really hard to get the city back and running again so I definitely commend them for their efforts. Keep up the good work! Centerpoint Energy did release a statement today indicating their timelines to get 80% of the power back up for communities impacted by Ike. The prospects for my neighborhood in zip code 77006 do not look too good right now. We are scheduled for some point beyond Monday of next week. Without power, life and education still go on. I am continuing to study by candlelight (sounds romantic but it really isn’t) and run my internet connection off of UPS supply which I charge in an area which does have power.
Posted on September 17th, 2008 by Andy Yiu
1 Comment
September 18th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone down there along the TX and LA coast. And as was earlier stated, anyone that can send donations or donate their time/efforts, there is still great need for the folks down there.
Andy, my sis-in-law’s house got power back yesterday (down near Friendswood), and they managed to weather the storm with nothing more than tree debris in the yard. My mom-in-law, however, suffered much more. Her condo is on the S. side of Clear Lake in Kemah, and windows were smashed, so floors, walls, and furniture were damaged. No flooding since she is up a couple floors, thankfully. But she won’t be “going home” for many weeks. After the power comes back on, there is the wait for the insurance appraisers, then the wait for contractors, then… well hopefully that’s all, but it takes time.
Here’s hoping you get power back really soon!