Once again,
THE BLOG IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE BLOG.

Anyway, life is good, confusing, and sucky, all at the same time in ND. I wish I could get past the feeling of being proud of what I've done so far with my life while at the same time thinking I could've done WAY more and wonder where I'm going and if there will be anything of worth when I get there. Existential crisis as a way of life. So much for taoism.

Glad you're alive, MP. We survived a nice hailstorm on Monday. Cats think hail is cool; it bounces off windows and stuff. Mine are also entirely unafraid of thunder.

So, I've got a new job. I didn't quit my old one, either. I am an Adjunct English Instructor teaching 3 one-credit online grammar labs. Not so much teaching: more facilitating. Hmmm. Again, am I qualified for this? Am I qualified for my full-time job? I dunno. Someone obviously thought I was. How weird is that?

Well, those are my thoughts on the day.

So much for the quick update, eh?

I apologize for giving you the short version of the Hurricane Charley experience (or non-experience in my case), but here goes:

-- Glad to be alive, still have a house, Tampa got EXTREMELY lucky
-- Parents/Brothers okay, houses okay, many others NOT so lucky
-- Weird to see so much damage in my hometown
-- Remember that you're only one hurricane/earthquake/volcano/etc from becoming a Third World country

More to follow, hopefully.

A quick update, as it is late and I have to work tomorrow:

-- Obviously, rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated. As I'm sure you all know by now, Tampa's Friday weather was just like any normal rainy day. But if we had been hit with Charley as projected, at best I'd be homeless now, at worst you wouldn't even be reading this. All I can say about it is Praise Be to Allah and we got pretty fucking lucky. My parents/brothers in Orlando weren't quite so lucky as I was, but they did not suffer any house damage, and my parents only lost power for about 18 hours. Many others in Orlando were not so lucky. It's a good thing I didn't evacuate (which many others did, and ended up in Orlando, having unknowingly put themselves directly in the path of the hurricane). I'll post a bit more about my surreal experience tomorrow. In the meantime, check this running Hurricane Charley commentary from a fellow Tampon (I know that's not what we're called, but I find it amusing).

Okay, so tell me again:
WHY DO PEOPLE LIVE IN FLORIDA????

Anyway, it's past 11, there was no film and no update. Are you still alive Mr. P?

Want update now. Man never beats nature at the one-on-one fight. Man may win some battles, usually at the expense of himself, but nature is a force far more powerful....

TODAY'S MAIN EVENT: MAN VS NATURE

This will be my third go-round up close and personal with a hurricane, the last one I spent in the better IHOP by Tech up Peachtree in Atlanta. Not being very hurricane or household savvy, I have not boarded up my patio doors... yet... may go by Home Depot and see what's left... but despite being asked to evacuate by my brothers and parents to relatively safe Orlando, I choose to remain (also, I'm not in a mandatory evac zone). After all, this is my first home, and I should go down with the ship. Not to worry, readers, as the latest reports have Charley hitting Florida just south of Tampa Bay... however, we're not out of the woods yet. Also, I'm pretty far inland, and not next to any bodies of water... there's just the matter of the forest a mere 10 ft away... :)

Film at 11...