Monday, August 29, 2011

Hurricane Irene : Interim Report Until Internet Service (and My Sanity) Is Restored

Mathews County survived Hurricane Irene!  There was plenty of fierce winds and lots of rain, but overall we came out OK.  The tide came up in the yard here, and trees and limbs came down, but otherwise there is not much to report other than the loss of power.

And on that topic alone I could write a novel.

Many people in the area are still without power.

Some of us are thrilled to have running water!*  power back but less than thrilled that internet service is still knocked out (depending on your provider).

I fall into that latter category.

(Hallieford Jim , who originally hooked me up with my internet service after hearing someone in the 21st century was still on dial-up, very calmly explained that the cell towers are running on reduced capacity, therefore internet is negatively impacted.  I thanked him and then blinked back tears, wondering what on Earth I'll do with all this internet-free time.  Surely I'm not supposed to do something productive, like clean the house or do laundry or (gasp!) talk to people?  Oh, the humanity!)

So, I'll report back with all the highlights of the storm when internet is back to normal, which will probably be close to Halloween long after the storm is even worth mentioning.

* What is worth mentioning now, since I had to explain it to my boss at work when he gave me the furrowed brow after hearing we couldn't take showers, is that most of Mathews is on septic systems and well water.  In anticipation of losing power, we're always instructed to fill up our bathtubs so we have water for rinsing off or flushing toilets, for example.  Two or more days of this is enough to make you want to run screaming off into the night a test of one's character, at best.  Two or more days of this plus no internet?  Is insanity. 

I'll be back on whenever my internet is back up and running properly.

Take care and have a great week.

- cbw

15 comments:

Country Girl said...

Glad to hear that your power is back and you no longer have to bathe in the creek. I mean, from buckets in the tub. Hoping that your internet comes back soon. Mine was out but only for a day and a half and the darn modem reset itself and I couldn't retrieve the new security code it decided to give itself. At least, that's what the folks at Comcast told me . . .

Jamie said...

I added internet to my phone because I could not stand the thought of not having it should we lose power. We of course didn't lose power. Hoping Deltaville has current by the weekend!

Annie said...

so glad to hear you all survived OK there,cbw.

hoping the power gets restored in record time for you!

thanks for the interim report!

Kay L. Davies said...

I've been wondering about you, so am glad to hear the whole Chesapeake Bay Family is safe and well, except for you and your internet access. Imagine having to carry on actual conversations with live people in this day and age. The mind boggles.
— K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
PS — my verification word is "harma" which is obviously Italian: I'm-a glad-a you come-a to no harma, in the words of Dean Martin when he fell off his stool and landed on one of his backup singers. (Your mother will remember him.)

Annie said...

re the live talking to people, here are the helpful instructions:

http://www.stonestreetadvisors.com/2011/08/27/fema-internet-outage-warning/

my daughter sent it on, very funny!!!

Anonymous said...

You are a gem to post something so soon after Irene said "Goodnight!" Your many fans & friends will be happy hearing that the CBW compound & residents are fairly unscathed. I am surprised people in your office had to go back to work so soon--this shoulda been a 4 day week post-Irene. LLC

Bethie said...

We bought a generator for here this go around knowing full well that we might need it over THERE any given day of the week. LOL!! My hubby took a ride over on Sunday to make sure the old farmhouse was still standing and was thrilled to see that all was well. Go figure, we own it a week and a hurricane blows in. You need to stop by one day when I am over that way!

Mental P Mama said...

So glad you have power back! Connecticut is in bad shape with many not scheduled to get theirs for maybe 2 weeks. I think the novelty would have worn off long before then...And I am so thankful we all are okay.

Daryl said...

Just the worst to lose the internets .. no shower is bad but no internets .. OY and VEY .. and dont even joke about writing another book .. yet, not til after you come up here .. and next step into this millennium you need a 'smart' phone with internets access and a shower app.

Darn hograt (WV) chewed through the celltowers!

growing wild on waverly lane said...

Oh we have internet alright, and a notice that we may incur "roving charges," no further information.

Count on the rapacious swines to feed on the corpse of our helplessness. And then pack themselves off to church to sing and pray their sins away and tap dance into Heaven.

wv: capoe and patooey on them.

Dghawk4 said...

Glad you and yours are all safe. At least you have power. Rt 249 looks like a war zone. Almost as bad as after Isabel. They have started work out here today. Nothing like "camping" in your home!
My only problem is my cat Mollie won't drink water unless it comes out of the faucet in one of my bathroom sinks! Oh well she'll drink from the bowl(in the sink) when she gets thirsty enough....I hope.

To Growing Wild: I agree with you wholeheartedly!

Take care.

Dghawk4 said...

Glad you and yours are all safe. At least you have power. Rt 249 looks like a war zone. Almost as bad as after Isabel. They have started work out here today. Nothing like "camping" in your home!
My only problem is my cat Mollie won't drink water unless it comes out of the faucet in one of my bathroom sinks! Oh well she'll drink from the bowl(in the sink) when she gets thirsty enough....I hope.

To Growing Wild: I agree with you wholeheartedly!

Take care.

Maria_NJ said...

Hey CBW, i can't believe we dodged the bullet here...really not bad at all. So glad that everything is good in your part...

Went crabbing today, my sis and her husband are down, can't wait for dinner...

Anonymous said...

To maria--both your NJ home and Twin Coves home seem to have dodged the worst of 'Irenal' wrath...
Dghawk, I hope your area gets back to normal soon. You may have to pour water in a trickle for your kitty so
she gets the simulation of (& oxygen in the water) running faucet. Our cats always had to drink bottled spring water, like us...lol
cbw mom/wild on wave-deluged--I love your description of the ISP company as 'rapacious swine', lol.
I thought myself the only one slinging epithets at corporate thieves/pimps..I love your posts.
No wonder your daughter turned out as she has. LLC

Meg McCormick said...

Every time we're supposed to get a storm, my mom calls and asks if we've filled our bathtub with water, and every time we explain that we are on public water, not well, so we don't have to do that. She spent all those years livin' on the farm and seems to think that everyone has to do that.

Happy to hear you've fared well, internet slowness notwithstanding.