Yippee!!
Just got off the phone with Dan - we have power at the house though much of East Tuscaloosa is still without power and water is running out. Seems like the stores and gas stations have been swarmed as you can imagine. Luckily our freezer and pantry is pretty stocked with various food items so I think we'll be ok for the next few days/weeks. I'm so happy to hear that we have power, it's a small step towards normalcy...Dan has helped a fellow grad student collect some things from her house that was right in the middle of the tornado's path. He relayed it was pretty eerie to be walking around as other folks walking around were a little shady looking. Let us hope that power returns soon because we know how the lack of the basics can cause our society to crumble rather quickly. The city has implemented a curfew from 8pm to 6am which will hopefully cut down on looting (sad as it maybe), and help ease the jobs of those who are trying to make things better around here.
From the little that I hear and see in the news I'm happy that things seem to be going well with the recovery of the city. The officials seem to be fast acting and by the next day there were additional power folks working hard to get power up and running ASAP. On the Tuscaloosa News they have information readily available - a link to search for loved ones, report damaged areas, upload photos, a map of local shelters and drop off areas...all in all I feel really proud to be living in Tuscaloosa right now. The University is sending out regular emails about the updates of the University - the Rec center is a shelter right now for displaced students, power is slowly being restored...things are looking up...
Here's a link to a map of the tornado path that the Tuscaloosa News put out - the "t" in "15th" is where we live...so we were very very lucky....
Here are some random pics...xo
I'm at a coffee shop in Athens catching up on all the news...more meetings this afternoon, then off to Coweeta in the evening....I think I've had my tornado update fix - now time to check out the royal wedding photos!!
Cheers all..
ct
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Safe!
Hi all,
Well, as you may have noticed, T-Town has made national, and international news (BBC)..sadly, not for football, but for the deadly tornadoes that have ripped through the South yesterday. It's been a little surreal and I write partly to help my mind process it all and to share news that yes, we are safe. Our house is safe and those that we are close to are safe though not all their dwellings survived. It's been spotty to keep up with everyone's whereabouts around T-Town, and it's made even more difficult because most of the town has no power. I'm also currently in Athens, GA for a monthly meeting for the Coweeta project that I work on in the lab. After today and tomorrow's meetings we (Jon, Mick, and I) will head to Coweeta for our monthly sampling and then head home to the unknown.
It's kinda hard to be away from Dan and Hannah right now, but I know we are both safe and we'll see each other soon.
As far as the breakdown of our account of the last 24 hours:
We had plenty of warning about the tornado - alerts started the day before (Tuesday). The University had sent out warnings around 4:45 pm and dismissed classes. Most students left and went home or into the basement of various school buildings. It's difficult to think about the students who went home to houses that ended up being right in the tornado's path, but I hope most stayed put. I was uneasy and wanted to head home - we have a basement, and wanted to just be somewhere familiar with Hannah, so I convinced Dan to drive home and hunker down. We managed to cook a dinner of spaghetti before power totally went out. Our homebrews and pasta kept us happy - Hannah took up her storm shelter in the windowless bathroom that is on the second floor. I think if no one told us there was a tornado I don't think Dan and I would have noticed anything different. The past few weeks have had a few bad storms - thunder and lightening, howling winds and pouring rain for a few hours and then sunshine and clear skies. Yesterday was similar, but the aftermath just made everything kinda eerie. It was a little too calm yesterday (and the fact that we had no power also made things "off"). No power meant no way to keep up with the news and what was really happening in town. I had to go to the car and listen to the radio for an update. It was early on and the tornado had reached Birmingham (50 miles northeast of us) and initial reports about Tuscaloosa said many parts of town were decimated. It's difficult to digest something like radio words when the visual impact is missing. Power never came back during the night so we remained "in the dark" about our town's status. Thursday morning we woke up early and Dan was nice enough to drive me to campus for my 7:30 am departure for the field. Still without power, we skipped coffee and breakfast and drove around for gas - but all the power was out around the University so no gas for us. We got to our building and we were only on emergency power. Thankfully the chest freezer is plugged in so the carefully collected samples over the year are safe. We packed up the car and slowly students were trickling in to also check in on their labs. That's when we started hearing the stories of the massive destruction around town...Apparently, the tornado steamed just south of campus and the students who stayed behind to hunker down at the University saw the massive mile-long tornado speed through town. I'm sure you've all seen footage, I still have yet to actually get myself to look at the videos.
By the time we left it was a little after 8am and it took us about 1.5 hours just to get out of town! Due to damage there was only one main way to get out of town heading north/east. We drove by right where the tornado crossed the highway and saw cars tossed upside down, and parts of what I think are a water tower scattered on either side of the road. Crews were continuing their hard work searching through the rubble of residential area and businesses were cleaning up their areas. It was quite surreal driving along the highway and seeing so many trees snapped and strewn about the roadsides.
Stopping by the Georgia rest stop we caught some clips on the weather channel but still hadn't seen much of the damage. Jon received many calls throughout the day so we heard some updates. By the time we made it to the University of Georgia it was about 2pm and we finally got access to the internet and saw what you are all familiar images you've seen already...yikes...it still hasn't fully sunk in, but the images are just so jarring. We're a few miles away from the main destruction so I keep saying it's a good thing that at least we are safe. Then when you absorb all that, you think about the logistics of rebuilding. The unknowns. When will power be back? Is power back already? Are all of our friends safe (we think so)? What is the process of rebuilding? I haven't been able to get in touch with Dan again since I've left, and I know there's nothing I can do even if I was there next to him, I guess I would just feel better if we were together.
In any case, the University has canceled classes and finals and have suggested student return home so the rebuilding process can be a little less crowded. We've heard about 2,000 national guards coming into town to help maintain order so that will help I guess.
Phone coverage is spotty and I've forgotten my charger, so I'll be sparse via phone the next few days. I do have my laptop with me, so at least I'll be able to email/blog/skype.
It's funny that we went from being naive about a tornado warning siren two weeks ago to living in a town totally decimated by a twister. Oh how things change in a short amount of time...
I'll just be happy Saturday night when I'm home with the family...
xo, much love
chau
Well, as you may have noticed, T-Town has made national, and international news (BBC)..sadly, not for football, but for the deadly tornadoes that have ripped through the South yesterday. It's been a little surreal and I write partly to help my mind process it all and to share news that yes, we are safe. Our house is safe and those that we are close to are safe though not all their dwellings survived. It's been spotty to keep up with everyone's whereabouts around T-Town, and it's made even more difficult because most of the town has no power. I'm also currently in Athens, GA for a monthly meeting for the Coweeta project that I work on in the lab. After today and tomorrow's meetings we (Jon, Mick, and I) will head to Coweeta for our monthly sampling and then head home to the unknown.
It's kinda hard to be away from Dan and Hannah right now, but I know we are both safe and we'll see each other soon.
As far as the breakdown of our account of the last 24 hours:
We had plenty of warning about the tornado - alerts started the day before (Tuesday). The University had sent out warnings around 4:45 pm and dismissed classes. Most students left and went home or into the basement of various school buildings. It's difficult to think about the students who went home to houses that ended up being right in the tornado's path, but I hope most stayed put. I was uneasy and wanted to head home - we have a basement, and wanted to just be somewhere familiar with Hannah, so I convinced Dan to drive home and hunker down. We managed to cook a dinner of spaghetti before power totally went out. Our homebrews and pasta kept us happy - Hannah took up her storm shelter in the windowless bathroom that is on the second floor. I think if no one told us there was a tornado I don't think Dan and I would have noticed anything different. The past few weeks have had a few bad storms - thunder and lightening, howling winds and pouring rain for a few hours and then sunshine and clear skies. Yesterday was similar, but the aftermath just made everything kinda eerie. It was a little too calm yesterday (and the fact that we had no power also made things "off"). No power meant no way to keep up with the news and what was really happening in town. I had to go to the car and listen to the radio for an update. It was early on and the tornado had reached Birmingham (50 miles northeast of us) and initial reports about Tuscaloosa said many parts of town were decimated. It's difficult to digest something like radio words when the visual impact is missing. Power never came back during the night so we remained "in the dark" about our town's status. Thursday morning we woke up early and Dan was nice enough to drive me to campus for my 7:30 am departure for the field. Still without power, we skipped coffee and breakfast and drove around for gas - but all the power was out around the University so no gas for us. We got to our building and we were only on emergency power. Thankfully the chest freezer is plugged in so the carefully collected samples over the year are safe. We packed up the car and slowly students were trickling in to also check in on their labs. That's when we started hearing the stories of the massive destruction around town...Apparently, the tornado steamed just south of campus and the students who stayed behind to hunker down at the University saw the massive mile-long tornado speed through town. I'm sure you've all seen footage, I still have yet to actually get myself to look at the videos.
By the time we left it was a little after 8am and it took us about 1.5 hours just to get out of town! Due to damage there was only one main way to get out of town heading north/east. We drove by right where the tornado crossed the highway and saw cars tossed upside down, and parts of what I think are a water tower scattered on either side of the road. Crews were continuing their hard work searching through the rubble of residential area and businesses were cleaning up their areas. It was quite surreal driving along the highway and seeing so many trees snapped and strewn about the roadsides.
Stopping by the Georgia rest stop we caught some clips on the weather channel but still hadn't seen much of the damage. Jon received many calls throughout the day so we heard some updates. By the time we made it to the University of Georgia it was about 2pm and we finally got access to the internet and saw what you are all familiar images you've seen already...yikes...it still hasn't fully sunk in, but the images are just so jarring. We're a few miles away from the main destruction so I keep saying it's a good thing that at least we are safe. Then when you absorb all that, you think about the logistics of rebuilding. The unknowns. When will power be back? Is power back already? Are all of our friends safe (we think so)? What is the process of rebuilding? I haven't been able to get in touch with Dan again since I've left, and I know there's nothing I can do even if I was there next to him, I guess I would just feel better if we were together.
In any case, the University has canceled classes and finals and have suggested student return home so the rebuilding process can be a little less crowded. We've heard about 2,000 national guards coming into town to help maintain order so that will help I guess.
Phone coverage is spotty and I've forgotten my charger, so I'll be sparse via phone the next few days. I do have my laptop with me, so at least I'll be able to email/blog/skype.
It's funny that we went from being naive about a tornado warning siren two weeks ago to living in a town totally decimated by a twister. Oh how things change in a short amount of time...
I'll just be happy Saturday night when I'm home with the family...
xo, much love
chau
Monday, April 25, 2011
Happy Easter (yesterday)!
What a wonderful weekend! We had a very happy Easter brunch with the neighbors - Mimosas, pancakes, omelets, and egg dyeing! After a nice afternoon nap I worked in the garden, then we were off to an Easter BBQ with the grad students in Dan's department. Mike smoked ribs which were FANTASTIC. Most folks brought their dogs and there was a huge yard for them to frolic in - Hannah doesn't always play well with others so that means leaving her at home is best for al involved. All in all a great time. Spent some time in the garden, didn't get everything done, but enough to signal progress.
Our plan for a composter is here! I've cleared away the space, now we just have to find some concrete blocks! I think we'll go with a two-bin system, which is about 45 blocks. Should look pretty sharp. Coming Soon!!
Pictures from the weekend.
Two Highlights:
Friday we saw two lizards gettin' it on in the backyard...pictures in the link
Our first tomato is growing!!
xo
ct
Our plan for a composter is here! I've cleared away the space, now we just have to find some concrete blocks! I think we'll go with a two-bin system, which is about 45 blocks. Should look pretty sharp. Coming Soon!!
Pictures from the weekend.
Two Highlights:
Friday we saw two lizards gettin' it on in the backyard...pictures in the link
Our first tomato is growing!!
xo
ct
Sunday, April 17, 2011
A-Day...A-Day!!
Yesterday was A-day. Unfamiliar with what that means and why it's such a big deal? For a quick guide to A-day, click here. Normally I wouldn't link to the student newspaper at Alabama (The Crimson White), but this is about all they are good for - talking about football..
So A-day is basically the last scrimmage of the Spring season. That's right...it's a SCRIMMAGE...meaning we play each other...but still, tens of thousands of people descend upon T-Town for this day. It's like a game day, but everyone you see around town is your friend - no pesky rival school to muck up the streets...
Dan and I participated in A-day...Entry into Bryant Denny stadium is FREE FREE FREE...so we took a self tour around the stadium, got some pictures of the landscape from the highest structure in our fair town, and all around enjoyed the day. It was nice and sunny and the event provided for some primo people watching. The unveiling of the new Nick Saban statue also coincided with the day's festivities (every coach who wins a national championship gets one here at UA - his was in 2009), so we finally got to see the scary bronze statue that, as one commenter put it, has an eerie liking to Dr. Zaius from Planet of the Apes.
You be the judge:
Garden Pics!
Our A-day pics!
xo!!
So A-day is basically the last scrimmage of the Spring season. That's right...it's a SCRIMMAGE...meaning we play each other...but still, tens of thousands of people descend upon T-Town for this day. It's like a game day, but everyone you see around town is your friend - no pesky rival school to muck up the streets...
Dan and I participated in A-day...Entry into Bryant Denny stadium is FREE FREE FREE...so we took a self tour around the stadium, got some pictures of the landscape from the highest structure in our fair town, and all around enjoyed the day. It was nice and sunny and the event provided for some primo people watching. The unveiling of the new Nick Saban statue also coincided with the day's festivities (every coach who wins a national championship gets one here at UA - his was in 2009), so we finally got to see the scary bronze statue that, as one commenter put it, has an eerie liking to Dr. Zaius from Planet of the Apes.
You be the judge:
maybe you just have to be here to really appreciate it...It actually is not AS scary as the initial model statue was...
AND...we got a pic from a photographer who was taking random A-day photos for a Tuscaloosa mobile socializing network - we are now part of history...
Our A-day pics!
xo!!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Busy weekend!
Yippee!
First weekend of not working in a while, kept busy and here are the pictures to prove it! More recap in the future, but basically: garden, beer, food...
xo
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