Let There Be Light!

...and the neighbours said, "light is good." And I thought, "...wow, I should either turn the lamps off, shut the door, or put some clothes on my naked ass." But hey, not like this place hasn't seen a naked ass before.

So, as you may have guessed, I've been without power and only now returned to this century. Everything is cool here. I promise an update, more photos, and a summary of the last 36 hours very soon.

But for now, I gotta get caught up on Star Trek...I've been out of my mind bored and that's the remedy for me!

Battery is Almost Gone

A few photos of the aftermath. A broken trash can pole, high water marks on the dunes, lots of debris from a pier, the jackass who rudely informed me of a curfew, and a child's toy army man, steadfast and ready for the next hurricane. The downed trees are quite small and the flooding no more than a foot deep.

I have very little battery left, but I'll look for a way to remedy that very soon. Until then, I'm chill...

Toots

Put Out an APB

Missing...Hurricane Irene...last seen whipping 60-80 mph winds through Atlantic Beach., wearing dense rain bands. Other characteristics...thinks highly of herself.

Alright kiddies, it's all but over. Generators powering up in the distance. Minor damage, some flooding.

Breakfast was delicious. I might try to get a snapshot of the surf before it dies down too. For now, I'm going to put suds in a glass and mourn for Irene.

Awe Struck

The tiny corridor between two beach front houses allows me to check the water before heading to the sand. Ordinarily, I can only see past the breakers. I just saw the most incredible, awe striking wave through the binoculars. It came up almost level with the second story. I though it was a huge ship passing until it broke. Good thing it didn't break on the house. They get that close and I'm out...tie myself to the water tower, or something.

Hooty Hoo!!

Safe to say, if our pet owl can make it through 60mph gusts over night without coming undone, I can make it through the rest of Irene with my shoes still tied!

In Case...

Follow Okahokulani on twitter...if I get disconnect, I'll find phone to call her (only number I can remember) and she can tweet, "he ok, buzzed, but ok."

Short and Sweet

Going to keep it simple so as to preserve my battery. Need phone to track storm too.

Rain, so so. Wind, shaking the house on occasions. Nothing broken yet, but the bathroom window wants to go. In the hallway, foot on one door, hand on another...monitoring pressure changes inside the house.

Updates at 9am, noon, and 3pm...unless I find power.

Storms named Irene:

Tropical Storm Irene 1947
Tropical Storm Irene 1959
Hurricane Irene 1971
Hurricane Irene 1981
Hurricane Irene 1999
Hurricane Irene 2005
And again in 2011

4-3-2-1...

Just lost power and the countdown begins. How long will my phone battery last? Think...hmm, way to conserve...

I can't continue answering texts. Blog once is better for me. Comment here and I'll read when I post.

Wind is getting nasty. Another 12 hours of this and if I survive, I'm getting hammered. ;)

Captain's Log: Star Date 125.340

The wind gusts has been increasing in speed, but still nothing I haven't seen here before. It seems as though more wind is hitting the front bedroom..a bit of a surprise to me. I'm not going to make a hasty decision to quickly move everything to the back bedroom...we all know things will change abruptly in storms like these.

There is of course some amount of prediction that can be valuable. We know that a hurricane's winds rotate counter-clockwise around its eye in the northern hemisphere, and Atlantic Beach is south-facing. This is why I expect the winds to be coming in from the east corner (back bedroom) as Irene approaches, and then changing to an almost opposite direction as she passes.

I'll likely cover my bases while I sleep and plop a mattress in the hallway between the two bedrooms.

Speaking of sleep, I want to get cracking early, so I'll be headed off to bed in a few. I'll make one last check on supplies, etc., before watching an episode of Star Trek...then it's off to sleep before the long day ahead.

Who knows what will happen tomorrow. The cell towers may be damaged making it impossible to post these blogs. Don't worry. I will be fine. If I am forced into radio-silence, I will find a way to post so everyone knows the outcome of this storm.

Peace...

...huh, funny isn't it, that Irene means peace?

The Tide is High, and I'm...

The last bit of light is leaving the evening sky; a motive for one final sprint through the rain to snap a photo of the surf. High tide is at 7:45pm, and as you can see, the high water mark is approaching the dunes.

We saw this during the previous hurricane, but that was before they added 50' of beach. The storm surge threat will closely depend (at least for me) on when Irene hits. Let's hope she's feeling frisky at low tide!

Tides for Saturday:
00:21 - low
06:10 - high
12:17 - low
18:42 - high
01:05 - low (Sun morning)

For now, the wind is blowing like an amateur nor'easter. But rest assured, she'll be spittin debris everywhere by mid-morning.

See for Yourself

There are several surf cams around Atlantic Beach, along Emerald Isle, and up around Hatteras. One on Avalon Fishing Pier in Kill Devil, another at Sea Island Plantation in Indian Beach, and one somewhere in Hatteras.

I don't have the links, but maybe someone would be kind enough to Google them and post links in the comments. You may be able to catch a glimpse of what's going on before they're ripped from their mounts.

Toots...

Hurricane Humor

There's a really cute house on the corner. This past week, the owners had been moving their belongings to a house a few blocks from here. I really hope they don't sell.

Anywho, while investigating an odd sound, I peeked from the front door to find their automatic sprinklers spraying an already saturated ground. I needed that laugh.

And The Flooding Begins

I was informed by the lady in the house-inside-the-house that it's looking more like the AM for Irene to hit. Hopefully it'll come on low tide, or not at all.

Almost everyone has packed up and left. I may only have one companions throughout the storm...we'll see.

I completely understand everyone's concerns, it's an ugly one for sure.

...woop, check that..everyone is gone now..bye neighbour...

As I was saying, I understand the concerns, but I'm guessing the wind speeds will drop to 100 mph. Still strong, but I can handle with that.

Best case, I'm nailing boards back up tomorrow. Worst case, this cottage lands a little closer to the big house on the hill.

Here Comes the Rain Again

It just rained sideways for 5 minutes and then stopped.

Besides the wind blowing the house down, it is, in fact, the rain and the storm surge I'm most worried about.

Irene, if she remains on her current path, will hit Atlantic Beach at high tide. I can handle standing high water, it's the rushing high water that concerns me.

I have the skills and rope to traversing the upper decks of the surrounding buildings, and if need be, I'll get to dry land this way. There's just not much I can do about a foundation being washed away, and it is quite possible this could happen with an 11' storm surge on top of a high tide.

Long Morning

Well, I've done about all I can do to be ready for Irene. Studio gear is wrapped up in plastic and in containers. All of my hard drives are individually wrapped in cushions and ziplocks, in grocery bags, in a trash back, in my book bag ready to go if I have to.

I've arranged all the furniture for maximum mobility in the dark. The front bedroom is about as fortified as it can be. The back bedroom...well, the bunk beds will hold that one together. In fact, if it gets too bad, I'll reassemble the bunks in the front room in a sort of bunker-fort.

All that's left is to gather survival gear, sort through and check for proper working order, and pack them away in their buckets.

I had a couple question about the surf, so I snapped a shot. This one was taken at 12:30 Friday. Waves are about what they were yesterday, although you can see last night's high water mark at about 60% closer to the dunes than usual.

Need calories...back shortly

Now THAT'S a Pump!

The great town of Atlantic Beach recently built the pump station in this picture (it's the small deck with a roof on it that sits on the corner of the intersection.) While I'm glad they are forward thinking, I'm a bit puzzled by how well they built it. Or maybe I'm bothered by how much better it's built than the decks on this cottage. Either way, it works well, and I expected to see a truck pull up in the next few days and a crew cleaning and checking, etc.

Quick Update

Just started raining...woop, just stopped. Came from this band of clouds...

"Here We Go"

That's the name of the boat parked along the house-inside-of-a-house on Wilson Ave, and I suppose it's a fitting title considering the coming attraction.

Irene is headed this way, or so the forecast suggests. The bridge will be closed by 8pm tomorrow, several houses are boarded, and a few people are fleeing the island.

Me? Fridge full of beer, rope, bags, water, guitar, food, etc...simply put, I was raised to be prepared. The most I have to worry about is if, when, and where I need to move my studio.

There's an old fridge I could put sensitive electronic gear in if necessity begs. If I absolutely have to, I am prepared to yank the 10 hard drives from the studio and run with them. But I doubt seriously I'll need to do more than just relax and enjoy the spectacle.

We shall see...

One More 'Gain

I think it's fitting that I give you this view one more 'gain. This is how you want it to look when you wake up; beautiful, sunshiny day. That new layer of sans is begging to be lounged upon.

I'll see you when Guston gets here.

This blog has been brought to you by the letter 'J' and by the number '12'...

...toots

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!

Repair for the Worst

It's quite the shame, actually, that none of the repairs needing to be done to this cottage can be blamed on Earl. We've likely done more damage to this building in a single party. Eh, six and one half hands on the other dozen and see which fills last.....time for bed.

Nite, Earl. Nite, kittens. Nite, zzzzz...

Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint!