Vacation

[jedicow]

Just got back from an EPIC guys trip to Cleveland.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Pro Football Hall of Fame and we went to the Cleveland Browns/Pittsburgh Steelers game on Sunday.  I went by one comic shop and wasn't overly impressed but he did give me $100 in trade for a box of TPBs I took with me.

Then I come back home to potentially stare down Hurricane Florence.  What. The. Fudge?

[Perry]

Yeah, hope you are on your way out or at least prepping.
We are going to get lucky it seems as it took a major shift south with its tracking overnight. I had my hotel booked for about a week but looks like I may be able to cancel it.
I'm lucky. I hope you are too, but be careful.

[jedicow]

well, about that......

my wife had a hotel booked in Greenville which is about 4 hours upstate starting Wednesday but the storm track actually made it look like that might be worse and the storm was pretty much going to miss us, so she cancelled it yesterday afternoon.  Now, the models have it shifting back in our direction.

I, on the other hand, have to stay at the hospital.  I am on the first team for this one so I have to report to the hospital Thursday morning at 7AM and pretty much stay until they give the all clear for us to leave and the second team to come in and relieve us.  So, NOW, I'm going to be worried sick the whole time because the wife and kids will be riding it out at home.
We talked to our neighbors yesterday and about 5 or 6 of the families on our street are going to ride it out as well, so they will have some support if they need it but it still worries me.  I already have anxiety about it. 

[Perry]

I think, worst case, you lose power for a day. I don't think the winds are going to be too terrible there, but I am not sure about your flooding situation either. I know if we were to get hit by 8 inches I would flood, but only expecting 3 to 5 now, at most.
How ya sitting on the water entrance front? You low level?

[jedicow]

we actually live about 40 miles inland.  It's technically not Charleston, but it's so close that I tell everyone we live in Charleston.  We live between Charleston and Summerville, SC.  So, we are far enough away from the water that storm surge won't really affect us.  We had that 1000 year storm a few years ago and it rained a LOT and while our yard held some water and flooded a bit, we were never afraid that it would come into the house.  Is it possible?  Sure, I guess but I think unlikely. 

My biggest concern is the two huge oak trees in our backyard.  One of them is literally like 4-5 feet away from the house.  It's huge.  We have actually gotten some quotes over the past few weeks about taking it down.  If it fell onto the house, my hope would be that it's so close that while it may cause some damage, it wouldn't be far enough away to gain some momentum as it falls and it would kinda just lean onto the house.  The other one on the other hand, if it falls into the house, it's going to do some damage.  They have been predicting Category 1 and tropical storm force winds here and both trees have endured both of those in the past 5 years with no issue, but with all the rain they are predicting, I'm scared it will loosed the soil and one of the them will just fall right over.  I can only hope and pray.

[Perry]

Absolutely agree about the vicinity of those trees being both ... helpful and dangerous, and glad to know that the rain should'nt be a concern, only (as you say) those winds to contend with.
 

Good news is it is lessening more than they original thought, so that is a very good thing. And hey. while I don't pray, know that my thoughts will certainly be with you and Mrs. Jedi  over the weekend!

Best wishes buddy.

[Jimmy T]

Oh man! Thinking of you and your family and hoping you come out in the best way possible!!

[jedicow]

So in the way of good news, the storm seems to have weakened some but we are still expected to get maybe 10-12 inches of rain.  I went into work at the hospital this morning with all my hurricane goodies expecting to stay until probably Sunday but around 11AM, the hospital admins realized they pulled the trigger on activating our disaster crews too early and told us we could go home tonight if we wanted as long as we could be back by 7AM tomorrow and then be prepared to stay the duration so I am able to have one more sleep in my bed before working 72-96 hours.

It took me 4 trips back and forth to my car to get all my stuff out.  All my snacks, the air mattress, the backpack with my books and laptop, and my clothes for 4 days.  on the second trip, I got on the elevator in the parking garage, it went up maybe 5 inches and then dropped.  I couldn't get the door to open and I used the call box in the elevator to call the hospital operator and as soon as I got the words "I'm stuck in the elevator in the parking garage" out of my mouth, the door slid open.  Needless to say, I hopped right out and took the stairs. 

[Jimmy T]

Reading of SO MANY people without power....JC, pray you are doing well, as well as a heroic thanks to you as well for being one of the people who is there for medical aid.

[jedicow]

I was able to leave the hospital last night around 6PM and come home.  I am still on call today but the storm pretty much fizzled out for us.  A little farther north of us got a lot of rain but we barely got anything here.  We were watching the local news coverage in the lounge yesterday around 2PM and they put up a graphic of rainfall totals.  A few counties north of us had 8.4 inches and the further south they went, the less rainfall there was.  The last location on the graphic was North Charleston (where my hospital is) and the total rainfall amount was 0.29 inches.  My wife works for a cardiology group and there is a pretty young cardiologist who joined their group a couple of years ago (I actually have to do procedures with him every now and then as well) and I passed him in the hall yesterday and asked him if he was surviving the Devastating Drizzle of 2018.  I shouldn't make too light of it since I know a lot of people (especially in NC) have been affected by it but as a healthcare professional and a lifelong Spider-Man fan, I use humor to relieve tension.

We have a lot of small branches down and its still wet outside, but no trees down, no flooding and we never lost power.

[Perry]

I feel so sad for the people impacted by this storm. All we got was two days, about 3 hours total, of light rain. And I mean drizzle. It would go for about an hour and then stop. That is it. I see homes and lives lost and I just think about how lucky I/we are here.