go away ike, tina ain't here

my (former) daily route.

up the street from dave.

no grilling in the house.

my backyard.

probably why i had no power.

GRE by candlelight.

it's over

ohhh but it's not. things turned out better than i ever expected, but it's going to be a while before life is back to normal. friday night my plan to drink enough wine to sleep through the storm next to a floor-to-ceiling window worked perfectly, and i only woke up when a tree fell down somewhere. in the morning dave's house was fine, my car was fine, and through some miracle we were the only ones in practically the whole city who had power. it then became a refugee camp for anyone who could find a way around the fallen trees and the flooding.

on sunday when i couldn't take being inside any longer, i made my way back to my apartment. thankfully there was no damage aside from a soggy kitchen, but i have no electricity. it's not coming back til next week. welcome to the club.

it's still really strange. without stoplights every intersection is a four-way stop. cars are lined up for blocks just to get in to a gas station. until yesterday, shepherd and memorial was a huge lake. the entire city has a curfew. a few restaurants are open; we had dinner at goode company and sat in the dark for a bit when the generator went out. people in line for ice threaten each other with tasers. and all that's nothing compared to galveston...

pictures to come eventually.

third time's the charm

yesterday morning i stopped at the grocery store to get something for our lab lunch. on the way in, i passed a guy who smiled at me and said 'good luck!' i had no idea what he was talking about. when i went to check out i waited for half an hour, surrounded by people with cases of bottled water and batteries, and i was the asshole with strawberry shortcake.

yesterday was more of an annoyance; today it's getting surreal. almost every gas station is empty, buildings are boarded up, and there's tape on all the windows. i'm camped out at dave's house, watching cnn, and trying not to get caught up in the hype. whatever happens, we'll be fine. it's not like we have anywhere else to go. and judging from the pantry, we have enough snacks to last us through nuclear winter. and also, entertainment.

so bring it, ike. i'm ready.

yes mom, i survived

the biker bar down the street from my house, where i 'weathered' the 'storm'.

a last remnant from my trip home

woodstar cafe, northampton

things are looking up

saturday was my first day of school: audio engineering at houston community college. i know it's only one class, but i'm excited.. being a nerd means i like having textbooks and homework. especially if that homework involves a recording studio. downside: the campus is out by the beltway, also known as Suburbia with a capital S and farther away from civilization than any self-respecting inner loop resident would want to go. upside: at least three of the faculty members in the music department have graduate degrees from rice, which happens to be where i'm sort of thinking of applying for a master's. me getting in to rice would be just below 'turning water into wine' on the miracle scale, but i suppose i can think about that later.

a picture i submitted to the houston center for photography was chosen for their next student exhibition. it's hard for me to believe that something i took will be on display for two months, AND be available for sale. though i highly doubt anyone will want a picture of the umass fine arts center in their living room (besides me).

we were about 10 feet away from bun-b wednesday night. it was a good time.

the first step on the road to assertiveness?

Unmentionables: cards to hand out when you're "too nice to tell jerks how you really feel". my favorites are "please don't procreate" and "can you repeat that? i was in a coma."

(if i were to make my own, i would start with "DON'T. DO THAT.")

a mix

top nine songs for a rainy monday at home while waiting for a locksmith to come fix the doors and eating macaroni & cheese:

mock trial with j reinhold

this is mah boyfrien':

he's the winning advocate of the south texas mock trial competition, and one of the best speakers. i'm so proud.

Miscellaneous Observations Monday

catchy, no?

tricky is doing his first north american tour in five years. will it include houston? of course not. same thing with wire. and they're so freakin old they'll probably end up in a rest home before they ever get around to any other city in texas that's not austin. what's worse is that i figured portishead would be touring as well since they just released an album, but there's no sign of that happening. so i can't even complain that they're not coming here.

what IS coming to houston, however, is more pink and orange. dunkin donuts is opening 10 more locations in the city. i could suggest a few places to start.. the empty building next to my bus stop (pleasepleaseplease), the vacant lot up the street, the lab across the hall...

yao ming slightly resembles sam the eagle from the muppets.

quote of the day is from louis armstrong: "All music is folk music, I ain’t never heard no horse sing a song.” (found here.)

i have to find a way to get a large dresser from the guild shop to my apartment tomorrow morning. this is the problem with having such a luxurious and earth-friendly vehicle a corolla. then the plan is to paint it, because i'm handy like that.

i convinced michelle to watch be kind rewind with me, and after all that hype... yawn.