Me, Myself and Hurricane Irene

[Fat Freddy]

Hey all... did you miss me? Here's a quick update on how we're getting along after Hurricane Irene ripped northern New Jersey a new ass.

 

The storm hit overnight this past Saturday into Sunday, with the real heavy duty sh*t coming in the wee hours of Sunday morning. We lost our power (and therefore also our phone, Internet and cable TV, of course) around 4:30 AM Sunday morning. Little did we know that the lights wouldn't come back on for four days.

 

Sunday afternoon the rains finally pooped out, so the kids and I felt safe enough to go outside and check around the house for any damage. The water runoff going down our road caused this lovely gash at the end of our driveway:

The gully at its deepest/widest was about a foot across and maybe 8 or 9 inches deep.

 

But wait! That wasn't the best part! While I'm trying to figure out how the hell I'm going to refill that crack, my kids ran around the corner to the outside basement door. Suddenly I hear them yelling "OH MY GOD! DADDY, YOU'D BETTER COME LOOK AT THIS!" I come round the corner and see this:

Needless to say, I freaked. I was expecting to get SOME water in the basement, but in the past we'd never gotten more than a couple of inches on the floor. This was about three and a half FEET of it, wall to wall.

 

My wife called the town's Office of Emergency Management and they promptly sent out a pump truck from the fire department. These dudes drove right up onto my front lawn, dropped a hose into my basement, put another hose out into the street, and had the majority of it slurped out of there in about 20 minutes:

 

Our main worry once the water was gone, was whether or not our furnace and water heater had gotten waterlogged. Unfortunately, with no power yet, there was no point in calling anyone to come take a look at it. Did I mention that we get our water from a well, by the way, which has an electric pump? So yeah, we had no running water either.

 

Once the water was down to only a few inches, the rest of it drained away naturally by Monday morning. Unfortunately, the electricity didn't return till around 5 AM today. We tried to make the best of it and not go stir crazy. Monday the boys and I spent a few hours refilling the gully at the end of our driveway, then that night we took the kids out to McDonald's and walked around Walgreens' for a while hoping the lights would be back on by the time we got home -- no such luck.

 

Tuesday morning the power had been out for more than 24 hours and most of the food in the fridge was starting to get funky. Fortunately garbage pickup was scheduled for Tuesday morning, so even though the wife and I hated to do it, we were forced to clean out the freezer and fridge, toss a bunch of stuff and hoist it out to the curb. We have yet to replenish our supply but we did have a pretty decent stock of canned/boxed stuff on hand. I have eaten more canned fruit and soup in the last three days than I think I have in the last three years. Amazingly enough a couple of things in the freezer were still pretty solid so I got the bright idea to open up the RV and transfer that stuff to the fridge in it, which runs off of propane. It's a small fridge, so even if I'd come up with that idea earlier we still would've had to throw out a lot of stuff cuz we wouldn't have had room for it all in there.

 

The kids were getting stir crazy by Tuesday AM so my sister in law offered to take them out for the day while my wife and I busied ourselves with cleaning some of the soggy crap out of the basement. She had power at her house so the kids were able to watch TV, play video games w/my niece, etc. We had called the power company Tuesday AM and they told us our neighborhood was scheduled to get juice back on by 12 noon that day. No such luck. 12 noon came and went, no electricity. When my sister in law returned w/the kids that evening, they were expecting to see the lights back on. When they pulled into the driveway and saw us sitting on the deck in front of a dark house with candles in the windows, my 8 year old had an epic meltdown, and I can't say I blame him. ("I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE, DADDY!")

 

I took it upon myself to go out and buy a couple of beers Tuesday night... I felt that I deserved 'em after the sh*t we'd been through. The local liquor purveyor had a healthy stock of 24 oz. Genny Cream Ale cans so I loaded up on 'em and went to bed with a much needed buzz.

 

By Wednesday (yesterday) we'd quite simply had enough of this sh*t. We were tired, smelly, and irritable. We threw the kids and the dirty laundry in the car and trucked down to my Mom's for the day. We all took showers and washed clothes, hoping against hope that maybe the lights would be back on when we got home... again, no dice. Went to bed after a few more beers, hoping that maybe they'd be back on in the morning.

 

Today... FINALLY! Around 5 AM I heard a "click" sound and opened one eye to see the digital clock on my night stand was blinking. I wanted to go "WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOO!" and start dancing around but of course everyone else was still asleep. After that adrenaline rush I couldn't get back to sleep, of course. I returned to work today, which kinda sucked cuz I was up so early, but I was glad that things were returning to somewhat normal. While I was at work my wife had a guy come out to look @ the furnace and water heater and unbelievably, they're both OK. The guy said we were "lucky" cuz if the water had been an inch higher the electronics in the furnace would've been frazzed and we would've been in for some very expensive repairs.

 

So that's our story. This has been quite an experience! Fortunately we didn't get nailed as bad as some folks in our area. There are some towns that STILL don't have power, and others who lost their houses and everything in them, so with that in mind I'd say we got off pretty easy, thank God. I'm not in any hurry to repeat the experience, though.

 

Thanks to all who sent messages of encouragement via Facebook (my only line to the outside world for the last four days was via FB or my Yahoo mail through my cell phone) and I'm glad to be back online!!

[Geoff]

Glad to hear you got out of it in relatively good shape, mate. I bet it was those beers midway through it all that made it all okay.

[KarpetRydOFunk]

Wow. I can't even to begin to imagine what that might be like. Life on the westcoast of Canada never sees that level of excitement. I'm very happy to hear you and your family are safe--that's what matters most--and that the damage was relatively minimal. Thanks for keeping us informed. These forums are a sort of family, so when one of us isn't around for a while, we start wondering what has happened. At least I do. I hope life quickly returns to normal for you.

[martinsane]

Wow. I can't even to begin to imagine what that might be like. Life on the westcoast of Canada never sees that level of excitement. I'm very happy to hear you and your family are safe--that's what matters most--and that the damage was relatively minimal. Thanks for keeping us informed. These forums are a sort of family, so when one of us isn't around for a while, we start wondering what has happened. At least I do. I hope life quickly returns to normal for you.

 

Nicely put and backed 100%.

[Nightrain]

hopefully the worst is over, Keef.

 

I remember the horrible flood in Jakarta back in 2007, it was messy, many areas were watered down as high as an adult's height, luckily in my place was safe, and i believe the electricity also went out for 3-4 days. I just realized that the water disaster is probably one of the most painful thing you could ever imagined, because when the flood coming in to your home, it left you with that stinky smell, the stained wall that needs to be repainted, no electricity which means no air conditioner, no fridge, no TV, no bath, and everything, not to mention the potential sickness and disease from the dirty water. It's also hard to drive your car through the water without having the risk of the car's went off in the sudden, and that's only to evacuate for some decent food and water.

 

and yeah, the beers were totally necessary!

[Jacob M.]

I was in a similar situation a few years ago. I know that it's not fun. Glad you made it through ok.

[Chris]

Glad it all worked out and everyone is safe. Hurricanes are nothing to sneeze at. They can be downright brutal. Power outages and damage...damn...

[Dark Star]

Glad to see you weathered the storm Bro!! Yea being without power DOES suck the cosmic moose dick alright.. I lost power Here,but only for maybe 2 days max, but it WAS in December so We got pretty chilly for a few days, had to bundle up in sweaters and shit, and MAN was I glad when the lights came on and the furnace fired up again!!

[Doksdad]

Wow. Glad it worked out Keef!

[heaven&hell]

Glad everything is back on Keef.

Hope it all gets back to normal for you soon I couldn't imagine not having power or water for that long.

[Dead Planet]

Back when we had the big power outage on the east coast I was out of power for 36 hours but I didn't open the freezer and as a result didn't have to throw out hundreds of dollars in food....a few more hours though and it would have been too late to save anything...its got to suck having a unplanned financial kick in the ass like Irene...

[Fat Freddy]

Back when we had the big power outage on the east coast I was out of power for 36 hours but I didn't open the freezer and as a result didn't have to throw out hundreds of dollars in food....a few more hours though and it would have been too late to save anything...its got to suck having a unplanned financial kick in the ass like Irene...

 

 

Yeah, we hoped 'n' prayed that the power would come on soon enough to save the bulk of our food stash but by the third day it was obvious that it wasn't going to happen. We tried not to open the fridge or freezer very much during the outage but by that 3rd day it was obvious that it was a lost cause. We peeked in there real quick to see how things were holding up and it was smelling quite funky in there.

 

Anyway, at least the lights are back on and everything has returned to semi-normalcy... now I can concentrate on my next problem, which is my need for a new vehicle. My aging Jeep Grand Cherokee breathed its last on Friday (the day before the storm) so I have been using my wife's car to go back & forth to work since then. This coming week the kids start school again, tho, so she's gonna need the car during the day. Thus, until my vehicle situation is straightened out, I'm gonna be renting a car for this coming week just to get to work. I have a week's vacation coming up from 9/12 to 9/16 so I hope to have something else by then. For now, here's my rented ride... meet the Nissan Cube. No, I've never seen one of these before either, but it was the cheapest option the rental car place had.

STYLIN' huh? Gonna be hard to be all tr00 grimm kvlt mettle while driving this thing. It looks like something a sorority girl would use to take her friends to the Jersey shore or to a Lady Gaga concert. I'm gonna have to play non stop Black Sabbath and Slayer marathons in it just to counteract its non-coolness.

 

But f*ck it, it's got four wheels and a seat and it'll get me back and forth to work for the next week, that's all I need right now. And I'll give it one thing -- it does have a pretty bad-ass stereo in it. I gave it a workout on the way home from the rental office.

[cdjunky41]

 

Glad to see you still have your humor Keef.. Glad to see you and your family is ok..

[LV KIX]

 

Glad to see you still have your humor Keef.. Glad to see you and your family is ok..

 

 

If he is going to be driving that thing around town for the next week... he better have a sense of humor.

[Fat Freddy]

Glad to see you still have your humor Keef..

 

I spent more than enough time being angry this week... but I've reached a point where I just dont' care anymore...as Curtis Armstrong said in "Risky Business," "Sometimes you just have to say, what the f*ck." Laugh so you don't cry.

 

If he is going to be driving that thing around town for the next week... he better have a sense of humor.

 

I just took it around the corner to the Walgreens' so I could rent a movie from the RedBox machine. I noticed several people in the parking lot looking at it like "What the f*ck is that?"

[66 mustang]

wow, down here in Virginia I see these everywhere. Thanks to the Scion XB, these box type vehicles are all the rage for the YOUNGER crowd. If not for the fact that when we test drove our first XB after the wife totaled her car, the vehicle had a vibration in the rear. took it back after the test drive and told them about the vibration and was told that they would have their mechanics take a look at it. went back a few days later and they "hadn't gotten to it yet". They called a few days later to tell us that when they checked it out they found out it had a warped rim. if they would have fixed it by the time we went down the 2nd time I'm pretty sure we woudl have had this:

 

now I've gotta say thit it did ride pretty good and was different but Scion is the youth market for Toyota and of course Lexus is the well to do market for Toyota

[cdjunky41]

I got an idea Keef

 

Dress up like a clown. It would take people's mind off the car..

[zrock63]

Back when we had the big power outage on the east coast I was out of power for 36 hours but I didn't open the freezer and as a result didn't have to throw out hundreds of dollars in food....a few more hours though and it would have been too late to save anything...its got to suck having a unplanned financial kick in the ass like Irene...

 

 

Yeah, we hoped 'n' prayed that the power would come on soon enough to save the bulk of our food stash but by the third day it was obvious that it wasn't going to happen. We tried not to open the fridge or freezer very much during the outage but by that 3rd day it was obvious that it was a lost cause. We peeked in there real quick to see how things were holding up and it was smelling quite funky in there.

 

Anyway, at least the lights are back on and everything has returned to semi-normalcy... now I can concentrate on my next problem, which is my need for a new vehicle. My aging Jeep Grand Cherokee breathed its last on Friday (the day before the storm) so I have been using my wife's car to go back & forth to work since then. This coming week the kids start school again, tho, so she's gonna need the car during the day. Thus, until my vehicle situation is straightened out, I'm gonna be renting a car for this coming week just to get to work. I have a week's vacation coming up from 9/12 to 9/16 so I hope to have something else by then. For now, here's my rented ride... meet the Nissan Cube. No, I've never seen one of these before either, but it was the cheapest option the rental car place had.

STYLIN' huh? Gonna be hard to be all tr00 grimm kvlt mettle while driving this thing. It looks like something a sorority girl would use to take her friends to the Jersey shore or to a Lady Gaga concert. I'm gonna have to play non stop Black Sabbath and Slayer marathons in it just to counteract its non-coolness.

 

But f*ck it, it's got four wheels and a seat and it'll get me back and forth to work for the next week, that's all I need right now. And I'll give it one thing -- it does have a pretty bad-ass stereo in it. I gave it a workout on the way home from the rental office.

 

 

Awhile back my car was in for service and they gave me a cube as a loaner, it does feel like everyone is looking at you everytime you stop. But, it did drive pretty good and the stereo was great..

[Widda]

Glad to see you weathered the storm Bro!! Yea being without power DOES suck the cosmic moose dick alright.. I lost power Here,but only for maybe 2 days max, but it WAS in December so We got pretty chilly for a few days, had to bundle up in sweaters and shit, and MAN was I glad when the lights came on and the furnace fired up again!!

 

 

 

Cosmic moose dick. that is one for the HH dictionary. Keef, glad to hear that Casa Del Keef is back and runnin.

[Widda]

double post. sorry

[Fat Freddy]

Awhile back my car was in for service and they gave me a cube as a loaner, it does feel like everyone is looking at you everytime you stop. But, it did drive pretty good and the stereo was great..

 

Yep, I drove the Cube to work for the first time today... it's not a bad ride, though it definitely could use a bit more power/pep when going uphill. It handled the rainy weather just fine.

 

It is a lot lower to the ground than I'm used to, though, which made me VERY aware of every crack and bump in the road, haha. From that, I would imagine that this thing would not do very well in snow if it was more than a few inches deep. Fortunately it's early September and I only have this thing for a week, so I sincerely doubt I'll be finding out about that first hand.

 

You definitely do get noticed when you drive this thing, though. Over the long holiday weekend I drove it around town quite a bit and every time I stopped @ a red light or parked it in a lot I could see people looking at it. I would hope they were merely wondering "What the heck is that thing?" but more than likely it was something along the lines of "What's that big dude doing driving that silly looking little car?"

[66 mustang]

 

I would hope they were merely wondering "What the heck is that thing?" but more than likely it was something along the lines of "What's that big dude doing driving that silly looking little car?"

 

now that's funny, I don't care who you are!!!

[Fat Freddy]

I've turned my experience thus far with the Nissan Cube into an entry on my HubPages blog...

 

http://fatfreddyscat.hubpages.com/hub/My-Nissan-Cube-Experience

[Fat Freddy]

Update on my vehicle situation: The Nissan Cube may be gone, but I'm staying in the Nissan family. Peep the new ride, just picked it up about an hour ago.

 

 

That's a 2005 Nissan Frontier. Yup, my transformation into an utter redneck is finally complete. I've been wearing ball caps and chewing tobacco for years, now I own a pickup truck. Yeeeeeehaw!

[66 mustang]

nice but we all know you miss the cube.