It's been a hot minute since I've done a post, but with recent events, I felt the need.
Let's get the obvious out of the way. We got a new president! Thank goodness for big favors. That's all I'm saying about it. No need to gloat here.
So recently, a "winter storm" ripped through the state of Texas and many others, leaving many without power for days, with dirty water, and thousands with busted pipes leaving some without water at all for days. I had all of the above. I thought the worst part of it would be the no power leaving the toilet seats freezing cold (which was brutal) and trying to sleep in 33º weather (inside the house) with 5 blankets on me. That night's sleep was a nightmare and it was weird because I could feel that my body was warm, but I was still so tense and stiff that it was painful. The next morning I was in so much pain from my muscles being tight. Ugh. Also, trying to get water to flush your turds down the toilet was a nightmare. My daughter actually shit in a bucket and threw it in the backyard. 🤮 One morning it rained (while power was out) and I was so excited. I yelled, "get all the buckets and pots you can!" I gathered enough to flush once *insert laugh emoji* Then a neighbor offered up his neighbor's pool water and another offered up her pool water, though I didn't need it at the time, I was glad I had options. After 3 straight days with no power (36 hours to be exact), the power came on for about 6 hours. I filled everything up with water because I knew it wasn't going to last long. Rolling brown outs was happening and would could go a whole 36 more hours with no power. I would want to at least be able to flush our shits.
But then, of course (my luck), my pipes burst and I had niagara falls in my den/office. My desk was right under the ceiling fan, that also housed my desktop computer with 2nd monitor, and that's where the brunt of the water was. On my desk. It was hit like a boulder getting hit by a waterfall somewhere in a hidden rain forest. Water quickly moved and I couldn't get the main valve shut off quick enough. I grabbed pots and they filled within seconds so I rushed to find something bigger. My holiday decoration totes. I dumped them out and put them under the now dual waterfalls; the second one sprouted from the air duct hole.
Once the water was shut off, thanks to my neighbor, the downpour continued for several more minutes. and then my house was flooded. The water ran from the office into the foyer then into the living room and reached my daughter's room on the other side of the house, just barely touching her carpet. The spare room, we thought, wasn't hit until the restoration guy was here assessing the damage and saw the carpet in the closet of the spare room was wet. He said, "this box is damp" and moved it out into the room for me. It was my box of VINYLS! My precious babies from the 80's! Nooooooooo!!!
After he left, I opened the box, everything inside the box was safe. Thank goodness for thick boxes. Now they are all housed in moisture-proof/dust-proof bins. Safe!
I forgot to mention, we hadn't showered up to this point. I went 6 days without a shower. 6 days! As soon as they said the water was safe to shower, I showered....reluctantly (because nasty water), but I did it anyway. I was RIPE. Not just ripe, but ripe ripe. I had taken whore baths twice before the shower, but they do not help much...at all. My daughter went 9 days because she didn't trust the water. She waited until the boil water notice was rescinded. In total, we went 36 hours straight without power then intermittent for 2 more days.
Still waiting on work to actually start and we are going on 3 weeks this Tuesday. I've already scoured the Lowe's website to pick out the carpet for the 2 bedrooms and the tile for the rest (upgrading from the laminate). I can't deal with this crap again.
So I've learned that the state officials here SUCK ASS and I can't wait to vote their dumb asses out of office. They are incompetent. They knew this storm was coming. They chose not to prepare for it and have the power necessary to heat the homes. People lost their lives due to hypothermia. Children lost their lives due to hypothermia. This is uncalled for. This is disgusting. They put their own wealth ahead of the safety of the people.
I've also learned I cannot do the cold if there is no heat indoors. Might consider solar panels in the future...if not, definitely a whole-home generator. I might need heated toilet seats...and maybe floors. And on top of the electricity fail of the state, that dumbass governor lifted the mask mandate and opened the state 100%. What in the actual fuck? Last I checked there was still a deadly virus going around with even deadlier strains than we originally had.
People can make fun of me all they want, but I still haven't been into a big store since 3/11/20 not because I'm scared but because I don't trust that people are doing what they should by wearing masks, washing their hands/sanitizing, or staying their distance. I've seen the videos of people acting a fool and yeah, I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing to keep me and my family safe.
While my situation due to the "winter storm" is very inconvenient, I'm thankful it's not as bad as most have experienced. I have joked that I wanted new floors but not this way, and in all honesty, I wouldn't have gotten new floors if this hadn't happened. I'm glad I didn't have more damage and I am still able to live in my home, but I'm super stoked to get new floors...and new ceiling fans. Will make it easier to sell in the future.
I think I totally went off track with what I wanted to say and I can't even remember what all I wanted to say now. 🤷🏻♀️
Keep on truckin'. Be safe. Be smart. Be you!