Lovely Rita, Meter Maid
Sep 22, 2005
So Austin is acting like Rita's heading this way. I'm am amazed at what I've witnessed.
Last night I was running some errands, picking up a few specialty items that couldn't be purchased at the grocery store. Walking into National Wholesale Club, I was bombarded by insanity. There were no carts to be found. Lines were 20 families deep. The water aisle was adorned with a cardboard sign. "OUT OF WATER"
Out of water? What is this? We're in Austin, for crying out loud! We are 200 MILES from Galveston. 200! What is wrong with these people?
At least traffic has been relatively calm around town, especially since several companies and government offices are taking off Friday. My employer is flying three people out to California tonight - just to make sure our current project gets completed on time.
Here's the only problem with all this preparation. Not only are we considerably inland, we are on the dry side of the storm. We may see a shower (likely not) and some breezes (again, likely not). And still, the whole town has been stripped clean of batteries, canned goods, water, and generators.
I'm guessing that Saturday will bring a few fluffy clouds, pleasant breezes, and the same unseasonal heat we've had all week. And all of this panic will have been for naught. Except at my house - where we haven't panicked and where we have no batteries or bottled water. Take that Rita!
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Post Script: My sister and her family drove over to get out of the way of the storm. They took the back roads, and made the drive in a relatively short 7 hours - as opposed to the 3 hours it would normally have taken. Not bad, all things considered.
