And so it begins

Hurricane Ernesto is headed right for us. On his current path, Ernesto will be in our back yard on Wednesday morning. If you look here, our house is right under the 'A' in '8AM Wed.' If you look closely, you can see me waving at you. (Update: Actually, they keep updating the map, so we're no longer under the 'A' in '8AM Wed.' I'm still waving at you, though.) This period of time, the days before a hurricane is forecast to strike, is characterized for me by a telltale butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling. No matter what else is happening in our lives, there's always the faint background buzz of those butterflies. Projects at work are due, we're trying to finish home improvement tasks, my mom is being a pain in the ass (as usual). Those butterflies keep buzzing. I think after last year's hurricanes, we're more likely to evacuate. We'll head to the east coast of Florida. Regardless of where we end up, though, we've got our hurricane survival kit:

• Food
• Water
• Batteries
• Lube
• Backup power for the laptop and internet connection

I picked the wrong decade to quit drinking. I'm being flippant, but honestly I'm nervous. We've worked so hard to get where we are and to have the things we have. It all can be so quickly erased by a hurricane whose intensity is doubled because of global warming (or the natural cycles of the Earth, you choose), the recovery from which is ridden with the obstacles of an inept and uncaring government. It's not very Jedi of me, being so attached to my worldly possessions. I fear losing what I have. As Yoda said, "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." For today, the activities will include:

• Strapping down the boat.
• Bringing in all the loose things around the house, except the plants. We'll bring them in later.
• Gathering our supplies.
• Filling our gas tank and gas cans.
• Planning our evacuation.

I'll keep y'all posted on any new developments.