Yikes! More rain

Pretty much home-bound this weekend while I listened to the rain assault, yes assault, my windows.
Big rain, torrential rain, day-long rain.   Too bad it is Monday and I actually have to go out in it, on a morning where I have been awake since 5:30 and the rain has not stopped, not even once.   Reports of a sinkhole north of here... and vivid images of South Tampa underwater.  Will need to be careful going through "puddles", which are the size of small ponds on the road.

Last day of May.. can't be over soon enough

It's been a rough month.

As evidenced by the hail  (hail?  in Florida?) above... which fell in as much as 1/2" diameters on my home the Sunday before Memorial day.   In general, the last two weeks of weather here have brought deluges of various durations... all around the 5-7pm timeslots.  In addition to the hail, I have left work soaked to the knees from the depth of the water as I'm walking (the drainspouts just can't handle sudden, heavy downpours and parking lots and roads flood).   I'm driving a rental car (more on that later) that is larger than my own.   Lucky thing as I found myself driving through an intersection near work on Thursday night, and as cars hydroplaned through the intersection I could look out my driver's window and see the water rise nearly 3-4 inches below my side window.    If you get caught indoors when it starts, it is best to stay trapped and not try to go outside.  Currently, the rental has elements of the trees (from my work parking lot) trapped in the wiper wells.   I'll need to clean them out today.   The rain comes so hard and fast that it denudes a lot of the growth from the trees.

It is an unusual May.  Generally in this part of Florida in May we have drought and brush fires, followed by flooding rains in June.   Not so this year.   When not raining, the greenery is lush and fine and we have seen literally dozens of rainbows.

Those rainbows are the good things about May in my life.   Otherwise.... nothing dreadful, nothing drastic, but just one of the most "down" months I have had in a long while. 

Started with the death of a love affair.   Ended with the death of a close friend.

At my age, you hesitate to say, "my relationship".   And I prefer love affair.   Started with a good friend about 5 years ago.  Worried that by entering into it, if something went wrong ... would our friendship not re-engage?   Would I lose a good friend by trying for more?  And so, that has happened.  And I must lean into my loneliness, no voice on the phone or the voice mail, no funny texts, no shoulder to lean on.  I must say that I don't expect to love this way again in my life. 
And while I want it back, the mind tells the heart that it probably will not find another situation that I term bashert... English has no word for the sense of rightness, the feeling that you have a sense of landing where you're supposed to land with someone.  But sometimes you are meant to leave a partnership, and so I guess I have.   But I wish I could have the friendship back.  

Followed the breakup about a week later ... on Mother's day, with having a large floater appear in my left eye.   Eye issues are scary for diabetics.   I breathed a little easier when my retinologist pronounced it a PVD... something that happens to most of us when we age.  Told me within 1-3 months it would most likely sink with gravity, to the part of my eye where it wouldn't be so pronounced in front of my retina.   And little by little I've gotten used to it.  When I crack my never ending stream of self-deprecating jokes at work, I blame my "floater" for my goof ups and forgetfulness.  We laugh....but we worry a little about aging and the changes it will bring.

Topped off the month by having a somewhat minor car accident in the middle of a work day.   My fault I got ticketed.   So I've had a rental Malibu for about a week and a half now.  My car is a lease, but there is only about $4000 damage, so they will repair.   Not a scratch on me or the other driver... just an endless stream of time wasters filing claims, going for a work comp analysis, peeing in a cup (yes, the ultimate indignity).   Flash.  I wasn't drugged or wasted at 9:30 in the morning.   Just careless.  Frankly, I was lucky. 

So when my good friend succumbed to breast cancer on Thursday night, it did stun me.   Too many little shocks in one month.   And, we all choose to believe it is completely curable now, since we have come so far with the treatments.     That it won't be caught too late to metastasize and cling to one's lymph system or spread to one's other organs.   But sometimes, it still does.  I came to expect that she would die.  But it doesn't make it any easier.  Nope.

June will be better. 

CALM BEFORE THE STORM...Tampa 8/25/2012

We're living in the calm before the storm here in Tampa... actually the calm(S) before the storm(S).

It's a beautiful day here, but we are severely waterlogged in Tampa... in a summer where we have seen torrents of rain all summer, and slogged thru Tropical Storm Debby (where some areas got 22 inches in 2 days), we are in a flood watch already.

Along comes Isaac. 

First predicted to be parallel with Tampa, off the coast at 2 a.m. Monday morning.  It has now slowed down, looking to reach hurricane status and affecting the keys and the lower east/west coast of Florida, it looks like it will take until 2 a.m. Tuesday to reach us.  Actually, as of right now, the Keys and Southern Florida, along with the Pensacola area are in more danger than we are....but these forecasts, 2-3 days out, change imperceptibly and put the target on the back of different regions momentarily.

One thing is for sure, we are certain to get some sort of a soaking deluge.  And, given our waterlogged status, that is not good.  Water, bread and batteries in place, (along with fresh vegetables and cheese which will last thru at least 24-48 hours before spoiling).. I am prepared to hunker down. 

Our second calm comes as the delegates, press, hanger-on and potential terrorists (?) arrive in Tampa, prepared to party on down next week at the RNC convention.  This week, those who don't follow politics or events, got treated to a look at the high fencing surrounding the convention venues.  They got to watch and see the 3 hotels that are booked fully by FBI and Secret Service.  They learned that if police from other counties signed up to work the convention are needed to cope with the aftermath of the storm, that the governor is prepared to call out the National Guard for the convention.  They learned that there is a ban in mileage for all watercraft from the bridges surrounding us... to try to prevent someone from blowing them up.  They sobered at the knowledge that two school buses were stolen from a lot.... a potential firebombing strategy to send into the RNC zone, packed with explosives.

Finally, these damn local people started to cope with how scary it feels to host an event like this.  Most of them don't remember Chicago in the 60's. 

I have vowed to spend my week elsewhere, but it didn't work out.  So next week, I will be one of those who will wonder how to get to work, now that most of the highways into the city are closed.  I'm lucky, I live in the north, I don't have to go "down there".  Speaking of "down there", the center city is right on the water, both the bay and the swollen Hillsborough river.    Most structures stand about 6 inches above sea level.

It was an incredibly bad choice.... not so much if the convention was in the spring, but in the middle of the storm prone summer.  Ooh baby. 

Wish us luck.

 

 

 

PS, catch my "Olympics Hermit" update below.  I was able to add pictures of the sport I loved the most.