Yeesh! Hurricane Dean comes!

Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS)
#1

Hey all, I’m new to the boards, but I believe in tough love for beginners so no worries :smiley:
I live in Belize. Hurricane Dean is…right there in front of us. I can almost see it on the horizon. We’re very much in range of its ghastly feelers of wind and water.

I live as close to the coast as possible without stepping out my front door and drowning (ok, slight exaggeration, but still).

Hurricane Dean is RIGHT IN FRONT OF US. Did I mention it’s pretty close?

We’ve finished boarding up our houses with shutters and the whole works. All we can do now is wait and ride out the storm. A small mercy is that the eye won’t pass over us- well, mercy for us, but not for our neighbors in Mexico. We’re all in this together, eh?

Pray for us, or send us good vibes, or whatever you can muster for the day. Every little thought counts, see- we’re going to store them in these, well I call them prayer tubes, and then feed them to this big machine we have here, and we’ll use it to generate enough power to activate this giant fan we have to blow that monster away :stuck_out_tongue:

See you all when it’s over…

#2

I spent a week in Belize (Ambergris Caye) about three weeks ago. In the months leading up to my vacation, I just knew that we’d get there just in time to catch a hurricane- but our luck held. You live in a beautiful area.

Hang in there- I’m sure it’s got to be pretty terrifying to see that thing bearing down on you.

By the way, assuming you guys survive, how can I import some of that wonderful Belizean Rum? Man, that stuff was tasty, and I don’t even like rum. I picked up a few small bottles as souvenirs, and found that I really liked it… now I wish I’d gotten more, and larger, bottles.

#3

Welcome. Please read the rules. Prayer is reserved for paying members only. Thank you, and good luck with that hurricane thingy.

Say, perhaps when the storm is over you could bring something … unsavory … which may have washed up on the beach for your rite? Or maybe just pie.

#4

I’ll leave the joking to the witty folk here, of which I accept that I’m not one. That being said, please stay safe, untimelysmile! Are you moving to shelter farther inland, or are you going to ride it out in your house? Have you taken into account possible storm surge? Just sayin’ because I saw the damage storm surge did to coastal Mississippi, and it’s definitely not something you want to be anywhere near.

#5

writes down Inigo Montoya’s rule on prayer privileges being directly proportional to money forked over

Do charter members tithe? This is important information for after Dean, so that when I build a new computer out of coconuts and egg cartons, I can sign up and start aggressively praying at people :slight_smile:

Lightnin’, I’m glad you enjoyed our country. Actually, Belize has been extremely lucky in terms of hurricanes- the last time we had a hurricane actually hit us head on was dozens of years ago. Close calls are not good for the nerves, though.
Belizean Rum has a wonderful history of boring holes through one’s medulla, leaving the question of motor skills moot until the next morning. That said, it’s quite enjoyable, and I’m fairly certain you can order some off some Belizean site or the other. I’ll PM you when I get more info, if that’s fine with you?

#6

Hey Mama Tiger, thank you for your thoughts!
Our plan right now is to ride out the storm in our house, but if the hurricane shifts ever so slightly south, we’re moving further inland. Like you said, storm surges are the biggest risk for us, but I have confidence in my house, if not my roof :slight_smile:
(houses here are more often than not built to withstand hurricanes, because it’s such a known risk here).

#7

Good luck, untimelysmile! May you come through this with family and sanity intact!

#8

Good luck to you. Having experience three “itty bitty” hurricanes in one year, I can definitely tell you…if you are told to evacuate, DO SO immediately. I think you’ll be okay, though.

#9

Thanks for your thoughts, guys!

The water vat’s being tied down, the windows are being extra secured, and my cocker spaniel is joining me for company. She looks a bit stressed.

Spooky animal senses? Nah, I just think she’s picking up our vibes.

#10

Thanks for saying hi in such extreme circumstances.

Best of luck dude. I’ve been through a few hurricanes (and a couple of typhoons). They’re fascinating if you’re safe, terrifying if you’re not.

#11

Go ahead and pay up before Dean hits, that way if you get wiped out, we can divvy up your fee. :slight_smile:

Just kidding, hope everything works out down there. I have friends in Merida, Yucatan as well. Best wishes for the entire region.

#12

Hey all, just an update!

The weather is really weird right now. Dead silence, with some very occasional gusts of cold wind. The sky looks… bland is the only way to describe it.

Like it’s waiting for something to happen.

We’re setting up all our rooms so that all the clothes and rather important stuff are in the middle, covered with heavy plastic.
Very important stuff end up in plastic containers, safely stored away. Very important stuff include:
mounds of paperwork that are too important to throw away
textbooks, gadgets
fragile items

So if it’s not too precious to get wet, it still must be stored, lest it become dangerous flying debris.

The “fun” won’t begin until this evening, culminating in landfall very early tomorrow morning.

I’m now preparing an ‘in-case’ kitbag with essential supplies and a couple pairs of clothes, in case we need to move in a hurry…

I remember when I was younger, hurricane episodes used to be so exciting and different. “Yay hurricane, no school , yaaaaay!”

Now, it’s just scary.
These are the times when I wish I could see just a little into the future…

#13

I’m liking your sense of humor. I hope nothing very bad happens to you in the storm. I get my panties in a bunch when I have to deal with a 3 hour gale, forget hurricanes. Be safe.

#14

Thanks Inigo. There’s nothing like a nice big hurricane to make you a paragon of wit :smiley:

OK, just to let you guys know… The rain’s started.

It’s interesting cough, here’s me getting all metaphysical on poor Dean because it starts off with a faint drizzle. However, the water smells like ocean- mean and cold.

And it’s getting stronger and stronger and stronger, but very gradually.

Hurricanes have such a fragrant, majestic personality. Something to think about.

Also, for the record, I didn’t know there was thunder and lightning during a hurricane. Color me surprised!

Well, let’s see what happens now. :slight_smile:

#15

In a perverse way, I kind of wish I was there…

#16

For now, I’m going to agree with you, jjimm. It’s not strong yet. This kind of rain would be soothing if I didn’t know what was behind it.

I just checked the satellite imagery of the hurricane. We’re barely getting the outer ‘feelers’ of the hurricane, and it’s (to me anyway) already a pretty strong rain, as our rains go.

FWIW, I’m at around the center of the country, at a little outjutting tip by the coast.

Rain rain, go away, come again another day…

#17

Is there a satellite weather overlay for Google Earth?

#18

Hey Quartz, I’m not too sure about that. I just searched around on Google and found a satellite loop. It’s an hour behind (so far), so I’m just extrapolating.
The rain stopped. Thunder’s in the distance.

Well, round one goes to us :slight_smile:

#19

All I can recommend, untimelysmile, is that you have your most important paperwork in double plastic bags, ready to take with you should you need to leave quickly. So many of the displaced after Hurricane Katrina didn’t even have the most basic of identification and it really complicated their lives for a long while.

#20

Yea lisacurl, you’re absolutely right. Paperwork always chooses the second it gets lost to become a big pain in the ass, have you ever noticed that?

I’m pretty sure we’ve got all our material things under lock and key. Strangely, it hasn’t started raining yet after that brief burst a while ago. There’s just the thunder giving aggravated growls in the distance.