my hurricane story

preparation -

i prepare for the hurricane by stocking up on burts bees wax chapstick and nivea. there are no long lines at walgreens unlike at the grocery store and the gas station.

brother stocks the refrigerator with beer and ice cream.

mother starts storing water in every available pot. this after both bathtubs have been filled with water. all this water storage reminds her of her childhood. i point to anderson cooper on tv before she starts one of her 'when we were young' stories.

the night before - brother plays the piano in the garage with the garage door up even though it has started to rain. i make comment about brother being like the captain of the titanic willing to go down with his ship. mother insists i go take a picture of him in the garage. further comments about him floating off on his piano stool are not appreciated by mother. brother doesn't take any warning seriously. he wanders around the neighborhood looking to save cats and other traumatized animals while mother yells for him to get back inside.

the night of the hurricane i decide it would be wise to sleep in the coridoor. my bed is right near the window and right outside the window is a massive tree. i search for my rosary which i am unable to detach from my earphones and place it under my pillow. i sleep for a bit and wake up when i hear a loud noise. brother points to a metal roof on the other side of the street about to lift off and crash into a nearby window or car of its choice. we watch for a while, get bored and look to the television for more dramatic pictures. the power keeps going off so i go back to sleep. and i sleep good too. with dreams and stuff. i distinctly remember turquoise earings and shopping with sunnu. i wake up saturday morning when dad calls and proceed to check if my tv made it through the night. it did. my directv international dish is still in place. i doubt the internet will work. it would be asking for too much. but omg i can see google! i put my rosary away.

saturday morning -

gaysin calls. you guys have power?

yeah.

gaysin - what? we lost power this morning.

oh.

gaysin - you'll probably lose power too. they're saying most people will lose power.

well the hurricane's gone so..

gaysin - yeah but they're saying everyone will lose power.

right... how about i inform you once we lose it?


saturday afternoon -

mother [yelling from upstairs] have you seen anderson cooper?

what?

mother - have you seen him? because i haven't seen him since last night.

im sure he's fine ma.

mother - ya but he was reporting from downtown houston last night and that's where all those glass buildings were.

i'm sure anderson is smart enough to get out of the way of falling glass.

mother - but he hasnt reported since last night. it's afternoon now.

good god mother. im sure cnn would have said something is he were dead.



every 30 mins or so gaysin and his mother call in to check if we still have power.

dude we still have power. we still have cable. we still have the internet.

gaysin - internet also? oh.

like i said. i will inform you once we lose power. okay?


gaysin calls while i'm painting my toe nails.

gaysin calls while im watching dan in real life.

STILL HAVE IT!

ma why do they keep calling?

ma: i dont know. they're bored without electrictity. you think i should invite them to come here?

oh god no!


gaysin calls again - you'll dont have water is it?

bahhhhh! the pressure is very low.

gaysin - yeah we just spoke to aunty d [this person lives on the other side of the planet by the way] and she was saying you guys didnt have water.

yes yes no water here.

gaysin - didnt you guys fill up your bathtubs?

we did. we're fine.

gaysin - oh okay. we have water here.

excellent.


and before you know it it's the end of the weekend and i have to be at work tomorrow. sniff.

oh and disco's okay too.