Hello From Alabama
We're fine. We have no damage whatsoever, and we just got power, internet, cell phone service, and regular phone service back. All at the same time, which we believe to be because teleute12 is magic.
In case anyone was wondering, I no longer live in Tuscaloosa, I live in a very rural part of the state with my parents. One of the tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, as you might know from the news, hit right along one side of the busiest, most important intersection in town, Fifteenth and McFarland. When I lived in Tuscaloosa I lived off Fifteenth on the opposite side of the road. I drove down those streets every single day, and I just...I can't even imagine. Looking at the damage on CNN I can sort of identify some of the buildings, but mostly it just looks like heaps of rubble. People keep saying things like, "Where the Krispy Kreme used to be," and it's just. It's just awful.
Here's how our time since the storm has gone: on Wednesday around five we were actually doing staggeringly well. The weather that has completely destroyed large chunks of my state sort of went in a wedge around my area--we were completely unscathed. I think we had a half hour of bad rain all day. Then the power went out, but we were still doing pretty good. We had a generator! We had a gas stove in the kitchen in the basement! (Yes, we have two kitchens; no, I am not sure why.) We were doing so much better than so much of the state I felt like an awful person even complaining about not having power.
I was about to post something to let y'all know I was okay. Then the internet, cell phones, and phone lines went out in quick succession. The satellite stayed up throughout; this morning my dad and I actually plugged the fridge and the TV into the generator and watched the royal wedding. So we were still doing so much better than so much of the state that complaining would have made me feel like an awful person. I mean, Jesus Christ, we still have a roof.
Cell phone service has come back spottily over the last few days, usually for just long enough for my mom to try to call her sisters before it went out again (they're fine, too). A town in the next county only lost power for a few hours, so we were able to stock up on gas, bottled water, and other staples in anticipation of being without power for over a week, since we're usually an area of extremely low priority. Today there was word that the town might run out of water because they don't have a generator large enough to run the pump.
Then this evening I was sitting with my mom when my cell phone rang! And it actually let me take the call! It was our new good luck charm teleute12, and as we were chatting I glanced into the kitchen and saw that the clocks on the stove and microwave were on. We had power. It was a miracle. Then my mom picked up the telephone and we had a dial tone. A second miracle! And then I turned on my computer and I had internet service! So, clearly teleute12 is magic, and don't let anyone tell you anything different.
I'm still hoping to hear from my old roommate, who, last time I spoke to her, lived in the part of town that was destroyed, although that was a few years ago so she may have moved. Her Facebook is almost as out of date as mine, so it's impossible to say.
But, yeah. We're doing fine here; practically back to business as usual, and a lot sooner than expected.
In case anyone was wondering, I no longer live in Tuscaloosa, I live in a very rural part of the state with my parents. One of the tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, as you might know from the news, hit right along one side of the busiest, most important intersection in town, Fifteenth and McFarland. When I lived in Tuscaloosa I lived off Fifteenth on the opposite side of the road. I drove down those streets every single day, and I just...I can't even imagine. Looking at the damage on CNN I can sort of identify some of the buildings, but mostly it just looks like heaps of rubble. People keep saying things like, "Where the Krispy Kreme used to be," and it's just. It's just awful.
Here's how our time since the storm has gone: on Wednesday around five we were actually doing staggeringly well. The weather that has completely destroyed large chunks of my state sort of went in a wedge around my area--we were completely unscathed. I think we had a half hour of bad rain all day. Then the power went out, but we were still doing pretty good. We had a generator! We had a gas stove in the kitchen in the basement! (Yes, we have two kitchens; no, I am not sure why.) We were doing so much better than so much of the state I felt like an awful person even complaining about not having power.
I was about to post something to let y'all know I was okay. Then the internet, cell phones, and phone lines went out in quick succession. The satellite stayed up throughout; this morning my dad and I actually plugged the fridge and the TV into the generator and watched the royal wedding. So we were still doing so much better than so much of the state that complaining would have made me feel like an awful person. I mean, Jesus Christ, we still have a roof.
Cell phone service has come back spottily over the last few days, usually for just long enough for my mom to try to call her sisters before it went out again (they're fine, too). A town in the next county only lost power for a few hours, so we were able to stock up on gas, bottled water, and other staples in anticipation of being without power for over a week, since we're usually an area of extremely low priority. Today there was word that the town might run out of water because they don't have a generator large enough to run the pump.
Then this evening I was sitting with my mom when my cell phone rang! And it actually let me take the call! It was our new good luck charm teleute12, and as we were chatting I glanced into the kitchen and saw that the clocks on the stove and microwave were on. We had power. It was a miracle. Then my mom picked up the telephone and we had a dial tone. A second miracle! And then I turned on my computer and I had internet service! So, clearly teleute12 is magic, and don't let anyone tell you anything different.
I'm still hoping to hear from my old roommate, who, last time I spoke to her, lived in the part of town that was destroyed, although that was a few years ago so she may have moved. Her Facebook is almost as out of date as mine, so it's impossible to say.
But, yeah. We're doing fine here; practically back to business as usual, and a lot sooner than expected.