Checking in from Texas!

[LuckyTexan]

I didn''t see any others posting, so I''m starting a new thread...

We just got power back like an hour ago, and I wanted to let everyone know we are ok.

Our house took a beating, and will need extensive repairs. I''m not sure what all is broken, what we can see is pretty bad... and neither of us have had to stomach to go look in the attic yet.

How did everyone else do? Bebe did you get home?

I spent the night Friday thinking about everyone... hope everyone is ok!!!

 

[Upgradable]

I''m glad you''re okay! What a relief just to get power again!!! Thanks for checking in. Keep bumping this thread for others that may be back online soon.

 

[Linda W]

LT, I am so glad to read that you are OK. I am sorry though, that your house took such a beating.

Love to you and your family,
Linda

 

[Catmom]

LT, I''m sorry to hear about the damage but am so happy to hear that you guys are ok!!

 

[LuckyTexan]

i meant BEAU when i said bebe hahahaha no idea why i wrote that!

 

[joflier]

Glad your ok.....sorry to hear about your home.....hopefully everyone else will check in soon!

 

[LuckyTexan]

Date: 9/16/2008 8:53:58 PM
Author: LuckyTexan
i meant BEAU when i said bebe hahahaha no idea why i wrote that!

WOW. Now I''m really showing the blonde! I meant BEBE. I wrote BEBE...

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tired right now.

Waiting to hear back from everyone else!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 9/16/2008 3:22:13 PM
Author: Linda W
LT, I am so glad to read that you are OK. I am sorry though, that your house took such a beating.

Love to you and your family,
Linda

Yes, what she said. Hang in there!

 

[iwannaprettyone]

Glad you are ok. All is well in Dallas.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Glad to see y''all are okay! Has anyone heard from luckystar? I think she was near Houston?

 

[Irishgrrrl]

LT, I''m glad to hear that you''re OK and you have power back! Sorry to hear about your house, though. ((((HUGS))))

 

[luckystar112]

Hey All.

Just wanted to say I''m alive. I''m at work so I can''t browse long. But we are now on day FIVE without power. I''m going INSANE.

No damage to our house, but our fence is pretty much destroyed. It was a scary night for sure.
Gotta go before I get in trouble....but I miss you guys.

Hopefully it won''t be too much longer.

 

[Miranda]

Thank goodness you guys are ok. I''m so sorry about all of the damage you have to deal with.

 

[julesbeth]

Glad to hear you and your family are safe!

 

[kittybean]

Glad you are safe! All you brave Texans are in my prayers.

 

[elle]

LT - Sorry about your home, glad you got your power back though.

Not sure if WF got their power back - only half their zip code is up and running according to Centerpoint''s site. West Houston fared pretty well compared to the other areas. My heart goes out to the Galveston and the surrounding areas - I can''t imagine the stress of not knowing what remains of your home and not being allowed to return.

Got our neighbour, who works for Grainger, to help a friend in Magnolia get a generator - he''s out of power and water and his animals were struggling.

My first and last hurricane - next time I''m not hanging around. For Rita and Gustav, we took off and things were fine. I thought this would be similar breeze - so wrong!

 

[Beth]

My sister's house suffered significant damage and part of the roof fell on my BIL but he is okay. My parents had to overnight some tarps down. I asked to take the kids but she says the airport is closed right now. They have power but are keeping it turned off most of the time because of all the water. They have been hauling insulation and debris out and bought a shop vac to get up some water. All the floors are ruined, the second story is basically gone, including the kids rooms, and all walls and door frames are buckled with water etc. The one room not damaged was her bedroom. I am hoping to bring my nephews to Sydney to stay until we go home at Christmas on our annual trip and return them then, but we shall see.

 

[Courtneylub]

We are STILL without power and there''s no telling when it will be back on. They listed zip codes that would be getting worked on by next week and ours was not listed. They said if your zip wasn''t listed, there''s no way of telling when it will be fixed.

NICE.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

LT, I''m so incredibly sorry that your house took a hit - I was hoping most everyone I knew would come out with just cosmetic damage. Prayers are outgoing, and we''re just so glad to see you posting again!

My in-laws live in Pasadena, and the house was fine, but the neighbour''s tree fell on all THREE of their cars.

 

[LuckyTexan]

I want to thank everyone for their well wishes, and prayers and thoughts. My heart is so broken right now. I am trying to stay strong and hold my head high and not think about it, because I don''t want to sound like a whiney butt, because, as others have stated it is SO MUCH WORSE for other people.
The devastation, and damage here is overwhelming. It is so hard to just watch the news without crying. I go in my kitchen and start crying. The adjuster called and I started crying.
This is our first home that we have ever owned, and at one point on Friday night I actually just sat on the edge of my bed with my head in my hands and started crying. I didn''t have enough buckets. There wasn''t enough towels. I tried as hard as I could all night long to fight back as mother nature slapped us in the face.
We will be displaced while they repair our house. I haven''t even had the heart to go into the attic because I know there is a hole in my roof and I just don''t think I can look at any more damage.

I keep hearing that there are people STILL without power and I just want to scream. I know they are doing everything they can. Crews from all over the country and even CANADA are here working AROUND the clock to help. This whole situation is so overwhelming.

Again, thank you to EVERYONE out there... in PS and the rest of the USA... who many never see this, but I want to say it. THANK YOU.

Every day that I see more people coming together to help the people that are still without power... because I can''t really do anything... it makes it a little easier!

I am really starting to worry about Bebe now. She''s still not posted at all.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. I''m not seeking sympathy... I just needed to get this emotion out of me without adding MORE stress to what''s going on with my husband! * His office building was UPSIDE DOWN when he went in to work Monday... and they have been working nearly non stop to insure the safety of all the jobsites around Houston. We have a long road of rebuilding ahead of us here.

 

[Lexie]

Well.. I''m currently at Panera Bread and taking advantage of their free Wi-Fi and a chance to recharge my laptop battery. Figured I''d check in as well

I''m sure glad that the hurricane is over, as it was somewhat terrifying

But the aftermath has been very.. bleh

My family is alive and well, thank goodness, but our house did sustain some damage. The worst thing that happened was that a tree in our backyard uprooted and partially fell on our house, which ended up damaging the roof as well as some of the exterior of the house (ie: gutters, fascia, siding). We''re currenly waiting on an estimate on how much it''ll cost to get everything fixed.

We still don''t have any power, and according to Centerpoint, my zip code''s expected restoratation date extends beyond Monday, September 22

My job is also doing a great job at keeping me pretty peeved. The company that I work for has a lot of restaurants that are not currently operational (ie: some in Galveston, Kemah, and others in the Houston area that don''t currently have power); therefore, some of the displaced salaried employees are currently working at my restaurant, which reopened on Sunday night. Corporate decided that it was in their best interest to utilize them as much as humanly possible, and to screw some of the hourly employees over (particularly the hostesses), which is not making me a happy camper

I mean, I need to make a living as well, and I had already lost out on a couple of shifts because we were closed on Friday and Saturday due to Ike. I can''t afford this "extended vacation"

Other than that, life is peachy! My boyfriend and I have been very lucky in being able to obtain ice and gas fairly easily, which makes survival less difficult. It also has been nice to see people helping each other out in times of need.

All in all, I just can''t wait for things to get back to some sense of normalcy. I''m tired of feeling overwhelmed and depressed..

Anyways, sorry for the vent and the self-pity. My heart truly goes out to those who are suffering way worse than I am and are going through a lot worse devastation. I''ll count myself lucky that I get to currently enjoy the A/C here and will relish the fact that I''m actually freezing. It''s kind of nice being this cold

 

[luckystar112]

I JUST GOT MY POWER BACK!! WHOOO HOOO!!!!

8 DAYS OF H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS!

 

[LuckyTexan]

Date: 9/20/2008 4:36:31 PM
Author: luckystar112
I JUST GOT MY POWER BACK!! WHOOO HOOO!!!!

8 DAYS OF H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS!

OMG! YAY!!!! So glad to see y''all made it!!!

 

[Lexie]

I got my power back as well!

That occurred on Thursday night, and my Comcast services (phone, internet, and cable) resumed today

As far as my job is concerned though, I am "not needed until further notice"

I have no intention of merely sitting pretty and waiting for their call, so I guess I''m going to file for unemployment, and maybe I''ll be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Aid?

If anyone has any experience with any of the aforementioned processes, or any sort of advice, I''d be most appreciative! It all seems rather daunting..

 

[LuckyTexan]

Date: 9/20/2008 5:12:07 PM
Author: Lexie
I got my power back as well!

That occurred on Thursday night, and my Comcast services (phone, internet, and cable) resumed today

As far as my job is concerned though, I am ''not needed until further notice''

I have no intention of merely sitting pretty and waiting for their call, so I guess I''m going to file for unemployment, and maybe I''ll be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Aid?

If anyone has any experience with any of the aforementioned processes, or any sort of advice, I''d be most appreciative! It all seems rather daunting..

YAY for power and comm''s!!!
I''m so sorry about your job! You should totally apply for assistance! Go to www.myfoxhoustonlive.com and ask for info in the live chat there.... the moderators have set up a blog that has all the numbers and contacts listed for everything!
I know a lot of people in the hourly wage arena are without work right now. This whole thing is just horrible. Don''t try to go it alone! You are a taxpayer! Get help!

 

[bebe]

Very Lucky Texan here...
We drove up to College Station to stay with friends. Tired of the dark and using lanterns to do everything. And it''s getting hot.
We had our yard cleaned, did what we could with our pool, took tons of spoiled food out of refrig and freezer. (uck) We have no electricity,
got phones back on Friday. Of course, it will be weeks before we cable and internet. For those in HOuston, I live in Kingwood, we got hit pretty hard by the back side
of the storm. We are being told it will be late this coming week before we get power restored. After what I have seen around the area,
I doubt it. There is SO much work to do.

We drove home to Houston from NYC. Left NYC Sunday afternoon and drove into our driveway at midnight Tuesday night.

Oh my gosh.!! Trees down, limbs everywhere. On first glance our house looked ok, but the next morning we saw damage
on a dormer window on our roof that the metal cladding had been peeled back. We had damage inside, but not too bad. But
enough to require sheetrock work. An Oriental rug at my entry was wet, a $6,000. rug at that, scary. My wood floors are buckling up at the
front door and french doors across the front of our house. I''m sure we will find more as time goes on. We are getting a generator so we can
go home and have some of the luxuries of home, maybe a fan, a few lights.

The stories coming out of the Gulf Coast are heartbreaking. I know God was looking after us. We are so lucky to have a house still standing.

 

[loriken214]

We live in Katy and our power went out before the storm really started blowing....6 pm Friday night. It got hot inside the house really quick. I was in the back bedroom with our cat and DH was in the middle bedroom. Our two dogs were in the kitchen. Things kept hitting the house and I knew the roof was going to go. The first part of the storm was all wind....very strong hitting the front of the house. Then all of a sudden the wind changed direction and the rain started. The house was moving and creaking. We''re 85 miles from Galveston so I could only imagine what they were going through!

Anyway, we ended up losing part of our roof and got a leak that showed up in one of our bathrooms. We haven''t looked in the attic, either. It has already started to mold. We lost part of our wooden fence and a large tree in the backyard. We are VERY blessed! Our power came back on Tuesday evening. It was miserable during the heat and I will never take AC for granted again!

My DH''s Store was a disaster and they have been cleaning up and ordering new plants/supplies to repair the garden area. They are located on Dairy Ashford near I-10.

My Grandmother and Dad live near Hobby Airport and still do not have power. Their zip code hasn''t been mentioned and there is no telling when they will have power again. They are doing well, though.

My late parents'' (Mom and Stepfather) house, in Spring Branch, did really well, too, but they won''t get power for a while, either. This is the house that we rode Hurricane Alicia out in back in 1983.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all!

Lori

 

[Beth]

*

 

[LuckyTexan]

Date: 9/20/2008 11:01:11 PM
Author: bebe
Very Lucky Texan here...
We drove up to College Station to stay with friends. Tired of the dark and using lanterns to do everything. And it''s getting hot.
We had our yard cleaned, did what we could with our pool, took tons of spoiled food out of refrig and freezer. (uck) We have no electricity,
got phones back on Friday. Of course, it will be weeks before we cable and internet. For those in HOuston, I live in Kingwood, we got hit pretty hard by the back side
of the storm. We are being told it will be late this coming week before we get power restored. After what I have seen around the area,
I doubt it. There is SO much work to do.

We drove home to Houston from NYC. Left NYC Sunday afternoon and drove into our driveway at midnight Tuesday night.

Oh my gosh.!! Trees down, limbs everywhere. On first glance our house looked ok, but the next morning we saw damage
on a dormer window on our roof that the metal cladding had been peeled back. We had damage inside, but not too bad. But
enough to require sheetrock work. An Oriental rug at my entry was wet, a $6,000. rug at that, scary. My wood floors are buckling up at the
front door and french doors across the front of our house. I''m sure we will find more as time goes on. We are getting a generator so we can
go home and have some of the luxuries of home, maybe a fan, a few lights.

The stories coming out of the Gulf Coast are heartbreaking. I know God was looking after us. We are so lucky to have a house still standing.

THERE SHE IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
************SIGH**************************

So glad to hear from you woman!

I have stuff peeled back on my house too... isn''t that the stangest looking thing? The fascia? on my roof eves... is like... every seam popped... I took a bunch of pictures to record if it''s getting worse as the days go by... because our insurance adjuster still hasn''t come. There are houses that are unlivable that they have to move people out of first... any word from yours? Will you have to move out?

 

[LuckyTexan]

Date: 9/22/2008 6:51:40 AM
Author: loriken214
We live in Katy and our power went out before the storm really started blowing....6 pm Friday night. It got hot inside the house really quick. I was in the back bedroom with our cat and DH was in the middle bedroom. Our two dogs were in the kitchen. Things kept hitting the house and I knew the roof was going to go. The first part of the storm was all wind....very strong hitting the front of the house. Then all of a sudden the wind changed direction and the rain started. The house was moving and creaking. We''re 85 miles from Galveston so I could only imagine what they were going through!

Anyway, we ended up losing part of our roof and got a leak that showed up in one of our bathrooms. We haven''t looked in the attic, either. It has already started to mold. We lost part of our wooden fence and a large tree in the backyard. We are VERY blessed! Our power came back on Tuesday evening. It was miserable during the heat and I will never take AC for granted again!

My DH''s Store was a disaster and they have been cleaning up and ordering new plants/supplies to repair the garden area. They are located on Dairy Ashford near I-10.

My Grandmother and Dad live near Hobby Airport and still do not have power. Their zip code hasn''t been mentioned and there is no telling when they will have power again. They are doing well, though.

My late parents'' (Mom and Stepfather) house, in Spring Branch, did really well, too, but they won''t get power for a while, either. This is the house that we rode Hurricane Alicia out in back in 1983.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all!

Lori

Glad to hear you came out with minimal damage too! I saw on the news that they were letting people back onto high island and parts of Galveston... but only if your house was in the database of houses that were still standing. Could you imagine finding out like that? SO SAD.

Have you had anything fixed yet? The mold issue is on my mind... part of my roof is gone too... and the leaks cracks are getting bigger everyday and they are over my living room and the vaulted ceiling above my entry/stairs area... they need to get more people down here!!!