Hurricane IKE

I can be a pragmatist and say that this is just another hurricane, what happens will happen, no matter what. I can be a philosopher and say, the world is giving back to us, whatever nature of treatment it got from us. I just chose to run.

All the hype and hooplah surrounding Gustav came to an end, rather disappointingly, and I happened to see the news one day at the gym. Weird as it looked, IKE, a new hurricane [H for Hanna died in the waters] was on its way to the US mainland. Time progressed, the experienced and the learned didn't really follow the news, for what Gustav played with our minds.

Ike turned out to be slightly major in all aspects. It dangerously went close to Haiti and Dominican Republic being a Category 5 hurricane. It was headed toward the US coast, the questions were only how it would sway and how big it'd be before hitting. The Gulf of Mexico, trust me, is very flummoxing. 

Ike entered the gulf, and blew up like a huge balloon, covering up around 80% of the gulf! It had a diameter of some 850 km. Pretty small huh? ;)

We were told a day in advance to vacate the city. Like we did the previous time, we thought we'd abide by the college's decision, as we didn't repent much for the fun we'd the previous time :D. The day of registering, we find out that the college had limited seats on the buses, more so, coz around 1 million people were evacuating this time. Quite understandable. That literally left us stranded there, with nowhere to go. Luckily for us, Moraiah asked us if it'd be fine for us to jump in the back of her truck, and follow the college buses. Accommodation wasn't a problem to wherever we were going you see.

Nacogdoches, TX. {Pronounced 'nacadoshes'} The destination for this evacuation. Stephen F Austin State University, some 200 odd km from Beaumont. Took us exactly the stipulated 2 hours, 40 odd minutes. I sat in the back of the truck. Nice fun. With Moraiah speeding up to as much as 90 mph, my hair could have put Markand Deshpande (of yun hi chala fame) to shame. Apart from that, my hair managed to get quite a few 'impressive' looks from people of all ages. It was more fun now :).

This place was ok, food as usual sucked for me. B-L-A-N-D and unhealthy. Nacogdoches is apparently the oldest town in TX. It looked so. A lot of people here and there, unlike Beaumont. No wifi, no cots, no blankets let us quite a little discomforted in the place. 2 days in SFA, we saw on TV how bad Ike had grown upto. Texas was barely visible! Houston, Galveston, Surfside beach were under super threats. Toward the evening, Galveston was pounded miserably. By night, it finished its purpose. The videos looked scary! The next day in Nacogdoches was interesting. I was almost displaced by the wind and rain - here, a place around 250 km from the coast! It almost blew me off!!

Our college was a little damaged. No power and water in the whole city of Beaumont and parts of Houston, IAH was grounded. The power company put an estimate of 2 weeks or more for total restoration. The unbearable cold at the basketball court in which we slept, that tasty food, limited clothing, no laundry. Sounded quite a lot of trouble to me. Under such situations, at such places especially.

My cousin and I decided that I go to her place, at Phoenix, a 2 hour journey by flight. Hurdles? How do I get to the nearest airport at Dallas? Greyhound - the bus service that takes you between cities. To my dismay, there was one greyhound from Nacogdoches to Dallas, and had a strong possibility of getting cancelled due to obvious reasons. My cousin found out that it was there, and we decided that I get out of SFA at 3 ish PM. The bus was at 4.30 PM. To get to the bus station, I'd to take a ride. Moraiah :).

After what seemed like a 'lost way' and a long drive through the woods, we found ourselves just ahead of the bus station. Turned back, and finally landed at the bus station ten minutes before the bus left. The guys were loading the luggage. Rushed in, bought a ticket for myself to Dallas, hopped on to the bus, and was off.

It took a whole 4 hours, with one bus change somewhere in between, to arrive at Dallas. The roads, as usual to US, were fantastic, and the bus station in Dallas was right in the centre of downtown. It was a sight to see. Tall buildings, breathtaking lights, wow!! But no people anywhere outside, at 9 PM! The shuttle service i was supposed to take from there to the airport was apparently not there at that time, and the best way to get to the airport was by cab. There was no other way! I'd paid $40 for a 4 hour bus ride, and paid $60 for the cab, to take me to DFW airport, a mere 30 minutes away!

Stayed at the airport overnight, saw a few movies on my laptop, boarded the flight the next morning at 6. Reached Phoenix, finally. It was so much like home there. Food!! Home food!!Temperature, was berable, unlike the harsh AC there! Much relieved to go there, I must say. Laundry, I needn't had to worry about not having underwears ;)

My cousin, her daughter and my brother in law made sure I made the most of my evacuation trip. Went to all types and sizes of malls there, it was a nice exposure for my mind and senses. Outdoor malls, where mist was sprayed coz you couldn't put an AC there! It was nice. Had loads of fun! The school at which their daughter studied, visits here and there. Found out a lot about stuff I didn't have a clue of. The following monday, she dropped me off to ASU. I've to tell, it looked more like a town, than a university. I got lost a couple of times too! It was huge. Had a sneak peek at the dept., spoke to some people, had my lunch that I'd got from home, took a city bus and went to Arizona Mills, a factory outlet kinda thing. Phoenix is very picturesque. Seems pleasant, till you feel the heat :D. Saw a 3D documentary there on whales and sharks, roamed around the place and she picked me up on her way to home. The next morning, I was out of Phoenix.

College was staring on thursday, and it was a wise option to return on the tuesday. Arrived at Houston, at around 2. The guy who picked me up wanted to wait for one more guy who would arrive at 10 PM. We hung around in houston, went to a huge mall called 'Galleria'. By now I was exhausted gaping wide open at how large buildings can be. Galleria, till date remains the largest, I've ever seen. Visited an Armani showroom there. One of the bigger mistakes in life, at this stage. I'm clad in shorts, and enter the showroom with such elan, that I'd to know would be shortlived. The female opposite is clad in a suit. I tell her that I'll check things out myself, saw a blazer for $3,125, and a shirt for $500. Vowing that I'd never enter an Armani showroom again, I stormed out. I mean, not now, not in this stage atleast! Went out to eat to an Indian restaurant there. Went to the downtown, and I forgot all my exhaustion and started gasping and gaping again. The parking lots were so well designed! Sheraton - Hyatt - Hilton were side by side in the downtown :D.

My mouth started paining. Everything in this trip was good to my eyes. Dallas, DFW airport, Phoenix airport, Phoenix, Tempe, (where ASU is), Houston airport, Houston downtown, ARMANI. 

Girogio Armani. I'd dreams about the clothes i saw, the first time ever, and I've just added that to my list after I buy a Lamborghini. Shouldn't the clothes match the car? ;)

Back in beaumont, I found out that the trees outside my house, 3 of them, fell in opposite directions. All fine here now, after an eventful trip. If not for anything, atleast, I travelled alone, which was a lot of fun. I got to know so many things. Lets see where time takes me next.