A Bad Day…..

[bradipa]

@Florida Guy ? You ok?

 

[Florida Guy]

Hello my friends, I am back with another episode of adventures in tropical paradise. It seemed the phone quit, internet still out and no power 5 days

I was able to get to a used car place and get a replacement, old car is kaput from flood. I doubt Ins will pay, no collision no theft but we will see.

I wanted to rest up and get over the crash but almost every day I had to go looking for a phone food or a car. Everything closed finally found a phone so I’m happy at the luck. House is little drier but carpet damp and smells. I’m looking for a hotel but they are 350 a night and up

The second ‘cane was worse but no flood. Trees were down and branches everywhere. No communications until today

Groucho Marx made a joke made me laugh. “If adversity makes character, I must be quite a character” lol

 

[southwestforests]

Groucho Marx made a joke made me laugh. “If adversity makes character, I must be quite a character” lol

By now your character alone is probably worth 400 dollars a night, they should be paying you to bless them with the presence of your character.

Dang, sorry you are having to have all these hassles.

 

[bradipa]

Hello my friends, I am back with another episode of adventures in tropical paradise. It seemed the phone quit, internet still out and no power 5 days

I was able to get to a used car place and get a replacement, old car is kaput from flood. I doubt Ins will pay, no collision no theft but we will see.

I wanted to rest up and get over the crash but almost every day I had to go looking for a phone food or a car. Everything closed finally found a phone so I’m happy at the luck. House is little drier but carpet damp and smells. I’m looking for a hotel but they are 350 a night and up

The second ‘cane was worse but no flood. Trees were down and branches everywhere. No communications until today

Groucho Marx made a joke made me laugh. “If adversity makes character, I must be quite a character” lol

Hey @Florida Guy ! I'm relieved to have some news from you!

Good thing you got the car and the phone. I'm impressed by how you handle the situation. I hope you can rest now.

Still sending out good thoughts.

Someone should come and throw that damp carpet out for you.

 

[Florida Guy]

The big storm sept 27 ravaged the west coast. Storm surge predicted 5 - 8’ my area but it was more. 15 to 20’ was predicted other places. Lots of people are worse off than me

To eat I fix something at store or get what needs no cooking and eat it fast. I lost at least 22 lbs but that is good news

The mental part is hardest. It’s so easy to think of bad things and let emotion take over but that never helps. What helps is assume no plan will work and if it does, GREAT. If 8 out of10 fails then it’s normal and try the next plan.

I just hope mainly to get over the crash and that it didn’t knock me down a half level or more. I need a place for a month or more. I have a contact and with some luck I will have it in a few days. But counting on luck rarely works

Thanks for the encouragement

 

[southwestforests]

I have a contact and with some luck I will have it in a few days. But counting on luck rarely works

With any luck, maybe this time that luck will work out.
And, you are still here, and that's important.

 

[Mary]

The mental part is hardest. It’s so easy to think of bad things and let emotion take over but that never helps. What helps is assume no plan will work and if it does, GREAT. If 8 out of10 fails then it’s normal and try the next plan.

I think that's a great strategy! It could even be applied to ME/CFS! Seriously, glad to hear from you and will keep my fingers crossed for you! And keep us posted as you are able --

 

[Florida Guy]

Good news power is back after 8 days without. Not only that but geico says they will pay the claim, I can use it everything is expensive. Whenever there is a disaster the scammers come and prices shoot up

Haven’t got power at place I’m going yet or water but I’m going to be out of here soon. It’s so nice to have a fridge and be able to cook and charge the phone without going somewhere and waiting

Driving in st Pete now is interesting. Many traffic lights are dark so we take turns. I saw traffic backed up for 9 blocks one place. Side roads may have a tree across it, many piles of branches and cut up trees side of road

I was told the last time we got flooded was 1928 so a 1 in 100 year flood then a second huge storm days later. Milton was the strongest in decades right after the flood. I had some property damage but not major. I bet you don’t get two monsters like that back to back but once a 1000 years

I’m a little better now but still brain fog and fatigue. If I do some thing for a few minutes I rest a while and can go again

 

[Florida Guy]

The weirdness never stops. I go out and see an intersection light is out, people going north and south without stopping. What if someone comes from east or west there will be a collision. It’s like playing chicken. Places are still boarded up some of them

My washer and dryer quit working suddenly but they worked fine after the flood. I can see the car getting flooded but things quit that never had a drop of water on them like the computer monitor the phone, the microwave got wonky yesterday but today it works

I’m trying to remain calm, I know things will be back to normal one day perhaps in a couple months. My big concern is my condition seems to be getting worse, constant fatigue no energy and brain seems half fried. I hope to get over this crash but it may be the new normal after all the stress and work I have to do.

I will rest this weekend and see if I get any better

 

[southwestforests]

My big concern is my condition seems to be getting worse, constant fatigue no energy and brain seems half fried.

With any luck that could be a short term response to the stress of the hurricane event and effects.

 

[bradipa]

Hi @Florida Guy , thank you for keeping us posted.

Your life is still so far away from normal, your brain and body probably are still in acute emergency mode. For that, you are keeping up great, I think. You still manage to post here once in a while, and your posts are consistent and show you assess your situation very accurately and you act consequently. You rest when you can.

You don't know what the future brings. It seems to me best you can do for now is stay in the moment, acknowledge your dark thoughts and emotions but cultivate the good ones, and keep taking good care for yourself.

I wish I could send someone over to help you resolve all these practical problems so you could just rest.

The weirdness never stops. I go out and see an intersection light is out, people going north and south without stopping. What if someone comes from east or west there will be a collision. It’s like playing chicken

In the face of the weirdness of human decisions and their consequences, I sometimes like to think I am in a dystopic movie...

Still sending you good thoughts

 

[Florida Guy]

@southwestforests I think you are right. I rested sat and some rest Sunday and feel a bit better. Not as many body aches and I remembered a code number without writing it down. Shows the fog is easing some.

@bradipa yes I no longer think I must get things done before rot sets in, the carpet is dry now and I can take my time. I had someone come in last week and we got a lot done

It’s still chaos but it’s the new normal. I’m trying to replace what the storm took and more things break down. The washer dryer which worked fine after flood quit. Yesterday the ac acted wonky, sometimes it works and sometimes not, will the fridge go out next? It’s like the storm put a curse on everything

 

[bradipa]

@Florida Guy , how are things with you?

 

[Florida Guy]

@bradipa I'm better but still a bit of fog and not a lot of energy but less fatigue. My assistant does all the work, puts my stuff by the curb. Everyone in my area seems to be doing the same. Furniture, matresses, rugs, etc by the curb along with logs, branches and so on. In a couple months it should be done and new carpet. Maybe by xmas.

The entire west coast of the state is a disaster area. I heard from a witness that houses on the gulf coast were heavily damaged and some slid into the sea. When thousands need help everyone has to wait a long time. Metal scrappers come by every day but the city or county, not yet. They help the hardest hit first. The other day I saw a school bus zoom through one of those intersections where the light was out.

Geico sent a very nice check for the car, much more than I expected. They are great on payouts.

I've lived here 39 years and going through my stuff I found things I didn't know I had, stuff from years ago. I found a check I forgot to cash. Books I've read but have sat on a shelf for decades and no plans to reread, toss em out. Things I havent used in years, tossed out. Of course things ruined by storm go out

I plan to move but not right away. Getting rid of and sorting my junk will make it easier when I do move and the city will eventually haul it away

Power went out again the other day, came back next day. This chit is getting old. Its the most traumatic period I can recall and more to do. At least its down to a routine now

 

[Zebra]

Hey @Florida Guy

I appreciate the update. It seems like the news coverage of the disaster only lasted for a week or so, and then folks forget that their fellow Americans are still struggling. Thank you for letting us know how you are doing!

 

[bradipa]

Glad to read you're a bit better, @Florida Guy. It's a good thing you have somebody to do the hard work for you, and the money for the car is useful too.

It sounds like a good idea to me to kind of use the opportunity to toss things out you don't need any more, "while you're at it", so your luggage will be light later on. I'm guessing going through all that old stuff is emotionally demanding, too, though? It would be for me. And with all the things that are going on around you... Please take your time and keep pacing.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for a nice new carpet for Christmas. Good thoughts and energy

 

[Florida Guy]

@Zebra yes the news is very shallow and does not focus on important things. For example the train derailment in ohio that spilled so many toxic chemicals a year or two ago. Its still a toxic mess but the news moved on a long time ago, ignoring the problem

@bradipa yes I have to eliminate so many things to get down to the carpet. I've been kind of a hoarder and have a lot of useless stuff. It is hard to throw some of it away, because of memories.

Hope is the enemy of happiness. When you hope for things you put emotion into it and when plans don't work out, the hopes you built up come crashing down. If you don't expect or wish for a certain outcome and it fails, there is no hurt you just move on.

For example, the power company swore up and down all power would be restored on a certain tuesday. I said "maybe" so when the day came and no power, I just shrugged it off. Next day came power and it was a nice surprise

 

[Florida Guy]

My assistant fizzled out, said his car broke down. The new guy started wednesday and will be back tomorrow. In case people are wondering how I keep finding helpers, I pay well and advertise. I hate asking favors and am never sure when I can pay it back. I can imagine calling someone up it might go like this "hi bob would you like to come over and do some hard labor for a few hours? and if you could come for a couple months that would be great, all as a favor. What do you say?........ hello?..... hello?...... I think we got cut off"

I went into one of the harder hit areas. Everything east of me got deeper floods. Where we have piles of junk by the curb, they have mountains of junk. I saw one house had stacks of drywall 5 or 6" tall, stacks of old boards, other material and it was all over their driveway and part of the lawn to the street. They must have taken out all the drywall, all the interior walls, probably the floor, maybe the ceiling too and all rugs, furniture. It must be just a shell now. That costs serious money to fix.

The city is nowhere to be seen picking up debris. They are quick as hell demanding taxes, fees, do this do that but when its time to help the public, they have other things to do.

I may be finally over the crash, I felt better today and yesterday. Not a huge amount of energy but the flu like feeling or trace of nausea seems gone. I get pem in the legs just from walking around the house but its getting better. I'm not sure yet if I got back to the same level, time will tell. Less fog and better memory but still not great. One of these new medicines or a different diet might improve me.

People got flooded just from rain and wind. My barber had to close for 3 weeks, his shop is all messed up. Traffic is heavy, are tourists still coming? Is disaster tourism a thing? The place looks like a third world country right now. On a national level, things have improved considerably

 

[bradipa]

I'm glad to hear you're getting out of the crash.