Category: driving

The day on which we watched Tornado activity ALL DAY


We were scheduled to chaperon Brit’s band to UNO for a band competition. We were a little on edge because the National Weather Service had said we’d have bad weather which could likely lead to tornados. It’s amazing that we can find out what time the weather is going to become really bad. As luck would have it, it would be within the hour after we were due to return to the school to drop the kids off after the concert.

On the way to school from the concert, it was POURING rain. The streets are slightly slanted to dump excess water into the gutters at the side of the road. Our bus driver was driving in that lane. Quietly, I was a little panicked. Ian asked me what was wrong. I said, “We shouldn’t be in this lane. It is full of water….” and then I went on to watching the rain pour down.

Eventually, he decided to change lanes. So much for the anticipated school bus hydroplaning. We did get home safely. Everyone thanked the bus driver for getting us home without incident.

We got food from Burger King by our house and went home to plant ourselves on the couch to watch The Weather Channel.   For hours.

All through the afternoon, tornadoes were being spotted over Oklahoma and Kansas.     We were waiting for our turn, but hoping not to have one, because really, I am a wimp when it comes to tornadoes.    We had a bag packed for our trip to the basement.   We had a plan for grabbing Brit, the dogs, the parrot and bringing along some food and water and at least a change of clothes for Brit.

I think we were a bit more vigilant because the weather people have started using stronger, more emotional wording, like, “You could be killed if you don’t get underground immediately!”.   This is mostly for people who have become numb to the tornado sirens.    I am not one of those people.    I am the one checking the Internet to see what is happening and what time I should be underground.   Of course, by the time we hear sirens, the answer is, “Right Now.”

We have a new weather radio.    We thought it wasn’t working, because it didn’t report the Tornado Watch. Then we heard a really ginormous BEEEEP! and it was warning us of thunderstorms.  Good enough, I guess.

Around 10:30, we decided to go to bed.   Couldn’t sleep.   Warnings going on everywhere and tornados landing all over KS (which borders Nebraska to the South).   Not good.   Some people didn’t have a siren to warn them.   Also did not make for a good sleeping situation.

Around 12:30, I was awakened by BEEEEP!, which was all about a thunderstorm watch.   I heard the rain pelting the window.   I couldn’t sleep again, so I grabbed my laptop and went to look out the patio window.   The lightening was constant.   It was an amazing light show, really, with the added symphony of thunder, wind and heavy rain.

This is probably the video of the night, by the way (or the early morning, as the case may be).   Watch it carefully.   This is what a tornado looks like in the night:   http://twitpic.com/99zq54

Around 2:30am, I went back to bed, being reasonably sure there was not going to be a tornado to surprise us in the night.   I hadn’t seen much from Jim Cantore on Twitter in awhile, so I decided it was probably alright to go to sleep now.   I was comfortable knowing I was not going to wake up to my roof being carried away, like some did.

121 tornados were spotted in OK, KS, NE and IA overnight.  At least.

Weather. It’s Hot.

For the last two days it’s been 100F (that’s about 38c) where we live.   Today, it’s in the upper 80’s.   I cannot tell the difference.   All I can say is, “Thank goodness for air conditioning”.    If we lived in the UK right now, or many other places,  I would probably be dead by now.  From the heat.

According to the weather service, it’s been AGES since it’s been 100F in June.

I wonder what July and August will be like, really.

I was just out at the pool with Brit, and our neighbor said that her neighbor on the first level got a bill for $220 some-odd for air conditioning this month.  I’m not sure how she managed that.  We have our thermostat set around 74F,  and ours was in the mid-70’s.

I was a bit worried about what the bill would be.  We’re on the top floor with no insulating apartments around us.. sun beating down all day.   Of course, in July when it’s probably going to be 425F, it may be a bit more.   🙂  Ok, maybe just 110F.

Winter Wonderland

We’re being buried in around a foot of snow.  Schools were called off last night in anticipation of a blizzard.    Today, some banks are even closed.  How often does that happen?  (not often)

Nebraska normally doesn’t stop very long for things like this.  We have loads of snow plows to clear the streets, and our drivers are pretty much used to this stuff.  

TLK’s been outside, all bundled up, playing in the snow with her sled and her friends.   It’s not good sledding weather, though, despite the snow.  The snow isn’t packed down yet, so she’ll need to give it a day or two.

Tomorrow and Thursday are going to be frigid.  The low one day will be in the negatives.   I always say that after the temps hit a certain low, you don’t really feel the difference if it gets colder.

Welcome to winter!

I remember when I thought 81F was hot.

Welcome to Nebraska, land of the 110F heat factor, after adjusting the actual temperature, due to humidity, to describe the temperature it “feels like”.

Since we have air conditioning here, wearing glasses in high humidity heat can be interesting.   Due to the extreme temperature difference between inside and out, glasses need a few moments to become foggy and clear up before becoming that appliance that’s supposed to be helping you see.

Interestingly enough, the College World Series is happening this week; the hottest week of the year, so far.   The news reports that everday, one or two people are carried out on stretchers due to heat exhaustion.    You have to admire that sort of dedication to baseball.

I happened to catch on the news that the CWS represents $60 some-odd million in revenue for the city.   We’ve hosted the CWS for years and years.   We’re even considering building a new stadium, although I don’t see what is so wrong with the old one.

We’re in for another toasty day!

Odd Dream


I had a dream that I was in some airport, catching a flight with my daughter to see Ian.    I forgot to print off my boarding pass, so at the last minute, I went to the counter to have it printed.   In the back of my head, I was thinking “I hope the seats aren’t all assigned already!”

Starting to panic, I attempted to speak to the counter girl.  She decided it was humour day and I just wasn’t getting it.    She finally saw that I was humour-free and actually had a mission to complete in a very short amount of time, so she shifted me off to a counter across the room.    Everyone seemed busy helping other customers.    It was finally my turn to speak to someone.

He thought he was funny, too.   I indicated that my flight was about to leave and I needed a boarding pass, and one to board my flight in Chicago, too.   As he handed me a boarding pass for the flight to Chicago, he wrote down the name of some car rental company and handed it to me (it’s because dreams don’t need to make sense, I guess) as a resource for getting my boarding passes onward from Chicago.

I looked forever for my black luggage so I could wheel it to the gate (because who needs baggage check-in, eh?)    I finally found the luggage, which I remembered putting in a particular spot as I was speaking to my grandfather (who passed on years ago, but was seeing me off at the airport).

So, collected my bags, corralled my daughter and proceeded to the gate.

Oh crap!   I forgot to get her boarding pass.    I’ll just plead totally daft at the gate…. where they ended up just letting her on the plane without question.

I’m sure this all means something.   LOL

Happy Easter, people!

Bumper Cars

Friday, I left work for a late lunch, so I could go to TLK’s Halloween parade at school.     I got into an accident, through no fault of my own, and never made it to the parade.   Plus, my car was towed to a collision repair shop.

It was a mess.   An elderly man ran a red light.  He hardly spoke any English.   A woman in another car he hit went to the hospital with heart issues.

The fire brigade washed away the radiator fluid leaking from the man’s car.   The tow truck man got into my car and ducked away from the steering wheel, fearing the airbag would deploy (I suspect the airbag is not working).

The police officers were professional and knew what they were doing.   They suffered through my silly questions and general shakiness over having been hit.

So here is this:

 

My car is the gray one without the bumper.    Also, one of my tires is ruined, and God knows what else.

I’m not sure what the mph at impact was.   I believe this road is 40 mph, and the man in the brown car ran a red light.   His impact with me was somewhat reduced by that white car, which was actually not even travelling in that direction at the point of impact.

The good thing is that this was not my fault.  There were 15 witnesses who all stopped and talked with the police.   I wasn’t injured, and TLK wasn’t in the car, of course (she was at the parade. )   Also, I have car rental, courtesy of the elderly man’s insurance.   

I was walking to the collision shop talking to Ian when the tow truck driver stopped by to pick me up.   Frankly, I was ready to walk instead of drive at that point, but it would’ve been a longer walk than I thought.

It’s a good idea to stop at yellow lights.

Thunderage

We’re having inclement weather.   First, there was a tornado watch.   Then, thunderstorms.   I wanted to go to bed (see how far I made it?), but I like to let the dogs out first.    I could not find Molly (the schnauzer) to save my life.  

Whenever I can’t find Molly, it has to dawn on me that there must be thunder going on.   She’s terrified of it.

I finally found her under the couch.   There is a crawl space underneath, just barely big enough for her.    I had to MOVE the couch to get her to come out, after several mentions of “cookies” and just asking nicely.. not doing the trick.

I had to actually GO outside, walk down the stairs and into the backyard to get them to do anything valuable, like PEE.    

At least it wasn’t pouring rain at the time.

The air is so thick outside, you could cut it with a knife.    It’s just one of the many weather pleasures in Nebraska.   $10 says it’s cool in the morning and very low humidity.   Hence the tornado warnings.

Defensive Driving Take-Away

Ok, here are some highlights from my 8 hour class today.  I did take away some valuable information. 

Can I just say that the defensive driving parking lot can be a very dangerous place?  I mean, recent traffic ticket recipients all in one place?   It’s a little terrifying, to be honest.  🙂

Now for the important stuff.  Seriously.  You should listen to this:

  1. Wear your seatbelt.   Your seatbelt allows you, in a crash situation, to stop with the car instead of being jettisoned OUT of the car.   Three out of FOUR people who fly out of their vehicle during a crash will die.   I saw video of several people actually having done this.  It was not pretty.
  2. You can slow down for  pretty little animals in the road, but braking hard or swerving to save their life is not a good plan.  Well, except deer, who can total your car (and you).
  3. There is a three-second following rule behind any vehicle being followed.  However, that is only a rule for perfect days with no inclimate weather.   If there is rain, snow (etc), sun coming up, fatigue, stress, a large vehicle involved… add a second for EACH situation.     For example, I might always require 5 seconds.   Since I AM a vampire and I do not sleep.   🙂
  4. Don’t let your passengers, cell phone, iPod, CD player, air conditioner or heater, food, applying makeup or shaving (or anything similar) let you take your eye off the road for even one second.   One second is all it takes.   Trust me on this.
  5. When confronted with a head-on collision, it’s good to avoid that.   Head-on collisions are quite dangerous.   It is better to broadside a tree, rather than hit a car head-on.   So, faced with that situation, take a quick *read* of the road (determine the obstacles),  *remain on the right* side of the road (only applies in countries where you drive on the right-hand side of the road, by the way), *ride off the road*.. to the right (same rule as before), even if you have to drive in the grass or broadside a tree or pole.    Do not hit a tree or pole head-on… you’ve just essentially created your own head-on collision.   Try to avoid pedestrians at all cost.
  6. When taking a long drive, switch drivers, if possible, every 2 hours to avoid fatigue.  I saw an accident where a woman fell asleep at the wheel.   She rolled her SUV (her family inside) twice.   She was hospitalized with a swollen spinal cord.   She recovered (and her family was perfectly fine), but couldn’t bear to drive for 2 years.
  7. Don’t get ticked off at other drivers.  Think of them as someone’s FAMILY or FRIEND, who would be missed by someone if you ran them over and caused their death.

It wasn’t pretty.   On the roll-over video with the kid in the car (and they showed it twice, thank you!), I nearly burst into tears.  Anything like that with kids inside scares the hell out of me.   I guess I should always think of every car with a kid inside.

So that’s it.  One traffic ticket wiped off the face of the earth.    Lots of valuable information taken away.

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