"Armageddon" Cont'd

I have to laugh at that title, "Armageddon". This was the front page headline for a newspaper in Albequerque New Mexico. A friend of my grandmothers who lives there called this morning and was in absolute tears because she thought San Diego was going up in flames.

Well, it really is. However, most people are surviving it just fine.

I got the reverse 911 phone call last night around 9:30pm. This means our emergency services system notifies us that evacuation is Mandatory. I grabbed my two cats (had a titanic fight to get them in the box). Left with my CPU, cat food, favorite pictures and a few blankets and important papers - that's it. I believe my condo is fine right now. Don't know how quickly these winds will shift. Nasty businessness these wild fires.

I had a nice lovely panic attack last night. At least this one had a reason for being. I was able to calm myself down by distracting myself from the situation (I'm staying at my grandmothers right now and her toilet was out of order. I managed to fix it - seriously. The little things like that help get your mind off the main situation). I did some breathing exercises and cognitive reassurance. Seemed to work. I was able to finally go to sleep.

A main concern of mine yesterday was the appointment I had to take the GMAT. Figures the world would be falling apart around me when I needed to concentrate. Believe it or not, I actually attending the testing. I called the testing facility sure they would be cancelling all tests for that day but nooooooo. The main office, located somewhere on the east coast, didn't really grasp the gravity of the situation and became very difficult when I asked to reschedule without being charged a fee. After a few minutes of fruitless argument, I finally said I'd go.

Surprise! I did not do well at all. Oh well, at least it's done. Let's hope I can get in with my less than stellar scores.

Today is warm already - 10:30am and almost 80 degrees. Smoke is in the air but where I am, I can see clear blue sky above me. Dirty ash is covering everything outside. Yuck. I'm holding my breath for my office building because a branch of the fire is heading right for it.

This whole experience is unreal. Apparently, the scale of disruption is about the same as Hurricane Katrina. I can tell you there are over 1,000 homes completely destroyed. It's so very sad. However, I can also tell you the city of San Diego, San Diego County, the American Red Cross, the State of California (headed by our Governator - Arnold Swartzenegger) and the National Guard are kicking some serious butt with this thing! The fire may be out of control, but the coordination and teamwork involved in getting evacuation centers set up, emergency services set up, food and water supplies made available, and just moving traffic and people in general is astounding. The Feds, behind the eight ball as usual, just today decided to send in aid and help. I'm sure there is a process they follow but I have to admit, I wasn't too impressed with their response to Katrina. Anyway, any help we can get is welcome.

Hopefully, I won't have to evacuate again. I'll keep any faithful readers posted. Ironically, right now, I'm too busy with this fire to be depressed!

Boo