Well....shit, fuck, damn...sonbitch. I don't think I care to go through that shit again. I just returned home from my weekend at my wonderful, thoughtful, caring and basically fabulous friend's house. Not really a planned get away more like...hey, man, this hurricane is headed this way and I don't want to be alone if my electricity is going to be out and the winds are going to be blowing everything all over the place. So off I went to 'W' house and we spent the Labor Day weekend with each other and our 3 dogs.

Quite the experience. The dogs alone were worth the stay. He has 2 dogs, or should I say one dog and one pillow. Sophia is your typical or atypical beagle. Maybe more like a typical woman. She's demanding, high strung, attention seeking and all around pretty damn cute. Whitman...now he's a different story. He is also pretty damn cute but the fact that we were in the line of a hurricane really didn't seem to phase him. He truly couldn't have cared less. It was more of a thing that it interupted his sleep time that was a problem for him. I should add he is also a beagle. More along the lines of Snoopy but 100 times more mellow.

My dog, Roxie...well...she just wants to play. And if she's not playing then she's trying to get some lovin in any way she can. She has a killer strong nose that she will shove under your arm and push herself in until you pet her. She will get attention, oh yes...she will. And aside from the playing and lovin...she can be a little nervous. And when things just aren't the way they should be she gets just a little high strung...maybe reflective of her mom...hmmmmm.

So there we sat all weekend. 'W', myself, Roxie, Sophia...and Whitman, (well he slept). Thank God the electricity managed to stay on most of the time. We drank beer, wine, water and managed to find some restaurants still willing to brave the weather and be open for our breakfast enjoyment. The winds whipped all around Sunday and the rain seemed never ending. Let me tell ya...dogs do not want to go to the bathroom outside when the weather sucks...and to hell with picking up after them...shit...the wind took care of that. But the killer was Sunday night. I really thought that the worst was over until around 1:30AM. That's when it really decided to "kick it up a knotch". I'd doze off then suddenly the windows were rattling and the rain was pounding. The gusts were major and Roxie, who was sound asleep, was now pacing.

I have to admit...I was a little nervous. The wind was never ending. Just a constant noise and the rain mixed with the windows rattling. I was over the whole damn thing by about 5AM. But it was not done. I was amazed that the electricity stayed on for most of it but finally had had enough around 7AM.

I have to admit, I'm not one for "roughing it". Not even for a few hours. And when you get so used to electricity and then you don't have it...man that sucks. I kept turning on the light switch so I could find the matches for the candles. DUH! I would have never made it in colonial times. And another thing that I noticed...the vacuum doesn't work either when there's not electricity. Hmmmm...time to touch up my roots to make them more blonde.

The winds died down and I was finally able to come home. My place has electricity. Screw 'W'....as long as I have electricity. Noooo, I'm just kidding. When I was leaving there his electricity was coming on. The news said that over 600,000 people in the Bay area were without electricity today. This storm was significant and may trees and limbs down in my neighborhood. Traffic lights out, streets flooded. The worst in the 6 years I've been here. I'm exhausted and all I did was sit around and wait it out. But I'm thankful for my friends. Thankful for my frantic, worried family who slept soundly while I called at 2AM a little nervous and no one answered...that's ok sista....I feel the love.

Now time for blessed sleep.

Godspeed Z...be safe.