Video of my backyard, flooded:
http://buildbetterbungalow.blogspot.com/2008/09/new-fence-please.html

Fence project for this weekend = cancelled on account of rain. Thanks to those who offered to help.

Good luck, Houston.

Years ago, my personal "Internet connection" to Houston, my aunt and godmother, passed away. My relationship with her seems light years away. Mostly because of the amount that the world has completely changed since then.

My godmother, Auntie Cookie, is honestly the reason I nearly became a meteorologist. All this talk about Hurricane Ike and how it's the worst storm to hit Houston dead on since Hurricane Alicia in 1983 brings it all back. The reason? Well, I know that Hurricane Alicia was the first time Auntie Cookie sent me the newspaper clippings of the hurricane coverage and the aftermath, with photos, stories, etc., from Houston and her place of residence, Baytown. I was about six years old, but my mom kept them for me (or I did) and I'd seen them when I got older. I probably, actually, still have these clippings somewhere, and the clippings from every storm or hurricane between then and when she died while I was living in Missouri.

It was honestly a really cool "attachment" to her letters. I used to love getting those clippings -- there was no Internet and computers weren't something that were even in my vocabulary yet. It was back when the Bell companies had the monopoly going too, I believe, so long distance calling was ridiculously priced. Of course, I'm talking about when I was younger and living at home. By the time college came around and I moved out, our relationship was different and a little more distant.

But, growing up, I used to get all excited about letters from Auntie Cookie. Handwritten letters, often with some sort of newspaper clippings or something else. Weather, disasters, sports championships, etc. I'm secretly semi-proud of the fact that, at one time, I had an official t-shirt celebrating every NBA Championship from the Bulls' first one through their sixth ("virtual 8-peat"), because the Rockets won the two in between, and Auntie Cookie came through and sent my brothers and I t-shirts. I may still have these shirts, packed away somewhere for safe-keeping. I don't know.

Auntie Cookie (and my uncle and cousins) acted as a window to something I couldn't fathom at all growing up in Chicago: a hurricane. And I was hooked. I used to track the hurricanes on a photocopied Atlantic Ocean map every year. I'd watch the news and get the latitude and longitude of the hurricanes every day and plot them. Any of you who lived through a hurricane in the mid- to late-80s and early 90s, I probably was intently focused on whatever news reports I could find. It was just a very interesting thing to me.

So interesting, in fact, that I've always said I wanted to go and ride out a hurricane, because it's always intrigued me. Yes, I sound stupid about it, but I'm probably no stupider than tornado chasers (another thing I'd like to do, by the way). They're killers, I know. But the awesome power of nature and the aftereffects are just downright amazing to me. Part of me is jealous of Stephanie Abrams on the Weather Channel, because she's on Galveston Island right now. Something about that intrigues me.

Was it Auntie Cookie who sowed that seed, or did she somehow realize that I was, honestly, a newshound. I have clippings of weather anomalies and storm coverage from my entire lifetime. I have clippings from Chicago's Blizzard of '67, and the Oak Lawn tornado of that same year. I wasn't alive then, but those things affected areas I'm very familiar with, and because of that, they captivate me.

Yet, honestly, with Hurricane Ike bearing down on Houston, with my cousins and uncle scattered about the metro area, but I think mostly out of harm's way, I feel different. I feel almost disconnected. For Hurricane Rita, I felt connected and felt the reality, because my cousins were trying desperately to get as far north (like everyone else in Houston) as possible, driving through the night (well, not really driving...more like sitting on the Interstate) to attempt to get away from what was supposed to be Katrina II. For Ike, it has been different.

Even with the Internet and cable TV, I miss my main source of relevant, "this happened right down the block from us" hurricane aftermath information. It's funny. While most people in the nation might watch and think of 100 other things about this hurricane, I sit there and think that I could know better info. With Auntie Cookie's help, I could have learned so much more about it.

OK, I've got a decent crew, potentially, assembled for this fence-raising project, but we could always use more help!

As of now, with Tom Skilling's go-ahead (he said don't cancel plans, just be prepared for an occasional downpour, but dry spells too), I'm still planning on doing this project. That said, once we start, we gotta finish by Sunday night.

I need to know who, of you, is available Saturday, and who is available Sunday? I know some of you have told me, but just remind me and let me know. Saturday, we likely won't get started until around noon (maybe a tad earlier), because I have an uncancellable/unmoveable dentist appt. Sunday, it all depends how much we get done Saturday.

The goal Saturday is to get the fence down, measure and measure and measure again, and get the new posts in the ground (with concrete) so it can set overnight. Sunday, we can cut and hang the panels. Let me know when you can help, and if there's anybody else you think would be willing to help (particularly Saturday, as it looks like we might have fewer people then), please, by all means, let me know and bring them along.

In terms of tools, I should have everything we need to put up the new fence--what I don't have, I'm buying on Friday or on Saturday morning, because I need those tools anyway for general use (3-foot level, circular saw, etc.). But, if you have any demolition-type tools (prybar/WonderBar, garden spade aka, thin shovel to dig out posts, you can throw them in your vehicle in case we need them). I don't have enough tools for multiple people to demolish things at the same time, so if you have anything you think might be useful, bring it. :) If you're coming on Sunday and have a drill/screwdriver, bring it, then several of us can sink screws and hang the panels while others measure/cut/haul panels.

If your plans have changed, then just let me know...if everyone drops out, then I'll change my plans too. :) But let me know ASAP, please!

Lastly, if the weather forecast gets worse and it appears that this will end up being a complete no-go, I will email all of you...so double-check your email Saturday when you get up, and before you make the trek over here, call us to make sure we're still on...

Well, today my shoulder was sore, but not experiencing the "stabbing" type of pain with movement it was experiencing Tuesday. Today was a "I'm healing, but still reminding you that I'm here and was hurt" kind of pain.

That is, until I went out to the garage and decided to get the damned fence panels sealed/stained tonight. There were five left. I plowed through all five. I used a roller brush for part of it, so both arms were being used. It probably wasn't the wisest manuever, but it HAS TO be done in advance of Saturday and Sunday's fence fiesta.

Well, partway through it, I could tell that there would be minor consequences to my activity. I tried to take it easy, but now I can tell that I have some reflective pain down my arm (in my bicep and wrist) on and off...it's very, very minor, but it's there. The shoulder itself feels fine, though. I skipped softball today because they had enough guys and I didn't want to hurt my shoulder any more than it is hurt now.

So I got through the fence sealing/staining as quickly as I could. And that means we're ready to rock 'n' roll this weekend. Let's hope the weather cooperates and makes our lives easier. Tomorrow, after A.J.'s six-month checkup, I have to take real inventory of the tools I need and the ones I have, and then put the call out to my crew to bring certain tools if they have them. And, at some point here, I have to start clearing the area next to the house, between the house and the fence.

So, given my symptoms and the fact that this came relatively out of nowhere, I believe I marginally strained/sprained the AC joint of my left shoulder, probably while picking up or moving A.J. around Monday evening. My shoulder didn't hurt until the evening, and it hurt all night and all day Tuesday. It still hurts now, right before I'm about to go to be here late Tuesday/early Wednesday. But there was no instant pain and it's not really intense...just painful enough to be a big nuisance. I do have full motion of the shoulder though, and there's no protrusion or bumps or anything like that, so I'm pretty sure that there probably was no separation or dislocation of the joint or my shoulder in general. I didn't fall or make any intense motions, either, and the pain is, again, nuisance pain when I reach or lift my arm up and around in certain spots, more than anything.

I say it's the AC joint because the pain is completely localized to the area where the AC joint is. See this diagram of the shoulder:

Right where the AC joint is located is EXACTLY where my pain is centralized. And where it hurts to press hard. But, again, it's really mild overall, so hopefully this will go away by the weekend so I can get this fence business taken care of. But it's going to force me to miss softball tomorrow, even though it's not my pitching arm. :) Oh well...I could use a break to prep for the fence work this weekend.

Wait, where the hell did summer go?

Yesterday, I got sunburned (a bit) at the Sox game. Flickr should have some great photos, since I actually got to take my camera this time (no threat of rain). Today, I'm about to head out to the gym and I feel as though a sweatshirt is going to be necessary. I mean, I love Chicago, and Chicago weather always intrigues me, but this is nutso!

The weather had damned well better cooperate for my fence demolishing and raising fest this weekend, dammit. Or there shall be hell to pay. To someone.