Hurricane update

We evacuated the office today; we closed at 12 (but closed to the public yesterday). We put shutters over the windows and doors of the visitor contact station and have distributed vehicles to those employees who live in areas that are less prone to flooding. I also went through our maintenance compound (which is a mess to begin with) and made sure there was nothing that could either float away or cause damage being blown around. For example, I put a number of relatively thin metal items in garages and other buildings. I also tied our portable toilets to the building.

I'm currently taking a break in the midst of hurricane-proofing my house. I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose power, so I (unfortunately) have to throw away EVERYTHING IN MY REFRIGERATOR. Luckily, there's nothing I'm too upset to toss, but it's still rather depressing.
If you think what I'm doing is a little overboard, you should know that I have lost power four times this summer (more than anyone else I know), all of those during relatively routine summer thunderstorms. I'm generally one of the first houses to lose power and the last to get it back.

In anticipation of flooding, I have moved my bike from the shed to my apartment. There's really nothing else of importance (the first floor is vacant) except the lawnmower, but there's nothing I can do about that.

In anticipation of high winds, I have moved my outdoor trash bins to the shed, which of course will only work if the shed doesn't blow/float away. At work, there were several buoys lying around, so I secured some them with rope (because I'm going to be the guy who has to get buoys out of a tree after the storm).

I plan to leave the house for at least the first day/night of the storm, but I'm also preparing for my eventual return. Again, I anticipate not having power for a while, so I'm filling up the bathtubs and any container I can find with water to flush the toilet/shower with when I return. I've got several 5-gallon containers of water either here on in my car, and I have plenty of nonperishables to last me a few days.

Well, it's back to packing. I'll continue to update as much as I can.

Thanks for reading.