My first hurricane

I haven't lived in Charleston for even a month, and already we're facing our first hurricane. It was just a matter of time, I guess. I keep soothing myself with the fact Paul's labmate from Memphis is teaching in the Rochester area, where it snows 94 inches a year. (What's a couple of hurricanes compared to that?)

Paul and I are going to Saturn this morning to buy an extended warranty on my car. We've determined that, though it's really expensive and we're already stretched incredibly thin while I'm not working, it's a necessity because of the amount I drive. We dealt with several expensive repairs with my last Saturn, which means this likely will pay for itself in the next couple of years -- especially if we're dealing with things like high water and evacuations and whatnot.

Paul has a meeting at the Cit this morning about hurricane prep. I hope there's a little hand-holding in that department because this is all new to us.

Then we're going out tonight, hurricane preparedness guide in hand, to buy supplies. (Yay, more money.) The suggestion is to imagine you're going camping for three days with no facilities. You'll need water, clothes, food, cat supplies (because I often go camping with my cats!), air mattresses and whatnot. And even after I've spent all this money -- which I'll be writing off on my taxes -- I've got to find a place to store my kit.

This is a little bit surreal, and the timing is impeccable. Johanna flies in on Friday for a visit. Well, she's scheduled to fly in Friday. The way things look now, that flight might be delayed because of bad weather. No matter. It'll be a real adventure if she's with us if we have to evacuate. :D