Archive for June, 2008
Crazy weather strikes again | Virginia
Two weeks ago, on a Monday afternoon I noticed the sky was overcast. I step out on the porch to check it out after all it was sunny like two minutes ago. On the far end of the horizon I could see lurking some bad ass dark clouds.
After my previous experiences with the weather here I did not want to take any chances. I decided to head out immediately and pick up my daughter from day care. It was a good thing that I did for it started to pour, not cats and dogs but monkeys and gorillas five minutes after I got back home. A crazy cocktail of high speed winds, lightning, thunder and rain.
Now my worry shifted to my wife who was waiting for the shuttle back home. And just as I was thinking this, she calls and informs me that the shuttle is late. I tell her to go into one of the shopping malls or something and wait until the weather calms down. I switch on the TV to catch any updates / warnings on the weather.
POOF! Before I could even tune into the right channel the power goes out in sync with a lightning flash… a brief silence followed by loud rumble of thunder.
I am now on high alert with my imaginary antennae out, while my daughter happily sucks on her bottle of milk. She seems to have no care in the world whatsoever. But I have seen the news before… shit happens and it can happen to anyone. Half hour passes and the weather seems to get better. I get a call from my wife, she is finally on the shuttle and manages to get home safe. Phew!
We sit around waiting for the power to come back and trying to keep our ever-active daughter engaged.
What next?? The fire alarm for the building starts to scream… with so many previous false alarms we cuss, moan and groan and manage to get ourselves outside. Our wait is answered by sirens in the distance and the fire truck finally arrives. This time around it took them a little longer than usual and it was only one truck. It was a fire truck from the Fairfax county and we find out that the fire department is having a busy afternoon.
And yes, it was a false alarm AGAIN. The apartment maintainence better fix it once and for all.
To think this to be end of our woes would be stupid. We still did not have power and it was now dinner time. I switch on the stove as per my wife’s instruction only to realize that it doesn’t work. Argh! The F#@#$#@ thing has an electric start.
I head out to the CVS nearby to buy a box of matches but the store is closed as there was no power… and they were not the only store to be closed. Back in India power cuts are so common that almost everything has a back up / alternative and life goes on. But out here the power cuts are so rare and the dependence on electricity so far reaching that life seemed to have practically stopped.
Luckily Giant was still open and I run in quickly to grab myself a box of matches and a flashlight. I did not know when the power would be restored. In the last storm some of the neighboring counties did not have power for more than 24 hrs. I wanted to be prepared.
I had done the grocery shopping that morning and I prayed that the food in the fridge didn’t go bad. The worst thing is when food in the freezer defrosts and then refreezes. Its almost inedible.
We had our dinner, my wife made some real good Quesadillas. Anju passed out for the night. The sun set around 8:30 something pm and the power was finally restored around 9:00 pm as light slowly faded.
Harrowing weather patterns | Virginia
I have lived most of my life in Bangalore and the weather in Bangalore for the most part is very pleasant. Whether its summer or monsoons it rarely hit extremes and winter if you can call it winter is pretty much pleasant too.
I have seen some extremes of weather during my mountaineering stint wherein all of us were even instructed to sleep with one eye and ear open for you never knew when the weather could turn for the worse. And it could very quickly turn into a life or death situation. I also dealt with continuous rains during some of my monsoon treks where I slept, ate and took a crap pretty much in the rain.
But nothing prepared me for the kind of weather patterns out here in Virginia. My brain is not used to processing or even registering Storm, Flood and Tornado warnings whilst at home watching TV and having to react immediately in some form or the other. I have had a couple of those happen already and have been fortunate enough to be residing in a safer area. Looking at the news footage and seeing the damage some of these tornadoes and storms did to nearby locations is an eye opener and testament to the immense strength these storms possess.
On Wednesday, I was busy studying when the light started to fade and it became dark. I went out on the porch and could see lightning everywhere. I was witnessing rapid weather changes unlike any I had experienced before. One lighting strike after another, loud clapping thunder, 58+ mph wind speed and it started to rain cats and dogs within minutes. Every time there was lighting I heard a beep on the alarm as it shorted followed by very loud thunder.
I rescue the plants on the porch and rush inside to switch on the TV to see the weather report for any warnings. The power goes out but comes back immediately and I don’t know what is happening for now I was waiting for the cable box from Comcast to boot. I could not even get online for the computer was rebooting too.
My wife calls from work and tells me that there is a Tornado and Severe Thunder Storm warning for Alexandria. Since Anju is at day care and we get worried. I get ready so I could leave to pick up Anju as soon as the weather showed any signs of calming down.
About twenty minutes or so pass and the weather seems to calm a bit and I head out. It was a five minute drive to the day care and the only trouble I had was at a four way intersection where the traffic lights were out.
The day care provider A had huddled herself and the kids in the kitchen (the innermost room and away from all the windows) waiting for the weather to get better. I inform her that the Tornado warning was off now but the Severe Thunder Storm warning was still on. I pick up Anju and get back home.
Once home I glue myself to the television as reports came in – traffic jams, falling trees, power outs and tornado and severe thunder storm warnings for many other places. The storm was moving quickly and the picture and audio froze… I had lost the feed.
The storm knocked out power and tv cables in many places. It wasn’t restored until yesterday evening. I was glad that I still had power.
Attack of the Starlings
My wife and I decided to add some color and nature to our spacious balcony. We got ourselves two Petunia plants, one pink and the other purple. We also got a Cilantro (Coriander) and Basil plant. At that time we had even got a bird feeder which seem to attract mostly the sparrows and created a big mess with the bird feed flying everywhere, including the downstairs neighbor’s balcony. So, we ended up removing the feeder less than a day after setting it up.
The Petunia blossomed and the Basil and Cilantro (Coriander) were lush. I was extremely happy with the Basil and Cilantro especially with the prices today. The only other plant I wanted was the Curry-Leaf plant and I would be set for some proper Desi cooking.
We see a lot of birds on our balcony and the trees facing it. Black Birds, Doves, Sparrows, Red Finch, Swallows, Red Cardinals and Starlings. The Starlings, Doves and Sparrows seem to predominate while the Red Finch and the Red Cardinal make occasional visits.
Recently the Starlings that have a nest in the roofing of the neighboring balcony started to misbehave. I kept seeing them trying to dig in the pot with the Pink Petunia plant and also rip off leaves and flowers to take away for their nest. It looks like they damaged the roots of the Petunia and it is now withering away. This was not all for they started doing the same to the other Petunia plant and even the Basil and Cilantro.
The other day I was sitting at the computer which is right next to the balcony door and saw Basil leaves fly by. I went out only to find a completely trimmed Basil plant… not one leaf left on it. I salvaged whatever I could find on the floor of the balcony and looked up to see the bird. He was sitting on the roof with his wings out a little and head up in the air chattering away. ##$%$%$.
I read up on google about Starlings and found out about their interesting and annoying qualities. Apparently they see color through one eye and movement through the other and they crap everywhere which is clearly evident if you look at the state of our car in the parking lot below.
A must see quality of the Starling is their flight pattern… totally fascinating. I am yet to see such flight patterns out here. Seeing something like this could placate my anger at them.
Here is a YouTube video that captures one such amazing flight pattern.
Visit this Multimedia presentation on New York Times to know more about this very interesting behavior. And here is another link that details the spread of the European Starling in North America.
Have fun but don’t have a blast
I had the opportunity of meeting my cousins on the weekend. My second cousin S lives in Washington DC. Her parents who live in Alabama were driving down to Boston to attend their son’s graduation from MIT and did a stopover in DC. It felt great to be with family members and it seemed to placate the gnawing homesickness I have been feeling lately.
Driving into DC makes my wife and even me a little batty. I was happy that she was the one driving, after all she knows the roads a whole lot more than me. We had printed out the route from MapQuest and it pulled a number on us and took us in the wrong direction. My wife spotted it before we were completely offtrack and figured out that she was better off without the stupid map. And soon we were heading in the right direction.
S lives in a beautiful and very cutesy apartment. It has two floors/levels… the upper level has the living space, dining space and kitchen. The lower level is connected by stairs and has the bedrooms and bathrooms. There is even a common rooftop deck with a good view. Having a space that opens to the sky especially in the city is a treat.
My cousins who drove from Alabama got to meet my wife and daughter for the very first time. The evening was filled with lots of laughter and chitchat. S whipped up some really good Italian food which I thoroughly enjoyed. Salad with caramelized pears with almonds and goat cheese, pasta with pesto sauce and some zucchini thrown on the side. The meal concluded with cake, strawberries and whipped cream dessert that my wife made. I had a wonderful time and I hope everyone else did 
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Anju behaved very well throughout the evening and went to sleep around 2100hrs. As we bid our goodbyes I tell my cousin to have lots of fun and a blast. How very apt and appropriate of me to say something like that to someone on a Road Trip?? My cousin was gracious enough to remind me and I wished her again ‘Have fun but don’t have a blast‘ 
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