Hurricane Helene in 2020s

Just a heads-up: Hurricane Helene is heading our way, so don’t panic if I’m quiet for a day or two. We’re on the edge of the cone, and while evacuations are possible, we’re staying put. Power outages could happen, but fingers crossed we won’t lose electricity. My biggest concern is exhaustion—my schedule couldn’t be worse for this. Of course, it always storms when I’m on nights.

Groceries should be arriving any minute now. We realized waiting until tomorrow might be a bad idea since the stores will probably be out of a lot of stuff by then.

The manager sent out the usual reminders: secure any loose outdoor items, and book a hotel if you plan to evacuate. Typical hurricane prep stuff.

It looks like Big Bend is going to get hit hard. Honestly, I’m glad we didn’t take that Steinhatchee house—the fact that it was on stilts says enough. It could have been a disaster for us.

Jessie’s county hasn’t been declared a state of emergency and her daughter is getting married tomorrow. I messaged Jessie, wondering why I haven’t heard from her since August. She claims she’s been swamped with work, though I see her on Facebook regularly. Belle, on the other hand, is heading to Marco Island for a vacation after the wedding. She must be doing well because Marco Island is pretty fancy. I’d kill to live there—it’s a lot like Star Island.

On a lighter note, I’m getting a new meat tenderizer. My dear husband thought it’d be a good idea to split a frozen turkey roll by pounding a cleaver with the tenderizer. Well, bits of metal ended up in the meat, so we had to toss it. I tried using it on a pork chop the next day, but more metal came off, so I threw it out and ordered a replacement.

Being the ChatGPT addict that I am, I ask it all kinds of random questions. Recently, I asked for the chances of me making it to age 75 with untreated high cholesterol (over 300). Surprisingly, it said I have a 50-60% chance. I think I could make it to 80-85, though. It’s kind of like smokers and lung cancer—yeah, some get it, but most don’t. ChatGPT gave me a 30-40% chance of reaching 80, a 70-80% chance of hitting 70, and an 85-90% chance of making it to 65. I even asked about making it to 100, and apparently, I have a whopping 5-10% shot!