the end

Wow - sorry about that huge, week-long absence.  I've been a little preoccupied, a little emotional.  It's been a hell of a week - Mom, you'll have to excuse my "curse word" this time.

Monday, I got out of work early because of another bomb threat.  Other people hating the company I worked for enough to threaten my life certainly reinforced the decision I made evident only moments before we were evacuated, and it was awesome to get out of work early, but seriously?  Another bomb threat?

Just when we were getting over all that excitement, something happened that has never happened in my lifetime, even in my dad's lifetime.  Right here, in Philadelphia (not LA or San Diego, or even my beloved Tahoe), we had an earthquake.  Yes.  An earthquake.  I keep saying it because I don't believe it.  I mean, really?  An earthquake?  In Philadelphia?  I have never felt anything like it - I was at work, about to go into a pretty intense presentation when all of a sudden, the floor started shaking.  It kind of felt like vertigo.  I actually made a joke about it being an earthquake because it did not strike me as even remotely possible that that was what happened.  But it was - Philadelphia had an earthquake - Mister said it was so severe in the actual city that he was waiting in the kitchen to catch our dishes, which were trying to shake off the shelf.

Surprisingly, Wednesday was pretty quiet, so I just let it be so... I think I even retired early that night with [unfortunately] no desire to write.  Last night, I came home to a very sick Mister, who had accidentally eaten moldy hummus.  No, I don't know how that happened, but I'm super-glad that my allergic-to-everything-but-especially-mold husband woke up this morning.

So, today... Today was my last day at work.

I'm off for ten days now, before I start my new position.  I'm really excited for some down time so I can start my new job rested and refreshed and ready to conquer the world.  I'm only slightly melancholy about leaving my old job.  I'm terrible about keeping in touch with people.  However, I'm looking at it like this: my new job should afford me a bit more time for hobbies and social interests, so theoretically, if I make an effort, I should be able to stay in touch with the few people I actually cared about there.  It was really nice having so many people wishing me well and inquiring about my next job and it amused me greatly to make a list of the people who asked me to keep them in mind if I have an opening for them at my new job, but it was also completely exhausting.

Now?  Well, now we're hunkering down to wait for the first Category 1 storm to ever make landfall within miles of my home.  We're expecting hurricane-force winds, rain, and flooding in Philadelphia, starting tomorrow evening.  Our public transit is pulling the plug on service starting tomorrow night, our governor has declared a state of emergency, and the business that never sleeps (for which I no longer work) is actually CLOSING.  Most of the hits my humble little blog has gotten these past few days are for "post apocalyptic cities."

Fortunately, Mister and I went shopping when I got home from my last day of work, so we have plenty of pasta and tomatoes and beans to get us through the storm.  I'm finishing up my Coppola malbec tonight and I have four small bottles of Rose champagne chilling in my fridge.  Of my original three-pack, I still have two bars of dark belgian chocolate in my cupboard.  I'd say we're all set.

I'm not saying I won't sneak down the street for a different kind of Hurricane, though....