house arrest
Getting into my car this morning was a lot like what I imagine it would be like living in a snow globe. The entire ride from my house to work involved the swirling of little white (and gray and black) flakes about my head. Of course it also involved suffocating smoky air and a glaring red sun... not so much an idyllic land often represented in those little shaker globes. In case you've been living outside of SoCal this weekend you might be surprised to learn the land is ablaze with, at one point, no less than 6 fires in San Diego alone. Considering this is 5 times more fires than the same thing that happened 10 years ago, the media seemed to be a little more attentive. This also means that I spent the entire weekend with one hand on the remote and one hand on the phone, waiting for the "We be gettin' the hells outta here" call from my parents. Thankfully my bro and sis were both outta town this weekend; not only did this mean that my parents had somewhere to run to that was relatively close to them and not being licked by flames, but it also limited the amount of panicky worriers needing to be dealt with. The only other challenge to figure out would be where to put the animals. The 2 dogs and bird and mom and dad all live great under their own roof, but throw in a fat cat named Sylvan and no backyard, and you've got trouble. Thankfully it didn't come down to our own little Animal Planet documentary, but the threat was there. But things are good now, if you consider thick black smoke, falling embers, and the general smell of "cajun style" in the air "good", that is.