Eduardo turned, so I missed it...but many got a lot of water and some wind damage. But nothing that would test the new builder homes that have sprung up all over the area since Rita.

Today I am looking at Tropical Storm Fay, originally thought to come across Cuba, then turn and go up through Florida. Now it looks like it will be turning later, so it will have more than 90 miles over water before it reaches the Florida panhandle. Of course, the longer it waits to turn, the closer to New Orleans it gets...and Houston. Nobody wants to be in the Cone of Uncertainty when a big storm is predicted..and this one just might turn out to be big. I doubt if New Orleans is ready for another big storm. Visit www.wunderground.com to track all tropical storm computer models.

Invest 94 is heading toward Florida's east coast, but don't know what it will be when it gets there. They may get double punched again this year. Florida has had their share of hurricanes in recent years. We'll watch this one and see how the newer builder homes hold up.

Jeff Masters on www.wunderground.com (weather underground) called Fay "The Joker" and I guess he nailed it. I just saw a lot of unfortunate folks on TV who had no clue their houses could flood. This storm is developing a cruel personality. New home construction did not get tested by Fay...flooding is the problem with this one.

I was surprised to see Gustav's cone of uncertainly move to the right to the extent it did in the last 24 hours. I'm trying to learn a little about these eddys of warm water that are out there waiting for a T/S or Cat 1 hurricane to pass over them and kick off the rapid intensification.

Looks like the most likely target for landfall is the New Orleans area right now--Houston is just slightly out of the cone. I can't enjoy that good news because New Orleans may still be very vulnerable. I don't know what their temporary housing situation is but I feel sure there are still lots of folks living in housing that will not be safe. Plus, lots of people in Mississippi are not ready for another one this big this soon. Not much change in the track since 11 AM today, so this may be a more accurate track, but only time will tell.

Gustav forecast still iffy. New lightweight products and fasteners for window protection are out there, but finding them, then cutting and fitting them--all that takes time. Whatever happens with this storm, people have no excuse not to do whatever they have the means to do. Lack of money, lack of transportation, health issues...those kinds of problems hinder preparation and/or evacuation and can be major obstacles when a hurricane is approaching. Just hope nobody waits till the last minute when they have the ability to prepare ahead of time. I'm waiting on the 5 PM forecast before getting back to packing.

Wherever this hits, there should be lots of feedback on how the new builder homes held up, most importantly the windows and roofs.

Ike will be here in Houston starting tomorrow night or early Saturday. Ike will come ashore as a Cat 3 or 4, pushing the water up Galveston Bay to the Ship Channel with a good sized storm surge. My car will finally get the wash it needs so badly right now.

Pray for Galveston, since the storm doubled back and many did not have time to evacuate. All they can do is evacuate the west end of the island, where there is no sea wall.

I'll finally get to see how these new builder homes will stand up to a major storm.

It's 5:04 AM and the news is coming on with the latest forecast. I get that off the wunderground web site, so I am going to get some sleep. Then, I'll get up about 9 AM and start putting the rest of my things up high. Stay safe, everyone.

You get a free car wash!

Keep us posted of your situation there Darlene if you can, yeah stay safe.

Thank you so much. I just can't wish these things would go away because that means I am wishing them on someone who may not have been expecting a hurricane and aren't prepared. Just watching TV now I see where Houston may have learned a lot from the Rita snafu...which was in my opinion a disgrace. Now, one day away, traffic from the west enders in Galveston is said to be moving smoothly, gas is available, tow trucks are available, and price gouging will carry a fine that nobody can pay off in a lifetime.

This major storm will test any new hurricane products that may have been used since Katrina.

I'll be taking my computer down tomorrow and depending on electrical service, may be able to come back up the first part of the week.

I was wondering what will the BPO orders be like in Houston after ike? Will it be more busy, as I have heard that FEMA uses BPOS. Or will it be slow. I would like your opinions on this. I am relatively new to the BPO business and am not sure.Thanks!!

I previously worked for SBA, which is the actual lender when there is a disaster loan. At that time we used Loss Estimators who were government employees, not contractors to determine vaue before and after the disaster. So I am not aware that FEMA will be a source of new BPO volumne.

I just got off the phone with our friend Darlene, and she wanted everyone to know she is OK. She does not have internet at the present time, but has promised some informative posts about her experiences with IKE once she has internet up and running again. She wasn't sure how long that might be, but could be as much as a month from now. I know I'm not the only one that has been concerned about her, so hope this news will put your mind at ease. Please don't forget to remember everyone in that area in your prayers.
Donna

Good to hear Darlene's safe, looking forward for her own side of the story.

Thanks to you both. I'm posting some info on how to survive a hurricane. It will be very embarrasing for me, but it may help someone.

I am still completely upside down after this storm.

Our apartments were hit hard, and many lost everything when the roofs of their apartments were peeled off. A last minute decision on my part to stay in my apartment instead of with my Mother and son turned out to be smart, since the driveway where I would have been parked was filled with limbs.

I rode the storm out in the hallway of my apartment with my bottled water, flashlights, and cell phone, sometimes barely able to hear the wind. Occasionally I would go into the living room and look out the window but it was pitch black. Opening the living room door produced a very eerie sight. My 4-foot porch overhang protected me long enough to see that Ike was in no way winding down. Then back to my chair I went. I did have a small problem in that my comfy chair would not fit in the hallway with my "hurricane" supplies, so I had to sit in a hard straight-back chair all night. Sometime during the night I heard a horrible scream and made my way to the door. Apparently, the eye was passing over us but winds were still strong. But people were outside under the carport. The "Oh, no...oh, no...oh, no" I was hearing was one of the men in my building who discovered a piece of someone's roof decking blew into his beautiful van and smashed the side, then flipped into the windshild and crushed it. He didn't have long to feel sorry for himself because the winds came back. At this point, those of us outside didn't stick around to see the damage because we thought the plywood came from someone's boarded up window...we had no idea that the following morning would reveal four out of nine of our buildings were now uninhabitable and that our neighbors would be without their possessions, including our manager. That plywood was roof decking off one of the buildings.

The following week was a nightmare for me. I ran out of gas coming home from trying to find gas and had to walk a mile in the dark carrying my camera bag and my purse filled with bottled water, since I had none at home. I was so discouraged that I didn't even think about it...I just kept putting one foot in front of another. My Mother's favorite quote, "This too shall pass", was big on my mind during that walk. A police officer drove by with a spotlight and flashed it on me and I waved. He waved back but just kept on driving.

The next day began what was to be one of the most expensive weeks of my life, transportation-wise. By that I mean that I had to pay everyone to take me places to look for gas, to check on my family, to buy groceries. I paid one man $75 to drive me around...and he made every gas station in a ten mile radius, so he earned it. But no gas. Finally, a Realtor friend of mine told me he had 5 gallons of gas in a new gas can and I was welcome to it. I paid a lady $25 to drive me about 6 miles and back to get the gas, but it was worth it. I wasn't even upset when she dropped me at my car and didn't even wait to see if I would lift the gas can. A homeless guy came by heading to the free ice and water line that had backed up for six blocks. He needed a funnel, so I held up a sign to the cars in the long ice lines that said "Need Funnel". One man rolled down the window and said, "How much money do you need". That was a first for me...and a last, I hope. The homeless man made a funnel out of cardboard and poured it in. I took him to a small corner store that had opened with a generator and loaded him up with "cool" drinks and some canned sausages and cookies, then droped him at one of his friend's houses nearby. Then I doubled back to my Mother's and took her some cold drinks. All she really wanted was some ice. By this time, I had electricty but my Mother did not...not for nine days. Her electric service was ripped from the house by her neighbor's tree and he was out of town. She had to pay to have them both repaired (his came off, too) before lights could be restored. Her roof leaked and damaged the kitchen and living room ceiling. Her yard was filled with branches, her storage building met it's last day, and a big portion of her fence is down...but she had supplies. She did run out of batteries by the end of the nine days, but all she wanted was air conditioning.

In all the confusion, I stepped on a rusty nail from the roof debris and went to the emergency room to get a tetanus shot. This is interesting. The hospital was the only one that was open in the area and people came from all over SE Harris County. I was there 11 hours. The hospital was in lockdown with a kind of "strike team" running the show and keeping law and order. They made all non-injured/ill people wait outside...aparently the families are a source of unrest in these situations...seriously. These "strike team" guys are retired police officers, most from NY or so I heard, and looked like they just stepped out of an episode of "The Shield". However, they did their jobs very well and with a good attitude. Stuck in the back waiting on my turn, I had a chance to talk to a few of them. Nice guys, doing a tough job for hours on end. They travel all over the country for this hospital chain protecting the hospital staff and the patients. The doctors and nurses and the strike team had run out of food during the storm. They were living off junk food in the vending machines. Some hopsital families and a few pets were sheltering in at the hospital. But everyone got treated. My foot was x-rayed to see if any rust was still inside and I went home to wait for the bill, having a new appreciation for medical personnel. The only bad highlight of the evening...I spent 5 hours in the hallway, with a very tall bed to sit on...so tall I would not get in it. So I became the "door lady" for the staff, having nothing else to do. One orderly lady came by with a gurney and said "Get in that bed or get out of here" and I said, "Why don't we see if you can make me get in it." She went on by and that was that. I was already friends with the Strike Team and she was a mean, rude...never mind. The doctor frowned when he started to write me an Rx just to be sure my foot did not get infected and I jumped in and asked for a $4 Wal-Mart Rx. It's actually true...I took it to Wal-Mart and it only cost $4.

After all that, my nerves were a little raw. The next day, at my Mother's, I was making a second trip out to my car but couldn't find my key ring. Yada Yada Yada...it was never found. Yes, I had a spare car key but when I ran out of gas and had to leave my car in front of an automotive repair place (coincidence...just happens that is where I coasted into), I dropped my spare key in the night drop slot because I was blocking their bay and figured they could push it out of the way. Well, the owners lived on the coast and were shut down for two weeks. So, I have to pay another neighbor $50 to drive me to the dealership for another key...a very expensive key.

Also on the key ring was my apartment keys. Yes, I made two sets of those a while back but neither fit. So the office gave me the only remaining set of keys. Our apartrment air conditioner did not make it through the storm, so the manager bought everyone a window unit. They were put in today but I did not get one because I had the only key to my apartment. I've been using the world's smallest window a/c borrowed from my Mother and now I guess I am stuck with that, although it is a far cry from nothing.

Everyone who lived in the damaged buildings were moved into the good buildings in available apartments, and some were scooped up by family and taken away with the small amount of personal items they had left. We lost the "bird man" to another complex (he walked to the mail box everyday with his parrot on his shoulder, thus the nickname.) We lost Rosie, but I got a free dresser out of that...appears Rosie had a dresser that perfectly matched my chest of drawers and vanity. She is moving in with her brother and did not need it. She refused to let me give her anything. I still can't believe it.

One lady who had to be moved in next door to me does not speak English. But she managed to offer me a case of bottled water. Now that was just generous and unselfish. I thanked the man from Columbia for being so quite while moving in upstairs, and I apologized for making noise because I did not realize he was up there...the apartment was not in good shape but any port in a storm, I guess. He misunderstood and thought I was telling him that he made noise. There was a one-sided conversation that did not need interpreting before his son came to the rescue. This nice old man is the best upstairs neighbor I have ever had...sadly, he too is moving out in a few weeks.

As things were getting back up and running (grocery stores, gas stations, etc.), I prepared to look for a new place because the cable box had been ripped off and we were told we would not get cable until they knew we were going to stay open. (That's how bad our complex looked before the debris was picked up). Then, I came home and someone yelled "We've got cable" and bingo...I'm back in business. But before I could get a job, my car stopped running and I had to have it towed to the shop. Seems the fuel filter was messed up, probably from bad gas. Not all bad news, though. The mechanic found the radiator leak I had been chasing for months. That all cost $615. Then, yesterday I paid the maintenance helper $15 to hand wash my very dirty car, fill up the tires to the correct pressure and screw on my new valve stem caps, and pull off the ugly black duct tape that I put on the outside mirror (loose for months now) to keep Ike from blowing it around. After he got the residue off the paint, he retaped my mirror with the good CLEAR tape and nobody can tell unless they look closely. $15 was not enough for all that work. He also put in my Mother's small window unit for $10 and a sandwich. These apartments would not do without this fellow.

I am almost done unpacking the things I packed away and nothing was damaged. So Ike did not really do me any damage. I did it to myself.

Why does this surprise me? Because I had planned on riding this hurricane out and not having any loss...right down to the last detail, which is why I was able to switch locations at the last minute without any problems. And then I pull some of the stupidest moves ever...thinking a gas station would be open the day before Ike hit, laying my keys down at my Mother's and not remembering where, walking around looking at debris and not watching where I was stepping, and not thinking my transportation issues through to consolidate trips.

Did I mention my key to my locking gas cap was on the lost key ring? Now that was a stinker to get off...thank you, O'Reilly Auto Parts on Southmore, for not charging me and only accepting donuts, to be delivered soon. BTW, the new locking gas cap is not a good fit for my Grand Am and is making my car run a little rough.

I have seen very little news since Ike. Volunteers are still searching Boliver Island for people who are not expected to be found alive. People lost everything, including their jobs and cars and pets. My apartments could not have protected themselves from what most believe was a small tornado spawned by Ike, but the deaths in Boliver are very sad...sad because people do not heed warnings about these horrible storm surges and high winds. After the Rita snafu on the freeways, many decided to stay this time. I guess Ike's legacy will be that he taught us to get out...and next time, everyone will. Some won't wait for a hurricane.

I have been in Carla and Alicia and Rita. But Ike was different. Ike brought back memories of a college paper I wrote...about hurricanes having their own personalities. I made an A on that paper because I worked hard on it--I found the subject facinating back then. Now I find the subject scary and depressing.

I did a BPO on a property last week that was in decent shape except for the yard. However, the next door neighbor's home burned to the ground during the storm and their large tree was uprooted, sending it over into the Subject's driveway. All over this town are downed trees and huge tree limbs. A former Wal-Greens building had been vacant quite a few years but the landscaping trees had been allowed to grow. They were georgous and probably one of the reasons a reception hall had purchased the building and remodeled it. Now the perfect row of trees lining both the front and side streets has a big gap where one of the trees was lost. Ike broke only a few windows but downed so many trees that I fear it will change the entire look our own town for a few years. Strong winds yet very little rain. Ike, your name is being retired and all those who suffered severe losses are glad of that.

BTW, I called FEMA to register in case we were moved and two days later, I got a call saying he would be at my house the next day. A+ to FEMA people trying hard to reach those impacted. Everyone who might be displaced by Ike was told to register.

I will post on another thread about how the builder homes held up. As to KB Homes and Ryland, hard to tell a hurricane went through some of their subdivisions. In the entire Strawberry Glen subdivision, now closing out, only two missing shingles...very impressive since shingles are scattered all over this town.

Thanks for reading my account of Hurricane Ike. If I posted a list of all the people who are out helping everyone, it would be very long. The blue roof program may have some snags because of the lack of subcontractors but I have no concrete info on this yet. FEMA is set up at Wal-Mart...they are really reaching out to people. I have not seen the Red Cross but I hear that volunteers went out with hot meals looking for people with no electricity. They ended up in my friend's neighborhood giving out meals to people who had been up and running for well over a week. Thanks, volunteers...but who charted the route. The people in my complex who were hit hard have not seen the Red Cross out here. The Salvation Army is feeding people at their new complex. But some of the people in my complex are seniors who do not drive. I guess the ten foot pile of debris at our entrance and the huge roofs hanging off the side of the buildings did not catch the Red Cross's eye. Our complex was the worst in this area and on the main street...everyone knows we are hurting over here. In fairness, the Red Cross may very well be pre-occupied with those who chose to live along the coast and have now lost everything, including family members. I can see how they are a priority. As for me, I am not complaining for myself. I still have my vintage punch bowl, my beautiful christmas ornaments collected from the Dickens on the Strand festival held in Galveston every year, and my other keepsakes. Believe me...I have nothing to complain about. Had my building lost the roof, I believe my rolling cart system would have kept my things dry. Still, I am going to downsize big time. It was just a nightmare trying to protect everything.

Excuse any typos and where I may have repeated myself. Trying to proof this post would be time consuming and it's 5:30 AM Saturday. I won't get much sleep tonight.

Update on Novemer 15, 2008.

The plumbers brought in a jack hammer and emptied my walk-in closet. They pulled back the already damaged carpet from the last few trips, then the helper proceeded to tear up my concrete floor in the closet with that jack hammer. How he did that for almost two hours I do not know because the concrete dust made me very sick. Once he had the hole dug, he laid down on the dirty floor and reached under the old pipes and started trying to get them out. After he dug out the old pipes and put in the new stuff, he filled the hole with rocks, then mixed cement, poured it into the hole and smoothed it out nicely. It was actually a one-man operation. The boss just dropped him off and came back to check on him after he had been finished for over an hour. I had to go buy him lunch. Everyone should have this guy for their plumber. He never stopped till it was finished. That was over a week ago and my closet carpet is still pulled back, the closet smells, and I am still finding concrete dust all over the apartment. I guess we were lucky to find such good plumbers to diagnose the problem and fix it so quickly.

This week the rain came and the windows leaks and that is about the end of my personal Ike saga. All that mess and I didn't even have any damage to my personal things. I can't imagine how miserable it would be to have damage to your photos, your nice antique linens and fancy glassware. Remind me again why we live down here near the coast? Uh...now I remember...we can almost always find jobs. Oh, year...after insurance, my bill from the emergency for the nail in my foot was $166. Total bill was over $1900. I received a tetanus shot, the doc wrote a Rx for antibiotic, and they took a few X-rays. Dang, how much would it be if someone was actually sick. I'm going to call and try to get it reduced. That is highway robbery. However, the X-rays were necessary to see if any of the nail may have broken off in my foot. By the time this is all over and done with, we will be nearing next year's hurricane season.

Thanks for reading my story. I haven't heard of any other agents on here who rode out Ike. They may have fared much better or much worse than I did. One thing I learned with Ike is that these new roofs are capable of holding up under some very strong wind.

Some how I missed this when you posted it. Glad to hear you made it through with minimal damage to you self. Hope the foot healed up.