The new HVAC installation was a long but lovely experience. Three very nice young men arrived, I corralled the animals in my bedroom, and they got to it. I did take the dogs out, on leashes, through their work when needed, and there was a love fest with Eddie.
One of the baby faced but highly skilled young techs reminded me of somebody, and after a bit it clicked: Charlie from The West Wing, but even better looking. He had beautiful eyes and that polished, calm, professional attitude Charlie exuded, and he wasn't even the leader of the team. The lead was an equally handsome guy with a very slight Eastern European? maybe? accent. I didn't interact much with the third guy, I gathered that he was a trainee. He was the blond surfer dude, but he also knew his shit.
None of them were 30 years old. Okay, maybe they were as old as 33, but to me they were babies. I don't believe they were chosen for their looks, they knew what they were doing and were quiet, respectful, friendly, and did impeccable work, but I do think the company is losing a marketing opportunity by not putting them in ads. Though on second thought that might backfire, because they were so young and cute, people might assume they were just pretty faces.
It was an entirely positive experience in every way. I've praised them under my real name, but if you happen to wander in here and want a great AC company in Central Florida, just ask.
Then, this week on Monday...this happened. At around 9:30 am my phone began screaming a tornado warning. I'm jaded about tornado watches, we do that all the time, but an actual tornado in the neighborhood is rare and scary. It was a bit hard to find the details about where it was and where it was moving, and the weather outside was not helpful. It looked tornado-y. It was scary. The lights flickered and I was contemplating grabbing the dogs and heading for the hall bathroom, for what it's worth as shelter, when I finally found a report that it was moving northeast of me.
I know the neighborhood where it touched down, it's a couple of miles as the tornado flies, and dear God, the people in the house that was destroyed were so lucky! Reports afterward said that if they hadn't sheltered in that one room that stayed intact they'd probably have died.
I was working from home but was to join a meeting at 10 am. It was delayed because everybody in the building was sheltering in the stairwells. An 18 wheeler on the nearby highway was tipped over, but the driver and his dog both were uninjured.
It continued onward to threaten my boss's house before finally dissipating and heading over the ocean.
I've been in Florida my entire adult life, and I've been guilty about joking about how tornadoes are attracted to trailer parks, yuk yuk. Trailers are certainly much more vulnerable, but the jokes are stupid.
That house that was destroyed was no trailer, it was a big house in an old established neighborhood. I don't know who lived there, but they were smart and had a plan for the most secure location in that house, and it absolutely saved their lives.
And this, boys and girls, is why you have to take your storm shelter plans seriously.
Other stuff, mostly good, has been going on. I shall not comment on the national shitshow because blood pressure, but overall, just keep on keeping on.