Come On Irene

So since natural disasters are suddenly all the rage in New England-- an earthquake last week and the famous Lady Irene hitting us over the weekend-- I feel a commentary on these insane weather patterns is necessary. I didn't feel anything during the quake, and was out in the woods with no notification of anything.  But we were informed well in advance of the impending hurricane-- canceling the pre-orientation camping trip I was hoping on leading.  We were rescued from the wilderness and strongly encouraged to seek refuge away from campus, though that proved impossible for many of us.  Solution?  Ignore the college's "suggestion" to hunker down in our makeshift hurricane/bomb shelter and dare Irene to put a damper on our Saturday night.  Quest leaders are a unique group-- forced to spend days and nights together in the wilderness will really bond you with a person.  So when we are allowed to return to civilization and take a shower, things can get interesting.  Fun, to say the least.  I was in the mindset that everyone was preparing for the worst, which turned out to be pretty true.  All day drizzles yesterday turned into heavy rain during latenight hurricane festivities.  Walking home, the thunder and lightning started to pick up, but still nothing serious.  It seemed like a sham!  Safe in Jarvis, we couldn't see or hear any wind or rain.  The only indication that anything was going on was the announcement of a mandatory evacuation of High Rise at one a.m.  No, it wasn't going to collapse from the wind-- the first floor was just flooding.  I slept like a baby through the events.  This morning, peeking out of the door, the damages were finally seen.  Trinity is quite literally 'neath the elms, as a tree fell across the Long Walk onto Seabury Hall, and branches, twigs and leaves cover the grounds.

 Nothing too out of the ordinary for a post-Saturday night at Trinity-- except instead of solo cups and cans littering the grounds, its puddles and debris.
Today feels just like a snow day-- hunkered down inside a Jarvis suite with all the Questies, snacking and watching the news, movies, and catching up on the Internet.  Thank god we didn't lose power, though-- we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves. Turns out Hurricanes in Hartford are pretty boring-- though the flooding and damages along the coast are nothing to be scoffed at.  The storm has passed, which means time to clean up the mess--and finally venturing out to get real food!  What an adventure to start off the school year.