Morose Monday - Floods

Cars have been swallowed. Stop signs are barely visible. People use boats to travel. This isn't the start of a story. This isn't a description of Venice. All over Ontario, people are being forced to leave their homes due to floods. The situation has hit a critical point and the army is being deployed to rescue citizens. In the Ottawa area, Gatineau and Rockland are the hardest hit. CTV is reporting live on the situation.

I find it hard to stay positive while I worry about those I care about. Others are unhappy that it is now snowing, but this is a good thing. "New snow is composed of a high percentage of air trapped among the accumulated snow crystals. Since the air can barely move, heat transfer is greatly reduced. Fresh, uncompacted snow typically is 90 to 95 percent trapped air." (Source: https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/snow/science/characteristics.html) Snow is better than more rain at this time. Sure, I'd prefer sun, but right now it's just not an option. They're predicting more rain... I never thought I'd be scared of rain.

It's a hard thing. One usually buys waterfront property to enjoy the beach access. Walls might help protect these homes, but cut them off from the beach.

This is climate change. Pure and simple. The water continues to rise around the globe. Homes will either be lost completely or need to be raised. Basements are going to become a thing of the past.

I feel fortunate that I can't afford to live near the water and that I'm on the 3rd floor of a condo building. My area is fairly dry. With hundreds of thousands of sandbags deployed and the military there aiding what citizens are left, there isn't much left to do but wait until the water recedes. I'm thankful for messaging applications that let me keep in touch with loved ones. Sometimes being there physically isn't possible, but supporting them emotionally can be just as helpful.



In the rest of my world, I'm plodding along on my goals:

• Screenplay: 6.5 pages have been written.


• Novel: Rewritten 3 chapters because they were godawful and I couldn't continue writing the rest so terribly.


• Short Story: 6/11 pages edited. I need to kick into high gear on this as it's due by the 15th. When I get stuck, I work on my other writing projects or cleaning.


• Kitchen Reno: The drawers are not cooperating at all and I might need to replace the bottoms with the same crap they were originally made of. I don't want to spend the money, but I also want to have my kitchen whole again. I'll be putting it on hold until later this month as I don't have the extra cash for it. Someday I'll be able to paint. I have a colour in mind.


• Sewing Business: I've made some marketing materials. I'll be focusing on this more in June once the short story is completed, Comiccon has passed, and my annual martial arts weekend is done. I haven't begun my inventory yet. I've just been too swamped with the rest and I suppose a little scared.


• Martial Arts: Trying to be prepared for the seminar and grading weekend. I have a large amount of my clothes packed and pretty much just need to worry about food and clean and pack my keikogi and hakama sets.


• Newsletter: Haven't progressed on this. I'll make this a priority once I've finished the short story and handed it in.


• Fitness: Between reno and rain, I haven't been doing great at this.


• Cleaning: I've been cleaning everyday and it's starting to look better in here. I noticed this improves my ability to concentrate on important things like writing.


• Bento Boxes: I'm reading a lot about bento lunches and trying to make rice balls later today. They are freezable, so I can make them now for my two busy weekends. I've also read about orange juice carrots and chicken "ham". I think these will be a good start and need some easy filler ideas like pre-made cookies, fruit salad, etc to complete my bentos for the seminar weekend.


• Guitar: I just got my guitar back from the shop and have only had time to play a couple of songs. I need to rebuild my calluses and I just caught my pinky finger in between my chair arm and keyboard tray, so today might be a wash.


• Reading: I haven't been doing well on this. Why? The novel I was reading wasn't enjoyable. I switched to Linda Poitevin's Sins of the Angels and read 7 chapters. The damn thing is hard to put down. I was hooked from the opening sentence. I felt a mix of things while reading Sophie's World. One thing I felt like it was too much of an academic story. The other was that it is very much from the perspective of a young girl, but not wholly realistic in the way she acts. I just couldn't connect with it and felt like it's just not the right time for me to be reading it. I didn't expect that. I generally like philosophizing about things, but it just isn't working for me. Maybe with the flood and how much decision making I have going on, I just need something more fun right now.

That's all I have. I hope wherever you are that you are safe and dry. I hope the forecast that includes more rain is wrong. I hope that people will have homes to return to.

Salut,
R~