Breakin' a Fever
The fever I'm speaking about this morning isn't from a sickness, but from a mental state of mind - the elusive Cabin Fever. I've suffered from this ailment before, but yesterday and this morning, I literally had it bad.
Much of the United States have experienced some wild wintry weather these past couple of weeks. A few weeks ago Atlanta and most of the state of Georgia was shut down due to a snowstorm, which we refer to around here as Snowpocalypse. Just as quick as the storm came, so it went, but there were a couple days I was stranded and couldn't leave.
Having see the danger of what could result from being unprepared, this time the news stations were flooded with warnings and emergency instructions, causing a bit of anxiety by using words like "Catastrophic", "the worse since ...", "survival tips", etc. I had all kinds of fears of freezing to death, being stranded and not being able to get help, being stranded all alone. They spoke of two waves of danger. First the Catastrophic Ice Storm, followed by a massive wave of snow, speaking of all the roads being covered in layers of ice, and the weight of the ice and snow bringing down trees and powerlines, plunging 100's of thousands into darkness and cold. Nah, who's going to worry about such trivial things. Well, the Ice Storm hit, and it was every bit as thick as they predicted.
While the world lay covered in a glistening wonderland, I feared for my safety. I pre-cooked meals, blocked myself into my back bedroom, and stocked it with extra blankets and emergency items in case the power went out. It was so cozy that I hated leaving its warmth to rush to the bathroom or grab something from the kitchen. I didn't want any of the heat escaping in case I lost power. I still had 24-48 hours I knew I was going to be stuck, and I needed to preserve all the warmth I could. Needless to say, my fears had me more than I wanted to admit, because I tried and tried to read and edit the various projects I've been working on, and thinking I didn't have to go to work for a couple days I'd get ahead, I couldn't concentrate. I'd read the same chapter over and over, but listening to tree branches snapping and crashing outside my window and having the lights flicker on and off, didn't allow for me to concentrate. Then, I received a huge scare when my soon-to-be new upstairs neighbor showed up and I heard footsteps above. I almost had panic attack thinking someone broke into the house above. I felt relieved to see my housemate there, because I knew that if catastrophe struck as all the newsmen predicted, I would at least not be alone. Someone would know where to find the body. I felt so relieved, I cooked him one of my favorite gourmet meals.
My housemate left that evening in his 4-wheel drive in the lull between phase 1 and phase 2 of Ice Storm/Snowmaggedon 2014, and I was once again plunged into silence and uncertainty, I barricaded and braced for the second wave to hit. I tried to write, tried to edit, tried to watch television, tried to do anything that would take my mind off the sound of cracking limbs, howling wind, and unimaginable horrors of abandonment, falling trees, and broken power lines with no way to escape. Though I was once again alone, I was never alone during this whole ordeal. My best friends were with me by texting, sending me instant messages and silly stickers, bitstrips, sharing pictures and video chatting. They may have been in different parts of the country and unable to help should one of these foretold catastrophes actually occur, but they helped to keep me calm, let me know I'm not truly alone, and that there are really people in this world who do care about me and my safety. I fell asleep without worry or concern last night.
I woke this morning to a winter wonderland. After a quick hike and taking a few photos of the fallen trees and snow cover, I slipped back beneath the covers and slept some more. This was the most sleep I've had in a couple months.
When I woke a couple hours later and got dressed, I looked out expecting to see the snow gates to my proverbial prison, but instead saw glorious sunshine. You talk about getting excited. I couldn't wait to get outside and hike among the melting snow and ice, feeling the warmth of the beautiful sun on my face. I nearly skipped all through the hike and a HUGE, huge, HUGE smile covered my face.
I got so excited, shrugging off this bad case of Cabin Fever, I called work and asked if it was okay for me to come in today. So, enjoy these next few shots and thank you for letting me share my experience with you.
Till next time,
~T.L. Gray
Much of the United States have experienced some wild wintry weather these past couple of weeks. A few weeks ago Atlanta and most of the state of Georgia was shut down due to a snowstorm, which we refer to around here as Snowpocalypse. Just as quick as the storm came, so it went, but there were a couple days I was stranded and couldn't leave.
Having see the danger of what could result from being unprepared, this time the news stations were flooded with warnings and emergency instructions, causing a bit of anxiety by using words like "Catastrophic", "the worse since ...", "survival tips", etc. I had all kinds of fears of freezing to death, being stranded and not being able to get help, being stranded all alone. They spoke of two waves of danger. First the Catastrophic Ice Storm, followed by a massive wave of snow, speaking of all the roads being covered in layers of ice, and the weight of the ice and snow bringing down trees and powerlines, plunging 100's of thousands into darkness and cold. Nah, who's going to worry about such trivial things. Well, the Ice Storm hit, and it was every bit as thick as they predicted.
While the world lay covered in a glistening wonderland, I feared for my safety. I pre-cooked meals, blocked myself into my back bedroom, and stocked it with extra blankets and emergency items in case the power went out. It was so cozy that I hated leaving its warmth to rush to the bathroom or grab something from the kitchen. I didn't want any of the heat escaping in case I lost power. I still had 24-48 hours I knew I was going to be stuck, and I needed to preserve all the warmth I could. Needless to say, my fears had me more than I wanted to admit, because I tried and tried to read and edit the various projects I've been working on, and thinking I didn't have to go to work for a couple days I'd get ahead, I couldn't concentrate. I'd read the same chapter over and over, but listening to tree branches snapping and crashing outside my window and having the lights flicker on and off, didn't allow for me to concentrate. Then, I received a huge scare when my soon-to-be new upstairs neighbor showed up and I heard footsteps above. I almost had panic attack thinking someone broke into the house above. I felt relieved to see my housemate there, because I knew that if catastrophe struck as all the newsmen predicted, I would at least not be alone. Someone would know where to find the body. I felt so relieved, I cooked him one of my favorite gourmet meals.
My housemate left that evening in his 4-wheel drive in the lull between phase 1 and phase 2 of Ice Storm/Snowmaggedon 2014, and I was once again plunged into silence and uncertainty, I barricaded and braced for the second wave to hit. I tried to write, tried to edit, tried to watch television, tried to do anything that would take my mind off the sound of cracking limbs, howling wind, and unimaginable horrors of abandonment, falling trees, and broken power lines with no way to escape. Though I was once again alone, I was never alone during this whole ordeal. My best friends were with me by texting, sending me instant messages and silly stickers, bitstrips, sharing pictures and video chatting. They may have been in different parts of the country and unable to help should one of these foretold catastrophes actually occur, but they helped to keep me calm, let me know I'm not truly alone, and that there are really people in this world who do care about me and my safety. I fell asleep without worry or concern last night.
I woke this morning to a winter wonderland. After a quick hike and taking a few photos of the fallen trees and snow cover, I slipped back beneath the covers and slept some more. This was the most sleep I've had in a couple months.
When I woke a couple hours later and got dressed, I looked out expecting to see the snow gates to my proverbial prison, but instead saw glorious sunshine. You talk about getting excited. I couldn't wait to get outside and hike among the melting snow and ice, feeling the warmth of the beautiful sun on my face. I nearly skipped all through the hike and a HUGE, huge, HUGE smile covered my face.
I got so excited, shrugging off this bad case of Cabin Fever, I called work and asked if it was okay for me to come in today. So, enjoy these next few shots and thank you for letting me share my experience with you.
Till next time,~T.L. Gray
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