Queensland storms

[[ih...]]

How is everyone doing?  Didn't get much sleep last night, the wind sounded like a cyclone all night with stuff crashing to the ground & 120km ph winds recorded at the local beach. I still have a roof & no water inside my house, (unlike many others) but have had no power for the last 24 hours &  elec coy are saying unlikely to be fixed for another 2 days. We have to stay inside but thankfully have a freezer full of rapidly defrosting food to be eaten & I have a gas range top so can cook some of the meat.

 

Will have to ration the laptap as when my cellphone runs out of power, will be useful to have some communication.

[[pa...]]

How is everyone doing?  Didn't get much sleep last night, the wind sounded like a cyclone all night with stuff crashing to the ground & 120km ph winds recorded at the local beach. I still have a roof & no water inside my house, (unlike many others) but have had no power for the last 24 hours &  elec coy are saying unlikely to be fixed for another 2 days. We have to stay inside but thankfully have a freezer full of rapidly defrosting food to be eaten & I have a gas range top so can cook some of the meat.

 

Will have to ration the laptap as when my cellphone runs out of power, will be useful to have some communication.

 

Oh dear Hope.. I'm so sorry you and your area are going through this awful weather.  Thank goodness you still have your roof and no flooding in your home.  Yes, thanks for gas stoves, the heck with the electrical ones.  Stay well Hope.. My prayers are will all of you.

 

Pattylu

[[ih...]]

Thanks so much, Patty Lu. I am really one of the lucky ones though a little bummed about losing all that food on my student budget.

 

Xana & Pam, are you ok?

[[ar...]]

Hi IHope, seeing it all on the news, even expect 9 ft waves at Bondi tomorrow & raining down here.We see where where parts of Bundy. are being evacuated.

all the best

from Ara

[[Su...]]

So sorry you guys are having to go through this again.

Thinking of you.

Love Sun

[[Di...]]

Hi ihope

 

I was just about to check on you when I saw this topic. Hope you get your power back on quickly.

 

I totally lost internet and Foxtel, and only got it back on overnight sometime. I still had power and phone though. Had to clear up some smallish tree branches around the yard yesterday, but nothing major. Thank goodness.

 

I couldn't sleep the whole night either. I kept wondering when I was going to lose my roof. I can't remember hearing winds like that before. We're used to summer storms aren't we, but that was something totally different. Similar to a Category 1 cyclone they are saying.

 

I've just checked on Thisbe. She only lives a few suburbs from me, so hopefully she'll be okay too.

 

It was breaking my heart yesterday to watch all those poor people on TV who were flooded 2 years ago, and were just getting back on their feet, having to go through it all over again. It's just not fair.

[[ih...]]

Thanks Ara & Sun, I am definitely one of the lucky ones, would have been a drama getting to a shelter with pets. As it is our townhouse sewer pump could not operate & there was a major overflow but the body corporate manager miraculously managed to get a pump truck on the job within hours.

 

Just as great, my power is back this morning, I really appreciate the mod cons after 28 hours without. Our broadband is down though, using my mobile dongle & don't expect to get much action out of Telstra this week, given that there are still plenty of areas with no phone service.

 

DP & presumably Thisbe, glad you also escaped the worst.  Was up at 4.30 this morning to get my DH up to Brisbane airport for an early flight to Darwin.  It was so beautifully still & very misty across the park with the full moon low in the sky, it felt like a new beginning.

 

The airport was less chaotic than I expected & his flight got away on time.

 

 

[[Di...]]

Hi hope

 

Just found out today that my home phone isn't working. It was working okay yesterday afternoon, but some time between then and this morning it's gone. Have no idea how long that will take to fix. Still got my internet and Foxtel, so that's all I really care about..lol...

 

It look like most of us really dodged a bullet with all the flooding though. I feel really sorry for those who have to go through it all over again, after doing it 2 years again. We went through it then with Mum's house at Fairfield, but no water this time thank goodness. The house is empty now anyway because we're selling it, and we've just signed a contract on it. I was panicking a bit yesterday that if it flooded the buyer might back out, even though she is fully aware of how much water it got 2 years ago, but hopefully now that won't happen.

[[ih...]]

Good luck with the sales contract, hope they don't rethink. Some of the areas around Murwullimbah that we have been looking at to buy acreage did quite badly so it's been useful guidance in that respect although terrible for the current residents.  It's horrendous for those Brisbane suburbs that got hit again, Logan seems to take a hit with every single storm that passes through.  I am flood & fire phobic so strongly resistant to living anywhere where there is a serious risk of either.

 

Glad you are ok, plenty of sun today so hopefully the back yard will dry out & I get out with the rake & broom tomorrow.  Some of recent plantings got pretty knocked around but maybe the sun will perk them up.

[[Su...]]

Dear Ihope,

how is everything going now?

The sun has been out in Sydney for the last few hours-very weird considering we were expecting more storms.

It makes me feel happy to find more Aussies on BBs.

Although, it does make me wonder if other Australian doctor (and not just mine) have been telling patients that benzos are non-addictive at therapeutic doses.

Love Sun

 

[[ih...]]

Hi Sundowner, it's sunny today so hoping the back yard dries out enough that I can do some sweeping tomorrow. They seem to have done a really good job on the sewage overflow pumping as all the smell has gone. Washing all my outdoor chair covers & other small tasks, otherwise hanging out here today as feeling a bit wiped out after the flood preps, cooking by candlelight etc.

 

Had a busy week leading up to the storm as we were going for a beautiful property in the Currumbin valley & had to do all our inspections, contract review etc prior to auction.  Unfortunately, it just topped our budget, not by much, so it took a lot of discipline to bow out but we needed to have enough in reserve to do up the house which had been abandoned & neglected by the mortgagee bank for months. So back to the property search for us.

 

My overall experience with OZ Drs is that most are benzo adverse.  Some still seem to regard the sleep benzos as less of a problem, I had worse withdrawals coming off Lunesta than valium but it was a cold turkey & I had quit tramadol cold turkey at the same time.

 

My most recent experience was really my own doing, I was desperate for sleep & feeling lousy after the Cipro so I convinced myself that a few weeks of valium would be ok. I didn't count on my brother getting killed & it was just too easy to stay on the valium to get enough sleep to deal with all the post mortem responsibilities. By the time I came out of that, it was too late, probably the Cipro & the previous withdrawal had kindled me.  Imposs to know what would have happened if I had a doctor who would not prescribe a benzo, the Cipro may have caused many of the same sx anyway.  I had tried the antihistamine type ADs like Remeron & nothing worked for the insomnia.

 

My MD believes that benzos are addictive & problematic but interestingly does not seem to believe that my response was bz withdrawal as my dose was too low & not long enough to cause problems in his opinion.  He has preferred to dx me with chronic fatigue but maybe he doesn't want to believe that he could have prescribed something that caused harm.

 

I have a couple of friends who have been on z drugs to sleep for years  & they don't seem to have encountered tolerance wdwls at least, tho they admit they can't sleep without the drugs.

 

Maybe the storm has passed you by, I hope so. The Brisbane river doesn't seem to have peaked as badly so far, so here's hoping as some of those homes & businesses have only just got back on their fee.

[[Di...]]

Just heard from a friend of mine who lives in the same area as Thisbe and she's got no power or internet at the moment. So it might be another day or two before we hear from Thisbe.

 

Hi Sundowner - how did you Sydney-siders go. Did you get any flooding. I haven't caught up with too much of the news yet today. It's been sunny and very hot in Brissy today. Totally different to what it was like for the last few days.

 

Re your questiona about doctors - no I was never under the impression that they weren't addictive, but I think most doctors underestimate how hard they are to get off, although I don't think that's just a problem in Australia. I don't blame my doctor for my problem. I blame the naturopath who was treating my menopause symptoms. I paid her a lot of money only to find out naturopathic remedies just don't work, but by that time I was hooked on valium to help me sleep.

[[ih...]]

Hi DP, poor Thisbe, 28 hours sans power was quite enough.  Thankfully, my freezer didn't seem to completely defrost so only lost half the contents & put all my dairy prods in the freezer & they made out ok too.

 

Talking of things Oz, for the last few days, I have had this mad craving for vegemite with cheese, don't know if it's the salt or the B vits but have been having dollops of the stuff when I haven't had vegemite for many years.

[[Su...]]

Hi IHope and Di-Pam,

Seems like Sydney is out of the woods!

Feeling v lucky considering all those scary weather forecast predicting flooding down here.

Glad you two haven't had completely hopeless doctors.

Love Sun

[[ar...]]

Hi Ihope

What a mess on the news for Q'landers. Large parts of Bundy, look like a muddy swimming pool. Also a few smaller towns affected.  Hope you find your dream property. Sydney is O.K lots of rain yesterday.

 

cheers Ara.

 

[[ih...]]

Yes, poor Bundy & still plenty of areas with no power. Glad Sydney has missed the worst.

[[2z...]]

Been following Q'lands storm. Sorry all of you got hit. I think world weather out of kilter.

 

Eastern USA had "Super Storm Sandy" in October 2012. Devistated large areas of NYC. Called a unique weather phenomenon. I'm 150 miles east of NYC & was without power for 7 days, but had generator to keep fridge & freezer & some lights going. No structural damage my place.

 

You all be safe. Thinking of you.

[[ih...]]

Our really wild weather used to be limited to the tropical zones up North. No more, we need to get used to these extremes as the new normal. A generator is an excellent idea, I just hate wasting food

 

I think most of us Aussies who live in areas where we are not used to extreme climates are softer than you Americans, we never have to shovel snow to leave the house & we used to have few cyclones.

[[2z...]]

I met lots of very tough Aussie when I lived downunder. You got to be tough to survive some of the extremes of the areas west of the eastern mt range and central & northern areas. Maybe some city folk are a bit less hardy, but kudos to a great place & people. I miss them very much. To this day, I have my dual clock set to Sydney time, even after many yrs back in America.

 

All the best.

 

[[ih...]]

How long did you live here, it sounds as though you got around a lot of the country. Any plans for another visit?

 

I lived in the US for a year many years back & loved it but have only made it to Hawaii & Mexico since then.

[[2z...]]

Had immigrant status. Almost 8 yrs. did get in a lot of travel time while there. Returned USA at family request & job offer. Big regret.

 

I think when I'm 1 yr benzo free, maybe Oct 2014 & can still sit up long enough for the long flight, I'm going to refinance or sell my place & treat myself to the maximum stay allowed!! ;).

 

If you or any other Aussie every visiting near NYC, you're welcome to stay my place. Not 5 stars, but the roof doesn't leak. :laugh: :laugh:

[[ih...]]

Wow, you do like Oz. It's true we are a lucky country for the most part. Having a much smaller population makes it easier to have a good quality of life.

 

Loved NYC , never ever boring but I would need a ton of energy to live there. 

 

Aussie work permits are a constantly moving variable, bogged down in politics so who knows what will be on the approved occupations list for 2014. You can pretty much buy your way in if you have the seriously big $$$$$

[[Di...]]

Our really wild weather used to be limited to the tropical zones up North. No more, we need to get used to these extremes as the new normal. A generator is an excellent idea, I just hate wasting food

 

I think most of us Aussies who live in areas where we are not used to extreme climates are softer than you Americans, we never have to shovel snow to leave the house & we used to have few cyclones.

 

Yeah, us SE Queenslanders used to just have to put up with a few summer storms and the dreaded winter westerlies. Now we're getting something that resembles a cyclone, plus some tornadoes thrown in for good measure. I wonder if we'll get snow this winter. Everything else is out of kilter, so maybe that's even possible too...lol.....

[[2z...]]

Our really wild weather used to be limited to the tropical zones up North. No more, we need to get used to these extremes as the new normal. A generator is an excellent idea, I just hate wasting food

 

I think most of us Aussies who live in areas where we are not used to extreme climates are softer than you Americans, we never have to shovel snow to leave the house & we used to have few cyclones.

 

Yeah, us SE Queenslanders used to just have to put up with a few summer storms and the dreaded winter westerlies. Now we're getting something that resembles a cyclone, plus some tornadoes thrown in for good measure. I wonder if we'll get snow this winter. Everything else is out of kilter, so maybe that's even possible too...lol.....

 

DP- Note what I underlined in your post. Happy to send whats in my driveway now. Might take one of those super tankers though. couldn't afford freight. Easier to drag iceburg up from  Antacrtica.

 

Be safe

I can't sleep again - bummer That's why I'm online. almost 4 AM, my time. Going to try again. Tried reading, video games & even dancing  no luck. Just happens that way sometimes.

[[ar...]]

I can't believe what I' m seeing on the news  in Grafton northern N. S W. & Bundaberg Q'land where everyone is  traveling about the streets in runabouts &  the clubs are serving beer to customers in waist deep muddy water.