August 13, 2004 – we hardly knew ya! It’s crazy to think that a year ago today, Hurricane Charley slammed the Tampa area, cut up the I-4 Corridor, and destroyed everything in it’s path all the way to Daytona Beach. I was scheduled to move into my apartment that day, but due to the weather, we held off about a 5 days.

I remember even after nearly a week, this place looked like a war zone. It took still another week to get our power and utilities up and running, and I don’t think I slept at night for more than a few minutes before waking up covered in sweat…. Orlando is just do damn hot to not have A/C. This place just now looks ‘normal’, as many areas took almost a year to completely rebuild from the damage. It’s also crazy to think that it’s already been a year down here.

It’s one of those things that I’m sure a lot of people experience, where part of you feels like the memories of a year ago are distant and seem like ages ago, yet at the same time, it’s hard to fathom an entire year of your life has passed by already. I have 6 weeks till I am done with classes here, and I have graduation a week after that. I’m really excited about getting the ball rolling on graduation, moving, and getting the job hunt going.

Back to the hurricane thing – we’ve been fortunate so far this year in the Orlando area – the closest thing I had to a hurricane was in early July, as I had to drive thru part of the storm that hit the Gulf Shores area, but it wasn’t bad for more than maybe 30 minutes. It’s still early, but our luck might change in the next week and a half. Even if this one doesn’t cause us any trouble, I’m positive mother nature has a nice going away present in store for me … I’m just waiting for it. EDIT: Looks like Tropical Depression 10 already died out.