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Tornado Alley
Jun 16, 2008 Categorized: News •
I’d like to blame my blogging absence over the past several weeks on the power having been out so much. But while that wouldn’t be entirely true, gathering candles and flashlights seems to have become the routine in our Southwest Oklahoma household this summer. Our house was fortunate to get power back within hours of the last tornado, but with 180 poles down, much of the town spent several days with no electricity. The sad thing was, the city never sounded the tornado siren and never admitted to a tornado. They called it a “downburst” instead of a tornado. Call it what you want, it tore the place up pretty good and left a lot of people to suffer the hundred-degree heat with no air conditioning for 5 days. Not having any tornado warnings in the weather reports we were watching at the time, we stood at the back window and marveled at the sudden spiral of lawn furniture around the yard. Looking back, we should have been in the neighbor’s storm shelter.
With the last lightning storm over the weekend, I popped a batch of popcorn early in anticipation of losing power. Sure enough--I got to eat it by candlelight and sweat myself to sleep. Now tonight as we’re watching lightning flash all around and have a severe thunderstorm with “bigger than baseball-sized hail possible,” we’re hanging out in the hallway with magnadoodles, cheerios, and a mattress close by. By now it looks like it’s gone past us with no tornadoes. I’ve definitely spent too much time in the hallway already.
Back to Work
And since the excitement’s gone, it’s time for me to get to work. I redesigned and rebuilt jimfaull.com this month, and I was very happy to finally go live last night. I designed and built it in the first place, but his company has evolved a good bit, and it was time for the website to do the same. I thought it would be a quick facelift, but the project turned into an enormous job of revamping and rebuilding, with several new logos and ads to design. The miraculous thing about it was that the day he asked me to do it, I had just come to the decision to start working regularly in the evenings toward building a web design business.
I’ve done freelance custom websites for the past several years, but only as the client’s came calling. I’ve never created a “business” that needs tending or marketing or regular customers. I figure if I have work, I do it, and if I don’t, I’ve got a plenty other things to do--not the least of which was my part-time music-teaching job over the past year. But nonetheless, I felt like this summer was the time for me to start building the web design business I have wanted for the past several years--one that has lots of beautiful, pre-fabbed designs to choose from for a quick, cost-effective website for small businesses and individuals, and custom web solutions available for those wanting to establish their own identity online with a premium, branded website. At least in this area, there is a real shortage of local web design agencies that build beautiful, standards-based websites. In fact, I don’t know of a single one within a hundred miles. And people who aren’t web savvy are just scared to death to deal with a company in another city. I think it’s the darndest thing, but it sure doesn’t hurt my client-supply any!
So I’m itching to finish up my dad’s site and get on to my designing. I still have a few things left on the to-do list. I’d like to say I’ll try to blog more through the summer, but I just can’t make any promises. But look me up on Facebook, and you can see my status one-liners to know what I’m up to. If I can ever get some free time, I’ll put Twitter feeds on my website and post to that instead.
Hollabacks
i started a “power’s out” box. so when someone says “power’s out”. i just grab my handy dandy little box with a couple of big jar candles (in a not so great scent that i decided i didn’t like for everyday use)a lighter, and some little battery operated stick up lights. it’s very compact and will provide enough light to go find whatever else we decide we need. no more fumbling in the dark for something to light a candle with or discovering hours later rusty lit one of my “good” candles for light! does that tell you how frugal i am? my “good” candles only get lit when I SAY SO!!!
Posted by amber on 06/16 at 09:35 PM
Yikes-- I get freaked out at the hint of a warning that is 2 counties away, I can’t imagine if it were close. I would probably have a heart attack before having time to take cover. 
Posted by Emily Snapp on 06/18 at 04:50 PM
