Storms and things

If you've turned on the national news at most any point today, you've probably seen pictures of Memphis succumbing to a huge storm that rolled through last night. No, not that Storm. A line of tornadoes that killed three people, tore up a mall, ripped the roof off one building at the FedEx mega-hangar, even moved a 737 airplane at Memphis International.

I think people knew it was going to be bad -- the rain didn't roll in until 3 or 4, but Memphis City Schools dismissed at 12:30 and the University of Memphis dismissed a couple of hours after that. I just don't think anyone knew how bad it would be.

I rode out the first supercell at the office, dashed home during a break in the weather, and spent more time than I would've liked cooped up in a small walk-in closet with Paul and the cats. Newsflash: Cats do not like storms. The power came and went a few times. And, to compound things, yesterday was Super Tuesday.

Needless to say, storms and elections made for a busy news day at the office -- a perfect day to have to go to a dentist appointment. And not just any dentist appointment. My first in a while. (Yay, insurance!)

Paul called the dentist in September to make appointments for both of us. Alas, appointments are not easy to come by, so mine was for Dec. 26 and his was in early January. At some point around late November, they called me to reschedule mine because the hygienists were off the day after Christmas. The next available date? Today.

So, anyway, I busted my butt this morning so I could leave with plenty of time to get across town. Traffic was backed up on one part of the Interstate -- stupid wide loads -- so I aimed for an alternate route that, I remembered too late, is perpetually slow-going because of construction work.

About 15 minutes before my appointment, my car phone rang. It was the dentist's office. My hygienist went to the doctor today and has strep, so my appointment must be rescheduled. Fan-frickin-tastic. There was no way I was going to drive 20 miles in stop-and-go traffic to get back to the office, so I went home and monitored my e-mail from there.

Hopefully the traffic has cleared somewhat because I have to head Downtown for a basketball game. The arena is within walking distance of my office, which is convenient for most weeknight games but doesn't help me much tonight. Eh, it was worth it to spend a couple of hours at home.

Oh, and one of the Tigers might not be playing tonight. Robert Dozier allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, but charges are pending and I'm not sure if disciplinary actions have (or will) be taken. And he's one of the better free-throw shooters, too.