Sippi Lovin'

I've only got thirty minutes in which to post. Hurricane Ivan, as I'm sure some of you know, is rapidly approaching the gulf of Mississippi and I must stock-up on the essentials in order that I "weather the storm." A few fellas and I will be making a trip tonight to the grocery store where we'll purchase caches of water and beer. I was told that the best way in which to weather a hurricane is to have much beer on hand. Our landlady also informed everyone in the complex that we can expect the electricity to go out for a couple days and I figured my crash course in warm beer drinking while visiting Alf in China should prove to be a lifesaver. Classes at USM have been cancelled from Wednesday (tomorrow) through the weekend and will resume next Monday. They've even cancelled the football game here on campus for this Thursday, which was my first clue that hurricanes are meant to be taken seriously.
As Ben so lovingly pointed out on his own blog, the Golden Eagles of Southern Mississippi defeated his dear Cornhuskers last weekend and in honor of their upset, a rally was thrown at the airport upon their arrival. Was I there, you ask? Hell no, folks down here take their football so seriously that within 20 minutes of the game's end, "USM defeats Nebraska" t-shirts and the airport rally were both being advertised on television.
I apologize for the transgression, let me get back to the hurricane. I'm almost ashamed to report that the pending onslaught of a Hurricane Ivan has me super excited. I realize that the event is a catastrophic one and that even here, we can expect real damage, but I can't wait to get outside a bit and experience the projected 60-100 mph winds. Getting back to our landlady, she and her husband were around back of the apartment cutting down dead trees this afternoon, in preparation, and managed to punch a hole in the roof of a neighbor's house. Now, I believe they own the home, so legal action isn't expected, but how frustrating would that be to have your landlady punch a hole in your roof twenty-four hours before a hurricane arrives!
And so the bout of relative good health continues. (I've got no time for smooth transitions.) I've now posted four runs (again, every other day) of 10, 10, 15, and 15 minutes a piece. In addition, I've managed two 30 minute bike rides in that same span. My weight lifting/southern cooking weight-gaining regime continues to work miracles and I can now report I'm twenty pounds heavier than I was at the tail end of my senior year track season. I weighed 155 pounds then and 175 now. For those not in the know, I weighed 170 before I arrived (well, before I left for China anyway, damn you Alfie) and in all honesty, I anticipate that I'll be back down around 165 as I work my way back into distance shape. Only because I know everyone's dying to know, I can now bench press 45s on each side of the bar three sets of eight! I'm huge (figuratively, of course!)
I must be off y'all. Unfortunately, with campus being closed until next Monday, I don't anticipate having access to a computer with internet access until then. Who knows though, in the meantime, I wish everyone well and will post at the next available opportunity.