Photo by Crystl

After seven days with no power, I was pleasantly surprised to see how many new things I learned during Hurricane Ike. While I don’t want to go through it again anytime soon, it was quite an amazing opportunity.

Here is my list, in no apparent order, of the many things I learned from the storm. While I could not come up with one hundred and one, sixty different lessons came to mind.

1. Never underestimate how much damage a “minor” hurricane can do to the 4th largest city in America.

2. When life gives you Ike, bake a cake in your propane grill.

3. No electricity does not always equal no internet or cable television.

4. David might have had hurricanes in mind when he penned Psalm 29.

5. Taking a nap in the afternoon can do wonderful things for the spirit.

6. The US postal service runs in snow, sleet, and rain, but not hurricanes.

7. FM 1960 is Houston’s craziest street, but it can be shut down for a week.

8. You can never have too much bottled water.

9. Babysitting a generator beats fighting four-hour gasoline lines.

10. People who ride out hurricanes on Bolivar Peninsula are certifiably insane.

11. Text messaging is the only means of communication in a natural disaster. Although, be prepared to get them all at once at midnight.

12. Crises can bring neighbors together like nothing else.

13. Generators are loud. VERY LOUD.

14. Sometimes God sends a natural disaster just to slow the world down and give them a chance to look for Him.

15. It is safe to assume that things are bad when Channel 11 goes off the air.

16. Nothing, not even a hurricane can hurt you when you are in the center of God’s will.

17. A video iPod is a very, very nice comfort luxury during a storm.

18. When the government tells people to write their social security numbers on their bodies before staying in a mandatory evacuation zone, it might be time to take a not-so-subtle hint and LEAVE.

19. God occasionally protects drunks and idiots—even in Galveston.

20. Food allergies + Hurricane Ike = Sad days for someone looking for comfort food.

21. Facebook can actually be a necessity for staying in touch with friends and family.

22. A possum, wandering around in broad daylight during the rain in my yard, looks exactly like a giant drowned rat.

23. RISK games are a fantastic way to wile away time—and get in some family bonding.

24. My mother can write a best-seller on hurricane preparedness.

25. Leaving town and missing all the “fun” is infinitely better than staying home in the dark.

26. To quote Miss Deborah from Cranford, “Speculation is the enemy of calm.”

27. “The Pursuit of God” is an excellent hurricane read.

28. Disaster movies are not very appealing when you are living through a real one.

29. Everyone loves to blame FEMA. But who does FEMA get to blame?

30. Bars are sadly the last places to close in a storm and the first to reopen.

31. It is possible to buy a generator in Houston, at sale price, only hours before a hurricane hits.

32. Grilled beef roast is absolutely delicious.

33. Jane Austen helps pass hours during slow days.

34. Your work is always expendable. Funny how life just seems to go on without you.

35. Be prepared to have a killer cell phone bill after a hurricane.

36. Growing up reading and watching Little House on the Prairie is good preparation for life without electricity.

37. People take winning “Yard of the Month” seriously. So seriously that they have to be one of the first houses to clean up less than 24 hours after a storm.

38. Gluten-free brownies baked in a grill actually taste great.

39. A good attitude, sense of humor, and lots of ice are necessities of life.

40. Grapefruit trees weather hurricanes very well.

41. When calling powerless friends to tell them that you have lights, don’t expect for them to be overjoyed with you. Hey, at least they didn’t hang up!

42. Iron all your clothes before a storm hits. Or else, be prepared to be wrinkled.

43. Stock up on makeup. It is a little odd to be hunting for Maybelline when the rest of the world just wants tuna.

44. I am not an adventurer at heart. I didn’t drag myself out of the house for days after the storm hit.

45. Some people clearly do not know how to drive when the stoplights are out.

46. The library waives fees during hurricanes. Funny, the excuse of not being able to return to the library before a book was due never worked before.

47. Hurricane boredom cannot result if you have a stack of Michael Phillips and Jane Austen novels.

48. Grilled s’more pancakes are delicious and very rich.

49. The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep has one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard.

50. A mac notebook with three hours of battery power is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

51. AT&T may claim that their wireless data cards work all the time, but don’t believe them. It took mine days to work normally after the storm.

52. Hanging around and doing nothing for days is a wonderful feeling after six weeks of nonstop tennis writing.

53. A grilled cheese sandwich can be the most guilty pleasure.

54. Friends make hurricanes so much easier.

55. Twenty-four hours without checking Google Reader can result in over 900 RSS feed updates.

56. The washing machine and dryer are two wonderful inventions.

57. A cooking thermometer is a must-have for outdoor pastry baking.

58. My father is an electronic genius.

59. Storing projectiles includes neighbors removing Obama signs. Thank goodness.

60. Seven days, thirteen hours, and thirty-four minutes of no power can make a person very grateful for God’s blessings.