Exhausted and apprehensive, but warm, dry, clean and no longer in the dark.

[HopeHoops]

12. God called and asked where his pizza was. He got no answer.

I'm glad everything turned out okay (on balance, meaning you and your family survived). That was one hell of a storm. We didn't lose power here (mostly underground lines), but about 10K people in the immediate region did and 1 million overall in PA. They still haven't restored all of the lines, but you have to hand it to the line workers. They work 24x7 in all kinds of weather and it's one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet.

And I've still got a few "trimline" phones in case the power goes out. All of the cordless phones are on UPS units (we've got at least 10 in the house that are active), but even they run out after a while. Days without power has to suck in every way possible.

And yes, fight with the insurance company. Take as many pictures as you can, burn them onto CD's and send them off with the claim. Don't let them fuck you over. If you paid your premiums, they have to pay out.