September 11 2008

Grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
On this day seven years ago, we remember...I remember.

Ground Zero August 2008
Originally uploaded by serahsonline

View more photos in my Flickr album by clicking the photo above.

It was a usual day at college for me, sitting in one of my more boring classes thinking about how I couldn't wait to get to my dorm room to watch Young & the Restless while eating Easy Mac followed by a peaceful nap. Then waking up to run off to my favorite class, Theater Appreciation. Suddenly, a break in my daydream came just long enough to hear my teacher say that he was letting us out early. "Finally!" I thought. When I got outside, I noticed that an unusual amount of students were walking around the campus and one girl even walked by me crying.

I saw my friend Sly and as we sat down I asked, "Sly, what are you doing out of class?"

He said, "Someone just flew a plane into the Twin Towers."

I said, "What!? No, why are you really out of class?"

He explained to me that he was telling the truth and as more and more people watched past me crying, I believed him. I ran to my dorm room and turned on the TV to see that this was actually happening. My heart stopped! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. All I could do was call my family that lived in New York to make sure that they were fine. For the rest of the day, of course, nothing was more important.

The following January, I was able to stop by Ground Zero at night where I saw family and friends leaving flowers and notes for their loved ones and again on my recent east coast trip.

The Gap Fire continued

As of Friday, July 11th, the GAP fire is 75% contained. The skies of Santa Barbara and Goleta are blue again and the air quality is back to normal. My prayers go out to the firefighters that were injured and to anyone who has lost their home or the family members of someone who lost their life during the fire. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all the firefighters who helped fight this fire. I, we appreciate you more than you know!


Glitter Graphics & Comments

The GAP Fire

Santa Barbara is in a local state of emergency right now which means we need all the resources we can get to help us fight the GAP Fire. The GAP Fire started on July 1, 2008 at around approximately 5:45 pm. As you all know, we are located in Santa Barbara. The area of Santa Barbara where we are located is keeping a watchful eye on the fire.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff and Fire authorities have issued a MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER FOR THE RESIDENTS IN THE GLEN ANNIE AND LA PATERA CANYONS. An Evacuation WARNING has been issued for residents above Cathedral Oaks Road between Glen Annie Road and Fairview Avenue. An evacuation warning means that residents should be prepared to evacuate.

We at Serah's have not been forced to evacuate yet nor have we been given an evacuation warning. This is the second wildfire I have witnessed in Santa Barbara. Almost a year to this date, Santa Barbara experienced the Zaca Fire. The Zaca Fire was not as close to the cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara as the GAP Fire is. Last night, the power went out around 7:30 pm and we were without power for about 3 - 4 hrs. I rode around town in my car and rode along Cathedral Oaks Road. Traffic lights were out everywhere and the only thing you could see was the lights from other cars and the flashlights of pedestrians. I felt in that moment that's what the Earth must have been like before electricity....so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. As I rode down the road, it was hard to see pedestrians who were not wearing any kind of reflective material or carrying flashlights. As I got further along, I could see glimpses of orange light through the trees. In front of LaPatera Road, I parked my car and watched with other SB residents in utter shock as the fire burned brightly. Further down Cathedral Oaks Road, I saw what appeared to be the 10-30 feet flames that they mentioned on the internet and the news.

All I could do at that moment was pray that the firefighters contained the fire while saving the homes of those who had to evacuate and not suffering any casualties.

Links for GAP Fire Updates:

• County of SB Website


• InciWeb: GAP Wildland Fire